by Michael Todd
Waking The Leviathan
War Of The Damned Book Five
Michael Todd
Michael Anderle
Laurie Starkey
Waking The Leviathan (this book) is a work of fiction.
All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.
Copyright © 2018 Michael Todd, Michael Anderle, and Laurie Starkey
Cover by Ryn Katryn Digital Art
Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing
LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
LMBPN Publishing
PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy
Las Vegas, NV 89109
First US edition, August 2018
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
Author Notes - Laurie Starkey
Connect with Michael Todd
Books by Michael Todd
Books written as Michael Anderle
Waking The Leviathan Team
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If we missed anyone, please let us know!
Weapons Consultant
John Kern
Proprietor
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Editor
Lynne Stiegler
Dedication
To Family, Friends and
Those Who Love
to Read.
May We All Enjoy Grace
to Live the Life We Are
Called.
1
Three Weeks Earlier
Katie was nervous as hell.
They had come to the end of Korbin’s and Stephanie’s tour of the base, and now it was time to have the talk she’d been anticipating and dreading in equal amounts. Katie led them into the conference room across from her office. Her two old friends took their seats at the expansive oak table and looked at Katie, their expressions patient but curious.
Katie didn’t know where to begin. She still hadn’t come to terms with her feelings about taking their demons in the first place. She’d done it for them, but it had been a huge personal sacrifice to lose them both. She felt halfway guilty for bringing them back in and all-the-way guilty for being so happy they were back.
Pandora cut in on her thoughts. You are overthinking this. You heard Stephanie, they were going to volunteer. At least now you get to protect them.
True. I just couldn’t bear it if they were killed because I took their protection.
Did you ever think you would class demons as “protection?”
No. Except for you. I have to keep Korbin and Stephanie safe, P. They’re too important to me. To the whole team.
Stephanie smiled, sensing Katie’s discomfort. “This place is amazing. Whoever put it together did a fantastic job.”
Katie smirked. It was just like Stephanie to put her at ease. “The designers were some of my closest friends.” She winked at Stephanie.
Korbin chuckled and took Stephanie’s hand. “Sounds like we were involved, sweetheart.”
“That really doesn’t surprise me,” Stephanie replied. “When we were on the tour, I saw my style and taste everywhere I looked.”
Katie nodded and smiled warmly. “This entire base was designed by the two of you after we had to leave our last base. You guys knew that it was hard for the team to lose the only home we had. You put your money, your time, and your hearts into making this not only a fortified base but a home for us all.”
Korbin shook his head in wonder. “This is just all so strange. I don’t remember any of it.” He gave Stephanie a questioning look. She shook her head. She didn’t remember any of it, either.
Katie sighed. “I wish I could give you back your memories.” Korbin looked at her sharply. Katie raised her hands defensively and shook her head. “As far as I know, I can’t. But maybe I can shine some light on all of this? It’s the least I can do after… Well, everything.”
Korbin gave her a comforting smile. “Calvin told us what you did, and why.”
Stephanie nodded emphatically. “We don’t hold it against you, Katie. You did it out of love.”
Katie swallowed the emotion that welled in her throat at Stephanie’s sincerity. “You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that. Calvin told you some things, but there’s a lot that I wanted to say and didn’t get the chance to. You two are more than like family to me, you are family. Letting the two of you go was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Bringing you both back in was another.” She looked down at her hands on the table. “You took me into the group, and you gave me something I didn’t think I would ever have again after becoming Damned. You didn’t just train us, you took care of us while we took care of the demons. When you two fell in love, it broke my heart to see you both hold back in case one of you didn’t make it through a mission. But neither of you voiced a word of complaint because that was the life we lived.”
Stephanie hesitated for a moment. She looked at Korbin, and something passed between them. After Korbin nodded slightly, Stephanie asked, “Will you tell us about it?”
Katie smiled. This was exactly why she had taken their demons. Seeing their love made it a bit easier for her to tell the story. Only by a little, though.
