Specters: A Monster Squad Novel - 8 (7 page)

It took him a moment to reply but when he spoke, his voice was softer. “You’re right, Laura. Once Dad makes up his mind, he’s gonna do it come hell or high water. Okay, you keep heading toward the house. Me and Crystal are gonna look around the hospital here just to make sure he didn’t get part way, maybe get winded and just sit down to rest or something, okay? If either of us finds out something, we call the other, okay?”

“Agreed. Thanks, D.” Laura snapped her phone shut and slipped it back into her pocket. She continued to drive, panic rising in her heart as she considered the possibilities. If her father lost his mind because of the drug she brought him. Wait, did she just call it a ‘drug’? She laughed mockingly at herself. “I’m losing it.” It was no drug. Evan was right. It’s a curse. And she brought it upon her family herself. She snuck it out of the supply, sealed it in the case, and drove all the way here to give it to her father herself.

Laura slowed the Jeep as tears stung her eyes, trails running down her cheeks. How could she have allowed herself to do such a thing? She
loved
her father. She was a daddy’s girl…and she felt like she’d turned on him. He was ready to give up. He was ready to pass on. To be with her mother in whatever afterlife there was, and she had swooped in with promises of a better way. Live forever, take little black pills to stave off the side-effects. Be strong again. Be healthy. Stay alive so that we can have you around, so that we don’t have to feel guilty for not spending as much time together as we could have when you were alive and healthy.

She swiped at her eyes and had to slow the Jeep even more. The tears were pouring now and she was angry with herself. She brought the curse to her family home. Told her brother secrets that she swore she would never burden any of her family with. She did things that she had sworn she would never do. Had she crossed some unseen line in the sand between good and evil? Had the line between the two always been so blurred?

She took her exit and turned toward her father’s house. She sniffed back the tears and tried to get a hold on herself as she closed the distance. She was a CIA operative at one time. She was the executive officer for the Monster Squad. Now she felt like a lost child trying to deal with the end of the world. Fear was her enemy, and it was winning.

She hit the driveway to her family home and pulled the Jeep slowly up, her eyes looking for any sign that her dad had been through there. Surely he couldn’t have gotten this far? He had to still be back at the hospital somewhere. Maybe he stopped for a soda or something? She glanced in the rear view mirror and cringed. While she was here, she could at least try to freshen up. She didn’t want to look like this when she finally did find him.

She parked the Jeep and went inside. She hit the bathroom first and splashed cold water on her face, praying the coolness would reduce the redness and swelling around her eyes. She looked up into the mirror and shook her head. “You look like shit, Youngblood.”

She dried her face and stepped out of the bathroom, intent on grabbing a juice before hitting the road again. As she stepped into the kitchen her father stood in front of the sink sipping a cup of coffee. “About time you got home.”

Laura froze, her mouth open. “How did you get here so fast?”

He gave her a questioning look. “I took a cab. How else?” He held out a mug to her. “Coffee?”

Laura all but collapsed in the chair at the counter. “Dad, we need to talk.”

*****

Kalen sat in the darkness, his eyes watching the light under his door. He watched a shadow pass by and pause. It appeared to him that it came closer to his door for just a moment then disappear entirely. He strained his ears and heard Brooke’s door close. He let out the breath he was holding and lay back on his bunk. His mind tried not to think of her, of what happened in the shower. He tried not to think of the ‘experience’ that he had.

He tried not to wonder if she may have experienced the same thing. He couldn’t explain it. It wasn’t a dream this time. Both of them had been awake. Tired, battle worn, and possibly exhausted, but not asleep. How could they share a dream if they weren’t sleeping?

He turned and faced the wall they shared. His hand rose instinctively and he pressed his palm flat to the wall. “I wish I could feel you,” his voice a whisper in the dark, but his heart stretched out, through the cinder block wall and touched her. She could feel his presence near her.

Raven lay on her cot, her face toward the block wall they shared, her palm pressed flat against the cold cement. “What is this hold you have over me, elf?” She pressed harder and wished she could feel his touch when
something
washed over her. She closed her eyes and felt his warmth envelope her. She groaned in the darkness and felt a familiar ache in her chest.

Her mind screamed ‘no’ but her body and her heart screamed ‘YES’! She lowered her head and chewed at her lower lip. How could anybody have such a hold on her? It wasn’t possible. Her heart was dead…she knew it was. She’d sworn that she’d never feel anything for anybody ever again.

When her brother suddenly appeared again and wanted back in her life, the part of her that wanted to wrap her arms around him and smother him in hugs was quickly quelled by the part that swore she’d never allow herself to feel again. Neither man nor beast would win her emotions again, ever. Like the Raven, she would go from here to there and think of nobody but herself. A black clad messenger of death.

But now, here she sat, her heart and body rebelling against her over a blue eyed, white haired, golden skinned warrior. She sighed again as she thought of him lying on just the other side of the wall. She smiled as she recalled the… ‘vision’ she’d had in the shower. His taught abs and strong chest more than caught her attention. She remembered how they
felt
under her wet, soapy hands. She caught herself moaning slightly as she remembered his kiss. The taste of his blood when she bit his lip. How he grabbed her ass and squeezed it so—

She sat up suddenly, her breath caught in her throat, her eyes wide in the darkness. “What am I doing?” She stood and paced the tiny room that she called her own. “This is insane. That couldn’t have happened. It couldn’t have. It was a…a…a dream.” She swallowed hard and turned to the door.

Before she realized what she was doing, she was pounding on Kalen’s door. “Open up, you pointy eared devil!”

Kalen pulled the door open and shielded his eyes from the bright lights of the hallway. “Is something wrong?”

