Chapter Fourteen

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

For a mere moment, her thoughts blanked as her fuzzy mind struggled to process what she was seeing. Her demon stared, equally stunned. Then reality slapped them both hard, sobering Khloé in an instant. Panic quickly kicked in, and with it came a shot of pure adrenaline.

She planted her feet as power hummed in her belly, eager to be released. She gladly gave it what it wanted. The flickering blue/ amber electric flames crackled and hissed as they sliced through the air and lashed the intruders like whips.

Three corpses collapsed, their bodies jerking as shockwaves coursed through them. Even so, Enoch was able to make them conjure hellfire orbs and throw them Khloé’s way. Bastard.

Wicked fast, she slammed the orbs with a wave of electric fire that sent them crashing into the wall hard enough to make the plaster crack. A picture frame crashed to the floor, and glass shattered.

Keenan!she telepathically yelled, remembering her promise. I could use a little help here, she told him, slinging balls of hellfire at the intruders, aiming to blind them so she could cut off Enoch’s ability to use them. More of his puppets stumbled past the fallen and began to shuffle out of the kitchen, their steps slow and awkward.

Keenan’s mind brushed hers, vibrating with urgency. What’s happening?

Short version: dead people broke into the house through the back door. I took out a few of them, but there’s at least half a dozen still here.

Keenan swore. I’ll have someone teleport me to you; sit tight.

Oh, there’d be no sitting. She needed to deal with these fuckers. Her demon was furious that its enemy had not only penetrated its home and launched an attack, but that said enemy wasn’t physically within reach.

Khloé ducked as a series of hellfire orbs came flying at her at an incredible speed. The first two missed. The third grazed her temple; it was like the slice of a hot blade. The fourth orb rammed into her thigh and, fuck, the searing hot pain almost sent her to her knees.

The hellfire ate the denim of her jeans and scorched the skin beneath, making it sizzle and blister and burn like a motherfucker. Her demon’s fury hit a whole new level.

She could smell her flesh burning, but that horrid scent was nothing compared to the nauseating smell of dead flesh burning. It was like someone was roasting rotten meat. Her stomach rolled, and she would have gagged if she wasn’t so busy fending off Enoch’s puppets.

She swiftly sidestepped another orb, gritting her teeth as the move aggravated her thigh wound. Seething as much as her demon, she tossed a succession of hellfire balls at the heads of the corpses, aiming for their eyes, blinding some but only wounding others.

Fuck, I can’t get inside your house, growled Keenan.

She tensed. What?

There’s a translucent shield surrounding it—my teleporter can’t bypass it.

Shit, shit, shit.

Collapse the shield, he added.

I can’t unless I can see it. Right now, I need to knock down the people coming at me. She sent out a wave of electric fire strong enough to knock all the corpses down like bowling pins. Those she’d blinded stayed down, but the others awkwardly struggled to stand.

We’ll keep trying to get inside.

Okay. But she had absolutely no confidence that they’d manage to penetrate it.

Khloé fired a series of electric-fire “bullets” out of her hand. Skulls burst and brain matter splattered on the floor as corpses toppled to the ground. But others only jerked as the bullets sank harmlessly into non-vital body parts.

As she’d already learned, it wasn’t so simple to incapacitate people who were already dead. Especially since, even while they were jerking with electric shockwaves or suffering from horrific burns, Enoch—completely unaffected by their injuries—could still use them to attack her.

Khloé inhaled sharply as a hellfire orb smacked into her chest, almost winding her. She hissed through her teeth at the blazing pain. “Fuck this shit.”

Shelving the pain as best she could, she kept on fighting. Enoch upped the ante, using his puppets to throw balls of hellfire and even a few psychic slaps that stung like a bitch. But it wasn’t much longer before all the corpses were flat on the ground, to her demon’s utter satisfaction.

Walking toward the only body that was still moving, Khloé said, “And then there was one.”

Enoch glared at her through his puppet’s eyes. He couldn’t attack her again, since the corpse’s arms had all but disintegrated, courtesy of the amount of hellfire it had been hit with. “It is only a matter of time before you are dead,” he said, the words weak and garbled.

