by Ching, G. P.
“Oh, a fainter for sure. But no one with half a brain would live in the country without a gun. You never know when you’re going to find yourself on the biting end of something angry and furry. And the holy water … well, I guess you could say Mom’s superstitious.”
“Did you take care of my parents?” Malini asked Lillian.
“Before I started packing. Jim and Sarah have their very own arsenal now,” Lillian said. She checked her side mirror. “The others are behind us.”
“Let’s put some distance between us and Paris, then stop wherever seems safe,” Malini said.
“You got it.”
The hum of the road filled the van as they got comfortable between the bags on the floor. Minutes passed in silence.
“What do you think happened to the gnomes?” Ethan asked. Everyone was thinking it, but Dane grimaced to hear it out loud.
Jacob answered, “I’ve been thinking about this. Cord destroyed the portal. He blew up the connection between the flower shop and Eden. That doesn’t mean Eden is gone. My great-great-great-grandfather, Warwick Laudner, built that portal. Who’s to say another couldn’t be built someday.”
“If Eden is still standing,” Dane added.
“We have to believe it is,” Malini said softly. “I sense that it is.”
“Me too,” Ethan said. “I think I’d know, I’d feel it in my gut, if Archie was gone.”
The three nodded their heads, and eventually Dane seemed to take comfort in their words.
In silence, the miles rolled by, loss and grief seeping in through the cracks like a bad smell. Malini would have cried if she thought it would help, but tears wouldn’t win this challenge. She’d known this was coming. Abigail warned her they would lose Eden. But it never seemed real. Well, not until now.
“There’s a truck stop ahead,” Lillian said, slowing as they merged into congested traffic. “We’re just over the border. Indiana. Nothing out here for miles. Should we stop?”
“I don’t know about you but I’m starving,” Jacob said.
“How can you think about food at a time like this?” Malini asked.
“How long have you known me?”
Lillian exited the highway and pulled into the Dixieland Diner parking area. They weren’t alone. The lot was full of vans, RVs, and cars of every shape and size.
“Looks like we’re not the only ones running,” Lillian said. She found an open spot and turned off the van.
The other delivery van finished parking as Malini jumped down to the asphalt. She stretched. As much as she’d teased Jacob, she could use a cup of coffee and maybe a sandwich.
Grace jumped out of the driver’s seat of the other van and walked around to open the back doors. A bloody gash marred the side of her face. Malini would heal that. No problem. The twins hopped down from the cargo area. She couldn’t tell who was who without looking them in the face. Oh wait, Bonnie was wearing the stone. They’d both been crying.
“Something’s wrong,” Ethan said. Malini could feel it too, a generalized sense of dread.
“Abigail?” Jacob said, but Gideon was the next to exit, immediately helping a very pregnant Abigail from the back. She appeared uninjured. Cheveyo climbed down after her.
Grace closed the door.
“Where’s Lee?” Dane asked.
Malini froze. She met Grace’s weeping eyes and saw the truth.
“He didn’t make it out on time,” Grace confirmed. “We’ve lost him.”
* * * * *
“Lee stayed behind to hold open the passageway for us. We’d pushed you all through first. The ceiling collapsed. The building came down around him.” Grace told the story over her coffee, huddled with the other Soulkeepers around a table too small for their group.
“Is there any chance he might still be alive under the rubble? Maybe if we went back and I used my power to dig him out?” Ethan suggested.
Grace shook her head. “I saw his remains. There is no chance he survived.”
Another tear rolled down Malini’s cheek. They’d all cried themselves dry over the last hour. The loss was unbearable. Eden. Lee. And worse, more heartache waited in the wings. The diner was brimming with it. People at every table spoke of fleeing the monsters.
“What’s next?” Ghost asked.
Malini stared at Abigail, conspicuously quiet since their arrival. She seemed intent on her coffee.
“We could try Nebraska,” Grace suggested. Malini had healed the gash on her head but one side of her red hair was still matted with dried blood. “Plenty of rural acreage to get lost in.”
“What about LA?” Ethan offered. “It’s not rural but I have friends there in low places. We could disappear.”
