Demon Hunters (48 page)

“Then if he can summon the beast, he can
send him back!” I lunge forward and grab Damon. I seem to catch him
by surprise, judging by his expression, and I manage to push him
into the glass panel he threw my father against. It shatters under
his weight and he falls below. I look out and see he’s hanging from
a jutting rod of metal. I can see that he’s screaming, but I can’t
hear a word of it over the howling winds rushing around. I make
sure my dad is safe and quickly run back out the door. The wind
nearly knocks me back. I look up at Lethar. He’s flying wildly.
Every now and then, he takes a swipe at the platform. Damon was
right when he said he was mad. He flies low for a moment and I jump
up. I manage to grab onto his leg and I climb up. As his body
jostles and thrusts, I hold on with all my will. I can feel my
nails dig into his flesh. I look over my shoulder. I can see Damon
clawing his way back up along the platform’s girders.

“Lethar!” I scream. He stops for a moment.
“Please! Stop!” His head turns and his eye finds me.

“You are the daughter of Corba.” He says in
a strange, booming voice that sends a chill through my bones.

“Yes. I just heard what happened to you. I’m
sorry.” I tell him. He slows a bit and his body begins to shrink.
When he gets close enough to the center stage, I jump off his
shoulders.

“Thank you, mortal.” He says as he sets down
upon the platform.

“I heard you were some kind of big deal in
Heaven, right?”

“I was among the most elite of the elite.
Until two demons shackled me and turned me into a weapon of
destruction.” He says. I hear footsteps above us and I turn to see
Damon running towards us.

“Don’t forget who did this to you!” He
shouts. “Jake Corba! He cut off your wing! He sent you to Hell!
He’s the reason you have to spend the rest of your life tending to
that beast!” I look down. I can see Sanctum’s eyes coming out of
the hole. His breath is coming up and it smells like death. Pure
death. I look back to Lethar.

“It sounds like those demons are the ones
responsible! My dad freed you! He just did the best he could, just
like you would have done if you were in that position. Some would
say you owe him.”

“He owes Jake nothing!” Damon says. “Kill
them all! This whole world deserves to die!”

“You can’t do this. I didn’t know what I was
doing when I called you.” I say and then look over to Damon. “He
tricked me into doing this! He said I was helping the world enter a
new golden age. I was just doing this for my father.” Damon quickly
comes up behind me. I feel his hand grip my shoulder as he pulls me
back and throws me down.

“Silence! You are just a lowly insect. You
have no right to even speak to Lethar. You have served your
purpose. I have been kind in allowing you to live this long.” Damon
says. I see Lethar looking at us in some kind of fascination. A
loud wind howls and Damon runs over to him. I can’t hear what he’s
saying, but I see Lethar’s wing stretch up high as he hears Damon’s
words. Lethar then turns his eye to me and I feel numb for a
moment. I struggle to my feet. Damon steps back toward me as Lethar
turns away from us both and kneels down and bows his head.

“What is he doing now?” Damon asks.

“He’s praying.” I say smugly. I watch Lethar
humbling himself. I can hear his voice whispering softly, even over
all the storm and noise surrounding us. I can’t tell exactly what
he’s saying, but it sounds as though he’s requesting guidance. As
quickly as that, Lethar leaps up high into the air and blows on his
horn again, but the sound is soft and gentle. What parts of Sanctum
had broken through, begin moving back into the light. Lethar hovers
down to us again.

“You are correct, daughter of Corba. Forgive
me. The time of reckoning for this world has yet to come. I have
been summoned prematurely.”

“No!” Damon shrieks as he pushes past me.
“The girl called you! This is what you’re supposed to do!”

“It is not time.” Lethar says gently.

“Thank you.” Lethar glides down and
disappears into the bright light. I turn to face Damon, but his
face is contorted in rage.

“You sent him back. You sent him back!”
Damon spits as he lunges toward me. His hands find my neck. He
begins to grow claws and his eyes begin to burn like fire. His
whole body begins to transform and shift. A long, snake-like tongue
protrudes from his mouth. “If I can’t kill the world, I’ll just
settle for you!”

“No. You won’t.” I hear from above. I look
around and see dad standing over us at the top of the stairs.

“Aren’t you dead yet?” Damon asks as he
looks over at dad.

