Waking The Leviathan: A Supernatural Action Adventure Opera (War of the Damned Book 5) Read online

  Joshua shrugged. “What? Of course, I’ll be there. It’s been like forever since we all did this. I’m not going to miss a chance to hang out with Stephanie and Korbin, even if they don’t remember us.”

  Katie nodded. “Good, let’s make them feel as much like family as we possibly can. After all, Korbin started this family to begin with.”

  Timothy rolled his eyes. “Of course, we’ll be missing Damien and his intellectual comments about our soaps. He just had to go off and save the church.”

  Katie snorted, trying to hide her amusement at Timothy’s reaction. “Give Damien a break. We all deserve to do what we feel is best. He is living that, and I respect him for it.”

  “Oh sure, sure.” Timothy laughed and lifted an eyebrow.

  After gathering the troops, Katie made her way to the kitchen and started to prepare her special sugar popcorn. She went all-out and made a batch in every color she found in the cupboard, then mixed them together to make rainbow corn before filling the bowls. When Katie was done, she stood back and smiled at her work. She felt at home for the first time in a long while.

  Stephanie rounded the corner into the kitchen and leaned against the doorframe before Katie had even noticed. “What smells so good in here?”

  Katie jumped, surprised by the welcome intrusion. “Oh! Hey!”

  Stephanie smiled. “I got tired of looking at the notes, so I figured I’d do a little exploring. I could smell the popcorn from down the hall.”

  “It’s actually perfect timing. I was just about to come and get you guys. It’s family night since we’re all here. We get together and watch soap operas and eat sugar popcorn, and pretty much just laugh and talk the whole time.”

  Stephanie grinned and popped a piece of popcorn into her mouth. “Mmmm, yummy. I love that idea, although I don’t know how much Korbin will love soap operas.”

  Katie raised an eyebrow and smirked. “You’d be surprised how much he got into them before.”

  Stephanie’s eyes widened, and a mischievous look appeared on her face. “Oh yeah? This is definitely something I’m going to give him hell over.”

  Korbin walked into the kitchen and kissed Stephanie on the forehead. “Who’s giving me hell over what, now?”

  Stephanie laughed. “Katie was just telling me how you enjoyed your soap operas back in the day.”

  Korbin narrowed his eyes at Katie, then shook his head, chuckling. “Apparently Katie and I are going to have to have a talk before she goes blurting out more of my past. I have to admit, it’s weird that every time I see the soaps on television, there’s just something inside me that wants to watch them. Maybe it has something to do with this strange gathering you guys have.”

  Katie snickered and handed Korbin a bowl of sugary deliciousness. “I wouldn’t be shocked. Come on, everyone should be in there by now. They get cranky when I withhold the popcorn.”

  Everyone gathered in the main room. Stephanie and Korbin sat on the couch, oddly enough in the same place they had always sat. Timothy was in one of the armchairs, Katie took the end of the couch, and Calvin and Joshua spread out on the other furniture.

  Katie looked at them all and her heart filled with a warmth that she’d missed. She smiled and picked up the remote and searched through the guide to the last episode they had watched, one from right after Korbin and Stephanie had gone. She pressed Play and sat back, then looked at the others again.

  Well, isn’t this sweet? Pandora tried to sound sarcastic, but Katie could tell she found comfort in the family reunion.

  It might not be the same as before, and things may have changed a lot, but I will always think of these people like my family. That includes you, Pandora.

  Pandora sniffed and cleared her throat. Yeah, well. Whatever. I just want to see what happened to that whore Josie and the ten lovers she couldn’t keep her hands off when the gates to hell were open.

  From what I’ve heard, she got angel wings.

  Why do you always have to ruin my life?

  Katie snickered and sat back to eat her popcorn. Things might’ve been awkward when Stephanie and Korbin had first arrived, but having them there was exactly what she needed.

  2

  A dark blanket of storm clouds unrolled over New York City, obscuring the late summer sun. Lighting forked over Central Park and was closely followed by deep peals of thunder from the quickening storm.

