Voluptuous Vindication (4 page)

“There are some that know the truth,” Arch replied. “They are mortal, though, but doing all they can. They are going up against a stubborn society that doesn't believe in the things they can't see. When they do realize there is more than this mortal plane, it's over. Humanity has reached a point that this world has never seen before. Each soul will have to choose, there is no middle ground.”

“What a damned mess,” Ian growled out, running an impatient hand through his blond hair.

“They opened the door to this. We've spent thousands of years trying to protect them. Instead of being thankful for divine intervention, they pressed forward, worshiping only themselves and their selfish wants. The way humanity treats each other is terrible. While they were living in their fool's paradise, wrapped up in their fantasy world, Hell took advantage and started moving in. Now, Hell is here. We're doing all we can to protect them, but they are still denying that it's real.”

Ian stared at him, stunned to see Arch so disillusioned. Arch looked back at him and grimaced, accurately reading his expression, and his mind, with just one glance. He shrugged in a tired manner before continuing, “Every dog has their day, you know? I guess I'm just having mine. I've watched over mortals since the beginning, without complaint. I'm used to being kicked in the face repeatedly, but lately? It's starting to wear a bit thin. No matter what we do, they refuse to acknowledge the truth... Even if it means losing their own lives.”

“What do you mean?” Ian asked, his blond eyebrow furrowing in puzzlement.

“You have been out of the loop, haven't you? The big guy has added a whole new level of protection for faith-filled believers. Hell has been ordered to keep their hands off or face something unlike anything they've ever seen before. It's been decreed by Heaven itself and is now an elemental law. The unbelievers are up for grabs, though. Even Satan can't overturn this law, not something like this. The lines are being drawn, and I meant what I said earlier. The time is up for humanity. There will be no middle ground. This world will see a battle of incomparable proportions when good versus evil. Angels and demons will fight alongside mortals. So will we. It's coming, and coming fast.”

“What happens when it's over?” Ian asked, tiredly.

“I don't know,” Arch replied in a grim tone of voice. “I guess we just have to wait and see.”

Ian looked back out over Las Vegas. From their height, it was easy to see the desolation. Outside of the lit-up strip, there was nothing but darkness. The world was silent and still in a way it hadn't seen since the middle ages. And still, the worst was yet to come. “Sometimes, I wonder what we're fighting for,” he bit out. “We fight, we win, and then what? Another thousand years to watch humanity destroy themselves again? Hurt, curse, and try to control one another, while screwing each other over and welcoming Hell with open arms? I'm going to tell you the truth, Arch. I don't know if I have it in me.”

Arch reached out and clasped him by the shoulder, his blue eyes blazing with sincerity. “You can, and you will, Ian. There's more good in your pinkie finger than some people have in their entire bodies. You've been knocked down, but I know you will rise again. It's why you're an Endurer. I don't make mistakes about these things.”

Arch looked off, his expression sad. “As to why we keep fighting? I'll tell you why. Down there is a little girl that's already been through too much torment in her short life. Evil is doing all it can to destroy her before she's grown. Why? One day, she's going to be wife to a faith-filled man that's going to bring revival to thousands. Without her love, acceptance, and support, that mortal would never be encouraged enough to find his calling. She is the catalyst so Hell wants rid of her now.”

He pointed to a place in the distance, way beyond the strip. “Five miles away is a woman married to a man that never deserved her. He's cheated on her, lied to her, and broke her spirit. It hasn't ended with her, though. He's lived his life stealing from the innocent. Every night, she prays for him. In four months, he's going to connect with the wrong group of people and his life will end. In ten months, she's going to meet her true mate, an Endurer that doesn't suspect his mate is so close. It's for the innocent that we keep trying.”

Ian nodded. It was for those very reasons he'd become an Endurer, wanting to protect others from experiencing the same pain he had over the loss of his father and comrades. He tensed as he thought back over Arch's words and turned to him with a glare. “That woman better not be my mate.”

Arch laughed. “No, I can honestly say she isn't.”

Ian breathed out a huge sigh of relief. He enjoyed being single. Being tied to one woman would be hell for a man like him. “Thank God for that. Life is complicated enough for me as it is.” He checked his watch. “You better fill me in. The time is passing fast, and it sounds like I've got a train to catch.”

“That you do,” Arch agreed with a smile. “And it's not one you want to miss.”

* * * * *

Arch flashed Ian onto the lower-level of the train. Immediately, it hit a disruption on the tracks, forcing Ian to throw his arms out to keep his balance. Muttering an expletive, he shot a glare around him. Leave it to Arch to pick that exact second to send him in.

Shaking his head, he studied his surroundings. It was the middle of the night, and he was in the luggage area. Everything seemed to be made of steel and metal, a vast improvement from the last train he'd been on, nearly a hundred years before.

It was silent where he was at, not a soul in sight. At least Arch had the foresight to deliver him to an empty spot. Ian didn't need to draw attention, not if he wanted to complete his mission in time.

He checked the expensive gold watch on his wrist. Time was running out, and he had to find the woman quickly. Arch had finished filling him in on the details, and it wasn't good. In minutes, demons would descend on this train. They planned on killing everyone on board, including the woman they wanted to stop. That was if they didn't decide to take her home with them, alive.

Ian grimaced, trying to decide which direction to move in.  Being held by demons couldn't even be called living. If they kept her alive, she'd pray a thousand times for death before it was finally delivered. It wasn't just a guess. He'd had a preview of their special forms of torture, and he knew how bad it was.

