The Science Division had actually experimented on succubi to discover this information. According to reports written by people who’d been under its effects, the Aura induced “an intense need to copulate with the woman producing the Aura.” People trapped by a succubus’s Aura became inundated by lust, their minds caught within a haze of ecstasy that banished all other thought beyond procreation impossible.
Christian’s thought processes were just fine. Throughout the entire time that he had spent with Lilith, he’d never once felt anything like what those reports described. The closest instance was when he and Lilith had fallen asleep under the tree, but that hadn’t been lust or the desire to have sex. That moment with Lilith had been comforting, reminding him of better times, soothing the agony that his soul bore, healing the scars brought about by his sin. It felt nothing like lust.
Even that time when he had imagined kissing Lilith, it hadn't felt like that. It had been lust, certainly, but there'd been other emotions as well. Compassion. Understanding. The desire to protect. It was nothing like what those men who'd undergone the experiment had described—one of which had been Leonne, another member of the XIII and someone that Christian respected.
“Ignoring that for the moment, I do have some information for you.” Tristin’s voice snapped Christian’s mind back into the real world. “The Church was unable to cover up what happened in Seal Beach in time to stop the media from finding out. They’re currently having a field day. Reporters all across the US are talking about how the entire Seal Beach police department has been destroyed in a single night.”
“So the entire police department was destroyed,” Christian muttered. “The media found out pretty fast. It’s only been a few hours since the incident happened.”
“The news first came from the Seal Beach Channel Four news station.” Christian could hear the shrug in Tristin’s voice. “I imagine one of their reporters heard the explosions and reported the event. Thankfully, the Church was able to get in contact with the Los Angeles police department and they’ve cordoned off the city. All trains and subways within Orange County have been stopped. No one will be coming in or out, which means national media stations have been forced to watch from a distance.”
“I suppose that’s better than nothing.” Christian rubbed his eyes. He was so tired, which wasn’t surprising after the night he’d just had. “At the very least that will keep the media from getting too close and possibly discovering the truth behind these attacks.”
“Those are my thoughts as well, but that doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods quite yet.”
“Problems?”
“Of a sort,” Tristin replied vaguely. “While we were able to get the cooperation of the police department, they have demanded that we let them take part in this mission.”
“I can’t see Samantha letting that happen.”
“Right. We would normally never allow them to take part in our missions because of the inherent danger involved when dealing with the supernatural. However, the boss lady’s hands are currently tied. If she denies them the ability to take part, they’ll wash their hands of this case, and then the media will have free rein to go and do whatever they please.”
“I see.” Christian grimaced. “So I’m going to be stuck working with the police?”
“Yes. The good news is that the people you’re to be working with won’t be going in unprepared. You won’t be dealing with the standard police, but a branch of the LAPD known as the Supernatural Investigations Unit.”
Christian frowned. “I’ve never heard of them.”
“That’s because they’re a relatively new unit,” Tristin explained. “It was created some time last year when a rookie Executioner screwed up on a mission, and a security camera in a subway station caught her killing an undine. The Church was forced into negotiations with the LAPD and informed them of everything they know about the supernatural world. After that, the LAPD created the SIU to deal with supernatural threats.”
“But that’s the Executioners’ jurisdiction.”
“As far as the rest of the world is concerned, the Executioners don’t exist. No one is supposed to know about us. Even if they did, we wouldn't hold any real authority, though that would probably be the least of our problems.”
Christian blew out a low breath as he realized that Tristin was right. Most governments around the world, and the United States in particular, kept religion as far from positions of power within their government as possible. It was a galling aspect of their society, but there was little that Christian or anyone else could do about it.
“As things stand, we’re lucky the LAPD has agreed to work simply with us and not reveal our existence to the world at large. I doubt the Church would be able to survive the backlash they’d receive if that happened, especially because we’re keeping our existence a secret, even from our own followers.”
“Yeah, I guess you have a point,” Christian said. He had never thought about the potential political ramifications involved with keeping a religious sect that had been created to slay monsters a secret. But then, that’s probably why he was a Warrior and not a politician.
“Of course I have a point.” Christian heard the scoff in Tristin’s voice. “Now let’s get down to business. Several members of the SIU should be arriving in Seal Beach sometime today. They’ve been given your number and will send you a text message stating the time and place you are to meet with them. From there, you will work with them to deal with whatever creature has shown up in Seal Beach.”
“Right. Is there anything else that I should know?”
“Not at the moment, but if something comes up, I’ll be sure to contact you. Now you should get some rest. You sound like you’re about to pass out.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Anytime.” He could practically hear the grin in Tristin’s voice.
***
After speaking with Tristin, Christian took a quick shower to rinse off the grime and blood from the day’s events. There were dozens of cuts running along his body, and if he didn’t want them to get infected, he would need to clean them as best he could.
