Book of Souls (Supernatural War Book 1)

by Steven L Smithen

  When the light faded, I noted that we were now standing in the living room of our family home in Rye, NH.

  My mom looked at me and before I could object to where we were she commanded, “Go, get cleaned up and get some sleep, son. You aren’t going to be any good to them if you’re falling down from exhaustion.” I nodded to them, then stumbled towards my room.

  Chapter 26

  I was awakened by sunlight as it streamed through the window. I sat up and looked around. I was in my childhood room back in New Hampshire. I looked down to see that I was still wearing the clothes that I had on while down in the Amazon. Guess I didn’t make it to the shower. Well, at least you remembered to take off your boots. I thought. As I sat there, the weight of all that had happened came rushing back to me. Talia and Khloe had been captured. I had almost died, or maybe I had died but was brought back by my dad.

  Somehow, my parents had travelled down to where we were to save us from the Fallen. They had teamed up with former members of our pack, along with a couple of witches. For what though? The book was the reason. Dad had mentioned that they have been searching for it since it was hidden. They thought that it had been destroyed when the Mayan and Incan shifters overthrew Kirin with the help of Spanish vampires masquerading as Conquistadors.

  First things first. I needed a shower judging by how much I smelled. Then need to see my parents about what to do next so we can get the girls and Joseph back along with that dammed book. That way we could get Khloe’s parents back from Kirin.

  About an hour later I came downstairs wearing some clean jeans, a performance tee, and my desert combat boots. I carried my combat harness and tactical holster into the kitchen and looked for my parents but they were nowhere to be found. I found a note on the fridge that mom had left for me.

  Dorian, your father and I went down to Boston to talk with Craig and Thomas. Craig had one of the pack bring your truck up, along with your phone. The keys and phone are on the table next to your rifle. Call when you are headed down. Love, Mom.

  I looked at the kitchen table and saw my keys and other stuff. Nice, I wouldn’t have to drive one of their cars. I placed my phone and keys in my pockets, picked up my M4, and headed towards the front door. Once outside I noticed that someone was waiting next to my truck. Not just any member of the pack, but if my nose hasn’t betrayed me I’d say it was, “Shane, isn’t it?” I asked out loud. I looked at the young shifter. He was standing there in jeans, tee shirt, and hoody with a Red Sox cap on. He looked fidgety. No wonder Dutch had his way with this kid. His wolf was extremely submissive. “I see my mother thought you were worth saving. Why did Craig send you up?”

  He looked me in the eyes and immediately looked down. “Craig thought that I could fill you in on Dutch’s place, where they might be holding Talia and the others. Maeve said it was part of my penance for what I did.”

  I looked at him and nodded before I used the key fob to unlock the truck. I placed my gear in the back seat. “Hop in Shane. I have no grudge with you. You ended up doing the right thing.” He got in as I pulled out my phone. I texted my mom and told her we were on our way. Opening my music app, I cued up the Foo Fighters and hit play. “Ah, The Pretender, excellent driving music.” I just had to make one stop by Dunkin Donuts to get coffee.

  We pulled into the parking lot behind the townhouse about ninety minutes later. As we got out, I looked over at Shane. “You’re with me. I know you’ve already told Craig everything you know but I would like you there in case you have forgot something or didn’t think something was important.” He nodded in agreement. Dutch sure as hell did a number on this kid. We were going to have to be gentle with him until we have the time to remind him that he is a wolf. I looked around the property and noticed all the increased security that Craig and Thomas had called in. I grabbed my gear before I followed Shane toward the back door.

  As I passed one of the guys at the back door, I asked him if he could let Craig know I was here and to meet me in my office. Once in my office, I placed my gear on my empty desk. I pulled out my phone and texted mom to tell her I was at the townhouse. I walked across the hall to Talia’s office. Before I entered, Craig and Thomas met me in the hall. “I’m going to assume mom and dad gave you guys the rundown.” They both nodded. “Ok, I’ll meet you guys in my office. I’m going to ask Lela to join us as well. She’s been Talia’s PA for years. I think she might be able to help us.” I said before knocking lightly then opening the door to find Lela sitting on the sofa with tears running down her cheeks. Yep, she’ll help us, she’s going to want to make someone pay. I went to her and knelt before pulling her into my arms and gave her the hug she needed.

