Sentinel Lost (Mind Sweeper Series Book 5)

by AE Jones

  “They took your gun.”

  Dalton ran his hand down his leg and felt along his ankle. “Not my spare.”

  “Don’t take it out now. You’ll have to surprise him, or he’ll use telekinesis to take it away from you. When did you start wearing an ankle holster?”

  “I pulled it out again after we fell into the demon realm. I started wearing it when I was attacked during the serial killer case last summer.” He frowned. “Although now I don’t know what was real and what wasn’t.”

  Could guilt take up permanent residence in a body? “I promise I’ll explain everything to you once we get out of here.”

  He got up and paced the room the same way I had, but I wasn’t going to argue with him. He was a cop. Maybe he would notice or think of something that I hadn’t. But after a few minutes, he sat back down next to me.

  Footsteps pounded outside, and we scrambled to our feet. As the door scraped open, Dalton pushed me behind him. Even though he was pissed at me, more than likely hated me, he still placed himself between me and the demons.

  “It’s show time,” Saul announced.

  “She’s not going anywhere with you,” Dalton said.

  Saul gestured to the twins, who stalked toward Dalton. The two smiled at each other. An evil twin smile that made you wonder if they were communicating in evil-twinspeak. Even human twins seemed to be able to communicate telepathically. Who knew what these two were capable of?

  I rested my hand on Dalton’s tense arm. “Please don’t. They’ll hurt you and take me anyway.”

  Saul chuckled. “I knew he’d be useful if we brought him along.”

  I gritted my teeth and walked ahead of him out of the storage closet and onto the plant floor. Rusted machinery hulked like sentries in the large space. We walked toward a makeshift stage at the end of the room, and as we approached it, I gasped. The Prophecy tablet and the Key box sat on a table in the middle of the stage.

  Dear God, I needed to keep Dalton away from that box. Who knew what would happen if he touched it? I looked behind me. The twins were flanking him and led him over to stand next to the far corner of the stage.

  Saul directed me up onto the stage, and as I got closer to the table, the air teemed with power, a magnetic quality that drew me toward the objects. Light shimmered around the table like sunshine reflecting off the pavement on a hot summer day.

  Saul stopped beside me. He stared at the box and tablet with no reaction, as if he couldn’t see the power emanating from them. A low humming sounded in my ears. I watched him, but he still didn’t react.

  “Why did you steal these from the museum?” I asked.

  “Because they’re going to help open the portal forever.”

  “How?”

  He frowned. “You don’t need to know.”

  Which meant he didn’t know how to use them. “Then what do you need me for?”

  “You’re going to entice the realm demons to come to earth.”

  “How?”

  “Some of our recruits are going to take you back through the portal and show our brothers what they can have here.”

  “No!” Dalton yelled. He bolted for the stage, but the twins each grabbed one of his arms.

  I closed my hands into fists. “I’m not some damn freak show you can parade around.”

  “You will be whatever I want you to be. It’s your destiny. The reason you were born.”

  “Is my father part of your team?”

  He scowled. “There are a number of realm demons who have been working toward this goal for decades. Your father was one of them.”

  Was? “Do you know—”

  “Enough questions!”

  “Fine. How about a statement, then? If you bring thousands of demons through the portal, there will be war.”

  “Do not underestimate us. A millennia of living like rats has made us very resourceful. And we have powerful connections on earth.”

  “Like Aleksei.”

  His forehead bunched in confusion.

  “No, dear, he means me.”

  I turned. Katya walked toward us.

  Chapter 42

  Katya smiled like an actress accepting an award as she stepped up on stage. “I see I’ve surprised you.”

  “Why?” I blurted, shock leaving me at a loss for more words.

  “Because the imprisonment of the realm demons is a travesty! Over a thousand years of banishment, and for what?”

  “And this is, what? A personal crusade to correct an injustice?”

  “Our neighboring clan was sent to the realm, and with them, the demon I loved.”

