Guardians (Seers Trilogy) (38 page)

I fought against the trembling in my hands—forced them to stay at my sides. “So what
do
you want?”

He fingered the round apple in his hands, green eyes still on me. They’d turned regretful. My stomach dropped in response. “I hate to waste a Special Seer,” he mourned. “But you leave me no choice. You are a liability, Kate Bennett. And I know how to handle liabilities.”

I swallowed hard, trying not to let my fear show. I’m sure I failed. “So why didn’t you just kill me? Why let me wake up at all?”

“Because I’m a businessman, Kate. I hate to be on the losing side of any deal. The other special Seers the Guardians found, I probably can’t use them either. Not after what they tried to do today. So, where does that leave me? To lose three Special Seers in one day? No. It’s bad business.” He took a bite from the apple and turned to look over the room while he chewed.

His eyes fell on Lee, and he swallowed.

I stiffened.

“This girl,” he said calmly. “She’s not a Seer, I imagine?” Before I could form words, he was shaking his head. “No, I’m sure she’s not . . . But she must be special to you. Why else would she be here?”

He took another bite and twisted back to face me. “Where are your sisters, Kate? And I’m not in the mood for games.”

“What do you want with them?” I demanded, trying to ignore the throbbing in my head. “They have nothing to do with any of this.”

“Don’t they? I was under the impression your grandfather was a Seer with special abilities. You had them too. Your sisters . . .” He shrugged. “It’s just good business. So tell me: where are they?”

I gaped at him, irrationally shocked by his sick intentions. He wanted to turn my sisters into Seers. He wanted to turn my sisters into Seers—just as Selena had made Peter into one. He wanted to almost kill my sisters, to awaken their Sight, and then he was going to make them serve him.

I was shaking my head. “No. You can’t do that.”

“Can’t I?” A single eyebrow rose. “Kate, I think you’ll find I’m in a position to do whatever I like. They aren’t at your house, and since Patrick isn’t around, I’m assuming he ran off with them? Now, I’ll ask you again: where are they?”

My mind was scrambling for something to say; anything but the truth. “I don’t know. I told him to take them somewhere safe, but I didn’t want to know where. They’d be safer that way, if I didn’t know.”

He smiled, and it was chilling. “I think you’ve seen one too many movies, Kate. But then, that’s a good thing—you won’t be surprised by what happens next.” He turned on his heel, nodded curtly to Selena.

Toni gasped from the floor where he’d been watching the proceedings through a veil of pain. “Lee!” he panted feebly, choking from the effort it took to lift his head.

Too late I realized what was happening.

“No!” I screamed, letting the shout rip through my throat despite my aching head.

Selena moved casually. Lee’s eyes only had time to widen before the bullet pounded into her chest. She was blown back against the couch, blood blossoming through her pink blouse.

Toni snarled and writhed on the floor, unable to push himself up. Viktor, the Russian brother with long hair, kicked him soundly in the face, stopping the pitiful squirming effort.

I lurched forward but Mei Li reacted just as quickly. She darted in front of me, landing a kick to my stomach before cinching my wrists behind me. She held me in place as I watched Lee slump deeper into the old couch, slipping to lie on her side.

Lee was blinking limply, her eyes slightly unfocused. Selena set the gun on the coffee table and stood, straightening her long black skirt. She leaned over Lee and ripped off the gag so my friend’s tortured breaths could fill the room. She tossed the scarf aside and grabbed Lee’s wrist, unceremoniously drawing her up from the couch and slinging her body to the floor. Lee slammed hard against the cement, her lungs shuddering at the impact, and an almost surprised cry escaped her.

“Lee!” I sobbed, so shocked by how things were unraveling I could barely breathe.

The Demon Lord stepped in front of me, blocking my view of her. His mouth was a tight line. “My patience is nearly spent, Kate. I will allow one of your Guardians to take her to the emergency room, if you tell me where your sisters are. But speak quickly; she’ll be dead in minutes.”

The words jumped out of my mouth without thought. “They’re staying with one of my grandma’s friends. She lives on a small farm—about fifty miles from here.”

“Where is it exactly?” he demanded.

I couldn’t remember the address. I told him the city and gave him hurried instructions for where to turn. “It’s a small yellow house at the end of the road, with a big barn in back,” I finished in a pinched rush. “Please, let Toni take her to the hospital!”

