Destiny's Revenge (Destiny Series - Book 2) (16 page)

Rewsna answered my question before I could even ask it. “I cannot look into his mind. He would know I was there and provide false information.”

“His demon things, does he control them?”

“Yes, he is somehow connected to each one. The one that found you weeks ago in the nursing home didn’t fare very well. You mortally wounded it when you shut it out of your mind. The creature disintegrated right after. That’s why none of his other demons have attempted to possess you - even the ones that lived within Joe, Max and Benny would not have attempted to take control of you.” The sound of Max’s name made my heart flutter, and I was hoping Rewsna had not noticed it.

“Of course, I noticed it, Lauren. He is your other half; the sound of his name should make your body react.”

“Rewsna, I would be much happier if you would stay out of my head while I’m standing right here. That’s the whole purpose of speech.”

She smiled and hung her arm over my shoulder, saying only, “Do not be ashamed of your connection to Max. Just know that if the Beast can take advantage of it, he will.”

I shook my head, “Samael has talked to everyone I’ve ever known, even a few people I forgot I knew, but he hasn’t approached Max. If Samael does go to see him, Max doesn’t have a clue where to find me, and he hasn’t heard from me since Joe died.”

“Yes, that was unfortunate. Max doesn’t blame you for what happened to Joe, not in the least.”

“I blame me for what happened.”

“Lauren, you were defending yourself. Joe wouldn’t have wanted you to sacrifice yourself for him.”

“We’ll never know now, will we? I could have done a lot of things differently, but I can’t undo what I’ve done.”

“What you did was save your life. Regardless, the coroner ruled the death natural causes. No autopsy was conducted.”

I know Rewsna was trying to make me feel better. It didn’t matter what the certificate said, because I knew the truth: while trying to save my own life, I took Joe’s. He was a weak old man. I would’ve been able to get away, but I tried to kill the demon and only succeeded in killing Joe.

“Lauren, Max is very upset. I listened to his mind. You need to hurry up with your vengeance on the Beast because I do not believe Max will be able to survive much longer. I have told you before that the Beast altered your destiny, but in doing so it also altered Max’s. This alternate destiny for Max is troublesome, and he desperately needs you.”

“I know, I look in on him every day.”

“How soon before you put your plan in motion on the Beast?”

“As soon as I can figure out where he’s going to be. Right now, the Beast is so focused on finding me that his movements are sporadic. He hasn’t had any luck getting any real info, on me, though.”

“Only Mike and I know your location. The Beast will not attempt to make contact with either of us, so your location is safe. Call to me if you need me.”

Without another word or thought, Rewsna turned and walked away. Our conversation was over. I watched her drive away, letting her words sink in…”Max won’t survive much longer.” As if I wasn’t already motivated to destroy the Beast, I knew I couldn’t risk losing Max. The plan began to solidify in my head. I couldn’t be sure that Rewsna hadn’t put it there – but it was brilliant, so I didn’t care where it came from.

Two nights later I was ready. I had spent five full days with Samael, and I was finally able to ascertain his pattern. I knew where he would be tonight.

It was damp, the air was wet, and the chill in my body felt like it would shake me to the bone. I concentrated on my mission, willing my teeth not to chatter. Looking into the sky through the breaks in the clouds, I could see Orion’s belt. I felt strength drawn from the stories of Orion’s exploits.

Orion was the greatest hunter of all time, blinded once and then given his sight before he was killed and cast into the heavens. I looked to Peanut, “Look boy, I can see Orion and Sirius. You think they can help us? If we were Greeks hundreds of years ago, I’d say they’re watching over us through the clouds to see our hunt.” I scratched his ears, reveling at the absurdity of my statement. “We’ll make our mark tonight and get our lives back. We just have to sit through this crappy weather until the Beast comes home.”

My mind wandered a bit, to the night I had found Max and Ski in Afghanistan waiting to be rescued. Orion had been shining high that night, too. The constellation did something to calm my nerves, to ease the damp chill.