  “Lela, it’s going to be ok. We are going to get them back.” She shuttered, as I held her I could feel her calm down. “You want to help get them back?”

  She leaned back. “Really? You want my help?” I think she was a bit surprised by my question.

  “Yes, I’m going to need all the help I can get.” I let her go and moved to sit next to her on the couch. I held her hands. “I know you are more than her Personal Assistant. I know you’ve sparred and trained with her whenever Khloe was out of town.”

  She looked at me with the beginnings of a sly smile on her face. “Figured that out, did you? Definitely not as dumb as Talia says.”

  I chuckled. “Get yourself cleaned up then join us in my office. We’re going to get them back as soon as possible.” I got up and made my way out of the office.

  Once I returned to the office I found Craig, Thomas, Shane, my parents, and two people that I didn’t know. I was sure one was a witch, judging by her scent. The other I couldn’t get a scent or a read on. I looked around at everyone as I made my way to my desk chair, As I sat I told them that Lela would be joining us. Craig gave me a knowing smile which confirmed my suspicion that Lela was more than just Talia’s PA.

  Lela joined us about ten minutes later. As she found a seat I looked at my mom. “What do we know?”

  My mom stood and addressed the room. “As you know, they were abducted by a group of rogue shifters who broke with our pack along with the help of two witches and three unknowns. What you don’t know is the three unknowns are known as ‘The Fallen’ or ‘Fallen Angels’.” She let that sink in around the room. “Those three won’t be your concern as they are no longer on or around the property where our people are being held.” Mom turned to the woman who had come with them, “This is Samantha, she’s a member of the witch’s circle from Salem. She knows Khloe, as well as the witch who is with the rogues.”

  “And the other who came with you guys?” I asked.

  My dad stepped forward and answered, “His name is Nuriel. He will be going with your mom and me to hunt the Fallen.” He met my eyes and his nod let me know that we would talk about this after the meeting.

  I looked over at Craig, “Your guys have had this location under surveillance ever since Dutch first started his shit with Talia, right?”

  Craig pulled out a tablet, tapping on the screen as the TV on the wall came to life. The display had the layout of the building. “The building is a two-story duplex with a finished basement over in Southy.”

  I looked at the screen and thought about what would be needed for an entry team. I glanced back to Craig. “How many people are you planning on using?”

  Craig looked at his tablet for a second and tapped something on the screen before he answered. “I think two five man teams of our security forces plus whoever else you are planning on bringing.”

  I looked at my mom. She shook her head, indicating that they wouldn’t be going with us. I swallowed my irritation at that. They better have a damn good reason for not going with us. I looked around the room formulated a plan in my head. “That sounds good with the addition of Lela, Samantha, Thomas, you, and myself. The three of us,” I pointed at Lela, Craig and myself “will hit the basement. Thomas, I want you to watch Samantha’s back while she does what she needs to do to counteract whatever defens
ive spells might have been placed around the building.”

  Samantha looked over at Thomas with an appraising eye, then looked back to me. “I would like you to try and take Sarah alive if possible.” I was about to object as she raised her hand. “I know what she has done to you and yours but she has also betrayed her circle. I can assure you that our punishment will be far worse than death by your hand.”

  I leaned back in my chair and examined Samantha over again as I nodded. “Ok, if she can be taken alive, then she is yours to deal with.” I looked back at Craig. “How much time are you going to need to get everything set up?”

  Craig looked back at his tablet, “The two teams are already on site waiting for us. I thought you’d want to hit them as soon as we could.”

  “Thanks, can we be ready to go in about an hour?” I asked the room. Everyone who would be going nodded. “Now if you would all excuse me I need to speak with my parents before we go.” Everyone got up and filed out of my office, leaving me alone with my parents. Looking them over, I could see they were torn about not going with us to get their daughter. Good, I thought.

