Torn Between Two Worlds (Guardians Series Book 1)

by Lexi Ostrow

  "Mother fucker." His hands clenched into fists and the transition into summoning War was immediate. Turning to his brothers he saw their transition as well.

  Taking a step forward, the rubble crunched under his feet, grabbing a human male out from under a building segment he frowned, no life force. Gently he put the man on the ground.

  "Who did this shit?" Jameson's playful voice was a deep baritone, Pestilence's lacing in his own.

  No one got to answer.

  A voice filled the streets which he only just noticed were void of sound. All this chaos and not a tweet of sound, something was more off than he thought.

  "Welcome. It's taken us years to pull this off. To figure out how to pull something off that was so big it would lure you out. We know we can't kill the Horsemen through you, but we have a pretty good feeling without you, if the fuckin' Apocalypse starts, your side will lose and then we will have control."

  He heard Demarcus's confused curse at Jonathan's words and wondered himself what the last part meant, but he'd learned Jonathan liked to talk so he held his ground and waited for the arrogant little pest to talk. Which he did after his booming laughter filled the space.

  "I can see your little faces. I am, how shall I put it, close to Godlike right now. You thought our goal was to stop the Apocalypse. Our goal is to control demon kind once it happens and usher in a new way of life with demon's for slaves. Demon's working and humans sitting back and enjoying life. Your species is from the underworld and we will tame you and use you like the vermin you are."

  A roar from behind him echoed his own. He might not be proud to be a demon after choosing what side of the war he would really fight on. But they weren't all bad and this dickweed was not one to talk. His anger cleared for a split second and he realized something- what about the books? Was this in Demarcus's book?

  "Ahh since you all know about Guardians now, I bet you're wondering how this is possible. Easy, we have a demon of sorts on our side and he's decided to bend the rules to win this war, by giving me what I and my superior want, we will get him what he wants. Ciara Miller."

  This time his growl was enough to shake the stones and rubble on the ground around him. "Over my dead body, you little fuck!"

  "Oh how I had hoped you would say such sweet things, demon. So let's play a game. We've dispatched seven suicide bombers in various locations. Chaos will ensue. War will break out to attack those who began it. Death will encompass all. Famine will overtake those stuck in the rubble and pestilence, well vermin always run in cities so really that's not too different. The game is afoot gentlemen. Stop the bombers in time to save Ciara because as we all know, your Horsemen bind you to the scene for whatever idiotic reason that they do and she'll be unprotected."

  And then it went quiet again.

  Without a thought he barreled forward, head darting side to side looking for a sign of the bomber. An explosion to the west of them jerked his head and he was running until he felt a hand wrap around him. He wasn't certain how DeMarcus had any control at all over Death, but he seemed to have enough to control himself.

  "Stryder hold on. If there are seven of them and him getting Ciara is tied to him distracting us, then we have to split up and not be distracted. By anything. I don't give a fuck if we go one by one or what, but this charging half assed, is not going to work. We will be getting torn left and right the minute the repercussions from the bombers start up. So let's work together to try and stop the bombing first."

  He growled and tugged his brother's hand off his arm. "Fine, Jameson get over here and let's take the prick out before he does another."

  "No. Seven bombers, one went off now. Think about it. There are six continents and we are clearly in Dubai based on the grandeur of the buildings. No, if we split up, we take different continents and flash around until we find and try to stop them before it happens. I would bet we have twenty minutes before all seven bombs have detonated and the Horsemen will be in charge to deal with the aftermath. DeMarcus and I will take the Americas, Africa and Antarctica. You take the rest."

  He didn't wait for the pep talk to end. Didn't bother to even forewarn Jameson except for a growl. "Asia. Now."

  Flashing from location to location starting at the Great Wall he cursed when a bomb went off somewhere in Shanghai.

  "Fuck. Next continent."

