His Soul To Keep (Dark Knights of Heaven Book 1) (25 page)

Chapter Forty-Eight

"Damn. What happened?"

"Short version—about twenty hours ago, a shit load of demons exploded from every open portal. We’re talking worldwide chaos. It only lasted a minute or two," Hacker added, "but it was more than long enough for those bastards to break loose. Took us about an hour to realize what had happened…" There was a pause and all Rail heard were computer keys clacking. "Anyway, most of the demons appeared in war zones. Areas that are already hot-zones. Makes sense with all that blood and negative energy to feed off—especially in the Middle East. Nothing like 1906 when that
cruzos
demon popped up in San Francisco or anything, but it’s still bad."

"Hacker. Focus."

"Yeah, right. We’ve been running around killing any hell breed we come across for like the last eighteen hours. Bagged quite a few
skratar
too. The last just outside of Anchorage." Hacker took another deep breath.

"How do things stand now? Any more breeches?"

"None. The portals appear to be shut tighter than the Vatican’s Archives," a long sigh came from the phone, "but there’s still a lot of damage control to do—"

"And you can’t spare anyone to pick us up," Rail grumbled in frustration at the situation. His hand tightened around the phone until the plastic complained with a crack.

"Kaz is due to check in, uh, in about an hour. If he and Bass are done, they can come straight from Belize to wherever you are."

"Belize?"

"Yeah. We picked up repeat sightings of the Feathered Serpent God Quetzalcoatal—couldn’t take the risk. Could you imagine if some of those Demon-Gods got a foothold in the human world again? Jesus help us."

"Speaking of…"

"Nope, haven’t seen a sign of Him so this isn’t the big bang yet. Anyway, I’ll give Kaz your report and call you back when I can."

"Hey. What’s the rotation like?" With only six Knights available, and one needed to stay behind and monitor the equipment, it meant Kaz, being the strongest, would be taking extra duty.

"We get a couple hours sleep when we can. I should be relieving Tam on this next round. He’s been out three times with only six hours sleep. Kaz is taking up the slack. Hold on." The line went quiet again.

Rail bit back the urge to remind Hacker that if the
Aktura
had access to the computer lab, it would free up one more warrior. But then was not the time.

"Tam just called. He got a minion and two
skratar
in Afghanistan. Says Zach wants to bring the bodies back for examination or something."

"That would be Kaz’s call." Rail grasped the deck railing. The wood creaked in protest. His brothers were out there fighting and here he was taking a vacation.

"Can’t reach him."

Running a hand through his hair, Rail weighed the options. "If he wants them, he can have them, but he can’t bring them to the island. If we still have that place in the mountains near Romania, he can take them there."

"He’ll bitch about not having his research equipment there." The warning was halfhearted.

"Tough shit. I’m not allowing one of the truly fallen in the compound. We’ve never decided if they could come back to life like we do, and I’m not taking the risk."

"Boomer took his head," Hacker responded flatly, his fatigue clearly showing.

"You asked my opinion and I gave it. If Kaz sees differently, that’s on him."

"Roger that. I’ll call you after I talk with him. Be ready. You may only get a minute's notice."

"Understood." Rail disconnected and set the satphone aside. He had no proof, but it was too coincidental. The explosion of activity started roughly around the time he and Cassidy escaped Hell.

Deep in thought, he jumped when a warm body pressed against his back. Soft fabric rubbed against his skin. Arms slid around his waist. Smiling, he turned within the embrace and whispered, "Good morning," against Cassidy’s waiting mouth.

"I was very disappointed to wake up without you," she whispered against his lips and gave him a nip.

Rail frowned. "Sorry. I had to check in."

Cassidy stepped back to look him. "Something’s wrong. What? What’s wrong?" Anxiety raised the pitch of her voice.

"Nothing, sweetheart. Nothing you need to worry about."

With a frustrated snarl, Cassidy punched his arm. "Don’t lie to me. We’ve been to Hell and back together, literally, so don’t lie to me."

Pulling her close, Rail let out a long breath. "You know I can’t lie to you."

"No, but you twist the words so it’s not really a lie. You said I didn’t have to worry, so it’s something that you’re worried about. Tell me."

"Fine. Let’s get some coffee and I’ll tell you." Tucking her under his arm, Rail escorted Cassidy back to the bedroom. Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled lowly.

Rail held Cassidy tight, a sense of impending doom filling the air.

* * *

Cassidy stared at her coffee until it went cold. "Did we do something?"

"No. I think it had something to do with Lucifer releasing the spell holding us."

"Same difference," Cassidy mumbled and took a sip from her coffee. Brusquely, she set the mug down with a thunk. "Wait. Do you think Lucifer did it on purpose?"

