Ivory Guard

by Natalie Herzer

  “Raziel, how nice of you to come so quickly.”

  As if he had much of a choice. If he hadn’t answered the heavenly call, the ringing in his ears would have increased in volume with every passing minute. Saying that it could be rather annoying was an understatement; that stuff made your ears bleed, literally.

  Raz only gave a sharp nod with his head in way of greeting. “Micah.”

  The angel sat again, leaning back into his chair and relaxing into that buddy-buddy pose superiors liked to assume to make their employees feel safe although they weren’t. Raz didn’t know whether to feel insulted at such failing, and obvious, subtlety or laugh.

  “Everything going as planned with the Ivory in Montana?”

  “Yeah, we’ll be heading for the safe house in an hour actually.”

  “Oh good, good. That’s why I summoned you. Sariel had some troubles in Washington and they lost theirs. Seems the Ebonys are hot on our tails this time. We’ll try to shut them down, but be careful you two. Okay?”

  “Sure.”

  Another false smile. “Great.”

  Knowing when he was dismissed Raz nodded and got the hell out of heaven. The moment his feet touched ground, the pain hit him like a sledgehammer. Amber.

  After one last glance at it, Lillian folded the letter and placed it on her bedspread together with a small, gift-wrapped box. It held the lighter she had bought for her Dad’s birthday.

  A glance at her wristwatch told her that it was nearly time for the angels to pick her up. Twelve minutes.

  With a nervous sigh Lillian sat down on her bed and looked around her room. It held so much, and yet not. There were traces from the little girl she had been; the old clown, his colors faded with time, that she had shared her bed with as long as she could remember. The pink wall paint her small self had loved so much had changed with the years and been replaced by a light, bluish violet. The hard core pubertal phase had left her walls covered in posters and books, fortunately only the books remained. Some of them, those her parents had read to her when she was a child, were boxed and stored in the attic. ‘For your own kids’, her mother had once said. The memory stabbed her heart and hammered home that her parents had hoped for her to have a normal life. God, kids. She was eighteen years old and hadn’t thought of having a family just yet. Only had a vague idea of it and even that had been taken away from her. Now that, too, had to go into the box of forgotten dreams Lillian had put in the absolutely farthest corner in the back of her mind.

  Somewhere in the house a wooden plank creaked. Usually Lillian would have thought nothing of it but then a shiver, like cold fingers playing on her vertebrae, ran up her back and she was alert, her senses stretching out. Her ears strained to hear anything but her suddenly racing heart, and her body was ready to move. To pounce. She had never felt so alert…or stupid. Inwardly she shook her head at herself. Those angels and all their talk about fighting and training had really gotten to her.

  Another creaking sound. Shit. She wasn’t imagining things, someone was in the house. Downstairs. Somehow she knew it wasn’t the angels.

  Then her mother screamed.

  In a heartbeat Lillian was up from her bed and running down the stairs, towards her parents’ bedroom. Her heart stopped as she saw two creatures that her eyes couldn’t even begin to understand holding her parents. What she noticed was their brown and red scaly skin and the horn-covered arms that wrapped around her parents’ necks. Her mother was crying and bleeding from a corner of her mouth and her father was wide-eyed with shock.

  Her mind stopped working, her body froze.

  “Well, hello there.”

  It took Lillian a moment to rip her gaze away from her parents and to focus on the owner of the voice talking to her. Turning she took in the man standing in the hallway that led into their living room. He was nothing like the other two creatures. Only a few years older than Lillian, clad in black jeans and shirt, the guy was dark heat, sex and ruggedness wrapped in one tall, ripped package. With his tainting aura of evil as the black bow on top of it.

  “Thanks for being so cooperative.” A wicked gleam entered those mesmerizing eyes of his. Though the color of honey, they seemed unnaturally lightened from within him. And they made her want to run. “Though I have to admit I had hoped for a little cat and mouse.”