Dane shook his head. “My farm is big enough. We could use the holy water we brought from Eden to enchant a boundary around the property. Plenty of food and well water. We could hole up there for years without having to leave. Not to mention, the Watchers have already blown up Paris. Why would they do it twice?”
Malini blinked at him. “That’s a good idea.”
Dane’s eyebrows shot up. “It is? So we’re going back to Paris?”
“Yes, it is, and no we are not. We need to go where the Watchers have already been. Where they are. It’s what they’ll least expect. But we’re not going to Paris.”
“Then where?” Grace asked.
“Chicago.”
Bonnie gasped. “Are you kidding me? We’ll be delivering ourselves to Lucifer’s front door!”
“And he’ll never expect it. We’ll find a place, far from any family or friends. We’ll slip under his radar.” Malini flattened her hands to the table, suddenly sure this was the right thing to do.
“One tiny snafu,” Dane said. “How are we going to survive with no bank? I mean, unless we have a bag of cash somewhere, we are in a world of hurt.”
Cheveyo agreed. “I don’t even know how I’m going to pay for my lunch.”
“If we rent or buy a place, we’ll need an identity. Lucifer will find us in a heartbeat if I use mine,” Lillian said. “We can’t take out a loan.”
Grace grimaced. “There are twelve of us. A place large enough to house us all in the city is going to cost a mint. Even with the sale of the restaurant, I don’t have that kind of cash.”
“If it’s even possible,” Gideon chimed in. “Watchers are walking the streets. We could find a city of boarded-up windows.”
Malini folded her hands. In her head, she began to pray. It was a scattered prayer. Nothing she could say aloud. Just phrases really, full of grief for Lee and a whiny and perseverant supplication for help. It had been a long time since she prayed. Seemed silly she didn’t stop to do it more often, considering she was a Soulkeeper.
“The important thing is we’re safe,” Ghost said, squeezing Samantha’s hand. “I don’t care if we have to live in a cave in the middle of the Andes. I’m thankful we have each other—what’s left of us. We’ve already lost Lee. Let’s not lose anyone else.”
Samantha rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
“You’re right, Ghost. We have to be thankful for what we have. All we can do is our best,” Malini said.
“I have money,” Ethan blurted.
Everyone at the table turned to stare at him.
“To be honest, I forgot about it. Maybe I wanted to forget, I don’t know.”
Abigail smiled. “The money you won in Vegas? When I came for you, you thought I was someone else.”
“Uh, yeah.” He scratched the back of his head. “I, uh, helped the ball land on certain numbers on the roulette wheel. Won a mint but the casino owner wanted to break my legs for awhile.”
“So there’s no confusion,” Grace said, “how much do you mean by ‘a mint’? One thousand? Ten thousand?”
“Two million.” Ethan stared at the table as if ashamed. “I kept it in cash so no one could trace it.”
“Cash?” Dane’s mouth gaped. “Where in the world would you keep that m
uch cash?”
“My apartment. Mattress and box spring are stuffed with it. Closet. Kitchen cabinets. Mostly tens and twenties. They can track large bills. Should still be there. My apartment was paid up for the year.”
Malini unfolded her hands. The faces around the table turned to her. The expressions weren’t exactly happy. More like they’d just seen a unicycle-riding bear pass behind her.
“It’s settled. We’ll use the staffs to go to LA to pick up the money. Then we travel to Chicago and buy a residence under a pseudonym. Any objections?”
Gideon cleared his throat. “Is anyone else concerned that we will be using money gained by sinful means? No offense, Ethan, but what you did amounts to stealing. We are soldiers for God, after all. It isn’t right, even if we are using it for good.”
“I’ve got no problem with it,” Jacob said. Ten pairs of eyes drilled into him. “Oh, for crying out loud. Are we really going to analyze how this … this … blessing fell into our laps? The world is freaking populated with Watchers!”
Malini snorted. “I have to agree with Jacob. What’s done is done. The world is an evil place. We have to work smarter or we won’t survive. We can’t overanalyze it.”
