Protect Her: Part 11 Page 2

  I lifted my chin. “I’ve seen evil in the world. You forget who I was and what I went through before I came to Calamata Island. I’ve seen the darkness and the world’s dark underbelly. I know the lengths that men will go to achieve and hold onto their deepest, darkest desires. That is why I know Riley isn’t like them. He’s confused. Lost. And right now, he’s alone.”

  “Not alone,” Benjamin said ruefully. A folder appeared in his hand. He dropped it onto the bed. “I have my sources even as you have yours. I think you’ll find this bit of information…illuminating.”

  He moved toward me, and I stepped aside from the open door. He stopped as he reached the threshold and turned his cheek over his shoulder. “This is bigger than Riley, Paige, and I think you know that. This is about saving lives. I need your help. I know the feeling isn’t mutual, but I trust you more than I trust anyone on this sorry plane of existence. We can help each other. Think about what I’ve said. Don’t hide what you know from me.”

  I blinked, and he was gone. I jumped when Viho emerged from the other side of the door. I could tell by the look on his face that he had overheard at least a portion of the conversation.

  “You keep powerful company,” he said, but his tone of voice told me that he was less than impressed.

  “I can’t afford to let him get in the way,” I said as I stormed to the bed. I stared down at the folder that sat there. It wasn’t thick, but I knew that what I’d find inside was going to upset me. “You heard what he said? That Riley isn’t working alone?”

  Viho nodded. He motioned toward the door, and I gestured for him to come inside. It was nice to know at least some people in the world still had manners. He closed the door behind him and sat down in a chair at the small table under the room’s window that looked over the front of the motel.

  I picked up the folder and moved to the table. I sat across from him as I set the folder down between us. “He said he’s helping us, but he’s really just helping himself.”

  “The archangels have survived for a millennia by being crafty and playing dangerous games of politics to jockey for their position in Heaven’s hierarchy. No one played the game better than Benjamin,” Viho said. “I was their prisoner for twenty-eight years. I listened to the rumors. I watched the inner workings of those that led them all. You think demons are scary in their conniving. Very few have the same talents as the archangels.”

  “That doesn’t make me feel any better,” I said with a heavy sigh. I leaned back in my chair. I wasn’t ready to open the folder yet.

  “May I?” Viho asked, pointing at it.

  “Be my guest,” I said.

  Viho slid the folder closer to him and flipped the cover open. I saw there were pictures inside, but I averted my gaze and let Viho flip through them. A few minutes of silence later, and he closed the folder again.

  “So?” I asked. Viho’s face was pale. I sat up straighter alarmed. “What is it?”

  “What do you know of the demon official hierarchy?” Viho asked.

  I wrinkled my nose. “Not much. Bruno Proctor was as bad as they came, and he was second only to Lucifer. I’m not sure who else would compare.”

  Viho slid the folder over to me. “I think you need to look at this.”

  I steeled myself as I opened it. The face that stared back at me wasn’t the one I expected, and a bubble of laughter escaped my lips. I saw Viho’s incredulous look. I wheezed as I felt the air trying to escape from my lungs. “Oh, it’s not funny. Not funny at all. But, I mean, the irony, right?”

  Bruno Proctor’s face stared back at me. Standing beside Riley. In front of hundreds of faces that burned with blood red eyes.

  CHAPTER THREE – PAIGE

  So that was that. Somehow, Riley had raised Bruno from the dead. Why would remain a mystery, but the images were burned into my brain. Riley was amassing an army of demons. That was another mystery. No wonder he hadn’t gone straight to Calamata Island. He had been too busy recruiting.

  I had the van going as fast as I dared. Getting to Alice as quickly as possible seemed to be imperative. She was in danger, and although I hated admitting it, the rest of us were as well. It wasn’t just Riley’s loved ones. It was the whole world. If he set those demons loose on innocent people, it would be a genocide of epic proportions.