Once he finished, Christian then proceeded to do exactly as Tristin suggested and get some sleep. By the time his head hit the pillow, it was already early morning, and he’d been up since the sun had first risen yesterday. It was no wonder that he passed out almost immediately.
He slept all through the early morning. By the time he finally awoke, the sun rode high overhead.
Christian groaned as the last vestiges of his nightmare vanished. Even so, the visions of his parents and Lilith blaming him for not protecting them continued their haunting chant, making it impossible to ascertain his present location. It wasn’t until the fog clouding his mind dispersed that he noticed where he was. His hotel room.
Lilith. Christian’s eyes clamped shut and his teeth clenched, as yesterday’s events bombarded him with the weight of his failure. Lilith had been kidnapped because of his inattentiveness and stupidity. She was no longer with him, and he didn’t have the slightest clue where her kidnapper could have taken her.
It was a bitter pill to swallow, knowing that she had been taken and he’d done nothing to stop it from happening. Worse was the fact that he couldn’t do anything for her. Until he ascertained her current location, the only thing that he could do was wait, and hope nothing happened to her.
There was also the small issue of the SIU. Christian had been told that he was to remain on standby while the Supernatural Investigations Unit of the LAPD arrived on scene and sent him a message, informing him of the time and place they were to meet. While the thought of sitting around waiting galled him to no end, it wasn’t as if he had much choice in the matter.
And speaking of the SIU…
Christian reached over to the nightstand and picked up his phone. Upon pressing the on button, the screen lit up and revealed the image of his screensaver: a black background with a silver crucifix. Gazing at the top of the
small screen, Christian saw that he had a text message, which he quickly opened.
The text message was small, no more than a few lines. It said: “Meet me at the Starbucks on Bolsa Ave at 12:30 pm.”
After closing the text message, Christian looked at the time. He had less than an hour to get there. That wasn’t a lot of time, especially since the walk would take at least twenty minutes unless he decided to run.
Climbing out of bed, Christian groaned as his body told him that it was still sore from last night. He would have to forego a shower and focus on stretching if he wanted to be working at one-hundred percent efficiency during this meeting. It was never a good idea to go into a meeting where you neither knew nor trusted the person that you were going to meet with.
Chapter 22
The streets were quiet. Despite it being a beautiful day with a clear blue sky and mild weather, there wasn’t a single person walking down the streets. All the stores that Christian passed on his way to the meeting point were also closed. He didn’t know if this had been a conscious decision by the people of the city, or if the SIU had something to do with it. Christian assumed it was a combination of both.
This worked out well for him. Clad in his full Executioner uniform of dark pants and shirt with a black cloak that trailed down to his ankles, he would have undoubtedly drawn a lot of attention if there were people around. The handles of Michael and Raphael poked out of his cloak, making him even more of a spectacle.
He arrived at the Starbucks without incident. Upon making a quick scan of the surrounding area, he counted half a dozen police officers. Four stood guard along the streets, and two hid on the roofs of two buildings several meters away. He could see them looking down the scopes of their sniper rifles.
Their uniforms were different from those of standard police officers. They were not blue, but a dark gray that consisted of military fatigues, a long-sleeved turtle-neck shirt, and what appeared to be a modified SWAT bulletproof vest. Although the officers wore the LAPD badge on the right side of their chests, a patch with the infinity symbol containing the acronym SIU was located on their shoulders.
One of the officers noticed his arrival and approached. He was a giant of a man with a hulking frame, yellow eyes, and shaggy brown hair that reminded Christian of a dog. The uniform he wore stretched taut across his bulging muscles. Christian assumed they didn’t have a larger size that fit him.
“Are you Christian?”
“Yes.”
“You look a little too young to be one of those Executioners.” The man’s deep voice rumbled like a bass. “How old are ya, kid?”
Christian bristled at being called kid as if he was nothing but a boy playing cops and robbers.
“I’m not a kid. I may only be twenty years old, but I have a lot of experience when it comes to dealing with the supernatural, and certainly more than someone who’s been with a unit that was only formed a year ago.”
“You don’t say.” The man’s chuckle made Christian bristle. “Well, I’m not gonna argue with you. I’m sure you know how to fight, otherwise the Executioners wouldn’t have sent ya. Follow me. My commander is waiting for you.”
Christian followed the giant to where a youthful woman was sitting at a table with a tablet in her hands. Her long brown hair was pulled back into a bun, but several tendrils had escaped to frame her face. She had brown eyes and sharp features, which were complemented by the dark-purple business suit that she wore. She looked like the no-nonsense type. He could only hope that meant she would act in a more professional manner than her subordinate.
As he approached the table, the woman looked up, and her eyes locked onto him. Much like the police officer had done, she checked him out from head to toe. Christian was thankful when she didn’t make any cracks about his age but instead directed him to take a seat with a gesture of her hand.
“My name is Catherine Siegal,” the woman said without preamble. “I’m the current head of the SIU, and the one who’ll be working with you on this mission.”