Rail shook his head. "Despite rumors to the contrary, although Lucifer is just pissy enough to do something like that, he doesn’t have the kind of power required. Oh, he can open a portal here and there where the barriers are thin to begin with. Think about it. If he could drop the barriers anytime he wanted, why screw around with these hit and run attacks?"

"Is he the only one who can do that?" Cassidy shivered at the prospect of demons flooding out of Hell unchecked. "Open the portals?"

"A few higher level demons can. Of course, when they punch through, they’ve always got a few lesser demons hanging on and following. Even a human dabbling in the dark arts could get lucky and bring a demon across. That happened a lot in the past, but the demons were usually sent back or trapped here by some priest or shaman, but no one other that the Great Darkness can summon the power to totally dispel the barriers."

"Then why doesn’t it? He? Whatever. Can we just say Satan and God when we have these conversations?"

Rail chuckled. "I know, it’s confusing even for us at times. The reason Satan doesn’t drop the barriers is that there are consequences. Universal rules, you might say. Personally, I don’t understand it, but it’s one of those 'it’s just the way things are' things."

"So, what do you think happened? It’s too coincidental that this happened right around the time we escaped."

"I know," taking a sip of his now-cold coffee, Rail frowned, "and that’s what scares me."

Visibly shaken, Cassidy pushed her mug aside and hugged herself.

Seeing her that way set off all of Rail's protective instincts. Unfortunately, things were just going to get worse. "I have a theory, but I don’t think you’ll like it."

Sitting forward, Cassidy reached across the table and took his hands. "Okay. Talk it out. Remember this is what I do—solve problems."

Releasing a long breath, Rail followed the trail of his thoughts. "There was whatever happened between us when you pulled me back from death."

Cassidy nodded.

"And then whatever happened to make Lucifer scared enough to send us back without argument. Plus, I was able to direct us here."

Cassidy nodded again.

"What if all that energy interacted with the spell Lucifer used to seal the chamber? And that did something to the portal nearest to where we were, causing a chain reaction through the whole barrier? Like dominos."

"And we were the first domino."

"Not intentionally," Rail snapped. Frustrated, he stood and moved around the kitchen like a restless beast. "I’m grasping at straws here. I don’t have a clue how we were summoned to Hell. There are too many variables." He stopped to stare at Cassidy. “Like how did you pull me back from the Void? Where did from the power come from?”

“I don’t know, but it worked.” Cassidy lowered her eyes, remaining quiet for several minutes. Rail leaned back against the counter and watched the mixture of emotions change her features from pensive to guilty—but in the end, her lips settled into a half smile.

"What?" he asked eagerly.

"Silver lining," she responded, her smile widening.

"Huh?"

"At least part of my search program must have worked for the guys to have gotten all those reports of strange happenings,
"
she made air quotes for emphasis, "in such a short span of time."

Rail shook his head with a laugh. "You’re right. Hadn’t thought of that."

"You know what else you’ve neglected to think about?"

"What?" he asked warily.

"Food. I’m starving."

A thunderclap drowned out his boisterous laughter. Rail turned toward the glass wall. Dark clouds were already advancing on their little paradise like weary soldiers. “The villagers on the neighboring island will have supplies. I can get there and back in twenty minutes. The satphone is by the deck door." With that, he gave Cassidy a quick kiss and sped off in a blur.

Shaking her head, Cassidy returned to the bedroom to dig up something to wear other than the robe she’d found on the back of the bathroom door.

Eventually, she settled on a bright blue print sarong. It took her longer than anticipated to get the thing tied. Three times it fell off, leaving her naked and frustrated. She was just about to give up when Rail burst into the kitchen with a basket of food.

Before the door shut, the storm broke with the force of an erupting volcano.

Chapter Forty-Nine

The storm continued raging. Rain whipped against the windows, shaking the glass. The ferocity reminded Cassidy of something her brother told her when she was little—terrible storms meant God was really pissed. She couldn’t help but wonder if the storm battering the bungalow was a Heavenly comment on the demon attacks.

Cassidy popped another piece of banana in her mouth and finished chopping the rest of the assorted fruits. On the stove, fish happily sizzled in the skillet. Behind her, Rail's voice mixed with the rumbling storm. He’d been stalking around the living room for fifteen minutes with the satphone, making arrangements with Hacker. She looked at the fish. Dinner would be ready any minute, and they may not get a bite if her suspicions were correct.

A roaring boom of thunder shook the bungalow. The lights flickered out. Grumbling, Cassidy turned to ask Rail were she could find a flashlight or candle and screamed. Two shadowy figures appeared in front of her, outlined by the lightning. Grabbing a knife from the counter, she slashed out at the first intruder. Her arm stopped mid-swing, a strong hand around her wrist.

"It’s okay, sweetheart," Rail said. "It’s Kaz and Bass."

