Atonement (Heaven Sent Book 1)

by JL Rothstein

  Moldy dry air wafted up to slap them in the face upon entry. Kelly stopped to take in the entire area, everything about the setting was familiar in a way that it shouldn’t be. Though she had been inside more than once, it wasn’t a place she frequented. The building was old and drafty with several floor-to-ceiling windows running along the side. The warm air whistled around their ankles as it sang through the large crevices that bulged between the wooden frame and its brick casing.

  Inside the library Kelly could hear a man yelling, it appeared to be coming from the front.

  “Someone’s upset” Kelly remarked.

  “Yeah, it’s near the front entrance, makes sense, that’s the direction everyone was just running from.”

  “Let’s split up but stay within view of each other,” Kelly told her and then took off maneuvering right. She walked through the first aisle of bookracks and a cold shiver of recognition came over her. She watched Gen move left and walk up through the long line of wooden desks that dotted that half of the library.

  When they reached the end, Kelly motioned for them to turn right toward the front entrance. Kelly moved around a few copy machines and headed for the front desk but stopped short when she heard Gen gasp. Turning back, she saw her sister standing behind a woman bent over something on the floor and doubled back for a better look.

  Kelly looked down, a petite blonde woman dressed in jeans and a pink sweater was quietly crying over the body of an elderly man lying in a pool of his own blood. The name tag on the man’s blue sweater vest read Hal.

  Kelly locked eyes with her sister then watched Gen grasp the woman on the shoulder. The woman would feel only warmth and reassurance from Gen’s touch. Reaching out, the woman clasped Hal’s hand whispering as tears streamed down her cheeks.

  “Her name is Jenna,” Gen told Kelly without looking up. “She was in the back writing on her laptop when gunshots rang out.”

  Kelly felt a stronger jolt of power as Jenna recited prayers pleading for God’s help. Anytime a human prayed for Heavenly help the Guardians nearby were temporarily endowed with additional strength to help them.

  Kelly walked to the front desk and called back to Gen “This must be personal, not many financial reasons to rob a library.” Kelly surveyed the chaos of toppled books and broken glass. “There’s a man with a gun blocking the entrance. He has an open box of bullets half hanging from the front pocket of his sweatshirt.”

  “Well, he’s already shot and killed at least one, poor Hal here just passed,” Gen told her sister. “We have to help these people.”

  Gen approached the man with the gun.

  “I can’t seem to get through to him, I’m not able to influence him to stand down,” Kelly told her. “You try.”

  Kelly observed the gunman as Gen walked closer to him. He was in his early thirties, muscular, with a large scar on his chin. He was pacing back and forth as a woman close to his age hid behind the front counter. The woman was boxed in, the gunman stood between her and the front door. If she attempted an escape she would be exposed. There was nowhere for her to go.

  “I can’t influence him either,” Gen told her.

  “Did it feel like he was insulated somehow?” Kelly asked.

  “Could be, but that would be strange since I feel no interference,” Gen answered.

  In the distance Kelly heard sirens, but knew they were still too far away to bring relief to anyone inside.

  “How do you want to play this?” Kelly asked. “If we can’t influence him, maybe we try influencing the women to escape.”

  The sound of creaking caused Kelly to look up; someone was upstairs quietly walking around.

  The man aimed the gun at the ceiling and pulled the trigger.

  This is crazy, what is going on here? Kelly grappled for answers as she felt the familiar prickle of anxiety wash over her.

  “You have friends in here trying to help you out, bitch?” the gunman screamed. “You think they can get the drop on me?”

  “Oh, he’s completely lost it Gen.”

  “Yeah, I’m getting that vibe too, but it’s weird that we can’t reach him. I’ve never had that happen before, especially standing this close.”

  “We need to be quick Gen, he’s going to shoot her if we don’t do something.”

  Kelly watched Gen reach down and touch the woman. “Her name is Melissa. This guy, Bobby, is her ex-boyfriend. She’s been running from place to place trying to get away from him, but he keeps finding her.”

  Kelly focused on Bobby as he walked around the front desk. He lifted the gun and aimed it at Melissa who was curled up behind the counter. Kelly could only see Melissa’s dark long hair as it fell over the top of her curled up small frame.

  Kelly felt another surge of power run through her and knew her sister would as well. Verses from the Hail Mary quietly drifted up from the floor.

  “No,” Gen whispered.

  Gunshots rang out as Bobby pulled the trigger several times. Gen was momentarily stunned by his action, even Kelly shivered at the violence. The blast catapulted Kelly’s mind back to the night of her fight with Sonoran. Images of the park flashed in front of her. In that moment it was as if Sonoran were standing in front of her pummeling her all over again.

  Fear quickly snapped her back to the present. Kelly shakily moved forward and hopped up onto the shattered glass countertop to peer over to the other side. She was shocked to see Melissa was still alive. The woman had slumped to her right, her face peered up toward Kelly. Melissa’s breathing was labored. Blood covered her left shoulder and lower legs. The splattered liquid dotted her pretty face, as her big brown eyes widened in fear.

  How in the world did he miss the kill shot from that distance? Kelly silently questioned.

