Guardian of the Hellmouth

Guardian of the Hellmouth
A.C. Greenlee
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this book to all the exceptional people in
my life.

 

To my wonderful mother who never stopped believing in me.

 

To my hardheaded cousin Ashlee for being my confidant.

 

To my faithful editor and sister Brittany who pushed me to be
better.

 

And to a God who has never let me down.
Chapter One
 
“I’m being stalked.” She whispered into the phone

 

pressed against her ear, “Everywhere I go I feel like someone’s

 

watching me. I swear I feel like I’m going to wake up one day

 

and find out my life has been one big horror movie.” Kailani

 

balanced the phone on her shoulder as she checked the locks on

 

the windows and doors for the third time that night. She felt

 

foolish and paranoid, but it was better to look like a total loon

 

than to end up murdered by some masked serial killer…right?

 

“Well I don’t know why you even bothered going to the police,

 

it’s not like they can do anything.” Cassandra replied from the

 

other end, half distracted by their conversation and the tarot cards

 

that were no doubt being shuffled for no reason other than to

 

keep her compulsive hands busy. Kailani rolled her eyes at her

 

stepsister’s dislike of law enforcement.
“Oh yes, because it’s not a human that’s stalking me, but some

 

type of evil demon out to destroy my chi, or something equally

 

nonexistent and not to mention fictional.” She snorted, moving to

 

lean against the kitchen counter and peer over her shoulder at the

 

beach that her new home sat on. She couldn’t believe that.

 

Blaming whatever was happening on some mythological being

 

was entirely too easy. People were far too quick to blame horrible

 

things on demons and the devil; it was as if no one wanted to take

 

responsibility for themselves anymore. People killed people, not

 

some made up little creature with bat wings.

 

Kailani had moved into her beautiful little cottage when her

 

parents passed away just days before. Her original plan had been

 

to sell it then return to the mainland, but once she got there she

 

just couldn’t bare to part with it. There was so much of her

 

mother and father in that house, so much happiness that she’d

 

missed out on as a child. And it was hers now, so why give it all

 

away? With her name on the deed there was no rent to pay and

 

due to her mothers habit of over paying bills she wouldn’t have to
worry about utilities for a while either. Everything seemed

 

perfect. Well…almost everything. The moment she’d set foot

 

over the threshold of the bungalow style cottage she’d had this

 

overwhelming feeling of being watched. A strong sense of dread,

 

a foreboding that stuck to the pit of her stomach like burrs. At

 

first it was just little glimpses of shadows in the corners, foggy

 

windows and creaking doors. Simple, silly little things she could

 

just explain away as coincidences. That is, until one night she

 

could no longer deny that
something
was going on in her home.

 

She saw
something
. The large
thing
was unmistakably human

 

shaped as it stood outside her bedroom window panting as if it

 

had run a marathon. Its warm breath covering the glass in a thin

 

layer of condensation, as it’s red eyes flared to life with a fury

 

she’d never known existed. Scared out of her wits she’d gone

 

straight to the police the very next morning, hoping that someone

 

could help her or at the very least tell her she’d simply gone

 

insane. She was sure there was some serial killer loose in the

 

neighborhood, some man who walked around at night in a Freddy

 

Krueger mask or something trying to scare the hell out of
mainlanders. But the police assured her that Kalihi was a pleasant

 

neighborhood where nothing bad ever happened. Kailani had

 

stood in that police station in tears, screaming at them that

 

something really was going on but they still didn’t believe her.

 

All they could do was send someone over to check out the

 

property then patrol the neighborhood. They’d literally sat on the

 

corner for an hour then drove away as if her life weren’t at stake.

 

She would have gone to a hotel for the night, but it seemed

 

whoever her stalker was didn’t just hang out around the cottage;

 

he’d followed her into town as well. She’d began to see him more

 

and more. At the Laundromat, the Library, hell even the local

 

McDonalds. Kailani was trapped. A prisoner of her own fear and

 

whatever deranged man was stalking her.

 

“I’m telling you, there are supernatural forces at work baby-doll.”

 

She said and Kailani could hear her shaking a little bag of runes

 

before dumping them onto her bed. “And bad ones at that. I don’t

 

like this Kai. You need to get your butt back to the mainland

 

where I can protect you.” She said and Kailani snorted again.
“Cassie you know I love you, but you’re seriously insane. There

 

is no demon. They don’t exist…” her chuckles died quickly as

 

she turned to stare at the back door across from her.

 

The doorknob was turning.

 

And she was frozen with fear.

