Jake blinked up at Danae as he tried to comprehend the enormity of what she was telling him.
‘Come on,’ she nodded toward the door, ‘the phones are ringing off the hook; looks like we’ve got a helluva lot of damage control to do.’
Nathaniel stepped out into the cold air and breathed deeply. Wiping the blood from his hands, he discarded the cloth. It had been a productive day, his mouth curved into a slow smile. Temperance Beckett had proved to be most entertaining…so far.
The sky had begun to darken with dramatic slashes of indigo and black. Heavy, dark gray clouds swirled across the sky; there would be snow before long. It was another circle; almost exactly a year ago it had snowed the night he’d been raised from the devil’s trap. It was another sign, he was sure of it. Everything was moving into place now, he was so close. He kneeled close to the ground and pressing his bloodstained hand into the frozen earth he breathed deeply.
‘Brother…I’m coming for you…’
For a second he could have sworn he felt the earth beneath his fingers throb. Standing slowly, he glanced around. He felt his stomach clench painfully and his mouth flood with moisture. The hunger when it came this time, washed over him in excruciating waves. He needed to sate the hunger, it weakened him. Nothing could be allowed to interfere with the coming dawn, not the humans, not the creatures pouring into Mercy and not his own weakness. He needed to find another soul; he’d need to be fully sated and at his strongest.
He turned and looked back to the abandoned building behind him. Although part of the roof had collapsed in nearly a year ago, when part of the cliff face had sheared away, most of the hotel was still habitable. Thanks to the blocked road and the rock stairway being shorn away and smashed on the rocks far below the cliff, it was also inaccessible. Besides, it wasn’t as if he was planning on making it a permanent residence. They only needed to remain undiscovered for the next twenty four hours. Satisfied that they would remain undisturbed for tonight at least Nathaniel turned away from the building. Standing at the edge of the jagged cliff face he looked out across the water to the small pinprick of light in the distance.
Olivia West would be his by nightfall tomorrow and soon after he would possess the book. It was all falling into place, just as it should. His fingers flexed involuntarily and his lips peeled back, baring his teeth. Once he had his brother, he was going to take his time with her. Olivia West was going to suffer like she’d never dreamed possible. After everything she’d done, she didn’t deserve a quick painless death. He was going to make her watch while he killed everyone she loved.
The sudden and intense agony in his abdomen almost drove him to his knees. He sucked in a deep, pain filled breath. First he needed to find a soul. Growling in frustration he turned, whirling in a funnel of green smoke as the lake disappeared in a haze. He rematerialized in the middle of the street. Although the evening was still early, Main St. was eerily quiet. Even the humans knew something was coming.
He prowled the streets, moving in the shadows. There were a few people hurrying along, heads down and coats pulled tightly against the wind. None of them tempted him, none of them were right. He needed someone who would sate his hunger, not leave him craving.
He turned the corner and glanced up at the apartment building opposite. That’s when he saw her; he stared at her window as she sat curled into her sofa, a book in one hand. She was young, early twenties maybe, pale blonde hair, but it was her soul that called to him.It was a pure blinding white, and although the humans would not be able to see it, it lit the street from her window.
Smiling to himself he swirled in a plume of smoke and color, disappearing from the street.
Mac pulled in a deep tired breath; he’d been putting out fires all day long. Danae wasn’t kidding when she said the natives were restless. He’d lost count of how many calls they’d been on, domestic disputes, assault and battery, drunk and disorderly. In between dealing with the suddenly unruly residents of Mercy, Davis had sent out his tech guy to sweep his office, his phone and basically anything he owned. The result had been forty seven listening and tracking devices. Sons of bitches, he though angrily, the Veritas had certainly been thorough.
Once he knew his phone was clean and secure, he’d spent all day calling Tammy and leaving messages. He knew she wasn’t ready to talk to him, he knew he should give her space but he was growing increasingly worried about her. He’d promised he’d keep her safe. She may not want to talk to him right now but she was still in danger. He’d tried getting away several times to head back to the apartment and check on her, but he’d been called away again and again.It was beginning to feel like some sort of conspiracy.
