Atonement (Heaven Sent Book 1) Read online

  Coughing hard, Kelly was bent over. The Hell Fighter pulled its leg back and kicked. Seeing the maneuver coming, Kelly leaned forward and grabbed his foot, yanking as his leg was in mid-air. Using his own momentum against him she pulled and brought the demon down to the ground. He landed on his back with a thunderous boom. She grabbed the dagger and stabbed several times in the side of the knee as he howled in pain and flipped over. He crawled away from her taking down pieces of wall as he went.

  “Oh no pal, we aren’t done, you are not getting out of this building.” She said the words but doubted they conveyed the bravado needed to dissuade him from trying to escape.

  “Alright, why don’t we end this thing, what do you say? You go back to Hell, I go home to a cool bath and a hot meal, that’s a win–win.” She caught up to him just shy of the door, still on his stomach. He would need to smash his way out. Neither of them was getting out that door since the extreme heat of the fire caused part of the frame to fold inward, encasing the exit in a mangled knot of steel.

  She jumped on his back and raised her arm preparing to stab him with her blade. But he pushed back, elbowing her in the chest she rolled onto the tile floor. He managed to get up and curled his claw-like hands around her neck. He pulled her up and off her feet. She hung, feet dangling, several feet off the ground at the mercy of a Hell Fighter who wanted her dead.

  Gasping for air, she clutched his hands and used them for leverage. Swinging her legs upward she kicked with full force and landed a blow to the newborn’s chin. Stung, he flailed backward releasing his grip. Kelly fell free, but instead of hitting the floor, she landed in Jared’s lap.

  “This is taking too long, you’ll win, but not without paying a heavy price. Let me just take care of this for you, luv.” Jared kicked the Hell Fighter’s one working knee, nearly caving it in.

  The newborn yelled out as he collapsed to the ground. Jared put both hands under the newborn’s head and pulled up and to the left, breaking its neck and nearly decapitating him in the process. Dropping the limp body on the tile floor, they both watched the Hell fire that had been encircling it finally flame out. Its rotting decay smoldered until it was nothing more than a pile of ash.

  “Where have you been? I have been fighting this thing for like an hour. I assumed you were dead.” Kelly was leaning against the far wall for support.

  Jared went to her and pulled her into his arms. “It was only fifteen minutes.”

  “Whatever, thankfully I weakened him for you.” She paused trying to even her breaths. “What are you doing here? Where have you been all this time? Who are you with? How are you even in here with me? Since when are you immune to Hell Fire?” Kelly was fumbling the questions but at least she got them out.

  Jared smiled at her. “I missed you too.” He leaned in and kissed her passionately, her mind went blank and she fell into him.

  Regaining her composure, she put a hand on his chest and pushed him back, but not before he had time to slip a ring over her knuckle and onto her finger.

  “No Jared, wait, don’t do this! You can’t just walk back into my life after like a hundred years and give me a ring.” She watched the twinkle leave his eyes.

  Shaking his head back and forth he replied. “Good to know you haven’t changed, you’re still a mad exaggerator. It doesn’t matter where I’ve been, what matters is that you and your siblings need to pay more attention to what’s happening. We believe you’re all in danger, something powerful from Hell is already here.”

  “Wait!” She watched him lock eyes with her. “Who’s we? Who’s with you Jared? You need to tell me, is it Gabriel?”

  “Just remember, there’s only ever been you, you and no other.” She watched him vanish and felt like someone had dropped the building on top of her. She succumbed to her trembling knees and slid down the wall onto the floor.

  Dan’s voice reached her just as she was about to call out to them. “Kelly, there is no time left, we won’t get to everyone, but there are still plenty of people who can be saved.”

  She shook her head as if she could scatter the trauma away. “What do you want me to do?”

  Dan was direct. “Deb has gathered a small group at the back of the building near where you are. That part of the structure has been weakened by the fire. When you exit, make a whole in the exterior as large as you can. A small opening still makes it hard to escape from. Make it big. It will be the last thing we can do for them.”

