Hell Spawn: Shifter Squad 09

by J. C. Diem

  Ava changed from her dragon-like form back into a human. She looked at Mark shyly, still slightly uncertain that he could still love her after seeing her in her true guise. He smiled and held out his hand and her love for him shone from her dazzling grin.

  Sabine morphed back into her human form as well and strode over to Flynn. They put their arms around each other and their gazes locked. I didn’t think they could read each other’s minds in this form, but maybe they didn’t need to. It was obvious how they felt about each other.

  Reece put his arm around my waist and gave me a heart-stopping smile. “I told you you’d figure out how to save the world.”

  “I didn’t really have a plan when I left the battle,” I confessed quietly. “I just followed a hunch. I suspected that it was Thomas buried in that cemetery, but I didn’t know for sure until I resurrected him.”

  “Who do you think gave you the hunch?” he said wisely.

  It had been Fate, of course. It may have been my choice to raise Thomas, but she’d guided me every time I’d come to a crossroads. My decisions had saved humanity in the end, but Fate had been instrumental in making sure I made the right choices.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Forty

  Kala loped over, grabbed my father and pulled him down for a lengthy kiss. When she finally released him, she looked at Thomas appraisingly. If she hadn’t been bonded to my dad, there was a good chance she would have tackled the priest to the ground and had her way with him. Looking from him to my father and back again, she grew slightly suspicious. “Is it just a coincidence that you two could almost pass for brothers?”

  “It isn’t a coincidence,” Mark said. He was filthy and disheveled, but he still managed to retain his dignity. “Philip is a direct descendant of Thomas.” His smug smile meant he’d known about this all along.

  “Is that true?” she said incredulously, turning to Flynn for confirmation.

  “It’s true,” he said. “Thomas is related to Major Levine.”

  She shook her head then wrapped her arms around my father. “I never had a chance, did I?” she asked no one in particular. “How could I possibly resist a direct descendent of our founder?”

  “How did you know they were related?” Reece asked Mark.

  “I’ve seen the original journal,” Mark explained. “Thomas’ surname had been stricken from the records in the event that someone like Kurt Jorgen attempted to have him resurrected. Only a few agents have been allowed to see the journal. When I met Philip and learned his surname, I had a feeling it wasn’t a coincidence. I traced his lineage back to Thomas and knew he would be important to our cause.” He looked at me. “I had no idea that he would be the protector of Fate’s warrior.”

  “Is it over?” Kala asked. “Did we win?”

  “Rest easy, fair lady,” Thomas said with a small bow. “Victory is ours and our enemies hast been banished once more.” Relief swept through my entire army as I relayed the news to their minds. Turning to me, he bowed more deeply and I bowed in return. “Now that my task is complete, I plead with thee to return me to my resting place.”

  Mark strode forward and offered his hand to the priest. “I would just like to say that it has been an honor to meet you.”

  Thomas shook his hand formally. “The honor hast been mine,” he said. “I was of the erroneous belief that all supernatural creatures and shape shifters were evil. I see now that many are noble and are worthy of praise.”

  Kala darted forward and planted a kiss on his cheek. He looked at her in surprise then smiled. “Thou art a lucky man, methinks,” he said to my father.

  “Luckier than you know,” he replied and hugged Kala to his side. “We’re going to have a private chat about that kiss,” he said to her.

  “Come on,” she said defensively. “It’s Thomas! If you were a girl, you’d kiss him, too!”

  I sniggered and they both turned to glare at me. “Aren’t you going to kiss him?” Reece asked me dryly.

  I shook my head. “He’s like my great-great, etcetera grandfather.” We weren’t related by blood, but he still felt like family to me.

  Thomas offered his hand to my father and they shook solemnly. “Thou may not be her true father, but thou hast raised Alexis to become an impressive warrior. I am proud of thee, kinsman.” He’d read this from my memory when I’d allowed him to rummage inside my head.

