The last keeper, p.9
The Last Keeper, page 9
“Penn, we need to talk,” Livy said and sat on the sofa. Penn nodded his head and sat in the wingback chair opposite her. “What did you do to me?”
“What do you mean?” Penn asked, his face the epitome of innocence.
“You know what I mean, but for the sake of my sanity, I’ll remind you. When we were looking for the grimoire and ring, I was in my parents’ room, overwhelmed by grief. I couldn’t concentrate on anything but the loss of them. Then suddenly, my mind cleared to nothing but finding what we needed. Did you cast a spell on me?”
Penn wiggled in his seat, a sure sign of guilt. “I didn’t do anything to you, but I did ask a friend to help you,” he explained. “Sem came and gave you clarity, pushing your grief back from your focus.” He sat forward and splayed his hands. “It was the only way to hurry things along. I’m sorry it had to be done.”
“It ‘had to be done?’ ” Livy lurched from the sofa to tower over him. “Are you kidding me? You took away my choice, my free will. How could you do that to me? After what we shared, I thought I meant something to you—at least, I hoped I did.” She crossed her arms over her chest to comfort herself. How could he do such a thing to her? All he’d had to do at the time was prompt her. She would’ve snapped out of it. She knew she would’ve.
“I want you to leave.” She pointed at the door. “I need some time to think, and I don’t want you around because you muddle my thoughts.”
“Livy, I’m sorry. I felt it necessary at the time, and I only did it for your own good. Didn’t you feel better?” Penn stood and closed the distance between them. “I do have feelings for you, very strong feelings, and I don’t think it’s a good idea to split up right now. You never know what’s lurking about. I can’t protect you unless I’m by your side,” Penn pleaded. He still didn’t get it. He didn’t get that what he’d done was wrong on so many levels. He felt like he’d done the wrong thing for the right reasons, and that didn’t sit well with Livy.
“Please, just go,” she said again and walked over to open the door. “I need to think.”
Penn reluctantly walked toward the door, but before he went across the threshold, he took Livy’s hand in his.
“Please be careful. You’re not safe. I’ll just be next door.” He released her hand and walked down the steps and the sidewalk toward his house.
Livy slammed the door closed before she could see whether he looked back at her or not. She didn’t need his puppy dog eyes working on her heartstrings. She was mad and hurt, and she had every right to be. How dare he! Just because he was a superior being didn’t mean he could control her or her emotions. She should have known better than to get involved with him, and what feelings she had were now under question. Had he made her feel those too? Had he seduced her and then manipulated her into position?
She knew better than to love. She’d lost everyone she’d ever loved, and now Penn was gone as well. She cursed herself for letting him in, for beginning to care for him. She’d thought she’d meant something to him. God, she was an idiot.
Realizing she was madder at herself than at Penn, Livy decided it was time for a much-needed nap. But first, she would eat a much-needed snack. She went into the kitchen and grabbed a box of instant noodles from the pantry. Two minutes later, she was enjoying them while standing at the patio doors admiring the backyard.
Alone.
Maybe alone was how she was meant to live. Now that she knew God truly existed, she wanted to ask Him why He saw fit to take her parents? Why leave her alone and so afraid of loving and losing someone that she pushed the perfect man away from her? She almost choked on a noodle at the thought of Penn being the perfect man for her. Yes, she had feelings for him, but his lying to her was a big problem. She hated liars, and part of her decided that it was all for the best. That she needed to shove him out of her life and get back to normal, whatever normal was.
She yawned and decided that everything would be clearer after some sleep. They’d barely napped the past three days, and she was exhausted.
She tossed her garbage in the bin and headed upstairs for a quick shower before bed.
****
Penn paced his basement floor. He couldn’t believe Livy had thrown him out, especially over something as trivial as a quick spell to allow her to concentrate. Surely, she was overreacting, but he was willing to give her some time to realize it. Being away from her was nerve-wracking, but in the end, it was for the best. He’d gotten too close to her, had gotten too involved with her.
