His phone went off again. He glanced down and I closed my eyes, hoping to quench the stinging while he was distracted; I didn’t want him to pressure me into going back to bed.
“What . . . ?” he muttered distractedly.
I opened my eyes and looked to him. His forehead was wrinkled in confusion.
“What’s wrong?” I asked softly.
He didn’t answer—just handed me his phone. I scanned the text, noting it was from Alex.
Looks good in back. What about
It cut off there, an unfinished question. I looked up at Patrick, who was looking between me and our somewhat limited view of the front yard. “Maybe he sent it on accident?” I offered.
“Maybe . . .” Patrick reached for the phone and I handed it back.
We waited in silence, expecting another text to follow the first.
It didn’t.
After two minutes Patrick rose to his feet. “Stay here. I’m going to check the back.” He glanced back at me. “Do you have your phone?”
I shook my head. It was on the nightstand in my bedroom, charging.
Judging by the expression on his face he’d already guessed the answer. He kept his voice assuring. “I’ll be right back.”
I kept an eye on him as he wandered out of the room into the darkened entryway. Some light flickered in through the slim window beside the front door, but even with that he was just a silhouette. A shadow. I lost sight of him when he moved around the corner, headed for the kitchen.
I looked back out the window, trying to tell my heart that it had no reason to be beating like it was. Nothing was wrong. He wouldn’t have left you if he thought something was wrong.
I heard Patrick’s voice, unintelligible but unmistakable, and Hanif whispered something back. A door opened and closed—silence. My heart continued to ignore me; it was pounding now.
I tried to focus on the empty front yard, on the street beyond it. I needed to keep watch. Not only was I protecting myself, my grandma, and my home, but I was also protecting Lee, Patrick, Claire, and all the Seers who were willing to sacrifice so much for me.
The feeling came suddenly—completely overwhelming: I needed to get behind the couch.
I’d never experienced anything as poignant as that single, overruling impression. I needed to hide. I didn’t stop to question; the feeling was too powerful to ignore. I pushed off the couch, only to sink to my knees on the carpet. I slithered into the small space between the wall and the sofa, succeeding in getting all my limbs in behind me. Curled up on the floor in this awkward position, I allowed myself one moment to feel ridiculous. I might have even convinced myself to climb back out, especially when I heard the footsteps coming toward me.
It was probably Patrick. That was the logical assumption. He was coming back. If he found me crouched back here, he’d probably think I was insane. And even if it wasn’t him, it was probably only Hanif, Jason, or Ashley. Or maybe it was Claire, and I’d missed her coming down the stairs. Heck, it could have been my grandma.
I heard a muffled whine, followed by a low growl. “Where is she? Where’s her room?”
It wasn’t a voice I recognized. I swallowed hard, my stomach dropping as I realized how close that deep voice was. In the doorway?
A second voice, even deeper than the first, spoke quickly. “Upstairs, you fool. I tell you, we don’t need him.”
“Insurance is never a bad thing,” the first argued.
“That didn’t stop you from killing the others,” the second voice pointed out.
A woman’s voice, high yet dark came next. “Oh, just bring him.”
The first man almost chuckled. “I haven’t tortured a Seer for so long. I’ve missed it. They’re always so pathetic.”
“I prefer the Guardians myself,” the woman said. “You can kill them again and again, and they never die.”
“Well, she has plenty of both,” the deepest voice said. “So get moving!”
I heard them on the stairs. I paled. They were going to find Lee!
Though it was beyond tempting to stay here against the wall, I knew that wasn’t possible. Not when my best friend was about to be surrounded by at least three Demons. Demons who’d already killed. Was that possible? I felt sick at the thought. Had they really killed someone tonight—here, at my house, because of me? And they had a hostage. Who?
I squeezed out from behind the couch, my body shaking as I stepped toward the entryway. Just as I placed my first foot carefully against the wooden floor a hand shot out from the darkness, slapping over my mouth.
Fifteen
I was too breathless to scream, which turned out to be a good thing. It was Jason—I could tell by the glint off his glasses. He had one finger against his lips, urging me to be silent. He retracted his hand the moment he knew I’d understood the message.