  The sudden fear flooding her, had her heart galloping in her chest and replaced the numbness that had had kept her mind from working. It wasn’t crippling but a healthy shock to her system. She still wanted to run, but not without her mother and father.

  “Let my parents go.”

  “Now where would be the fun in that?”

  Right. Where indeed? “Who are you? What do you want?”

  He tsked, “No names, sweetheart. Don’t want to give power where it isn’t properly appreciated.” Hands in the pockets of his jeans he approached her, a predator enjoying playing with his prey. “Given your reaction, namely not running away screaming, I take it the angels already clued you in. Well, in their oh-so mysterious half-assed way that is.”

  Out of the corner of her eye Lillian gazed around her. Besides the two creatures…demons, she amended, still restraining her parents there were two more of them, slowly approaching her from the sides. One small step at a time. Damn it. She had to find a way out of this, and fast. The angels, she suddenly thought. How much time had passed? It seemed like forever and yet it might have been only seconds. Would they pop in at any moment now? She couldn’t risk betting on it. Amber had come to her when she had called. Out loud. But would it work if she called for the angels in her mind? Only one way to find out.

  Amber! Raz! Demons in my house. Holding my parents. Goddamn it, this better works. Amber!

  Laughing coldly he continued, “By the devil, they never change. How many Ivorys do they have to lose before they give up their do-goody policy of letting you guys say good bye? Gives us even more time to find you… ” A smile curved one corner of his mouth, “…and kill you.”

  Lillian’s mind was racing as she realized the angels probably hadn’t heard her and tried to come up with a way to stall. What could she say? What could she use as a weapon? What would be a weapon against demons? Holy water? Inwardly she kicked herself. Even if it worked, she was a little short on that. Crosses? The same applied here. Not really religious folks her parents. She hoped she could find the time later to laugh at the irony in that.

  Her gaze darted around. And she forced it not to linger on the keys lying innocently in the bowl on the cupboard which was just a few steps away from her. Her heart thumped in her chest as another burst of adrenaline rushed through her. Lillian remembered her mother telling her to have her keys in her fist - flat against her palm with two key heads slightly showing on each side of her middle finger - whenever she was wandering around alone at night. It was a good weapon, better than nothing at all. A little more to the left and she could grab them. She was still amazed that she wasn’t panicking at the reality of being slowly surrounded by demons.

  “So you see, it’s really not my fault. They practically hand you on a silver platter. It would be incredibly rude of me to refuse that… offering.” The sexy demon’s eyes really started to flicker eerily, as if flames crackled behind them. Maybe there were. “Any last words?”

  Trying to seem scared – which really wasn’t hard – and acting as if she was backing away from him, Lillian had crept closer to the cupboard. “Actually, yeah…” In a swift movement she grabbed the keys and screamed at the top of her lungs, “Amber!”

  The demons jumped her.

  Instinctively she ducked away from the demon charging her from the left and struck out at the lower regions of the one coming from the right. He howled in pain, and chaos broke out as her parents fought against the distracted creatures holding them. She heard laughter ring out but couldn’t pay any heed to it. Her next punch didn’t get far since the first demon managed to wrap his arms around her, his grip as unyielding as a vise. Her ribs screamed in
protest and she cried out with pain. The set of keys fell out of her hand and to the floor in a hard, clanking sound. Where was the sexy evil demon? Were her parents…

  Before she could even finish the thought the other demon hit her face and it was like a bell going off in her head. Very loud. Maybe she was out of it for a second there. Then the pain hit her as she tasted her own blood in her mouth. Another blow, and her eye felt as if it had busted. The pain was killing her.

  A flash of white. Whether in her head or in the room, she couldn’t say.

  Her head not quite obeying her to stay straight on her shoulders, Lillian tried to bring the demon punching her back into focus. What she saw next would be branded into her memory forever.

  Amber, a blinding angel of light and fury and breathtakingly beautiful, cleared the demons head of his shoulders with a sword at the same time as a blackness came out her chest, piercing her heart.