Cassidy relaxed and dropped the knife, embarrassment heating her cheeks. "I’m so sorry. It’s just, well, I’m still…" She was still fighting the fear that at any moment Lucifer might drag her back to Hell. Flustered, she turned away. "We were about to sit and eat. Do we have time?" The lights flickered back to life. Cassidy gasped at the sight of the two warriors.

Obviously, they had come straight from the battlefield—bloody and beaten.

"Oh, my God! Sit down." She grabbed Bass’s arm and guided him to a chair.

Kaz cleared his throat. "We should get—"

"No. You are going to sit, eat, and give yourselves a chance to recharge a little."

All three men looked at each other and then back at Cassidy, who had taken up her all too familiar hands-on-her-hips-I’m-not-giving-in pose.

"I could eat," Bass answered hopefully, glancing at Kaz.

With a nod, Cassidy set out extra plates and silverware. Rail reached around her to grab the bowl of fruit. "Rail!" Cassidy shoved him, pointing at the stove. "Forget the fruit and get the fish before it burns."

A laugh burst from Kaz, startling everyone. When he calmed down, he headed toward the bedroom. "I need to wash before I eat."

"Yeah, me too." Bass stood with a little wobble, looking at his bloodstained hands.

"Here." Cassidy turned on the kitchen faucet. "You can wash up here."

* * *

With the two Knights somewhat cleaner, the four of them sat down to an eerily quiet meal. The only sounds were the clink of silverware on plates, breathing, and the raging storm.

"You were right," Kaz said with resignation, setting his fork aside.

"About what?" Rail refilled his commander's wineglass and topped off the others.

"There are others out there still fighting."

"You met them?" Cassidy asked excitedly.

The big man shook his head. "Unfortunately, no, but we found evidence of their presence. Several times when we reached the reported site, there was nothing left but blood splatters and scorched earth." He turned to Cassidy. "I owe you an apology. Your computer programs not only alerted us early to the scale of the trouble, but also gave us accurate information to many of the locations. Even an idea of what we were looking to run into.” He leaned forward, pinning Cassidy with a glare. “How did you accomplish that last bit?”

"I linked your databases of demonology to my algorithms, of course. The parameters were set by the damage reports, locations, and any descriptions that had come in." Cassidy smiled brightly. "And thank you for realizing they work. Now if only I could find the other soul-keepers so we can keep them safe."

"I think," Bass interjected, rubbing his temples and forcing the words out, "that we did. Sort of." Everyone looked at him. "Think about it. How many of the reports led us to
skratars
? Four, with the largest influx outside Anchorage—where we’d already had a report of bear attacks."

"Which turned out to actually be a bear attack. Tam saw the bodies," Rail reminded him.

"Tam saw the recovered bodies," Bass countered. "I think we’ve got an
Aktura
hiding in Alaska."

Cassidy burned with pride. She had been right. She’d used the information they did know to find the missing pieces they didn’t. "Well, as soon as you’re ready, let’s head home. I’m itching to start sifting through the data logs."

* * *

"I think I found one," Margarite shouted excitedly from her desk.

The moment they’d returned home, Kaz gave all the
Aktura
access to the computer lab with his blessing and a few rules. At least the rules were reasonable and everyone promised to follow them. No one was to be alone in the lab, there was to be no unsupervised shopping and no social networking unless it was through one of the many false personas set up strictly for filtering information regarding the other Knights and lost
Aktura.
The only complaint was from Tucker when Kaz unequivocally said “no” to online gaming.

Margarite was the first volunteer to join when Cassidy asked for help. The former model took to the work like a pro. For the first time, Cassidy saw the young woman come to life. Within two weeks, everyone was working, sorting information, tracking down leads, and taking turns on the monitoring stations. The last meant all of the Knights would be free to go on patrol if there was another worldwide call out, and there would be people available to keep track of things.

"Who did you find?" Cassidy moved around to her friend's desk to look over her shoulder at the computer screen.

"I think I found the soul-keeper hiding in Alaska or at least the area they could be in. There’s been another report of an animal in Alaska near where the guys investigated that bear attack."

The joy in her voice made Cassidy smile more than the news. "Wonderful! How about you draft up a report for Kaz and Rail?"

"A report?" Margarite asked nervously.

Cassidy laughed and squeezed her shoulder. "Don’t worry. Just use the template I showed you. It’s as easy as filling in the blanks. Just don’t forget to print out whatever data, like maps and whatnot, the guys will need. It’s all on the check list." She walked away feeling lighter than she had in months.

"Oh." Margarite looked worriedly at the little journal she’d taken notes in during training. "Cassidy, wait."

"You can do this," Cassidy playfully twisted a strand of her hair, "but if it will make you feel better, I’ll send Tam down to give you a hand." She winked and smiled at her friend's instant blush.

