Forest of the Forbidden

by W. J. May

  She shrieked in surprise when his arm loosened and she dropped to the floor in an ungraceful heap. The door slammed shut.

  He stilled and watched her while she stood. His eyes never wavered as she backed up onto the bunk and sat down. After a few seconds of trying to make him back down from her stare, she sighed and laid down on the bunk, facing the wall.

  His stare burned into her back.

  Tristan paced in the girls’ dorm room, stopping every few moments to run a hand through his hair. His chest constricted when he thought of Sophie alone, surrounded by possessed cops. Jackson stared out the window into the school courtyard, his eyes narrowed to slits.

  “Please, Tristan, sit down. Demetri and Ruth will be here any minute.” Morgan tried to wipe the soot from her face but it was useless.

  Tristan forced down an angry reply. There had been no contact with Sophie and that settled into his stomach like hot lead.

  “What the hell are we going to do? We lost two of us in less than an hour! Father Kent was murdered. How are these gifts going to do us any good if we can’t use them to protect the ones we care about?” Jackson placed his hands on the window sill. The glass vibrated when his energy beat at it.

  Morgan swallowed at the outburst from the normally quiet Jackson.

  “We’ll come up with something.” Aidan tried to shake some of the ashes out of his hair. “And if we don’t, Ruth and Demetri will. We could just break Sophie out of jail.”

  Morgan’s mouth dropped. “Are you crazy?”

  “We’ve faced demons, vampires, and now those shadow creatures. Why wouldn’t we be able to break her out of jail? All we’d need is a solid plan.”

  “Why do you think we’ll have to break her out?” Tristan asked through his teeth. His eyes glowed yellow-green and he fought against the helplessness and rage that wanted to claw its way out. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

  “Come on, Tristan! She was covered in soot, she was hurt, and there was blood on her. Even if they weren’t possessed, they wouldn’t let her go easily.”

  Tristan cursed when he realized Aidan was right.

  “She wanted it that way. She didn’t want anyone else to get hurt.” Morgan looked at her hands. “Lilli and Todd were already taken from her. She wasn’t going to lose anyone else.”

  “Lilli is not lost.” Jackson cut in.

  “It wasn’t her choice. She didn’t have to make it this way.” Tristan growled.

  “Stop beating yourself up. You had no control over what happened.” Morgan said. “None of us did.” She ran a hand through her hair and grimaced at the ashes on her fingertips.

  Someone tapped lightly on the dorm door. Tristan was the first to reach it, and after checking through the peep hole, replied, “It’s Demetri.”

  “Open the door, then.” Aidan stood, ready to greet them and rescue Sophie.

  As soon as the door opened, Demetri and Ruth stepped in, followed by a young man.

  “How did you get past the R. A?” Morgan moved to stand next to Aidan, who shifted his body so she could stand closer. She stared at Demetri’s grim face and then quickly added, “Never mind.”

  “We’ve got everything ready.” Ruth let them know. “The rest of the team is waiting at a rendezvous point.” She gestured to the third person in their party. “This is my brother, Rory.”

  Tristan and the others nodded across the living room at him. His blond hair and brown eyes so closely matched Ruth’s that they would’ve guessed even if she hadn’t said anything.

  “We’ve decided to break Sophie out of jail.” Aidan told them.

  Demetri nodded. “Then we have no time to waste. Rory, get the equipment.”

  Rory shot the Guardians a jaunty salute and then slipped out the door.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sophie desperately tried to ignore the evil stare focused on her when a deeper shiver ran across her spine. Heavy footsteps retreated and the temperature of the room dropped. Her stomach lurched when she realized who now watched her. Her ribs screamed in pain but she forced herself to sit up.

  “Finally. I thought you’d never wake up.”

  The voice whispered like death over Sophie’s senses. Her heart stuttered when she turned on the bunk and looked out. Akeldama sat in a chair just outside her cell. Perfect, pale legs peeked out from a sleek red dress.

  The demon’s skin was so pale, Sophie wondered if the person she wore had been dead for days. Blue veins crawled across the skin like highways, all meeting in the center of her chest.

