Chapter Fourteen
Only an hour had passed before we were on the move.
Calantha had been called and all Halflings were to be moved by the time the sun set on the day. There was little we could do if the being knew about Calantha and her kind but the underground cities were the only refuge our children might have. Few knew the hidden city even existed and fewer still knew how to actually get there.
Walking through the glossy and overstated lobby of Satani Media, I offered a nod to the blond behind the reception desk. Since my first day here over a year ago, the relationship between the Kirsten and me had developed from an instant animosity to friendship. The woman had been dragged kicking and screaming into the supernatural world around the same time that I had which forged a bond outsiders could never understand.
Then again, these days most people knew that there were things out there. After all, it was a little hard to hide evidence of hell hounds and it was even harder to hide the destruction left behind after huge death matches between demons and fallen angels. Unfortunately Satani media seemed to be the epicentre of it all. It was surprising that the normal people of this world were not training their eyes upon the skyscraper. Trouble always seemed to gravitate back towards the earthbound devil’s headquarters and it was only a matter of time before one of the humans realised this.
But for now, everyone else chose to remain ignorant.
Tapping Lucius on the shoulder, I nodded my head towards the blonde. He offered a wave at the sombre woman before strutting towards the doors.
“I’ll meet you in the car.”
I crossed the lobby quickly. I had swapped my heels for a pair of boots that had been knotted tightly to my feet. I probably looked a strange sight considering I was still wearing my work attire.
“Hey,” Kirsten offered, as I stopped and leant my arms on the top of her desk. “What’s going on?”
I glanced both ways before leaning further over the desk.
“We’ve got some leads but it looks like bad things are coming.”
Kirsten paled.
“Do you need me to do anything?”
I glanced over my shoulder at the men and women moving freely through the lobby and then shook my head.
“No, there is nothing you can do. Just call me if you notice anything strange but do not approach suspicious people. There is nothing you will be able to do in order to detain them.” I paused and stared hard at my friend before stretching out my hand. She took mine in her smaller cooler grip and gave it a squeeze. “I don’t think the building will be targeted, the latest threat seems to have other concerns but please, don’t take any risks.”
I could see the war going on behind her eyes, her teeth biting in her lip as she looked at a spot behind my shoulder in an attempt to not make direct eye contact.
“Promise me. I cannot afford to lose anyone else – for my own sanity.”
The smaller but surprisingly bustier woman nodded her head. She held my hand for only a moment longer before releasing me.
“Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
Ducking my head down, I pushed my way through the suits passing through the lobby and emerged out onto the pavement. The other fallen angels were there. Dressed in casual clothes so as to not draw attention, I felt the strangest sensation of incredulity at the sight of Binah in a pair of jeans. I couldn’t picture her in anything but exotic colours and clothing. And there was her expression. There was something new there in her fathomless eyes as she stared out into the distance. Castiel who had been stood in front of her, frowned at his fellow angel before stepping to the side. Binah didn’t notice she just continued to look blankly.
Stepping beside Lucius, I touched his shoulder. His eyes lifted to meet mine but I shook my head and nodded towards the immobile woman. Immediately his body stiffened but he made no move to draw her back into the present.
“Is she okay?” I asked, as the minutes dragged on by,
“I don’t know but I fear that if I interrupt it will cause more harm than good.”
I nodded my head stiffly.
Binah shook her head several times, blinking as she tried to focus on the world around her once more. She looked first at Lucius, and then at me, her lips pulled up into a weak semblance of a smile before turning on her heels.
“I guess that means we shouldn’t ask?”
My hand was enclosed with warmth as Lucius took mine in his larger and much stronger grasp, leading me over to the waiting car. We didn’t speak about it but I could feel questions coursing through my mind. What had happened with Binah? Does she have some talent that I had not been made aware of before?
I slipped into the backseat next to Castiel, the dark haired main leaning back into the leather interior with a weary sigh. Binah took the passenger seat and Clementine, who had been quieter and more observant than usual, slipped into the driver’s seat. Lucius’s huge form folded into the car beside me ensuring so that I was boxed in between two men.
I wasn’t too bothered about that. My eyes were firmly trained upon the beautiful woman sat behind the wheel. I cleared my throat.
“Clem, do you actually know how to drive? Or have a licence?”
The woman laughed as she clicked the seatbelt into place and swiftly turned over the ignition. A second later the large vehicle swerved into traffic, cutting in front of an ugly lime green smart car. It wasn’t a pretty look.
Without taking my eyes off of the newbie driver, I stretched out a hand to the men on either side of me and clutched their fingers into a painfully tight grasp.
“She didn’t answer my questions Lucius, why didn’t she answer.”