  My father was touched. “It has been my privilege to raise her.”

  Thomas turned to me and I took him by the hand. “Farewell,” he said to my friends. “I trust that we will not meet again.”

  We sank into the soil, returning to England and to his resting place. Standing beside his grave, his expression was solemn. “Long ago, a strange woman from another realm told me that I wouldst be tasked with saving the world.” He was referring to Zisa, the Asgardian woman who had introduced him to sex. “Thou hast allowed me to finally fulfil my destiny, but I sense that thee still hath a task to do. Remain watchful, Champion of Fate.” He bent and brushed a kiss across my cheek then stepped onto his grave.

  I unbound his soul from his body and it hovered nearby. “Rest,” I said softly and his body returned to the soil. His soul looked at me forlornly, then his eyes rose to the sky. They widened in joy as he saw something that was invisible to me. He blew me a kiss then dissipated. He’d been trapped on this plane for four hundred years. Now that he’d accomplished the mission that had been set for him so long ago, he was finally free to move on.

  Zeus materialized beside me and offered me comfort as I cried. I was sad that he was gone, but I was also glad for Thomas that he could finally know peace. Guilt was also weighing on me. I hunkered down next to my guardian and looked into his eyes. “Do you want to move on?” I asked him. I hadn’t given him a choice and had bound him to this life permanently. It was hard to get the concept of true death across to him.

  Whining at my distress, he disappeared for a second and returned with a stick in his mouth. He grinned around it happily. “Playing fetch is your answer for everything, isn’t it?” I said with a watery laugh. This was his way of telling me he didn’t want to leave me. He wanted to stay with me and keep me safe forever. Of course, regularly chasing after a stick would be a large part of keeping him happy.

  “Come on, fleabag,” I said fondly and took the stick from him. “Let’s go home.”

  We returned to L.A. and I gathered up the shifters that I’d broken free from the EERI bases or had snatched from their hunting grounds. All were still firmly beneath my control, so I took the opportunity to instill a command in them. You are now forbidden to attack or eat humans while in your wereforms, or in your human forms.

  My compulsion was so strong that even if a human had been lying in front of them with their guts strewn all over the place, they wouldn’t have been tempted to eat them. Reece added his strength to mine and instilled an order of his own. They nodded their acceptance of our commands. My zombies took the shifters back to their hunting grounds where they’d been taken from.

  The shifters who had been captured by EERI were dropped off at random locations. Most had formed packs and they would remain together now. The elemental wielders were dispersed to various cities by my undead minions as well. None of them posed a danger to humans. They would stay under the radar and live out their lives without anyone discovering who or what they were.

  Next, I gathered Aiden, Cole, the oracle, Leanne and Nina together. I changed them back into their human forms and released them from my control before making a speech. “I want to thank you all for helping us fight this war.” They’d all lost people and it would take time for them to grieve for their losses.

  “I can’t say it was fun,” Aiden said, completely comfortable with his nakedness, “but I’m glad we could do our bit to help.”

  Cole was drawn and weary, but he was still as handsome as sin. It took all of my willpower not to allow my eyes to drop below his waist. Knowing what I was thinking, Kala smirked. She had firsth
and knowledge of his anatomy and sent me an image of what he looked like when he was fully aroused. Blinking away the impressive sight, I cut her a dirty look and her smirk widened. “I for one am glad that it is over,” the werelion said. “I believe I might sleep for a week.”

  Instead of being exhausted, Leanne was energized to the point where her eyes almost sparkled. “Anytime you need us to help out again, just call and we’ll be there.”

  “Don’t bother calling me,” the oracle said sourly. Looking through my eyes, she saw their startled reactions and smirked. “I don’t have a phone in my cave,” she reminded them.

  “I have something I want to say to you,” Nina said stiffly. Keeping my expression neutral, I fought hard not to let my lip curl. It baffled me that she thought I would want to hear anything that she had to say. “There’s a reason why I abandoned Garrett when he was a child.” Reece stiffened and Mark put a hand on his shoulder in support.