  “That’s a little different than the mommy-and-me act.” Sophie tried to keep her voice from shaking. Her fear was so sharp she could almost taste it.

  Akeldama laughed and Sophie knew she heard Death in the sound. It froze her insides. She tried to keep a calm face. “Oh, I have a whole host of disguises. It works to not look the same every time I kill someone.”

  Instantly Todd’s face, his smile, shot through Sophie’s mind. Her body tensed against the cold wall. Words, full of rage, formed but she couldn’t force them out. Instead, she glared across the cell.

  The malevolence thickened. It reached out to Sophie and gripped her hard. The breath disappeared from her lungs as she was dragged from the bed. She hit the floor of the cell hard enough to knock her teeth together. Before she managed to inhale, Akeldama’s power tightened and hauled her to the bars.

  Sophie couldn’t stop a scream when Akeldama gripped her hair and yanked her head back.

  Those soulless eyes were only inches from her own. What she saw in them made horror burn her throat.

  “You have escaped me once. I will not let you again.”

  Sophie believed those words. They echoed through her mind and soul. She swallowed hard against the knot in her throat.

  Satisfied with Sophie’s horror, Akeldama released her hair and leaned back in the chair.

  Sophie clenched her jaw and brushed the hair out of her face. What a Guardian she was, cowering on the floor in front of her enemy. Shame and hatred wove through her heart.

  “I will not be the one to kill you.” Akeldama smiled slyly.

  Sophie instantly hated the sight. She shivered as she felt frigid air wrap around her. Akeldama pressed darkness and power into the cell, making sure Sophie knew how endless and vile it was.

  “My prince would rather you be put to death by the very humans you’re trying to save.” Akeldama buffed the sharpened nails on the skirt of her dress and watched Sophie’s face. “It’s a favorite tactic of his. Brings a certain irony to the situation.”

  All hope drained from Sophie at those words. These were demons. They were experienced with killing, and killing in the most horrific ways imaginable. Why did she think she was going to be able to escape this? Live through this?

  Akeldama’s bored expression slipped for a moment and triumph laced the smile she wore. “I have had thousands of years to dream of this day. You have nothing. You see the future but cannot stop what it brings. I have tortured and killed your brother. I have taken the healer and razed your cathedral to the ground. I will have the men use your body and then rip it to pieces and there will be nothing to stop me.”

  The demoness vanished. Her power remained behind to taunt Sophie.

  This time Sophie couldn’t stop the shudder that ran through her body. She believed every word that passed the demon’s lips. Her only hope was that her friends could make it here in time. She shut her eyes against the hot tears that formed and prayed they would.

  Tristan stood across the street from the police station while his mind searched for any sign of Sophie. A great darkness shielded him from feeling anything from her. He fisted his hands and then released them. The beasts inside him raked at his insides, desperate to be free. They didn’t like being separated from their mate and hated the fact that she was in danger.

  “We are all going to be on America’s Most Wanted.” Aidan mumbled on his left side.

  Tristan looked at him, and then further d
own, at his friends and new found teammate, while they stared across the street. Each face was serious. Each body tense to begin the rescue.

  “What’s the plan?” Morgan asked.

  Demetri didn’t respond immediately. “The plan is perfect, if a little overused. Create a distraction, cut the power, steal the keys, get the girl. Ruth, is the dress in the van?”

  “It is.”

  “We’ll need that, and the two reporter outfits.”

  Morgan quirked an eyebrow at Ruth, prompting her to explain.

  “I’ll go in, pretend I’ve lost my contact and use the dress to distract the men in there. I’ll also put on a pheromone our scientists have learned drive the demons crazy with lust. They won’t be able to resist me. While I’m doing that Morgan and Aidan can figure out which cell they’re holding Sophie in by using the guise of reporters.”

  “Yes. Jackson and Rory will go and cut the power lines. The cops won’t have light to see by. Tristan and I will dismantle the other police with tranq guns after cutting the generator.”

  “How will we see if there isn’t any light?” Jackson asked.

