Darkness Shatters: Book 5 (Sensor Series) (21 page)

Kerbasi was almost directly above my head working on the next light. Blood covered him. His wings flapped wildly, working hard to keep him in the air. He’d smashed nearly half the lights so far. There was a look of determination on his face as he moved to the next one. For once, I was glad to have him on my side.

More gunfire whizzed through the air.

Several guys hanging out on top of the crates had redirected their attention from the guardian to me. I kneeled down and sighted my weapon at the nearest one. As soon as he saw me he started scrambling back, but it was too late. I clipped him in the shoulder. Swinging around, I found the next one. His shots were tearing holes into my legs. They burned as I tried to hold my crouching position. I didn’t hesitate to shoot him in the head.

The third guy was off to the left and the farthest away. He wasn’t much of a shot so most of his bullets hit the crates with only one nicking my toe. Damn. I’d really liked those boots. With one pull of the trigger, I had him down.

I did a quick survey to be sure no more shooters were up on the crates. They weren’t all at the same levels, leaving some blind spots, but there didn’t appear to be any more. I homed in on my father’s signature once again and began hoping from crate to crate. It hurt. Most of my wounds might already be closing, but they weren’t fully healed. I had to take it easy between each hop.

Jerome was working his way to the corner of the warehouse and I sensed he now had a young witch with him. Very young—about seven. What was he doing with her? My mind raced to remember if there was an exit at that end. All of the buildings had several ways in and out, but not necessarily at every corner. DHS would have their guys covering the perimeter, but who knew what Jerome had up his sleeve with a witch in tow.

Ignoring the pain, I leaped over the crates faster. On the third leap an outside explosion rocked the building, coming from another warehouse. I couldn’t get a good foothold and teetered precariously. Leaning forward, I managed to regain my balance. That was what I got for not monitoring my earpiece more carefully.

I focused on it now and caught that it had been the lab that blew. They hadn’t been able to defuse one of the three bombs in time and had to flee before it went off. The only injuries were from fallen debris and nothing too serious. My senses also confirmed none of our supernatural team had been killed or badly hurt.

Mr. Brown confirmed for me they had it under control. I gave him my own update and continued forward. Only fifty feet to go before I reached my father.

With a running start, I jumped up to a higher crate. Shots fired at me from below. I’d been concentrating so hard on my objective I hadn’t noticed a sensor down there. Crouching low, I fired back. He hid behind the crate. I tried shooting through it, but whatever was in there blocked the bullets from penetrating to the other side. The sensor was emitting no pain to indicate I’d hit him.

Then Kariann zoomed toward the guy. I caught the sound of a snap and then a body hitting the floor. She peered around the edge of the crate.

“He’s down,” she whispered.

The room darkened further as Kerbasi took out another light—less than a dozen left.

“Thanks.”

She looked up and found me.

“Where to now?” she mouthed.

I pointed to another part of the warehouse where I could sense several men and women hiding out.

“That way,” I spoke low. “You’ll find at least a few of them there.”

She nodded and raced off. It was in a different direction than I was headed.

Not sensing anyone close by, I slung my rifle onto my back and climbed down. It was getting too painful to keep leaping the long distances between crates. My feet touched the ground and I listened for any nearby heartbeats. Nothing. No humans or sensors waited to ambush me as I raced the rest of the way to my father.

He was waiting next to an exit in the corner. His untamed hair had turned fully gray since the last time I saw him and the hint of a gut he’d had before was gone. One thing hadn’t changed. He still looked like the kind of man who could fit into any backwoods place just fine.

There was a trigger in his hand with his thumb holding down the top button. Next to him was the young witch I’d sensed. She had curly brown hair and deeply tanned skin, making me think she might have been American Indian or Latina. There was a vest strapped to her small body with packets of C4 attached and wires running around it. Jerome had put a bomb vest on a seven-year-old girl. Rage filled me as I sighted my rifle on his face.

“I wouldn’t do that,” he warned.

“You’ve sunk to a new low, Jerome.” My voice came out cold.

“What? This?” He glanced at the little brunette girl. “I’ve killed plenty of witches in my day.”

I didn’t doubt it. “But are you willing to kill yourself in the process?”

“This is just insurance. As long as you stay back I won’t let go of the trigger.”

He spoke the truth. He might be crazy, but I didn’t sense any suicidal feelings from him.

I lowered my weapon a few inches. “It’s not just the bomb. I’m also talking about the plague infection you spread.”

He shrugged. “It’s a means to an end. If I can thin the herd, it will be easier to concentrate on what’s left.”

“You’ll never kill them all. What do you hope to accomplish?” God how I wanted to shoot him, but not at the cost of the little girl. That was a death I couldn’t live with afterward.

“All I want is peace and safety for mankind from those bloody savages you call friends.” His expression turned to one of disgust. “You picked the wrong side.”

He had to be kidding me. “Peace and safety? You’re just like every other extremist out there with ridiculous and unrealistic expectations. You don’t even care who you hurt along the way because it’s all justified as collateral damage. Men like you make me sick.”

“The feeling is mutual.” Rage filled his eyes. “I will win this fight in the end even if I’m not around to see it.”

The DHS team I’d met outside was coming up behind me. Their soft footsteps and measured breathing gave them away to my sensitive ears, but Jerome wouldn’t know they were there yet.

“You say supernaturals are savages but have you taken a good look at the world around you? People of all kinds can be violent. It isn’t restricted to any one race or group. Most of the sups you target would never hurt an innocent human, but you can’t say the same.”