Peanut watched me. He didn’t flinch, he didn’t bark or growl. My good sense told me I should have left him at the house, but as I tried to drive away and leave him, something in my gut said I needed him with me. I stared at Orion and Sirius. No kill they ever made could have been as crucial as the one I’d make tonight.

The Beast, Samael, always arrived around nine p.m. at whatever house he stayed in. I glanced at my watch. We had been huddled here in the drizzle for two hours, with only ten minutes to go. I could see every entrance into the house: the ornate front door off the main porch, the servant entrance on the side of the house, and a back door leading to a second floor entry. I wished to myself that I had bought a sniper rifle. The Beast would not know who dealt the fatal wound if I were a little further away, he would only know that he died. Instead, I stayed crouched in the darkness with my Glock, knowing that he’d not only see who’d killed him, he’d see the hatred in my eyes and feel my rage when he took his final breath.

I had never considered myself a predator, but everything this thing had put me through brought out my most primal side. I knew I could never again hold Max in my arms, see my family at the holidays, or even walk into a grocery store without looking over my shoulder if he were permitted to live. Tonight I would get my life back, get back in the driver’s seat, and try to unscrew everything this thing had managed to screw up.

I thought of Max that first morning with his unexpected arrival at the nursing home. Before he walked into my room, I knew he was alive but believed him to be on the other side of the world. What sheer and utter complete joy I felt at seeing him. No joy could ever be more than that moment. As I looked into myself, I felt the emptiness, knowing that when tonight was over that gaping hole in my chest would be closed and I would be with Max again. A tunnel appeared in my vision as if my subconscious wanted me to see Max in this moment. I willed the tunnel to go away. I needed my focus. I couldn’t afford to see what anyone else was doing.

My focus was rewarded only seconds after I willed the tunnel away. Headlights pulled into the driveway. A sleek Mercedes sedan pulled in, half way to the garage. When it did, the lights nearly blinded me as they were pointed directly at the bushes I had taken for cover. Peanut released a low rumbling growl deep within his diaphragm, but he didn’t twitch a muscle. I slowly put my hand over his eyes to shield them from the headlight’s beams to keep the reflection on his eyes from giving away our position. He must have understood because he didn’t move, or bark, or increase his rumbling growl.

The headlights finally cut off, and I was momentarily night blinded. I saw the driver’s side door open and someone step out. I was no further than forty feet, significantly closer than the targets I had opened fire on in Marvin’s shooting range. My breath was steady, the safety was off, and I began to squeeze the trigger when my night vision fully returned, but it wasn’t Samael that I was aimed in on. It was someone I’d not seen before. I looked at Peanut and whispered, “Who is it, boy?”

Peanut’s throaty growl continued, I hesitated. Making a mistake and killing someone that wasn’t our target would be murder. I aimed at the person’s head but began to doubt the legitimacy of the target. I came here to get my life back; I didn’t come here to be a murderer. I lowered the weapon and Peanut’s growl intensified, he believed this person to be worthy of a kill. I was cold and wet and wanted nothing more than this Beast to take his last breath, but killing the wrong target would only send him deep into hiding.

The person must have heard Peanut because in a strange, almost pre-pubescent voice I heard, “Is someone there? Hello?”

Peanut had to have sensed my hesitation because he charged out of the bushes straight for the man. In three strides he was over half the distance and the man with the boy’s voice changed in front of my eyes - to a bear. The horror of seeing a man turn into a beast before my eyes sent convulsions through my body. I raised the Glock and let off every shot in the clip. It sounded like a war zone. The Bear stood there beside the Mercedes on his hind legs, swatting at the attacking Peanut. When my clip was empty the bear was still standing, I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t hit him with any of the shots. Peanut continued aggressively attacking in a circle. I wasn’t sure if Peanut was giving me time to reload or to escape - I did neither, frozen in place and scared out of my wits, I watched.

The bear let out a huge roar and unsuccessfully swung his massive paws at Peanut. The attacking Peanut never actually got close enough to take a hit. This went on for at least twenty seconds when the Bear shifted into a bird of some kind and took flight. He was over the house’s roof and out of sight before I found my lungs. Adrenaline was pulsing through my veins and fear ripped through my body.

