Conduit (13 page)

            “Look over there.”  Celia
pointed across the highway at a dilapidated factory just as deserted as the gas
station.  Lev had to admit it had promise.

            “You may be right,” Lev
agreed quietly and pulled in beside Griffin.

            “Thanks for that vote of
confidence, big brother.”  She shook her head and folded her arms over her
chest, obviously annoyed.

            “It does look like the
perfect hideaway, doesn’t it?” Lev asked, torquing the key from the ignition
and opening his door.  He grabbed for the bag he’d been given, but as he
started to get out, Celia grabbed his arm.

            “And what do you think
you’re doing?”
            “You don’t think we’re going to need weapons?”

            Celia shook her head.  “While
there might be
dybbuks
around here. I don’t see them coming out in broad
daylight.  Once the sun goes down, yes, but not now.  They aren’t as strong
during the day.  Besides, if someone sees you with that, it’s going to cause
more problems when they call the cops.”

            “I’d still rather have a
weapon.”  His hand drifted absently across his chest where the
dybbuk
had touched him. Celia glared at him unblinkingly.

            Reluctantly, Lev sighed. 
As he shoved the keys into his pocket, he followed Celia to where the others
had gathered.  At their approach, Riley suddenly disappeared, and immediately,
Left felt his chest tighten, and his breath quickened.

            “Where’d he go?”  Lev’s
heart hammered in his chest.

            “He’s taking a quick look
around to try to get a feel for whatever we’re walking into.”

            “And you let him go
alone,” Lev seethed.  “Wouldn’t it have been better if you’d just gone with
him?”

            Evan offered a pointed
stare. “He’ll tell us what we need to know.” 

           
Or whatever he thinks
we need to know,
Lev thought.  Still, despite his anger and frustration with
his father’s obvious confidence in Riley, he said nothing aloud.  There was no
point.  What was done was done.

            In spite of Lev’s
silence, Celia must’ve guess his thoughts as she nudged him with her elbow and
shot him a warning glance.

            He stared defiantly.

            Griffin cleared his
throat and kicked at a dandelion flowering up amid a crack in the concrete,
along which numerous other weeds had found places to bloom as well.  He carefully
avoided looking at Lev.

           
Great,
Lev thought.
Trust the cocky angel instead of me, Elizabeth’s boyfriend, who was willing
to sacrifice everything he was just to save her life.
  His body stiffened with
outrage.  He’d loved her more than anything, yet when it all came down to it,
the very sacrifice he’d made had transformed him into something fallible and
broken—a human capable only of disappointment and failure.

            The silence flourished
around them, and Lev suspected that because of his inability to embrace and
trust Riley, he had, in essence, become the elephant in the room, and there was
nothing he could do about it, so he tried to distract himself by taking in the
features of the landscape—a deserted station with tarmac so cracked it looked
like some weird landscaping experiment gone wrong, edged in by tall grass and
overrun with clusters of dandelions and milkweed.  A few butterflies fluttered here
and there in apparent search of something even they didn’t know they lacked.

            A smile touched Lev’s
lips despite the situation, and he forced himself to peer out from amid the
stand of trees they’d hidden themselves behind toward the factory, a dark brick
structure decorated with both tagging and graffiti in a wide array of colors.  Its
numerous windows had either been long since shattered.  Three decades ago, or
thereabout, the building might’ve been new, but not now.

            Its deserted parking lot appeared
green, as many weeds had overtaken the concrete there, too.  Litter had blown
into the area and the wind still clutched at the debris, whirling it around
like bits of large snowflakes.  A feeling of desertion and decay lingered—the
air of forgottenness.

            Nothing moved.  Nothing
stirred.

            Lev wondered perhaps if
Riley were wrong—or worse, could it be a trap?  While that thought seized him,
trying to overpower him, he resisted going that far, saying his imagination was
just getting away from him.  It was one thing to admit he didn’t like Riley. 

            What if Riley actually
could give him a chance he desperately needed?

            Still staring, Lev didn’t
sense Riley’s return and was startled when the angel appeared beside him.