"Thank you." Margarite closed the notebook and stood, leaning against the desk. "Cassidy, do you think it’s almost over? I mean, Tam says the barriers have remained closed and this is first substantial report we’ve had in two months. If they hadn’t already been to Alaska…"

Cassidy let out a long sigh. "I’m afraid it’s just the calm before the storm. Lucifer likes to play games, and I think this is one of them. I can’t picture him sitting back, licking his wounds. We didn’t hurt him that bad. He’s plotting, letting us relax, and waiting for us to let our guard down. We can’t do that. We can’t let him get the upper hand again." She rubbed her arms, a chill crawling over her.

Maragrite tilted her head, watching her friend. "You’re not very good at this reassuring thing, you know."

"Sorry. I’m not feeling very reassured myself right now."

"Did you really go to Hell?" Margarite asked softly. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t pry, but you’ve never really said what happened to you and Rail."

Shaking off the miasma of depression that always came on the heels of the memory, Cassidy smiled sadly. "Lucifer is a master manipulator. He tortured me to get at Rail. He killed Rail to get at me," she answered flatly.

Margarite’s voice remained soft. "How did you get away?"

Cassidy shrugged, the slightest lift to her shoulders. "Something scared Lucifer, and he let us go. Rail is still trying to figure out what happened. He hopes finding the prophecy will lead us to the answers." Clinging to that hope herself, she left to hunt down Rail in the subterranean library.

* * *

Cassidy’s steps echoed back at her as she slowly descended into the depths of the island. She really hated the library. It reminded her too much of Lucifer’s chamber.

Hopefully, Lucifer wouldn’t be able to pull them into Hell again. Lord knew he had enough of their blood spread over the chamber to make another attempt. Or twenty.

To lessen the possibility, the Knights thickened and added layers to the barrier around the island. They wove patches into every crack they found. Unfortunately, without knowing the exact blood-summoning spell Lucifer used, it was the best they could do. It had taken them days and they were no further ahead. The lack of knowledge sent Zach on the hunt for what he referred to as the
First Arcane
to find the symbols Rail had seen.

Cassidy shivered. She’d felt the shifts in the energy surrounding the compound with each change.

Facing the doors to the library, Cassidy once again wondered if her new sensitivity was a result of her soul bond with Rail or a side effect of what had happened to them in Hell.

Taking a deep breath and painting a smile on her face, Cassidy pushed through the doors. "Hey, honey. How are things going with the research?" Wincing at the insincerity in her upbeat tone, she strode forward bravely. Standing on her tiptoes, she peered over the wall of books on the table blocking Rail from her view. He didn’t even grunt a
hello
. "What’s up?"

Rail had his elbows on the table and his head in his hands, brow furrowed. He studied a piece of aged parchment in front of him. "Huh?" He looked up, bleary eyed.

"You have been down here too long." Cassidy walked around the table. After moving a few books out of the way, she joined him on the bench. "Come upstairs with me and we’ll take a relaxing bath."

"In a little bit, sweetheart. I want to finish this."

Frustrated she couldn’t seduce him away from his books, Cassidy huffed and stood. "Fine. I’ll go take a bath by myself then, and you’re not getting the good news until we give a formal report to the group."

Rail gently grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to him. He rested his head against her shoulder.

"You can’t keep pushing yourself like this. You haven’t taken a break since we got back."

With his tone dripping with exhaustion, he rasped, "I’m sorry.” Rolling up the parchment he’d been reading, he set it aside and gave Cassidy his full attention. “You mentioned a report?”

“Nope. Now, you have to wait.” She gave him a quick peck on the lips and stood. With a playful flip of her hair, she turned to leave. Her glorious exit turned to disaster when her elbow nicked a pile of books precariously perched on the table. The whole mess tumbled in an avalanche of parchment and leather. "Oh, crap. Did I ruin anything?"

They dove to the floor to catch the tomes. One fragmented in Cassidy’s hands. Rail placed his hands on top of the book and together they moved it back to the tabletop.

"I think we can save it if we’re careful," he said softly. "Don’t worry."

"Kaz is going to kill me." Cassidy choked on the lump forming in her throat. She’d just obliterated a priceless piece of history.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later. Have you seen how Boomer handles them? Hell, yesterday he was playing catch with one of the clay jars."

"Thanks." She sniffled.

Rail returned to his knees to retrieve another volume. “For what?"

"For not yelling at me and letting me know that Boomer is a bigger idiot than I thought."

They laughed.

Still chuckling, Rail picked up the last book and handed it to Cassidy. The cover split from the backing, leaving her holding the aged leather while he held the pages. With a gasp, Rail dropped the crumbling paper and snatched the leather from Cassidy’s hands. "We found it!"