  “Rory, hand me the bag.”

  Rory winked at Morgan when he transferred the bag to Demetri’s hands. Demetri bent on one knee and unzipped it. “We’ll use these.” He pulled out eight pairs of sleek sunglasses. He passed them out, handing two to Tristan. “Give the other pair to Sophie when you reach her.”

  “I don’t think sunglasses are really going to help us see in the dark.” Aidan shrugged to show his confusion.

  “These are special glasses. Actually, they’re night vision glasses.” Rory slipped his pair into a back pocket.

  “Huh.” Aidan stared at his pair a moment longer before he looked at Morgan. He reached out and gripped her hand in a quick squeeze.

  “I know that we’ve trained you, and that you are Guardians, but remember, every single one of those cops is possessed. They will not hesitate to destroy you so you can’t hesitate either. Killing vampires or straight out demons isn’t difficult, I know. Seeing a human’s face, knowing they’re still in there, will make it hard.” Ruth warned them.

  “Kill them if you have to.” Demetri said. “It’s the only way to get Sophie out alive.”

  “Morgan, Aidan, come with me. We need to get dressed.” Ruth headed toward the van parked around the corner.

  Tristan and Demetri split off to find an entry to the basement and to hunt down the generator. A few minutes later Morgan and Aidan, dressed in clean business clothes, headed inside with Ruth a few feet behind. Jackson nodded in Tristan’s direction, a promise to get Sophie out, as he and Rory headed to the power poles adjacent to the station.

  Morgan rubbed her sweaty palms down the sides of her brown pencil skirt. She walked across the pavement and her pumps clicked, echoing the beat of her heart.

  We’re going to get her and we are going to hunt down the Demoness until we find Lilli. Aidan shot her a grin that wasn’t as cocky as usual. Realizing that he failed to comfort her, he frowned.

  I know. But what if we fail?

  We won’t. We were born for this.

  When they stepped inside, even without Sophie’s gift, they could feel the oppressiveness of evil that permeated the station. The pressure was off somehow, nothing that they could pinpoint exactly; they just knew it was different.

  The lobby was empty save for a few policemen drinking coffee and the receptionist. A few of the men looked at them curiously over the tops of their mugs.

  Morgan muscles tensed at their stares and she willed her fingers to stay visible. She forced herself to follow Aidan toward the reception desk. When they neared the part where her duplicity would take her past the point of no return, she felt her stomach clench. What was she doing?

  But she realized it was now or never. They had to get Sophie out and then rescue Lilli from the demons.

  They reached the desk. The blonde receptionist popped a large bubble from her gum.

  There was no turning back now. She suddenly recalled how Sophie and Lilli had taken care of her after the attack by Akeldama. They’d stood by her even when she’d treated them horribly. She pushed her fears aside and concentrated on the receptionist, whose name tag read “Bridget”.

  Morgan raised an eyebrow at the girl. “Excuse me. We’re here to see the girl from the Cathedral?” She made a point of looking in her notepad. “Sophie Lawrence?”

  Bridget stared at her for a second before glancing over at Aidan. Morgan narrowed her eyes when Bridget’s heat up. Granted, Aidan did look unusually hot in a tweed jacket and yellow tie.

  “Yes.” Aidan lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper and leaned forward. “We heard she killed the priest.”

  The girl popped another bubble and flipped her hair back off her shoulder. The rhinestones on her shirt glittered when she smiled at Aidan. “What do you want to talk to her for? I heard she’s crazy.”

  Aidan tensed beside her. She didn’t like them talking about Soph either.

  “We’re here to get her side. A story like this could take us into the big leagues. The money we’ll get paid for this exclusive interview, well, we’ll be set for life.” Aidan smiled at Bridget. “You tell us where she is and give us enough time for a small interview and we’ll cut you in.”

  “What makes you think this will even make a profit?”

  Triumph soared when Morgan saw Bridget was hooked but then it crashed when she noticed that the policemen were becoming very interested in what they were doing. They still sipped their coffee but something in their manner had changed. She risked a peek back at them.