  “I already know,” I said. “He was too placid, so you thought he wasn’t going to be an alpha. He apparently wasn’t worthy of your love.” If she’d ever actually been capable of feeling the emotion.

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “How can you possibly know that?”

  “One of Fate’s warriors from another dimension showed us Reece’s early memories. We saw how you treated him. You alternated between beating him, starving him and ignoring him.”

  “I had to toughen him up!” she said defensively. “I couldn’t allow the child of two alphas to be weak! When my first son was a disappointment, I thought my second child would become the next alpha.” She turned her pleading gaze on her son. Reece’s face was stony, but I felt his pain. I held his hand tightly, trying to ease his sorrow that both of his parents had been so deranged. “You see why I had to leave you behind when Agent Steel came hunting for us, don’t you? I thought you were defective and I had a second child to care for.”

  Hearing the abuse that her adoptive brother had suffered again, Kala’s rage rose to consume her. Nina hadn’t physically tried to harm Reece this time, but Kala decided that she’d hurt him for a final time. “The only one who is defective here is you,” she said. Pulling her gun, she pointed it at Nina’s disbelieving face and pulled the trigger.

  Staggering back a step, Nina turned to Reece as blood welled from the bullet wound in her forehead. Holding her hands out beseechingly, she fell to her knees. His face remained devoid of expression as she keeled over onto her side. Letting out a final, tired breath, she expired.

  Reece’s heart clenched in momentary pain at her death, then he turned his back on his dead mother. Like me, he was an orphan now, but he would never be alone. We had each other and a family who loved us. It was more than enough for us both.

  “Nice shot,” my father said proudly, as if he’d taught Kala how to shoot himself.

  “Thanks,” she said brightly. She was trying to pretend that her eyes weren’t welling with tears for Reece. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” She didn’t want witnesses when she allowed herself to break down.

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Mark said. “Our job is done and it’s time to go home.”

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Forty-One

  Bruce Delgado and Patrick were still in their bear and wolf forms, but they sent me nods of respect as my zombies moved to surround them. I nodded in return and changed their alphas back into their wereforms. They still had two more nights of hunting ahead.

  Bound by my decree like all of the other shifters that were beneath my control, I didn’t have to worry that we’d have to hunt them down one day. Our kind would never eat humans again. The order would be carried through their blood to their offspring or to any other shifters that were ever created. If the command ever weakened, I would summon them to me and renew it again.

  My zombies carried my allies back to their homes then returned to me. No longer needed, I sent them back to their cemeteries or to where they’d fallen during the battle and commanded them to rest until only one small group remained.

  I had one stop left to make, but I would have to postpone it for a short while. Cromby was making his way to us with his entourage of witches and warlocks following in his wake.

  “I take it you were successful at defeating Kurt Jorgen?” he asked. He did a double take when he saw Kendricks and the rest of the O Squad and Containment Squad. His expression turned queasy at seeing his agents being used as my minions, but he swallowed down his uneasiness.

  “We were,” Mark confirmed.

  “I’ll expect a full report in the morning,” Cromby instructed then took in our weariness. “Perhaps you should rest for a couple of days then report in,” he conceded.

  “I’d appreciate that,” Mark said dryly. “By the way, Ava, Major Levine and Sabine have joined the Shifter Squad.”

  Cromby narrowed his eyes when he realized that Mark and his assistant had become a couple. It was pretty obvious, since they were standing hand in hand. “I see,” he said and his lips tightened. Then he sighed and nodded. “I’m sure I’ll be able to find another assistant. I don’t know exactly how you managed it, but you all have my thanks for the service that you had rendered to mankind.” With a final glance at us all, he turned and walked away.