  “Before you erupt at us for not going with you, there is a good reason.” My mom remarked before I could read them the riot act. I gestured for her to go on. “As you now know, the three who took our people are now gone. Nuriel arrived with orders for your father to go after them. Where he goes I go.” She finished as she grabbed my father’s hand.

  “You can’t help, can you?” I asked him. “The Host won’t let you because the Fallen have left. Don’t they care about the fact that your daughter is being held?” I was furious and now that it was just us three I could let my anger breathe.

  He frowned and looked at mom. “You are correct. Even without my wings, I am vastly more powerful than most supernaturals on the planet. I can only directly interfere in situations where the Fallen are involved.” He held his hand up his to stop my response. “They have to physically be present for instances like this.”

  I just shook my head at his response. I sure as hell didn’t like it but there was nothing I could do about it. “Ok, we’ll get them back.” I said absently, then looked at my mother, “What about the pack? Since you don’t know how long you will be gone, I’m guessing that you’re going to have me and T handle things while you’re gone.”

  My mom looked hesitant for a minute before speaking in a clear voice. “I, Maeve Callahan, herby renounce my title of Alpha to the New England Pack and herby submit to the new Alpha, Dorian Callahan.” She then bowed her head to me, something that she has never done to anyone, not even dad.

  “I, Dorian Callahan, herby accept the title of Alpha to the New England Pack,” I replied with a voice just as clear as hers. I dipped my head slightly to acknowledge her submission to me as the new Alpha. “Mom, are you sure you want to do this?” I asked her.

  She looked up at me with tears of pride and joy in her eyes. “Yes, I am sure. I can’t be Alpha and go with your father. I have already sent an email to the other packs to let them know that you are now Alpha. You’re going to share your duties with Talia, right?”

  “Of course, she’s my other half in a lot of things. I would be lost without her.” I stopped to look around the room. “Wait, that’s it? No bloodletting or magical wiz bang?” I was a little shocked that there wasn’t more involved with her handing over the title of Alpha and leadership of the pack to Talia and me.

  She doubled over and laughed at me. “No, Dorian, there isn’t any magical ‘wiz bang’. I just need to formally renounce my position before a neutral party and your father fills that role in our world. All you have to do is accept.”

  “How long do you plan to be gone?”

  She looked over at dad. He shook his head. “We don’t know. Who knows if we’re gone long enough, maybe we will be grandparents.” She gave me a smirk. “Now go and get my girls back.”

  As I hugged them I replied, “Will do. You two be safe. Get these fuckers.” I released them from my hug. I picked up my tactical harness and other gear. “I need to go get ready,” I said as we walked to the door. Out in the hallway, I noticed Nuriel waiting for my parents. As I walked by him, I noticed a scent for the first time. It was unlike anything that I have ever smelled. Curious for sure.

  Thirty minutes later I came downstairs to find everyone geared up and ready to go. I looked over at Craig. “My parents?”

  “Already gone.”

  I nodded to him and looked at those assembled. Craig and Thomas were dressed in tactical clothes and gear. Samantha still wore what she had had on at the briefing - something told me that she would be fine dressed that way. Her sole purpose was to dispel any wards, as well as to help keep this raid from the eyes of normal humans. Lela was a surprise as I have only seen her in business dress. She was wearing the same type of tactical pants that both Talia and Khloe favored, with desert combat boots. She was also wearing one of those performance long sleeve tees that we all tended to like, covered by a lightweight vest with ceramic armored plates. She also had strapped to her hip a combat holster with a Sig Sauer P226 .45 caliber pistol, along with her own short swords strapped to her back. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail to keep her long dark hair out of her chocolate brown eyes. She looked up at me. “Ready when you are, boss.”

