Once Broken (Dove Creek Chronicles) (17 page)

My dad still hadn’t returned my calls, so I tried his cell phone. There was no answer, and still the generic electronic greeting so that I wasn’t sure it was actually his phone. I left a message that asked for him to call me back when he got it. The phone at his shop only rang and rang. This wasn’t out of the ordinary behavior for my dad, so I didn’t panic despite the worry for him that was adding to my already substantial pile of worries.

I was disappointed but not shocked to see that Casey had returned neither my calls nor my text messages. As I pulled a mug from the cabinet above the coffee pot, I decided to take Gabe’s advice. Instead of pestering Casey until he talked to me – which I was inclined to do – I would leave him alone until he was ready to talk to me. If he ever would be.

My shift at the pawn shop didn’t begin for a few hours, so I lingered over my coffee and watched the news. There was nothing being reported but doom and gloom, which matched my mood, but I didn’t want to wallow in it. I switched off the television and cleaned my apartment instead. No more time than I spend there, it took little more than a quick go over with a dust rag and a pass with the vacuum cleaner. The time spent with my hands busy helped to clear my mind and I was feeling better about things by the time I was through.

After a tepid shower, I toweled off and blew my hair dry. I decided to wear it down for a change and I put on a little make-up to help me look more refreshed than I actually was. Dressing in my professional ensemble of a black blouse and tailored gray trousers, I was ready to go out the door to work.

Aric was working alone and was plenty busy when I arrived. Since I wasn’t due on watch for one more night, I was working the later part of the swing shift which meant I would be there until well into the evening. I reckoned that staying busy was the best way to pass the time, so I started helping customers right away. Aric shot me a look of gratitude and didn’t miss a beat. Business was steady until around dinner time and we didn’t stop to shoot the breeze till then.

“Man, you can tell kids are getting back in school,”
Aric said as the last customer walked out the door. “I just sold the last computer in the whole place.”

I shook my head. “Can’t believe it’s this busy. I’ll call over to the Westview shop and see what they have in inventory.”

Not long after that, Aric’s shift ended as he was relieved by Dylan, and he headed off to headquarters. I had a couple hours with my brother before Diana would arrive to complete the night shift. He asked about my wreck and if I was really alright, and if I knew yet when my jeep would be repaired. I had to be careful to maintain every detail of my cover story so that he wouldn’t be suspicious. As upset as I was about the Triple Six’ attack on me and on the Jessop family, I couldn’t confide in my brother.

When I left the shop through the back entrance, I noticed a stray dog slinking around. Poor guy was probably looking for a meal and I felt bad that I had nothing to give him. But as I went to the truck to get in, I looked over my shoulder and saw the dog sit on his haunches. It looked like he was watching me.
I shook my head and discounted the unsettling feeling as a figment of my overburdened mind.

I DIDN’T GET VERY FAR
down the road before I heard the explosion. With the truck windows down and the wind whipping through the cab, it sounded like a jet breaking the sound barrier.

My gut told me different.

I flipped a u-turn in the empty street and the truck tires squealed as I shifted gears and raced back toward the shop. As soon as I reached the parking lot, I left the truck idling and took my .45 out of the glove compartment.

The first thing I noticed was the smell. I couldn’t get away from it. The humid night air was heavy with the acrid reek of dust, smoke, and a chemical that I couldn’t quite place. It was distinctive like sulfur or napalm, but I was not sure where I had smelled it before.

One thing I
was
sure about: Whatever it was, it made one hell of a mess.

Half of the front wall and an entire side wall of our North Side pawn shop were in bits and pieces of rubble that littered the asphalt parking lot. Rebar jutted from the gaping wound in the cement. The neon sign dangled pitifully from one end of its mount, the electric blue dull and lifeless. Everything inside was destroyed, blown apart by incredible force. Somehow, nothing was smoking or smoldering. I had heard the blast myself, could smell smoke, but the telltale signs one would expect of a bomb blast were nonexistent.