  Before Kelly could ask Gen if she knew what happened she heard someone stomp down the stairs behind them and run across the foyer. A young woman slammed her body against the front door exiting with the force only adrenaline can provide. Once in the parking lot the girl never turned, she ran full on toward the relative safety of the street. Her ponytail swayed briskly behind her as she disappeared from their view.

  “I’ll be back sweetheart,” Bobby taunted Melissa as she lay wounded on the floor in front of him. “Don’t go anywhere.”

  Bobby turned back and pursued the young woman into the parking lot, where more shots rang out as he blindly fired his weapon into the air. Clearly, he was angered by the girl’s narrow escape.

  “It doesn’t feel natural, whatever his rage issues are this is something else,” Gen told Kelly.

  “We have to get these people out,” Kelly told her as she walked over and influenced Jenna to leave Hal’s dead body by the reference desk in order to help Melissa.

  “I was able to reach her, so it’s just him we can’t reach,” Kelly said rhetorically.

  You have to push through this, Kelly thought. Can’t let this guy hurt anyone else.

  Jenna tried to help Melissa toward the back exit, but they only managed to get to the librarian’s office before Bobby returned. Kelly heard glass rattle as Bobby fumbled with some sort of chain around the front entrance.

  “He’s trying to lock out the police,” Kelly said. “It’s a hostage situation now. The two women made it inside the office and locked the door behind them.”

  “That office door is no match for his gun,” Gen observed.

  “No, but he’s about to be busy fighting off police,” Kelly answered as blue lights splashed across the front hallway.

  “Let’s take a look around, see if we can find anything that explains why we can’t influence him.”

  “Starting upstairs or down?” Kelly asked, feeling a bit more confident as if helping these women had somehow helped her.

  “Down, there’s never anything good in the basement,” Gen remarked.

  “That is so true,” Kelly retorted.

  Gen paused at the top of the stairs just as the police yelled to Bobby through a bullhorn.

  T
he basement below was dimly lit and with their descent Kelly could smell the unpleasant scent of musty unfiltered air as it crept up to meet them. As Gen pulled open the door at the bottom of the staircase Kelly was stunned to hear voices arguing inside.

  Gen turned back and arched her eyebrows in surprise at Kelly. Gently the door clicked softly behind them and they tiptoed closer to the source. Knowing whatever was ahead wasn’t human, they used the aisles of archived books as cover.

  Kelly heard a male voice. “You said this plan would work Leucous. We are running out of time, all of us! If we don’t find him soon—”

  “I know what I said!” Kelly assumed that was Leucous replying. “Something has to have him and it’s most likely from Heaven. Why else can’t we find him? Why else is his signal so delayed?”

  Kelly locked eyes with Gen and realized she couldn’t communicate with her sister telepathically.

  Oh no, I can’t hear Gen. Kelly’s mind began to race. This isn’t good.

  Kelly reached back and braced her body against the bookshelf for support. Gen patted her body down then motioned to Kelly impersonating someone on the phone, Kelly nodded in understanding and fished out her cell phone.

  In the distance Kelly heard a phone ringing, it was most likely the police trying to reach Bobby. The gunman was yelling obscenities while rampaging through the library. At various times you could hear furniture being dragged across the floor and the sound of books falling off shelving. The violence vibrated through the ceiling above them.

  Kelly looked down and read the no signal line on her cell phone and felt herself frown.

  No signal, of course we’re in a basement, Kelly sighed.

  “We need to leave, Raven,” a female voice ordered.

  Kelly felt her knees buckle as the recognition of Sonoran’s voice rang through her muddled thoughts. Her heart raced as her mouth went dry.

  “Someone is bound to take notice,” Sonoran continued. “This idiot upstairs is being influenced by our presence. Don’t call me again until you have a location, Leucous. I don’t care how many Guardians I have to kill to get Vermillion back, I’m not going to stop until we find him.”

  Kelly’s body went limp and she slumped to the ground. Gen reached Kelly just in time to catch a few falling books on their way to the floor. Gen searched Kelly’s face for understanding.

  I know who they are. Kelly’s trembling hands gripped Gen’s arms tightly, digging into Gen’s flesh.

  The police breached the library, Kelly could hear the stampeding sound of boots running, a cacophony of gunfire was exchanged, and flash bangs exploded upon deployment.

  Kelly shook Gen. “We need to get out, now!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Their powers took them into the kitchen hard and fast, the frantic nature of the journey sent chairs crashing to the floor.

  “What the heck is going on?” Gen pleaded to Kelly. “Who are they? Why are you so scared?”

  Kelly’s eyes bulged with fear. “Everyone back here now!” Kelly yelled breathlessly.

  Gen watched the aura of her sibling’s Heavenly power light up the room like a Christmas tree. Soft colors of brilliant light splashed across the ceiling, reflecting in all directions as they arrived.

  Tom was first to speak. “What is it?” he asked Kelly. “What’s happened?”

  Kelly’s eyes were wild, Gen thought she looked almost as if she didn’t believe what she was about to tell them. “I know who they are,” Kelly said, her breathing sounding a bit calmer. “I know what they are.”

