Atlas (The Atlas Series)

by Becca C. Smith

  “Quit trying to kiss me! I’m not interested.” Kala wanted to be as clear as possible. She thought being around for thousands of years a guy could take a hint. Apparently not.

  Asmodeus got back up as gracefully as possible after being leveled by Kala.

  “I’m going to help you. But not in the way you want.” Asmodeus’s eyes were alight with malice.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Kala froze in place from fear.

  “Sleep,” Asmodeus said.

  Kala dropped to the floor.

  DAY TWO

  Chapter Eleven

  Kala woke up in her bed with a start. She threw back the sheets, jumping out of bed like a rat had crawled over her feet. It took her a few seconds to calm herself down as she surveyed her surroundings. Kala was definitely at home. This was definitely her bedroom. And through the doorway was definitely the rest of her apartment.

  She sat down on the bed with a huge sigh.

  It had been a dream.

  A horrible, vivid dream.

  Kala tried to remember the details of it all, but the dream was slipping away from her, as most dreams do. It had felt so real at the time, but the more she tried to focus on remembering, the less she could remember. In fact, Kala couldn’t seem to recall what she was supposed to do at all. Did she have a job? Did she have friends? She couldn’t remember any of it. Kala thought this should make her panic, but it didn’t. It was somehow comforting not knowing anything. She wondered how she could have been so upset about a stupid dream.

  A knock on the door brought her out of her reverie.

  Kala wondered who it could be? She was sure she didn’t know a soul.

  Throwing on a t-shirt and jeans, Kala walked to the front door and opened it.

  A beautiful man stood in front of her, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. His sandy brown hair was perfectly messy, framing his chiseled features. He looked at Kala with stunning brown eyes that seemed to pierce her very soul. “Are you going to let me in?” he asked as if they were the best of friends.

  And then it occurred to Kala, that this was Asmodeus, her amazingly gorgeous boyfriend. How could she have forgotten? She felt incredibly guilty. Kala thought she must have had one too many drinks the night before to forget Asmodeus. He was always so kind to her and she remembered how much she loved him.

  Not knowing why, Kala gagged a little. She figured it must be a hangover.

  Kala waved him in with a smile. “Of course, come in.”

  Asmodeus walked in with a confidence that made Kala remember why he was her boyfriend. He grinned at her like he had just won some kind of contest.

  “What’s that look for?” Kala teased him.

  Asmodeus pulled Kala into his arms and kissed her lightly. “Just happy to see you,” he replied softly.

  Kala thought that was so sweet. She gagged again. “I must have something caught in my throat.” She left Asmodeus’s loving arms and walked to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water.

  Jack.

  The name flashed in Kala’s head like an eye-blink bolt of lightning. When she tried to figure out what it meant, it didn’t seem so important anymore. After a few seconds she completely forgot what had shocked her so badly. Picking up a bottle of water, Kala drank deeply. If she was having a hangover, water was always the best cure.

  Asmodeus was sitting on Kala’s recliner in front of the television. He patted his lap, “Come sit with me.”

  Kala put the water bottle down on the counter and walked over to Asmodeus, sitting on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in tighter. “Better?” he asked.

  Kala nodded, though internally she felt like something was off. She immediately felt horrible like she was the worst girlfriend ever. But Kala couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that Asmodeus’s hands did not belong on her body.

  As if Asmodeus could sense her thoughts, he kindly reached up and touched her face gently. “What’s wrong, Buttercup?”

  There went the gagging again. Kala wondered if she was coming down with the flu, but she didn’t want to offend Asmodeus so she said, “Nothing, just feeling a bit off today.”

  “Let me fix it,” Asmodeus said in a deep, reassuring voice.

  Kala instantly felt relaxed. She practically melted into him as Asmodeus pulled her head down to his and kissed her passionately. Kala felt the intensity of the kiss as Asmodeus’s lips moved with hers. She would have categorized it as a pretty mind-blowing experience, except that Kala began sensing that “off” feeling again. Asmodeus’s hands were firm around her waist as he pulled her in for a deeper kiss. Kala tried to let herself enjoy the moment but…

  …Before Kala knew it, her fist was punching Asmodeus in the face.

