Turned by Julie Kenner

Author:Julie Kenner [Kenner, Julie]
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2010-06-24T19:48:02.566000+00:00

ELEVEN

The October sun hung low in the sky as I entered the church, its rays bursting through the stained-glass windows and giving the interior an ethereal quality, as if this place existed in some rainbow dimension, where nothing could harm a thing of such beauty. There was no formal service, yet the pews were full, the faithful on their knees, hands clasped in front of them, heads bent in prayer.

Many held rosary beads, and I could hear the low murmur of their Hail Mary’s. Some, though, were there only to soak in the comfort of the room, and rather than pray the rosary or cast their eyes upon the crucifix that hung at the front of the room, they were looking around at their fellow worshippers. And, of course, at me.

Me, in my battered red duster, with my black boots, mussed-up hair, and bloodstained tank top. It’s a wonder they all didn’t run screaming from the room.

Naturally, the moment that thought entered my head, that was exactly what happened. A grizzled old man stood up, his coat hanging scarecrowlike on his bony shoulders. “That’s her,” he said. “The girl from television. She cavorts with demons, she does!”

Heads snapped up. Women clutched their children and scooted backward. Men stood, their faces full of false bravado, hands clenched tight into fists, as if they had even the slightest chance of winning in a fight against me.

“You want a piece of me?” I snapped, a raw fury rising in me. I was risking my sister, my life, my soul for these people, and they stepped up to accuse me without even understanding? What the fuck was that about?

The darkness inside me writhed and twisted, urging me to lash out at these fools. These people who didn’t understand who I was or what I did and only wanted to wallow in their fear and condemn those who were trying so desperately to save them. “Do you really want a piece of me?”

A tall, skinny man stepped forward. “I saw you, too,” he said. “But I don’t think you were cavorting. I think you were fighting.”

I drew in a breath, then released it slowly. Finally, someone who had been paying attention. “I was. I am.” I lifted my chin. “That’s what I do.”

He looked me up and down, his face soft and pudgy, but his eyes sharp and quick. “Hell of a fight,” he said. “What are the stakes?”

“Do you really want to know?” I don’t know why I stood there, engaged in such an inane conversation. But something inside me told me to stay. To see it through. Not so hard to obey that urge, frankly. At the moment no one was trying to kill me. And that, at least, was a good thing.

Behind him, a few others had gathered, their faces full of curiosity. Many still stood back, clearly not trusting anyone who was fighting on a bridge with two furry wolflike beasts and one Pterodactyl-winged human.

The man looked behind him at the small group, then held out his hand to a petite woman with a baby on her hip.

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