  The smell of sulfur exploded around the room and the demon’s black blood spattered out of his neck. Stinking and mocking fireworks going off while Amber looked down at herself, disbelief in her eyes. Then she looked at Lillian, her stunned expression turning into one of regret.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Utter fear and terror filled Lillian as she felt the angel vanish, as she saw Amber’s body fall to the hard floor, the rustle of wings deafening in the silence of her mind. The angel’s eyes became vacant. Dull. “Noooo!”

  Evil laughter rang out and made Lillian’s head snap up.

  Sexy demon stood in front of her, a blade of some kind in his hand. It moved and reminded her of shadows. The blackest shadows she had ever seen. Looking at them she realized the blade was writhing, and it made her wonder whether it wasn’t alive somehow. She couldn’t take her eyes of it. Whatever it was held power and darkness. A darkness that made her want to cry…made her want to die.

  “Today seems to be my lucky day. An Ivory, plus an angel.”

  Finally ripping her gaze away from the blade Lillian straightened as much as she could while still being restrained, and spat at the demon. It felt incredibly satisfying, seeing the mix of saliva and blood running down his cheek. Especially since he didn’t seem too happy about it. She wouldn’t go down cowering.

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

  Lillian closed her eyes as that deep timbre of a voice rushed through her and with it a wave of relief and hope.

  Raz.

  She would never have thought she’d be so damn happy to see the disagreeable, sarcastic angel. This might not be her end after all.

  Another flash of light blinded her. After blinking her eyes until she could see a little again, she noticed that she wasn’t restrained anymore. Her mother and father came rushing to her, hugging her with nearly as much strength as the demon before. But this time she didn’t mind it at all.

  “Baby, are you okay? Oh God, what did that thing do to your face.”

  “I’m okay. I’m okay.” She drew away, to look at her parents. Some bruises, nothing that wouldn’t heal. Then she looked about the room.

  Black blood and yellow dust covered the wooden floor. No demons remained. Then there was Raz. The angel’s face, arms and chest were covered in black splashes. Demon blood.

  “One got away.”

  His eyes were dark and fierce. He looked magnificent, like a warrior of old. Lillian almost shook her head at those ridiculous thoughts considering the circumstances. Even more so when her gaze fell upon Amber.

  She fell on her knees and scooted towards the angel. The angel couldn’t be dead. How could the angel be dead? They weren’t supposed to die!

  “We have to act fast,” she heard Raz say but didn’t really care. “Lillian. Lillian!”

  Moments ago everything had been so clear in her head. Now it all tumbled into a mess she had no idea how to get out of. She was numb and yet not. Then someone clasped her shoulders and hauled her up to her feet. When she found herself staring into Raz’s fierce, gray eyes she said dazed, “She’s an angel. She can’t be dead.”

  “She can and she is.”

  Suddenly bright red flames started to dance upon the black blood and ate away what was left of the demons, and before it could even fully register Amber’s dead body dissolved into a cloud of foggy light, leaving only the fresh scent of rain behind. Was it heaven crying for the one they lost?

  Still holding her up, Raz addressed her parents. “Change your clothes. Take only the stuff you need. Keep it to a minimum. Burn down the house, with all the bloodied clothes inside! And then get the hell away from here. Ditch the car as soon as you can. Get a new one. Start over somewhere else. Understood?”

  Lillian’s father nodded but asked, “What about Lillian?”

  “As planned. Don’t worry.” Without another word Raz grabbed Lillian’s hand and pulled her up the stairs, heading for her bedroom. “Ah, good, you’ve already packed. Take what you need and then let’s get out of here.”

  Lillian nodded and moved towards her bed, her movements automatic. Her head was slow and couldn’t keep up with what was happening. Her gaze fell on the letter and gift-wrapped box on the bedspread. It was another punch to the gut. A lifetime had passed since she had put them there. As she reached out she noticed her trembling hands. Black blood was drying on her skin. Demon blood was drying on her hands. She drew away.

  Feeling Raz’s eyes on her, she clenched her jaw and only grabbed her bag before walking out of her room without turning around. “Let’s go out the back.”

