“That’s not possible, I’m afraid,” he said. “Tell me about the bus, Sophie.”
“Th- The bus?”
“The one that was supposed to end your life today.”
“I . . . I don’t know.”
“What happened?”
“I almost got hit but I didn’t. It was close.”
“Yes, so I’m gathering. Not close enough, unfortunately.” He sighed and it sounded annoyed. “You are causing me a great deal of paperwork, do you know that?”
I felt utterly confused and totally afraid. “What do you want from me?”
“Answers only. According to my papers you’re supposed to be dead. That bus, the one you avoided by the skin of your teeth? It was supposed to kill you. You were fated to die today. So what I want to know is why you’re not lying in a morgue right now.”
How could he say something so horrible with such a cool, detached tone? “Fated?”
“Yes.”
“I . . . I don’t understand.”
“No, I don’t suppose you do. I’ll let my associate explain the rest to you since he seems to have a problem with my bedside manner right now. He’s more than welcome to take over.”
Another man shifted partially into focus behind the light, but he was mostly a shadowy outline. I could see broad shoulders and the edge of a strong, stubbled jawline as he turned to look at the other man. A glint of light brushed against his cheekbones and brow.
“It’s law that we explain it to you first,” he said. His voice was much more pleasant than the first man – less detached and cold. Unfortunately, a nice voice didn’t change my situation one little bit or lessen my fear.
“Explain what?”
“The Books of Fate. They’re . . . transcribed daily by seers. The names of people who die as well as those who are born. And they are rarely wrong –”
“They’reneverwrong,” the other man said.
“No, but . . . but sometimes there’s a glitch and someone fated to die doesn’t. This poses a threat to adversely affect the future. It’s our job to ensure that doesn’t happen.”
I licked my dry lips. “You sound completely crazy, you know that?”
“Turn the light on, Harris,” he said. “She’s terrified. There’s no reason for us to scare her more right now.”
Harris snorted. “Terrific. Our best agent’s going soft on me over a random blonde?”
“No,” he said immediately. “Just do it OK?”
“Won’t change anything.”
“Just fucking do it.”
“Whoa, OK.” A chuckle. Then a switch was flicked and light flooded the room.
I squinted and looked around. I had no idea where we were: a generic room of some kind that only held the chair I sat in and the two men in front of me. Both were dressed in black. One was middle-aged, blond, with weary-looking grey eyes. The other was younger, dark-haired with light blue eyes. Both were tall, muscular and looked very dangerous.
It was all I could do to keep my teeth from chattering at the sight of them as they looked down at me tied to the chair.
It was strange, but the dark-haired one looked vaguely familiar. Where the hell had I seen him before?
“I don’t have any money,” I said. “So this is a waste of your time if that’s what you’re looking for.”