“A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Christian replied cordially. “I’m Christian, member of the Executioners.”
“Charmed,” Catherine said. She then proved herself to be a consummate professional by getting right down to business. “My department is currently canvassing each block of the city and making door-to-door inquiries to see if anyone has seen any suspicious activity. So far we haven’t found anything, but we’re hoping to get a lead soon.”
“Are you sure going door to door is a good idea?” asked Christian. “Asking people if they’ve seen anything unusual is a good way to make them curious. They might end up digging more deeply into things and uncovering something that's better off remaining hidden from the public.”
“Do you have any better ideas?” Christian said nothing, causing her to nod. “I thought not. You have to understand that we’re not only working under a tight budget because of how new our department is, but we also haven’t been able to gather any information through the few channels that we have cultivated in the past year. Most of our information network is located within Los Angeles, and Seal Beach is far removed from the larger cities in Orange County like Anaheim.”
“I see your point,” Christian admitted. “I’m not much for investigative work, so I’ll defer to your experience here.”
“I’m glad you understand,” Catherine said. “Since you’re going to be working closely with us, I’d like to discuss how our temporary partnership is going to work.”
***
A soft groan escaped Lilith’s parted lips as her eyelids fluttered open. Her mind was lost between the waking world and the world of dreams. Her surroundings were nothing but blurry shapes and fuzzy images. Everything appeared to be covered in fog.
She was tired, so tired. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep… But she couldn't. Something was wrong. The bed that she was lying on was comfortable, and the silken gown that she was dressed in gently caressed her skin, sending pleasurable shivers across her body, but her mind felt nothing but unease.
Lilith blinked several times, trying to make her eyes focus. The blurry images sharpened and the once fuzzy outlines became crisper. She soon realized that she was staring at a ceiling. The paint had long since faded into a dull gray. Cracks like spider webs ran along the ceiling to form intricate patterns that followed no known geometry. This was not her ceiling.
Even though her mind still felt sluggish, she processed this fact relatively quickly. If this wasn’t her ceiling, then it meant that she wasn’t in her bedroom. And if she wasn’t in her bedroom, then this was not her apartment. The thought awoke her further like an electric jolt.
Lilith sat up. She tried to move quickly, but her body, like her mind, was slow to act. It felt like she was wading through wet cement.
Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. What had happened? What was she doing here? Where was here? And why couldn’t she remember?
Lilith struggled to recall the last thing that had happened before waking up. She remembered spending the day with Christian, remembered how they had fallen asleep in the shade of a tree. That had been nice.
What hadn’t been nice was when she had more or less confessed her love for him and he ran away. It seemed their situations were reversed. Wasn’t it the woman who was supposed to do the running?
A shake of her head brought her focus back on trying to remember the rest of that night. Bits and pieces of what happened returned, slowly forming an image that allowed her to understand more about her current predicament.
She had entered her apartment to find both Maria and Stacy waiting for her. They had been acting odd; Maria hadn’t teased her about her date, and Stacy just being there when she should have been at work or out partying was strange in and of itself.
When she questioned them on their unusual behavior, both had assured her that they were fine. She had accepted their answer at face value, figuring that they must have just been tired or something, and s
he had honestly been in a rush to get away from them before they could question her. She hadn’t wanted them to see how distraught she was.
That had been a mistake.
After quickly dismissing herself, Lilith had retreated into her room. There, she had shed the tears that she’d been holding back, as she tried to understand why Christian ran out on her like that. Had she done something wrong? Did he not like her and just didn’t have the heart to say so? No reasons popped into her head despite the amount of thinking she had done, and Lilith had been forced to concede defeat. She had then gone to bed, emotionally exhausted from crying, and mentally drained from trying to understand the actions of the man she had fallen for.
She’d been abruptly awakened some time after falling asleep by the feel of someone grabbing her. She had kicked and struggled and tried to fight back, but then someone else had joined in, and the fight turned against her. She didn’t remember much after that; just a pair of brown eyes turning a sickly shade of red before everything went black. And now she was here—wherever here was.
She glanced around the room. The walls were bleached white and faded with age. More cracks appeared along their surface, and some mildew grew near the bottom. A stain on the wall to her left stood out starkly against the white backdrop, dirty red, like dried blood. The blinds at the single window were taped shut and boards were placed over it. A small flickering candle stood on a nightstand next to her bed of red velvet covers and satin pillows, the light from its flame her only source of illumination. Her exquisitely furnished bed presented an anomaly to the rest of the room, a dichotomous oasis of beauty in a sea of drab colors.
This bed, with its obvious elegance and the equally obvious intentions behind its placement in the room, did little to steady her nerves. Lilith tried to force back the fear threatening to overwhelm her, but the task proved difficult. She could feel shock rage through her like a maelstrom. Her body started shaking as the full extent of her situation became clear. She was a captive, helpless and weak from whatever method her captor had used to knock her unconscious.
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