The Appeal of Evil (The Road to Salvation) (27 page)

Mom jerked out of her grasp, sending Katie sprawling on the floor, a weight perched on her back. She glanced over her shoulder. Her gaze was met with white pointy teeth dripping with drool. Hell Hound! Katie rolled quickly to her side, throwing the dog onto the floor, and reached for the pan. Still on her back, she readied to whack the Hound if it came after her. It scrambled to its feet but didn’t attack. Mom was in a sitting position, her arms once again grabbing for Randy’s neck, but they weren’t reaching their target. Plunged into Mom’s chest, up to the hilt, was a gold knife with a cross-shaped handle. A gurgling sound escaped her lips, and black ooze flowed from the wound. The Hound at Katie’s side growled and lunged forward. Just as it was about to sink its teeth into Randy’s arm, Katie brought the pan down on its head. With a whimper, it sprawled onto the floor, legs sticking out at its sides. With a quickness Katie didn’t think possible, Randy reached into his pocket and pulled out a vial of water. The droplets hit the dog and smoke appeared. The creature squealed, then exploded.

Outside came the sounds of baying dogs. Randy glanced around, wide-eyed. Katie pushed herself into a sitting position. Leaping to his feet, Randy grabbed Katie’s arm and pulled her to the door. Cracking it open, he stared out.

“We’re not going to be able to make it on foot.” He closed the door and turned to Katie. “Do you know where your mom’s keys are?”

Katie turned to the table behind her and grabbed them. She held them up for Randy to see. With a nod, he pushed past her and grabbed for the handle on the garage door. Once again, he cracked it open and peered inside. Growling sounded. Randy slammed it shut. Barking and scratching resounded from the other side. Randy turned to Katie, his face red with exertion.

“There’s only one that I can see.” He moved away from the door and indicated toward it with his head. “You throw it open, I’ll hit it with the Holy Water.”

Katie grabbed the handle. The door shook and vibrated beneath her grasp as the Hell Hound attempted to get through. Her eyes stayed on Randy. He pulled the lid off the vial and positioned himself near the door. He nodded, and Katie opened the door a crack. The dog’s snout exploded through, followed by the head. Using all of her weight, Katie pushed against the door, stopping the Hound from getting farther into the house. Randy wasted no time and splashed the water into the dog’s nose. It yelped, then backed into the garage. A pop sounded as the creature exploded.

Katie threw open the door and rushed into the garage. Randy hobbled behind her. She climbed in the front seat and turned the car on. Randy barely had his door closed before Katie put the vehicle in reverse. She tapped her hand impatiently on the steering wheel, waiting for the door to lift fully.

“Head to my house,” Randy instructed. “We’ll be safe there.”

Katie squealed the tires as soon as she was clear. She didn’t even take the car out of reverse and angled it toward Randy’s house. His car and Wes’s truck were in the driveway, so she pointed the car at the lawn. She tried to avoid the mailbox, but she wasn’t that lucky. More baying and barking sounded throughout the neighborhood. When she had a chance, she glanced out the windshield. Hundreds of dogs had converged on their position, their jaws snapping open and shut, drool flying from their mouths. They all looked like the dog Katie had seen earlier – black and brown German shepherds. Katie threw the car into park and pulled the key out of the ignition. Throwing her shoulder into the door, she pushed it open then ran for the house. Somehow, Randy was already on the porch with the door open, waving for Katie to get inside. She barreled through the opening and slid on the tiles in the foyer. The door slammed behind her.

Panting, Katie turned to Randy. “Why didn’t you just use a portal?”

Randy walked past her and headed for the living room. He flopped onto the couch, a grimace covered his face. Katie stood before him, her hands on her hips.

“I couldn’t. I couldn’t risk another demon coming through. They knew where I was. It was a planned attack.”

Katie didn’t know if that was true or not, she knew so little about portals. She figured they could be used whenever, wherever. It was yet another question to put on her list.

Randy leaned forward, his eyes squeezed shut. Pain pinched his face. Katie wasn’t overly fond of the guy, but she also didn’t want to see anyone in that much pain. She knelt down in front of him.

“Can I get you something?”

