Bad Grace (Watcher Chronicles Book 1) (25 page)
Read Bad Grace (Watcher Chronicles Book 1) Online
Authors: N.P. Martin
Frank nodded and kept his hands on Eva’s head until every drop of his grace had gone into her. Then he removed his hands and waited. After another moment there was still no movement from Eva. Sandra kept looking at him, afraid to say what she was thinking.
Too late, Frank...
“No!” he said. “Come on, Eva. Fucking wake up!”
Eva’s eyes flung open and she took in a sharp intake of breath, like she had just surfaced from underwater.
“Oh, thank god,” Frank said.
Eva blinked a few times, then said, “I hope you killed that demon fucker...”
“Both of them,” Frank said. “Sandra put Tolloch on the elevator.”
Eva smiled at her. “I hope it felt good.”
“It did,” Sandra said, looking as relieved at Frank to see Eva alive.
“So,” Eva said, sitting up slowly. “You think there’s any bars left open in this goddamn ruin of a city?”
CHAPTER 34
It didn’t take long for the military and city authorities to move back into the city to try and restore some kind of order, and to start the monumental task of cleaning the place up. When Frank and Eva were walking back to her place—having left Sandra, who had gone back to the Facility to see what was happening there—they noticed most of the supernaturals had gone to ground again. Vampires and werewolves were no longer wandering the streets openly. Half of them probably didn’t even know what the real deal was, just that it was somehow okay for them to call open season on humans and the city itself. With the fall of Tolloch’s demon son and the presence of teams of Watcher’s on the streets—who blended in with all the other uniforms swarming the streets—most of the supernaturals got the message that party time was over and went back to whatever lair they normally hung out in.
Frank hung around at Eva’s for a while, just to make sure she was okay, which she seemed to be. He felt guilty about wanting to call Lucas the whole time, to arrange a meeting. It wasn’t lost on Frank that he was going to great lengths to save a woman who probably didn’t care about him as much as she used to, while he was also choosing to hold back from Eva, who really
did
care about him and who would have started something with him if he had asked her to. He didn’t want to do that to her though. Didn’t want to risk hurting her, which he inevitably would when she realized that a ghost meant more to him than anyone alive.
They watched the various news reports on TV while they sat and drank whiskey. The media were showing footage of the demon rampaging through the city, seemingly on a loop while reporters spoke over it via live and studio feeds. They even had footage of the demon’s final demise, showing the colossal beast go from almost pure black to looking like it was being struck by orange lightening over and over again, its own energy imploding inside it, the Spear of Destiny transferring its own destructive power into the beast. Then it explodes in a massive ball of light and disappears like it was never there. Thankfully, it was too dark and too smoky to make out Frank and Sandra standing on top of the building near the demon.
“Nice job,” Eva said. “Lucky for you, no one can see your face or you would have the world looking for the demon slayer.”
Frank snorted. “That’s a laugh, especially considering the bullshit they’re trying to feed people here.”
A consensus was slowly spreading across the media stations that the huge black flying beast that destroyed half the city and its inhabitants wasn’t in fact a demon or anything of the sort, nor was it even alive. Such notions would be painfully ridiculous, the TV people said, going to great lengths to emphasize that point. The line they were now feeding people was that the demon was in fact a creation of terrorists—a giant robot, similar to a Stealth Bomber, but much bigger. People saw it as alive because the terrorists had also pumped a powerful hallucinogen into the city’s water supply, which would explain the many reports of people seeing monsters on the streets.
“Are you hearing this shit?” Frank said, shaking his head.
“I’m afraid so,” Eva said. “Looks like the government has started its cover up operation already. They’ll not rest until every piece of footage has gone from public view.”
“As always.”
“Had to happen, I suppose.”
“You agree with it?”
“Of course not. But at the same time, people are not ready for the truth.” She refilled their glasses with the bottle on the coffee table. “You know that. That’s why we are here, right? To protect them from the truth. From themselves if they ever found out they lived with monsters in their midst. It’s just how it has always been.”
They talked as well about the future of the Facility and the Watcher High Council. If the Council was to continue, new members would have to be voted in, as all the old ones were dead. Frank saw the need for the Facility and the training it offered. If it managed to mold soldiers like Michelle and Sandra, then it was worth keeping. The politics would have to change though, if not go altogether. Not that it was any of Frank’s concern, as he had operated outside of the Council for years now, and would continue to do so. Maybe Sandra would step up, help organize things. She was young and still inexperienced, but from what Frank had seen, she was leader material and deserved a shot as much as anyone else. If Michelle were still alive, he would have said she was the only candidate to take over, but she wasn’t alive, and for that he was still deeply sorry. He had liked her, especially as she was Jack’s daughter. Somehow, he felt like he had let Jack down by not protecting her better, despite the fact that there was nothing he could have done to save her. Still, her death weighed heavy on him.
After several more drinks, Frank left Eva, told her he was going to pick up his car where he had left it near the cabin. When he got outside, he took out his phone and called Lucas. “It’s me,” he said when Lucas answered. “Time for you to honor our agreement. Come meet me. I need a lift to my car.”
Lucas teleported himself and Frank to the spot where Frank had left his car on the side of the road. He was relieved to see the Chevy still there and untouched. The three skinned soldiers still lay undiscovered in the middle of the road. “Nice,” said Lucas. “When are some demons going to get that this isn’t Hell?”
“Probably never,” Frank said. He took the feather from inside his jacket, amazed that it hadn’t been lost or irreparably damaged since he had first taken possession of it. As the feather had saved his life probably twice against Tolloch, he was almost loathe to hand it over. He watched Lucas as the demon’s eyes locked on to it, a slow smile coming across the demon’s face. “Tell me what I need to know. Then you can have the feather.”
Lucas nodded. “I’ll tell you what you want to know,” he said. “But I don’t think you’re going to want to hear it.”
Frank sighed and shook his head.
Doesn’t sound good, Frank.
“Tell me,” he said.
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Neal
OTHER BOOKS BY N.P. MARTIN
Hell Is Coming (Watchers Book 1)
Hell Is Here (Watchers Book 2)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
N.P. Martin is a bestselling fiction writer under Neal Martin. Dark fantasy and horror has always been his passion so he loves the fact he can now get to create his own particular brand of darkness. As well as writing, Neal is a private self defense instructor, black belt in Jujitsu and husband and father. He lives in N. Ireland.
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