  I frowned. “But back then demons didn’t marry outside their clans. You wouldn’t have been able to have children.”

  “Instead, I spent my life childless and alone. My father forced me to marry a male in our clan who left me when I couldn’t give him children. How is that any better?”

  “Katya, your demon flunky here killed a human to steal these pieces from the museum. If you let demons come to earth all at once, we’ll have war on our hands.”

  She flipped her hand in the air as if batting a fly. “I’ve lived through hundreds of wars. What is one more?”

  Oh Lordy, she was a crackpot. Why did I attract the crackpots? “There has to be a better way to do this. Speak to the council.”

  Katya huffed at me. “The council? They’re a bunch of bureaucrats. I need action.”

  “And you’ve recruited Aleksei to help?” I asked. “He was seen with Saul here.”

  “No, my dear. Irina raised her grandsons to respect their elders. Aleksei runs errands for me, and I had him deliver a package to Saul. Aleksei doesn’t know about Saul or my little project here.” She chuckled. “That’s how I got rid of Misha today so we could grab you. He’s also running an errand. Such helpful boys.”

  “Well, I can tell you I’m not willingly going to the demon realm to help recruit.”

  “I agree.”

  “What?” Saul barked.

  “She has a much more important role, now that I know what she is.”

  Nerves fluttered along my spinal cord into my brain. “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t play stupid, Kyle. You’re the Key.”

  I opened my mouth and closed it. What was the point of trying to deny it?

  “I have a unique ability. Through touch I can tell what a being is. The first time we met, I made a point of handing you the paper describing the demon clans. What a surprise to discover you were part realm demon! And when you told me you were working on a deal with the Abstatholm, I figured it had to be with the twins. I made a call and got them to agree to meet with you.”

  She frowned at the twins. “They were supposed to kidnap you, but they got a bit carried away. But something bothered me about you. Our first touch had been blocked by the paper, and I’d sensed something else was there, but couldn’t lock onto it. That’s why I held your hand that second time.”

  “And you sensed the Key?”

  “Yes. And the irony was not lost on me. I have spent the last millennia trying to find a way to open the portal again. If an angel was able to close it all those years ago, then they had the knowledge to open it again. And that’s where the Key comes in.”

  She walked over and ran her fingers over the tablet. “I discovered the Key of Knowledge in ancient texts. I think it was God’s way of removing power from the full angels. I’m not convinced He was overly happy when they helped trap our clans in the realm. Free will and all that being a big sticking point for Him.”

  “But he lets angels’ descendants carry it.”

  Katya’s eyes narrowed on me. “If that is true, maybe he trusts their human side to provide something a full angel is not born with—a conscience. I knew it was the answer I was seeking, but no one could find where it was being kept until last year, when those egotistical vampires decided they could control it.”

  “Silly vampires, tricks are for demons.” Okay, now I had turned into a crack
pot.

  Katya barked out a laugh. “I really like you, Kyle. Maybe we can talk more later, if you survive opening the portal. Now do your thing with the Key, and let’s get this party started.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know how.”

  Katya frowned. “Don’t play me for a fool.”

  “Hey, Crazy-Demon-Lady, I’m not playing you. I. Don’t. Know. How. To use your precious Key.”

  She growled, her eyes turning jet black. “What if I let the twins hurt your human? Would that incentivize you?”

  “Don’t do it, Kyle!” Dalton yelled.

  One of the twins punched Dalton in the stomach, and he folded over.

  “Stop!” These SOBs were not going to ruin everything. But how could I stop them? The Key. The prophecy. What good was it, if it did nothing to prevent these idiots from destroying the rest of the world? What could I do? The answer came to me like a V-8 smack upside the head.

  The tablet.

  Father Brown had said the tablet was the instruction manual for the Key. Well, it was time to download the information into my brain.

  “I need to touch the tablet.”

  Katya glared at me for a second and then backed away from the artifacts. I looked at Saul, who watched our exchange from the front of the stage. Then I glanced at Dalton, who still struggled between the demon twins.