He shook his head and held his arm out in front. A portal opened in the living room. Katie stared at it for a moment. How come he could open one here? He grabbed Katie’s arm and attempted to pull himself up. Katie wrapped her arms around his shoulders and lifted him to his feet.

“Get me into the light,” he wheezed. “But I’ll need you to stay here.”

Katie did as he instructed, and the light vanished behind him. She glanced around the room nervously. How long was he going to be gone? Where had he gone? What should Katie do until he got back? A howling dog drew her attention to the window. She glanced out onto the street. The dogs lined the sidewalk and the neighbor’s yards, just outside the boundary of Wes and Randy’s property. Some paced back and forth, their tongues hanging out of their mouths, their eyes locked on the house. They may have looked like regular dogs, but Katie knew they weren’t. Right behind the eyes she saw the whiteness that indicated they were Hell Hounds. She shivered. It all became clear what Randy was talking about when he said they were going to be overrun with strays. Josh must have brought them as sentinels to keep an eye on things. They could travel anywhere and no one would pay them any attention. Even now if someone called Animal Control, what were they going to do? The dogs vastly outnumbered them and probably wouldn’t think twice about tearing them to shreds.

Wes and Randy’s property must have been holy ground. That would be the only explanation of why the dogs weren’t attempting to get into the house. It made sense, given that they were Praesuls. They would need somewhere safe to sleep at night. That might also explain why Randy was able to open a portal here. Demons couldn’t come through onto holy ground. She chewed on her thumbnail as she stared at the dogs. What were they going to do?

A light flashed behind her and Randy stepped into the room. His shoulders were back, his head was held high. The bruises were gone from his face, the cuts faded into scars. Katie sucked in a sharp breath. The light faded behind Randy, and he placed his hands on his hips.

“How many are out there?” He indicated toward the window.

“More than you can handle.” Katie folded her hands over her chest. “Where’s my mom? Is she…” Katie couldn’t bring herself to say the word.

Randy shook his head. “No. I’m guessing she’s in the same place as Wes. And I guarantee you Josh took them both.”

Disbelief surged through Katie. “Why would he do that? He promised me he wouldn’t hurt my mom.”

Randy shrugged. “And I’m sure he fulfilled that part of his promise. The next time you see him, I’m sure he’ll tell you no harm came to your mother. But he needed her out of the way so he could replace her with a demon and go after me.”

“How do you know he was going after you?”

Randy dropped his hands to his sides. “He won’t do anything to hurt you. He thinks you’re on his side. He wants to stop me from turning you against him.”

“Is he going to give her back?”

Randy shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. He’ll keep her for as long as he needs to get what he wants. If he feels he’s losing you, he might use her to sway you back to his side.”

Katie’s chest felt tight; it was hard to breathe. Her knees felt weak and she sunk to the floor. Her head spun. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. Josh wasn’t supposed to go after her family, especially her mom. Mom didn’t know what was going on; she had no way to defend herself. This was all Katie’s fault. She should have never gotten involved with him. She should have listened to Wes and Randy, and then her mom would be safe. She had to make this right. Taking a deep breath, she climbed back to her feet.

“Where did he take them?” Katie didn’t even try to keep the anger out of her voice.

“I don’t know. There’s only one person who does know, and you need to contact him.”

“How? I don’t have my phone.”

“Where is it?”

Katie pointed out the window. “At my house.”

“You’ll need to get it.”

Katie huffed. “Right. With all those dogs out there? You’re crazy.”

“They won’t hurt you.”

“How do you know?”

“Because Josh won’t let them. Me, they would tear apart in a second. But they are there to watch over you, to keep you safe.”

Katie stared at him for a moment, unbelieving of what he told her. “Then why did the one knock me over in the kitchen at my house?”

“You were interfering, so it had to stop you. But notice it didn’t actually attack you. It just moved you out of the way.”

Katie glanced back out the window. Could she believe what Randy told her? Could she walk outside and not be attacked? Wasn’t there a better way to get Josh’s attention? She tapped her foot on the ground, trying to figure out what to do. If it had just been Wes that was missing, she probably would have told Randy to go after his son himself. Her mom was a different story. She needed to get her back. She unfolded her arms from her chest with force and stomped her foot on the ground.

“Fine. I’ll get my phone. I just really hope you’re right about this.”