‘I think I might have an answer of sorts for you Mac,’ Davis strolled into his office without so much as a knock on the door.
‘By all means come in,’ he muttered sarcastically.
‘I saved you ass today Mac, I think we’re beyond formalities,’ Davis shrugged, ‘anyway, I think I’ve figured out why a load of the residents have suddenly turned frisky.’
‘Frisky?’ Mac repeated dryly, ‘twelve of them ended up in hospital.’
‘Sorry, bad choice of words.’
‘So what’s going on?’ Mac asked tiredly. He just wanted this day to be over so he could go home to Tammy, providing of course that she hadn’t locked him out.
‘Charles has been tracking a creature that likes to get its kicks influencing human behavior; it likes to cause violence wherever it goes. It feeds off the powerful emotions of the humans it incited to commit violent crimes. That could explain why everyone has suddenly begun to attack friends and family members at random.’
‘Jesus,’ he rubbed his face tiredly, ‘that’s all we need.’
Suddenly there was a lot of yelling and several cops went running past his door.
‘…The hell’s going on?’ he muttered frowning.
He headed down the hall with Davis following closely behind. There was a mad rush of officers heading toward the front entrance and a lot of shouting going on. Mac headed for the door, pushing it open and stepping out into the cold air. His officers all stood with weapons drawn. He muscled his way through to see what they were focused on. As he was joined by Jake and Danae, he heard Jake gasp next to him.
‘What the fuck?’
They both drew their weapons, training them on the dark haired man standing in front of the police station. His mouth was covered with smears of blood and his eyes were pure white, like a blind man. Blood trickled down his throat, staining the front of his shirt and in his arms was a limp young, blond woman covered in blood.
He tossed her on the ground as if she were the dead carcass of an animal. As she rolled over, her eyes open and vacant, Mac heard a young officer behind him begin to wretch violently. Her chest cavity had been torn open and was spilling a grotesque mixture of blood and organs onto the pavement.
‘Nathaniel,’ he whispered under his breath, drawing his own weapon.
‘Just a little gift from me to you,’ Nathaniel grinned as he reached into his pocket.
Mac pulled the trigger.
In a cascade effect, all the other officers opened fired.
Nathaniel stood unmoving in a hail of bullets. Holes appeared in his shirt, shreds of fabric floated to the ground and still he stood smiling coldly, unmoved…and very much unharmed.
The shots died down as one by one the confused officers began to realize one thing. He wasn’t dead, he wasn’t even injured. Shocked gasps and mutters ran through the assembled mass of cops.
Nathaniel’s white eyes scanned over Jake, Danae and Davis, obviously recognizing them, before landing on Mac.
‘Give the Mayor my best, won’t you?’ he whispered softly and Mac’s blood ran cold.
With a chilling laugh Nathaniel swirled in a blast of color and disappeared.
‘What the hell did I just see,’ Deputy Carl, gasped with wide unbelieving eyes.
But Mac wasn�
�t listening; he was already running down the street towards Tammy’s apartment, his phone against one ear and his gun in the other. Once again her phone went straight to voice mail. He didn’t stop until he’d run the six blocks to her place. He took the steps two at a time, reaching the apartment and unlocking the door. He headed in, flicking on the lights, noticing that the apartment hadn’t changed since he’d left that morning. She’d not been back, and Jules leapt up onto the table, whining with hunger. He dialed again praying that by some miracle she’d pick up.
He turned abruptly when he heard a ringing coming from the kitchen. Heading through and following the sound, the phone fell from his ear, his hand dropping loosely to his side as his gaze landed on her purse and keys still sitting on the breakfast bar. His heart almost stopped, he hadn’t been in the kitchen that morning; after his confrontation with Tammy and then Simon Flores he’d simply left and headed to work. It hadn’t occurred to him that Tammy hadn’t done the same.
He was supposed to protect her and he’d failed. Thanks to him, Nathaniel had, had her for nearly twelve hours and no one had noticed. He looked up and saw Jake and the others burst into the room.