I grabbed a flashlight from the truck toolbox and went to take a closer look. Unsure whether who (or
what
) had caused the damage was laying a trap, I thumbed off the safety on the handgun and stepped gingerly through the ragged hole. The scene I found inside was enough to send a chill clawing its way down my spine.

It looked as though a shockwave had ripped through the shop, but the origin of it was nowhere to be found. The glass of the merchandise cases had shattered, leaving behind twisted metal frames. The trio of computers behind the counter was left in plastic shards, inner components strewn everywhere. Pages of books lay like fallen autumn leaves across the cracked and buckled tile floor.

Everywhere I turned to look, ruin met my gaze. My heartbeat rose to a jackhammer’s pace as it all began to sink in.

I stepped around to the other side of the glass cases and found Diana on the floor, eyes frozen wide in terror. Putting my fingertips to her throat, I couldn’t find a pulse. I stood back up, determined not to panic.

“Dylan?” I called out, hoping against all hope. Barring a miracle, he could not have survived the destruction that lay all around me. Even so, I tried again. “Dyl? It’s just me. It’s okay to come out.”

I prayed he was hiding from whoever had done this, but I knew better. He was every bit as stubborn as I am, and he would have fought tooth and nail before cowering in the shadows. Still, I looked for my brother.

As I moved carefully toward the office, I shoved my sidearm back into its place and pulled my cell phone from my back pocket and dialed Hugo. He picked up right as I shouldered my way through the jammed office door. Just as I had suspected, Dylan was nowhere in sight.

“Hey. It’s Remi,” I announced as I steadied my ba
lance. He had sounded groggy – no surprise at that hour – but I didn’t apologize. He would know soon enough that I had woken him with good reason.

“I’m at the Dove Creek shop. You and Meredith need to get down here.” Hugo began to ask why, but I spoke over him impatiently. “Just get here as fast as you can.”

He must have recognized the urgency in my voice because he didn’t say anything else before he told me they would be on their way. I was glad because I didn’t have time to explain, and I didn’t want to risk breaking down right then and there.

I had Solomon on speed dial, too, and his was the next number I called. I knew that as soon as reports of an explosion started coming in, the police would be swarming the place in a matter of minutes. I needed Solomon to run interference, at least until we could get what we needed from the scene. Which, from where I stood, didn’t look like it was going to be much.

It only took two rings, and Solomon answered his phone as he always did: “Detective Powell.”

“I need your help, Sol.” Beating around the bush just frustrates him, so I didn’t.

I heard him sigh heavily. “Jesus, Remi. What is it this time? You get arrested again? ‘Cause if you did, I can’t make any promises this—” I cut off his little tirade before he could really hit his stride.

“No! I didn’t get arrested,” I said. There wasn’t time for any further protest, so I cut to
the chase. “Our shop got . . .” I paused, casting around for the right word to get the point across quickly. “Blown up. Dylan’s missing. I don’t know what happened yet. Can you keep the other badges away till we get a handle on things?”

To Solomon’s credit, he catches on quickly, even with scant details. “Yeah, I’ll get on it. You need anything?”

I was caught off guard by the concern in his otherwise professional tone. I hesitated for a second or two, then: “No, I’m okay. Thanks, though.” It was only a white lie; I was all right for the time being. Falling apart wouldn’t help me find Dylan, so I kept my focus. “Hugo and Meredith are on their way . . . Should be here any time.”

“Alright. I’ll make a few calls, then come give y’all a hand,” Solomon said. I could hear the jangle of his keys in the background as he picked them up. It was more than a small comfort to know that I would have help figuring out what happened to my brother.

There was nothing to do for the moment but sit and wait. Ideas and theories danced through my rampant mind, but they all centered around one thought: This was all my fault. I should have protected him, tried harder to keep him away from this part of my life. But it was too late. He was gone, and all I could do was pray that he was alive and try to track him down.

