Bound by Revenge (Guardian Series) (8 page)

“While demons look just like humans and can walk among them indiscernible, this mutated species, who refer to themselves as leanthans, named after their “mother”, the first of the mutated demons, cannot. The leanthans, in body, are similar to humans. Their eyes, however betray their identities. The cat-like eyes of the leanthans are slightly larger than those of a human and would be obvious to anyone who knew enough to look for them.” Bradley finished his train of thought.

“So, if we can see that they’re different, how do they run a large corporation? Wouldn’t someone notice?” Abby bit the inside of her cheek. This had to be nothing more than a pretty elaborate joke they were all playing on her. There’s no way all of this could be true. Her mind spun as she tried to file all of this new information under something that she could explain.

“In theory, yes but sunglasses allow them to travel during the day without being spotted, but with each generation, their desire to be out in the open, living their lives freely like the humans do increases.” He quickly answered the pertinent question before returning to his tirade.

“Unlike most immortals, the leanthans can procreate. This allows them to grow their numbers exponentially, while the demon and angel populations only grow by a few a years. At this point, no one’s even sure how many leanthans there actually are out there.”

“I’ve heard about other species out there, but I’ve never seen them.” Sam interrupted the lecture. “How could something so dangerous be out there that without the other immortals seeing them and watching over them? And even more important, if they are descended from demons, do they have their strengths?” Sam sucked her lips back between her teeth.

“To answer your first question, the creators made angels and demons for a distinct purpose. Going after the leanthans would be too hard to resist for any immortal worth their mettle. So they chose to keep demons and angels focused on each other.”

“But not you?” Sam added.

“Not me, like I said, demons and angels. I am neither.” Bradley sighed and pushed some papers around on the table.

“There are three direct lines of the leanthans,” Bradley continued. “Lea was the first of the degenerated demons to mate with humans. Once news of her successful breeding spread, she was soon followed by Arra and Tia. Each created their own line of descendents who carry with them the strongest traits of their “mother”. Lea’s line has immeasurable strength. Arra’s line is telekinetic and Tia’s line has the power to hypnotize humans. When they work together, their army is extraordinarily powerful and hard to contain.”

“That’s good news, then, kind of.” Vance laughed. “At least we know what to expect.” Sam kicked Vance’s foot under the table to get him to shut up so Bradley could finish.

“As soon as they observed the threat, angels and demons joined forces to create a new species, hoping to protect humanity and keep balance in the universe. I am one of their creations. A guardian.”

Bradley stood up, turned his back to the table and folded down the starched, white collar of his dress shirt to reveal a small tattoo on the back of his neck.

“Holy shit, you have a tattoo. I can’t believe you told me that I couldn’t get one.” Alex blurted out. “OK, so what are you telling us? You’re seriously not human? You bleed blue goo, like Vance?”

“No, that’s not possible. You have children. So either, you’re human or leanthan, unless you’re telling us that guardians can have kids.” Vance pinned Bradley with his glare.

“I, along with a small group of others like me, was made to mimic humans far more closely than the other immortals. We were developed to infiltrate society permanently and to have lives, jobs, families, and gather intelligence. The creators knew that as the numbers of leanthans increased, so would risk to humanity.”

Sam’s heart sped up at the thought. This was it. All she needed was an invitation and her life would be exactly as she hoped.

“The time has come. The group of leanthans here in Ruthers has organized and they have everything they need to start the war. They are descendents of Arra, so you need to work with Vance and study how best to counter telekinesis.”

“So why are we sitting here?” Sam asked, mildly annoyed that so much time was being wasted when a war was erupting outside. “You sat around all this time and just watched them get bigger, better and stronger. Why didn’t you just take ‘em out while they were quiet?”

Sam glanced over at Vance to gauge his reaction to this onslaught of information that had been withheld from both sides for so many years. Vance’s blue eyes flickered, as though a fire was lit behind them. She could sense his adrenaline pumping and see his muscles straining against his shirt, as his body reacted to the same desire to take action that she herself was fighting to contain.

“You must learn the virtue of patience, Samantha. There was never a guarantee that the leanthans would succumb to their evil impulses. As long as they blended safely into society, we allowed them to live their lives in peace. And they would have continued their peaceful existence had it not been for the interference of a few groups of rogue demons that have been playing with the humans and causing conflicts between the two groups.”

“Sounds to me like they aren’t all bad.” Abby shrugged. “It’s not their fault we’re not tolerant to differences. Can you really blame them for wanting to blend in with society like they belong here?”

“That’s very true. Most of them are peaceful. But last week, the leanthans crossed the line and that just can’t be ignored. They killed a group of humans here in Ruthers. The first stone has been cast, now we
must
retaliate, take out the menace, and keep the humans in ignorance in the process.”

A black pickup truck pulled to a stop in front a three story warehouse, in the almost-abandoned, industrial neighborhood of Ruthers. Formerly a factory-town, about a hundred years ago, most of the businesses that thrived in Ruthers in present day focused on either technology or services. There were very few of the factories that had employed almost every male, in years gone by, left open.

Within the colorless, cold walls sits the headquarters of C & R Enterprises. Sure they have a fancy office downtown, one they show investors, one that makes an impression on society. But here, and only here, are they able to meet and discuss their true agenda.