  “I still can’t believe it.” The words were whispered, but I saw Viho turn toward me once again.

  “He’s not himself. You know that. If he was looking for allies, this kind of thing shouldn’t surprise us,” Viho said.

  “Allies with Bruno Proctor? Talk about making a deal with the devil,” I said.

  “If he conjured him from the dead, then he has complete control over him,” Viho said. “And Bruno was well-connected and had a legion loyal to him alone. That would make him valuable for whatever Riley is planning.”

  “What exactly do we think that is again?” Klein asked. He had taken a break from the computer. He looked green, and I knew that despite his big talk, looking at endless blood and gore wasn’t something he was used to. He was hanging in there nonetheless.

  “He said that he was going after Adam,” Viho said. “But it could be that he has decided to take on Lucifer for Hell. Or even something as mad as trying to take over Heaven.”

  “Why would he do that?” I asked. “If he wanted revenge, he’d go after Adam.”

  “Power corrupts,” Viho said as if that was the explanation for everything. “I have little doubt that is how it all started. How the darkness whispered to him and seduced him to begin with, but now that it’s taking hold inside of him, he would turn to much bigger plans.”

  “This isn’t Riley at all,” I said shaking my head. “He’s had the vengeance bloodlust. But to do this is insanity.”

  “I didn’t think to check missing persons reports at the places we know he’s been in the last week,” Klein said. “But the number has spiked exponentially after each of the inciting events. I think it’s safe to say that he’s been collecting recruits practically since he started.”

  The idea that Riley was intentionally putting demons in human hosts was revolting. “He knows there is a mystery plague going around affecting demons. Implanting them in human hosts would ensure that they lived longer.”

  “What do we know of that?” Viho asked. He had been intrigued by the whole thing since the first time I had off-handedly mentioned it. He had me combing through every moment I had spent with Riley looking for clues as to where he had gone.

  The lights of Kansas City burned brightly ahead of us. We were only twenty minutes from Alice’s doorstep. It was a place where Alice had taken in lost and damaged souls and tried to help them over the years. I wondered if it would be safe for anyone there anymore.

  The change of topic was welcome. I didn’t want to focus on all of the bad things that Riley had been up to any more than I had to. “Not a lot. When Bruno captured me and was holding me prisoner, he said that I had special healing abilities. He had two of his best soldiers implanted in Gabrielle and Joanna. He was going to have me try to heal them.”

  “Let’s hold that thought for a bit. Focus on the virus.”

  “He didn’t call it a virus,” I said. “He said it was a plague that affected demons only. The first case was a few years ago. An otherwise healthy and normal demon dropped dead. It was in its natural form. They figured out pretty quickly that if they put their essence in a human host after the symptoms developed, the impact was significantly slowed. It’s not like there are doctors for demons, ya know. Bruno seemed as mystified as anyone else.”

  “So a disease that strikes demons was something that he thought an instrument of the light could heal. Intriguing,” Viho said.

  “I hadn’t thought about it that way,” I said.

  “Instrument of the light. That makes you sound like some kind of superhero,” Klein said. “I think I might write a book about all of this. I’d probably make a million dollars.”

  I knew that humor was Klein’s d
efense mechanism when he was scared or overwhelmed. I understood the feeling. But I couldn’t just escape into sarcasm and stand idly by as the world seemed to be collapsing around me. I needed to do something.

  “It’s time to examine everything we think we know and build it back up again,” Viho said. “The rules as we know them don’t seem to apply anymore. By all indications, you should have been dead forever, Paige. Riley banished Bruno Proctor to the ether, and yet apparently has been able to call him back into his service. Demons, a hearty and difficult foe to kill, are dying through a mysterious means that no one understands.”

  “If we don’t know the rules, it’s going to be pretty damn hard to play the game,” Klein said, stating the obvious.