Hell, he’d made love to her. Sem was going to kill him. Besides, he couldn’t be in love, wouldn’t be in love. It was a crime against humanity. It would be a crime against Livy. She’d be the only one in danger. Even after all the eons that had passed since the Great Flood, she’d be the one punished, and his conscience wouldn’t allow him to harm a human, much less Livy.
Oh, he had to face it—he was bad for her, and he should probably just pack up and head back home. After all, he’d completed his assignment and was needed back in Ireland. Those guys couldn’t turn a computer on without killing it.
He stopped pacing and took a seat in front of the big monitor. He slipped on his headset and hit up a video conference with Sem. After a few minutes, Sem’s face filled the screen, and Penn almost laughed out loud. His mohawk was dyed like a rainbow, and he wore a fluffy pink boa around his neck.
“What the fuck you laughin’ at?” Sem demanded, and his pierced eyebrows drew together.
“What are you wearing? And what did you do to your hair?” Penn asked.
“If you must know, Mr. Fashion Police, I’m spending time with my sister. She’s never dyed her hair or been to a slumber party, so I am obliging her and some of the rescued angels. After being frozen and tortured for eons, they deserve a little R & R.” Suddenly, Sem got entirely too close to the screen and scowled. “What’s wrong with you?”
And it was like the man’s gaze seared Penn’s soul. He didn’t know how to answer, so he fidgeted with his stress ball and squirmed in his seat. Here came the dangerous part. But, then again, Sem might take it easy on him since he was spending time with his beloved sister, and from the sound of feminine laughter in the background, Sem’s party was having a good time.
“Livy kicked me out,” Penn blurted.
“Why did she kick you out?” Sem sucked in a breath. “She found out that you had her spelled, didn’t she? I told you that women don’t like that shit. They’ll have us by the short and curlies and want to believe that we’ll toe the line. You fucked up but good, boy-o. I don’t feel sorry for you one bit.”
“That’s part of it, but not all, but you have to promise you’re not going to make a thing of it,” Penn said. “Even though I don’t understand what I did wrong, she still felt betrayed, and I’m not too comfortable with her being alone.”
“Oh, my fucking Dad, you didn’t,” Sem shouted, spraying a bit of spit on his screen. “Tell me you did not. Penn, you never—I never have to worry about you crossing that line, so please, please sweet baby jalapenos, tell me you did not sleep with her.”
“I can’t tell you that,” Penn murmured and continued pumping his stress ball. He could practically feel Sem’s rage. “I think I’m quite taken with her. I mean, I think I love her, Sem,” he admitted. “I’m so afraid she’ll be taken from me that I’ve decided to come back home and leave her be. The army is free. We don’t need her anymore, so she can go on with her life.”
“You’re a fucking idiot,” Sem accused softly. “If you love her, and I mean really love her, then there is nothing more sacred than having her as your mate. You can’t throw that away. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m pissed as fuck at you, but I understand. I’ve been there. You can’t run away from this, from her.” Sem sat back in his chair, bringing his monitor closer to him. “She’s already in danger. She’s the Keeper, for crying out loud. Are you ready for your next mission?”
“Don’t tell me,” Penn grumbled. “You want me to keep an eye on her.”
“Hell no,” Sem scoffed. “I want your ass to bring her back here. We need her on our side. Not to mention that I’d like to get a look at that grimoire. Now stop wasting time and get!” With that, he disconnected the call.
“Well, butter my butt and call me a biscuit.” Penn repeated a southern saying he’d heard on television. He had no idea how he was going to pull this off. He couldn’t just storm over there and demand she pack up her belongings, that they were moving to Ireland. She’d probably kick him in the bollocks. No, he’d give her tonight to rest and think. That’s what she’d asked for. Then tomorrow, he’d go over and grovel. Maybe she could explain why she got so angry and why what he’d done was so wrong. Perhaps if she realized he honestly didn’t know, she’d forgive him.
