by Melissa Aden
“Nothing, sir,” the man replied, glancing at me once again.
“What?” the man in black barked, turning in my direction.
Without thinking, I lunged behind a wall separating the dishwashing area from the kitchen. Careful not to slip on the wet tile floor, I ducked under a large trough sink, balancing Sophie’s limp body across my thighs. She was totally unconscious now.
I could hear the thump, thump, thump of heavy boots as the man approached. Finding my cell phone, I quickly texted Sal, “9-1-1,” knowing he’d be able to use my coordinates to find me.
I pushed Sophie’s damp hair off her skin. Her brightly flushed cheeks popped against her hauntingly pale face. She was burning up and her breathing was shallow.
I felt helpless. Sophie was out cold, there was no way to escape, and a gorilla of a man with a gun was about to discover us hiding under a sink.
Help me, Dio, I silently begged. I don’t know what to do. Why would you bring us this far just for us to get killed? Help me understand.
I was trying to devise a plan when someone slammed through the kitchen door.
“Dante? Dante! The girl is gone!” a man exclaimed.
“What?” Dante yelled.
“She’s gone! I’m sorry,” a mousy voice sniveled. “It happened so fast. I don’t know wha—”
“You had one task. How could you let this happen? Where did she go?” Dante demanded. For the first time, I realized he had a strong accent. Scottish. Or Irish, maybe?
Trying to make sense of their words, I gently set Sophie on some crates before peeking around the wall. The mousy voice belonged to none other than Gino — the slime bag! He didn’t work at Vino’s. He was with Dante. But who was Dante with? Then I saw Dante’s shoes and shuddered: the same red and black boots as the hooded man who’d accompanied Hagen at JB’s just days ago. My heart fell as Dante turned just so, my suspicions confirmed by the tattoo of a snarling Rottweiler and a bloodied angel snaking down his arm. He worked for Divaldo.
It hit me all at once: The kitchen staff held hostage. Vinny’s peculiar absence. This is no robbery. We’ve been set up! They’re after Sophie, and I and a group of highly-trained PORTAL agents have walked her straight into their trap.
I felt sick from the realization. Had Mia and I not just told Sophie about the Alpha Project? Just like then, we were ignorant of Divaldo’s cunning scheme, leaving ourselves wide open for attack.
I clenched my fists wanting to scream. Sophie had been right. She, the least experienced of us all, had sensed the danger we were in. Just as I’d feared, I was distracted by my infatuation with her, coaxing her right into harm’s way.
Gino whined, “I don’t know what happened. I crushed pills into her water two different times. I left for but a minute and when I returned she was gone.”
“You little—” Dante charged him.
Gino cowered, “Please, sir! She drank three glasses of the stuff. That’s enough to tranquilize an elephant. They couldn’t have gone far.”
Sophie’s been drugged!
Crawling back to her, I cradled her limp body in my arms. Staring into her listless face, I shuddered, realizing her condition was worse than I’d imagined.
Sophie is dying. I might lose her. And it’s all my fault.
Chapter 48
Pursuit
I was sick and angry and scared all at the same time. Why? Though I was truly mad at myself, I raged against Dio. Why did you let this happen? What do I do? Please. Save her! Give us means of escape.
“Who are ‘they’?” Dante barked.
“The girl and the agent boy who watches over her so closely. They’re both gone,” Gino explained.
A succession of curses spilled from Dante’s mouth. “You’re worthless, Gorgon! I’m reporting your indiscretion to Furlow. You will pay dearly,” he seethed.
“No!” Gino — or Gorgon — threw himself at Dante’s feet, groveling before him. “Please! Take pity on me. Furlow will surely banish me. I was just transferred to Earth. Please! I can’t return to that—” Gorgon shuddered. “—that place.”
“Get off me!” Dante kicked, his sturdy boot barely missing Gorgon’s face. “You’re no concern of mine. If you weren’t such a screw up, we wouldn’t be in this terrible mess. And sitting there sniveling isn’t helping things. You take the front of the restaurant. I’ll take the back. We must find those humans before anyone realizes they’re missing. Go!”