He mouthed the words, not daring to whisper. Go hide.
I shook my head. Lee!
He frowned, pointing to himself. I’ll help her.
I didn’t get the chance to form a reply. There was a shout upstairs, followed by a scream—Lee. I bolted away from Jason’s side, ignoring his groping fingers. I darted up the stairs, taking them two at a time despite the darkness. He didn’t follow me. I hoped he was going for help.
I almost tripped on a body at the top of the stairs. I couldn’t see who it was, but he had short hair and he was long and skinny. He was moaning, clutching his forehead. Hanif? I didn’t wait around to find out. I jumped over him and gripped my door frame, almost swinging into my room. I’d never seen it so chaotic.
My window let in limited light, but it was enough to see the fights going on. Lee was on the bed, being crushed by a large Demon, who was trying to wrap his arms around her wriggling form. She was screaming and cursing, trying to get free.
Claire was in front of my closet, grappling with the Demon woman while another Demon came at her from the side. Even as I watched he used a knife to slash at her face, forcing a shriek out of her and causing her fists to falter.
What surprised me most of all was the presence of a fourth person—one who had been silent downstairs. He was standing in the middle of the room, unsure of where he was needed most. He was wearing a cowboy hat, and he had an aura. I assumed he was a Seer.
He saw me.
I was running for the bed before the Seers could decide to come after me. I crouched on the mattress and shoved uselessly at the Demon on top of Lee. “Get off of her!” I yelled, not that I expected him to obey the command.
Lee managed to poke her head out of the sheets. Her eyes widened in fear as she got her first look at her large attacker.
The man in the cowboy hat was suddenly shouting, his voice almost squeaky. “It was a decoy! That’s not Kate Bennett. That’s her!”
Suddenly I wasn’t in a position to help anyone. The Demon struggling with Lee backhanded her harshly, ceasing her efforts as she reeled in pain. He turned on me, and that’s when I realized I’d made a huge mistake in attacking him. I’d broken the barrier that protected a human from a Demon. He could touch me now.
Though I tried to backpedal he was already grabbing my arm, yanking me into his cage-like arms.
I saw Hanif in the doorway, stumbling to his feet at last. He looked dazed. He slumped against the wall next to the bathroom, shaking his head. He almost fell over when Jason flew past him, overshooting my room in his haste to get up here. Jason was still clutching his phone when he made it back to my room. I assumed he’d texted or called for help. He lunged into the fight by going for the cowboy, who was pulling out a handgun.
The two Seers slammed together and I heard the gun drop to the carpet. They were knocked out of my line of sight, so I looked to Claire, who was being overpowered by the two Demons. The man was holding her arms and the woman was spinning a slim knife in each hand. “If only we had more time,” she mourned huskily. She shoved one blade into Claire’s heart, the other into her stomach. The Guardian cried out before falling to her knees
, released only so she could fall onto the floor with the knives still inside her.
The Demons each took a turn kicking her into the corner before they turned to look at me. They didn’t seem to care about the fight between their Seer and Jason. The woman smiled at me from across the room, her eyes full of evil. The man didn’t look any better.
I clawed at the arms around me, but the Demon’s grip didn’t loosen. He dragged us both to our feet, forcing me to face his friends.
“One million dollars,” the one holding me muttered triumphantly.
It was the last thing he would ever say. Lee screamed for me to duck, and I listened. I felt the hiss of a blade sent sailing through the air, and it stuck into his windpipe above me. His arms relaxed and I almost lost my balance as I lurched away from him.
I whirled around to see Patrick in the doorway, arm just falling, menace in his eyes as he watched the Demon grabbing for the knife in his throat. He didn’t get it out on his own—Patrick dived around me and grabbed the hilt, ripping it out of the Demon only to plunge it into his heart, killing him instantly.
As the Demon crumbled to the floor, Patrick grabbed for my arm, jerking me out of my frozen state and throwing me toward the door.
“Go!” he yelled sharply. “Get out of here!”