  "No we hunt that fucker and kill him, something tells me the bombers aren't all suicidal and some are remote." He couldn't explain his hunch. Just that he knew it. Flashing to the destination of the explosion he took off running, feet driving into the pavement as he did his best to ignore the screams and insults hurling through the streets, they were an aphrodisiac of sorts to War who wanted to join in.

  Paying careful attention to the dark and shadowy areas of the alley he looked for signs of motion. Here in the epicenter, movement would have meant the sicko came back to look at his work. He choked as he inhaled a plume of smoke and twitched as the wail of sirens distracted him.

  A snicker caught his attention and he picked up a chunk of rock and flung it in the direction. A quick yelp and he knew he had someone and he took off, Jameson at his heels and grabbed the man. He wanted to draw it out, wanted it to be poetic, but they didn't have time. In seconds he twisted the man's neck and threw his body to the ground. "Come on." He and Jameson flashed to Europe without needing to communicate it.

  Chapter 22

  Jonathan's legs were kicked up onto his desk, arms tucked behind his head and a grin on his face that was from more than the high-end Patron Gold sitting on the table. All that was missing was a cigarette, but even he didn't do that. His eyes were closed and he was blissful. For the first time since his wife's death he was absolutely blissful.

  “You do know that at any moment now I'm expecting a thank you, correct?”

  He opened one eye, squinting. Leather Jacket appeared to be in a pretty good fucking mood too. He heard actual amusement in the man's voice before he saw him knock back a shot of the tequila. “Yes I suspected as much. And while your plan was what was needed, clearly you needed my men and I too pull it off, regular demons obviously wouldn't have done it. You needed human intelligence.” He was practically beaming and overflowing with overconfidence.

  Leather Jacket snorted. “Yes I will admit your standard demon's completely lack the power and ability to do anything of that caliber. But do not act as if you are not benefiting from this. Not only do you not need to worry about the Apocalypse, you're going to a world where it's merely a religious threat with no more known knowledge. You're free of the demons.”

  He nodded and leaned forward, letting his feet hit the floor as he poured his own shot, tossing it back. “Yes I haven't decided about that. I may take a few demon's with us, why not attempt to control them? If you're correct and demons are only religious ideas there, well then why not take over once I'm there?”

  The smile on Leather Coat's face said he approved of it.

  The plan really was foolproof. He didn't understand all the nuances of it and thought that maybe this would be the most talkative Leather Coat would be, when he was happy. “So, why this Ciara girl? What will kidnapping her and killing her bring you?”

  “I do not pretend to care that you are curious. But as you have finally proved to be a useful life force, I suppose a little information on my part couldn't hurt.”

  Leather Coat waved his hand and Jonathan had a sneaking suspicion he'd frozen the rest of the compound. Oh well, he didn't really care, his men knew what was going on and as soon as they were successful, so would the whole Initiative.

  “As you know I've explained the concept of Word Speakers and Guardians. What I left out is my good for nothing brother and I are in charge. Supposedly, in our world, Ciara's world, a fight will break out. Not necessarily between good and evil, but the way things have fallen, well my brother and I have distinct sides.” He grinned and a chill shot through Jonathan.

  “Like I hadn't noticed.”

  “If you're goi
ng to interrupt I'm not going to explain. Now as I was saying. Sides are to be drawn and apparently we will use those called forth from tales to win this battle of ours. Ciara Miller is one of the most powerful ever. She can open a doorway big enough for your entire army and apparently learn skills from those who guard her. That's abnormal and with her skills my brother would win for sure. And I'm very competitive.” There was that smile again and this time a shudder ran through Jonathan.

  The silence retook the room and they let it. Jonathan's thoughts were a whirlwind. It was apparent now they were nothing more than pawns. It wasn't apparent why he had to kidnap Ciara and bring her here for Leather Jacket to kill her himself, but he had a feeling he was pissed she kept getting away and wanted to order some torture. That was fine by him, the little bitch could use a reminder she was a little girl against grown men.

