Guardian of the Hellmouth (18 page)

Read Guardian of the Hellmouth Online

Authors: A.C. Greenlee

 

choice did he have other than to see her happy? He’d rather suffer

 

for the rest of eternity to give her the life of normalcy she

 

desperately wanted. That realization alone was stupefying.

 

“Then why start this to begin with? Why play with not only her

 

heart but gamble with her soul?”

 

“It started out as nothing more than a game. She was a conquest,

 

a human who I’d use to sate my urges, murder and drag into hell

 

beside me to be bartered for whatever I wished to gain.”

 

Leviathan admitted, his eyes distant as he remembered the first

 

moment he laid eyes on Kailani, the trembling little woman

 

running from a demon so low of class it was almost laughable.

 

He hadn’t known how special she truly was. She was human in

 

his mind. Disposable.

 

“And now?”
“And now…” The words dried up on his tongue. He lifted his

 

head to glare at the angel. “I know what I must do. Cease your

 

attempts to scold me as if I were a child.”

 

“I’m not scolding you. I’m making sure you do the right thing

 

when the time comes. She has a life; she has a choice and a

 

chance to be happy. Do not rob her of that.” He said, taking a

 

step towards Leviathan. “If you cannot make the decision then I

 

will do it for you. I will not let another innocent fall prey to your

 

kind. Not if I can help it.” Leviathan had had more than enough

 

of his superior tone. His pupils dilated as fury filled him.

 

“Choose your next words carefully angel.” He said and as if on

 

cue the bathroom door opened behind him. Kailani poked her

 

head out, fully dressed with a glare on her face.

 

“If you fuck up this hotel room I’ll murder you both.” Leviathan

 

turned to cock a brow at her.

 

“Motel.”
“Shut up.” She said and he smirked, watching her disappear into

 

the bathroom for a second before she and Naomi stepped into the

 

room.

 

“I trust you have a plan in mind.” Pierre said as his wife moved

 

to stand next to him. She nodded and looked over at Kailani who

 

stood in front of Leviathan glaring up at him. The demon just

 

stared at them over her head, ignoring her heated expression.

 

“Yes.” Naomi said simply and the angel cocked a brow down at

 

her.

 

“Care to enlighten us?”

 

“Yes…” She hedged, “It will involve you calling in a favor from

 

an old friend.” Pierre’s frown couldn’t have gotten any deeper.

 

Leviathan watched in silence as they had a quiet mental battle

 

before the angel threw up his arms in frustration and turned to

 

growl at them.

 

“Gather your things. You’ll be leaving soon.”
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Chapter Eleven
Pierre and Naomi departed just before dawn, leaving

 

Kailani and Leviathan to finish gathering what little they had.

 

Pierre, against his better judgment gave Leviathan directions to a

 

tiny little airstrip that a friend of his owned. This man would fly

 

them to Germany on his private plane so they could avoid

 

running into the police at the airport. The airstrip could possibly

 

be under watch but the angel was convinced his friend would
have warned him if it were. Leviathan didn’t believe his bullshit

 

for a second but what other choice did he have? Come first light

 

he and Kai slipped into the stolen car after he ripping the plates

 

off and tossing them in the backseat. The Chrysler was hot; the

 

police would be looking for not only them but the vehicle itself.

 

If the man and his dog ever made it out of the desert to report it

 

stolen that is.

 

“This isn’t going to work.” Kailani said as he put the car into gear

 

and glided out of the motel parking lot. “Something’s going to go

 

wrong. I don’t know what it is, but I can feel it.”

 

“Is that just your usual pessimism speaking or could it be

 

something more?” He asked, casting a sidelong glance at her that

 

she returned with a shake of her head.

 

“I don’t know. But something’s wrong.” She said and he

 

chuckled in an attempt to ease her mind. He didn’t need her

 

worrying, even if he couldn’t deny he had the same feeling of
dread and foreboding. Leviathan placed a hand on her knee,

 

offering her reassurance he wasn’t sure he had a right to.

 

“Everything will be fine.”

 

“Famous last words.” She said and he shook his head, navigating

 

them silently into traffic.

 

It wasn’t eight AM when they arrived at the airstrip. The

 

place was barren, empty and devoid of life save the reptiles that

 

sunned themselves on the sun baked runway. It was the picture of

 

peace, everything silent and clean. No matter how she looked at it

 

Kailani couldn’t help but see the danger that lay mere feet in

 

front of them. Leviathan moved to get out of the car next to her

 

and she grabbed his arm to stop him.

 

“Kai?” He asked quietly, his brow furrowed as he turned to look

 

at her. “It will be fine.” He reiterated but it just wasn’t enough to

 

assuage her fears. Sighing he lifted a heavy hand and ran his

 

fingers through her hair. “Is this about the flight or is there

 

something else you’re afraid of?” Kai turned a frown on him.
“What do you mean?”

 

“I mean, is this about Ophanuel?” He asked and her gaze dropped

 

to the steering column. Why couldn’t she look at him all of a

 

sudden? Is that what she was feeling? Trepidation? Or maybe she

 

felt fear of Ophanuel himself? If he was anything like Pierre

 

would she even be able to stand his presence? The merger called

 

for a physical connection; could she give herself to the angel?

 

There were so many questions, so much left unanswered that it

 

made her head spin. She felt lost, as if there were no hope in their

 

insane little mission. Would any of this even work? Leviathan

 

sighed beside her.

 

“You know I won’t leave you. If this doesn’t work we’ll figure

 

something else out.”

 

“At least until you’re called back right?” She lifted her gaze to

 

his, watching his jaw tighten. Now that, he had no answer for.

