Obsessions: A Monster Squad Novel 7 (22 page)

Laura nodded but averted her gaze. “There may be others.” She stood up slowly and turned for the door. “I’m going to check on Crystal and see if there was a problem.”

“Tell her extra gravy on the taters. It smells so good.”

“I will, Daddy.” She turned and stepped out into the hallway. She lowered her eyes and exhaled hard, her heart suddenly heavy. She cast a furtive glance back toward his door and sighed. “What have I done?”

*****

Mick meandered forlornly. He debated with himself on how best to tell Jennifer that her crazy assed father was still on a killing spree. Every time that he thought he had a workable plan in his mind, he’d find her, start to approach her and then his brain would panic and he’d find a thousand reasons why the approach he had worked up simply wouldn’t work.

He wanted to warn her. He needed to tell her. He prayed that he could find a solution on how to tell her. His mind kept running in circles and he fought with himself on how best to do what needed to be done. He even contemplated doing an end run on her and going straight to her mate. What would Mitchell do if he came to him with that information? He shuddered as he thought about it. How could he explain that he knew this information? If he told them that Mr. Simmons had contacted him and told him?

“Hey, are you the pilot that brought the Simmons girl and Ms. Youngblood in?”

Mick lifted his eyes and he noted a young military man standing before him. He nodded slowly. “Yeah, mate. That’s me.”

“You had a call just a bit ago. I guess your dad was looking for you. Said you weren’t answering you cellphone.” The guy handed him a slip of paper. “He said that they were about to leave for vacation and he would be at this number.”

Mick gave the man a confused look. His father was long gone and assumed dead; presumed to have been shot by a confused local while he was in werecat form. His father had been out hunting wild game and simply never returned. Had he been killed by a local and his body recovered, the local would panic when he found a naked man had been roaming the jungles and probably buried him in an unmarked grave.

Mick took the slip of paper and noted the phone number. He swallowed hard when he recognized Walter Simmons’ phone number. He held the paper up and nodded to the young man. “Thanks, mate, wouldn’t want to miss them before they left.” The man turned to leave when Mick caught his attention again. “Say, is there a phone I could use? I, uh…well, my cell phone was broken during the trip up here.”

“Yes, sir, if you’ll follow me.” The man took the lead and escorted Mick to a secluded office. He opened the door and pointed to a landline and desk. “The operator can get you the prefix you need.” He pulled the door shut behind him as he left, and Mick stood alone in the room a cold sweat dripping down his back.

He sat and picked up the receiver, punching the numbers into the phone. He waited only a moment before Walter Simmons’ voice came across the line. “Mick?”

“Y-yes, sir. I got your message. My cell phone is broken, and I had to use one of the landlines here.” Mick prayed that Simmons would understand what he was trying to say.

The old man was no idiot and assumed the call would be bugged regardless. “I understand, son, I understand completely. Look, I just wanted to touch base with you before your mother and I left for vacation.”

“Yeah, I got your note.” Mick adjusted the phone and chewed nervously at his thumbnail. “Will you be gone long?”

“Not very long at all. We just had to wait for the right time. You know…we’re very worried about your sister. She hasn’t been heard from in a while, and we’re worried about her. I understand she’s okay, but it would be nice to know that she wasn’t in harm’s way.”

“Yeah, well, she’s awfully pigheaded. I think she gets it from you, Dad.” Mick smiled at himself, knowing that Walter Simmons was probably steaming under his shirt collar at the comment.

Walter chuckled into the phone, “You’re more right than you know, son. She definitely takes after me.” He cleared his throat and lowered his voice somewhat. “Look, I’m not sure what you’re doing up there in the States, and frankly, I don’t care. Your mom worries. So, maybe if you just took some pictures of the sights and sent them to her…you know, to calm her nerves, so that she knows that you’re okay. She may not be able to talk to her daughter, but if she could know that you were okay…it would put her at ease.”

Mick thought hard about what he was saying. Pictures? “You want me to get pictures? And send them to you…er, to mom? To set her at ease?”

“Yeah, sure. Just whatever. You know. So that she knows you aren’t in jail.” Walter laughed. “You’re not in jail, are you, son?”

Mick exhaled hard and stared at the corner of the room. “No, I’m not in jail.”

“Excellent. Then just snap a few photos, maybe pick her up a t-shirt or something. A souvenir.”

“Yeah.” Mick was deflated. How could he get pictures of the place where Jennifer was without getting caught? He was certain that Walter wanted to know exactly where Jennifer was so that the attack teams could avoid hurting her. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thataboy. Make your mother happy.” Walter slapped the table. “Well, son, we have to get ready for our trip. Your mother sends her love, and she really looks forward to hearing from you as soon as you have time.”

“Yeah. As soon as I have time.” He laid the phone down in the cradle and stared at it. “It’s not like you’re asking me to risk my life here or anything,
Dad
.”

*****

Kalen stared at his arm and nodded. He turned and left the mouth of the cavern. Approaching Jack, he removed the wrist band and handed it to him. “Chief Jack, the Wyldwood would speak with you.”

Jack raised a brow and gave Kalen a look he didn’t quite know how to interpret. “Oh, she’ll grace me with her audience now, will she?” Jack stood and reached for the wrist band. “How does this work?”

“Simply place it on your arm. You will be able to see and hear each other. Nobody else will.” Kalen averted his eyes as Jack slipped the golden-hued wrist band onto his arm. Immediately, the stone in the center seemed to glow and become translucent like the stone Loren had given him would do when they spoke through it.

Her image appeared and she gave him a pleasant smile that softened the hurtful feelings Jack had been feeling toward the elf. “Chief Jack, so good to see you again.”

Jack bowed his head slightly, “Loren, to what do I owe this honor?”