His fingers slipped away from my arm and I heard him grunt. The momentum of his shove slammed me against the wall near the door. A streak of color flashed by me the split second after my painful impact, darting from the doorway. I turned to see who it was, but her voice gave her identity away before my eyes could focus.
“Claire!” Maddy cried, going instantly for her Guardian in the corner, everything else forgotten. My eyes followed her briefly but were already flickering to see what was happening to Patrick.
The second male Demon had crashed into Patrick, knocking them both back against my nightstand and the wall behind it. My bedside lamp smashed against the floor, glass shattering against the carpet. The Demon was slamming Patrick’s head against the wall, one large hand on his shoulder, the other gripping a fistful of his hair.
Lee was off the bed. She’d picked up a large hardcover book and had darted over to the cowboy Seer, and was whacking it over his head. I thought I saw his knees give out under the impressive blow, but before I could see its full effectiveness the Demon woman was in front of me, up close and personal. The shock of having her near made me jump and reflexively—stupidly—I tried to push away from her. My hands brushed her arms, and she could touch me. Her long nails dug into my cheek and jaw in a split second, while her other hand snaked around my wrist.
She pulled me away from the wall, releasing her agonizing grip on my face only once her arm was tucked firmly around my waist, pinning my hands down at my sides. I tried to squirm away from her, grunting angrily as I struggled. I was facing Patrick now, but he couldn’t see me. He probably thought I’d listened to him, that I was already out of the house by now.
He was no longer losing the battle against the Demon. He had traded places with the bigger man, his hands clutched around the Demon’s throat as he levered him off the floor, sliding him up against the wall, strangling him. It wouldn’t kill him, but it would weaken him—hopefully long enough that Patrick could draw a blade and stab him.
I felt the Demon woman’s arm weaken—I was almost free.
And then I felt her knife against my face, slanted across my cheek. It didn’t break skin—only hovered less than a breath away, ready to slice me open if I moved. I stilled instantly in her grasp, breathing hard.
“Guardian!” she snapped loudly, her mouth right beside me. “Stop or I’ll kill her!”
Patrick’s tensed body hardened impossibly further at her words. He looked over his shoulder, his pale face becoming enraged in a split second. But his arms didn’t fall.
She threw a glance to Jason and Lee, who I couldn’t quite see. “You two as well. Let go of him.”
Patrick continued to choke the Demon. “You wouldn’t,” he hissed between his teeth. “You want the money.”
“Drop him!” she commanded again. “I may not kill her, but I swear you won’t recognize her when I’m done.”
His straining arms wavered, his narrowed eyes locked on us.
Her fingers tightened. I gasped as the point of her blade drew blood from my cheek.
Patrick reacted at once. He released the Demon with a shove, sending him to the floor in a heap. He landed in the broken glass, gasping for breath on his side as he groped at his bruised neck. Though I couldn’t see Lee or Jason, I imagined they followed Patrick’s lead.
Patrick’s whole body trembled as he faced us fully. He held his hands out at his sides, palms exposed. “I’m unarmed,” he growled, furious, pointedly not meeting my eye. “Get that away from her.”
She didn’t reply for a moment. And then her voice was sickly sweet. “I must say, I’ve never seen quite this level of devotion in a Guardian before. You go through Seers so quickly, after all. Why get needlessly attached?” Her fingers flexed again—the tip of the knife went deeper inside me. I whimpered but didn’t allow myself to shift away; I didn’t want to worsen the damage.
Patrick’s hands were balled into fists. “Stop,” he ordered darkly.
The quivering emotion in his voice goaded her on. “You like this dog more than your others?” she questioned happily. She was obviously psychotic. The blade began to skirt across my face, never retracting yet never cutting. There was something practiced about her movements, which only deepened my feeling of nausea. The patterns grew more intricate, ghosting around my eyes, across my forehead, over my nose, under my chin. “How wonderfully thrilling,” she murmured. So she was sadistic too.