  “We’re going to have to figure them out and fast,” I said. Now that we were in the city proper, it felt as if there were a thousand eyes on us. I didn’t see anyone in the streets. It was four o’clock in the morning, but there should have been some signs of life in the streets. “I feel like we’re being watched.”

  “No doubt we are,” Viho said. “Klein, perhaps you’d be good enough to select some of the more impactful weapons at our disposal.”

  “Do you think he’s here already?” I said tightly. This wasn’t even close to the kind of reunion that I had planned with Riley. I thought that we would find him alone and confused, not leading an army from Hell with Bruno Proctor at his side.

  “Even if he is not, I am certain that he has eyes and ears on the convent,” Viho said. “Which was another reason that I was reluctant to come here. On the off chance that he wasn’t headed here already, our presence will draw him out. That’s what your archangel is counting on.”

  “He’s not my archangel,” I said heatedly. “We should have called ahead.”

  “Hi, Alice. Remember me? You might have heard that I died, but I didn’t. And oh, by the way, your son’s a fully fledged dark angel, and your dead husband is also alive. Any thoughts on how to fix this mess?” Klein mimicked in a high-pitched voice.

  “Okay, so maybe not a conversation for the telephone,” I said. I stopped the van as soon as I saw we were only a few blocks away. My skin felt prickly. There was something afoot, but I couldn’t see anything around us that was amiss. “I don’t feel so great about this plan anymore.”

  “You are still sensitive despite your lack of magic,” Viho said studying me. “That is interesting, as well.”

  “Something to explore another day,” I said as I stood up and made my way back past Klein. I looked over the myriad of options of weapons available to me. I grabbed several knives that I knew were made out of Plythen steel and stuck them into my belt. It had been a few years since I’d used a crossbow, but I decided that stealth would be a better option than a gun.

  “So you still have magic?” The question was for Viho. Although he didn’t speak of it, I knew that he had some kind of abilities that he’d be able to use if push came to shove. He and Alice were both imbued with supernatural abilities. That was where Riley had gotten his, after all.

  “I do, but I prefer not to use any of it unless necessary,” Viho said. “My strength isn’t what it used to be, and I have always been more comfortable with a sword at my side anyway.”

  He was being modest. His tribe had sent him out into the world to kill demons when he was only eighteen. He was given a quota to fill before he could return, if he didn’t die first. Even though Viho was now in his fifties, he carried himself with a dangerous edge that couldn’t be missed.

  Klein started to load himself up with several different kinds of guns. It didn’t surprise me. Klein preferred to keep the action at a distance, not that I necessarily blamed him. I looked over our meager army of three and shrugged. It was the best we were going to do.

  “I think we should leave the van here,” I said. “If we can get to the convent on foot, then we might be able to stay out of sight of anyone who’s watching.”

  “Walking up to the front door is still going to be pretty conspicuous,” Klein said.

  I pointed at the GPS. There was a large gray area that covered the block in front of us directly between where we were and the convent. “So let’s hope they aren’t keeping an eye on the back door. We’ll go through the cemetery.”

  Klein’s eyes widened. “That seems like a really bad idea.”

  I knew what he was thinking. Cemeteries were Riley’s domain. If he was anywhere close by, he might seek refuge there. I wanted to see him so badly, but I was terrified of what I would find when I did. Benjamin and Viho had done quite a number on me, taking away my confidence that I could turn back the tide of Riley’s darkness. Knowing that Bruno was back in the mix was another thing that gave me great pause.

  “It’s a chance we have to take,” I said to his unspoken question. “We can’t announce our arrival, and it is the butt crack of dawn. Let’s try to keep things on the down low.”

  I heard Klein mumbling under his breath as I slid the door to the van open. It was time for us to get on with doing what we had come to do. I just hoped that I knew what I was doing.

  I jumped gently down the ground and winced at the crunch of my boots as they hit the asphalt of the street. It felt good to stand up straight, though. It felt as if I had been in the van for years. It was quickly becoming my second home, and there wasn’t a thing that I liked about that idea.