Around the table, heads nodded. Eventually, Gideon dropped the subject and stared into his coffee.
“Excellent. Ethan will have to go; he’s the only one who knows the exact location. Lillian, I’d feel better knowing you were with him for protection. Ghost, you’ll be our third. If there’s trouble, you can blink out of there and get help.”
“Rock on,” Ghost said.
Lillian and Ethan bumped knuckles.
“What about the fourth?” Dane asked hopefully.
“We have to keep one staff back here, in case the three don’t return. Let’s all pray we don’t need to use it.”
Chapter 24
Mission Los Angeles
Ethan materialized within a wooded area of a small park two blocks from his apartment, Lillian on his right, Ghost on his left. He’d thought the bank of trees would be a secluded place for popping in and out of existence, but he was wrong. He smiled at the bum curled up at the base of the nearest tree. The man smiled back. Ethan didn’t explain. The man didn’t ask.
“This way,” Ethan said, taking off toward the street at a fast clip. “My apartment is a couple of blocks…” He trailed off as he saw the state of his street.
Windows blown out. Homes smoldering. Rubble-filled streets. There was no way you could drive on the road anymore, although people filled it. They wandered aimlessly, a few trying to comfort each other. A woman passed by with a shopping cart. Her shirt was Ralph Lauren—this season. Ethan was pretty sure she hadn’t been homeless yesterday.
He hastened to his apartment building, relieved to find it was still standing. One wall was a pile of rubble in the alley, but otherwise the place looked structurally sound. He held the front door open for Ghost and Lillian.
“The elevator is still running,” Ghost said, watching the numbers above the metal doors change with each floor. The lights in the ceiling blinked ominously.
“I think I’ll take the stairs,” Lillian said, moving for the stairwell.
“I’m on the fourth floor,” Ethan said.
Lillian smiled at him as she opened the door. It was a dumb thing to do. A ball of fire rolled through the open door, searing her shoulder before narrowly missing Ethan and traveling right through Ghost, who broke apart just in time. Ethan saw a flash of leathery wing and dove out of the way of the door. A second later, black blood sprayed across the foyer. The Watcher fell at Lillian’s feet and bubbled black on the linoleum.
“Thank God Malini forced us to take these from Eden,” Ghost said, holding up a blessed hatchet. “I thought packing the duffle bags was a pain at the time but…” He motioned toward the body.
Lillian clutched her shoulder and winced painfully. “I’ve been hit.”
Gripping her shirtsleeve, Ethan ripped away the cloth to expose the wound. The injury was festering but shallow. “It’s the size of a quarter. You’ll need healing.”
“It can wait. Painful son of a bitch, but I’ll survive. You need my help.”
Ethan nodded. “Fourth floor, Ghost.”
“I’ll pop up there to make sure there aren’t more of these hanging around.” He broke apart.
Ethan stepped over the body and helped Lillian do the same. “Can you run?”
“Lower body is fine,” she said through a tight smile.
He broke into a jog, up one flight, then two, three. Ethan stopped outside the door to the fourth floor. “I don’t like this. Ghost is taking too long.”
Lillian nodded and flattened herself against the wall next to the door. Ethan unzipped the pocket in his backpack that held his weapons and reached for the knob.
“Come on, you bastards!” Ghost’s voice yelled on the other side of the door.
Ethan yanked, entering a hallway of horrors. Hellhounds! The black, oily creatures had Ghost cornered. One crept across the ceiling toward the Soulkeeper, defying gravity. But why didn’t Ghost poof out of there?
“Ethan, behind you!” Ghost yelled.
The throwing stars soared from Ethan’s backpack, straight into a hellhound. Lillian’s kick snapped past his ear, knocking the wounded black beast off its trajectory and saving Ethan’s head. It yelped and crumpled to the floor.
“Thanks,” Ethan said.
“No problem.”
Ghost appeared beside him. “They’re guarding every door. The Watchers must know one of these apartments is yours.”
Back-to-back, the three Soulkeepers moved into the hallway, Lillian with dagger in hand, Ghost with the hatchet, and Ethan with a backpack full of sharp metal stars. The hellhounds closed in.
