Crossroads (28 page)

‘Let’s go,’ she turned and headed towards the door as she punched in Jake’s number and hit connect.

They both rushed down the porch steps to where Roni’s car was parked.

‘Shit, he’s not picking up, give me the keys.’

Roni grabbed them out of her pocket and tossed them to Danae.

They jumped into the car and tore down the driveway in a loud hiss of churning gravel.

‘Keep trying him,’ Danae urged as she hit the main road and floored it.

Roni pulled her own phone out and scrolled through to Jake’s number and hit connect. Another two goes and he finally picked up as they headed close to the outskirts of town.

‘JAKE!’ Roni almost cried in relief when he finally answered.

‘Roni?’ he seemed to sense her panic, ‘what’s happened? What’s wrong?’

‘Give me the phone,’ Danae demanded snatching it out of Roni’s fingers, ‘Jake?’

‘Helga?’

She let that one go. ‘Yeah it’s me, where are you exactly?’

‘I’m just across the street from Roni’s apartment, why the hell are you with Roni? Is she okay? What’s going on?’

‘She’s fine for the moment but you’re not.’

‘What the hell are you talking about?’

‘Look I need you to listen to me very carefully. The other night in the woods when you and Roni felt the Soul Collector following you….’

‘Yeah?’

‘…it’s got your scent Jake, it’s hunting you. It’s probably been tracking you for days.’

‘Are you shitting me?’

‘No, it’s not going to stop once it’s got you in its sights.’

‘What about Roni? Is she a target?’

‘I’d probably say that’s a big fat yes but as long as she’s with me she’s safe. You’re vulnerable out there on your own in the dark.’

‘What do we do?’

‘You need to get to consecrated ground.’

‘Seriously?’

‘Use your head Jake, no matter how far off the reservation its gone it’s still a demon, it can’t cross hallowed ground.’

‘Fuck,’ Jake swore, ‘St Josephine’s on Ashmore is the nearest.’

‘Head there now, run! don’t stop for any reason. We’ll meet you there.’

Jake crossed the street and stepped up onto the sidewalk and as he did he suddenly caught the pungent scent of lilies and a shiver ran the length of his spine. He turned slowly as his eyes widened and his heart began to pound like a bass drum. The tall dark figure raised its face and scented the air, almost as if it could smell his fear and adrenalin.

‘Jake!’ Danae shouted, ‘Jake! Can you hear me?’

He took a deep steadying breath. ‘Protect Roni,’ he whispered as he dropped the phone and pulled his gun free.

He put five bullets into its chest as he backed up but it didn’t even knock it back a pace. The Soul Collector simply paused and looked down at his chest and the slightly steaming holes in his long dark overcoat, before looking up and fixing his shiny black beetle-like eyes on Jake once again.

Jake took one look at him and turned and ran.

‘Jake!’ Danae shouted into the phone. She heard the gunshots and then the line went dead. ‘Damn it,’ she threw the phone into Roni’s lap and floored it, tearing around the corner in a squeal of tires and burning rubber.

Jake’s lungs were burning as he tore down the street. He ducked down an alley he knew let out onto Ashmore, from there he only had to make it fifty yards to the old church. It was darker down the alley than he realized and he stumbled as he clipped a dumpster but kept going. He flew out into the street, into the blare of horns and a set of headlights as a car swerved, narrowly avoiding him.

He spun around getting his bearings, his eyes landing on the huge stone building down the street with huge wide steps leading up to a large set of old wooden doors. He felt a rush of icy air brush past him and he pushed himself further, faster, his legs burning with the effort as his nose and mouth flooded with the ominous scent of lilies. The church was so close he could almost reach out and touch it.

A sudden rush of black smoke swirled in front of him and as he skidded to a halt he found the Soul Collector baring his way. His chest rose and fell with harsh breaths as he tried to drag air into his lungs. So it was going to end this way after all.

He took one last deep breath and raised his weapon in defiance. He let loose one shot, hitting dead center of its forehead. The Soul Collector didn’t even flinch, his jaw moved slightly and then he spat the bullet out, watching as it clattered harmlessly to the ground. His hand shot out and as Jake gasped in pain he looked down to see its arm sticking out of his chest, he could feel his heart slamming hard and his breath came out in a labored wheeze. His skin turned grey and his lips pale as he felt a great wrenching tear deep inside him. Charun withdrew his hand and his eyes widened at the blazing white ball of energy beating and pulsing in his palm. He opened his mouth and sucked in a deep breath, his dark eyes rolling back in pleasure. He removed a bottle from the folds of his heavy coat and tipped Jake’s soul into it, before stoppering it tightly and tucking it back into his clothes.