  FOUR

  They had gone out the back without saying goodbye and driven off in her mother’s car.

  But before getting into the car Raz had gone back inside. He had watched Lillian in her room, and he had seen the letter and gift she had put on her bed. Probably when she had been waiting on Amber and him to pick her up. He had seen the anguish inside of her. She wasn’t the only, and definitely wouldn’t be the last, Ivory to be attacked by demons and to have to leave behind everything she had known. She should be lucky she and her parents had survived actually. Others hadn’t fared as well. And yet he hadn’t liked seeing her so torn up. Without really realizing what he was doing he had told her something about having forgotten the keys and had gone back inside and let her parents know what their daughter had left for them before they burned down the house.

  He and the girl had been on the road for nearly three hours now and he still wasn’t sure why he had done it. His duty was to pick her up, get her the training she needed and let life take its course. Nothing more and nothing less.

  Raz glanced at the girl beside him, sitting absolutely motionless and still, silently looking out the window. For a moment he wondered whether she even noticed the gradual changes in scenery despite the darkness surrounding them. The rough mountainous horizon slowly turning into softer slopes. They had taken the back roads and though he hadn’t exactly driven in a straight line it was clear enough that they were soon leaving Montana behind them. She hadn’t asked a single question as to where they were going like he knew humans normally would do. When a sign came up announcing a big supermarket he gladly pushed those thoughts away. He needed to concentrate on the girl and the task at hand. Nothing more. And he had some grocery shopping to do.

  Following the indications on the sign Raz turned right. He had wanted to get everything they needed to the safe house after being summoned, but when he had come back and felt Amber’s death, the plans had changed.

  After he stopped in the lot that was thankfully nearly empty, he turned towards Lillian. “I need to get us some stuff.” When she didn’t seem to hear him, he said little more strongly, “Lillian.”

  Her head snapped around. “Huh? What?”

  Strands of dark hair that had escaped her braid framed her face, making her big eyes stand out even more. Those incredible light green eyes had sparkled with life and anger when he had seen her for the first time, now they looked haunted and staggeringly sad. She blinked a few times, as if coming out of a deep sleep and figh
ting its clinging fingers, and looked around her, apparently noticing only now that they had stopped.

  “I said I need to get some stuff. We’ll be on the road for a while so maybe you want to freshen up in the meantime?”

  “Um…Yeah, sure…thanks.”

  They got out of the car together and walked into the superstore. When Lillian wanted to head off towards the restrooms, Raz stopped her. “Promise me something. As soon as something seems off…the tiniest thing or even nothing at all, you call for me. Trust your instincts. They will keep you alive better than anything else. Okay?”

  She swallowed and nodded, “Okay,” and then she turned away from him.

  Sighing Raz went the other way, heading for the seemingly endless rows of shelves, quickly searching for and finding the items he had already listed in his mind. He didn’t like leaving the girl alone but he guessed she needed the time. Though he had to admit that when she didn’t snap out of the stupor soon that shock had clouded her in, he would have to talk to her. It wasn’t something he was looking forward to. That stuff had been Amber’s specialty. Well, he would deal with it if push came to shove.

  All the way, heading into the store and then towards the restroom, Lillian felt like walking under water. Every step exhausting, the noise subdued. As if she had stopped being a part of the world and was stuck under a glass bell jar.

  She had intended to head straight for one of the stalls, but then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a flicker of her reflection in the mirrors covering the tiled wall to the left. Abruptly she stopped and turned fully towards the mirror. Her face was a mess. She didn’t remember crying, but her smudgy mascara told her otherwise. Bruises, glaringly red and violet under the harsh neon light, covered the left side of her face from her eye down to her jaw. Her eye was swollen and she wasn’t able to open it fully. Her hand reached up to gently probe it before she knew it and it was then she realized that she had moved to the sink so she could have a better look at herself. As if realizing the extent of her wounds had called for it, a dull pain suddenly started to make her entire head throb.