“Not by a long shot.” Dad says as he trudges
down to us. He then grabs Damon as he gets closer and pulls him off
of me. They fall on top of each other. I get up and quickly catch
my breath. I turn to see Damon slash his claws against dad’s
stomach. Blood pours out.

“NO!” I scream out as dad manages to get up.
He grabs Damon with both hands and pulls him to his feet. With one
smooth, sharp move, dad snaps Damon’s neck and throws him down. I
watch as Damon flails like a fish out of water below us. He lets
out a wet gurgling noise as he convulses.

“Get to the boat!” Dad calls out. His arms
are covering his stomach but I can see the blood seeping out.

“No. I’m not leaving without you.”

“I’m afraid you are.” He says as he inches
toward the edge of the platform. He bends down with a loud grunt
and pulls Damon up to him and drags him along.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going back.”

“What?”

“Into the light. I’m going back, and
bringing this little bastard with me.” Damon’s neck is twisted
around and he’s unable to speak, but I can tell by how his body
begins jerking around that he is clearly opposed to dad’s plan.

“You can’t do that! Just leave him here and
we can go home.”

“There is no home left for me. I left that
behind years ago. I need to go back and maybe I can find my way
back.”

“You don’t know what’s down there! A giant
monster was just crawling out of there. What makes you think this
could work?” I ask. He just smiles at me.

“I don’t know, but that’s all part of being
a Corba. We never know what’s at the other end of that hallway, but
we always find out. I think I can figure something out with this
little shit.” Dad says as he shakes Damon sharply. Damon’s eyes are
listless and blood is trickling down his arm. “I love you,
Larissa.” He says. The tears are pouring out of my eyes.

“I love you too, dad.” I watch them inch
closer to the edge. Dad stops for a moment and looks back to
me.

“Promise me something first!”

“What?”

“Don’t deny who you are. I tried it once.
Didn’t work. You are a Corba. Be proud of that. Find your
path!”

“I will! I promise.”

“Good girl.” He says and easily tips himself
over. He and Damon fall over the edge. I watch as they plummet down
into the light. Once they pass through, it closes. A torrent of
tears rushes through me. I feel as though I’ve lost him all over
again. The platform shifts sharply. I notice the funnel of water is
beginning to slow and collapse upon itself. I race up the stairs
and back down to the ship. The captain is waiting by the pier.

“Ms. Corba?”

“We have to go! Now!” I say as I run past
him. He follows closely behind.

“What about Mr. Corba? Your father?”

“He’s not coming with us this time. Just get
us out of here!” A loud, wrenching moan screams out as one of the
towers buckles from the flowing water. The captain runs off to the
bridge of the ship and I run below deck.

I can hear the metallic whine of the girders
bending and tearing all around us. Soon, I feel the ship shift on.
I feel my stomach lurch as the ship lifts up and soon we’re racing
away.

When the sound of total destruction fades, I
decide to go up for a look. I can hear the wind whipping against
the entire ship. It howls sharply as we push forward ever faster. I
start up the stairs, but the sharp gusts from above push me back. I
grab onto the rails and struggle up to the deck. When I make it up,
I push hard against the jet stream of air pounding us. I slowly
make my way to the side of the boat and look out. I can see the
whole platform far behind us tear apart and fall into the sea at
last. I stand there and stare as the last bit of the construction
sinks into the dark, icy water and once it’s gone, I continue to
stare as though something else was supposed to happen. Once I
decide finally that the show is over, I slide back down the steps
and curl up on the couch inside.

“We’ll be docking in about thirty minutes,
Ms. Corba.” The captain’s voice says. I look up. I feel like I’ve
been asleep for hours. I get up and stretch. Everything suddenly
hits me. My father. Dad. Gone again. I should be sad, I know, but
somehow there’s something that tells me to be happy. I climb up to
the deck above and I am blown away as I see the sky above us begin
to open up. The sun is shining down and I can see the city coming
up to us. I look down at the sea and the water is as blue as I
remember it. The sun is warm on my skin and the rain has stopped. I
lean against the railing and feel the bracing wind across my face.
I love my father and, while I can’t prove it, I know he’s out there
somewhere and maybe if he can do what he says he can, which I am
sure that he can, we can all be together again and be happy the
second time around.

Epilogue

“Jake. I think you broke the universe.” Ivar
said as he and Jake looked down upon the shining tear in the
ground. It shined up at them like a sun just feet away.