Her demon hissed, but Khloé gave him an “oh you’re so cute” smile and said, “Sweetie, you don’t get to be so cocky when you’re too chicken shit to come out and face me yourself. Hiding behind corpses? I guess I should feel flattered that you fear me.”

His upper lip curled. “I fear no one.”

“Yeah? Prove it. Come face me.” With that, she sank a bullet of electric fire into the corpse’s head.

Sighing, Khloé glanced around. What a fucking mess. Her hallway floor was littered with pieces of skull and brain, and blistered, battered bodies—many of which were leaking slushy brain matter out of their noses, mouths, and ears.

The front door flew open, and Keenan rushed inside with several others hot on his heels. He went to grab Khloé, but one look at her injuries made him halt. “Jesus, fuck,” he bit out.

Khloé peered down at the ugly wounds. “I’ve had worse. The hellfire isn’t eating at my skin anymore.” The pain was still unreal, though. “If Enoch popped his shield up around my house, he couldn’t have been far away.”

“Which is why I have several members of my Force searching the area,” said Jolene, her eyes scanning the space. Power rippled through the air. The windows rattled. The walls shook. Vibrations hummed through the ground.

“Grams, please don’t huff and puff and blow my house down,” said Khloé.

Her grandmother turned to her and exhaled heavily; the disturbance slowly eased off. She strode toward Khloé, her face creased in concern. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”

“No, she’s fucking not,” Keenan snapped. His gaze, so cold and hard, swept over the remains of the corpses. “It’s a good thing you’re so damn powerful, because the bastard sent a small goddamn army. Were the corpses already here when I first telepathed you?” His unnaturally calm voice was coated in so much ice she was surprised the air didn’t fog.

What, he thought she’d tried battling them herself for a short while? “No. They burst through the door after I finished in the bathroom. I telepathed you mere moments later. But thanks for assuming I broke my promise.”

He closed his eyes and let out a long breath. “I didn’t assume that, I just—”

“Forget it, it’s not important right now. Grams, I don’t recognize any of these people. Do you?”

“No, none.” Jolene licked her lower lip. “You know, I’m glad Enoch’s not easy to kill. Because it will be glorious to hurt him badly over and over and over … and not have to worry that he’ll die too soon. Don’t you agree?”

Khloé pursed her lips. “Actually, I kind of do.”

Since no one could stand the putrid stench a moment longer, they all got the hell out of there and walked to Jolene’s house. They gathered around the Prime’s kitchen island as she barked orders down the phone to her sentinels. Ciaran, Beck, and a few others soon arrived.

Khloé almost fell off her stool when Harper, Knox, and Levi showed up. Apparently, Keenan had telepathically filled them in on what had happened—something he hadn’t cared to share with the rest of the class. She shot him a glare, but he only stared at her, his jaw clenched so tightly shut she figured he had to be in pain.

He was being uncharacteristically quiet, which was a tell-tale sign that his black temper was riding him hard. He never trusted himself to speak when he was so exponentially pissed.

Knox and Levi kept flicking him looks, as if waiting for him to blow, while Harper launched into an “Enoch needs to die” tirade. The whole time, the sphinx patted Khloé’s back gently … like she was traumatized or something.

Khloé batted her hand away. “I’m fine.”

Harper glowered at her. “I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

Khloé rolled her eyes. “All my injuries are healing, so stop stressing.”

“Did anyone think to try stabbing Enoch’s shield with the blade?” Knox asked no one in particular.

Having ended her call, Jolene said, “I tried. It didn’t work. Are you sure it will permanently kill him?”

“Absolutely positive,” replied Knox.

“But it’s useless to us if he won’t surface,” Ciaran pointed out.

Beck began handing out steaming mugs of coffee. “He’s going to keep coming after you, Khloé. And he’ll probably send even more corpses next time.”

“Maybe,” she said, cradling a hot cup with both hands. “I challenged him to come at me directly.”