The disdainful way Dante practically spit the word “humans” caught my attention. It was a sign that he probably wasn’t truly human but a parasitic demon inhabiting a willing (or not-so-willing) host — one that shared Divaldo’s loathing of Dio’s glorious creations. I cringed at the thought of what sort of spirits lurked within the confines of Dante’s body.
“Yes, sir. Right away, sir,” Gorgon said, momentarily pausing to cower in reverence at Dante’s feet before scrambling from the room.
The sound of Dante’s boots receded towards the kitchen’s back door. “Don’t even think about moving,” he bellowed. The back door scraped open. “I’ll be back and if even one of you is gone, the rest are as good as dead.” The door slammed behind him.
Thank you, Dio. I know you’re giving me a way out, but now what?
Carefully lifting Sophie’s dead weight in my arms, I suddenly knew what I needed to do, like the plan was downloaded into my brain. Chances were that I was faster than Dante and, even carrying Sophie, could outrun him if I had to. Adrenaline pumped through my veins as I prepared for the task at hand. It was now or never. Life or death.
Racing to the back door, I slammed through it backwards and launched myself down the alleyway ahead, spying Dante in one of the smaller alleys spouting off of it. Not waiting around to see if he’d noticed me or was following, I full-out ran.
Once out of the alleyway, a blur of storefronts soon turned into a blur of apartment buildings. I pumped my legs faster, never daring to look behind me, though I was tiring, Sophie’s weight growing increasingly heavy. Spotting a low metal awning, I threw Sophie up without a second thought, wincing as her body landed with a bang. Grabbing the edge, I lifted myself up behind her. Shoving Sophie over, I collapsed beside her, gasping for air and stretching my burning arms and legs.
The clomping of heavy boots approached and receded. Dante must have followed, but hadn’t seen where we went. I carefully peeked over the awning’s edge. Sure enough, he had run right past us, gun in hand and head wildly darting side to side. Again finding my cell, I dialed PORTAL’s emergency number.
“PORTAL emergency services,” a woman with an annoyingly calm voice answered.
“This is Agent Everett Sinclair. I’m under attack,” I whispered between gasps. “Immediate assistance requested. Operatives of Lucian Divaldo are in pursuit and—”
“Assistance has already been dispatched,” she cut in. “Director Salvatore was notified earlier. Your coordinates show you are near East 25th Street and Nicollet Avenue. Can you confirm?”
Glancing around, I spotted street signs. “Correct.”
“PORTAL agents are in the vicinity. I’ll stay on the line until help has arrived.”
“No need.” I hung up. Talking on the phone wasn’t the wisest thing for me to be doing right now, especially when every breath produced a noticeable cloud of mist in the cold night air. I tucked my phone away and again peeked over the edge.
Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, I was leaning back when something caught me by the neck, dragging me off the awning. I groaned, writhing on the ground. My head spun and my vision blurred, causing me to take a moment before noticing Dante standing over me, gun pointed at my head.
I stared down the barrel trying to get my mind to work, but the gears were jammed. Having a gun to your head tended to do that.
Dio, help me.
My brain sputtered to life, launching into hyper speed.
What am I going to do next? What if Dante finds Sophie? Did he see me throw her onto the roof? Is he pla
nning to kill me and then get to her? Where is the squad Sal dispatched? It would be really convenient for them to arrive any time now. Any time at all. Like right now. Does Dante have the nerve to shoot me? I’ve never seen or heard of him before, but he looks like someone who knows his way around a weapon — and weaponless combat, too. And if he works under Furlow, he’s likely just as merciless. I’m sure he’s killed a few people in his day. He had no qualms about breaking that girl’s leg earlier, so he wouldn’t flinch at the idea of taking me out… or Sophie. That’s probably what he’s been assigned to do. Where is Sal’s team? Where? I have to stall Dante until they get here. But for how long?
Dante chuckled. “Thought you could outrun ol’ Dante, ay?” he asked in his thick brogue. “Well, game over, sonny. Where’s the girl?”