  I reached for the tablet slowly, letting my fingers brush the cool stone. Come on, Key. Do your damn job, already. Tingling answered my pleas. It ran up my spinal column and quickly morphed into razor-sharp pains slicing into my brain. My instinct for self-preservation tried to force me to back away, but I couldn’t stop now.

  I slapped the palm of my hand down on the tablet.

  The room narrowed, graying around the perimeter, so Dalton, Katya, and the other demons were highlighted in vivid detail, like cartoon characters against a gray backdrop.

  And then all became clear.

  Latin words bubbled into my thoughts and spouted from my mouth. The demon twins froze where they were, wearing matching twin grimaces as they stood stiffly, unable to move. They growled and struggled to free themselves from the energy that wrapped around them like the cloth strips of a mummy. I could see the energy, brilliant and lifelike, as the words tightened the tendrils around them.

  Dalton wrenched himself free. Saul gawked for a moment at the twins and then turned to me in shock. While he was distracted, Dalton reached for his ankle holster. But he wasn’t fast enough.

  Saul spun back around and raised his hand toward Dalton. I screamed, let go of the tablet, and lunged in front of Saul’s hand, his energy slamming into me like a freight train.

  Shots rang out, and Saul dropped to the concrete floor.

  Somehow, I stayed on my feet. The words kept me there. I continued to speak my Latin verse, no longer needing contact with the tablet.

  “No!” Katya morphed into her demon form, red skin with orange splotches dotting her face. She lunged for the tablet. When she made contact with it, she shot across the room as if she’d touched a live wire and slammed into one of the big, rusted machines.

  She was dead. The Key told me so.

  I walked to the table and picked up the box. The energy surrounding it wasn’t mine to have. It buffeted my hand until I threw the box into the air and it disappeared with a flash of sparks that showered down onto the wooden stage, catching it on fire.

  Liquid warmth streamed down my face. I blinked in slow motion at the flames surrounding me. Ringing erupted in my head like a thousand slot machines announcing the jackpot winner.

  I didn’t know if I was hallucinating when I saw Misha and Jean Luc race toward me through the smoke-filled room. As soon as I saw them, I collapsed, spikes of icy agony invading my brain through my nose and eardrums. And the words, the words bombarded me, the rolodex on hyperdrive, trying to fill my brain with too much information.

  The Key had finally opened its doors to me.

  Muffled voices wafted through the smoke and fire. And then I was in Dalton’s arms. He carried me away from the heat. I screamed at the motion, at the words.

  Make it stop. Please make it stop.

  But I couldn’t speak. Instead, I gave in to the murky darkness.

  * * *

  I opened my eyes and did a double take at the scene below me. Doc and Jean Luc were performing CPR on someone. From my perch above them, I couldn’t see who it was. I ran my gaze down the jean-clad legs until I stopped at the black work boots. I knew those boots. They were my third best pair.

  What. The. Hell?

  Crap. I was having one of those tacky out-of-body experiences. I looked up and saw the ceiling inches above me. Was I floating?

  Doc barked orders at Jean Luc. My eyes flew back down to the scene. Jean Luc moved for a moment, and I saw my face. Blood flowed from my nose and ears. The ground spun below me, and I jerked my gaze away.

  Could an astral-projection puke? ’Cause I felt like puking.

  But when I saw Misha standing to the side, I didn’t feel like puking anymore. He was crying. Tears streamed down his face as he clenched his hands spasmodically, as though he wanted to reach out, to do something.

  But what was there to do?

  Dalton stood grimacing on the other side. Blood was smeared all over his shoulder and arms. I wanted to scream at them to help him, but I couldn’t form words. When he stood there, frozen to the spot, it finally hit me that it was my blood on his shirt.

  I looked up at the ceiling again to calm my heart. How could I feel it pounding in my chest when I was ether, floating above a body whose heart wasn’t pumping?

  This was it.

