Guardian Of Fate (Fate Series)

by Kentowski, L. J.

  "But how can she go the Elders? She's not an angel anymore," I asked.

  "It's her only chance right now. If she stays in Sheol, Nergal will surely kill her." Ironically, I said a silent prayer that she'd be all right.

  Hunter got into the car, looked over his shoulder at me, and said, "Cassandra, get in the car."

  As I opened the passenger door, I heard my mom ask, "You guys can die? How?"

  "Mom, not now," I warned her, knowing damn well where her mind was going with this information.

  ***

  For the first hour on the road, I described to my mom and Nora what happened after Nora had left the restaurant. My mom had already been told the details of what occurred before that. Apparently, she put up quite the fight trying to get out of the motel room when she found out what I'd planned to do. It took both Nora and Eric to hold her down and keep her from coming over to that restaurant. It was heartfelt to know the lengths that everyone was willing to go to in order to keep me safe, but it was also gut-wrenching to know the danger they were all in because of me.

  I did my best to explain to my mom why I drank Caleb's blood. Even though she argued, I knew she understood that it was because of the kind of person she raised me to be. I was raised to be a Guardian, to save people's souls. That kind of calling didn't discriminate. If anything, the drive was stronger to save those you loved. If she had been in the same position, I knew she wouldn't have hesitated to do the same.

  After our arguments were exhausted, there was a long pause of silence as we drove down the dark, deserted road. I watched the forested earth pass by through the windows and thought about how calm it all seemed looking at it from the distance, but in reality, the wild contained a life of its own. To the creatures that inhabited it, it would probably seem far from calm. Just like us, they had their natural enemies always lurking, waiting for the opportunity to strike, hitting them when they were at their weakest. Even when they rested, they were required to stay attuned to the hidden dangers that could be around them to ensure their survival. In truth, they could never really rest. They were always being hunted. I knew exactly what that helplessness felt like, and I knew that we, too, would always be hunted.

  I finally realized that this was what he meant back in the motel. I didn't have to go to Hell with him in order for us to be together. He was willing to run with me, however long and far we had to go, no matter how many demons we had to face. He was my best chance at survival because he loved me, and under his protection of love is where I'd feel safest. My mom and Nora would continue to be in danger if I stayed with them. Just like the creatures of the wild, they could never really rest with me there. Hell wanted me, and I wouldn't continue to lead them to the ones I loved. No, my mind was made up. I knew what I wanted. I would leave with Hunter once we got Nora and my mom to the Elders.

  "I'm going with you," I blurted out, looking at Hunter across the seat.

  He turned to me, confused at first, but a knowing look came over his face and he nodded when he realized what I was telling him.

  "Cassie, no!" my mom yelled, coming up between the seats and grabbing my shoulder. "You have to stay with us... with me! The Elders will take care of all of us."

  "Not Hunter," I argued. "He risked everything to be with me, Mom. And he's proven that he can take care of me. I'm going with him." I turned in my seat to face her, tears threatening to spill over my lids, "You guys will never be safe if I stay with you. I can't bear knowing that I'm always going to put you in danger. What I did in that restaurant? I'd do it again if I were put in that situation. You know they will keep coming after me, and that means they will keep coming after you." The tears escaped and ran steadily down my face. "I'd rather die than know I'd caused anything to happen to you. Please. You have to let me go."

  Her tears matched my own as she slowly brought her hand up to my cheek to brush them away. There was so much love in her eyes and so much pain at the same time. It was killing me to know that I was hurting her, but if she remained safe, it was more than worth it.

  "You're so much like your father," she told me quietly.

  My body lurched forward and crashed into Hunter's arm that had flown across my body as he slammed on the brakes. The force with which my chest hit his arm knocked the wind out of me, and for a moment, I thought I might suffocate. Compelling my lungs to save me, my breath finally came out with a choke and followed with rapid shallow gusts of air that matched my heart rate. I looked in the back to make sure my mom and Nora were all right. I saw that they were shaken up, but they didn't seem to be injured. My eyes darted around, looking for the cause of the sudden stop, when I noticed Hunter staring straight ahead. I followed his gaze through the windshield, but couldn't see anything except the deserted road in front of us.