She closed her eyes and steadied herself. “Our last battle together was really fucking bad. They’ve gotten worse since, but that one...that one made me take action to protect you both. So many people died. So many. We lost some of our own. Too many in a small family like ours.” The faces of the fallen flashed through her mind. She let them run and took a moment to appreciate that Korbin and Stephanie were not among them. She opened her eyes and smiled at the two of them. “After the fight, you were sitting together under a blanket, sharing a meal and just appreciating a quiet moment together. I walked over and asked you if you wanted a future together, something better
for the rest of your lives than just war and death. I think I already knew what the answer would be. When you told me that you did, my demon and I pulled your demons out of you. With that, all the memories from your time as Damned were taken too.”
Stephanie frowned and scrutinized Katie. “I definitely remember you, just not the way that you are now.”
Katie grinned as she recalled some of the happier memories of their past. “I met you before you were Damned, but you didn’t fully understand what we were or what we did until you were Damned yourself. With all those memories gone, that would leave you, what? Your brother and a few short memories of me…and Joshua, maybe?”
Stephanie’s eyes lit up at the name, but she held her questions for the moment.
Korbin took a deep breath and glanced at Stephanie with a smile. “It sounds like you gave us back our lives. You gifted us an opportunity to spend some very quality time together. For that, we thank you. It’s just so strange to not be able to remember anything.”
Stephanie flashed Korbin an excited look. “Especially since we were fighting and kicking demon butt. Perhaps that’s why we felt so strongly about finding out how we could help after Incursion Day?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me at all, Stephanie. You two have the biggest hearts.” Katie reached over to the seat next to her and grabbed the box that was waiting, then opened it and took out a file. She slid it across the table to Korbin with a nod. “This is just a drop in the ocean. Notes and files you kept while you were the leader of Korbin’s Killers. I thought maybe having some of the facts in your own hand would help you feel more connected.”
Korbin opened the file and skimmed the first page. The brief overview of his career as a Damned mercenary was unfamiliar. He turned the page and was confronted by the bios of the Korbin’s Killers team members. He wished he could remember them, especially the ones who were marked as KIA on his watch. The fact that he couldn’t didn’t sit well with him.
Stephanie sensed Korbin’s pain and leaned into him. She linked her arm through his and read along with him. Katie waited patiently as they flipped through the pages. They both were surprised when they came to the information on themselves, Calvin, Katie, and Damien.
Korbin couldn’t deny what he was seeing. He had handwritten the notes on the bios. He shook his head as he recognized the sheer scale of this operation. He let out a long breath as it hit home that he had not just been a part of that one operation, but had been an integral asset in the war against the demons.
Katie patted Korbin’s hand. “Look, I know this is a lot to take in. I’m going to give you some time to go through the files. The boxes lined up along the wall are all yours; I had them pulled from storage. Maybe something in them will help jog your memories.”
Korbin and Stephanie smiled and thanked Katie, and she stood up and made her way out of the room. Before she closed the door, she took another look back over her shoulder at the two of them. She felt guilty for disturbing their peaceful lives, but it was safer to keep them close. Not that their safety had been her only reason for bringing them in. They needed all hands on deck in this war, and the loving couple at that table had a level of badassery all of their own.
She closed the door and set off down the long empty corridor. The base deep beneath the Nevada desert was quiet. Almost too quiet.
Katie hated that she was responsible for Korbin and Stephanie losing their memories. When she had exorcised them she’d thought that the new memories they would make together would make up for the pain and hurt of the past. Now that they were back, though, she realized those lost memories were an important part of who they were.
Katie couldn’t stop thinking about it. Pandora had to have something to tell her. There’s got to be a way. There is something we can do to get their memories back.
Pandora spoke more kindly than usual. I wish I had a magic cure for it. Pulling demons out wasn’t a demonic creation, we just know how to do it. As you might imagine, we don’t really like being pulled from our bodies.
One thing I’ve learned through all this is that if there’s a way to do something, there’s a way to undo something. Even if there’s only one person that knows how to do it. Katie plopped down in the nearest chair. What a fucking day.
Pandora scoffed. Yeah, you’d have to talk to that stick-up-his-ass, Gabriel. I can just see it now. “Excuse me, but can you go find my friends’ memories and put them back in? I know it’s, like, against all the rules and everything, but I’m Katie Golden Tits, and I want it to happen.”