Weak light filtered in from a corner streetlamp and a yellow moon that was just beginning to wane. I had switched off my flashlight, so the expansive room was deep in shadow. Sitting in near darkness, the glow immediately drew my attention toward the breach in the outer walls.

She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Actually, she was the most beautiful
thing
I had ever seen. She was easily three or four inches taller than me, thin and yet she did not appear weak. Her skin was so fair and luminescent that she almost shimmered. Hair that was scarcely a shade darker than her perfect complexion adorned her head in a close-cropped style that was brushed straight back from her forehead, leaving her silvery eyes in open view.

I inexplicably found myself waiting for her to tell me why she was there, and the silence spanned short seconds before she obliged as though she knew exactly what I was thinking. At that point in time, I would not have ruled that out.

Her even, ethereal voice sounded without hesitance. “I am Jescha Arisielle. If you wish to find your brother, you will need my help.”

chapter thirteen

“And mine.”

My father joined the woman who called herself Jescha and I had to stop my mouth from falling open. I was fascinated by her, but it was an even greater shock to see my dad right then.

Before anything else could be said, there was a muffled commotion outside and Alex entered soon after. He didn’t quite bow, but he made a gesture that looked like more than simple respect toward Jescha. Was it deference? Whatever it was, I knew right then that there was even more to her than met the eye.

My head was spinning, trying to catch up with all that was happening. I attempted to seize control.

“Dylan is alive?” I questioned.

“Yes. As of now, he lives,” the silver woman answered.

“Dad, how did you get here? How did you know to . . .
How
?”

“Jescha here.” He nodded his head toward her. “Came to find me. She brought me here.” Though he didn’t say so, I got the feeling that he didn’t mean they hopped a plane then took a cab ride.

“And how did you know to do that? How did you find my dad?” I asked. “He doesn’t even return my calls, much less would I have known where to find him,” I added pointedly.

“It is my sacred duty to know and to keep watch over these events,” she said. “The people you have been hunting are in league with the demons, as you have suspected. This is how they have obtained unnatural abilities. Soon, they will attempt to summon their patron, Apollyon, and bring him into the Mortal Plane.”

“Then why did they take Dylan?”

“To provoke you,” Jescha answered. “You killed two of their own. They know that where you go, the Amasai will follow. They have been commanded to deliver you all like fatted calves to be sacrificed.”

“And they’ll use you to get to me,” my dad added. “I’m the only one left who was around when a Prince was set loose thirty years ago. I’m the one who sent him back to Hell.”

“The two of you are just showing up now, when the shit is hitting the fan? Convenient.” I ground out, angry that we were getting help when it might be too little too late.

There wasn’t time for either of them to answer, as the glow and movement of headlights in the parking lot drew our attention. A few seconds later, Solomon joined us. He spared a cursory glance for Jescha and my father as he came toward me.

“You alright, Remi?” he asked.

“I will be just as soon as we find Dylan,” I told him. “Thanks for coming, Sol. I appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Let’s get the introductions done with. Solomon, this is Jescha and this is my father, John McCoy.”

Sol nodded at the silver woman. “Ma’am.” He then shook hands with my father. “John. Your legend precedes you.”

More lights in the parking lot hailed the arrival of Hugo and Meredith. They both looked shocked and worried as they came in to join us.

“Remi, what happened here?” Hugo asked.

“The Triple Six . . . They’ve taken Dylan. Diana was killed,” I said. I didn’t explain more as I heard my voice crack and struggled to hold myself together.

“We’ll get him back,” Meredith said.

“Your children?” I asked.

“With
my sister,” Hugo answered. “She will keep them safe.”

He turned aside to introduce himself to Jescha and speak with my father. Solomon was talking rapidly into his phone, a lot of police jargon that my over-taxed brain couldn’t decipher. I was only half listening to Hugo as well, unable to focus on anything other than
finding Dylan and stopping this demon, Apollyon, from being set loose to freely roam where he didn’t belong.

Meredith came to my side and linked her arm into mine as a show of
support. Since I was feeling like a lioness locked in a cage, it had a grounding effect on me. I no longer felt the need pace like a beast in a cage.