  They were definitely interested. A few were setting their mugs down.

  Aidan, we need to hurry.

  I know, I feel the change too. To Bridget he said, “How could this not make a profit? A girl is found outside a burning cathedral, covered in blood. Where a priest was brutally murdered. This is going to get international coverage.”

  The officers walked toward them. Morgan could see the change fully in their eyes now. The demonic light was bright and she wondered how Bridget couldn’t see what she worked with. Aidan!

  “We’ll give you twenty percent of the profit.” Aidan fought the urge to turn around. They needed to find out where Sophie was fast. With the demonic power in this station, Sophie’s power was shielded from them. They couldn’t locate her on their own.

  Bridget’s eyes narrowed. “Thirty.”

  Aidan took a few precious seconds to look like he was mulling the idea over as the back of his neck tingled. The demons were way too close for comfort. “It’s a deal.” Morgan froze beside him when they heard booted feet stop just behind them.

  One of the policemen slapped a hand down on Aidan’s shoulder. The weight settled on his body and Aidan stilled.

  Morgan’s eyes widened when she took in the size of the guard standing behind Aidan. The man was colossal, complete with shoulders that would give a linebacker pause, a hand that could crush her head without blinking, and eyes that shone demonically. Heat rose beside her.

  Aidan, don’t. We still don’t know where Sophie is! Morgan saw Bridget shuffle from behind the reception desk and head toward the left. Great, our bimbo runs. We need to get to the computer and figure out where they’re keeping Sophie.

  What do you expect me to do? This guy isn’t exactly small. I kind of feel like Jack right now. See any geese laying golden eggs?

  Shut up, Aidan! Morgan ignored his sarcasm and focused her attention on the officers when they crowded in closer. Her back edged up against the desk and she knew there was no where to run. She could teleport but that would mean leaving Aidan to handle the giant and his minions by himself.

  Aidan was tough, but there were more of them.

  The giant wrapped his hand around the lapel of Aidan’s tweed jacket. A sickening smile twisted his lips and he leaned in, placing his nose to Aidan’s.

  Morgan caught a whiff of something that smelled like barbecue and sulfur. S
he instantly gagged.

  The hand on Aidan loosened when the giant straightened to his full height. He sniffed the air and his pupils went black and vertical. A deep sound rumbled from his chest.

  It took a moment for Morgan to realize that the demon was purring and licking his lips. A quick look around and the others were doing the same.

  “Hello, boys.” A throaty voice teased from behind the demons. “I’ve lost something. Do you think you can help me?”

  As each demon caught sight of the speaker, their bodies went rigid.

  Everywhere.

  Morgan fought down a sudden bout of nausea.

  It’s Ruth! Aidan shouted into Morgan’s mind as soon as he saw her. Wow, she looks hot in that red dress!

  Morgan fought down the urge to claw Ruth’s eyes out at the purely male admiration in Aidan’s tone. We have to find Sophie.

  Right. Sophie. How do we do that now that the girl ran off?

  Morgan jerked her head toward the computer on the reception desk. All the demon’s eyes were on Ruth and they had to take advantage of that immediately.

  Aidan braced both palms on the counter and vaulted over. He landed in a crouch behind Bridget’s chair and then stood, reaching out a hand to help Morgan over.

  “Why are you just standing there?” Morgan snapped in his ear.

  He jumped and then shot her a dark glare. “I didn’t realize you were going to teleport.”

  “The computer, Aidan.” Morgan waved at the keyboard. “They have to have some kind of processing sheet. Look for Sophie’s name.”

  “OK.” Aidan’s fingers flew over the keyboard when he found the icon and pulled up the program.

  “Use her first and last name.”

  “Gotcha.”

  “She spells her first name with an -ie, not a Y.”

  “I know.”

  “And her last name is spelled—-”

  “Morgan! I’ve got this.” He typed in the name before Morgan could add anything else and waited as the search engine gave them an hourglass.

  The demon purring grew louder. It reverberated through Aidan’s chest and down his arms. He tapped his fingertips on the surface of the desk.