My stomach forced its way up my throat as the car swerved around traffic.
“You need to learn to relax Savannah.”
I could hear the smile in his voice but I refused to ease up on my death grip.
“Come on, do you really think I would jeopardise our lives just to let the woman get her thrills? You know me better than that.”
The man playfully nudged me with his elbow. My lips twitched and with great reluctance I uncurled my fingers. Castiel sighed with relief, hastily pulling his hand against his chest as he edged closer to the door. Lucius took the pain like it was nothing, clenching and unclenching his hands into fists as he relaxed back into the leather and drew in a deep breath. And then, oh so casually, he draped an arm over my shoulder and pulled me into his side.
Unable to watch the car crash waiting to happen, I buried my face into Lucius chest. Inhaling the scent that was him deep into my lungs and allowing it to soothe the fears coursing through me.
The drive was short. Clementine knew how to drive, there was no denying that. But the fallen angel seemed to think that road laws were for those that were less informed as she insisted on driving at least twenty miles over the speed limit. Thankfully she avoided residential areas or they may have been more than a few casualties from her reckless speed.
We pulled up outside the familiar house on the outskirts of London. It was one of the many safe houses in the city but it was also where we had kept the orphaned children we had somehow gained custody of since the last great battle. We had tried on all possible channels to locate their parents but there had only been one happy story for them. The rest were all bravely facing the reality that their parents were gone and were not coming back.
The car had barely pulled to a stop before we were out of the car and taking the steps two at a time. There was a sense of urgency in the air that clawed at my heart. And then I saw it. The frame was split where the door had been forced open. The door itself looked almost normal if it wasn’t for the fractures in the wood around the lock where something hard and heavy had struck it with force. The door had been pushed closed again but there was no way to hide the visible signs of forced entry without completely changing the door.
“Oh god,” I gasped placing a shaky hand on the battered slab of wood and pushing it open. “The children?”
As I stepped over the threshold, glass crunched under my feet. The inside of the building was dark except for the flickering of the television. It cast strange shadows across the debris in the hallway while it was jauntily playing the opening music to an episode of the Tweenies.
Treading carefully over the broken china and splinted wood, I peered through doorway and tried my best not to cry. It appeared the TV was one of the few things still intact. Furniture was strewn about the room, shredded and smashed beyond recognition. Even the children’s toys had been destroyed.
Bending down, my hands picked up the ripped and torn pieces of a beautiful rag doll. I bit my lip as I blinked back tears.
“Did you speak to Calantha? Did they get out okay?”
I knew Lucius was behind me and the silence that followed was enough to strike fear into my heart,
“I don’t know.” He finally whispered, wrapping his hands around my waist and pulling me back into the warmth of his body. “I can’t get a response on the satellite phone. That means that the phone has either been destroyed or they are somewhere where the signal does not reach.”
I pressed my lips together as a tear leaked from the corner of my eyes and slipped slowly over my cheek. No matter how much I tried to fight the weakness, I was first and foremost a mother. I felt an invisible hand close around my heart and squeeze tightly. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. For just a second I thought that death had found me and struck the final killing blow.
“Shh, don’t cry Savannah.” Lucius whispered against the back of my neck. “They may be safe. I will send one of my brothers to check that they all passed through the gateway. We will search for the people who caused such destruction. They may be able to lead us back to the very things that we are hunting.”
I wiped the moisture from my cheek and allowed myself to be held.
“So you do not think that they did this?”
Lucius snorted.
“No, they would have killed them all here and made a great show of it. They want to hurt us and would relish in our misery. No they did not do this – at least not directly.”
I released a sigh and clutched the ragged pieces of doll to my chest.
“What do we do now? Do we go back to Wales and find the horsemen there? Or do we make them come to us?” I ran a hand through my hair and stomped my booted foot on the ground. “We have to keep these people safe Luce, it is our duty. Yet I cannot help but feel we are facing something too big for even us and our merry men to defeat.”
“We will make a plan and it will be an amazing one. I promise you that.”
Despite the gravity of our situation, I laughed.
“You have no idea how to do this, do you?”
Blue eyes glared down at me for several seconds while his lips were pressed into a thin line but they soon twitched and a small grin appeared.
“No. I don’t have a bloody clue.”
At the admission, I closed my eyes and drew in a deep breath before releasing it slowly.
“What I do know however, is that we will find a solution and we will win. No plan seems to always be our best plan anyway.”
Opening my eyes, I twined my fingers through his and relished in the simple comfort.
“I hope you are right.”
Lucius squeezed my fingers gently and pressed a kiss to the top of my head.
“I know I am.”