  Kala’s eyes grew round in mortification. “I’m so sorry! I have no idea why I did that!” Kala leapt off of Asmodeus’s lap and she immediately examined the damage. “I don’t know what got into me.”

  To Kala’s surprise Asmodeus didn’t look mad, he just looked shocked and a little bit amused. “You’re something else, you know that?”

  “Is that good or bad?” Kala asked. She was worried she had hurt Asmodeus’s feelings, and she couldn’t really blame him! She had punched him in the face!

  But, somehow, punching him felt right. Really right. Like he deserved it or something. But that was impossible. Asmodeus was always such a gentlemen, and Kala truly loved him.

  Okay, the gagging was getting out of control.

  But it was enough to make her pause. Why did Kala gag every time she thought something nice about Asmodeus. Was it her subconscious trying to warn her about her boyfriend? Kala knew she was on to something.

  Then she felt her thoughts start to shift slightly. It was as if every time Kala began to intuit some kind of truth, her own mind would try to steer her away from it.

  She didn’t think she’d ever felt that way before. Kala couldn’t seem to remember anything past this current encounter with Asmodeus. It was as if her life started the moment she woke up this morning. Normally, Kala assumed that would be a terrifying prospect, but something prevented her from panicking. Like she was being controlled by something or…

  …someone.

  “You,” Kala accused. “You’re doing something to my brain.” She tried to hold onto this belief before it would run away from her and she’d be kissing this freak again.

  This freak? Her mind rebelled against the thought. How could she feel that way about someone she loved?

  Because you don’t love him! A small voice screamed in her head.

  Kala felt like her brain was going to explode into a sloppy mess all over her living room floor.

  Asmodeus rose from the chair. He stood in front of Kala and reached for her face.

  Kala flinched away, but Asmodeus gently held her face anyway. “Relax, I’m going to fix you.”

  As soon as Asmodeus’s hand touched the sides of her head, all Kala’s memories flushed through her like a mudslide of emotion. She fell to her knees from the force of it, and gasped for breath.

  Instead of throwing a fit or a punch for that matter, Kala felt terror. Asmodeus had made her forget everything. Everything. That was far more dangerous than any military operation she’d experienced. The ability to alter someone’s mind was something Kala had no defense for. At least on a mission she had her weapons, her guns, and they could protect her. Her ability to use them made her feel safe. But this magic mumbo jumbo was so foreign to anything Kala had ever experienced before, she found it difficult to slip into “strategy” mode like she normally would because how could she strategize a way out of magic?

  Kala’s flight or fight mode was kicking in big time, but she’d never known someone as powerful as Asmodeus, and she could do neither. Slowly, Kala regained her composure and stood up.

  Asmodeus smiled at her in an oh-so-condescending way. “I’ve never met a human with so much will power before. Impressive.”

  “It wasn’t that hard, considering how every ti
me I thought of being with you I gagged.” Kala had to wipe that condescending smirk off of his face.

  Before Kala could react, Asmodeus clasped his hand around her neck, choking her. “I was being nice,” he snarled. “I could wipe everything from your little pea-brain and you’d just be a drooling vegetable. You wouldn’t be able to perform your little task and the world would end, just like I want.”

  Kala couldn’t think of a single reason why Asmodeus wouldn’t do exactly that. Then she realized why: ego. Asmodeus was a Demon, but he was still a man, and Kala was fast becoming the ultimate “hard to get.” Placing her into a coma would be admitting that he wasn’t capable of winning her over. Kala decided to test her theory and she choked out, “What you want is for me to like you without tricks.”

  Asmodeus released her neck and tossed her to the side. She stumbled a few steps and massaged her throat, facing him. “I’m right, aren’t I? I can’t possibly be the first girl to turn you down.”

  That seemed to anger Asmodeus more. “As a matter of fact: you are.”

  “Ha!” Kala laughed. “I find that hard to believe.”

