KAI
San Francisco. Thursday, May 23, 12:00 NOON PT
KAI JERKED AWAKE, the leather desk chair groaning underneath him. He sat up and yawned. Bleary-eyed, he passed a hand over his face, and then glanced at his watch. Noon. He released a brief sigh of relief; he still had some time to gather himself together.
Cara’s file lay open on his desk. He’d spent some time reviewing it after they’d hung up and he’d discovered Melanie sleeping peacefully upstairs. Rather than waking her, he’d pushed her admission at Sequoia Park Hospital, an Angelorum-affiliated facility, to two o’clock.
The night before had been hell. Neither of them had gotten much sleep. Melanie spent most of the night, shrieking and crying about the voices in her head as he’d held and comforted her. Thankfully, he had the foresight to send Sara and her Guardian Ishmael next door to stay the night, anticipating where the situation could lead.
Too bad his impromptu nap did little to ease the dull ache behind his eyebrows.
The leather chair squeaked as he leaned back and shut his eyes. Competing emotions played tug-o’-war inside of him as he tried to figure out how he should feel and what he should do. He loved her, and it killed him to dump her—even temporarily—into some institution. He rubbed his temples, trying to wake up and dispel his stress.
Looking back, he could see the exact moment when the shit had quietly hit the fan. The downward spiral had started when he’d discovered the secret project he’d been working on for Forrester Research Labs wasn’t what it appeared. It had taken him almost twelve months to put all the pieces together and take action. Hours after finding the missing piece, he and Sara had been kidnapped. Nothing’s been the same since.
An earsplitting scream tore through the air.
Melanie. Kai’s eyelids shot open. His heart pounding, he bolted from his chair.
Ten strong fingers bit into his shoulders from behind as he passed over the threshold into the hallway. “Wait!” Luke said through their telepathic link. “Let me go first.”
The scream ended, followed by silence.
Kai’s skin erupted in gooseflesh.
Blade drawn, Kai’s Guardian stepped around him and raced for the stairs. Kai followed behind the hulking black-clothed figure. His lungs constricted with fear, taking the carpeted stairs two at a time.
Luke stopped outside of the open bedroom door and held up his hand.
“Wait here,” he said telepathically then cloaked and promptly disappeared. Luke’s deep voice sounded from inside, “Kai!”
Kai raced through the doorway to find Luke crouched over a motionless Melanie, the blade no longer in his hand. Fresh from a shower and still wearing her white robe, Melanie lay crumpled on the rug outside the bathroom door, her blue eyes wide with fright and her lips moving in silent conversation.
“Melanie!” Kai dropped to his knees next to them and brushed back a wet piece of blonde hair from her face. “Baby, can you hear me?”
She stared through him with vacant eyes, her lips moving.
Desperation crept into his voice. “Mel, sweetie, can you hear me?” He clenched his fist in frustration, overcome with helplessness. He glanced at Luke crouched next to him. “Have any ideas?”
Luke’s dark eyes held empathy. He shook his head and let out a heavy sigh. “I wish I did, my friend.”
Kai scrubbed his hand over his face and took a deep breath.
“Do you want me to carry her over to your bed?” Luke asked softly as he stood up.
Shaking his head, Kai gave him a weak smile. “Thanks. I’ll take her.” He appreciated the offer, but if he allowed Luke to do that for him, it would snap something inside of him. He’d feel like an even worse husband than he already did.
Guilt chewed at his gut daily since he’d found out about Melanie’s demon possession and her unknowing hand in his kidnapping. Logically, he knew it wasn’t her fault. She had no knowledge of what had happened while she was possessed. Yet, he couldn’t help feeling betrayed. He and Sara could’ve been killed. He hated himself for feeling this way… for blaming her.
Kai scooped Melanie’s petite frame up into his arms and carried her to the bed. He laid her down and secured her robe more tightly around her, not knowing what else to do.
“Step back!” Luke shoved him roughly away from the bed. “Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Hairs bristled on the backs of Kai’s arms.
“Listen,” Luke hissed, snapping the hilt of one of the blades from his belt. It blazed to life in his hand.
Kai listened while his eyes darted around the room trying to locate the source of the sound. Low murmurs at the threshold of Kai’s hearing. Whispers and overlapping voices, quiet, building into sharp static. Demonic whispers.
A chill rippled down his spine and a familiar dull throbbing started at the base of his skull.
Melanie sprang up from the bed, only the whites of her eyes visible. Her hair rose around her head, free-floating. Her mouth moved and demonic sounds filled the air.
Holy hell. Kai’s eye widened in horror, and he froze in back of Luke. “Help her!”
“I can’t use this blade, it’ll kill her,” he said. “Stay back!” Luke seized her by the neck and spun her into his chest. She went limp and quiet in his arms. The hellish whispers continued around them.
His head jerked around to look at Kai.
“Shit, she’s marked. Look.” Luke gave him a hard stare, his jaw tense. The skin on the back of her neck pulsed, and the shape of rune—a sigil—rose in angry red lines. “Go to Ishmael next door, stay with him and Sara.”
“But—”
“Go, now! They’re going to use her as a portal. Now go!”
The pain in Kai’s head intensified as a black, inky haze rose out of the sigil on the back of Melanie’s neck, forming a dark cloud.
Kai was no match for a demon; only Nephilim, like Luke, could handle the weapons necessary to destroy them.
He looked between Melanie and Luke and his heart squeezed. How could he leave her?
Luke glared at Kai. “I’ve got this, go to Sara. Run!”
Black demon haze filled the room.
Grasping the sides of his head, Kai did the only thing he could do… he ran to find his daughter.