  “Did you just run into them?” Deb asked. “Why didn’t you call us? We were going to confront them together.”

  “We were at the café,” Gen answered. “All these people started running from the library across the street. We entered because it seemed urgent and there was nothing demonic about the scene.”

  Gen bent over and retrieved a fallen chair from the floor, putting it upright she sat down before continuing. “It was a madman with a gun, an ex-boyfriend of a woman who worked the front counter. He brandished a weapon and was shooting people. He killed an older gentleman.”

  “We felt nothing demonic,” Kelly added. “But we couldn’t reach the gunman, we were unable to sway him, calm him, neither of us could.”

  “How far away were you from the gunman?” Dan asked.

  “We were practically on top of him,” Kelly answered.

  Gen continued relaying the events. “That led us to look around, we started with the basement. When we got to the door and opened it, we felt them, heard them, the demons. We could no longer hear each other, and we couldn’t reach the rest of you.”

  Gen watched the wave of understanding wash over their faces before she continued. “Their voices were deep and menacing. They were arguing, with each other. We crept along the racks as quietly as possible to try and get a glimpse of who it was. As we approached, Kelly tried using her cell phone to text you guys, but she had no signal.”

  Gen paused to look at Kelly whose chest had stopped heaving, her sister was now slumped against the kitchen island that ran between the kitchen and eating area. Her sister seemed far away, lost in her thoughts.

  “Okay, so I assume you got a look at them,” Xavier stated.

  Gen thought the heaviness in the room matched the fatigue running through them. How could she not feel exhausted after weeks of running around trying to track these things down?

  Now, we finally stumble upon them and Kelly has us running scared from the scene, Gen thought. This must be very bad if Kelly’s afraid.

  “I only saw glimpses of them from the angle I was crouched in,” Kelly said.

  “Then how are you so sure you know who they are?” Greg asked.

  “Or what they are?” Frankie echoed.

  “It was the names, I heard all their names,” Kelly answered. “Then when the female demon spoke, I remembered her from that night in the park. The night she nearly killed me.”

  Deb whispered, “Oh no.”

  Kelly swallowed with a small sigh escaping her rigid body.

  “Kelly, tell us, who are they?” Tom asked.

  “The first demon, the one Antonio exposed, his name is Leucous.” Kelly looked up and into Tom’s eyes. “The second demon, the one in black that Deb described during her encounter with Michael, is Raven. The third demon, the female that attacked me, is Sonoran.”

  How does she know who is who? Gen wondered.

  “Their brother who is missing, the one we suspect Schlosser attacked and stole powers from, his name is Vermillion,” Kelly finished.

  There was quiet in the room, Gen felt like the others were struggling to understand, much as she was. She still couldn’t comprehend why Kelly was so frantic, but slowly Gen saw recognition come into Tom’s eyes.

  “Leucous,” Kelly said.

  “White,” Tom replied.

  “Raven,” Kelly lobbed out to him.

  “Black,” Tom answered.

  “Sonoran,” Kelly added.

  “Pale,” Tom said.

  “Vermillion,” Kelly finished.

  “Red,” Tom completed. Gen had never seen a look of such dread on Tom’s face. “It can’t be, it just can’t be.” Tom shook his head in disbelief.

  “It can’t actually be upon us,” Tom said to Kelly. “It can’t be their time to be here.”

  “You think there’s a right time for them to be here?” Kelly retorted.

  “Who’s here?” Gen asked impatiently.

  “I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals,” Kelly recited, looking toward Gen. “Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, 'Come!' I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.”

  Kelly cited the reference with ease, as if she had read it a thousand times, perhaps she had. Gen felt a wave of dizziness as the realization set in.

  “The Four Horsemen. You’re say
ing these eight-foot green eyed demons are the Four Horsemen?” Gen was asking Kelly the question, but she felt the weight of truth before it was confirmed. Her siblings were spread out before her grappling with it themselves.

  Kelly continued to make her case. “When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, ‘Come!’ Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.”

  “That kind of makes sense,” Deb said. “If that’s the power Schlosser stole and is wielding down here, it explains why there’s been such an uptick in violence, more road rage, more anger, and almost no tolerance in the last six months.”

  “We know the story, but remind us about the last two riders,” Dan said.

  “When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, 'Come!' I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand.” Kelly paused. “This rider is most often thought to represent famine resulting from the war the second horsemen manifests.”

  “So that means the last one is destruction,” Greg said.

  “Yes and no,” Kelly replied. “I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, 'Come!' I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.”

  “The problem with this last one is it implies that the fourth horseman is Death,” Tom said. “That has long been thought to be an inaccurate assumption by Humans.”

  “They also thought all Four Horsemen were male and clearly that was wrong,” Kelly told them. “Sonoran may bring death and decay upon this world, but she is not Death itself.”

  “How do you know?” Dan asked.

  “I don’t,” Kelly paused. “It’s just my instinct tells me that she isn’t.”

  “Now what?” Deb asked. “Let’s assume this is all true, that these three demons are here looking for the Red Horseman, they obviously aren’t here to bring on the apocalypse.”