 

What could he say? Nothing was promised to them, especially

 

not his stay in the human realm. No matter what happened he’d

 

eventually have to go back. If Cassandra didn’t send him, his
master would surely call for him. But who could say when and

 

where? This entire foolish expedition was a ticking time bomb

 

nightmare. “It’s okay. I don’t even know why I brought that up.”

 

She sighed.

 

“No. It’s not okay.” He said and they fell silent. Kailani turned to

 

stare out her window at the huge silver hangers that lined the

 

sides of the runway, watching as one of the doors lifted and a

 

small red jet was wheeled out. More dread filled the pit of her

 

stomach but she did her best to ignore it. There was so much she

 

wanted to do at that moment. For some reason, getting on that

 

plane and flying to Germany just felt like it would be the end; the

 

end of an epic story, of a tale that could have really been

 

beautiful had they just let it flourish. Could she really handle

 

closing this book and never seeing Leviathan again? She didn’t

 

want to explore what they’d become, what they’d shared

 

together. But if this was the end, she didn’t want to let him out of

 

her sight without at least telling him how she felt.
“Leviathan…” She started and he listened to her heart rate

 

increase. He could instantly sense a change in her, in the

 

atmosphere around them and more specifically in the mood of her

 

words. And to be honest, it scared the daylights out of him.

 

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

 

“Don’t.” He cut her off and she gave him a startled look.

 

Leviathan gripped the steering wheel until he thought it might

 

snap off in his hands. He didn’t want to hear what she had to say.

 

He
couldn’t
hear it for the sake of his sanity. It wasn’t time. It

 

was much to soon. He wasn’t ready for it. “Don’t Kailani. We

 

have enough problems.” He growled, throwing open his door and

 

climbing out. The heavy metal slammed behind him as he made

 

his way out onto the runway to confront the three men who were

 

checking the plane over. Kailani felt her chest cave in. It was

 

painful, a gut wrenching feeling of hopelessness that sent her

 

spiraling into a miasma of utter despair. There were no real words

 

that could describe what she was feeling, other than heartache.
“Get it together.” She whispered, trying to pull herself together as

 

she fought back the tears that threatened to fall. There was no

 

time for crying or feelings. Like he said they had enough

 

problems. Sighing she pushed her door open, steeling herself as

 

she stepped into the thick Australian heat.

 

“She’ll be ready soon.” One of the men stopped to assure

 

Leviathan, his eyes tracking Kailani as she neared them. He was

 

by far the smallest of the three in stature, with wheat blonde hair

 

and dark brown eyes. He was pale, with freckled milky skin. He

 

seemed washed out somehow, as if he had been drained, all color

 

and life pulled from his body like the emptying of an ink well.

 

“I’m Jeremy. That’s Fred and my elder brother William.” He

 

introduced the others who moved from behind the plane with a

 

gentle smile. They were just as faded as Jeremy, with pale

 

complexions and dark eyes. They couldn’t have been angels, no,

 

but they weren’t exactly human either.

 

“And this will get us to Germany?” Leviathan asked beside her,

 

obviously not worried by their odd appearances. The three men
gave a curt nod in unison. Seriously, who were these pod people?

 

And why didn’t Leviathan see what she saw?

 

“It will get us there in half the time. She’s a speedy little beast.”

 

Jeremy joked with a chuckle.

 

“Thanks for doing this for us.” Kailani said with a forced smile

 

that Jeremy returned with one of his own. He chuckled again

 

pleasantly, holding his hand out for Kailani to shake.

 

“It’s no problem miss…” Her hackles rose immediately as he

 

reached for her. There was something terribly off about Jeremy

 

and his friends; she didn’t know what but it frightened her. She

 

suddenly wanted to run screaming for the car and tear off down

 

the road, leaving Leviathan and the strange men behind. The fear

 

and dread she’d felt earlier returned, burrowing in the pit of her

 

stomach to the point that it was almost painful. But how could

 

she be so rude to the people that were helping her? What could be

 

so bad about him that she couldn’t just shake his hand?
Her hand lifted, her fingertips brushing his as she moved to return

 

his gesture. Time seemed to slow around them, tunneling until all

 

she could see was Jeremy. His hand caught hers, but instead of

 

releasing it seconds later, he yanked her forward, pulling her off

 

balance and into his arms as his friends jumped forward.

 

“Leviathan!” She shouted in warning at the same time he growled

 

her name and reached for her. Fred and Will both brought

 

forward long metal rods with bright red plastic tips. The instant

 

the tips touched his flesh Leviathan let out a frightening growl,

 

his body jerking as he fell forward onto his knees.

 

“Alright he’s immobilized!” Jeremy yelled seemingly to no one

 

as he held a struggling Kailani in a steely grip. Fred and William

 

continued to poke and jab Leviathan’s sizzling body with what

 

had to have been high voltage cattle prods.

 

“What the fuck are you doing?! Stop hurting him!” She ordered,

 

fighting with everything she had to get away from Jeremy so she

 

could help Leviathan. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as

 

she punched, slapped, clawed and kicked at the bastard but he
wouldn’t release her. Just when she thought it couldn’t get any

 

worse the sound of police sirens filled the air and suddenly they

 

were surrounded. She watched in horror as police cruisers, the

 

Police Tactical Group and even the Australian Federal Police

 

flooded the airstrip en masse, each of them hopping out of their

 

vehicles in bullet proof vests and helmets, all of them toting

 

assault rifles. The men and women in uniform moved forward as

 

she continued to fight and struggle against Jeremy. For a man

 

built so thin he was tougher than stone. She couldn’t get him to

 

even flinch no matter how hard she hit him! “Don’t touch him!

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