Katie snickered. You would think that after all this time, I would get something out of this deal, aside from angels and demons plaguing me.
Pandora let out a soft chuckle-snort combo. Oh, you mean like fame and fortune? What about the ability to save thousands of people’s lives and look fucking good doing it? Sometimes I think your head is bigger than mine, but then I remember that your head is my head, so it makes sense.
I’m not trying to be that way. I’m not even asking for personal gain. Katie sighed and rubbed her face. I just think that if it’s possible and it’s for the betterment of others, why would an angel tell me no?
Because angels are complicated. I keep telling you, they’re not as sweet and innocent as you think they are. That is all marketing, sweetie. The angels’ idea of Justice has nothing to do with doing what is right, and not everything they do is good for humanity in the short-term. You have to understand, they have worked this way for eons. They don’t usually focus on any single person. You are one of the few exceptions—and that’s only because you are serving their purpose. They are usually focused on the greater good, which means keeping the Earth under their control. Sure, in the end, their actions save lives, but the only real difference in the way angels and demons operate is that we demons are at least upfront about what we want. When it comes down to choosing a side, it’s all a matter of context.
Katie rolled her eyes. I’m on mankind’s side, and I’m on Korbin and Stephanie’s side. In reality, what do I have to lose by asking? The worst he can say is no, he can’t or won’t do it. Katie hated to think Gabriel might say no, but she was forced to.
Reality was a bitch, no matter who you were.
Pandora pulled Katie from her thoughts. Oh yeah, and we all know how much you like it when somebody tells you no, especially when you know they can do something. Next thing we know we’ll be fighting angels and demons. You gotta pick a side, sweetheart.
Katie smirked, knowing that was a bunch of bullshit. I don’t have to pick a side. I picked mankind’s side, so all the rest is just schmoozing to get the tools I need to make sure mankind survives this war. I can figure out the rest when I get there. I’m pretty sure whoever sent these angels—the big man in the clouds—knows damn well I’m not some good churchgoing girl. I’m a warrior.
Does this mean you’re going to ask him?
Katie’s face hardened, and she pounded her fist into her hand. Damn straight—if I can get him to come down and talk to me. He probably already knows what I’m going to ask.
Pandora sighed. Oh, joy. I’m so fucking excited! I just can’t wait to meet that twat again.
Katie snickered and opened the door to her room. She found Pandora’s overreactions comical. She locked the door behind her and started to get changed. What is it with you and this guy? You absolutely cannot stand him. It’s like you and Gabriel were previously married or something, and you just don’t want to tell me about your bitter breakup.
Pandora gagged loudly. Are you fucking kidding me? The mere thought of having sexual relations with that dry as dust, stalky fucksack makes me want to throw up inside you. I cannot believe that you would stoop to that level. Seriously, Katie, even I wouldn’t sink that low.
Katie put up her hands and laughed out loud. Okay, okay. I get it. You like Gabriel, and you don’t want to admit it. That’s fine with me. Keep your secrets.
Katie chortled as Pandora continued to babble on about how disgusting Gabriel was
. She slipped into some comfortable pants and a T-shirt. She took a breath and pulled a box from her closet and set it on her bed. She opened the lid and pulled out a couple sets of old clothes that belonged to Korbin and Stephanie. They were their favorite attire to lounge in, and she had held them back when the rest of their belongings had gone to storage as something to remember them by. After they were done going over stuff in the conference room, Katie had something a little less stressful planned.
If Korbin and Stephanie were going to come back for real, Katie wanted to welcome them back the same way she had said goodbye—with love and acceptance. What better way to do that than to have some family time?
Katie’s Killers might not be as big as Korbin’s team had been, and things were a lot more complicated these days, but that wasn’t going to stop her from making sure that her team knew they were a family.
They were all in this together.
She folded up the clothes and smiled. She spritzed Stephanie’s with a little bit of her old body spray just to help things along. Afterward, she headed to the common room to let everyone know that they would be watching soaps in about an hour.
Timothy snapped his fingers. “Excuse me, but girl, you know I’m not going to miss out on one of your famous popcorn-and-soap-opera nights! It’s been too long.” Hands on his hips, he stared expectantly at Joshua.