  When Asmodeus looked like he was going to charge her a second time, she put her hand up in a placating manner. “Hold up, big boy. I’m into someone else. I’m kind of loyal that way. It’s nothing against you.”

  “But when I wiped your mind of him, you still fought against me.” Asmodeus was genuinely perplexed, which Kala found almost endearing.

  “I’m stubborn, what can I say?” Kala couldn’t believe she was actually trying to make the King of Demons feel better about her rejecting him. Normally, she would tell the guy to quit being such a baby and get over it already, but Kala didn’t want to run the risk of him lobotomizing her.

  This seemed to make Asmodeus relax a little.

  Kala sighed. “You had no intention of hiding me and Jack, did you?”

  Asmodeus shrugged. “Why would I go through all that trouble when I can just keep you here for the next three days? You underestimate my laziness.”

  “You went through the trouble of bringing me all the way home,” Kala pointed out.

  “Oh that,” Asmodeus smirked. He waved a hand and Kala’s apartment transformed back into the empty room on top of the sky rise.

  They hadn’t gone anywhere.

  “Did you even shift my DNA thingy? Or was that just bull too?” Kala wished she had a shot of tequila right about now.

  “You’ll never know,” Asmodeus grinned.

  “You sound like a five-year-old.” Kala crossed her arms.

  THWAP! THWAP!

  Kala’s body spun in a full circle as two bullets hit her shoulder and arm and she fell to the floor.

  Chapter Twelve

  A sniper? Really? That was all that went through Kala’s head. That was her job! She wasn’t supposed to be killed by a freaking sniper! The pain in her shoulder and arm wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. Surprisingly, Kala had never been shot before. In her line of work that was quite an accomplishment. She had always imagined that gunshots would be excruciatingly painful, but Kala was so angry at being shot at in the first place, she barely felt them.

  Asmodeus screamed so loudly at the broken window through which the shots fired in his oh-so-screeching-manner, Kala had to cover her ears. He was pissed. Kala didn’t think Asmodeus was used to being attacked on his home turf, or at least in his high-rise-hideout. He kneeled down next to her and placed his hands on Kala’s bullet wounds.

  Heat burned Kala where Asmodeus touched her and she yelled out in pain, but after a few moments of burning anguish, she felt as good as new. Asmodeus tossed the two bullets that he extracted from Kala’s body aside in disgust. Kala looked through the bullet hole tears in her shirt and saw baby pink unbroken skin underneath.

  “Thanks,” Kala found herself saying before she realized who she was thanking.

  Asmodeus leaned down and kissed her lightly on the mouth. Kala wanted to punch him for it, but after his “healing-stunt” she restrained herself.

  “Anytime, Buttercup,” Asmodeus smiled mischievously.

  Kala had to chuckle at that. “Calling me Buttercup is what probably broke your little spell on me.”

  Asmodeus teasingly pinched Kala’s nose. “I think it’s more than fitting.”

  THWAP! THWAP! More bullets.

  “Time to go.” Asmodeus was about to grab Kala’s shoulders when...

  SWOOSH!

  Asmodeus’s body was thrown all the way to the back wall.

  SNAP!

  Kala cringed as something definitely cracked in Asmodeus’s body from the impact.

  The entire wall of windows shattered completely.

  A lone figure appeared on the edge of the floor. The man was dark: dark clothing, dark hair and dark skin. He looked at Kala with piercing brown eyes, and pointed a Glock with silencer at her. She’d almost be impressed with the gun if it wasn’t aimed at her head. But it was a gun. Kala felt the first stirrings of hope. If she could just get her hands on that Glock.

  Asmodeus was back on his feet as if he hadn’t been touched. “Grautlin! A gun? So beneath you.”

  The man named Grautlin turned away from Kala and focused on Asmodeus. “Guns kill humans as easy as anything else.”

  “Yes, but why? You’re a Malak for God’s sake. You don’t honestly want to be the next Atlas?” Asmodeus seemed appalled at the idea.

  Grautlin took a step toward Asmodeus, determined. “A Malak is the perfect being for Atlas. Humans are fragile, but a Malak?” To prove his point, Grautlin lifted his hand and made Asmodeus fly across the room again.