“He won’t do that,” said Beck. “Using corpses is a low-risk method of attack for him—he’ll keep on doing it until you’re dead.”

“You shouldn’t be alone at your house anymore, Khloé,” said Ciaran. “He’s attacked you there twice now. Either I move in with you, or you move in with me.”

Not going to happen. “We’d kill each other within forty-eight hours. You know that. And I’m not staying with anyone else either. I can think of something better.”

Harper folded her arms across her chest. “Such as?”

“Staying in one of the Underground hotels.” Khloé sipped at her coffee. “Enoch doesn’t seem willing to come after me in person. If he sends corpses to the Underground, they’ll be destroyed by the doormen. He could pay someone to teleport them down there, yes, but they’d be seen and obliterated by any demons who came across them. Enoch will have to then come for me himself. So not only will staying in an Underground hotel help keep me safe, it’ll help bring him out into the open.”

Levi blinked. “That is a good plan. And it might just work. If nothing else, you’ll be safe from his zombie friends there.”

“Knox and I have a penthouse suite in the hotel across the road from Urban Ink,” said Harper, her arms slipping to her sides. “You could stay there until all this blows over.”

“Works for me.” Khloé had been to the penthouse several times. She and the girls mostly went there just to change from work clothes into dresses-worthy-of-a-bar-crawl before having a girls’ night out.

“I’ll be staying there with you,” Keenan told her, his voice still glacier cold.

Yeah, she’d figured he’d say that. She’d have demanded the same if their situations were reversed. “Fine,” said Khloé. Sex on tap sounded good to her.

“I like the idea of you staying in the penthouse,” said Jolene. “Even if Enoch manages to slip past the doormen guarding the entrance of the Underground, he’ll have a hell of a time bypassing the hotel’s security and gaining access to the penthouse. Even I had trouble breaking into it.”

Harper glared at Jolene. “You broke into my penthouse?”

Jolene gave an unapologetic shrug. “I was merely testing the security measures.”

Harper opened her mouth wide, looking like she might verbally lay into the woman, but then she shook her head and turned back to Khloé. “Knox and I will get you settled there before we head home. I won’t be able to relax until I know you’re safe.”

“I’ll teleport you back to your house so you can pack some stuff.” Ciaran stood. “Are members of the Force still there cleaning up the mess, Grams?”

Jolene nodded. “It will no doubt take them a while.” Her face softened as her gaze slid to Khloé. “We won’t let this—Enoch—taint your home, sweetheart. He doesn’t get to have that power. Before you go anywhere, you need to call both your parents and tell them what happened tonight.”

Fuck, those conversations wouldn’t go well. “I’ll do it when I’m packing my stuff.”

Of course, both her parents lost their mind on hearing that Enoch had struck again. They both also tried convincing her to stay with them for a while, but they eventually conceded that staying in the Underground would be a better option.

Keenan came with her to her house while she packed, but he didn’t say a word. Nor did he speak when, as promised, Harper helped her get settled into the penthouse. It really was gorgeous with the shiny marble flooring, the stylish custom furnishings, the unique artwork, and the floor-to-ceiling windows. It was also as freakishly clean as Khloé’s home, so that was enough to make it feel homey for her.

Khloé doubted she’d make use of the gym during her stay—she was far too lazy for that. But she’d be happy to try out the sauna at some point.

As the couple were leaving, Knox said, “If you need anything, if there’s a problem of any kind, press this.” He gestured at a button on the keypad attached to the entryway wall. “It will alert the hotel staff. You probably won’t need to, of course, given that you’ll have Keenan with you.” He looked at the sentinel, who was staring out of the window overlooking the Underground.

“Sleep well,” said Harper, giving Khloé a quick hug. “See you tomorrow, Keenan.”

The couple then stepped into the elevator, which soon began to descend.

Khloé turned and walked into the living area, her feet dragging. God, she was dog tired. Which was unsurprising, given that she’d expended a whole lot of psychic energy tonight. “I need to go shower and clean my wounds—I’m sure you’ve noticed I absolutely reek,” she said to Keenan’s back.