 

Dread and panic knotted in her throat until she felt it would choke

 

her to death. The sound of more runes falling on the other side of

 

the phone snapped her out of what was quickly becoming a panic

 

attack and she snatched up a knife from the block beside her,

 

ducking and moving towards the brightly decorated, old

 

fashioned, dining room.

 

“What’s going on…?” Cassie started but she cut her off.

 

“Cass, shh. There’s someone trying to get in the back door.”

 

“What?! Oh hell no! See this is the shit I’m talking about! It’s

 

that damn demon, you gotta get out of there!”
“It’s not a demon. With my luck it’s probably some psychotic

 

rapist.” She breathed, gripping the handle of her knife tighter.

 

The doorknob was jiggling harder, the door thumping against its

 

frame as if someone were really putting their weight against it in

 

their attempt to get inside.

 

“Look, you’ve gotta let me send someone to help you out. That

 

demon won’t just kill you baby he’ll eat your soul.”

 

“There is no demon!” She hissed, “And by the time you send

 

someone all the way to Honolulu from the mainland I’ll be dead.

 

I’m gonna hang up now, I need to call the police.”

 

“And by the time the police show up you’ll be demon chow! I’m

 

sending someone whether you like it or not!” Kailani panicked,

 

hitting the far wall of the dining room and sliding down to wedge

 

herself behind the heavy antique table. If her heart beat any faster

 

it would rip itself from her chest and take off running across the

 

beach. She could hear Cassandra chanting something in her ear

 

over the phone and she lifted her hand to cover the earpiece,
hoping whoever was breaking into her home wouldn’t hear her

 

sister’s nonsense.

 

“Cassie, shut up.” She whispered, her breath seizing in her throat

 

as the door began to thump louder and harder, the wood bowing

 

and buckling against the intruder’s weight. Then suddenly, all

 

movement ceased. Dare she hope they’d given up and just left?

 

“Kai? You there?!” The phone in her hand began to static and

 

soon went completely dead as if something had interfered with

 

the connection. Kailani didn’t notice it; her eyes were completely

 

transfixed on the door that had gone eerily still.
Please, please
just go away.

 

As if the intruder had suddenly manifested a key the lock clicked

 

and the door swung open. She watched the black mass that

 

floated through her back door and into her kitchen with wide

 

eyes; unable to believe what she was seeing...Cassandra was

 

right. It really was a demon.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
Chapter Two
“Oh god.” The words were off her lips before she realized

 

she said them. The black mass whipped towards her, its eyes

 

unseeing as shadows separated to reveal the image of a thin,

 

distinctly man shaped creature. Its skin was gray and dark hair

 

lay plastered in thin strands against its skull. The thing looked

 

like the bloated corpse of someone who’d fallen into the ocean

 

and drowned except that it’s eye sockets were completely hollow,

 

as if someone had gouged out it’s eyes. She lifted her knife, her

 

hands trembling as she made sure it was between herself and the
creature that stalked around her kitchen. Its back and knees

 

stayed bent unnaturally, it’s neck outstretched and it’s mouth

 

open as it searched for her. She shook with anxiety and

 

astonishment, wondering if she could make it to the front door

 

before the demon could catch her but vetoing that out almost

 

immediately. There was no way she could out run that!

 

“Call from Cassandra Lewis.” The annoying little jingle from the

 

phone’s base began to play as it announced the caller, the handset

 

vibrating against her palm. Oh god, surely Cassie wasn’t that

 

stupid?! The demon’s jaws dropped, dislocating as it released a

 

high-pitched shrieking noise, its sightless black eyes widening in

 

her direction. Somehow the damn thing had spotted her! With a

 

scream Kai threw herself from behind the table, ditching the

 

phone and the knife as she scrambled to her feet. Her flight

 

instinct kicked in and before she knew it she’d reached the front

 

of the house, her fingers barely brushing the handle on the front

 

door before something grabbed her by the back of the head and

 

ripped her backwards. She tumbled helplessly across the hard
wood floor, her body hitting the wall hard enough to send picture

 

frames raining down upon her. The beast roared, bounding across

 

the floor towards her on all fours like an animal. Kailani threw

 

her arm up to protect her head; nearly missing the flash of light

 

that suddenly filled her dining room. She could hear the creature

 

whining, part of her wondering what caused the light, and the rest

 

wondering why she wasn’t being devoured. Lowering her arm

 

away from her face she gasped at what stood before her.

 

She and the demon were no longer the only beings in the room.

 

Her eyes traveled up the broad back of the man who stood