  Squinting, I leaned forward to try and get a better view of what had him so entranced. "Hunter—" Then I saw them. Just past the edge of the light coming from the headlights of the car, were several people standing in the middle of the street. My heart sunk into my stomach, as the hairs stood up on my arms.

  With a sudden jerk of his hand, Hunter put the car in reverse. He took his foot off the brake and we slowly started to roll backwards, but he stomped on the brakes again when the people ahead of us disappeared. I twisted around to see out the back window, but there was only darkness beyond the glowing red of the brake lights.

  I turned back towards the front and screamed. Standing directly in front of the car were several men staring back at us through the windshield, their blue eyes flashing with the illumination of the car's headlights. Two of the men moved towards the sides of the car, stopping just outside of Hunter's door and mine. Their movements were that of soldiers ready for battle, the sheer size of them enough to scare any enemy away. There was no doubt that these were the demons from Hell, and they were prepared for war.

  I stared at the man outside my door, terrified as I anticipated him opening it and pulling me out. But they only stood there, as if on guard. Nora let out a loud cry and I turned to look back at her, my skin prickling with fear. She was staring out of the windshield, pointing. When I followed her lead, my heart stopped at the sight before me.

  Caleb stood directly in front of one of the headlights, but he was not alone. Anael was being held against him. He had her by the hair, forcing her head up, lengthening the skin of her neck. As if in slow motion, I saw the sword in his other hand come up towards the base of her throat, his eyes piercing mine through the windshield with the movement. There was a sparkle of light reflecting off the hilt of the sword that caught my eye. Several blue jewels, almost identical in color to the demon eyes that stared back at me, were embedded into the gold of handle. I'd never seen it before, but my gut told me it was the Sword of Final Death... and they were going to kill her with it.

  "No!" I yelled, not thinking of what I was doing as I moved my hand to the door handle. Hunter grabbed at my other arm, holding me back.

  "You stay in this car!" he said with steely reserve. "If you go out there, the rest of us are dead. Your mom, Nora, me. They'll have who they want. I'm going to go out there and hold their attention while you drive away—"

  "No, Hunter!" I begged, grabbing onto his arm now. "They'll kill you!"

  "There's no other way now, Cassandra. This is the only way to get all of you out of here. They won't kill me." He leaned over and I closed my eyes as he pressed his strong lips gently to mine. The kiss was short, but everlasting as I thought again how this would probably be the last time I'd be feeling them.

  "Trust me," he whispered.

  My heart melted as tears flowed down my face easily. "Hunter, I love you," I told him quietly, but with every bit of my soul wrapped around those words.

  His eyes closed as if he were taking my words into his body and vaulting them in his heart. His hand came up to my face and he lightly stroked my lips with the pad of his thumb. "I didn't think it was ever possible, but you've turned me. Maybe not my soul, but definitely my heart. I will alway
s love you, Cassandra. I know now that I have since the day I came for you. Never forget that."

  I pulled his hand to my lips and held on to it, squeezing it as if it would make him stay with me forever. Kissing his fingers, I nodded and released his hand with a devastated sigh. His face grew serious.

  "When you see that I have their attention, you slide over here as fast as you can and hightail it in reverse. I'll keep them busy while you get as far away as you can, but make sure you get back on some other route to get to the Elders," he instructed. I nodded in agreement, even though every part of my being argued that there must be another way.

  "Cassaaannndraaa..." came a deep voice, calling me as if from inside the car. I looked around, expecting one of the huge men to be seated in the back with my mom and Nora, but there was no one. They were looking around in the back seat just as I was.

  Hunter was opening up his door and starting to get out. The "guard" stepped back only far enough to let him out of the car. Once he was out, the demon grabbed his hands and pulled them roughly behind his back. Before Hunter had gotten out, I'd thought the man was huge, but once he stood near Hunter, there was no comparison. Hunter had him dwarfed in height and muscle. It was clear that Hunter was allowing himself to be taken.