            “It’s quiet now,” Riley
said, “but there’s definitely a bunch of
dybbuks
in there.  If I’m
right, there’s probably an angel, too, and I don’t want to get close enough to
give us away.”

            “How do you know?” Lev
asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

            “I saw the
dybbuks
,
and while I can’t be sure of the number, when I peered in at the windows—at
least as much as I could—I saw five.”

            “And Elizabeth?”  Lev
felt his heart speed up.

            Riley slowly shook his
head.  “I saw
dybbuks
, nothing more.”

            Lev felt a surge of anger
well up inside him, burning along with the pain.

            “Then why are we here?” Lev
exploded.  Even he still buried his hands in his pockets, he felt his fingers
curling into fists, and he longed to hit something—anything—and would’ve had he
thought it’d make him feel better, but deep down, he knew the only thing that
was going to make a difference was finding Elizabeth, so there was no point.

            They all stared at him like
he’d gone mad.  Perhaps he had.

            “Because, even if she
isn’t here, I’m willing to bet one of them knows where she is, and that will
tell us where to go next.”

            “So what’s the plan?”
Griffin asked, staring past Lev at Riley.

            “We attack now.  I’d
planned to wait because even though the location is isolated, we can’t risk any
human interaction.  Still, the
dybbuks
appear to be resting, unaware we
are here.  We have the element of surprise, and with any luck, we might be able
to save some of the hosts because they aren’t prepared.”

            Evan nodded grimly. 
“Let’s do it, then.”

Chapter
Thirteen

            “So how are we going to
do this?” Celia asked, focusing on Riley in the same way she used to look at
Lev for guidance and clarification.

            “We need to split up.” 
Riley pointed at Lev and Evan.  “You two go together to the back door.”  He
turned to Celia.  “You take Griffin to the north side of the building and try
to gain entry there.  The more different ways we can attack, the better.”

            “And you’re going to be
doing what while all this is happening?” Lev demanded, his voice rising
impatiently.

            “Causing a ruckus at the
front door to cover all of you.”  He cocked an eyebrow.  “Have you got a
problem with that?”

            Although Lev opened his
mouth, prepared to shoot off some smart-assed answer, he realized everyone was
staring at him as though his stupid mortal temper held them back. He swallowed
the anger, but its bitter taste wouldn’t leave him. Still, he couldn’t keep
going like this, not without derailing everything.

            “No, no problem.  You’re
the one leading the show, not me.”  His back and shoulders stiffened, and Lev
wished he were the one in charge, which was where he should’ve been all along—in
charge and not trapped in this human body, making every possible mistake. Lev averted
his gaze, feeling the tension worsen by the moment.  “Looks like I’ll be
needing that sword.”

            “Yeah,” she managed.  “Guess
you will.”  Frowning, she locked gazes with him, and he felt the weight of her
stare might push him into the ground—bury him there.  She was worried, and he
wished he knew what to say to make her feel she could believe in him again.

            “Let’s go.”

            From the corner of his
eye, Lev saw Griffin glance his way before walking back to his vehicle for his weapon. 
Rolling his shoulders, Lev did the same, yet even though Lev thought that arming
himself would make him feel better, stronger, it didn’t, not when so many
doubts and fears rushed through him, clouding his mind.

            Was he ready?  He didn’t know,
but ready or not, it was upon him, and there wasn’t a thing he could do to put
it off any longer.

            As the two rejoined the
group, Lev’s gaze wandered back to the building.  He hoped, in the space of a
few minutes, their lives would change for the better, that maybe he would have
Elizabeth back in his arms and could ease the suffering she’d endured and somehow
refashion their life together and that that life would be as strong as it had
before—stronger, maybe.

            “Everyone ready?” Riley
asked, his gaze travelling over the small group, searching for signs of
dissention.  When none came, he nodded.  “All right.  Move out.”

            Both Lev’s grip tightened
on his sword and he saw sunlight flash on Griffin’s blade as well.

As Riley circled the trees, Griffin and Celia followed.  Evan
nodded for Lev to proceed, and the older angel pulled up the rear.  Once around
the trees, Riley broke into a run, forcing the others to do the same. 
Obviously, he didn’t want to be spotted and lose what little element of
surprise they had.