Roni watched through the windshield in horror as Jake’s body dropped lifelessly to the ground. Her door was open and she was running towards the tall dark figure before the car had even rolled to a stop.

‘Roni NO!’ Danae flew out of the car but she was too late, Roni was far ahead of her and launching herself at Charun in absolute rage.

Roni couldn’t even think, couldn’t breathe, all she knew was she had to get Jake’s soul back before the Soul Collector disappeared again. She launched herself at him, clawing and kicking. He turned to her and if he was at all surprised his expression gave nothing away. He brushed her aside as if he were swatting away an annoying insect. He grabbed her by the throat, studying her intently for a moment before his mouth opened in a disgusting smile, revealing brown rotten teeth.

His hand pressed against her chest as she struggled and kicked. Suddenly he paused, pressing against her chest again. Unlike the others he was not able to penetrate her chest cavity to retrieve her soul. He looked down in shock, his beetle like eyes narrowing when he caught the glint of something shiny at her throat. He ripped open the collar of her jacket and hissed. Pressed against the warmth of her skin and glowing brightly was a small crescent moon. It was the amulet Jake had given her the night they had closed the gateway. The same amulet that had come from the Goddess Diana herself.

Charun’s head suddenly snapped back and a thin line of dark blood appeared on his cheek. He threw Roni to the ground in rage and turned to see Danae standing in front of him, a glowing whip made up of pure magic dangling from her hand. He growled and started towards her but she flicked it with an expert snap, opening a wound along his chest. He clutched it with his hand as blood spurted through his fingers. He brought them up to his face almost as if he couldn’t believe he was injured. He looked up at her with hate-filled eyes and bared his teeth, growling as he turned in a swirl of his dark coat and disappeared.

Roni had hit the stone steps with a sickening crunch. Her arm and shoulder hurt and her head that rung like a bell. She could hear a high pitched whine in her ears and as she reached up to touch her temple she felt the wet stickiness of her own blood. She looked over to Jake lying motionless on the floor and crawled over to him. Rolling him over onto his back she pressed her fingers to his throat and leaned close to his mouth to check his breathing.

There was no pulse.

‘Oh no you don’t Jake,’ she muttered as she started chest compressions, ‘you’re not getting off that easy.’

She leaned over and breathed into his mouth.

‘Call 911,’ she screamed at Danae breathlessly.

She vaguely heard Danae speaking urgently on her phone but she paid no attention. Her head was throbbing and her arm and shoulder were screaming like an abscessed tooth but still she kept going, she had to keep him alive long enough for them to get him on life support.

It seemed like an eternity later when the ambulance finally screeched to a halt beside her, lights flashing as two paramedics rushed out to help her.

‘Deputy Hanson,’ one of them recognized Danae as he crouched down next to Veronica.

Danae nodded as her eyes drifted to the ground and the shallow pool of blood that looked so dark it was almost black. Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

‘Hey Owen,’ she called out to the paramedic, ‘you got a spare syringe?’

He rustled in the bag he’d set down next to them, pulling out something in a sealed hygiene bag and tossing it to her as he turned back to his patient. Danae ripped open the bag and knelt down, sucking up as much of the blood into the syringe as she could, before wrapping it carefully back in the open packaging and tucking it in her pocket. She watched as they loaded Jake into the back of the ambulance with Roni hovering over him, blood trickling down the side of her face.

‘I’ll ride with him,’ she told them bluntly.

‘I’ll follow in the car and meet you there,’ Danae replied. Roni nodded and climbed up into the back of the ambulance as they were closing the doors.

Danae stood watching in silence as they pulled away sirens blazing and headed towards the hospital. She retrieved Jake’s weapon from the foot of the steps and flicked the safety back on. Reaching into her pocket she pulled out her phone and scrolled through to the number she wanted.

‘Hello?’ a familiar voice answered on the second ring.

‘Louisa.’