Arratta turned off the ignition and scoped out the scene in front of the warehouse to make sure there was no one watching him, before he stepped out of the truck onto the walkway. Arratta, descendant of Arra, was the oldest living leanthan and, as a result, their leader and strongest warrior.

Arratta kept his light brown hair short, always trimmed close to his head. Anything longer was a nuisance that obstructed his view and made it far too difficult to train. His eyes appeared almost human, despite his leanthan heritage, since the mutation didn’t fully manifest itself until later generations. Only the tiny points at the top and bottom of his pupils hinted at the change that would be so striking in the modern leanthans.

Never one to wear the corporate straightjacket that many of his “board members” seemed to live in, Arratta wore dark blue jeans with a black tank top underneath a well-fitting leather jacket. His black combat boots skimmed silently across the sidewalk as he crossed to the door. He moved with a grace that seemed impossible for a man standing well over six feet tall, with a body thick with muscles from years of mixed martial arts training.

He pulled a large set of keys from his jacket pocket and carefully unlocked each of the five bolts that ran down the side of the large steel door. While he knew that such precautions would do nothing against any immortal creature, he had no desire to clean up the kind of mess that humans made when they decided to take up residence in what they assume is an abandoned building.

The small room just inside the door looked just as one would expect. It revealed nothing of the true nature of the structure. Only those who passed the next set of secured doors had any idea that this was the headquarters of a multi-million dollar organization.

Arratta flipped the switch on the wall once he’d passed through the second set of doors. Illumination flowed over the large open room, used for meetings, rallies and training. The right side of the room was flanked with rolls of mats that he laid across the room when he led battle exercises.

Today, though, the room was empty. He called his board in to meet with him tonight, in just a few hours, but now Arratta had some business to take care of. He had something very serious to think about and an important decision to make.

There had been a rebellion the week before. One of his strongest lieutenants led a band of leanthans in the acquisition of a warehouse down the street from their headquarters. Arratta had denied Leus the request to move forward with the raid but Arratta found out the next day that Leus disregarded his command and in the process blew the cover of the entire organization, when the rest of the teams weren’t ready to fight.

On the plus side, Arratta now had an extra holding that would come in handy when the real fight began. Still, he had never been one to let insubordination go unpunished. Public humiliation was only fitting. Tonight, he would meet with Leus in front of all the other lieutenants in his army. Make an example of the rebel, while securing the loyalty of the rest. The question now, was whether to allow Leus to remain a commander in the leanthan army or strip him of his title and hold him in custody until the battle ended. Whichever choice he makes would likely control the fate of all the leanthans. 

Chapter Five

“Let’s say this whole thing is true.” Abby attempted to sound casual, her face losing all color and revealing her fear. “What does that make me and Alex?”

“Human right now. And you can stay that way if that’s what you prefer. Or you can join us. You each have the choice. To live your life as if you were one of them, or to follow your heritage, accept your destiny and become part of our team. To become a guardian.”

Bradley walked around the table, the first time abandoning his position of power at the head of the table. Stepping past Abby’s chair, he stopped abruptly behind Sam, grabbed hold on the back of the leather chair and swiveled it away from Abby, pointing Sam at the open door to the foyer. “You will be marked, like all those before you.” He gently moved Sam’s hair away from the back of her neck to reveal Sam’s tattoo to Abby.

It was a small pair of wings, the mark of an angel. As Abby watched, the tattoo changed expanding on the delicate wings to include a small dagger directly between the two.

“Sam and Vance have joined me.” Bradley motioned for Alex to examine Vance’s tattoo. Instead of the dagger that pointed down towards Vance’s back, the formerly bad-ass tattoo that marked Vance as a demon was now flanked by the same wings that adorned Sam’s neck.

“This is the mark of the union of both sides. We work together from here on out. Loyal to neither angel nor demon. Only to ourselves. We are the ones who decide how to ensure human safety. Answering only to each other.” Bradley stood tall next to his daughter and looked down into her wide-open eyes.

“So, now, it’s your choice. I won’t make you join us if that’s not what you want to do.” His normally steady voice cracked as a rare stream of emotion broke through the surface.

“Either way, no one outside the family can know what we are or anything at all about the world we live in. And I don’t want your little brother to know about any of this until he graduates.” He turned away to walk over to Alex.

“How do you expect us to keep this from Tom? He’ll find out. That kid’ll sniff out anything strange, I assure you.” He asked his father.

“Well, he’s never noticed anything about me. And I know Abby can keep her mouth shut. So that leaves you. You’re going to have to find a way to keep him from finding out. Avoid him for a little while, if that’s what it’ll take.” He squinted his eyes and stared Alex down. Alex dug his elbows into the arms of his chair.

“Hey, you can trust me, you know that.” He forced an awkward looking smile across his face. “I was just thinking he might like it. He’d probably want in on it, too.”

“Since he just turned eighteen, he’s technically old enough to turn guardian if he wants. I don’t want him to have the option until he completes his education. It’s already hard enough to keep his attention focused on his school work. He’s always been so damn impulsive. It’ll be impossible to keep him on task if he knows what the future has in store for him.”