  Looking around she saw the magnitude of the fire’s destruction. “I see where you mean, tell Deb and Gen to break it outward again. I’m going to need all the help I can get.”

  She took several long strides away from the door then turned back. She needed as much run up time as possible to make a large impact. Breathing deeply, she quieted her stampeding heart. Facing the rear of the building she bent over into a runner’s stance. Grunting she took off like a shot heading straight for the back wall.

  Halfway down the hall she took a literal leap of faith, closed her eyes, and pushed her arms out in front of her. Spreading her fingers wide she focused all her power on breaking through the wall.

  She heard the crumbling of bricks as they cascaded down the exterior, felt the spray of water from the fire hoses as it bled through the cracks helping to separate the brick, sand, and cement which sealed the structure. The debris blasted her skin, coating her in a heavy gray dust. As the wall began to fail, cool air pushed its way in thinning the poisonous gas that hung over her like nuclear fallout.

  The destruction sent glass, shards of rock, and blackened debris several feet across the parking lot. She saw her sisters first and continued to run toward them. They engulfed her even though she was covered in venom that burned the saturated parts of their clothing.

  “Nicely done. That exit you just made is big enough to drive a truck through.” Kelly followed Dan’s stare and saw firemen pulling people out of the building.

  “Gen and I heard what Jared did to that thing, we all heard it. Are you all right?” Deb’s brow was creased with worry.

  “I will be, once one of you helps me get this stupid thing off.” Kelly held up her hand, displaying the ring Jared gave her. The band of silver was wide and etched with flowers, each petal encrusted with varying shades of amethyst stone. Kelly watched Gen and Deb exchange a look.

  “That’s definitely a conversation for later.” Gen nodded in the direction of the school. “We better get ready, not all of them made it out.”

  “Harry’s not here. Do we wait? Or just take them?” Kelly watched as everyone looked to Michael.

  “I think this is the first encounter like this we’ve ever faced without Harry,” Gen stated.

  “We have to trust there’s a good reason for that,” Tom replied.

  “If Harry isn’t here, it falls to us. We’ll escort them to the line. Hell has caused enough damage for one day. We’re not letting them pick off these souls on their journey to the afterlife.” Michael looked over at Kelly. “I know we lost some today, but you all did good work. Especially you Kelly, you did great against that newborn in there.”

  Stunned, Kelly stood alongside her siblings at the top of the embankment awaiting the dead. They watched the last of the school’s structure tumble in on itself as the fire finally petered out. One hundred and forty people survived that day, but it was the twenty-three dead, all under the age of eighteen, that put this battle in the loss column. Kelly knew that even though the Hell Fighter was dead, they would all feel the sting of failure and it would never leave them.

  During Deb’s prayers, Kelly felt Gen’s heartache, it mirrored her own. The loss of any human life is said to make the Angels in Heaven weep, but the death of a child caused by those in Hell brings the wrath of Heaven’s Guard to those responsible. The Guardians would get justice, but right now that didn’t help the souls taken before their time.

  Kelly felt the electricity in the air; a storm was coming. The first raindrops fell upon her exposed skin. Even though she was
still feverishly hot, she didn’t allow herself to feel relief from the burn. This was a loss, it should hurt, Kelly thought.

  As they stood side by side, their heartache opened the skies, bringing thunder, lightning, and wind. In a place known for its snowy dry conditions, the humans who remained clung to each other, shocked and confused, as they were drenched in Kelly’s family’s storm of sorrow.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “Good morning, how can I help you?” Deb noticed Margaret’s name badge was nearly falling off. Her wavy brown hair was a bit tousled as her blue eyes stared into Deb’s.

  “Good morning, can I have a large Scottish breakfast tea and a blueberry scone please?” The woman efficiently punched the order into a small handheld device and then turned it toward Deb displaying the total.