“We’ll call the others, meet back at headquarters. It’ll take all of us working together, but we’ll stop this,” she told me.

I realized that in all of the hubbub, I had forgotten to call Gabriel.

“Mer
edith,” I said. “Gabriel . . .”

She picked up on what I was trying to say and nodded. “Hugo called him. He’s on his way in.”

Relieved, I thanked her.

Sol hung up his phone and told us that we needed to vacate the building because an ambulance would be coming for Diana and he couldn’t stall any longer. I exited in a daze as I followed the crowd outside. Alex’ footsteps were so masked by the rest of the commotion that I didn’t hear him approach.

“May I?” He asked, indicating the passenger side of the truck.

“Be my guest,” I said, almost glad not to be going alone.

My dad and Jescha were in the back seat of Meredith’s car, and I thought something seemed odd about the ethereal woman being in an automobile.

In silence, we rode to headquarters. Alex didn’t try to reassure me with well-meaning but empty words, and for that I was grateful. His presence was support enough. The few minutes of silence enabled me to think things through and get my head in the right place.

Casey’s Bronco and Jocelyn’s car were in the driveway when we arrived, and Gabe was there to greet us at the door. He gave my shoulder a squeeze and I saw him look toward Meredith’s car as Jescha and my father got out. If he was troubled at seeing my dad, he hid it well. But Gabriel is always good at making tough situations seem like business as usual.

I had to stifle my urge to go running half-cocked after Dylan as we all filtered into the sitting area. At least everyone else seemed to have a sense of urgency, even if it wasn’t as great as mine. Casey caught my eye from across the room but his face was hard to read. I was glad he was there to help
, no matter how uncomfortable things were between us.

Jocelyn looked pale, even with her summer glow. She was blinking back tears and I felt a little selfish
at seeing her in that state. I hadn’t considered that she would be sick about Dylan, too.

Our attention turned to Jescha as she glided to the center of the room. By then, everyone knew why we were there, so she spoke without any ado.

“Amasai, I have come to help you. The Triple Six have grown too powerful and dangerous.”

“So we go kick their evil asses and take my brother back,” I interjected when she paused.

“It is not so simple as that, Remington,” she said. “What happens tonight could affect all of the Mortal Plane.”

“How is that?” Hugo asked.

“I sent a warning some time ago through Alexandros. We now know that the Angels of Hell are renewing their ages-old desire to enter the Mortal Plane as flesh and blood beings. The destruction and devastation they would bring would be insurmountable by all but the highest heavenly powers.”

“How do you know all of this?” I asked. “Who is ‘we’?”

“I am a servant of Heaven. A Guardian,” she replied.

A collective silence followed her answer as we all came to realize not only who but
what
she was.

“Guardian? As in angel?”
I questioned.

“Yes.”

“Who do you guard?”

“You, the Amasai. There once were enough of us for each living person, but many have been lost doing their duty, and the world is more populated than ever.”

I had so many more questions and I was sure I wasn’t the only one, but we couldn’t spend the rest of the night discussing the higher mysteries of the universe. My father seemed to feel the same.

“Remi, I want to save Dylan as bad as you do, but this is bigger than him. It’s far bigger than all of us here.”

“We’ll have to make a plan,” Hugo added. “Quickly. But we must also be smart about this.”

“Where are they?” Gabe asked.

My dad answered, “The old elementary school building.”

“If we go in guns blazin’ they’ll see us comin’ a mile away,” Casey spoke up.

“They’ll be expecting us anyway,” I said. “Why else would they take my brother? They’re baiting us.”

“Or planning to kill him before you can get to him, to hit you where it hurts worst. You did kill two of them,” Gabriel said.

“Then why the hell are we still here, talking in circles?!” My fists clenched at my sides and it took everything I had not to barrel out of the door to make a run at the Triple Six myself.