  It was a big one. Sheets of rain crashed onto the streets of New York and set the ever-present trash and debris afloat. In no time garbage had clogged the storm pipes. All along the city blocks, black umbrellas bobbed up and down as people continued to weave their way in and out of the foot traffic. They were making their way to work, school, or their next tourist attraction.

  The doorman of Katie’s building looked at the concierge, who was standing in the entryway of the apartment complex. “It’s one hell of a storm out there, huh, Joe?”

  His boss gave a flippant wave to tell the doorman he was done with the weather. “We get these storms at least twice a year and let me tell you, the streets weren’t made for flooding. Cars will be splashing our guests for the next week, even if the rain stops this afternoon. It makes for one hell of a mess in here.”

  The doorman chuckled and took a step toward the front doors. He skidded on a wet spot but deftly windmilled his arms to regain his balance. “And apparently, marble and moisture don’t mix well.”

  His boss smiled and shifted his eyes to the doors as two men approached. Both were dressed in long black trench coats and black fedoras. “Question these fellas. I’ve never seen them before, and with the onslaught of people trying to get Katie, none of us can be too cautious.”

  The doorman saluted his boss and straightened his jacket. He opened the door and stepped out before the men could step in, keeping the door open behind him so his boss could hear. He could already feel the tension coming from them. “How may I help you, gentlemen?”

  One of the two men looked up with a fake grin. “We’re here to visit a client of ours.”

  The other man moved forward, an air of irritation in his voice. “We would appreciate if you didn’t make us stand out here in the rain. If we could have had our car pull straight up to the door, we would have.”

  The doorman glared suspiciously at the men for a moment, noticing their expensive shoes and ostentatious watches. It was obvious that these men had money, but so did almost everyone else in New York City. Big deal. “And what floor will you be visiting today?”

  The friendly guy flashed the doorman a crooked smile. “We were hoping you would be able to help us with that. We’re here to see Katie, and we weren’t sure if she was on the fourth floor or the sixth.”

  The doorman smiled condescendingly. Like he had not heard that one before. “We’re not permitted to give out that information. I’m sure if you are expected you could give her a call, and she can give you the information.”

  The angry one pushed forward, trying to get past the doorman into the building. “I don’t think you understand. We are important people. I promise you’re going to regret it if you don’t let us through.”

  “I can promise that the two of you will regret it if you don’t stop making threats,” the doorman warned, standing his ground.

  The angry man removed his hat and shook it furiously, splattering water all over the doorman. “I don’t know who you think you are, but we’ll make sure that you will never work in this town again. And that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll make sure you don’t get a job, if you catch my drift.”

  The doorman squared his shoulders. Water dripped from the tip of his nose. “I’m sorry, gentlemen, but you’ll have to call Ms. Katie to get the information. I can promise you that she will understand my reluctance to allow two men I’ve never seen before through to her apartment. Two men who don’t even know where she lives.”

  The angry one reached for the doorman, and his eyes flashed a weak red. “Now, you listen here…”

  The doorman
grabbed his walkie from his pocket and thumbed the button. “Security, I have two gentlemen at the front door making threats. They are trying to get in uninvited to bother one of our residents.”

  “Ten-four, we’ll be right up,” came the reply from the walkie.

  The two men stepped back, angry as hell that he’d called security on them.

  Both men were livid at this point. Even the friendly man had dropped his mask of civility. “If you don’t call off security and let us through, I’ll make sure you don’t get home tonight.”

  The angry one leaned in close, whispering, “You want to see what we do when we’re mad at somebody?”

  The doorman smirked. He wiped water from his face and leaned against the doorway with his hands in his pockets. He nodded along as the two jerks threw out threat after threat, none of which fazed him. It wasn’t that he was overconfident or that he wasn’t scared of being injured, but he knew he was safe when a situation had anything to do with Katie. He had gotten to know her pretty well, just as most of the other staff in the building had. When she found out what was going on, she would make sure these guys never did it again.