  “That will be $8.75. I’m sorry I can’t remember if you have a tea pass. If you do, go ahead and enter your phone number, otherwise you can just swipe a card.” Margaret then turned and busied herself pulling together the order.

  I wish I was able to come here enough to warrant a tea pass, Deb thought.

  She paid for the order and then perused the shop for anything new since the last time she visited. The Tea Pot was a small tea shop and bakery located just a few blocks from the house she shared with her sisters. Though Deb was up early most days, it was rare to be able to sneak away and indulge in the calm of the shop’s setting.

  The walls were painted a cream color that reminded her of sugar cookies. There were floral- and tea-themed works of art hanging on nearly every available wall space. There were five wooden tables and chairs with plush cushions embellished with a tiger lily pattern. The tables were decorated with what looked like a small tower of Jenga blocks that someone had written inspirational quotes on and then glued together in haphazard fashion.

  Deb could see the one closest to the register: Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. How very appropriate, Deb thought, quotes from Alice in Wonderland in a tea shop!

  The skylight in the center of the roof warmed her back, it was Spring, but in New England there would be a morning chill until you closed in on June. As she picked up her order, she spotted the antique bookcase in the corner by the back entrance.

  “Your bookshelves, they’re pretty full now, that’s nice.” Deb watched the woman glance at the shelves and then back to her.

  “Yes, customers have slowly been filling them up. When it gets too full, we’ll sell some for charity or drop them off at the library. It’s nice, lets you unplug for a moment and get lost in a world of words while you drink your tea.” Margaret gave a bright smile as she moved along to help a newly arriving customer.

  Meandering toward the bookshelves, Deb noticed a handwritten notecard dangling above the first case: Book exchange: bring a book, borrow a book. She felt cool air drift in and realized one of the doors to the back patio was ajar. There were a few customers out enjoying the sun-filled morning, brisk as it was. At this time of year, you could drink your tea amid the budding flowers and plants that littered the veranda, the blossoming lilac spires fell over the railing in abundant fashion. The trees limbs were heavy with the light-purple flower, which filled the air with its sweet fragrance. The outdoor tables were decorative wrought iron, painted in light shades of yellow, blue, and purple. She chose an open table closest to the hedgerow of sprawling lilac and sat down.

  Setting down the scone and removing the lid from her cup, she sat back and inhaled the bold flavors of the rich black tea. This is a luxury, she thought to herself.

  Moments like this seemed few and far between since more and more encounters with Hell were occurring lately. Michael had noted that the uptick within the past six months was nearly double what they typically dealt with in that time span. Kelly told her and Gen that she felt not only was Hell’s interference increasing, but the entities they were dealing with also were bolder—more inclined to skirt the rules, so to speak, nothing seemed normal.

  We expect Hell to cheat, but not rewrite the rules altogether, Deb thought.

  She herself had been sensing an increase in anger and impatience amongst the humans who were around these supernatural events.

  People are being affected by these encounters, and not in a good way, she surmised.

  It had been just a few weeks since the fire where they ran into Jared. Kelly hadn’t seen him since, and she still wasn’t talking. Deb and Gen were trying to give Kelly some space, some time to work through it all, but soon they may have to push the issue. Kelly needed to at least tell them more about the encounter with the Hell Fighter. She hoped Kelly would feel comfortable enough to tell them what happened between her and Jared too. Maybe talking about it would help. Deb was worried about her, about both her sisters.

  It’s horrible losing the person you love most in this complicated world, but now Jared walks back in after being gone nearly forty years. Should we be hopeful that Gabriel might be alive too? After all this time, where have they been? Not to mention giving Kelly a ring!

  Deb couldn’t help it, she believed they must have been together, it can’t be a coincidence that the two of them have been gone nearly the same amount of time. Deb paused and took a sip of her tea.