“You seriously don’t know?” I jeered, allowing a hint of amusement in my voice. It did the trick, irritating Dante and distracting him.
In one fluid movement, Dante flipped his gun, slamming the butt into the left side of my face before spinning it down into my stomach. I gasped as pain shot through my face and torso.
Anything for Sophie. I touched my face, my hand coming away wet. Well worth it to keep her safe.
Smoothly handling the gun like he’d practiced the move a million times, Dante again flipped it and resumed his stance, aiming at my head. “You want to play games? I love games. I can play all day long.”
“Okay, so you’re being serious. You could have just said so,” I said, feigning innocence. I ran my tongue along the shredded lining of my mouth and spit blood. “It seems you have a fascination with making people bleed.”
Dante chuckled. “Whatever gives you that idea?”
“Your tattoo, for one,” I said, slowly sitting up. “Pretty gruesome.”
“This beauty?” he asked, lowering the gun to admire it. “Got it after slaying my first angel. Stealthy buggers, but I sliced its pretty throat. Well, more like decapitated it.” His eyes flashed, his mind clearly lost in the gory glory of the memory.
Taking advantage of Dante’s distracted state, I positioned myself.
He continued, “Thought it was a milestone worth memorializing, so I took its head with me to the tattoo parlor and—”
I swung my legs around, knocking Dante’s legs out from under him. He fell with a spray of gunfire into the air. Hopping up, I sprinted around a nearby apartment building. Dante was just getting to his feet when I rushed him from behind, using the velocity of my body to slam him into the snowy ground. Securing his arms behind his back with one hand, I held down his head with the other.
A sinister laugh then came from behind me. I spun, my eyes searching the darkness, before toppling off Dante from a searing pain in my back.
“Now that’s what I call getting stabbed in the back.” Hagen stepped into view, openly pleased to see me writhing in agony. “Good to see you, too, Sinclair.” He laughed again, light glinting off a knife he skillfully spun across his fingers. “Unlike Dante here, I don’t like games, so let’s get to the point. I ask. You answer. Understand?”
When I didn’t reply, Hagen swiftly reached down, wrenching the knife from my back. I cried out in pain.
“Okay!” I grunted through gritted teeth. I slowly lifted my body to sitting position, every move sending pain shooting through me.
“Where’s Sophie?” Hagen sneered. I stared at him in defiance. “I usually don’t like games, but since Dante does, maybe I’ll humor him just this once. I mean, I do have unfinished business to attend to with Sophie.” His eyes flickered. “Maybe I’ll keep you alive long enough to watch.”
My blood boiled as his meaning registered. Come on, Sal. Get here… now!
Hagen leaned down so we were eye to eye. “The things I’ve dreamed of doing to her,” he whispered with a carnal smile.
My mouth tightened and my nostrils flared. Judging from what Sophie and I had dreamt about him, I knew the awful things he entertained. Any traces of civility — maybe even sanity — evaded me then and I suddenly found myself on top of him, my hands savagely around his neck, his frantic pulse beating wildly beneath my palms. Exultation surged through me for but a fleeting moment before a sharp pain came at the back of my head, rolling me off Hagen and temporarily blinding me.
Dante and his blasted gun.
By the time my vision — and clarity — had returned, Dante held me on my feet, securing my hands behind my head.
“Well, I guess that’s decided.” Hagen sighed, knife again twirling. “You first. Sophie later.”
I struggled. “If you so much as lay a finger on her, I’ll kill you,” I seethed.
Hagen’s menacing smile chilled me to the bone. “Unless your beloved Creator raises you from the dead, you won’t be around to do anything about it.”
Chapter 49
Keys to Life
I had run through this forest so many times before, yet never ceased to wonder how it changed each and every time. Usually, subtle things differed, like the time of day, weather, or season, but now, the forest was totally altered.
I chased after the Voice distracted by this new — yet familiar — world around me. The forest’s skeleton was the same, but had developed a new and improved silhouette that was a feast for the senses. The warm wind gently kissed my cheeks instead of biting at them and the plush trees didn’t claw at my hair but exuberantly danced in the breeze, seemingly celebrating the wonderland this barren place had become.
