Conduit (10 page)

“Make
that three,” Riley replied, immediately shifting his gaze toward Lev.  “If you
think I’m leaving you to handle this by yourselves, you’re foolish.  Did you
not tell them I would be joining you?” he asked Evan. 

“Not
in so many words,” Evan said, purposely not looking at Lev.

“Gee,
I wonder why,” Lev muttered under his breath.  He could feel fresh waves of
fury spilling over him.  It was bad enough to think of putting up with this
Neanderthal through training.  Now they’d have to suffer his going with them,
probably watching their every move, eagerly waiting to remind them of their
failings.

As
if Evan needed any more reminders. 

Celia
took her place between Lev and Griffin.

“To
answer your question, the reason I have doubts in the success of your mission
is that while most
dybbuks
are unorganized accidents of existence, I
have a feeling that this is not the case. They are created by a botched
sojourn.  But in this case, I think the failed sojourns might have been
intentional. These creatures have a leader, and this leader is much stronger
than you are probably expecting—probably angelic in origin, if I’m not
mistaken.”

“And
just how often are you mistaken?” Lev retorted, folding his arms across his
chest.  “Evan, why is he here?  It’s not like we couldn’t have assumed there
was a supernatural leader.  He’s not telling us anything we don’t already
know.”

“That’s
a bold statement,” Riley replied calmly, “especially since you’ve barely let me
get a word in.”  He settled his hands on his hips, waiting.

“Seriously!” 
Lev glared at his father.  “This tool is the best you can do? This is all the
Upper Realm could spare to help us?”

“No,
I’m the only one willing to come down here because this is a mess the Upper
Realm had no hand in making.”  Now Riley wore a displeased frown, not that his
doing so mattered to Lev, who wanted to tell him what he could do with it.

“Then
maybe you need to go back and let us handle our own affairs.”  Lev stepped
closer, infuriated.

As
Celia watched the two of them grow more and more irate, she stepped toward her
brother, planning to intervene—at least until Evan caught her arm.

“Don’t,”
he said quietly.  “Let the two of them settle it however they need to so we can
all move on.”  He turned back to Riley.

“Yeah,
well, my leaving isn’t going to get the job done, and you don’t stand a chance
of finding Elizabeth without me.  Is that what you want?”
            Lev’s eyes widened.  Without warning, he charged, a low growl
rumbling through his entire body.

Riley
sensed it coming even before Lev moved.  Riley caught Lev’s head in the bend of
his arm, effectively immobilizing him.  Although Lev punched, Riley ignored the
flurry of fists coming at him like it wasn’t happening.  Lev simply didn’t have
room to do any damage.

As
Riley held him, a bored frown overtook his face, and he waited for Lev to wear
himself out.  Lev, however, fought on, regardless. Giving up wasn’t in his
nature.

“Let
me go!” Lev yelled, fury filling his voice.

“Not
until you stop this foolishness.  We’re supposed to be on the same team. 
You’re only delaying the search that much more.  I hope you know that.”

A
burst of renewed fury rushed through Lev, and he swung even harder, not that it
did any good.

Riley
frowned at Evan and Lev.  “This isn’t why I came.  It is a waste of time, and
we have little enough of that as it is.  The hour grows later than you think.” 
He thrust Lev from him, watching as the former angel stumbled backward and fell
unceremoniously to the ground.

Fury
flooded Lev’s face, and as he struggled to his feet, reaching for a sword, Evan
intervened.

“Lev,
that’s enough.”  Evan’s voice was even and calm—everything Lev wasn’t.

Wordlessly,
Lev stepped back, his face scarlet, and he would have charged again had Evan
not been there, refusing to move.  Lev would have to strike at him just to get
at Riley.

“Step
aside,” Lev growled, his fingers clenched white around the grip of the blade.

“That
will accomplish nothing.”  Although Evan’s hands rested at his sides, he stood
ready.

“You
act like this is just about me not towing the line, but there’s more going on
here, whether you refuse to see it or not.  This jackass is bad news.”

“Maybe,”
Riley countered, taking a deep breath, “but I’m the only jackass willing to
come down and help.  The sooner you get that through your head, the better off we’ll
all be.”

At
the sound of Riley’s arrogance, Lev bristled and peering at Evan one last time,
expecting his father would see things from his perspective.  When that didn’t
happen, Lev walked.

“I
can’t do this.  Maybe you don’t see it, but I do, and I’m not even an angel
anymore.”

When
Lev had reached the back door, Evan called to him. “You need to reconsider and
put aside whatever personal feelings you have right now.  This is important.”

Lev
whirled.  “You think I, more than anyone, don’t know that?  We’re talking about
Elizabeth here, but just because he says he’s from the Upper Realm doesn’t mean
that whatever he does or says is right.”