“I admit, it’s odd, but it’s no big deal.
Just some Heavenly residue or something,” Suddenly the shining
light began to shift and flash. “You see? Fixing itself already.”
Suddenly, a torrent of energy burst up out of the light and a large
stream of pure energy whipped up like a tentacle, lashing around
wildly. Ivar leapt away in time to avoid it, but Jake wasn’t quite
as fast. It hit him and with a flash, he was gone along with the
tear. Ivar got to his feet and stood in disbelief as he stared at
the spot where Jake had just been standing. He could feel a tear
forming at the corner of his eye, but then another flash and Jake
reappeared, ragged but none the worse for wear. He tumbled along
the ground and finally stopped. His clothes were smoking and
singed, and he had slight burn marks across his face and arms. He
got up quickly and examined himself carefully.

“Jake!” Ivar yelled ecstatically and ran
over to scoop him up in his arms, but Jake beat him to the
punch.

“Ivar! Oh my god! Ivar! Thank god it’s you!”
Jake stammered. He leapt up and hugged and kissed Ivar wildly.
“Where am I? What time is it? What year?”

“Are you all right, Jake?”

“I’m alive! I’m alive and whole! I think.”
Jake said as he stopped to think. After a moment, he looked back to
Ivar happily. “Yup! Still possessed! I still have the demon! I’m
alive!”

“Calm down! What happened to you?”

“It’s a long story, but I have to get to
Gwen. I have to get to her now!” Jake said. His eyes were wide and
bright as though he was seeing daylight for the first time in
decades. The urgency in his tone was clear to Ivar, so he didn’t
try to engage him with any involved questions. He simply led Jake
to his car.

As they drove down the freeway toward Gwen’s
home, Ivar kept looking over to Jake who was still stuck in his
overly exuberant mood. Jake’s eyes darted left and right as they
consumed everything speeding by them.

“I realize I’ve asked you already, Jake, but
are you all right?” Ivar asked.

“Ivar. Buddy. I don’t know. My mind is like
a blur, you know? I feel like I’m just catching up with the world
right now. I don’t know where I was or what I did. All I know is
I’m here now and for some reason I can’t stop smiling.” Jake said.
Ivar nodded to his answer and continued speeding to their
destination.

Ivar dropped Jake off at Gwen’s apartment
and went on back to the office. Jake had little words to share with
him. He was far more focused on seeing Gwen and there was nothing
that was going to keep that man from his woman. He didn’t even
bother with the security door. He just tore it off its hinges.

Jake ran up to Gwen’s door and knocked
quickly. She swung the door open. Her face was less than
pleased.

“I hope you realize because of your little
visit with my boss, he fired me!”

“I don’t care!” Jake said as he swept Gwen
up and kissed her. He kissed her as though he hadn’t kissed her in
a thousand lifetimes.

“You’re here! I’m here! We’re here! That’s
all that matters!” Jake said. Gwen quickly pulled herself free.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m better than all right!”

“You look like Hell. Couldn’t you have
cleaned up a little before you came over?”

“It couldn’t wait. I couldn’t wait. I had to
see you. Oh my god. You’re real. You’re here.”

“Yes. We’ve established that.”

“Look, it’s a long story. I’ll tell you all
about it over dinner.”

“Fine. Just clean up first. I’m not going to
be seen in public with someone in burnt clothes.”

“Anything you say,” Jake said and then
grabbed Gwen again for another kiss. “I just love you so much. I
have seen so many things fall apart at the hands of hate and love,
and I am just so glad that I have you. I want you to know how much
I truly love you and how excited I am about the prospect of
spending the rest of my life with you. And our kid.”

“Kid? Jake. You’re scaring me.”

“I know! I’m a little scared myself! We’ll
talk about that over dinner too. I’ll be just a few minutes.” Jake
said as he headed for the bathroom. He was standing in the stream
of water feeling the liquid trickle down his body. He massaged the
soap all over his flesh and as he did, he felt as though he were
removing years of filth and sweat. It was like everything was new
to him and every sensation would trigger waves of joy and elation.
The sound of the water spraying down on him was soothing and in his
reverie, he allowed his mind to wander. He pushed at his thoughts,
hoping to prod some kind of memory out of it, but he only could
recall a swirl of thoughts and images. Things that seemed random
but somehow made some kind of sense, but not enough sense for Jake
to remember what any of it meant.