  I moved out of the way as Viho and Klein climbed down. I turned to them, and it struck me that despite the fact that Viho had been the leader of his tribe and had thirty years on me, even he was looking at me expectantly. Somewhere along the way, I had become the ringleader. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. When I was on my own, I was barely able to take care of myself much less consider looking after anyone else. But now they expected me to lead them out into the night and possibly into a confrontation with the man I loved.

  Gulping in a deep breath, I tried to calm my nerves. I could do this. It was simple strategy. “So we’re going to stay close together. Keep your eyes open for anything suspicious. We’ll go straight through the gate and up over the hill. The church is on the other side. If anything happens, run like hell for the convent. Don’t wait for anyone else. Keep yourself safe.”

  “We’re sticking together,” Viho said gruffly. “If one of us is attacked, we will stand together.”

  “One of us has to reach Alice and tell her what’s happening,” I said. “Let’s go.” I hoped to God that we weren’t walking into a trap.

  We walked on the sidewalk down the silent street. I was going to remark how quiet it was, but I didn’t want to be the one to disturb the silence. It was eerie and unnatural. There was something wrong. As we approached the cemetery gates, I thought about how much it reminded me of one of the cemeteries on Calamata Island. I had spent hours exploring every one of them. I knew more about cemeteries than I’d ever care to admit. They weren’t just Riley’s domain.

  As we approached the gates, I could see they were open. I stopped in my tracks.

  “What is it?” Klein asked.

  “We need to go around,” I said, pivoting on my heel. I was calculating like mad in my head wondering if we’d be able to make it back to the van in time. “Hurry up.”

  “Why do we need to go around?” Klein asked.

  “It’s a trap,” I said under my breath as I quickly crossed to the other side of the street. “The gates should be closed and under lock and key at this time of night. They were standing wide open.”

  “Maybe they forgot to lock them,” Klein said.

  That was just before a shadow detached itself from the wall in front of us and blocked our path. I had the knife up and heard Viho draw his sword. The figure’s eyes blazed a blood red, but it was impossible to make out any of the rest of its features.

  “Typhon demon,” Viho said in a low voice.

  “I’m aware of that,” I said. This wasn’t the first Typhon demon I had ever encountered. Plythen steel would do the trick, and I held up my knife, so it shone in t
he moonlight. “Let us pass.” It brought back a vivid memory of Riley doing the same thing the night that we met. He had used his knife to send the demon that bit me packing.

  “Uh, Paige?” Klein said. His voice carried a note of fear.

  “Yeah, Klein,” I said. I didn’t take my eyes off the demon in front of me.

  “Over there. To your right.”

  I didn’t need to look to know that there was a circle of demons closing around us. “We can’t let them take us,” I said tersely. “Are you ready?” I felt the bands of fear tightening around my chest.

  “Always.” Viho didn’t sound concerned. I needed some of the old man’s confidence.

  I let the knife in my hand fling free and heard the roar of the demon as it struck true between its eyes. Then everything seemed to go silent in my mind as the world around me exploded.

  CHAPTER FOUR – PAIGE

  I don’t know how I made it. Somewhere along the way, I had lost track of Viho and Klein. I hoped they were okay. I did the only thing I could think of, and that was move forward. The crossbow’s aim stayed true as I fought for my life through the bodies of more demons that I could count.

  Magic would have come in handy. Viho had unleashed several balls of fire that cleared the path in front of me when it seemed certain that I was about to be overwhelmed. The fire had been balefire. It was forbidden magic. But it was useful, and I had no idea that a human being would be able to wield it. It was supposed to be reserved only for the archangels, and I assumed that was where he had learned it.

  At one point, Klein fell under a mass of demons, and Viho had gone to his aid. I had turned to help, but he yelled at me to go on. Although he had said to stay together, his haggard look brokered no argument. With the demons distracted, I did what he said. I ran.