Shadow Warriors

Chapter fourteen

"In here," the cold, snake-like voice echoed from the back of the house, and Sarah marched into the dimly lit dining room. Margret sat on the chair, in the same restrained way Sarah saw on the video, and Jake stood behind her, a long kitchen knife in his hands.

"Why are you doing this, Jake? Let her go, please."

Jake grinned, a sardonic thing, that turned her skin cold. "I honestly didn't think you would show up here alone. I knew you wouldn't call the cops, but I have to say, I expected you to be stupid enough to bring that monster with you."

Sarah inched her way into the room meeting her grandmother's scared eyes. "Please just let her go. She has nothing to do with this."

Jake nodded, his eyes not once leaving Sarah's. "You know what? You're right, we don't need her anymore."

He moved around her, the knife dangerously close to the frail skin on Margaret's neck. He stopped at her side, raising the knife to her head.

"No! Jake, please, please. I'm begging you, don't do this. You have me, you can let her go."

Jake paused the knife inches away from her grandmother's chest, his eyes burning into Sarah. "Why should I listen to anything you say? Huh? Why?"

She held her hands up at her sides and carefully moved forward. "We're friends, Jake. Before all this craziness came into my life, we were friends. Please, just tell me why you're doing this."

"How much has that asshole told you? Did he tell you about the crusades? About the witch hunt? About what he does to people in Purgatory? What my mother went through because of him?"

"No." She moved closer. "But I know about the crusades. I know about how he devours souls in purgatory. I have a friend who told me a lot."

The arm holding the knife lowered as Jake frowned at her. "So, you know what he is? You know you can't trust him," Jake's arm sagged to his side and he stepped forward, "Help me, Sarah. Help me kill him. If I can end his reign of terror, then Purgatory can go back to the way it was. To the peaceful afterlife it used to be before he destroyed it."

That stopped Sarah in her tracks. Axin didn't do that. Your mother did!

She contemplated telling him the truth, hitting him with the facts, but the crazed look in Jake's eyes had her rethinking that idea. For now, all she could do was play along, as she called out for Axin in her mind.

"I never asked for any of this, Jake. I had no idea any of this existed before a few days ago."

Jake narrowed his eyes at her, "Don't lie to me, Sarah. I know Axin has watched over you since the day he killed your folks. I was there, I saw him pull you out. I could feel his filthy existence around you every time I saw you. His stench in your apartment, on your skin. Don't tell me you never noticed him."

Sarah hastened to answer. "I only ever saw his smoke. It terrified me my whole life. I thought I was going crazy! Does that sound like something I wanted in my life?"

Jake let out a long breath, his eyes turning sad. "Did he tell you what he and Nilu did to the rest of my family? To Nilu's sisters and brothers?"

Sarah met her grandmother's eyes. They were wide, confused, and still dripping with tears.

"No," Sarah said, giving the old lady a small nod.

Jake laughed. "Of course he didn't. He would never make himself look bad in front of his precious Sarah. Well, let me hit you with a bit of truth about him! Nilu had five siblings. Three sisters and two brothers. My mother was the youngest of them. She died in a war he started! The rest fled to the high mountains in Chile. They lived there for hundreds of years, in peace. They never bothered anyone. They hardly used their magic. But Nilu wanted them dead. He sent Axin to hunt them down. Did you ever hear about the earthquake of 1960? One of the largest ever recorded in the world. That was my family trying to defend themselves from Axin. But it was no use. He still killed each and every one of them. Generations of my family slaughtered like animals! That is who he is. That is all he ever does!"