LAILAH
EIGHTEEN
As promised, I stayed outside while Parker entered the control room to deal with the man inside.
I could hear the sound of a scuffle, but the thick metal door kept me from hearing much else, so I sent up a prayer that Parker was as skilled as he thought he was.
The room fell silent and then the door swung open to reveal a grim Parker.
"All clear, come on in, I want to take a look at the computer systems."
Entering, I found the man knocked out and propped up in the corner, his hard hat laying next to him.
I could tell by the slow movement of his chest that he was still alive, which made me let out the breath I'd been holding.
Knowing first hand what it was like to have that weight on you, I would never wish that on anyone, let alone someone I loved.
"See if you can find something to tie him up with while I do this," Parker instructed as he typed away at the computer terminal.
I knew he was mad at me about the stunt I pulled, and even agreed it was a stupid move, but it didn't make it sting any less to have him brusque with me.
Back in a locker, I found a tool box with zip-ties in it and grabbed a handful to use.
Once I bound his hands and feet together, I slipped the radio off his belt then began scrolling through the channels to see if there was anyone else talking.
"This is guard team five, to Mozog do you copy."
"Mozog is unavailable, this is High Demon Brutus."
My eyes shot up to Parker's when the second man spoke, recognizing it from the generator room.
"High Demon Brutus, we found a door on the backside that has been damaged. Please be alert we might have intruders. It seems they torched the lock."
A hissing snarl echoed through the walkie-talkie. "Pull in every guard we have. I want this place searched from top to bottom, Lord Mozog is dealing with a conduit and we can't let them be disturbed."
Gasping at what he said, I dropped the radio and covered my mouth to keep from making any more sound.
That's what they'd meant when they said Phoebe's soul was tainted, making her a perfect match to be a conduit for one of the Dark Lord's Greater demons.
I'd spent every extra waking hour learning all the names and traits for the seventy-two Greater demons that made up the Dark Lord's court.
After almost being one for the Mother of All, I didn't want to ever end up in a situation where I wasn't informed about what was going on.
If we'd known more about Dantalion, Ubel wouldn't have gotten the drop on us like he did.
"Lailah," Parker called, pulling me out of my head. "Look at me Trouble, right in the eyes." I did as he asked, reaching out a hand to him. "We won't let her go through what you did, I promise."
"You can't promise that Parker, no one can," I stated bluntly. "I was lucky, being Synergy and bound to you guys. It saved my life, but Phoebe won't have that, none of these poor people do."
Parker cupped my face with his hands. "Lailah, on my Oath I swore to keep you safe, as well as the people on this planet we call Earth.
How can I not promise to do right by her?
I might not love her the way I love you, but she still holds a special place in my heart.
It's a downfall of being the Spirit element, once someone becomes important to me, they always will be.
I've watched what you've gone through for months, so I'm telling you right now, we will do whatever it takes to try and prevent her getting taken by some slimy bitch of a demon. "
Unable to speak, I nodded my head. I could appreciate what he was saying but the reality of it was, she'd been dosed by the serum and if we didn't find a cure, in many ways it was already late for everyone in this building.
Not that, that fact would stop us from saving them all, it just made the outcome more challenging. "What's your plan then?"
"I figured out how to cut the power to just the building but not to the city around it, leaving the backup power working to supply during the shutdown.
It will only be out for a half hour before the whole system will do a reboot and fix what I changed.
This should unlock every door, making it easier to move around and get people talking on the radio so we can hear where they are better. "
"It's as good a plan as any," I sighed, pulling out my cell phone. "I'm gonna send the others a message so they know our plan and where the location of the harvest room is."
"That's good because we're not going there."
"What? Why not?"
Parker spared me a look as he continued to type. "There is another area of the building that I think they have Phoebe in. The power draw in there is too strong for something important not to be happening there."
That sounded logical to me, but I didn't love the idea of us going after a Greater demon with just the two of us.
If the Dark Lord hadn't pulled Ubel back to talk to him, I never would have had the upper hand.
Mix in the fact a Higher level demon was running around, I'd want all the help we could get.
I typed out everything we learned and sent it, having one bar of service, and prayed that it would be enough to get it out into the data stream to alert them if they get a signal.
"Ready, power is going out in three…two…one."
The constant hum that had been vibrating through the building stopped, making it almost too quiet for my liking.
"What the hell just happened," Brutus yelled through the radio. "Control room, do you copy? Control room."
"There is a team close by, we'll check it out."
Parker reached out a hand to me. "Time to go."
Grasping it, I let him pull me to my feet and we bolted out the door, running as fast as we could, no longer caring about keeping silent.
I trusted Parker to know where to go so I just kept pace, thankful that running was my favorite hobby.
Shoving through a set of double doors, we rounded a corner but Parker screeched to a halt as three men in all black uniforms with flashlights and guns appeared in front of us.
"They went through that door, two of them both dressed all in black with this weird symbol on the shoulder. We tried to get them to stop, but they were too fast and well trained, almost military if you ask me," Parker explained, pretending to huff and puff like he was out of shape.
One guard lowered his gun slightly. "What did the symbol look like?"
"It was some star looking thing, but had symbols on the points that connected to one in the middle. Never seen anything like it before in my life," Parker answered, describing the Elementi symbol to them.
"Fuck," a guard swore. "How the hell did they find us out here? The closest branch is in Chicago."
