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I barely heard the ring of my phone over the rev of the mustang’s engine, and I grabbed the cell without hesitation. Without taking my eyes from the road, I said, “Hello,” into the receiver.
“Nick?”
My mounting panic calmed at the sound of Julia’s voice and I slammed the brakes, pulling to the side of the road.
“Where are you?” I asked, meeting Leviathan’s gaze.
“Noah and I are at the police station and neither of us knows why,” Julia said and I slumped in the seat, closing my eyes and saying a silent prayer of thanks. They must have been influenced by my command, and headed out with the police.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I said and hung up before she could drill me with questions. It didn’t take me long to cross town and I pulled into the parking lot, and turned off the car.
“Stay,” I said to Leviathan and I swear the dog raised his eyebrows at me. I got half a dozen steps away from the car when a growl pierced the air. I spun around. Leviathan’s gaze was locked on an officer who stood, leaning against his car. It wasn’t until the officer turned a fiery stare in my direction that I understood. The cop was a demon and I stepped back, right into a solid object. I didn’t need to look over my shoulder to know who I stepped into, her gasp was enough.
“Nick?” she started to speak and I raised my hand to stop her.
“Just stay behind me,” I whispered out the side of my mouth and glared at the demon. His gaze moved away from me to the door behind us and a wicked smirk surfaced. When Leviathan snarled, his gaze jumped back to the giant Shepherd that was now on the pavement between us.
Julia’s sudden intake of air caught my attention and I glanced back at her. Shock sent a river of fear through my veins. Noah was already down, his blood staining the sidewalk in an ever-growing puddle and the demon behind Julia sent me an evil grin.
I spun in time to see the glint of metal disappear into Julia’s chest, back the way it came. The bastard had sliced right through her and Julia let out a whine of pain that ripped my insides like the knife had done to hers. She fell forward into my arms and I dropped to my knees holding her as each drop of her life bled onto my lap and the concrete underneath us.
Tears blurred my vision and even Leviathan’s roar couldn’t tear my eyes away from Julia’s pain-filled eyes. Her mouth moved, but only bloody bubbles formed and I shook my head, whispering “shhh” until her eyes rolled back in her head.
I couldn’t catch my breath. It seemed to be locked in my chest and the pressure, the loss overwhelmed me. I threw my head back and let out a cry of despair, wishing for this to be erased, to never have happened.
* * * *
A WILD BREEZE MADE me turn as Julia and Noah stepped out of the station.
“Get in the mustang,” I pointed and they moved without question.
Levi leaped from the car, growling at the cop approaching us. I moved with a sense of urgency I didn’t understand, wishing a safety net around Julia and Noah, one that couldn’t be penetrated by reapers or demons, or even death, himself.
The cop drew his gun and I had a split second to react, dodging to my right as the sound of thunder clapped in my ears. Levi glanced back at me and I had a second to catch the cop’s knowing smirk. I clenched my fists, grinding my teeth at the audacious mockery in his grin.
The officer’s narrowed gaze flicked from me to the door and his grin widened.
“Bastard,” I said and he had the sense to pause before he retrained his sights on me. I had a second of clarity and I wished we were back in Maine. A black figure shimmered in the sunlight behind the demon and I jumped for the car.
“Get him, boy,” I said and Leviathan didn’t hesitate.
The demon didn’t have time to pull the trigger before Leviathan hit him in the chest. I turned my gaze away from the slaughter to the car, meeting Julia’s frightened stare. The noise brought people to the windows and I closed my eyes, replacing the horrific scene on the sidewalk with an empty landscape.
Thunder rumbled, ringing in my ears and diminishing Leviathan’s snarls. When the sounds of death silenced, I whispered, “Let’s get out of here.”
Fabric shifted, followed by the creak of the car door. I didn’t let go of the vision of the empty landscape until I was sure we were away from the dead demon and the blood-splattered sidewalk. When I released the facade, I winced at the onslaught of pain encompassing the left side of my face. I leaned my forehead against my crossed arms, trying to catch my breath and get my bearings.
“How many more are there?” I asked and was only greeted with silence. I turned my head to my right, expecting to see Julia, but instead a field of grass met my gaze. I snapped my head in the other direction, clenching my teeth at the sudden pain encompassing my head and blinked. The slap of seeing Julia behind the wheel disoriented me and my gaze traveled to the backseat where Leviathan lay with his head in Noah’s lap. Noah stared at me in that bleary-eyed fascination that made me shift in the seat, his hand absently stroked Leviathan’s massive head and the dog’s eyes were shut, enjoying the pampering after the exertion of annihilating a demon.
“Are you two okay?” I asked after I was sure I wouldn’t faint from the stabbing pain in my face.
Julia just stared at me, concern traveling into every pore of her being as her blood-shot eyes scanned me. It took me a second to realize there were tear-streaks cutting down her cheeks and before I could ask why, she reached out, wiping my cheek. A web of pain resulted and I winced. When her hand came away with a red tint, I flipped the visor down to see just what the hell had happened to my face. My bloody reflection stared back. An ugly gash in my cheek still pulsed blood with each clang of my heart, matching the pounding in my head.
“What the hell?”
A cool breeze whipped across the car and I glanced around at the overgrown lawn in front of us. My car stalled in the middle of a grass field, a few yards away from the front porch of my old house in Maine.
I had no recollection of what happened to my face or of willing us to Maine.
Noah cleared his throat and Julia turned the ignition off.
“Where are we?” he asked.
I exhaled and glanced around again. “This is my house in Maine.”
“How did we get here?” he asked as he glanced around at the calm fall day.
“I have no idea.” My gaze landed on the dog. “Levi!” I yelled and he bounced into a sitting position, a growl coming from his throat as he looked for the source of alarm. When he came up empty, he glanced in my direction.
“What?” he snapped.
“Why are we here?”
Levi’s brows rose. “You don’t remember?”
Clenching my teeth against the pain, I shook my head. The dog’s gaze dropped to the cut and he stood, leaning forward and swiping his tongue across the bloodied skin in an effort to clean my wound. I pushed his snout away.
“What happened?”
“The demon shot you and all hell broke loose,” Levi said and sat on his haunches.
My mind was still a blank slate and I just stared at him, moving my gaze from his to Julia’s. When she nodded, I lifted my hand to my cheek.
“This is from a bullet?” I pulled my hand away and my stomach rolled at the thick layer of blood, but when I looked at Julia, her gaze was locked on my chest. A chill spread through me and I followed her gaze.
“Jesus.” The whisper hissed from my lips and I reached for the car door, falling out of the vehicle onto my hands and knees. Based on the shredded and bloodied remains of my shirt, I shouldn’t be breathing.
I coughed and stared at the blood splattered grass in front of me and then the slow truth bit in. Tears burned, blurring my vision and I crawled the distance between the car and my front steps.
The reaper hadn’t been there for the demon, he was there for me.