I had parked the van two blocks away, and Peanut and I sprinted for it. As we were running through backyards, security lights were going on all over the place, and I knew faces were watching through curtained windows. Gun shots in this part of town would have drawn attention, and it was only a matter of minutes before I would be trying to outrun the police. We made it to the van and got the hell out of there.

We were on the interstate before I let my thoughts return to what had just happened. I had failed. He was still alive and now he knew I was targeting him. My moment’s hesitation cost me the peace I so desperately craved, and the reunion with my friends and family felt further away than ever.

I looked at the cell phone, trying to decide if I could risk a call to Max. I needed him. Not only did my body long for him, but the gaping hole of emptiness was growing larger by the minute; I knew I had to talk to him. I pulled off the exit on the interstate and decided I would call him just long enough to hear his voice. I wouldn’t share with him what had happened, but I just needed his voice to calm me down. Listening to him for a couple minutes would sooth me, help me figure out what the hell I was supposed to do next.

As I reached to power the phone on, the phone came to life by itself – before I had even touched the power button. I was already rattled, so a cell with a mind of its own nearly sent me into orbit. As I watched the lighted keypad, I saw fifty-five unheard messages appear on the screen, then - it rang.

The number looked familiar, but my mind wasn’t moving quickly enough, and I couldn’t place it. I pressed the call button, “Yes?”

It was Samael’s voice, “Tracing Max’s calls paid off after-all. I am disappointed in your marksmanship skills. I appreciated that you gave me a fighting chance, but I am not thrilled that you hid in my bushes like a coward. Is this what your friends on the Council have taught you? There is no honor in what you have done. As your reward for such cowardice, I just wanted to share with you that your friends and family are now fair game. I did not include them in our little quarrel, until now. Congratulations, Lauren, now we’ll see who is better capable of hitting below the belt.”

I screamed into the phone, but my caller disconnected and my phone powered itself back off. My mind raced from my parents to Max, to Seth, back to Max, and to everyone I knew he had interviewed the last several days. I pushed the power button on the cell knowing this was it, I had to warn everyone.

As I started to scroll through the contacts the phone made a loud
pop
and light smoke emanated from it. It was broken, really broken. There was no way I could drive to everyone’s houses to warn them. I pulled into a gas station looking for a pay phone - there wasn’t one. As I started to circle the lot to make my way to another gas station, I put the van in park and closed my eyes. I may not have a phone, but I knew someone who did. I telepathically called to Rewsna, “
Please help me, the Beast knows I tried to kill it. That thing is going after everyone. You have to help me!
”

Rewsna’s voice was back immediately, “
I will send Council members to everyone, show me what just happened.
” I did as I was told and replayed the incident outside the Beast’s house as well as the call I had just received.

“
Lauren, go home – we will be at your house after we have taken care of your loved ones. Talk to no one, go now.”

Instead of going straight back to my house as I had been instructed, I knew I needed communication with the rest of the world. I stopped and bought a pre-paid cell phone and sprinted back out to the van. I dialed Max’s number, he didn’t answer. I dialed again and got his voice mail a second time. I told him where I was staying and asked him to meet me there.

I called Rachael, but she didn’t answer either. Panic gripped me when I thought of the possibility that the Beast could already be seeking his revenge on me through everyone else. My hands were shaking so uncontrollably that I couldn’t hold the wheel. The cloudy sky let loose with a pouring rain and seeing even a few feet in front of the van was nearly impossible.

I called my house and my father answered. “Dad? It’s Lauren.”

“Lauren, where are you?”

“Exit 194, I’m okay but there is a psycho killer that’s coming after you and mom. You need to get out of the house right now!”

He was stunned, either by finally hearing from me or me telling him that Samael was coming to kill him. I wasn’t sure which. All he said was, “What?”

“Dad, just get mom and get out of the house, right now. In fact, come to where I am staying.” I gave my dad my address and directions on how to find the place.