‘She’s gone,’ he whispered, his face a mask of utter devastation.
25.
Olivia headed down the stairs behind Theo, tightening her robe as the hammering on the front door continued. She watched as Theo glanced through the peephole before opening the door.
‘What the hell?’ he frowned, stepping back as Louisa bustled through the open door holding her son, who was bundled up snugly in his car seat against the freezing cold.
‘God, it’s cold out there,’ she sniffed and moved further into the hallway as Tommy followed in behind her, carrying several bags and a strange collapsible contraption.
‘Hey,’ Olivia descended the last few steps with Beau clattering down behind her, as Theo closed the door on the cold night air. ‘What are you doing here?’ she frowned, glancing across at Charlotte’s grandfather clock which was tucked into the corner at the foot of the stairs. ‘It’s nearly midnight.’
‘I know,’ Louisa yawned as she pulled her heavy winter coat off, revealing that she too was still in her pajamas. ‘You can blame my brother.’
‘Jake?’ Theo replied, ‘what’s going on? Has something happened?’
‘We don’t know,’ Tommy hung his coat up, ‘but you’d probably better fire up the coffee machine. I get the feeling it’s going to be a long night.’
‘Jake called us,’ Louisa picked up her son and headed into the kitchen with Olivia, leaving Theo and Tommy to follow behind. ‘He told us to get the baby, get out of the house and to head here because we’d be safe inside the wards. I think Roni is on her way too.’
‘He didn’t say anything else?’ Theo asked in concern.
Tommy shook his head.
‘He sounded pretty worried; you know Jake, he wouldn’t uproot us all unless he had a damn good reason,’ Tommy told them. ‘I figured if it was serious enough to pull us out of bed and tell us to get out of the house, we’d better do as he says.’
‘Have you tried calling him back?’ Theo asked as he retrieved his own phone and began scrolling through the numbers. ‘What about Mac? Have you tried him?’
‘We tried,’ Louisa answered for him as she set the car seat down on the floor, ‘but I think there must be a storm rolling in because something keeps interfering with the signal.’
Olivia filled the coffee machine and switched it on as she watched Theo try to call Jake, then Mac and finally Tammy.
‘Nothing,’ he shook his head, hanging up in frustration. ‘Are you sure they didn’t say anything else?’
‘No,’ Tommy replied. ‘I got the feeling they were in the middle of something pretty major. The best thing for us to do is stay out of their way and sooner or later one of them will show up here.’
‘It still makes me uneasy,’ Theo scowled, his gaze absently landing on Beau, who’d wandered over to the car seat on the ground and was gently sniffing the baby’s face.
‘Me too,’ Tommy dropped his hand on Theo’s shoulder, ‘but it won’t do any good to go rushing in when we don’t know what’s going on and I certainly don’t feel right about leaving Louisa and Olivia on their own.’
‘I know you’re right,’ Theo nodded, looking down as the baby started fussing, ‘but I’ve got a bad feeling.’
Beau looked up, tail wagging as the baby woke up and Louisa leaned down, unclipping the straps and lifting him into her arms.
‘Is he hungry?’ Olivia leaned over and stroked his soft head.
‘Probably,’ she handed him over to Olivia. ‘Here, hold on to him for me,’ she picked up a small bag and retrieved several bottles, heading toward the refrigerator. ‘Is it alright if I keep these in here?’
‘Sure,’ Olivia replied absently as she smiled down at the gorgeous little boy in her arms.
‘Just don’t use it for your coffee,’ Louisa smiled, ‘it’s breast milk.’
‘Noted,’ she chuckled as the baby curved into her and nestled just above her growing bump. ‘Have you given him a name yet or are you still arguing?’
‘Jace,’ Louisa told her as she warmed one of the bottles.
‘Jace,’ Olivia repeated softly, smiling as he gazed up at her with dark blue eyes. ‘It suits him perfectly.’
‘Yeah,’ Tommy grinned, ‘we all collectively breathed a sigh of relief. At one point she wanted to call him Ulysses just to piss off my mom.’