            As soon as they’d neared
the building, Riley eyed Celia.  Probably, he was communicating via thoughts,
and whatever he’d said, she nodded, gently grabbing Griffin’s arm to guide him
off to the right.  Once they’d headed off, Riley turned to Lev and his father. 
He was giving them all time to get to their destinations before he started his
ruckus, leaving them no choice but to go ahead with the plan.  And they trudged
on whether they wanted to or not.

            As the two saw the door through
which they were supposed to enter, he heard Riley let off a whooping sound with
just enough arrogance to suit his personality. 

            In response, Evan wasted
no time gripping the doorknob.  No, it didn’t twist easily, not until Evan used
a touch of angelic coercion and the knob fell to pieces in his hand.

            “Guess I should’ve been a
little more patient,” Evan muttered, dropping the fragments and shouldering open
the door. 

            “Yeah, I guess you should
have.”  Lev stared ahead, unwrapping and rewrapping his fingers about the sword’s
grip.

Here goes nothing.

            Lev followed closely
behind his father, noting how the natural slant of the building and the weight
of it made the door ease shut all on its own.

            At first, Lev couldn’t
see much of anything since the room had only one window draped with heavy
curtains that blocked out most of the light.  It took a bit for Lev’s eyes to
adjust.

            The first thing he
noticed was the apparent absence of
dybbuks
—at least in this room.  He
had no doubt that if they had been here, they would’ve attacked, but nothing
seemed to be jumping out at them except the darkness neither could shake—and
all the stuff which had been ransacked.  The desk drawers lay all over the
floor with the contents spilled out everywhere.  Paperclips, staples, and many
other supplies lay scattered across the soiled carpet, making it that much more
difficult to simply walk. Obviously they were in the office portion of the
factory.

            “Do you sense anything?”
Lev asked his father.

            Evan cocked his head to
the side.  “They are here.  We just haven’t gotten close enough yet.”

            “I guess the
dybbuks
aren’t using this room,” Lev muttered, trying not to trip.

            “Nope,” Evan agreed.  “I
doubt anyone has been in here in the last year or so—maybe longer.  Then again,
what would be the point? Trying to navigate his mess would be difficult for
anyone.  And the clean-up and restoration of this room alone would cost a small
fortune, which is why nobody is considering this prime real estate and the
dybbuks
can use it as they see fit.”  He gestured to all the overturned desks and
filing cabinets.  “It’s an accident waiting to happen, and even the
dybbuks
know that.  They wouldn’t risk their human hosts unless no other options
presented themselves.”

            “So I guess that leaves us
with what’s behind door number two,” Lev muttered, nodding toward the only
other door in the room.  From here, it appeared dark and foreboding, but really
all Lev could wonder was, “Is she on the other side?”  He found himself praying
yet again she was.

            “You ready to move on?”
Evan asked, his voice as calm and steady as ever.

            “I don’t think I have a
choice.”  Lev stepped toward the door, but his father cut him off.

            “I know you want to prove
yourself, but there’s no need.”  In the semi-darkness of the room, their eyes
met.  His father yet believed in him and was trying to protect him, so Lev did
the only thing he could in response: he stepped aside and let his father go
first.

            When Evan tugged open the
door, there was nothing to greet them save the wind whistling through the
building, calling attention to its deserted and shambled condition all the
more.  Considering they were supposed to be entering a nest of
dybbuks
,
the darkness within seemed only fitting.

            Lev gripped his sword
tightly in both hands and waited, watching as his father cautiously pushed open
the door and stepped into a hallway.  It was darker here than in the previous
room, because the lack of windows prevented light from seeping in.  Still, Evan,
who could see through the blackness, started down the hall at a cautious pace,
leaving Lev no choice but to follow.

            Disappointment loomed as Lev
realized they might not find Elizabeth here, and there was nothing he could do
about it except keep searching.

            Together, they inched down
the hall.  Even though Lev knew his father could just let his wings unfurl and
let his body begin to glow, fueled by the light within due to what he truly
was, Lev also knew it would reveal their location and remove the element of
surprise they counted on to get through this foray into madness.