He slowly turned to face her, and his eyes swept over her injuries again. He crossed to her, tension in every line of his body. A sense of helplessness poured off him, making her chest ache.

He skimmed his hand up her arm. “I hate seeing you wounded,” he said, his voice thick with suppressed anger. “It makes me want to kill.”

“Yeah, me too.”

He rested his forehead on hers and closed his eyes. “I couldn’t get to you.” He almost choked on the words. “You kept your promise, you called out to me. But I couldn’t do my part and get to you.” Guilt dripped from his voice.

She loosely fisted his shirt with one hand while combing her fingers through his hair. “That wasn’t your fault.”

Shame snaking through his system, Keenan opened his eyes. “You could be dead now. Worse, you could be one of Enoch’s fucking puppets.” Just the thought of her shuffling toward him, her eyes empty, her face pale and slack, made his stomach lurch.

There would have been only one thing that Keenan could have done for her—destroy her, just as she’d destroyed those other corpses tonight. But it would have killed something inside him to do it. Something that never would have healed.

Khloé was laughter and mischief and life. Enoch was intending on snuffing that out. The worst of it was … Enoch could do it without ever again touching her, because she was already ill, and it was getting worse.

Every moment of every day, it played on his mind that she was riddled with a fucking infection—one he had no way of fighting. Not without divine help. Literally. And so far, he’d had no luck getting it for her.

He felt like he was letting her down. Felt like the biggest fucking failure. What good was all his power and training if he couldn’t protect the person who mattered most to him?

His demon didn’t do “guilt,” so it felt none of the shame that assailed Keenan. But the entity was all eaten up by the powerlessness that taunted them both. It had no intention of losing Khloé but, like Keenan, it could almost feel her slipping away.

Earlier, he’d paced outside her house with the others who’d gathered there on noticing the shield. He’d struck it with power over and over, but the shield hadn’t once faltered. Not even when he, Jolene, and the sentinels worked together to try taking it down. They’d needed Khloé for that—the person inside it.

“You have no reason to feel guilty, Keenan. Nothing that happened tonight was on you. What went down was bad, I know, but you’re missing the positives. His plan was an epic failure. He didn’t manage to trap me. He didn’t manage to kill me via his puppets or even severely wound me. I saw how much that infuriated him when I spoke to him—the defeat was hard for him to take.

“We have a better chance of making him surface again now. If he comes at me directly, we’ll all be waiting for him. And, more importantly, I’ll have the blade with me—Grams even gave me a knife sheath to strap on my thigh so that I can carry the blade at all times, but I prefer tucking it inside my boot. He doesn’t know about the knife yet, which gives us an advantage.”

Keenan curved his hand around the side of her neck. “It should make me feel better, but it doesn’t. You’re forgetting one very important thing. If he manages to rip that blade from your hand and stab you with it, there’ll be no healing your wound. The steel is fatal to all demons—that’s the only reason it can kill him.”

A line creased her brow, and he could see she hadn’t thought of that. “But I’m more at risk from dying at his hand if I don’t get rid of him fast,” she said. “There’s only so many times he and I can do the same dance before he gets lucky and manages to kill me.”

“I know. That’s exactly why, from now on, I’ll be shadowing you whenever you go somewhere. No, don’t argue. I know you’re powerful, and I know it’ll be hard for him to get to you here. But I won’t be able to function if I don’t at least escort you from place to place. I don’t trust anyone else to protect you as vigorously as I will.” He stroked his thumb down the column of her throat. “Give me that peace of mind. I need it.”

She would have fought him on it, but she could see that he really did need it. And since it wasn’t as big of a deal to her as it was to him, she sighed and said, “I don’t think it’s necessary, but fine. You want to follow me around, knock yourself out. But don’t whine when you get bored.”

“You’re many things, Khloé, but you’re never boring.”

“Why, thank you.”

He took her hand. “Come on, let’s get you cleaned up.”

*

Khloé ambled along the footpath, passing house after house after house. All looked the same, just like every car and driveway and lawn looked the same.