‘Helga?’ she replied in confusion

Damn it, that name was going to haunt her for the rest of her life.

‘Louisa, listen to me,’ Danae answered patiently. ‘Are you at the hospital?’

‘Yes why?’

‘They’re bringing in Jake now.’

‘WHAT?’ she shouted down the phone, ‘what happened?’

‘The Soul Collector got to him before we could.’

‘Is he…?’ she couldn’t even bring herself to finish that sentence.

‘He had no vitals and he’s unresponsive.’

‘No…’ she breathed painfully.

‘Louisa I need you to listen to me, Roni is in the ambulance with him. She pretty much got to him immediately and gave him CPR until the paramedics arrived. There is still a chance to get his soul back and save him but right now I need you to use whatever authority you’ve got.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘They won’t let you work on him as he’s your brother. Whatever you do, whoever is treating him do not under any circumstances let them pronounce him. You have to get him onto life support as quickly as you can, do you understand?’

‘Yes,’ she replied, ‘I have to go they’re pulling up now.’

The emergency was a blur to Roni as they rushed him into the trauma room. She was barely aware of anything going on around her, all she could see was Jake through the window as they lifted him off the stretcher and onto the table so they could work on him, attaching tubes and monitors.

Louisa burst through the door and looked down at her little brother on the table. Sachiv looked up from where he was intubating him and glanced momentarily at her.

‘You shouldn’t be in here.’

‘Sachiv,’ her eyes were pleading.

‘Don’t interfere,’ he moved around the table confidently and full of authority as they worked to try and save Jake.

‘Damn it,’ he looked up at the silent monitors, ‘how long has he been down?’

‘Thirty minutes.’

He sucked in a deep breath.

‘Sachiv,’ Louisa stepped in close.

He turned his deep brown eyes on her.

‘Don’t let him die, please.’

‘He’s been down too long; his brain has been starved of oxygen.’

‘Please I need you to trust me, you have to get him onto life support.’

‘Even if I do,’ he hissed as he continued to work, ‘there’s no guarantee he’ll ever come back off it. Is that what you want for your brother, to live in a permanent vegetative state? Is that what he would want?’

‘Look I can’t explain it right now; I just need you to trust me…to trust I know what I’m doing.’

‘Dr Achari we have a rhythm.’

‘Please just give him a chance that’s all I’m asking.’

His eyes suddenly narrowed on Louisa’s, as if he’d seen something he’d missed all along.

‘Outside now,’ he ordered.

‘Not until you promise me,’ she stood her ground.

He gave the barest nod of his head.

She did as he asked. She knew him, she knew he would do whatever he could for her brother. She stepped out and noticed Roni staring numbly at the window, not moving. Louisa swore softly when she saw the congealed blood at her temple and her pale clammy skin.

She flagged down a passing nurse to bring her a kit to clean and dress the wound.

‘Veronica?’ Louisa touched her arm gently.

Roni turned as she felt a slight pressure on her arm and found herself staring into blue eyes exactly the same shade as Jakes.

Her heart clenched painfully.

‘You should let me take a look at that head wound,’ Louisa told her softly as she led her to the chairs.

Roni stared at her with eyes glassy with shock.

‘Danae told me you gave Jake CPR until the paramedics got there,’ she took the tray from the nurse and opened it.

‘He had no pulse,’ she whispered.

‘You probably saved his life,’ she began to clean the wound gently.

‘Is he…?’

Louisa grasped Roni’s hand tightly, ‘he’s strong he’s going to make it.’

They both looked up as Sachiv stalked out of the door.

‘He’s stable for now,’ he told them as they both stood, ‘they’re moving him to a private room. Miss Mason you can go with the nurses while they get him settled if you wish. I’m afraid I need to speak with Dr Linden.

Roni nodded and disappeared through the doors towards Jake as Sachiv grasped Louisa’s arm and pulled her firmly into the doctors’ lounge, checking they were alone before shutting the door firmly.

‘Okay what the hell is going on Louisa and don’t bullshit me.’

‘I don’t know what you mean.’

‘The hell you don’t,’ he scowled, ‘Jake’s eyes are drained of color like the other victims and you know what happened to them don’t you?’

‘Sachiv,’ she sighed.

‘Don’t lie to me,’ his voice softened slightly, ‘I can’t help these people if I don’t know what I’m dealing with.’