  But there was no impact this time. Asmodeus disappeared completely in mid-air.

  Kala realized that the Demon probably decided she wasn’t worth his hide and teleported his ass out of there. She could hardly blame him, but Kala was now stuck with a Malak who had a gun.

  Grautlin appeared to have come to the same conclusion as he turned to Kala and looked at her with a serious expression. “You are not worthy of being the Atlas. I will take your place.” Grautlin lifted the gun.

  Kala went into mission-mode and dove for cover behind one of the support columns.

  Asmodeus appeared directly in front of Grautlin. “Surprise,” he grinned.

  Before Grautlin could defend himself, Asmodeus used his powers to propel Grautlin out the open wall and into the air beyond.

  Kala couldn’t say she was exactly shocked to see that Grautlin didn’t fall; instead he flew straight back in the building, tackling Asmodeus to the floor with a sickening crunch.

  Upside? Grautlin dropped his gun in the process.

  Downside? A Demon and a Malak were rolling around in tackle-mode on top of it.

  Kala debated whether or not it was worth it to try and snag the gun, but decided escape was higher on the priority list. She stealthily made her way to the only exit on the floor and hoped it wouldn’t be too hard to break the code. Once Kala was face to face with the digital security panel, she tried to remember all she could about how to crack it. She turned the door handle first, just for kicks, but was not surprised when the door didn’t open.

  The amount of smashing and cracking Kala heard in the room behind her back made her palms sweat. At least they weren’t attacking her; Kala didn’t think she’d survive a single smash to the wall, let alone the kind of pounding the two of them were slugging at each other. In a sad sort of way, Kala was actually rooting for Asmodeus, at least he didn’t want to kill her. He did, however, want to lock Kala up and make her his love slave, which might be just as bad.

  Kala concentrated on the keypad. Intense, life-threatening situations were her forté. It was where she thrived. She went through all the protocols in her head and wished Jack was there. He was always the brains of their team. Kala sometimes felt that all the rest of them were just there as muscle. A part of her training at the Compound consisted of codes, not breaking them, just memorizing numbers that would set an alarm back to its factory s
ettings. There were thousands, but only about ten that were commonly used in most domestic security systems. It wasn’t “breaking” the code, but it would open the door and that’s all Kala cared about at the moment.

  Punching in several numbers, Kala tried to tune out the epic fight behind her. If her life wasn’t on the line, she might actually enjoy watching two mythical beings she didn’t know existed until two days ago having a massive throw down.

  Finally, Kala typed in the right sequence of numbers to reset the machine.

  The door swung open and Kala slid through it, sealing it shut behind her.

  Luckily, that appeared to be the only security to speak of. Kala found herself in a standard high-rise office area filled with a sea of cubicles. They were all empty of course, which was a disadvantage to Kala. She wasn’t sure how long she had before Asmodeus and Grautlin finished their fight and realized their “prize” was gone. Hiding amongst a busy office place would have been great cover. Instead she made her way through the graveyard of cubicles to the stairs. Being at least fifty stories up, the flight down would take a while, and Kala’s military instinct didn’t want her to be stuck in an elevator where too many things could go wrong.

  Kala took the stairs three at a time, using the railings to keep from falling. She knew she was running on borrowed time. There was no way they could still be fighting. Kala just hoped Asmodeus wouldn’t POP in front of her when she was so close to getting out of this building.

  Reaching the last floor, Kala pushed open the exit door, rushed outside — and nearly slammed into a businessman. In her excitement she had forgotten about the throng of people always walking on the Manhattan sidewalks. With an immense sigh of relief, Kala blended into the mass of people and made her way toward the first crosswalk she could see.

  Kala felt the hand on her arm yank her out of the crowd and into a deserted doorway.

  On guard, Kala grabbed the hand and had it pinned behind the attacker’s back before the attacker could react.

  Penny.

  Kala let go of her before Penny’s eyes glowed blue and fried her where she stood. Kala didn’t exactly know if that was possible, but with everything that she had seen in the last two days, she didn’t want to take the chance.