Tomorrow everything would change.
****
Livy toweled off and put on her comfy pajama pants and tank top. She felt better being clean of all the drama of the past few days. She felt lonely, but it was her own fault. She’d sent Penn away. Could it be that he didn’t understand why bespelling her was wrong? He was an angel. Maybe he didn’t know as much about mankind as she thought. Maybe she owed him an explanation.
She huffed. She was tired of all the maybes running through her mind. She was tired of Penn, tired of men, tired of angels. She just wanted to sleep. But guilt reared its ugly head. She reached over and grabbed her phone, setting the alarm for eight the following morning. That would give her plenty of rest. Then to appease her conscience, she sent a quick text to Penn.
—We need to talk. Can you come over about nine in the morning?—
The response came almost immediately. He must have been on his phone.
—Yes, we do need to talk. I’ll be there.—
She tossed her phone on the side table and pulled the comforter up to her nose. She inhaled the aroma of lavender and closed her eyes before the tears could form. The scent was fading, and she knew she’d have to wash and dry it again to put the smell back. That meant doing laundry, which was something she hated doing. But she was alone now, and everything was up to her. Responsibilities she’d never dreamed of were now hers.
Soul-weary, she sighed and rolled onto her stomach. She wished she could go to sleep and wake up to everything being different. She wished her parents were still alive. She wished she and Penn weren’t on the outs. She wished the apocalypse wasn’t pending, and she wished she wasn’t the great hero Penn made her out to be.
She wished he was with her right now, but she’d been the one to send him away, so it was her own fault she was alone right now. She could be snuggled up to his muscular body right now, but no, she’d gotten pissy and sent him home. She felt a deep connection with him, but was it love? She didn’t know. Couldn’t it be love? Again, she didn’t know. She’d sworn off love. Couldn’t they just have a physical attraction? Deep down, she knew the answer was “no.” She still wanted a family of her own, even though it meant putting her heart on her sleeve. She couldn’t go through life completely alone—not loving anybody. It wasn’t possible, and she’d been a fool to think otherwise. She made up her mind that she’d tell Penn in the morning. After giving him the chance to explain himself and her the chance to try and explain why it had been wrong, she’d tell him how she felt. She only hoped that he felt the same way.
With one last sigh, she shut her mind down and surrendered to the bliss that was sleep.
****
Livy awoke with her heart hammering in her chest and a fine sheen of sweat covering her entire body. She glanced at the clock, which said it was only two-thirty in the morning. She hadn’t been asleep long. She turned her lamp on and looked all around her room, searching for whatever had woken her up. Then something grabbed her by her leg and dragged her from the bed onto the floor. She landed with a resounding THUD! Her breath whooshed from her lungs, and she gasped like a fish out of water.
She kicked with both legs and swung her arms, lashing out in every direction, but nothing was there. She reached down to pry her leg free, and her hand was knocked away by an unseen force. Confused as to what was going on, she tried to get to the bedside table, to her phone. But whatever had her wouldn’t budge. Suddenly something hard hit her in the back of the head, and she almost lost consciousness. The knock was hard enough to render her loopy, and she stopped fighting, her body going limp.
A loud POP! resounded, and then she was being dragged toward her closet. She didn’t have the energy to struggle. Where am I being taken? Who is taking me there?
“Please,” she begged, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Please let me go. Who’s there? Who are you? Why can’t I see you?”
But nobody answered her. The force lugging her stopped, and suddenly the scene in her closet split down the middle. It was like someone had ripped a photo of the inside of her closet in half. Then she was being pulled through the split. Her bedroom scenery changed to that of an empty desert. The heat blasted her square in the face, instantly evaporating the tears flooding her eyes. Her chest squeezed causing her breath to come in shallow bursts as she was dragged across an invisible threshold. Once through, she gasped heavily.