It was the house at the end of the street she needed to reach, but itseemed so far away. She sped up, eager to get there. But the street seemed to stretch and elongate, keeping the house away from her. She walked faster and faster but couldn’t seem to get any closer to it.

She began to jog and slipped her hand into her pocket. No key. She’d lost it. Which meant she’d only get inside if Penelope let her in.

Khloé slowed as she noticed a man lounging on the roof of a car up ahead. Realizing it was Enoch, she hissed.

He turned his head and pinned her with his gaze, smiling. “I’ll bet you’re pleased with yourself, aren’t you, Miss Wallis?”

“Pleased?”

“Well, you killed all those people I sent your way.”

“They weren’t exactly people.” But he was not getting that. “I made their state of death more final, though, yeah. And I think they would have thanked me for it. But since I destroyed the corpses of people who’d never done a damn thing to me, no, I’m not pleased.” She planted her feet. “I’d much rather fightyou. But you’re hardly ever around.”

“I was at every attack.”

“Not always bodily.”

Humor lit his eyes. “And you think that means I fear you.”

“No. I think you want to draw this all out as long as you can; make us suffer as you feel that you’re suffering.”

He gave a slow clap and sat up. “Clever girl.”

“But you’re still a chicken shit.”

He stiffened but didn’t drop his smile. “Really?”

“Well, it’s not like I can actually kill you for good. You could fight me in person and survive it just fine. Instead, you use puppets.”

“It hurts to die, and then I’m weak for days until my body regrows—not something I enjoy. Why not get my revenge from the comfort of a chair?”

She tilted her head. “You really think Molly would want you to do this? To turn on your lair? To try to kill the sister of one of her best friends? To live as a stray and always be looking over your shoulder?”

Fury flashed across his face. “I think she’d rather bealive. Butyour grandmother killed her. Jolene will die soon, too. And she’ll die at your decomposing hands, but not before she’s felt the pain of your passing. We’ll see just how easy it is for her to accept someone she loves is dead; we’ll see if she can bring herself to destroy her resurrected granddaughter.”

“Jolene didn’t kill your little girl. Molly was already gone.”

“No, she wasgone after you sliced through the shield that protected her, leaving her vulnerable. I couldn’t keep my psychic grip on her after that. I lost her. And it is something that both you and your grandmother will pay for.”

He conjured a black orb and tossed it at Khloé so fast she couldn’t dodge it. It crashed into her head and—

Khloé’s eyes snapped open, and she clenched the coverlet hard as her surroundings sank in. There was no pain, no Enoch, no street, no black orb. Instead, she was lying on the luxurious bed in the penthouse’s guest bedroom.

Beside her, Keenan curled an arm around her waist and drew her close. “You all right?” he asked, his voice thick with sleep.

“Yes. It was just a shitty dream.” And yet not entirely a dream. Enoch had invaded her sleep again. Was it another distraction so that he could send in his puppets?

She reached out with her mind and scanned the penthouse. Aside from Keenan’s, there were no other minds present, demonic or otherwise.

Keenan slid a hand up her back. “What was the dream about?”

She hesitated, not wanting to worry him.

“Khloé.”

She sighed. “I think Enoch went for a stroll through my dreams again.” She relayed what happened. “He’s obviously pissed and needed to vent a little.”

“It’s more than that. He doesn’t want you to feel safe. He wants to make you feel that he can get to you anywhere, anyplace—even in your dreams.”

“Huh. Never thought of it like that.” Khloé blew out a breath and rubbed a hand down her face. “I’m not going to be able to get back to sleep.” In all honestly, she was reluctant to drift off in case he went strolling into her dream again. Plus, her demon was too restless to settle any time soon, and its edginess would keep her awake.

Keenan tossed back the covers. “Then let’s go make some coffee. I’ll ask Levi to contact his incantor friend, Ella, and see if there’s a way to block Enoch from entering your dreams.”

Khloé lifted her brows. “Do you think it could be done?”

“There’s only one way to find out.”