“And
what about the knowledge I have that can save her?” Riley asked, his voice
softening somewhat.  “Doesn’t that count?  Are you so completely focused on
salvaging your pride that you are willing to forgo any chance of saving the
person you claim to love more than any other?  Isn’t she worth the risk?”

Lev
bristled, his whole body wanting to rise to the challenge Riley seemed so
intent on serving, yet even as impetuous and angry as Lev was, he knew this
wasn’t the time to try to drag out whatever secrets he sensed lurking beneath
the veneer of the angel before him.  They were there, all right, waiting, and he
knew it wouldn’t be long until they saw the light of day, but trying to force
them to the surface wasn’t going to work.

“Never
speak of her again,” Lev said, a deadly calm seizing his voice.  “You know
nothing of love or sacrifice, especially not of the sacrifices I have made.”

While
Lev was sure some barbed comment would come out of Riley’s mouth, he didn’t
wait for it.  Instead, he grabbed the door handle and tugged it open so he
could slip inside.  He needed space to cool down, and he wasn’t going to find
it here, not considering Riley’s ego seemed to fill the entire backyard and how
no one could see it but Lev.  Two of them were immortal…and still obviously
blind. 

He’d
barely made it inside porch when Griffin appeared, catching the screen door
before it could slam.

“Where
are you going?”

“To
cool down,” Lev snapped.

“That’s
not going to help Lizzie,” Griffin argued.

In
a flash, Lev whirled, grabbed Griffin’s shirt and slammed him against the
wall. 

“Everyone
seems to think I don’t know this isn’t helping.  No one seems to get that Riley
isn’t right. There’s something off about him—something dark and hidden and
dangerous—yet everyone expects me to be okay with that and blindly follow his
lead.”

“I
don’t.”  Griffin didn’t bother fighting him, and that’s what made Lev release
him.  “Maybe there is something off about him.  I don’t know.  What I do know
is that he’s going to be there, trying to help whether you like it or not, and
if there is something bad in him, do you really want to be somewhere else
pouting when he finds her, considering that Evan and Celia both seem to trust
him?”

“This
isn’t happening,” Lev muttered, shaking his head.  “How is it possible my
father cannot see what’s right in front of him, glaring as daylight?”

 “He’s
looking for a solution, not another problem.  You ought to know that people,
and angels, often find what they are looking for.”  Griffin adjusted the neck
of the t-shirt where Lev had jacked him against the wall.  “Anyone ever tell
you your human temper is going to get you into trouble?”

“More
than once,” Lev admitted, starting to pace back and forth in front of the
house, still trying to figure out what to do.  Unfortunately, Griffin was
right.  No matter what he did, Riley would be there, and if Riley were there,
Lev had no choice but to be there, too.

“Maybe
we should just go back.  It’s not safe, what with all the
dybbuks
.  They
might have taken Lizzie, but that doesn’t mean they won’t still be trolling for
prey, and no offense, but while you were a kick-butt angel, I’m not sure you
could hold them off any better than I could.”

“Is
that supposed to make me feel better?” Lev curled his fingers to fists.

“No,
it’s supposed to make you want to come finish things.  You don’t have to like Riley;
you just have to let him teach you how to stay alive so you can get to Lizzie.”

Although
it was the last thing Lev wanted to admit, Lev knew his doing so would mean:
he’d have to venture back and eat crow.

Lev
swallowed his indignation. “Whatever,” he muttered. “Let’s go.”

Griffin
tugged open the door, still eyeing Lev distrustfully.

“Let’s
just get this over with,” Lev grumbled.

Satisfied,
Griffin slipped into the house bound for the back yard.  Lev followed, promising
himself he would be watching for Riley’s weaknesses just in case Lev’s
intuition held merit, which he already knew it was.  Riley was no savior, which
left Lev to wonder just what in hell he was.

Chapter Ten

Although
Lev hated every moment of training with Riley, he did his best to cooperate. 
Griffin’s words about Riley being there when Elizabeth was found kept replaying
themselves in his head, in a continual loop consumed him—fear that they
wouldn’t find her and fear that they would, just before everything went south.

Begrudgingly,
Lev did have to admit that while the testosterone junkie who was training him
had an annoying enough demeanor, he did seem to know what he was doing as far
as combat maneuvers and tactics, and that night he found his whole body tired
and achy.  He’d done the drills over and over—been the mindless soldier Riley
wanted. No, not wanted—expected.  Doing so was the only way he would make it
through until they got to Elizabeth. 

The
next morning, when Lev rolled out of bed, he wondered about the day ahead, and
the next week. How long would he be in this hell? How long could she wait? Was
it too late already? He didn’t want to think about that.

As
he dressed, there came a soft knock at his door.

“Come
in.”  He raked his fingers through his hair, trying to get it to lie down.

Evan
poked his head in.  “Time to go out back.”