“No!” she screamed, coming to herself and regaining her strength. “No, let me go!” She started struggling again. The unseen force had absconded with her quickly and without much of a fight. It had hit Livy hard enough to render her useless, and she was disgusted with herself for not fighting any harder. Well, she would fight now.
Suddenly, the force released her. Livy wasted no time rising to her feet, and she turned to run in the flash of a second, but she slammed into an invisible wall that knocked her back on her ass.
“Ah, He will be pleased,” came a male voice from behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and almost screamed again. She shook from head to toe.
Her eyes roamed over the creature that stood behind her, his torso that of a human, but the head of a bull, complete with long, black horns protruding from his forehead. His legs were that of a horse or cow, and they ended in hooves. Smoke tendrils wafted from his flared nostrils, and red beady eyes stared down at her.
“Oh my God,” Livy murmured and scrambled to her feet, facing the monster.
“Not even close,” the creature said and laughed. “You can call me Beleth. I control over eighty-five legions of demons. You can thank the shadow demon who delivered you if you can find him.” With that, he let out a high-pitched laugh that filled the air and hurt Livy’s ears.
Livy turned and tried to run, but her legs wouldn’t carry her. She was too afraid. She wished Penn had stayed with her. She wished she hadn’t made him go home. God, she wished her life was normal instead of this.
“Where are you taking me?” she asked the bull creature. “What do you want with me?”
“I’m taking you to our master. He is the one who wants you. Now, no more questions.” He reached out and took her by the arm, his grip firm and unyielding, and dragged her through the rough terrain.
Livy studied her surroundings just in case she managed to get free. The sky was a sickly gray color, giving everything around them a depressing appearance. Rocks and scraggly grass were sporadically spread amongst the harsh dirt. Her feet were going to be raw by the time they made it to wherever they were going.
There were no trees. It looked like she’d entered a post-war zone. She was on her own, and she needed to get her act together.
Chapter 10
Penn jerked awake and looked over at his clock. It read three a.m., the devil’s hour. His sixth sense told him that something had happened, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what.
Update, please. He mentally called through the Grigori party line. Many groans and curses came through until, finally, Sem quieted everyone.
There’s nothing new to report, Penn. What’s happening on your end?
I don’t know. I just awoke out of a dead sleep knowing something was wrong.
Well then, check on your girl and then go back to sleep. That’s an order.
“So much for him being a big help,” Penn muttered out loud. He threw the covers from his body and rose to get dressed knowing there’d be no more sleeping for him tonight. He grabbed his phone off the dresser and dialed Livy. She didn’t answer, and his heart hammered in his chest. Had something happened to her? He wasn’t going to wait around and find out.
He rushed from his house and headed next door. Thankful they hadn’t replaced the glass pane he’d busted next to the door, he slipped his arm through and unlocked her door. He pushed the door open and eased inside, wary of a flying frying pan. It was pitch black downstairs, so he felt his way to the stairwell.
“Livy?” he called up the stairs. “You didn’t answer your phone, so I came over to check on you. Are you all right?” No answer came, and his heart lumped into his throat. He took the stairs two and three at a time until he stood before her bedroom door. It was wide open, and he saw that her bed was empty.
“Livy?” he called again and walked into her room. Penn looked at her lamp and saw that the power was still off. Her bedcovers were dragged from the bed with half of them on the floor. He checked the bathroom and then stood in the middle of her room at a loss for words or action.
She was gone. Something had happened to her, and he wasn’t there. He didn’t protect her like he’d vowed to do. Was he too late? There had to be a trail. He just needed to focus on the clues. He turned in a circle, taking in the room at large, and a sparkle from the closet had his stomach clenching in rage and fear.
Something or someone had dragged her into the Nether, and there was no way he could follow alone. He needed help.
She’s been dragged into the Nether, my guess, by a demon. I need a team to go after her.