  Well, maybe not just two of them, what if it’s all three of them? What if Dmitri is with them? Originally, we thought Jared and Dmitri must have been ordered to a different plane, and we just didn’t know it. After all, Michael had seen Dmitri in person after Gabriel went missing, so we didn’t suspect they were together back then. But what if our assumptions were wrong, what if they’ve been together all this time? I don’t know why I haven’t thought of that before now. Why I haven’t thought of Dmitri before now.

  Deb’s shoulder felt hot and she instinctively reached behind her, tucking her hand down through the top of her blouse and rubbing the outline of the rose that tattooed her skin. Heat radiated through her mark’s floral pattern and bore into her hand. She saw the reflection of light glean against the glass in the patio door.

  Well, so much for a little time to myself, she thought.

  Using her powers, Deb spoke to her siblings telepathically. “Guys, I have a charge in need. It’s a woman I’ve been drawn to over the past several months, she’s fighting cancer, it’s very sad. She’s one of four children, the other three have all passed away and she’s only in her late twenties; one sibling died from an illness, while the other two, twins I think, died at the hands of a drunk driver. I don’t think it’s demonic interference, but I’ll put my shield up and cloak my entrance just in case. I’ll update you when I get there.” Deb pulled the collar of her jacket a little tighter attempting to keep the light from being seen by humans nearby.

  The last thing she wanted was to be exposed. Guardians in human view, such as she was now, who encountered Hell or one of their human charges, can become exposed, and that causes a host of problems for her kind. Deb knew of Guardians who had lost their powers, or still others that had been seriously injured by demons who took advantage of them in that state. Worse, she knew of one family who was separated and sent to varying planes never to be reunited with their loved ones.

  I need to get moving, nothing good comes from being exposed. Standing, she managed to get the lid back onto the cup with one hand, then she stuffed the scone in her pocket and made her way through the double doors back inside the shop. There was no exit from the outside, so she was forced to walk inside to exit. She nodded to Margaret who waved at her and thanked her for coming in.

  Once outside she rounded the corner, used her powers to disappear from human view, and made her way to Sophia’s house.

  A demon stood in Sophia’s living room glaring at the picture frames displayed along the mantle above her fireplace. Deb had manifested behind him in the kitchen, but with enough of a view to see the scowl on his face, he turned slightly upon her arrival but couldn’t see her.

  Deb updated her siblings. Good call on the cloaking shield, there is a demon her
e, he’s pretty big, and wreaks of burning ember, but he can’t see me. I’m going to keep it like that for now, I’ll let you know if I need help. She smiled as she heard Frankie respond that he was available if she needed him, or just wanted the company.

  This wasn’t her first visit to Sophia’s house, but it had been several months, anything could have changed. Sophia lived on the south side of the city, her townhouse was a corner unit with an open concept living and kitchen area which tricked you into thinking the space was bigger than it really was. There was no dining room, but the layout allowed for a small table with four chairs. Sophia lived alone so that was more than enough space for one person. The windows above the table overlooked a modest common area that was supposed to pass as a backyard. Overall the space was bright and clean, with charming touches that made it feel lived in and loved. Deb noticed toys on the floor and coloring book pages on the refrigerator. Those would be from Lucy, Sophia’s cousin Stella’s four-year old daughter. The pictures drawn by the child made Deb smile. They were renderings of two women and a child, with a park along the ocean in the background.

  “You might as well show yourself. I know you’re here.” The demon’s voice was low and raspy, more like a growl.

  Goosebumps rode the length of Deb’s arms, before she could respond she saw a figure come out of the doorway to the bedroom just opposite of where she was standing. The tall male turned right and made his way toward the demon still standing in front of the fireplace.

  “I should have known it was you, the stench of betrayal precedes you, Sentinel.” The demon turned and faced the approaching male.

  “Schlosser, I heard a rumor you were killed and sent back to Hell.”

  The demon laughed. “Don’t believe everything you hear.”

  “What are you doing in this woman’s house? Little off from what you normally chase, isn’t it? I mean she’s in the bathroom puking, but it’s not from pregnancy. She’s ill, cancer, not exactly your type.”