  If they pulled this off, if they could launch a literal all out war, then all they needed to do was keep Ciara reading so they could access the portal when she did- it still bothered him they could only come and go through her. He couldn't help but picture the future. His future. Leader. He'd learned enough from Leather Coat to have confirmation their worlds were seemingly the same with the only difference being they had confirmed supernatural in his book based world.

  “Well take that author person.” He grumbled and downed another shot.

  The grin that spread across Leather Coat's face was more like a glowing beacon.“Welcome to a world war.”

  That was it, the Horsemen's Second had failed to stop the bombers. “It begins.” The shudder that went through Jonathan was equal parts fear and excitement.

  ***

  5 Days Later

  The decanter slammed into the far wall and the bourbon dripped down the wallpaper, no doubt staining the plush carpet in his office. Jonathan wasn't prepared for the hand that snaked around his neck, or the slam into the wall.

  They'd unfortunately hit a snag. While they'd managed to keep all the Horseman’s Seconds busy, Ciara wasn't reading. No reading apparently meant no doorway for him and his men. Which meant no victory for Leather Jacket.

  Which might also mean he was about to get his ass kicked, again. When they first realized the little bitch wasn't reading, he'd been beaten to a pulp and discovered three of his men killed. Leather Jacket's temper was on a short fuse now. The media hail storm was still high and no conflicts or issue's were going to resolve themselves soon. But Famine and Pestilence were hardly needed and according to Leather Jacket, the two would be able to leave the fold anytime now. Which meant that technically they could go seeking his men out, which would make it harder to get their hands on the girl if she ever started to read again. He wasn't watching and therefore didn't see as the hand punched into his face, turning out the lights.

  * * *

  She hadn't been reading since Stryder had left. She wasn't sure why, but it didn't seem like a smart thing to do. She'd learned over the years with Alcott that with the good from a book, somehow so came the bad. She didn't get it because she could only pick one, but the other came whenever a doorway opened. The man in the coat had said it was a balance thing, she didn't understand that either, but there was so much that went over her head she never questioned it. But now, without a Guardian she was afraid to read and miserable because of it and his being missing.

  Stryder had said it only took a day or two. So was it simply taking longer or had he gotten what he wanted from her and changed his mind?

  Quietly she closed the bathroom door with a click and pulled the white shirt off over her head. Her hand worked on undoing the button on her jeans as she continued to walk to the bath. She seemed to be struggling a touch with buttons on jeans because they were newer.

  Stepping carefully out of them she twisted the nozzle on the tub, allowing the warm water to flow and hoping her neighbors below her didn't mind the noise. It was late, or maybe early in the morning, but she couldn't sleep. It had been almost two weeks since she had last heard from Stryder. So long since he'd teased her, touched her. She was having doubts. A lot of doubts. Maybe once he had gotten a reaction from her, he was done. She knew she could just open the stupid doorway, but she wasn't going to go to him. Maybe he was still fighting for his life while she was here being stupid and selfish.

  When the level had risen just enough she slowly stepped into the tub, exhaling on a sigh as the warm water rushed to cross over the fair skin of her foot. Stepping all the way into the tub she lowered her body into the rising warm water. The water continued to flow into the tub and wash over her, covering her in warmth. It caressed her stomach as it rushed over it. Like the gentle hand of a lover it was seeping across her breasts, causing her to inhale at the sensation. A shudder went through her as her hand brushed over her breast as she tried to circulate the water a bit. A mistake because she thought of Stryder, of how his hands touched her and how she longed for his mouth to cover her breasts now.

  Leaning forward she turned off the water. Tension rocked through her body. A need began to grow and the bath was not going to be an adequate solution. Pissed, she stood up and didn't bother with a towel as she got out of the tub. Water trailed behind her as she walked through the apartment to the kitchen. The freezer took her breath away as she carelessly flung it open and the ice reached out and slammed into the water on her bare skin.