Ian refused to allow it to happen to anyone else.
Not on his watch.
No matter how screwed up his own life was, the innocents had to be protected. His safety was unimportant. It was what he lived for, the very purpose of his immortality. It was a responsibility he took very seriously. 

In one of his spooky tricks, Arch had implanted the image of  Sara's face in his mind a second before he'd flashed him. Now he just had to search through two-levels of several cars to find her. Once he did, he was to bring her down here and wait for Arch to collect them.

“Thanks, Arch,” he muttered to himself in a sarcastic tone. “You just gotta love these last-minute missions.”

Ian moved to the stairwell, surprised to see how narrow the metal walls were. His long sword hung on the second step, making movement impossible. Pushing it behind him, he managed to make it up the steps. His weapons might be invisible to the human eye, but they were still solid.

Stepping into the cramped aisle, he moved from car to car, carefully scanning each face. Most of the humans were asleep but a few shot him an unwelcoming glare. Ian couldn't care less. If they weren't Sara Abbott, they were of little consequence to him.

He came to a dead end after an observation car, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.
Who would ever guess that modern day trains were little more than a maze?
He turned to the right and ran down another set of metal steps. The restrooms were on the left, passengers on the right. After a moment of hesitation, he stepped over to the restrooms. Better safe than sorry.

Ian quickly opened the stall doors off of the tiny hallway, surprised to see how tiny the restrooms were. A total of eight, all of them were empty except for the very last one. It was locked, the odor coming from the cracks around the doorway horribly offensive to his sensitive sense of smell.

“Damn,” he grumbled, choking on the stench. “Arch, if this is her, I'm going to kick your ass.”  Ian could have sworn he heard an answering chuckle in his mind. He shook his head, banging on the flimsy door with his fist. It nearly shattered as he ordered, “Open up, this is an emergency.”

“Really?” An incredulous male voice replied as the door opened up enough for a red-faced, scruffy male to peer out. He was sweating in the small stall, his portly form making his body appear to be wedged over the small, metal toilet. The smell intensified as Ian yanked his shirt over his nose.

The man narrowed his eyes in a glare, his face turning even redder. “There's eight damn stalls here, and you want the one I'm in? Get your own, asshole, I've got my own emergency happening right now. Can't you see I'm trying to take a shit? Pervert! Get out of here before I kick your ass.”

He slammed the door shut in Ian's face, the lock clicking into place. Ian hit it again with his fist before roaring, “If I were a pervert, I'd be looking for something a damn bit more attractive than you, jackass. And definitely someone that smelled alive. ”

He turned away, shaking his head at the gall of the other man.
Pervert, indeed.
He didn't drop his shirt off of his nose until he stepped into the next car. He was fuming, offended over the assault to his sensibilities... And his nostrils.

The next train car was as quiet as the other one had been, but a sense of anticipation washed over him. Somehow, someway, he knew she was close. It was an unexplainable bonus to his immortality. Sometimes he just knew, just like sometimes he was able to hear the thoughts of others.

Moving from row to row, he scanned the sleeping passengers. When he reached the end without any success, he stopped, his eyebrows drawing together. She wasn't here, but his feeling wasn't wrong. Turning back, he scanned the rows of seats from the area where he stood.

An empty row, a few feet away, had the overheard light on, illuminating the space underneath it. Ian walked over, staring at the contents of the seat. There was nothing there but a carry-on bag and a black briefcase. The tray was pulled out from the back of the seat in front of her belongings, a nearly full soda sitting on a napkin. A folder lay underneath the briefcase, partially visible from where he stood. He leaned forward for a closer look.

Her name was clearly visible on the tab. This was the woman he sought, but where was she? The clock was ticking, and time was running out. Ian stood back up, knocking her drink over in the process with his sword. “Shit,” he muttered, watching it soak the empty seat. At least he hadn't spilled it on her belongings.

In the distance, the doors opened between the cars. Spying pale blonde hair, Ian knew instantly it was the woman he was looking for. Grabbing the glass up, he set it back down on the tray and moved to the seat across the small aisle from her.

His mind raced. How was he going to convince her to come with him? If she resisted, there were enough mortals to make it very difficult, possibly impossible. They couldn't afford any delays. Turning his head to face her, Ian got his first real look at the woman walking down the aisle.

Lust slammed into him, stealing his breath and heating his body like a forge. The face in his mind was a pale comparison to the face of the woman in front of him. Her eyes were large underneath the dark-rimmed glasses she wore, the color a clear, sky-blue. Her eyebrows were thin, and arched perfectly, her nose thin and her lips full. Her pale, creamy complexion was unblemished.

Sara's hair was pulled up into a bun. The top half was so pale it was almost white, the bottom half a light shade of brown. Walking quietly down the aisle, she kept her eyes trained straight ahead. His mouth fell open. She looked to be thirty, but she was much older than that. Sara was an angel, a little fact that Arch had failed to mention.

Pulling his slackened jaw closed, Ian tore his eyes away and struggled for control. Her mind was completely closed off to him, probably due to her angelic status. Reading minds was one of his gifts as an Endurer, and one he kept private. Not many knew he was able to pick up their most personal thoughts, and Ian preferred to keep it that way.

His dick was hard as steel, his balls tight. He couldn't resist another peek as he imagined her long hair loose and flowing, her blue eyes wide as she stared up at him.
Nothing but black satin sheets for Sara,
he decided.
A perfect backdrop for a woman of her pale coloring.