"Doesn't matter, we need to alert the other teams about this. You two turn around and head back to the harvest room, if they are going to attack, that’s the room they’re aiming for," the lead guard of their group said, raising his walkie-talkie to his mouth.
Quickly, I turned ours down where I clipped it to the back of my jeans, hidden under the sweater I'd worn to hide my scars.
"Guard teams, be advised that the Elementi have been spotted and are gunning for harvest room three on the upper level," he said, then turned to the other two. "Good thing only harvest room one is full since we sent off our shipment two days ago. What are you two still standing there for, GO!"
We turned on our heels and started off back the way we came, until we rounded the corner and Parker pulled me to a stop while we waited for them to leave. Once the hall was quiet again, we booked it down the hall and up three flights of stairs to a steel door.
"This looks like a roof access," I pointed out. "How would the roof be drawing power?"
"It's not, but the room can be accessed through skylights that are on the roof. If we’re going to drop into a party with a Greater demon, and who knows how many Higher or Mid-Level demons, I'd rather have every advantage we can," Parker pointed out.
"My hope is that since they are on the hunt, no one will be up here, or only one person.
I'll head out first going to the right, you go left, and we'll take anyone down along the way. "
"You make that sound so simple," I grumbled.
"None of that now, Trouble," Parker warned. "You've come a long way in your combat training, I know you'll be fine."
Taking a deep breath and shaking out my body, I gave him a nod that I was ready.
He pushed open the door, which gave a loud screech from the hinges, making us both pause to wait and listen.
After a few moments and nothing happening, we executed our plan.
Keeping low, I headed for the closest cover keeping my eyes peeled for any movement or sound that would alert me to someone being up here.
The roof was massive and seemed to be in a U shape, with the middle lower where the generator area was.
What I wouldn't give for some binoculars right now, to check out the other side of the U.
I circled back when not crossing over to the other side, feeling that the chances of someone being up here were slim.
"All clear?" Parker asked as we met in the middle.
"Yeah," I confirmed. "I kept a look out for the other side too but didn't see any kind of movement."
"Then I'd say this is as good a time as any to check out what's going on in the secret room," Parker announced.
I'd seen the Plexiglas bubbles that made up the skylights but avoided going near them so I didn't cast a shadow.
The plastic was warped and not very clear due to weathering, but it was better than nothing and kept us from being noticed right away.
The first three sky lights we didn't see anything useful, it looked like a large conference room with a table and chairs.
When we came to the fourth, I knew right away what I was looking at and it sent chills down my spine.
I had to back away from the sight of it, pulling my knees up to my chest so I could rest my head on them, trying to take calming breaths.
"Lailah, what is it?" Parker asked, his voice full of worry.
The only answer I could give him at the moment was to just shake my head.
I'd talked to my therapist about everything that had gone on, but the guys didn't know the whole story.
It was too hard to talk about still. With the reassurance from my therapist, they let it be and knew I would talk about it with them when I was ready.
The problem was, I was nowhere near ready to face what I saw down in that room again, which made me even more upset.
It was a stone altar, just like the Dark Lord had placed me on to perform the ritual connecting me to Lilith.
That's where he carved up my skin, bled on me, and chanted those dark heinous words, trying to get me to be the perfect puppet for his lover.
It was by the grace of God, and the Angels that blessed me with the power of Synergy, that I was saved from that awful fate, along with my bonds to the guys.
Phoebe had none of those things to protect her.
She wasn't laid out on it yet but I had no doubt that is what they meant to do to her, since she was already tainted by some experience, along with having been dosed with the serum.
Lifting my head, I met Parker's worried gaze and reached out a hand to him.
When he grasped mine in both of his, I felt strong enough to explain my reaction.
"That's the room we’re looking for and where they plan to make her into a conduit for one of the Greater demons of the Dark Lord’s court.
That stone slab with the carvings in an altar and it connects them to Hell and the demon they are going to pair her with.
If we can destroy the altar, it will cripple their ability to make more conduits for stronger demons.
It won't stop them from being possessed by others but it's better than nothing. "
"Do you think you can destroy it if I hold off whoever is in the room?"
My panicked brain screamed out in protest but I pushed it as far down as I could, knowing I needed to stand up to this fear. "I will give it everything I've got, if you give me the time to try."
"We could wait for the others, now that we’re outside I'm sure Jay and the others got your message," Parker offered.
"No," I blurted, shaking my head furiously. "We might be too late at that point. We need to do this now, before they get any further with Phoebe, or we won't be able to save her."
Parker licked his lips and searched my face, as if he wasn't sure I could handle doing this.
"Let's check the other skylight and see if it's the same room, so I can pull their attention from you entering right over the altar.
If not, then I'll drop in using the conference room, making a racket and see if I can draw them out so you can do your thing.
I know you want to destroy that thing, but if it looks like you can't and we have a chance to still save Phoebe, then do that. Phoebe is the reason we’re here, we can come back with more help to deal with everything else going on here, alright. "
I knew what he was saying was reasonable, but I knew if we left without obliterating that altar, they would either kill off the other people they had, or let lesser demons possess them.
They wouldn't wait around to have the Elementi attack them a second time.
This was the only shot we had to ruin this operation and the one reason the Elementi Warriors were created—we‘re their only hope. "Let's do this."