‘I wouldn’t have really done it,’ Louisa rolled her eyes, ‘but it was just too much fun seeing her expression.’
‘I’ll bet,’ Olivia smiled.
‘Do you want to feed him?’ Louisa asked.
‘Yes please,’ Olivia reached out and took the warm bottle, settling down onto the stool at the island.
‘Coffee Louisa?’ Theo asked, his gaze drifting over to Olivia, a small smile playing on his lips as he watched his wife coo over the small baby as she fed him.
‘Best not,’ Louisa shook her head, ‘tea would probably be better.’
‘Olivia?’
‘Yes please,’ she murmured absently.
‘Tommy?’
‘Coffee, strong and fully loaded,’ he replied.
Theo placed a mug down on the counter that Tommy was propped against. A look passed between them; they both understood they’d need to be alert and awake because this night was far from over.
‘So, is it alright if we use your guest room then?’ Louisa tried to stifle a yawn.
‘Of course it is,’ Olivia looked over to her friend, ‘you’ll stay as long as you need to. We have plenty of room.’
‘Thanks,’ she replied with a tired smile, glancing down at her newborn son in Olivia’s arms. ‘I’m not really sure what’s going on, but I don’t want Jace put at risk.’
‘It’s really not a problem,’ Theo reassured her.
‘Good,’ she nodded. ‘We brought the portable crib with us, so once we get that set up I’ll change Jace and see if I can get him back down to sleep.’
‘A portable crib?’ Theo repeated.
‘Come on Theo,’ Tommy pushed himself away from the counter, ‘you can give me a hand; you practically need a degree in mechanical engineering to assemble the damn thing.’
Once again there was a loud knocking at the front door. Leaving the others in the kitchen Theo headed through the hallway. After checking the peephole he opened the door and stepped back as Roni walked in, wearing heavy winter boots and a thick coat over a pair of tatty yoga pants she obviously used to sleep in. She had a large bag slung over one shoulder and was holding her phone.
‘God, it’s freezing out here,’ she breathed through trembling lips. ‘I think we may get snow before long.’
‘We’ve just made coffee,’ Theo told her.
‘Thank God,’ she glanced over at the brightly colored contraption folded against the wall and surrounded by baby bag
s. ‘I see Louisa and Tommy are already here; I tried calling on my way over but I can’t seem to get a signal.’
‘Louisa thinks there’s a storm heading in,’ Theo replied.
‘Not a storm,’ a musical accent spoke up from behind Roni.
Theo leaned to the side and caught sight of the Goddess Calypso as she climbed the steps to the porch and stepped through the doorway.
‘Calypso,’ Theo nodded respectfully.
‘Theo,’ she replied in greeting. Unlike the others who’d obviously been pulled from their beds in the middle of the night, she looked immaculate in a heavy but elegant tailored coat and leather boots.
‘Something’s interfering with the phone signals,’ Theo told them both.
‘There’s something in the air,’ Calypso turned back and gazed out of the door, looking up at the night sky. ‘You can feel the electricity and the heaviness; something is coming.’
‘Do either of you know what’s going on?’ he asked worriedly.
‘I don’t have any of the details,’ Roni removed her coat and kicked her boots off, padding toward the kitchen in thick socks. ‘Sorry Theo, I can’t function until you give me coffee.’
Calypso closed the door behind her then she and Theo followed Roni into the kitchen.
‘Hey Roni,’ Olivia looked up as she cradled Jace on her shoulder, burping him gently, ‘you got kicked out of bed too?’
Beau leapt up and scrambled toward both Roni and Calypso, not just his tail but his whole body wagging in excitement at all the unexpected visitors to play with.
‘Sorry Beau,’ Roni leaned down and gave him a quick pat on the head, ‘need coffee.’
Calypso simply laughed and kneeled down on the hard tiled floor, allowing the exuberant young dog to jump all over her, shaking in delight and licking her face.
The Guardians Complete Series 1 Box Set: Contains Mercy, The Ferryman, Crossroads, Witchfinder, Infernum Page 190