  The doorman’s eyes flicked up and over their shoulders, and his smile changed to a lopsided grin.

  This pissed off the two men to no end.

  “What the fuck are you smiling about?” the angry one asked. “We’re serious about this.”

  Both men realized at that moment that the doorman wasn’t even looking at them, but was instead looking behind them. They each had a sinking feeling in their gut that they knew exactly who was standing behind them.

  The doorman’s face twisted into a snarl. “You were saying? What’s the matter? I thought you were serious.”

  One of the men grabbed the other by the wrist and shook his head, and both men turned slowly on trembling knees. Their arms dropped to their sides, and their eyes opened wide in surprise.

  Katie flew toward them in the pouring rain, wings stretched wide. Her furious wingbeats creating a hot wind that swirled around the two men. For a moment they could only focus on her blazing red eyes. It wasn’t until she was almost on top of them that they realized she had two of the gnarliest guns either man had ever seen, both raised like she was offering them a terrible gift.

  The doorman darted inside, closing the door behind him. “Oh, man, it’s going to suck to be you in three…two…”

  THUD!

  The concierge looked up from his book, barely showing emotion. “From the look on your face and the amateur percussion session outside, I’m assuming Katie came back.”

  A couple of screams and yelps filtered through the door and someone banged on it a couple of times, then there was a wet crunch and a protracted groan. The doorman shrugged and gave a crooked smile. “Yeah, and she heard everything they said.”

  The concierge peered at the door and grimaced. “Well, maybe they shouldn’t have come looking for her. It’s not like the whole world doesn’t know how dangerous she is. Stupid to even think about fucking with that woman, if you ask me.”

  The doorman glanced at the elevator as it dinged. The door opened, spilling a half-dozen security guards into the lobby, weapons at the ready. They stopped when they saw the flurry of wings and flailing limbs outside the doors, then lowered their weapons and watched.

  The concierge nodded toward the door and lifted an eyebrow. “I think she’s got this one. Grab two of those towels out of the cabinet. I’m sure she’s going to need them after this.”

  A few minutes later, the noise trickled off. The door opened and Katie stepped into the lobby, her wings now retracted. Water streamed down her clothing and from her boots to form a puddle on the floor underneath her.

  The security guards stood there for a moment, shocked, holding the towels as the doorman and concierge giggled quietly.

  Katie looked up with a huge smile. “Well, that was a good time, wasn’t it? You think I might have one of those towels?”

  The head security guard looked down at the towel and back up at her. “Oh, yeah. Sorry.” He stumbled over himself to get to her.

  Katie took the towel and dried her face and neck. “Sorry I took your fun away for the afternoon, guys.”

  The guard straightened, gathering his wits, and gave a fake yawn. “It’s okay. The show was worth it.”

  Katie held out the now-soaked towel and frowned at the puddle under her feet.

  The security guard raised an eyebrow and looked at the other guys. “You know, you might just want to strip down because of your wet clothes and stuff.”

  Pandora purred. Oh, they want to play?

  Katie smirked. “You gentlemen have a robe? And a few more towels?”

  Confused, one of the younger security guards looked around. The concierge directed him back to the closet, and the young man ran over and came back with a huge, fluffy robe. He had the grace to blush when he handed it to her. She winked lasciviously and undid her weapons belt, then raised her arms and called to the guards, “All right, boys, hold up your towels.”

  The guys held up their towels, and she stripped while the storm crashed outside. All they saw was the splash of bright red polish on her toenails peeking out. She kicked away her sodden clothing and pulled the robe over her shoulders, and after she knotted the tie around her waist, the guards lowered their towels. There she was, standing barefoot with her clothes in a pile by her feet.

  Thunder crashed hard outside.

  Although the guards jumped at the sound, Katie didn’t take any notice. She took one of the towels and rubbed it over her hair, then dropped it on the floor and stretched her arms over her head. Inside, Pandora chuckled, loving it when she took control of a situation like that.