  Free to leave, I took us back to the cemetery near our headquarters. All of the fallen agents who had come to our aid dropped their weapons into a pile. Drifting away, they returned to their graves. They’d joined the PIA with the knowledge that they might one day have to face a disaster of global proportions, but they hadn’t known they would be raised from the dead to play their part.

  Kendricks looked at me with a blank face, but I caught a glimmer of eagerness from him. He and his men had enjoyed their part in saving the world, as much as they’d been able to. “If you ever have need of us again, we will come at your call,” he told me.

  “Thank you,” I said, hoping it wouldn’t be necessary. They sank into the soil for a final time.

  This had been the longest night of my life and I was weary to my bones. I looked down at the pile of guns and ammo and then at Mark.

  “Cromby can deal with the cleanup when he returns. I’ll let him know the gear is here.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that,” I said with a weary smile. Ava’s blood had worn off and I had just enough strength left to transport us back to our base in Colorado. Filthy, we all headed upstairs to shower and change.

  Finally allowing herself to have a good cry for Reece’s suffering and feeling slightly guilty about killing his mother, Kala needed to be comforted by my father. That involved both of them being naked. I determinedly blocked out the images that she inadvertently sent to me as I took a seat on the couch beside Reece.

  Refreshed and back in her usual high spirits again, Kala eventually descended the stairs and made coffee for everyone. My father was right behind her and was trying hard to pretend we didn’t all know what they’d been up to. He sent me a quick glance then blushed at my knowing look.

  When the coffee was ready, we all gathered in the living room and sank down on the couches. There was just enough room for everyone. Ava sat beside Mark and Sabine was entwined with Flynn. Kala sat on my father’s lap and I was tucked beside Reece. Zeus lay at my feet, content to be home again.

  We watched the news and saw grainy images of us all appear on the screen. Even during the midst of an apocalypse, someone had taken the time to film the action.

  “I guess the cat is out of the bag now,” Kala said as a photo of her in her werecougar form came up on the TV.

  “You’re hilarious,” Flynn said at her pun.

  “She’s right,” Mark said. “There’s no way we can hide the fact that supernatural creatures exist now.”

  He turned the volume on so we could hear what the newscaster was saying. “This footage has just come in,” she said in excitement. A shaky, grainy image of Baal being banished and the pits sucking his army back to hell was displayed. “It appears that we have been granted the m
iracle that we’ve been praying for. The zombie and demon hordes are gone and so are the stone monsters that were controlling the animals, birds and spiders.” Her eyes teared up and she had to take a second to compose herself. “It would seem that the creatures we always thought were monsters are in fact our allies. To every shape shifter who was present at the battle in Los Angeles, you have the thanks of our entire nation.”

  “Heh,” Kala said with a hint of derision, “she has no idea that we’d eat her if she came across us in our wereforms.”

  “Actually,” I said, “I made sure we won’t have to hunt down a rogue shifter ever again.”

  “How?” Mark asked.

  “Reece and I used our status as supreme alphas to instill commands in them,” I shrugged. “No shifter will ever feel the need to taste human flesh ever again. I gave the vampires the same command.”

  “It actually goes a little further than that with shifters,” Reece said. “I also instilled the need for them to protect human lives.”

  “That’s brilliant,” Flynn said in approval. “Humans will go from fearing us to trusting us to keep them safe.”

  “That was a smart move,” my father said to us both.

  Reece acknowledged the praise with a nod then turned to me. “You know,” he said with a small smile, “now that the excitement is over, we should discuss my marriage proposal.”

  “Um,” I scrambled for a reply that wouldn’t come out sounding panicked. “Aren’t we still a bit young for marriage?”

  “You can’t use that excuse forever,” he said knowingly while Kala sniggered at my discomfort.

  “I promise we’ll get married one day,” I vowed. “Let’s just enjoy being young and carefree for a while longer.” He sighed in mock disappointment, but I sensed his contentment. He knew I loved him and that we were bound together forever.