            No, Lev was just going to
have to fumble in the dark just like he’d been doing all along.  He was getting
pretty good at it, unfortunately.  Once or twice he almost tripped over
something in his path.  He could only surmise it was more debris from when the
building had been ransacked. It had probably been done by vandals, though, not
dybbuks
. 
The
dybbuks
probably had no reason to do so—not unless this was
personal—against somehow who had either once worked here or owned the building,
which really didn’t seem likely, truth be told.

            The two continued down
the hall, at least until Evan stopped.  The only reason Lev knew it was because
he stumbled into his father’s back.

            “What’re you doing?” Lev
asked, wishing his eyes would adjust better to the blackness and let him see
his surroundings, yet even he knew it had nothing to do with adjusting to
anything.  His vision wasn’t going to get any better, not without light.

            “There’s a door here. 
I’m going to open it.” Even though Evan whispered, his voice sounded so loud
because right then the world seemed to go still—the wind had died down.  Even Lev’s
breathing sounded loud. Evan, though, was an angel and didn’t have that problem. 
He didn’t have to inhale or exhale at all—one more symptom of Lev’s humanity.
Supernatural beings could hear him coming a mile away

            “All right.”  Unsure what
was on the other side of the door, Lev stepped back and waited.

            The door made a loud
clicking sound as Evan twisted the knob, and Lev felt his shoulders tense at
the sound.  He thought,
this isn’t going to be good.

            The moment the door swung
open, a glare of harsh sunlight blinded Lev, paralyzing him, tears pooling in
his eyes and running down his face.  He wiped them away, but still everything
seemed hazy. 
  

            Blinking, Lev saw his
father step into the room.  Then something came at Lev, slamming him against
the door frame and knocking the blade from his hand.  In a flash, Evan was on the
creature.

            Lev stumbled and picked
up his sword as he saw the
dybbuk
.  He started after it, intending to
help his father, yet he never got the chance.  On the way, he spotted a girl
wearing the same clothing Elizabeth had been wearing when she was taken.  Those
garments had been indelibly burned into his memory just as much as her face. 
Everything about her was seared into him.  There was no escaping any of it.

            Lev stared at the girl. 
She sat Indian-style, legs crossed in front of her, but her head hung low.  In
that instant, he felt the breath catch in his throat.  Between her long, dark
hair and clothes, he just knew it was Elizabeth.  It had to be.

            “Elizabeth?” he
whispered.  Is that you?”

            At the sound of his
voice, the girl raised her head.

* * *

            “You think Lizzie’s
really in there?” Griffin asked as they crept around the building.  He wrapped
and unwrapped his fingers around the sword’s grip nervously, still not
completely comfortable with the way the weapon felt in his hand.  Perhaps he’d
never get used to it.

            “If we’re lucky she will
be,” Celia said, staring ahead.

            Although Griffin tried to
distract himself, he found his thoughts constantly wandering back to all the time
they’d been in training, wondering if it would somehow pay off when he needed it
to.  He had no clue what he was doing, and his body was on fire.

            They’d barely made it to
the entrance when they heard Riley start his chaos at the front door.  That was
their cue, and Celia began running.  Although she expected the door to be
locked, it wasn’t even shut completely, making them both stop abruptly. They
exchanged looks, and Celia sprang for it, hoping whatever Riley was doing would
provide enough cover for them to slip inside unseen.

            Celia waited for Griffin
to back her up and tugged the door the rest of the way open.  At first, Griffin
thought things might go smoothly as Celia slipped into the doorway and
disappeared.  He wordlessly followed.

            The room was mostly dark and
hung with curtains billowing slightly inward before shattered windows. In the
dim light, he saw two
dybbuks
suddenly lunge at Celia, throwing her off
balance.  He rushed to her, but there was a third, and he felt a fist slam
across his face, nearly felling him.  His jaw rattled from the impact, but he held
his ground.  His world spun, but he’d live.  For now.

            Another fist came at him,
but this time he ducked under and tried to get a swing in, yet he was too close
to the doorframe to get much momentum going, and the blade never reached its
mark.