“That’s what you’re missing,
daughter
. It isn’t the job of sensors to police the humans of this world. Our sacred duty is to bring destruction on the unnatural races who don’t belong here. The angels themselves have helped us with that before.”

“That was a long time ago,” I said through gritted teeth. “They stopped and so should you.”

He shook his head. “If I show them we’re ready for another war, they’ll come back.”

“If that’s the case then why is it between the two of us I’m the one they communicate with?” I looked up and found the guardian was down to just six lights left. “Kerbasi!”

He paused mid-flight and gazed down at me. “What?”

“We’re good on the lights. Can you come down here, please?”

I caught a flash of his relief. The poor guy was in a lot of pain after all the bullets he’d taken on during his light-breaking mission. Flying with damaged wings couldn’t have been easy. I was actually amazed he hadn’t given up and flashed to somewhere safe to sit out the battle.

He made his way over and landed next to me, wincing as his feet touched the ground.

“Now, can you please tell Jerome how inspired you are by his recent activities?” I could only hope he didn’t say anything embarrassing.

“Inspired?” His expression turned incredulous. “I might appreciate his efforts if he wasn’t risking the entire human population while he was at it.”

Jerome’s jaw hardened. “I don’t care what he says. He’s not a real angel.”

“I will have you know…” Kerbasi took a menacing step forward. “That I’m a servant of heaven, the same as any angel. I can assure you none of us approve of your methods.”

“It’s okay, guardian. Jerome lives in a fantasy world where everything he does makes sense. Even if a whole host of archangels stood here right now telling him to stop he’d convince himself he was still right. That’s what extremists do, twist the truth to fit their false reality.”

The leader of the DHS team stepped up beside me.

“We’ve got him surrounded,” he whispered close to my ear. “From the outside, too.”

I nodded.

“Now this is what really surprises me,” Jerome said. “You managed to get the government on your side. I’d hoped they’d choose to work with me instead.”

I snorted. “Because a guy spreading the plague and holding a little girl hostage with a bomb vest looks like a perfect ally.”

Jerome shot me a scathing look. The only thing I could think of was he had something wrong in his head. Maybe a few wires got crossed or he’d always been crazy. I might have wondered how he got so many people to follow him, but then again why did anyone follow an extremist and risk their lives for them? Sometimes a leader was just that good at selling their Kool-Aid.

O’Connell joined our party. “Surrender to us and we won’t let her shoot you.”

“I want immunity if I surrender,” Jerome countered. “I was only doing what I must to protect the human population.”

The agent shook his head. “We can’t do that. The weaponry we’ve found here alone runs up the charges against you. Never mind the plague bacteria you were growing in one of the other buildings.”

“Do you even have evidence of that?” Jerome countered.

He’d have felt the explosion go off as well.

O’Connell nodded. “We were able to take pictures and collect a few samples before we had to clear out.”

No doubt with Yerik’s assistance. He could have stayed in there until the last moment.

Jerome’s gaze raced around. I could sense his desperation as he tried to think of a way out of this. Would he let go of the trigger and kill the humans he’d been so desperate to save just to stay out of prison? We all waited with bated breath.

“I’ll surrender, but only to you. Keep that vile filth away from me.” He jutted his chin at me.

I wished I could feel hurt by that, but I was long past it. Jerome was nothing more than a sperm donor. A crazy man who had no compunction about hurting innocent people. It had been my dream to kill him tonight, but letting DHS take him was the next best thing.

“Will you let us dismantle the bomb?” O’Connell asked.

Jerome nodded. “It’s a simple one.”

An EOD guy in a heavy-looking suit moved forward. We all held our breath until the bomb was dismantled and the little girl was set free. They asked about her health while other agents took a handcuffed Jerome through the exit door.

As soon as they finished I beckoned her to me. “Over here.”

Her gaze met mine. I probably didn’t look all that great with bullet holes riddling my clothes, blood dripping from my wounds, and my braid coming half undone. Still, someone had to take charge of her and it needed to be a supernatural.

Hesitantly, she came.

“What’s your name?” I asked when she reached me.

“Imara.”

“Do you know if your mom is here, Imara?” I asked.

She nodded her head. “Yeah.”

Kariann walked over to us. “How about I take her to her mother? You should take care of your injuries.”

I glanced down at myself. Most of the bullets had hit my vest, but a few had hit my arms and legs. Those had gone straight through. The wounds were slowly healing, but they could use some staunching in the meantime.

“Yeah, maybe you have a point.”

“Get the guardian tended, too. He looks like he’s about to pass out.” She took hold of Imara’s hand and walked off.

“I’m not going to pass out,” Kerbasi said, wavering on his feet.

“Sure you aren’t, big guy.”

A DHS guy with a med kit came over and started helping us get bandaged up.

Chapter Nineteen

Vehicles were everywhere when we stepped outside, blue and red lights flashing against the warehouse walls. I glanced at Kerbasi and he let out a heavy sigh.

“You sure do know how to make a spectacle of things,” he said.

I pointed at what was left of the warehouse at the far end of the complex. “The explosion took out over half that place.”

“I’m not surprised. I nearly fell when it hit.”

Lucas and Yerik came walking up to us. The daimoun’s kilt had a few holes in it and quite a bit of ash and soot. He’d probably have to replace it. Lucas didn’t appear to have any wounds, but there was some ash in his blond hair.

“Sensor, can’t you go one battle without getting shot?” He ran his gaze down me, pausing at each bandage.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I didn’t get shot in Purgatory.”

“You were the only one with guns in Purgatory,” he said, dryly.

“It still counts.”

I turned my attention to Yerik. “Is Honor okay?”