  Shivering, she grabbed the ice cream from the back corner and closed the door quickly. Her robe was tossed on the couch from when she had raced to work the other day and she slipped it on before plopping onto the couch. Grabbing the remote off the table she flipped until she spotted Charmed on USA.

  "I'll give him one more week to come forward. One more week and then I'll be a smart girl and get the message and let go." One week to wait, because she would know if he had passed, she wasn't sure how, but she just knew she would.

  Chapter 22

  She woke up and stretched. A feeling of unease spread through her as she looked down at her cell phone automatically. She remembered getting in a bath last night, a deliciously sexy bath and then drinking a bottle of wine. But nothing after and she only hoped she didn't make any stupid calls, she held her alcohol pretty well and breathed a sigh of relief as she checked her texts, calls and Facebook ensuring she hadn't.

  She tapped in Gina's contact information before hitting speaker phone and setting the phone down on the bed. She went into the bathroom to grab a bottle of red nail polish. She didn't know why, but something about painting her nails always soothed her. Her head was still under the sink digging through the cabinet when she heard Gina pickup.

  “Sorry. One sec! I thought I would be faster, but I can't find the damned thing.” she shouted as her hand finally wrapped around the fire-lily red polish and she narrowly avoided slamming her head into the counter when she popped up. “I'm just grabbing some polish. You have a minute?” She sat down on the bed and rolled the polish bottle in her hands to make sure it would spread evenly before putting her feet up on the bed and leaning forward to start her nails.

  “Well shit, I didn't, but if you've grabbed nail polish I know I need to.” She heard the sound of keys and a bag being set down.

  “Thanks, G. I just need a few minutes.” The polish was completely on one foot and the red color shone against the white of her skin.

  “Well all you'll have is a few minutes because I'm going to be late for work. I would point out you are too, but it's been so long since you've bothered going in I bet they don't even think you want to work there anymore.”

  She cursed and dropped the polish brush on the blanket and cursed again. “Damn it. Come get me? Please? I promise to be ready and we can talk in the car. Please, G I can't afford to lose the job and I hadn't realized I'd missed so many shifts.” She had missed too many work shifts and she couldn't afford to lose anymore pay and still make rent and she was annoyed. But she couldn't rightly have called out of work when Stryder first appeared and told them she'd been held hostage by a sexy demon or that she'd been so f
illed with doom and gloom the last few days and skipped work because he had vanished.

  “Fine. Five minutes and you'd better be outside.” The phone ended with a click and Ciara jumped up to grab polish remover to clean the blanket before she left. Frowning since she'd only done one foot she sat on the floor and did the other foot quickly before tugging on a pair of jeggings and a sequin tank. She was locking the door to her apartment as Gina pulled up to curb. She took the steps two at a time and closed the door to Gina's Impala right on time. She felt her friend’s eyes look her up and down before pulling away.

  “So what's up?”

  “I didn't tell you this because I was afraid of how you would react. But, well I need to talk to someone. Stryder is out of town.” Gina didn't take her eyes off the road, but made a sound of acknowledgement. “Well I can't get a hold of him.” This time Gina did look away from the road for a second. Her face a mix of concern and annoyance.

  “Ci, I warned you about getting involved with someone new and still talking to Derrick. So why do I know that this conversation is going to involve both?”

  She winced at the tone of her friend’s voice. She and Gina had grown up together and pledged a sorority together. To have her disapprove so strongly was like a knife to the stomach. But the trip was planned and if she just reminded everyone involved it was just an excuse to see Italy there shouldn't be a big deal. “A little while ago Derrick asked me to come to Italy. I was hesitant, but G, I really need something fun. I miss Stryder. A little Mediterranean vacation is a good thing.”

  The car miraculously didn't fly into the median, but she could tell by Gina's silence she was counting to ten to not flip out. “That is such a can of worms. Such a big, fat, nasty can of worms.”