Fractured (39 page)
Authors: Sarah Fine
Tags: #Juvenile Fiction, #Action & Adventure, #General, #Fantasy & Magic, #Paranormal
Raphael tilted his head. “What do you think
you
need, Lela?”
“I need Malachi.” It came from me automatically.
“No, you
want
Malachi.”
The rage exploded, crimson and iron, burning all the way through me. I shoved Raphael with all my strength, and he stumbled back, but his mild expression didn’t change as he regained his footing on the rocks. It sent me straight over the edge. “Did Malachi
need
to have his soul torn from his body? Did he need to be tortured?” I screamed, hot tears streaming down my face. “Because that’s what’s happening! Right. Now. After seventy years in the service of the Judge,
this
is what he fucking needed?”
Raphael took my shoulders in his warm grasp, his face glowing with that otherworldly light, like it always did when he started to get pissed off. I tried to wrench myself away, but his grip was too strong. “The Mazikin are not under the authority of the Judge, Lela. Surely you don’t think—”
“Oh, I do,” I spat. “She’s thrilled, isn’t she? This is what she wanted all along. She wants him there. This whole thing was a setup, for him and for me. So let’s get this fucking show on the road. I need to see the Judge. Now.”
He smiled. “She hasn’t invited you to her chambers yet.”
“I’m inviting myself
now
. I have an offer for her. And she knows it. You guys think the strings are invisible, but I can see you pulling them.”
“How clever of you, little human.” His face had transformed from ordinary to blinding, but I didn’t look away. “You’ve got us all figured out.”
“Not all of it. Just what I’m going to do. And you’re going to help me.”
He let me go, chuckling. “Oh, really?”
“I think so.” I backtracked until my heels were right at the precipice of the rock and teetered on the edge, sticking my arms out for balance. “Tell me, Raphael, are you going to let me end up at the Suicide Gates? Is that what I
need
?”
His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say a word. He wasn’t chuckling anymore, though.
“Are you going to stop me, archangel? Do I need to stay here and grieve while I wait patiently for my summons to the Sanctum? And in the meantime, do I need to have my throat cut by the psycho who stole the body of the best Guard you have? Tell me,” I shrieked. “What. Do. I. Need?”
I didn’t wait for him to reply. I didn’t care what his answer was. I was ready to take the biggest gamble I ever had, because I only cared about one thing. One thought. One person. Beyond reason, beyond duty.
Beyond my fear of dying again.
I took a quick backward step and threw myself off the cliff.
Tumbling, falling, I only had time to mark the glitter of moonlight on water, the soft lap of waves I could finally hear, because the wailing in my head had gone silent the moment I accepted what I had to do.
I was going to find my way to the Mazikin realm.
And I was going to get Malachi out.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
SO MANY PEOPLE HAD
a hand in making this book what it is: the Amazon Children’s Publishing team, especially Margery Cuyler, Tim Ditlow, Deborah Bass, Jenny Parnow, and, of course, Courtney Miller, my amazing editor, who has shepherded it through the process, advocating for it every step of the way. My developmental editor, Leslie Miller, whose positivity, patience, and understanding of the story and characters made the revision process a true pleasure. I would like to thank my copyeditors, Jennifer Williams and Carrie Wicks, and my proofreader, Ruth Strother, for seriously excellent nitpicking and detail work. Thank you to Tony Sahara, for designing a cover that perfectly captured the emotional intensity in the story.
I want to thank the team at New Leaf Literary—most notably Joanna Volpe, Danielle Barthel, Jaida Temperly, and Pouya Shahbazian—for supporting both this series and my career in general. Most importantly, I want to thank Kathleen Ortiz, my agent, for managing all details big and small, for understanding the intersection between intellect and emotion, for keeping things in perspective, and for talking me off the ledge whenever necessary.
My intrepid beta readers: Justine Dell, Jaime Lawrence, Leah Block, and Stina Lindenblatt, thank you a thousand times for both criticism and encouragement. My dear friends, Jennifer R., Lydia Kang, and Brigid Kemmerer, for listening—my day is made every time I see your names in my inbox. My patient and understanding boss, Paul Block, for making it possible to balance two worlds, and my incredible colleagues: Liz Cantor, Catherine Allen, Kim Bennett, Heather Drever, Anne-Marie Bora, Yerissa Mago, and the entire CCBS staff, for understanding the weirdness of my double life, for being excellent, and making my “day” job easy. And Petra (Safari Poet), for reaching out from across the ocean to support suicide prevention, a cause I hold dear.
Book bloggers, especially Alexa, Lili, Bethzaida, Maja, Heidi, Keertana, Rachel, Nicole, Christy, and Ali: your enthusiasm and insight made my introduction to the online world of readers and reviewers much more fun and rewarding. And to all my readers! I could never have anticipated how inspiring it would be to interact with you. It’s an honor, and I’m grateful. And if you ever crave more from the Guards of the Shadowlands world, look for Malachi’s journal entries at
GuardsOfTheShadowlands.tumblr.com
, which is also where you can ask questions and look for news about the series.
Finally and most fundamentally: my family. I sincerely hope you know what you mean to me, and that I could not do anything if not for you. My parents, Jerry and Julie Fine; my sisters, Cathryn and Robin; my husband, Joey; and my babies, Asher and Alma (okay, I know: you’re not babies; you’re BIG). Nothing else to say except you bring me joy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo credit: Rebecca Skinner
SARAH FINE WAS BORN ON
the West Coast, raised in the Midwest, and is now firmly entrenched on the East Coast, where she lives with her husband and two children. When she’s not writing, she’s working as a child psychologist. No, she is not psychoanalyzing you right now. Her first novel,
Sanctum
, was published by Skyscape in 2012. Find Sarah online at
www.sarahfinebooks.com
or on Twitter
@FineSarah
.
For more information about the Guards of the Shadowlands series, and to read excerpts from Malachi’s personal journals, visit
GuardsOfTheShadowlands.tumblr.com
.
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