I came across so many fascinating flower species and colors that the beauty about me was overwhelming. But it wasn’t just the obvious external differences that alerted me of change. There was an internal shift as well, boggling me as it went against every instinct I knew. Didn’t my chase usually end unfulfilled due to the discovery of something awful and scary like the giant that chased me away? Didn’t I usually wake from this dream disappointed and dissatisfied, the Voice having once again eluded me? Yet an internal knowing told me this was different. This time I was going to find her.
“Sooo-phiiie… ” The Voice sang her familiar siren song, pulling me from my thoughts.
“I’m coming,” I answered, nearing the clearing where the looming giant usually stood. I braced myself for the confrontation ahead, but was stunned to not find him there. I stopped in the center, looking this way and that. Mystified, I continued on, emerging from the forest’s edge and finding myself on top of a hill.
I paused, wary of stepping foot into this new territory. Taking in the stunning landscape of flowering valleys and fields before me, thought and breath evaded me. Never had I seen a more beautiful sight. I began my descent, savoring a symphony of sights and sounds: the soft babbling of a brook in the distance, the rich, velvety greens carpeting the ground and the deep blues accenting the warm, citrus sun in the sky. Wellbeing and peace fell over me.
“Sooo-phiiie… ” The Voice called again. She was close! “Just a bit further, my love. I’m right here.”
“I’m coming.” A shiver of delight broke over my skin.
I ran down the hillside into a meadow. I saw her. Her back turned to me, only her cascade of brown curls were visible to me, yet I was already mesmerized by her beauty.
I’d found her! The Voice.
Nerves then tumbled in my stomach. I’d waited months to meet the woman who called to me night after night, but now that the time had come, I didn’t know if I was ready.
“Are you the Voice?” I asked.
“Yes!” she said, facing me. “Yes, Sophie, I am.”
I cried at the sight of her sweet face, her small frame, her beautiful hair. How had I not known it was she? “Mom!” I exclaimed, running into her arms. We fiercely embraced, her hug and scent exactly as I remembered.
“How’s my baby doing?” Mom cried, stroking my hair like she used to.
I could only sob into her shoulder for some time before acclimating to the joy and grief — and millions of other feelings — washing over me. I leaned away taking in her gorgeous face.
>
“How can this be? I can’t believe it’s you.”
“Yet it is so,” Mom said, a smile spreading across her radiant face and into her pooling brown eyes.
I hugged her again, willing this dream to never end. But this had to be more than a dream for — Mom’s arms around me, my hands tangled in her silky curls, her cashmere-soft skin against my cheek, and her lilac and honey suckle scent in my nose — it was all too real.
“Oh, Sophie,” she breathed, rocking me in her arms. “I love you so much.”
I savored the moment as it was the little things, like her hugs, that I’d missed the most. “I love you, too. I don’t understand how you’re here. How are we together again?”
“Dio thought it time for me to see you again, so voila! Instant reunion!” She laughed in delight, wiping tears from my cheeks. “But our time together is limited, so we mustn’t squander it. I have many things to tell you.”
Holding my face in her hands, she took me in and I her. There were subtle things I’d forgotten, yet remembered now: the complexity in her big eyes and the delicate laugh lines framing them, the peachy tone of her pretty lips, and the way her smile radiated joy, lighting up her entire countenance. She was just lovely.
“You are more beautiful than ever,” Mom said, smoothing my hair from my face. “I didn’t think it possible for you to get any prettier, but you have.”
“I was thinking the same of you,” I admitted.
“Oh, honey.” She kissed my forehead. “You’re gorgeous inside and out. What more could a mother desire?”
I smiled, basking in her praise and approval. What more could a daughter want?
“Come,” Mom said, taking my hand.
Walking side by side, I studied how our hands looked entwined. Mom’s hand no longer engulfed mine, but now seemed daintier, fitting perfectly together with mine.
A soft wind blew, bringing with it the scent of floral and greenery and making me think to ask, “This forest is usually dead or dying. Why is it so lush and green now?”