“Of
course,” Lev mumbled, frustrated at starting out this day the same as the
previous one.  He wanted answers.  He wanted Elizabeth, not this useless
sameness which seemed to own him.  He opened his mouth to argue about needing
breakfast but decided against it.  He wasn’t hungry.  He hadn’t had much of an
appetite, and he didn’t see that changing until Elizabeth was found.

“I
don’t see why we have to do this again,” he snapped.  “We went over the
maneuvers for hours.”

“You’ll
find out.  I’ll meet you outside.”  Evan withdrew quickly and closed the door
behind him, shutting off any chance Lev might’ve had to argue.  Obviously Evan
was still so sure Riley would save the day, and Lev was still sure he’d see it
to ruin.  Only time would tell.

“All
right.  Let’s just see what Riley has up his sleeve today.”  Lev slipped on his
shoes and headed through the house to the back yard, where he found everyone
already waiting.

In
addition to those gathered, Lev also spotted three large wooden crates, which
puzzled him.  What exactly was Riley planning? Lev joined the group.

 “Well,”
Evan said, “it looks like everyone has finally made it. Let’s begin.”

“Great,”
Riley said.  “Let’s get warmed up, and then we’ll see how much of what you
learned yesterday you can put to good use.”

“Not
much,” Lev muttered, going through the motions of warming up, his gaze ever
lingering on Riley, waiting for him to drop whatever bombshell he was going to
drop.

Once
Riley was satisfied, he walked to one of the crates and rested his hand upon
it. He stared down at it, which made Lev greatly uncomfortable.

“Moment
of truth,” Riley said.  “I’ve taught you how to use the weapons.  Now I’m going
to give you a target to see how well you do.  The last thing we need is to get
in the middle of a mass and find out there’s a problem training could have
helped us avoid.”

“What
sort of target are you talking about?” Griffin asked, cocking his head to the
side.  He frowned at the crate, wondering what was inside.

“The
kind you’ll be fighting.”

Lev
held his breath as the realization of what was in those crates washed over him. 
Dybbuks
…probably contained in human form.  He thought back to the last
attack—the one that had cost Jimmie his life—and a streak of fear rushed over
him—fear and anger. 

Was
he ready?

It
didn’t matter one way or the other.  He just had to keep moving, to find a way.

“Arm
yourselves.”

Griffin
and Lev exchanged looks and reached for their swords.  Together, they assumed
the ready stance as Riley grabbed a crowbar from the ground nearby and began
prying up the lid. With two deft pulls, the lid sprang open.

Lev
took a deep breath as the
dybbuk
jerked itself to a sitting position and
climbed out of the crate.  As usual, the vacant stare gave the person consumed
by the
dybbuk
an almost zombie-like expression, yet even in that strange
vacancy, the eyes focused on Lev.  They narrowed slightly, pupils fixated. 
Then the
dybbuk
lunged at Lev.

Startled,
he staggered back and swung the sword, recovering as quickly as he could.  The
dybbuk
reached for him, fingers close to his heart, seeking it.  Lev kept falling
back, still swinging, yet regardless of how close he came to striking the
dybbuk
,
he never seemed to get it right.  Before Lev realized it, he slammed back against
a nearby tree, and still those hands reached out, trying to grab him.

Why
couldn’t he do this?  It should have been easy.  At one time, it would have
been.

He
did manage to get in another swing, and this time the blade tapped the
dybbuk
’s
chest.  Unfortunately, instead of really making contact with the monster, it
really just enraged it, catching Lev off guard.  It slammed its forearm against
the blade and shoved it away, breaking Lev’s grip.  The sword thumped to the
ground, uselessly shining in the morning light. 

The
dybbuk
’s hand kept coming, touching down on Lev’s chest.  The initial
contact felt like Lev had shoved his finger into a light socket—the pain tensed
his whole body, and he couldn’t move.

Suddenly,
Griffin’s sword impaled the
dybbuk
’s chest.  For a few seconds, the pain
continued searing through Lev, then the hand felt away, breaking the contact,
leaving Lev gasping for air and struggling not to fall.  Echoes of the pain
radiated in every muscle, and he tried to struggle to his feet, intent on
helping Griffin.  His body resisted, and he just ended up falling.

“Lev,
are you all right?”  Celia rushed over and grabbed him, pulling him upright. 
He looked at her, his vision blurred so that he saw three people instead of
one, and in addition to his sister being completely out of focus, everything
else was, too.

“The
dybbuk
,” he gasped, but even in his own ears, his voice sounded strange
and weak.

“Griffin
took care of him.  It’s all right.  Just close your eyes until you feel steady
enough again.  This will pass.”

Against
his will, Lev did close his eyes.  It was only because the spinning of the
world around him was making him sick, and he didn’t know how much more of it he
could take.  He was still panting and now felt a cold sweat breaking out on his
forehead and running down his temples.