  I hadn’t gotten to say goodbye. I sucked at goodbyes, but I still wanted to say something.

  The scene around me started to flicker like an old-fashioned television, and dread clawed along my spinal cord.

  “How long has it been?” Doc yelled.

  “Twenty minutes,” Jean Luc replied.

  “Let me try shocking her again.”

  My vision blinked out. When it came on again, no one moved. As if the frame was paused.

  Finally, Doc looked down at my body. “Time of—”

  “No!” Dalton yelled. “She’s not gone.”

  Misha reached for him. “Joe.”

  “She’s not gone!” He shoved past Doc and grabbed my face. “Don’t you leave me now, McKinley. I’m pissed at you, and I haven’t had my say yet.”

  The scene flicked to black again.

  Warmth ran over my face, and I felt safe for just a moment, even as the panic in Dalton’s voice increased while he yelled for me to come back. For some reason I wasn’t scared anymore.

  Until the silence descended.

  Chapter 43

  A buzzing surrounded me, circling my head until it entered my brain, the vibrations finally bringing me out of my stupor. Light seeped through my eyelids, and I was forced to open them slowly.

  I saw my hands first, resting palms down on an old-fashioned table. The metal cooled my hands and sent a chill along my spine. I blinked at my surroundings. I was sitting in the middle of an empty ice cream parlor.

  How had I ended up here? I wandered over to the long glass counter, peering at the tubs of ice cream. Mocha fudge swirl, chocolate almond, toasted coconut, all my favorites. Behind the counter, a metal container of fudge sauce bubbled, permeating the air with its rich sweetness.

  On the wall behind the counter was a large sign with the words “Now Serving,” and an arrow pointing down to a blinking red number 00. Sitting at the end of the counter was a small ticket dispenser. Maybe if I pulled a number, someone would come out from the back of the store and help me. I reached for the ticket.

  “Don’t, Kyle.”

  I jerked at the voice. There was Marie, standing behind the cash register wearing a pink waitress dress with a white apron. I was hallucinating. Had to be. Maybe it was bad sushi. I’d had bad sushi before, and I’d definitely gone to another plane of existence when I d
id.

  “Marie, what’s going on?”

  “Don’t pull the number, Kyle.”

  “Why are you here? Where is here?”

  A bell rang behind me, and Marie disappeared. I turned as the door swung open and Nicholas entered. His eyebrows rose slightly while he glanced around the shop. “This is an interesting interpretation.”

  “What the hell is going on?” I demanded.

  He smirked. “Followed up by even more interesting word choice.”

  “Nicholas!”

  He gestured to a table and sat down. “Please sit and let me explain. We don’t have much time.”

  I sat across from him. “Why am I here?” I threw up my arms. “Where is here?”

  He stared at me for a moment. “Do you remember anything?”

  “No.”

  “Think, Kyle.”

  I closed my eyes and scenes flashed in my head. “We were fighting the demons, and I was hurt.”

  “Yes.”

  “Doc and Jean Luc were working on me and Misha was crying and I…oh crap, I’m dead.”

  He shook his head. “Not yet. But you’re on the cusp.” He gestured around the room. “This is your holding space until a decision is made regarding your fate. Where you will go next.”

  I took a steadying breath. “And who’s making the decision?”

  “I would say, with your background, a number of the bigwigs up here will be brought in to confer.”

  “Well, that sucks. Don’t I have a say in this?”

  “Absolutely.”

  I stared at him in shock. “Are you serious?”

  He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Normally, at this point, it’s too late to turn back. But you still have it in you to return. You never had a problem with bucking authority in the past. Don’t go soft on me now.”

  “Funny.”

  He squeezed my hand. “I’ve got to go. Decide what you want to do, Kyle, and then hold on to that choice, here.” He tapped his heart. “Not here.” He tapped his head. “Think you can do that?”

  “Hell to the yeah.”

  “They have no idea who they’re up against.” Nicholas chuckled as he faded away.