  "Ahhh... Hunter. There you are." I heard a voice faintly speak outside of the car. It was the same one that had called my name. It was so distinctive; there was no mistaking it. The timbre was seductive, yet deadly at the same time. I snapped my head in the direction of it, and looked into the face of a breathtakingly handsome man. His dark, finely chiseled features emphasized his eyes. They were blue like the others', but seemed much more mesmerizing as I looked into them from behind the windshield. Thick, dark hair waved down to his broad shoulders, lying just above his naked, muscled chest. He was the biggest of all of them. His attractiveness, however, could not hide the diabolical nature that seemed to emanate from his presence. This had to be Nergal, the King of Sheol, or, as I liked to think of him, the Devil.

  "You already know how disappointed I am that you've deserted your mission. I've already proven that to you, before my traitorous wife helped you escape, that is." He looked over at Anael. Caleb yanked at her hair, causing her to cry out, and forced her to look at Nergal. I couldn't see them as he was turned towards her, but I imagined his eyes relayed just how he felt about being betrayed by her.

  I ached at the inference to what I knew was Hunter's torture in Hell before he was freed by Anael. It killed me to imagine what they'd do to him now. Would they find a greater torture than what he'd already gone through? Or would they just kill him with the Sword and be done with him? I suspected Nergal took some sort of sick enjoyment out of watching people suffer.

  Hunter stood his ground, looking as relaxed as if he were talking to anyone else but the highest power in Hell. "Well, you have me back. I'll go willingly if you'll agree to let the women go, including Anael."

  Nergal erupted in sinister laughter that chilled me to the bone. I held my breath, waiting; for what? I didn't know. He walked slowly up to Hunter, as two of the guards moved up behind him. Hunter remained where he was, his eyes watching Nergal as he moved. I tensed as Nergal stopped inches from him, leaning in to get even closer.

  "Have you forgotten who I am, Hunter?" he asked, spittle spraying over Hunter's face. "I'm the King of Sheol. Your ruler. You will come back, but it will be on my terms. And I promise you, your punishment will be much more severe than before." He stepped back and paced the length of the hood of the car. "I'm thinking I'll let Caleb help out this time. Yes, that's it," he said as if he'd just thought of some great plan. "I'll force you to watch Caleb have his way with our dear Cassandra, day after torturous day. Maybe I'll even have her father watch the show. You know, kill two demons with one stone. He deserves to be punished for his betrayal just as you do."

  My mind was still trying to get over the image of the torture he was describing, when it suddenly stopped processing all together at the mention of my father. Nergal's eyes were boring into mine through the windshield. Did I just hear him right? My father was alive?

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Hunter started to charge at Nergal. The guards all converged on him, and I knew that this was our opportunity to try to escape, but I couldn't get myself to move. I heard Nora in the back, frantically whispering to me to get behind the wheel, but I was rooted to my seat. I was lost in my own thoughts of what Nergal had just revealed, trying to piece my world together in a way that would invalidate his words. But there was nothing that I'd ever been told of my father that could do that. All I knew was he left to protect me. My mom told me that he died, but had it just been his soul? I'd never even played with the idea that he might have been forced into Hell.

  I turned to my mom, hoping for some kind of sign from her that none of it was true, but by the way she was staring out of the windshield, her face a blank expression, I knew she was in shock too. Was she trying to sever the connections between my dad and this hell that we'd come to know, hoping that it was all a big mistake, just as I was?

  There was no way I could leave without knowing the truth. I got out of the car, despite the screams from Nora and my mom. One of the guards came up quickly, before I reached the front of the car. There was a small distance between us, but I knew it was just enough that he could react to any sudden movements I might be stupid enough to make. Hunter and Anael yelled at me to get back in the car, the guards and Caleb strong-holding each of them, but I kept my eyes on Nergal as he came towards me.

  "Cassandra, I'm so happy you've agreed to join us," he said with a smile. "It saves us a lot of time not to have to chase you. It also saves you a lot of pain, I might add. Come," he extended his hand, "take my hand and we'll do this the easy way."

