choice did he have other than to see her happy? He’d rather suffer
for the rest of eternity to give her the life of normalcy she
desperately wanted. That realization alone was stupefying.
“Then why start this to begin with? Why play with not only her
heart but gamble with her soul?”
“It started out as nothing more than a game. She was a conquest,
a human who I’d use to sate my urges, murder and drag into hell
beside me to be bartered for whatever I wished to gain.”
Leviathan admitted, his eyes distant as he remembered the first
moment he laid eyes on Kailani, the trembling little woman
running from a demon so low of class it was almost laughable.
He hadn’t known how special she truly was. She was human in
his mind. Disposable.
“And now?”
“And now…” The words dried up on his tongue. He lifted his
head to glare at the angel. “I know what I must do. Cease your
attempts to scold me as if I were a child.”
“I’m not scolding you. I’m making sure you do the right thing
when the time comes. She has a life; she has a choice and a
chance to be happy. Do not rob her of that.” He said, taking a
step towards Leviathan. “If you cannot make the decision then I
will do it for you. I will not let another innocent fall prey to your
kind. Not if I can help it.” Leviathan had had more than enough
of his superior tone. His pupils dilated as fury filled him.
“Choose your next words carefully angel.” He said and as if on
cue the bathroom door opened behind him. Kailani poked her
head out, fully dressed with a glare on her face.
“If you fuck up this hotel room I’ll murder you both.” Leviathan
turned to cock a brow at her.
“Motel.”
“Shut up.” She said and he smirked, watching her disappear into
the bathroom for a second before she and Naomi stepped into the
room.
“I trust you have a plan in mind.” Pierre said as his wife moved
to stand next to him. She nodded and looked over at Kailani who
stood in front of Leviathan glaring up at him. The demon just
stared at them over her head, ignoring her heated expression.
“Yes.” Naomi said simply and the angel cocked a brow down at
her.
“Care to enlighten us?”
“Yes…” She hedged, “It will involve you calling in a favor from
an old friend.” Pierre’s frown couldn’t have gotten any deeper.
Leviathan watched in silence as they had a quiet mental battle
before the angel threw up his arms in frustration and turned to
growl at them.
“Gather your things. You’ll be leaving soon.”
Chapter Eleven
Pierre and Naomi departed just before dawn, leaving
Kailani and Leviathan to finish gathering what little they had.
Pierre, against his better judgment gave Leviathan directions to a
tiny little airstrip that a friend of his owned. This man would fly
them to Germany on his private plane so they could avoid
running into the police at the airport. The airstrip could possibly
be under watch but the angel was convinced his friend would
have warned him if it were. Leviathan didn’t believe his bullshit
for a second but what other choice did he have? Come first light
he and Kai slipped into the stolen car after he ripping the plates
off and tossing them in the backseat. The Chrysler was hot; the
police would be looking for not only them but the vehicle itself.
If the man and his dog ever made it out of the desert to report it
stolen that is.
“This isn’t going to work.” Kailani said as he put the car into gear
and glided out of the motel parking lot. “Something’s going to go
wrong. I don’t know what it is, but I can feel it.”
“Is that just your usual pessimism speaking or could it be
something more?” He asked, casting a sidelong glance at her that
she returned with a shake of her head.
“I don’t know. But something’s wrong.” She said and he
chuckled in an attempt to ease her mind. He didn’t need her
worrying, even if he couldn’t deny he had the same feeling of
dread and foreboding. Leviathan placed a hand on her knee,
offering her reassurance he wasn’t sure he had a right to.
“Everything will be fine.”
“Famous last words.” She said and he shook his head, navigating
them silently into traffic.
It wasn’t eight AM when they arrived at the airstrip. The
place was barren, empty and devoid of life save the reptiles that
sunned themselves on the sun baked runway. It was the picture of
peace, everything silent and clean. No matter how she looked at it
Kailani couldn’t help but see the danger that lay mere feet in
front of them. Leviathan moved to get out of the car next to her
and she grabbed his arm to stop him.
“Kai?” He asked quietly, his brow furrowed as he turned to look
at her. “It will be fine.” He reiterated but it just wasn’t enough to
assuage her fears. Sighing he lifted a heavy hand and ran his
fingers through her hair. “Is this about the flight or is there
something else you’re afraid of?” Kai turned a frown on him.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, is this about Ophanuel?” He asked and her gaze dropped
to the steering column. Why couldn’t she look at him all of a
sudden? Is that what she was feeling? Trepidation? Or maybe she
felt fear of Ophanuel himself? If he was anything like Pierre
would she even be able to stand his presence? The merger called
for a physical connection; could she give herself to the angel?
There were so many questions, so much left unanswered that it
made her head spin. She felt lost, as if there were no hope in their
insane little mission. Would any of this even work? Leviathan
sighed beside her.
“You know I won’t leave you. If this doesn’t work we’ll figure
something else out.”
“At least until you’re called back right?” She lifted her gaze to
his, watching his jaw tighten. Now that, he had no answer for.