The Demon Lord ignored me. He turned to his most loyal servant, Far Darrig, who hadn’t budged at all. “You can find it?”

Sean nodded once. “I can find it.”

“Take Yuri with you. One of you can distract O’Donnell while the other takes care of the twins. I will wait for your word, once the job is complete.”

Sean nodded again.

I was trying to get a good look at Lee, but Mei Li was holding me too tightly. I heard Toni’s voice, cracking and weak. “Hold on, Lee. Please hold on . . .”

Everything we try fails . . .

The door opened and the Demon Lord turned to see the new arrival. My eyes flickered between the door and Lee, whose aura was dimming . . .

Takao Kiyota stepped inside, looking tired. Peter was right behind him, looking troubled. He stopped dead when he saw Lee on the floor.

“What happened?” he demanded, looking first to me and then Selena. “You promised she wouldn’t be hurt!”

Selena smiled thinly. “Oops.”

Peter pushed around Takao, hurrying to Lee’s side. He knelt beside her, touching her shoulder. Lee whimpered when he rolled her over. “She needs help!” he growled, looking to Selena. “You promised she’d be safe!”

She shrugged. “I lied.” She stooped over to pick up the gun. “My Lord?” she asked, looking to the Demon Lord.

He nodded once, bringing the apple back up to his lips.

Selena raised the gun, and I was sure she was going to shoot Peter. My stomach clenched, but he wasn’t the target.

Lee’s body jerked from the second shot, this one catching her in the head. Her aura vanished as she grew still—just like Grandpa.

Peter fell backward, sitting heavily on the floor with a white face.

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move.

My best friend had just been shot to death in front of my eyes.

Toni was staring at her lifeless body, his rigid shoulders shaking. He couldn’t speak. Couldn’t make a sound. A single tear burned a trail down his bloody cheek.

Selena tutted him softly in the sudden silence. “That’s one of the biggest reasons
not
to love a mortal, Antonio.”

The Demon Lord frowned at Peter, who was reaching to touch Lee’s limp arm. He swallowed his bite of apple. “Get up. Go keep an eye on the other Seers. I will see to them later.”

Peter’s face was blank. He looked up at me. Looked at Selena.

She shook her head at him. “You’re pathetic, Peter. Trust me—a stepdaughter wouldn’t have been any fun. You’ll thank me someday.”

His chest rose and fell with a quick, angry burst. He came quickly to his feet, blinking back tears. He stopped short when she raised the gun on him. “I’ll kill you next,” she said calmly. “And then her mother. Is that what you want? Follow orders, Peter. That’s a good dog. Go stand guard with Jose.”

It was obvious he didn’t want to listen to her, but that didn’t stop him from backing away from the gun. He turned abruptly and marched from the room, hands trembling at his sides.

As soon as the door closed Takao shook his head. “He’s unstable. Too emotional. You could do better, Selena.”

“He just needs to be trained,” she disagreed.

The Demon Lord turned to Far Darrig. “Go. When you’ve finished, call me. These loose ends can be tied after the Bennett girls are secured.”

Far Darrig bowed his head stiffly. “Of course, my lord.” He stepped away from Claire, gesturing sharply with his chin for Yuri to follow. The huge Russian with spiky blond hair stepped around Toni’s broken body, moving for the door. He pulled it open and stepped into the hall. Far Darrig moved behind him, but before he could leave the room I forced my mouth to open.

“Sean, please don’t do this.
Please
!”

Surprisingly, he stopped. He didn’t turn, but he was listening.

Tears rolled down my face, making my voice crack. “Please. I went to see your father. He doesn’t want you to be this person. You don’t have to do this!”

I watched for a reaction. I didn’t know what I expected. A complete change of heart from a Demon?

His head twisted and he peered at me over his shoulder, taking in my tearstained face. “My father is dead,” he finally whispered. “So is Sean.”

He strode from the room, shattering the last hope I’d been clinging to.

***

I was sitting in the corner of the room with Toni beside me, my arm sagging around his shoulders in feeble comfort. He now had a dagger in his stomach, making that two knives sticking out of him. His face was covered in sweat and tears. Though I hadn’t been bound, I didn’t dare move. The Demons were watching me closely, and the fact that I was unbound and yet still completely helpless only made me feel more defeated. Maybe that was why they’d done it.