A small smile crossed Randy’s lips. “Don’t worry. Have faith.”

On shaky legs, Katie headed for the front door. She opened it slowly and stepped onto the porch tentatively. Several of the dogs saw her approach and sat down. She stepped on the driveway. More and more dogs took a seat and stared at her, panting. If Katie didn’t know better, she would have thought they wanted to play. As she got to the street, the dogs separated, opening up a path to her house. Without hesitation, Katie ran. She went into her room and grabbed her phone, then headed back to Randy’s house. As soon as the door was closed behind her, she went to the window and stared out. The dogs paced and growled once again. Katie leaned against the wall and sighed. They could do whatever they wanted now that she was in the house. Thank goodness Randy had been right. She looked at him.

“Now what?”

“Send him a text. Tell him you want your mom back.”

Katie typed the words into her phone, inwardly hoping this plan actually worked.

SECONDS AFTER SENDING THE TEXT,
Katie’s phone rang. Josh’s number flashed on the screen. Katie couldn’t answer fast enough.

“What did you do with my mom?” Katie had no time for pleasantries.

Josh laughed. “She’s safe. Don’t worry. I promised you no harm would come to her and I meant that.”

Katie glanced at Randy. He had been right about what Josh would say. Still, that didn’t change the fact that he took her mom in the first place.

“I want her back. Now.”

“You’ll get her back, Katie. Don’t worry. But we have some other things to discuss first. I assume you’re with Wes’s father.”

“Yes.”

“Good. I need you two to meet me. Remember the warehouse I tried to kill Wes in?”

Katie’s throat constricted. “Sort of.”

“Randy will know how to get here. Meet me in an hour.” The phone went dead.

Katie stared at Randy. “He wants us to meet him in an hour.”

“Where?”

“The warehouse.”

Randy nodded. “Of course he’d want to meet there.” He paced around the room. “He’s trying to make a point.”

“He’s not going to hurt my mom, is he?”

Randy looked at her, his eyes turned down with sorrow. He took a deep breath. “He shouldn’t. He likes you, wants you to be with him, so unless he feels threatened, she should be just fine.”

Katie swallowed thickly. “What would make him feel threatened?”

“It’s hard to say. Basically, if he thinks he’s going to lose you, he’ll bend you to his will by threatening your mother.” Randy stepped forward and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I can guarantee her safety, but I have to know what I’m dealing with first. I know you probably don’t know everything, but tell me what you do know.”

Katie nodded absently, then took a seat on the couch. She rubbed her hands together. “Where should I start?”

Randy sat next to her. “From when you first met Josh and what he did.”

Katie took a deep breath, then told Randy everything. In any other situation, she would have told Randy to leave her alone. Her relationship with Josh was none of his business, but her mom was involved. Katie may have been upset that her mom had hospitalized her and wouldn’t listen to her, but it was still her mom. They had their ups and downs and arguments all the time, but Katie couldn’t imagine being without her. Mom was all the family she had left. It would kill Katie if something happened to Mom and she never had the chance to work things out.

When Katie finished telling her story, she lowered her head and stared at her hands. Guilt coursed through her body. All of this was her fault. If she hadn’t gotten involved with Josh, everyone would be safe. Still, she couldn’t change any of it. Her only option was to fix it. How was she going to do that? It was one thing when her safety was compromised, but to have two other people depending on her? There was no way she was going to get her mom back.

Randy placed his hands over hers. “If Josh had wanted them dead, he would have already killed them. Since he didn’t, he’s after something else. We just have to find out what that is.”

Katie looked at him. “What if that something else is me? You gonna hand me over?”

Randy squeezed her fingers. “We already know he wants you. He’s done a pretty good job of tempting you to his side. You’re the only one who can decide if you’re going to stay with him. No, there has to be something else.” His gaze drifted out the window as he lost himself in thought.

Not only did Katie feel horrible, now she felt like a failure. Randy didn’t sound like he was accusing her of anything by being tempted by Josh, but the way he said it made her feel ten times worse. It was obvious she’d made the wrong decision. Did he really feel like he needed to rub it in? She pulled her hands out from under his. She couldn’t stand to be touched by him. It only reinforced what a horrible person she had become. Randy turned his gaze from the window to her.