“Alright. We go, we fan out, and we keep them surrounded,” Gabe proposed. “That’s an old schoolhouse . . . One main entrance at the front, one emergency door on each side. We split up and go in each way.”

“If they see us coming, they’ll kill him,” Jocelyn said, still looking wan and worried.

“No,” Hugo disagreed. “They’re arrogant. All along they have believed themselves to be a step ahead of us and they will believe that still. They’ll wait because they’ll want to flaunt their prize in front of Remi.”

“So that settles it. Let’s get outta here,” I said.

“Wait,” Jescha stopped me with a quiet command. “I told you that
I have come to help. I have come with more for you than advice and guidance.”

I halted where I stood. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t filled with anticipation.

“The Triple Six possess dark powers. You Amasai shall have powers from the Light so that you can stand against them.”

I gaped at the angel, and I wasn’t the only one. She came toward me and extended her hand. Rooted to the spot, I didn’t move and I couldn’t think of anything to say. Jescha placed her open palm over my heart and said some words in a language I didn’t know.
It sounded so ancient and powerful, I doubted many mere mortals had ever heard it spoken.

“To you, Remington Hart, I give infallible aim. See your enemies, vanquish them without faltering.”

There were still no words that would find their way to my muted tongue. I was amazed and awestricken and still taking in what Jescha had just told me.

“Thank you,” I finally managed. It seemed like the only appropriate thing to say.

She nodded once and turned to Hugo. “Leader of the Amasai, there are few with quicker hands.” Jescha placed her hand over his chest as she had done to me. “Quicker you shall now be in both movement and reaction.”

The angel went to Meredith next, giving her the ability to heal wounds with only a touch. Gabriel, she made able to move things with the power of his mind. Jocelyn received a great enhancement to her agility, one Jescha likened to a cat. She gave Casey strength beyond what he already had naturally and made him resistant to pain
and injury. To Garrett, she gave the ability to control electricity and electronics with merely a thought. And Aric was given the ability to be intangible, so that he could fight without being touched.

We were still sorely outmanned, but we were no longer outgunned. My spirits were buoyed by the idea that we could do more than we ever could and we had an angel on our side. I could tell I wasn’t the only one.

I felt a mild buzzing in my brain and a light tingling in my skin as the new power inside of me was stretching out and filling every part of me. I stood still for a moment, taking it in.

“The initial spike in power will pass,” Jescha told me as though, once again, she could tell what I was thinking. “Relax your mind and don’t fight it. Let it flow through you, and embrace the gift.”

I did my best to just take her word for it and work with it. I trusted that she had not done something to me that would overwhelm me.

Everyone was outside when I walked out, including Alex who was loitering on the porch.

“I’m okay,” I answered the question he was about to ask, surprising even myself. “Go wolf-out. Do what you need to do.”

He held my gaze for a moment, then disappeared into the darkness to gather his pack.

My father joined me at Dominic’s –
my
– truck, and asked that we ride together. The others were pairing up and getting into vehicles: Joss with Meredith and Hugo, Garrett and Aric with Casey. Gabriel stood next to the driver’s side of his car and looked at me over the top of it. I gave him a nod as if to say he should go on. My dad and I had plenty to talk about and only a few minutes in which to say it.

“Remi, I want to tell you how proud I am of you. I know that
I wasn’t here to help you when you joined the Amasai, but it was to protect you. You’ve taken on the responsibility and handled it bravely,” my dad said from the passenger seat as soon as I got in and started the truck.

It was the first time in years that I was talking to him one-on-one, and I hated that my attention had to be divided between our conversation and driving.

“I wish there were other reasons for you to be proud of me . . . A fancy new job, or having your grandchildren. But this is it.”

“I wish that, too. People like us make sacrifices, though, so that everyone else can live their lives in peace.”

I pulled the truck into a clearing on the opposite side of the creek from where the closed elementary school stood. As the others parked, I sat in silence for a moment before looking back at my dad. He was right, and I hoped that the sacrifices I had made thus far wouldn’t culminate in the loss of my brother.