“Our elders have reached a consensus on the threat. They feel confident what you will be facing.” She glanced to the side and spoke in hushed tones then turned back to Jack. “I fear that this information may be coming to you too late.”

Jack stiffened. “How’s that?”

“The threat has manifested. We are most certain of that. We aren’t certain how it intends to strike, but we are most certain that it is on your plane as we speak.”

Jack peered through the cavern at his group of warriors, none of whom seemed able to hear the conversation going on. “Hit me with it.”

Loren gave him a puzzled look and shook her head. “Hit you…with what, Chief Jack?”

Jack fought back a laugh. “It’s a human expression. It means tell me everything. Even the bad news.”

“Ah. Yes, well, we are most certain that the threat is Lilith.” She waited for a reaction, but Jack simply stared at her image. “She is most dangerous. Perhaps the single most dangerous creature to have walked the earth since creation.”

“Really? I can think of some pretty dangerous creatures.”

“She is far worse. I assure you.”

“Okay, so who is she?”

Loren explained to Jack the history of Lilith, her defiance of God, her rejection of the Adam, the allure of the Fallen Ones, and how it all played out in her downfall. Jack listened intently and tried to take it all in. “So, if she was defeated once, she can be taken out again.” He glanced to the Guardian. “You do know that we have a Nephilim in our group now. We sort of had to adopt him to get the weapons.”

Loren nodded. “The son of Rafael. He will be a good addition to your team of hunters.”

“Was he the one you intended us to pick up?”

“We only knew that one more would join. We couldn’t see
who
.”

Jack rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “What’s the deal with them all being so young? You said it was necessary.”

“One of the elders saw it in a vision. The unending hope of youth. The ability to remain focused on the task at hand. The unyielding…”

“Wait a second. We’re talking about kids here, not battle hardened vets. Most kids I know can’t concentrate on anything long enough to see it through.”

Loren nodded slightly. “But these are not ordinary children. They are young adults. And they are battle hardened, each in their own way.”

He had to give her that one. “Okay, boss. You got your team, and now we got our target. I don’t guess any of your soothsayers happened to see where this Lilith was hiding, did they?”

“Not yet, but they have not given up. I am certain that she will raise her ugly head soon enough.”

Jack sighed and stared out the open door. “I’d feel a whole lot better if we could strike first.”

*****

“What is this?” Lilith stepped back slightly as the vampire was tossed against the wall.

“He was directing the others. He is the leader.” Samael towered over the vampire and snarled, his wings extended and his hands opening and closing in anger. “They will want him back.”

“So why didn’t you remove the head from the snake?”

“I want to know how they controlled me!” His words echoed off the walls and caused the glass windows to vibrate. Centurions scurried back to their work, their curiosity no longer a priority.

“Whatever it was, they’ll no longer be able to do it if he’s dead, lover.” She stroked his chest as she spoke, her words dripping with saccharin sweetness.

Samael pushed her aside and glared at the vampire trying to stand. “Who are you?”

Rufus got to his feet and adjusted his clothing. He squared his shoulders and turned to the Fallen One. “I am Rufus Thorn. Normally, I would say that I was pleased to make your acquaintance, but under the circumstances, I am sure you will understand why I cannot.”

“Why have you come here?” Samael took a step closer and raised a meaty hand to strike the vampire.

Rufus did not cower, nor did he flinch. He stared the Fallen One in the eye and raised a brow. “I would be most pleased to discuss matters with you in a more civilized manner.” He walked closer and extended his hand. “I assure you, brutality will get you nowhere.”

Samael stared at the little vampire and anger rose within him. He couldn’t explain why. All he knew was that he hated the man standing before him. He reached back to crush the man when Lilith yelled, “Stop!”

Samael turned on her, his eyes aglow. “Why would you stop me?”

“I’d like to hear what he has to say.” She stepped closer and inspected the vampire. “He intrigues me.”

“He shall be crushed.”

“Not until I’ve heard what he has to say.” Lilith stepped between the two and took Rufus’ hand. “Lilith. So pleased to meet you.”

“Lilith? As in,
the
Lilith?” Rufus kissed the back of her hand, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Of course. There can be only one.” She gave him a wicked smile. “I take it that you know of me.”

“I know that Damien Franklin was working diligently to see you made whole again. I see that he succeeded.”

Her face wrinkled at the mention of the name, but she quickly recovered. “Yes, he did.”

Rufus looked amongst the crowd hard at work inside the facility. “And is Damien still with us?”

Lilith chuckled and looped her arm through Thorn’s. “In a manner of speaking, yes.” She pointed to the demonic character behind her. “Samael took his body for his own.”

“Samael? The angel?” Rufus glanced over his shoulder at the monster that had fallen into step behind them.

“One and the same. My lover needed a host body to transform.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Unfortunately, by taking on dead flesh, there were certain ‘side effects’. His wings…”

Thorn nodded. “I see.”

“So, Mister Thorn, please, tell me what brings you here before we skin you alive and allow my demons to have their way with your bones.”

Rufus raised a brow and cleared his throat. “We were…well, we were looking for Damien. We had heard that he was resurrecting you and we were going to see if we could assist.”

“Then why would you run?”

“We didn’t recognize any of the people here, and when we tried to summon Damien, we saw your friend here. The angel…”

“Samael.”

“Yes. Samael. I must say, he did put quite the fright into us. So we decided that leaving was the best plan at the moment.”

“Too bad you didn’t leave sooner,” Samael growled from behind them as Lilith pushed the door to her office open.

Rufus entered and the distinct smell of sex and stale food struck him. The unkempt bed in the center of the room and the myriad of tables with papers scattered about made him realize that this was definitely a multipurpose room.