  Katie’s eyes sparkled red to blue as she lifted the towel in the air with her foot and kicked it to one of the guards. “You’ll get those, won’t you, boys?

  The head security guy nodded fervently. “Of course. But not before we’ve cleaned up, ma’am.”

  Katie grinned, her dimples deep on her cheeks. All the guards melted and let out a collective deep sigh like a weird, perverted chorus of fangirls.

  The elevator dinged again, and the door slid open. She inclined her head toward the guards and flowed across the marble floor barefoot, her hair swinging down her back, and her weapons belt in her hand. She stepped inside and winked at the dazed guards as the elevator doors closed.

  The men just stood in the lobby, unable to talk or move for several moments. The doorman shook his head and went to grab a mop to clean up the wet puddles on the floor. He found it comical that the guards’ reactions were what they were, but he wasn’t going to embarrass them any further.

  The head security guard started with a sudden realization. He looked up at a security camera tucked into a corner of the ceiling. He knew full well that the whole thing had been caught on tape. He leveled his gaze at the other guards. As he spoke, he pointed his finger at each one in turn. “There better never be a copy of this video released anywhere, or you won’t have to worry about Katie. I’ll get you first.”

  One of the guards put up his hands in surrender and laughed. “You don’t have to worry about me, boss. My wife would get me before you ever had the chance.”

  Another of the guards followed suit, nodding dramatically. “The way my mouth was hanging open, I’m pretty sure none of my friends would ever let me live it down. You don’t gotta worry about me.”

  The head guard cleared his throat and tossed the rest of the towels to one of the guys. “Katie’s important. Not only are we responsible for her security here where she lives, but we’re also responsible for making sure no one knows exactly where she is. That video could put her and the rest of us in danger. I’m sure none of us want others to see us drooling over her. Even more so, none of us want to be attacked by demons. Let me hear you all say it—that video never leaves this place.”

  They all agreed, including the concierge and the doorman. The secret was safe with them. No one would reveal w
here Katie was or what had happened.

  Whoever those two men were, they had rushed off, most likely without the demons who had been hiding inside of them. They were lucky they had been standing outside on a public street. Otherwise, he was pretty sure Katie would have killed them right where they stood. He knew she was a force to be reckoned with, and he wasn’t going to do a damn thing to cross her. He was only concerned for her safety and that of the other residents of the building. Having Katie here put their lives at risk.

  As for him, he could imagine a lot after a brief glimpse of heaven.

  The rumbles of constantly-erupting volcanoes deep within the bowels of hell mirrored the thunder occurring topside. However, the demons were used to it. The chaos was just part of the background for them. They would have found it jarring had the constant seismic activity ceased. Above the landscape of bubbling lava and screaming souls, Moloch and his sidekick Baal were enjoying an early afternoon snack.

  Moloch grabbed one of the swishing lizard tails from a bowl, the chocolate melting on his large talons. “The volcanoes are overactive today. His Majesty must be feeling feisty.”

  Baal crunched down on one of the lizards, and the creature’s tail flipped back and forth out of the corner of his mouth. He slurped it up and swallowed, nodding. “From what I’ve heard, the recent antics of his wife have left him a little bit out of sorts. Then again, it’s not like I blame him. She’s acting like a complete fool. Imagine, working with your meatsack!” Baal cracked up at the idea.

  Moloch let out a deep chortle. “You think by now he would be used to her antics. It’s not like she was some perfect demon when he met her. Now she’s wearing that angel, and she thinks she’s invincible.”

  Baal shook his head. “She’s strong enough to fight either of us, and Lucifer can’t go topside without all the angels descending upon him. She’s found her playground. Unfortunately, she’s become attached to those idiots on Earth. But she isn’t invincible—we both know that. Between the weapons the humans have created and the protections that angel bitch gives her, she appears way stronger than she actually is. Take those things away, and she’s a regular demon just like you and me. Kill her human and send her straight back to hell? Piece of cake. I’m sure his Majesty would love to take a strip or two from her hide.”