The Leader Read Online Free PDF Page B

grew
tense.
    “ No.”
    “ So why don’t I spend my
efforts trying to help him? At least Alex is a nice guy who doesn’t
go around hurting people.”
    The angel sighed and stared at the man
who walked by. “Devon’s open. He wants help.”
    “ Just not enough so you can
talk to him.” She tucked her hands into her coat pocket and fought
off the blast of wind that blew around them. “How is it you could
talk to me in May? I wasn’t seeking out angels. I didn’t believe in
God.”
    “ You were looking for
answers, and you know your sister believed in God. She made her
decision. She was sealed.”
    Finally. Now they were getting
somewhere! She turned to him and asked, “Where is she?”
    “ It’s not the end, Autumn.
It’s just the beginning, but the world is going to pass through
some tribulations before it can enjoy peace. Your sister and others
who made their choice before the aliens arrived have been spared
the tough times to come.”
    She rubbed her forehead, closed her
eyes, and groaned. “Are you ever going to tell me where she
is?”
    Silence.
    Glancing at the space next to her, she
saw that he had disappeared. She rolled her eyes. Naturally. She
should probably be grateful that he bothered to answer any of her
questions.
    “ I need to talk to
you.”
    Surprised, she looked over and saw
Devon standing in front of her. Standing up, she said, “I have to
get back to work. Hampton will dock my pay if my break goes too
long.” She didn’t care what the angel said. She had nothing to say
to Devon, nor did she want to have anything to do with
him.
    “ I’ll reimburse you.” Devon
stepped in front of her so she couldn’t move forward.
“Please?”
    “ No.”
    She tried to step past him, but he
grabbed her elbow and whispered. “Fine. Let’s bargain. You want
information about what’s going on, right? You want to know what’s
going on and why?”
    She almost said that she didn’t want
to know anymore, but then she remembered Alex and the mess he was
in. Maybe Devon knew something that would help Alex. After a quick
debate, she nodded.
    “ Meet me at Sertoma Park by
the zoo entrance. We’ll talk there.”
    “ When?”
    “ When do you get off
work?”
    She couldn’t believe she was doing
this. If it’d been anyone but Alex, she’d never meet up with Devon.
“Seven. I can be there at 7:30.”
    “ Good. I’ll see you
then.”
    The shadow appeared next to Devon’s
shoulder and snarled at her. In the same instant, the angel
appeared next to her. The demon hissed but shrank back until it
disappeared.
    Autumn decided not to dwell on it.
World War III was about to erupt into full force. She had bigger
things to worry about than Devon and his problems, whatever those
were. Without another word to Devon or the angel, she took her ID
out of her pocket and went into the building.
    The security guard checked her
driver’s license, nodded, and handed it back to her. “Have a good
day, ma’am.”
    She tried to smile but couldn’t
because as soon as she scanned the mall, she became aware of the
spiritual world around her. Dark shadows hovered around some people
while beams of light hovered around others. She closed her eyes and
took a deep breath. When she opened them, they were
gone.
    I don’t want to see any of
them. I just want to forget this is all happening.
    She hurried back to work. The safe and
familiar world around her, where she avoided Hampton as much as
possible, was the only comfort she got anymore. She hung up her
coat and returned to the counter where she took a moment to gather
her bearings. She wanted everything to go back to normal. But she
had a sinking sensation that nothing would ever be normal
again.

Chapter Seven

    Devon checked his watch as he waited
for Vanessa to get the clean bill of health from the psychiatrist.
He sighed and rubbed his eyes. The day had been a long one, and
tonight, he would have to fly out to Area 51. First, he had to talk
to Autumn and find out what