Toni’s head was on my shoulder. He was too weak to support it. He stared unblinking at Lee’s body, lying prone in front of us. Her head was turned away from us, but the blood covering her still chest was completely visible. One of her hands had been stopped in the act of reaching for Toni—her curled fingers were inches from his foot, now that he’d been forced up against the wall.

Claire was still in the chair, her bowed head unmoving. None of us had spoken since Far Darrig had left. The Demon Lord was sitting on the couch, Selena beside him. Mei Li was standing alertly near the coffee table, Takao was keeping an eye on Claire, and Viktor Dmitriev was standing next to me.

For a solid hour, my phone—which the Demon Lord held—had gone off almost every five minutes. When I didn’t answer, Patrick waited those few predictable minutes, and then tried again. Did he know something was wrong? Was he just anxious? And more important, what did his silence for the past twenty minutes mean? I knew it corresponded with the time Sean would have been arriving. Was Patrick busy fighting his brother? Was he protecting the twins? At least he had Jack. That would take the Demons by surprise . . .

A phone started to ring. I looked up quickly because it wasn’t mine. It was a section of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, but it didn’t have long to play. The Demon Lord answered nearly at once.

“Yes?” he said shortly into his phone.

The answer was brief.

The Demon Lord relaxed, and a smile twisted his face. “Good. And he surrendered? Excellent. Bring them all. We’ll be ready to go when you get back. Thank you, Far Darrig.”

He closed his phone and turned to Selena. “He was successful.”

My heart stopped for what felt like the hundredth time today. No one seemed to notice.

“O’Donnell and the twins are secured. Far Darrig’s already on his way back. And it seems there was another Guardian, as well as a Seer, and they both surrendered as well.”

Claire whimpered thinly from across the room.

“Good news,” Selena commented, studying her nails.

“Very.” He stood lithely. “Do you feel up to intimidating a few Seers? Perhaps some can still be useful to us.”

She grinned, her hand dropping as she stood. “I would love to.” She glanced at Lee, the corner of her lip curled. “That human was no fun at all. Completely pathetic.”

Toni’s limp body tensed. His head rose from my shoulder, his expression black. I’d never seen him so furious. “I will
end
you, Selena,” his voice quivered with fervor. “Even if it takes the rest of my existence, I
swear
I’m going to
annihilate you
.”

She brushed a hand over her perfectly bushy hair, her thick lips stretching into a grin. “I look forward to such devotion, Antonio. Eternity can be such a bore without some distractions.” Her hips swayed as she followed the Demon Lord and Mei Li from the room, leaving Viktor and Takao to guard us. As soon as the door closed behind them, Toni slumped back against me, utterly exhausted. I tipped my head against the top of his, tightening my hold on him, but not daring to bring up my other arm to fully embrace him in case the Demons decided such action merited separation.

“It’s over, isn’t it?” I whispered unnecessarily.

Toni didn’t answer.

The twins had been dragged into this mess. They were going to become slaves to the Demon Lord. Had they already been nearly killed? Patrick and Jack, both captured . . .

Surely this was the end. Winning was impossible now. We’d lost too much.

“Kate,” Toni croaked.

I swallowed before answering. Our guards didn’t seem to mind if we talked. They had to be able to hear our mumbling, even if they couldn’t make out the exact words. “Yeah?” I asked.

“Could you save her?” he whispered. “If you went back?”

I looked to Lee’s body, not sure of the answer. Could I? If I went back and talked to Patrick, could I save Lee’s life? Maybe if I was more specific this time, if I warned Patrick to make sure Toni took Lee away . . . Maybe I was going to have to use trial and error, constantly repeating these weeks until I managed to save everyone. First I’d delivered the message meant to save the twins. Now I needed to warn Patrick about the twins and Lee.

If I lived this enough times, would it be possible to stop it from ever happening?

I honestly didn’t know. But I had nothing to lose at this point. The Demon Lord would probably kill me as soon as he was done with the Seers upstairs. I could go back in time, deliver a final message, a final warning, and then I could die trusting that the endless cycle of time would continue. That, somehow, I would never stop trying to save those I loved, and that someday I’d succeed.