  Chapter 27

  The drive over to the duplex took about thirty minutes. We pulled up behind two of our security vans about two blocks away. Everyone except me got out and headed to meet with the other two teams. I wanted a few minutes to myself. I breathed in deeply, closed my eyes and focused on the task at hand. I had to get them back. I never really noticed how I have always just assumed that Talia was there. I said a little prayer to whoever was listening. I was never a big believer but right now I could use all the help I could get. I got out of the van and looked over our team for tonight.

  The first thing I noticed was that Lela had one of the guys pulled to the side and was having a quiet discussion. Must be her mate. He was good looking guy, about 6 feet with reddish brown hair and a lean build that all male wolves seem to have. As I approached Craig and the other team leaders, Lela grabbed the front of her mate’s tactical vest and yanked him down for a passionate kiss. After she let go, he turned back to his team and she grabbed his ass. “You better make sure that comes back in one piece.” That elicited laughs and cat calls from his team members.

  “What’s the word, gentlemen?” I asked.

  “The house has been quiet. From who’s come and gone, it looks like they number about half dozen to a dozen.” One of the team leads with the name tape of Johnson answered.

  Craig turned to me. “We have two guys to keep watch on the front and the back.”

  “When we were told about the presence of a witch we pulled back and left just the lookouts.” Johnson offered.

  “Samantha, how much time are you going to need to cast the spells that will block out the sound and some of tonight’s actions?”

  She appeared to be giving it some thought before she answered. “Shouldn’t take too long. I’m guessing that my wayward sister has some soundproofing wards in place.”

  Craig gave the two team leaders their instructions along with our goals for the evening. We then broke up into our groups and we made our way towards the duplex. The evening was typical of a late September night. It was about 9 pm when we arrived at the duplex. We held back while Samantha did her thing. That took about ten minutes, then she nodded to me. I signaled over the comm system that we were a go.

  Craig and Lela stacked on the door. Which is to say that they pulled up on either side of the basement door while I, with my pistol in hand, kicked the door in. The sound of the flashbang grenade that Craig tossed inside went off, followed by the sound of two more detonating elsewhere in the duplex. We entered and followed the military’s room clearing practices. Making our way forward with me at point, Lela followed me with her silenced Heckler & Koch MP5PDW submachine gun at the ready and with Craig watching our six w
ith his own silenced H & K MP5. We followed the hallway to what looked like an entertainment room complete with big screen plasma on the wall. There were three shifters in here, as one tried to jump me and knocked my pistol aside as he punched me. The other two were no match for Lela and Craig, who both put three round bursts into their chests. They finished them off with shots to the head.

  The one who jumped me pulled a knife and rushed me again. I just pulled my pistol up shooting him twice in the head.

  As we cleared the room I could swear I picked up both Talia’s and Khloe’s scents. “Lela, can you scent Talia? I think I can smell her but I’m not sure.”

  As she made her way over to where I was by the back of the room, the comms erupted with an all clear. “Sir, we’ve found Joseph. He’s been badly beaten. No sign of the witch though. Everyone else is either dead or in cuffs. I’ve sent three guys to bring up the vans. I’ve also called in a cleanup team.”

  “She’s here, I can scent her but not place her,” Lela said

  “Thomas, can you bring Samantha to the basement? I think she is going to be needed.” I asked over the radio.

  A few minutes later, Samantha came into the large entertainment room. She glanced at the three bodies, now covered by sheets with blood staining them. As she got closer her eyes lit up with surprise, “Oh yes, I see what she did. Nice camouflage spell on the wall. It must be hiding a door to another area. Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll have it removed.”

  I felt a pressure building in the room, or at least in my ears. The hair on my arms began to stand as the pressure reached a crescendo to reveal a large metal door in the wall where both Lela and I scented the girls. As I walked over to the door it looked like it was some sort of leftover from the Cold War. I turned the handle and pushed the door open to find another hallway with a light at the end. My ears also picked up a sound, “Take that you fucking bitch!” Followed by the sound of someone getting the crap beat out of them. Then I heard another voice, one that my wolf perked up to. “Beat her ass, T.” I took off at a run.