Brooke pushed her way into his room and began jabbing him in the chest with her finger. “How
dare
you! You used some kind of elf magic to…to…mess with my head again, didn’t you?”

Kalen was pressed back against the far wall, her finger continuing to jab into his flesh. “I didn’t. I swear.”

“Yes, you did. I know you did.” Her features suddenly changed in the low light of his room. Her eyes began to tear as her voice quivered. “Please tell me you did something to me.”

Kalen shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t.” He slowly reached up and took her hand from his chest. He raised it to his mouth and she watched with anticipation as he kissed her fingertip. “I would do nothing without your consent.”

He watched as her lower lip began to quiver and a tear flowed from her eye. “This can’t be happening…”

He pulled her into a soft embrace and rubbed her back through the silk gown she wore. “Whatever is happening, it’s happening to us both.” He leaned his face close to her ear and whispered, “But I’m glad that if it must happen, it is you.”

She raised her face to stare at him. “Why me?”

Kalen smiled and she felt something stir inside that could only be described as two puppies fighting over a feather pillow. “Why not you? You are the most beautiful, most intriguing woman I’ve ever met. You are a ferocious warrior and a master thief.”

She felt something melt inside and she slowly smiled at him. “Wait…master thief?”

Kalen nodded. “You stole my heart.” He leaned in and ever so gently kissed the corner of her mouth. He felt her fangs flick down into place and her eyes shot wide. Her hand came up to cover her mouth but he held it back. “Don’t, they suit you.”

He kissed her again, harder than the first time and ran his tongue across her fangs. He felt her shudder and she leaned into him. When finally they parted her eyes were as glazed as they were when she stepped out of the shower. She looked up to him and Kalen felt as though his heart would rip from his chest. “Shall we make the vision a reality?”

Kalen nodded. “I thought you’d never ask.”

*****

Samael kept constant vigil over Lilith as she slept. Even though Azazel healed her body, her mind still needed rest. The angel took flight twice to find a suitable place for the pair to respite. He found a hunting cabin deep within the woods that he felt was far enough away from others that it was unlikely they would be discovered. He took her there and got her settled on the old bed, covered her in handmade quilts and worked diligently at preparing food for her once she awoke.

Now he sat in the shadows, the light from the fire casting strange orange glows across the cabin as she slumbered. He tried to think of anything else, but the glow of the fire reminded him of the torture pits of Hell. He remembered the numerous ways that the Fallen and the demons had dreamt up to torture the lost souls sent there. Of all of the tortures, he felt the total loss of hope was more torture than any should have to endure. To be anywhere where God’s presence wasn’t…was intolerable to most souls. It made them go mad. Some eventually became so twisted that they searched out the torture. They helped to dream up new and even more inventive ways to inflict pain.

Samael shook his head forlornly and stared at her form on the bed, breathing softly in the corner of the cabin. He had paid a hefty price once for her. He would gladly do it again. He would do whatever it took to keep her away from his brothers. If it meant surrendering himself to them to take her place, so be it.

Lilith stirred and groaned. Samael was on his feet and by her side before she could open her eyes. “Tell me how you are.” His hand grasped hers and squeezed gently.

Her eyes fluttered open and she glanced about the room. “Where are we?”

“Safe. For now. How do you feel?”

She sat up and placed her feet on the floor. “I’m okay. A little shaky.” She touched her head with her hand and tried to replay the last memories she had. “The room…” She turned questioning eyes to him.

Samael growled and turned his gaze from her. “The vampire turned against us. His people attacked. They brought explosives.”

Lilith stood suddenly and glanced about. “My demons!”

Samael patted her hand, calming her. “They are fine. They are collecting new bodies as we speak.”

“And the devices?” She sat slowly, her eyes searching his features.

“We lost a good portion, I do not know exactly how many yet.” He groaned as he sat beside the bed. “Not all of the shipments were sent out before they struck.”

Lilith ground her teeth in frustration. “How many shipments were sent out safely?”

“Two.” He lowered his head, avoiding her gaze. “One was headed for Europe.”

“Oh no, no, no…” She stood and began pacing. “We have barely a third of what we started with. Can we make more?”

“I do not think there is time. Nor do we have the supplies.” He stood and had to bend his head to keep from brushing it across the ceiling.

“The vampire’s people took them?” She scowled as she stared out the window.

“Yes, my queen. The ones not destroyed or damaged were taken by them, I am certain.”

She squared her shoulders and an evil smile crossed her features. “Then we will just have to take them back.”

*****

Agent Bob Stevens rushed through his small apartment scooping up anything that he thought may be of value to him. He shoved it into duffle bags and set them by the door. He fell into the chair behind his computer and began copying files to a thumb drive. When he was done, he pulled the USB and slipped it into his pocket. He then started a worm and put his computer to sleep. If anybody other than him tried to access his computer either locally or remotely, the worm would be deployed. Once deployed, the worm would physically destroy his hard drive, and if activated remotely, it would infect the user’s computer and destroy it as well. Heaven forbid that person be connected to a network when he tried to hack his computer. The whole thing would go down before anybody could isolate and stop it.

Bob stepped toward the door and took one last look at his place. Odds were good that he’d never be returning here. He glanced through the shades of his window and once he was satisfied that nobody was watching him, he grabbed his duffle bags and slipped out the door.

Bob shoved both bags into the back of his car and shut the trunk. He went around to the front of the non-descript sedan and climbed in. He started the car and pulled it from the parking garage of his apartment building. He glanced down the street and headed for the interstate. It was a long drive from Virginia to Oklahoma, but he intended to load up on coffee and energy drinks and make it a non-stop journey. Other than filling the Crown Vic’s tank and emptying his bladder, he hoped to be at Tinker Air Force Base about the same time he was supposed to report to Ingram’s surveillance team.