What could he say? Nothing was promised to them, especially
not his stay in the human realm. No matter what happened he’d
eventually have to go back. If Cassandra didn’t send him, his
master would surely call for him. But who could say when and
where? This entire foolish expedition was a ticking time bomb
nightmare. “It’s okay. I don’t even know why I brought that up.”
She sighed.
“No. It’s not okay.” He said and they fell silent. Kailani turned to
stare out her window at the huge silver hangers that lined the
sides of the runway, watching as one of the doors lifted and a
small red jet was wheeled out. More dread filled the pit of her
stomach but she did her best to ignore it. There was so much she
wanted to do at that moment. For some reason, getting on that
plane and flying to Germany just felt like it would be the end; the
end of an epic story, of a tale that could have really been
beautiful had they just let it flourish. Could she really handle
closing this book and never seeing Leviathan again? She didn’t
want to explore what they’d become, what they’d shared
together. But if this was the end, she didn’t want to let him out of
her sight without at least telling him how she felt.
“Leviathan…” She started and he listened to her heart rate
increase. He could instantly sense a change in her, in the
atmosphere around them and more specifically in the mood of her
words. And to be honest, it scared the daylights out of him.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Don’t.” He cut her off and she gave him a startled look.
Leviathan gripped the steering wheel until he thought it might
snap off in his hands. He didn’t want to hear what she had to say.
He
couldn’t
hear it for the sake of his sanity. It wasn’t time. It
was much to soon. He wasn’t ready for it. “Don’t Kailani. We
have enough problems.” He growled, throwing open his door and
climbing out. The heavy metal slammed behind him as he made
his way out onto the runway to confront the three men who were
checking the plane over. Kailani felt her chest cave in. It was
painful, a gut wrenching feeling of hopelessness that sent her
spiraling into a miasma of utter despair. There were no real words
that could describe what she was feeling, other than heartache.
“Get it together.” She whispered, trying to pull herself together as
she fought back the tears that threatened to fall. There was no
time for crying or feelings. Like he said they had enough
problems. Sighing she pushed her door open, steeling herself as
she stepped into the thick Australian heat.
“She’ll be ready soon.” One of the men stopped to assure
Leviathan, his eyes tracking Kailani as she neared them. He was
by far the smallest of the three in stature, with wheat blonde hair
and dark brown eyes. He was pale, with freckled milky skin. He
seemed washed out somehow, as if he had been drained, all color
and life pulled from his body like the emptying of an ink well.
“I’m Jeremy. That’s Fred and my elder brother William.” He
introduced the others who moved from behind the plane with a
gentle smile. They were just as faded as Jeremy, with pale
complexions and dark eyes. They couldn’t have been angels, no,
but they weren’t exactly human either.
“And this will get us to Germany?” Leviathan asked beside her,
obviously not worried by their odd appearances. The three men
gave a curt nod in unison. Seriously, who were these pod people?
And why didn’t Leviathan see what she saw?
“It will get us there in half the time. She’s a speedy little beast.”
Jeremy joked with a chuckle.
“Thanks for doing this for us.” Kailani said with a forced smile
that Jeremy returned with one of his own. He chuckled again
pleasantly, holding his hand out for Kailani to shake.
“It’s no problem miss…” Her hackles rose immediately as he
reached for her. There was something terribly off about Jeremy
and his friends; she didn’t know what but it frightened her. She
suddenly wanted to run screaming for the car and tear off down
the road, leaving Leviathan and the strange men behind. The fear
and dread she’d felt earlier returned, burrowing in the pit of her
stomach to the point that it was almost painful. But how could
she be so rude to the people that were helping her? What could be
so bad about him that she couldn’t just shake his hand?
Her hand lifted, her fingertips brushing his as she moved to return
his gesture. Time seemed to slow around them, tunneling until all
she could see was Jeremy. His hand caught hers, but instead of
releasing it seconds later, he yanked her forward, pulling her off
balance and into his arms as his friends jumped forward.
“Leviathan!” She shouted in warning at the same time he growled
her name and reached for her. Fred and Will both brought
forward long metal rods with bright red plastic tips. The instant
the tips touched his flesh Leviathan let out a frightening growl,
his body jerking as he fell forward onto his knees.
“Alright he’s immobilized!” Jeremy yelled seemingly to no one
as he held a struggling Kailani in a steely grip. Fred and William
continued to poke and jab Leviathan’s sizzling body with what
had to have been high voltage cattle prods.
“What the fuck are you doing?! Stop hurting him!” She ordered,
fighting with everything she had to get away from Jeremy so she
could help Leviathan. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as
she punched, slapped, clawed and kicked at the bastard but he
wouldn’t release her. Just when she thought it couldn’t get any
worse the sound of police sirens filled the air and suddenly they
were surrounded. She watched in horror as police cruisers, the
Police Tactical Group and even the Australian Federal Police
flooded the airstrip en masse, each of them hopping out of their
vehicles in bullet proof vests and helmets, all of them toting
assault rifles. The men and women in uniform moved forward as
she continued to fight and struggle against Jeremy. For a man
built so thin he was tougher than stone. She couldn’t get him to
even flinch no matter how hard she hit him! “Don’t touch him!