Is
this what Elizabeth went through?
he wondered.  The horror of that thought left him reeling.  She’d been so weak
and unprotected.  How much of what had happened had she felt?  He didn’t know,
and what he didn’t know made him angry.

He
forced his eyes open, determined to get control of both his body and the
situation, which was a nightmare.  That was the only way he could get her back.

This
time, he saw only one of everything, and nothing moved.  Yes, he was still kind
of breathless, but at least he could stagger to his feet.  Of course, Celia was
ever present, trying to be helpful, not that he wanted any help.  He shouldn’t
have needed Griffin to fight his battle for him.  He should have been able to
do it himself, yet once again he’d failed, something at which he’d come to
excel.

“Are
you strong enough to stand?” his sister asked, concern tinting her voice.

“I’m
fine.  It was nothing.”  He tried to keep his voice even and batted at the
sweat on his forehead, wanting to erase any signs of how much he’d labored over
the attack.  He wasn’t stupid enough to think they’d believe nothing had phased
him, but he sure as Hades didn’t have to look weak, either.

“That
was nothing?” Riley said, cocking an eyebrow as he folded his arms across his
chest.  “Somehow I just don’t believe you.”

Lev
glared at him, wanting nothing more than to punch that gloating expression off
the angel’s face.  He had it coming. 

“You
can think what you want.  It doesn’t much matter to me,” he growled, averting
his gaze.

“Why
the hell can’t you just admit the truth?” Griffin sighed, his hand still
gripping the sword he’d used against the
dybbuk
earlier.  “It would save
us all a whole bunch of time and energy, you know?”

“Maybe
I am admitting the truth.”  Lev walked over and picked up his sword, his gaze
drifting to another crate.  Nothing like another round of pain, right?  Still,
he was determined to save face.

“No,
you’re not,” Griffin countered, pointing the sword at him.  “You forget that
the first
dybbuk
attack incapacitated me.  I know what you felt like,
and it’s not the picnic you seem to want to pretend it is.”

Lev
lifted his own sword and batted it at Griffin’s.  “I never said it was a
picnic.”

“No,
you said it was ‘nothing,’ which is actually far worse because, if it were
‘something,’ we could help you deal with it,” Celia said, looking at Evan. 
Clearly, she expected him to do something.  What, of course, was anyone’s guess.

“Look,
have you got another
dybbuk
in that crate, or is it just for
decoration?” He pointed the sword at the intact crate, waiting for an answer.

“Let’s
see, you weren’t ready for the first
dybbuk
, and you’d had a nice long
rest.  What makes you think you’re going to fare any better a second time
around?” Riley asked, his arms still folded across his chest.  “Face it.  You
need me.  You need the expertise I come with or you are going to fall flat on
your face.”

All
Lev could hear was the thunder of blood coursing through his veins, but even
though he knew the sword in his hands wouldn’t probably damage Riley even if he
could somehow get to the angel and strike him with it, such knowledge didn’t
curb the desire to actually do it.

Nothing
could curb that.  He detested Riley.

“Maybe
Evan thinks we need you.  I still think you’re just a balloon full of hot air,
waiting to spring a leak.”  Besides finding Elizabeth, Lev wanted nothing more
than to be the source of that leak one way or another.

“All
right.  Perhaps I should prove myself since you deem my services unnecessary.” 
He focused on Griffin.  “May I borrow your sword for a couple of moments?”

Griffin
glanced at Lev, frowning, and then shrugged as he handed the blade over. 
“Knock yourself out.”

“Not
likely,” Riley answered.  He nodded to Evan.  “Could you open that second crate
for me?”

“Sure.” 
Evan picked up the crowbar and jimmied the lid effortlessly.  It seemed he
barely moved at all, and suddenly the lid had been undone.

At
first the
dybbuk
didn’t readily emerge.  Lev thought,
Why don’t you
just charge it?
But he said nothing.  He’d already made a fool of himself. 
He didn’t need to repeat the performance in case anyone had missed it, so
instead he watched, his grip tightening on the pommel of the sword as he
thought of all the ways he’d handle the battle differently if it were him
standing there, waiting.

That
was just it.  He wouldn’t be waiting.  Waiting was stupid.

“Why
don’t you attack it?” Griffin asked, looking from the crate to Riley and back
again, waiting for something to happen.

“It’s
counting on my curiosity to draw me to the crate.  Then it will attack;
however, if I just wait it out, the
dybbuk
will have to try to emerge,
and that will put me in a better offensive position.”

Yeah,
right. That did so much for me,
Lev though, gritting his teeth.

Suddenly
the
dybbuk
popped its head up and out of the crate.  It was a girl with
long, dark hair.  Elizabeth.  Lev saw her face right as Riley swung the blade. 
It landed on her cheek.