Patrick’s teeth were clenched to the breaking point. He was rolling onto the balls of his feet, helpless to move closer for fear of forcing her hand. His eyes were burning with rage. “If you hurt her, I swear, I’ll tear you apart.”
“Really?” She sounded excited.
“Sandra,” the Demon on the floor grunted. “We don’t have time for this.” He pushed up to his feet, mindful that Patrick was still nearby.
“We can make time,” she disagreed. “No one will interrupt us now. Besides, she doesn’t really need to be pretty for the Demon Lord to exact his revenge, does she?”
I closed my eyes tightly, unwilling to let Patrick see how close to tears I was. I waited to feel the bite of her blade again, but the haunting whisper continued to explore my face.
Patrick made a guttural sound in his throat.
And then I heard Sandra cry out in distress. My eyes whipped open and I saw Hanif behind Patrick, forcing a dagger into the male’s Demon’s heart. I felt the knife falter and slice into my forehead, near my hairline, and then we were both jolted from behind. She released me as she stumbled. Patrick caught my waist and yanked me hard against his body.
I glimpsed Claire standing over the Demon woman; Maddy stood behind them, holding the one of the knives that had been inside her Guardian moments before. Claire gripped the other.
Claire’s eyes were ablaze, her front covered in blood. “For that, you die,” she spat at the Demon. Maddy pinched her eyes closed and I followed her lead, though Patrick was already twisting me fiercely away.
Sandra screamed feebly, and then she was silent.
I heard pounding footsteps and Jason yelling for Hanif to stop someone. The footsteps banged down the stairs, but before they could have reached the bottom, there was an unexpected thump. It could have only been caused by a body crumpling to the ground.
Patrick’s arms were tight around me, one hand pressing my head to rest against his heaving chest, not caring about the blood that would surely transfer to his shirt. He shuddered around me, his voice rasping my name in a mixture of horror and relief.
The cut on my face was stinging, but I didn’t want to pull away from him. Not until Lee spoke from beside me. “Geez Louise,” she muttered in shock.
I opened my eyes and squirmed in Patrick
’s grip, until I saw my grandma in her long blue nightgown, standing in the doorway with my grandpa’s old handgun. She’d even managed to attach the silencer.
Her face was grim. “Do I dare ask who I just shot?” she asked any of us.
***
I leaned against the edge of the bathroom counter, watching as Patrick washed his hands after bandaging my cut. Thin streams of blood washed down the drain in hypnotic swirls. Lee stood on my other side, gripping my hand tightly. Her aura was surprisingly calm despite everything she’d been through a mere half hour ago. The whole side of her face was either bruised or inflamed from where she’d been struck, but she hardly seemed aware of the pain. It was a small thread in her aura, hardly noticeable as she worried for me.
“Kate, are you sure you’re okay? You’re still really pale.”
Patrick glanced up to catch my reply.
“I’m fine,” I whispered dully.
Claire, Jason, and Hanif were gone taking care of the Demon bodies and that of their Seer. The bodies they hadn’t taken remained in the garage. I could barely think of them without being overwhelmed with shame and regret. Because they had died for me.
Patrick had found Alex’s body in the backyard. He and Maddy had both discovered the side door to the garage, suspiciously ajar. Ashley’s body was lying just inside.
Dr. Radcliffe was on his way to collect them, though I wasn’t sure what he intended to do with them. Send them back to family? I knew Alex had no relatives left. I hardly knew anything about Ashley, but I doubted she would have come here over the holidays if she had loved ones. The only comfort I had was that—at least in Alex’s case—he was with his loved ones now. I could only assume that Ashley was with someone now too.
I let out a shaky breath as Lee rubbed my arm. “Hey, can I get you something to eat? Something with salt, or sugar?”
I shook my head. “I think I’d just throw it back up.”
She gave me an understanding look. Patrick shut off the water, gripped the edge of the sink, and spoke in a worn-out whisper. “Lee, you should call Toni. Tell him what happened.” He was watching as his knuckles turned white from the strain of his grip. It felt like he was choosing to focus on anything but me.
Guardians (Seers Trilogy Book 3) Page 24