  I put my hands up warding him off, and I was surprised when he stopped a few feet away.

  "What did you say about my father?" I asked with unconcealed hatred.

  "Oh, don't tell me you didn't know!" he said dramatically. He looked over at Hunter and laughed. "You mean to tell me you shared... well... everything with our little Cassandra, but forgot to mention that her father was enjoying his stay with us? How very... demon of you."

  "You're lying!" I screamed at him, refusing to believe that my father had lived in Hell all of these years. I searched Hunter's face for some kind of denial, but my heart sank as he hung his head, refusing to look at me. I knew then that Nergal was telling the truth, and it was like someone had stabbed me right through the heart. The heat grew from the wound and emanated throughout my body, causing me to shake with pain and anger.

  "You son of a bitch!" I yelled at Hunter, as I stomped my way over to him. No one blocked my path or held me back. "You knew and you didn't tell me?!" I continued as I got close to his face. "Why? Why would you keep that from me?"

  He still wouldn't face me.

  "Look at me, damn it!" I yelled.

  There was pain in his features, when he finally looked at me, but I refused to be affected by them. "I trusted you!"

  "I'm sorry," he whispered.

  "You're sorry? You're sorry? My father has been living in Hell for years while I thought he was dead, and you knew about it. I can't believe you kept this from me!" I started to beat at his chest, tears streaming down my face. The hurt overwhelmed me. He'd betrayed me on such a level, I didn't think I could ever forgive him.

  "That's it! Let your demon out, Cassandra. It's in your blood," Nergal urged from behind me.

  The meaning of Nergal's words didn't register at first. I was facing Hunter, my fists flattened against his chest, using him as leverage when I realized the implications. My head was down, and I didn't want to look up, afraid to see confirmation in Hunter's eyes. I shook my head in an effort to convince myself that it was a lie; that it wasn't possible. It would mean that... no, it just wasn't possible, I thought. My head shook violently, as if it could shake the horrible lies right out of it.

  "It's true," Nergal said in an almost gentl
e tone. When I turned to look at him, he started to come towards me. I didn't fear him. I didn't feel anything at that moment. It was as if I'd gone numb. "Why do you think Caleb's blood didn't turn you, Cassandra? It's because you already have the blood within you. You are truly your father's daughter."

  "Don't listen to him, Cassie!" Anael yelled, still trapped in Caleb's clutches. Caleb yanked her hair with such force that her neck strained further than I'd ever thought physically possible.

  "Shut up, you deceiving little bitch!" Nergal threatened. "I've allowed you to live for far too long. I should have killed you long ago when I tired of you. It's been a long time since you've been of any usefulness to me. I think it's time you served your final purpose. Caleb, show our friends here what happens to those who attempt to deceive us," he looked back at me as he continued, "or to the loved ones of those who don't cooperate."

  "My pleasure, Sire," Caleb said with a smile.

  Just as I saw him raise the Sword back and aim it at Anael's heart, I heard Hunter yell. He was struggling with his captors, attempting to free himself and was actually managing to pull them in the direction of Anael and Caleb, but I knew it wouldn't be enough. Reacting on an impulse, I charged at Caleb.

  No one, including me, expected the quickness with which I reached him. I launched myself at him, while attempting to pull the Sword from his grasp. We all went down from the impact. I fell on top of Caleb, cutting my cheek on the Sword in the process. My face felt as if it were on fire and I felt the blood running quickly from the cut. The pain seemed unbearable, but I forced myself to overcome it as I looked at Anael. She lay close by on the pavement, dazed, but she didn't seem to be seriously injured.

  The Sword lay between Caleb and me, both of our hands in a battle at the hilt. As I struggled to free it from him, a rage grew within me, along with the same unexpected strength that I felt back at the apartment. His eyes grew wide as I started to force the Sword from his grip. The power continued to surge as I wrested it from his hands. I felt as if a possession came over me, my body acting automated as I sat up straighter over him, holding the hilt of the Sword downward, the tip pointed at his heart.