“My apartment is 407. Do we run for it or kill these things?”
Ghost shook his head. “Oh, I plan to kill these things, even if we thought we could make it to the door.”
“Agreed,” Lillian said. “Can’t leave them to roam the streets.”
“Six,” Ghost said. “Two each.”
Ethan focused on an extra-large hound growling at him from the corner. The thing opened its mouth and a whip-like tongue made of fire snapped near his nose. The creature lowered itself, ready to pounce.
“If I kill more than two, I win,” Ethan said.
Whoosh. The nasty black dog leapt, all claws and flashing teeth. Ethan pushed with one part of his mind and projected a star with another. The thing jerked sideways in midair and yelped as the star collided with its jugular. The metal hissed and smoked, embedded in the dog’s flesh.
Where had the second gone? Ethan twirled, searching for his second attacker. Smack. A black body landed on his head. He slapped the linoleum face-first, sliding forward with the weight of the creature. Facedown, he couldn’t make eye contact to use his telekinesis to push the thing away. The hellhound’s claws slashed near his shoulders. Luckily, the backpack he was wearing was taking the brunt of the attack.
The backpack! Turning his head, he concentrated on the corner of a throwing star peeking from the pocket. He propelled it in the direction of the hellhound on his back. The beast howled and reared up. Ethan rolled out from under the thing, scrambled to his feet, and directed another two stars at the creature’s head out of panic. The force was enough to decapitate the hound. If that wasn’t enough to soak him in black blood, the first hound effectively exploded from his injuries, finishing the job.
Ethan turned to help the others, only to find they were similarly doused in oily black blood. Nothing was left of the hellhounds but a large, dark slick. “Well, that was fun,” Ethan deadpanned.
“Dane’s gonna love that shiner,” Ghost said, pointing to Ethan’s left eye. He could already feel it start to swell.
Lillian peeked under the fabric covering her injured shoulder. The sore was now the size of a baseball. “Can we get on with this, boys? I need Malini.”
Ghost hugged his chest. “I agree. I’m
feeling a little drained myself.”
“Right. Let’s do this.” Ethan fished his keys out of his shredded backpack and unlocked the door to 407. The smell of rotting cheese and sweaty feet smacked them in the face.
“Just as I left it,” Ethan said, coughing. He crossed the living room and opened a window. “Of course the food and garbage weren’t rotting back then.”
Lillian retrieved two folded duffle bags from her pack. “Where do we start?”
* * * * *
By the time Ethan arrived at the truck stop with three of six duffle bags full of cash, Lillian’s wound had spread the length of her arm and up to her ear. Malini rushed to her side and worked her healing magic within the privacy of the van. Jacob was ready with a giant Styrofoam cup full of water to help Malini recover. Ghost, relatively unscathed, volunteered to pack the bags of money into the other van while Ethan waited outside the van for his turn to be healed.
“Nice shiner,” Bonnie said, sidling up to him around the side of the van. “Do you need some ice while you’re waiting?”
“Nah.”
“He wants me to see the damage for sympathy,” Dane said, grinning. He eyed the black mess still dripping off Ethan. “I’ll give you the sympathy, but if you think I’m going to kiss it better, you’re sadly mistaken.”
Ethan offered a half-hearted pout. Crossing his arms over his chest, he turned his back on Dane for effect, and found himself staring at the side of the van. “Hey, do you think we should cover up the Laudner logo?”
“Oh my God,” Bonnie said, hands on her hips. “Can you imagine if we drove into the city in this? How did we not notice before? We have to tell Malini.”
“Tell me what?” Malini jumped down from the van and approached Ethan, hand reaching for his eye.
“The vans. We’ve got to cover up the logo. They know Jacob’s last name,” Ethan said.
Malini planted a kiss on his cheek, next to his now fully healed eye. “Good catch.”
“But what do we do about it?” Dane asked. “We’ve gotta cover this up.”
Jacob and Lillian exited the back of the van and closed the doors. “Cover what up?” they asked in unison.
