DEATH (The Justice Cycle Book 1) by J Kiefer (best novels in english TXT) 📕

basis, it was her job after all, but now it seemed to her like her whole world was being swallowed up by it.

Thirty-Three

Jared’s consciousness flooded back. Something was wrong. Tzedakah glowed fiercely in his hand and the radiance from the blade illuminated the small hotel room. His new eyes did not need the light to see and he did not notice anything out of the ordinary. Jeremy was soundly asleep on the bed, his soft snoring reminding Jared of a cat’s purr. All seemed well, but his sense of danger increased.

“The window,” Tzedakah said urgently.

Panther-like, he moved to the large picture window and peered through the curtains.

Outside, a rather average-looking middle-aged Caucasian man with dirty blond hair was standing in the parking lot staring intently at the door to their room. At first glance, no one would consider this man a threat, but the same sense of danger that had jolted him out of his rest intensified.

Another man came walking up to stand next to the first. He was a tall African American man who looked to be about thirty. He was fit and muscular and wearing jeans and a tight sports T-shirt. Neither man acknowledged the other but simply continued to stare at the door as if they were waiting for something.

Like something out of a zombie apocalypse movie, people of all ages, ethnicities, and genders streamed into the hotel parking lot. Before long there were about thirty of them congregating in front of their door. Just like the first two who had arrived, none spoke or acknowledged each other, but simply stared at the door. They seemed docile, but he could not shake the now screaming feeling of dread.

“What the—?” he asked out loud.

Jeremy stirred and propped himself up and looked around groggily. He rubbed his eyes attempting to force the sleep away. “What’s going on?”

“Be quiet,” Jared hissed with more venom than he intended. “There are about thirty people milling around outside in the parking lot.”

“Huh?” Jeremy shot out of bed instantly awake. “How long have they been there?”

He stumbled across the room, the fear that had been rising in his heart turning into full-on dread. As soon as he reached the window, he quickly drew back the curtain and his eyes went wide with terror. “Oh, crap.”

“You know what’s going on?”

“Yeah, I think.” Jeremy pulled on his coat. “You see that aura emanating from them? Like a red stain in the air around ’em.”

Aura was perhaps the wrong word to describe what he saw. Each person seemed to have tendrils of smoke flowing and moving about their bodies. The smoke writhed and contorted and was attached to each person like puppet strings attached to marionettes. The stain did not engulf the people but snaked its way into their souls.

“We need to move before they attack,” Jeremy said, his eyes searching the scene.

Tzedakah drew Jared’s gaze upward into the night sky. It was a clear night but in one area of the sky, the stars were blotted out by a large dark shadow. He did not need Tzedakah to know that the huge shadow blocking the stars was the tendrils’ source. “I think I found the puppet master.”

Jeremy looked up and grimaced.

“Can this night get any worse?” he growled. “I know. I know. You don’t need to tell me who it is. I can sense his filth all the way in here.”

Jared was about to tell him that he had no idea who it was that was out there when he realized that Jeremy was not talking to him. Tzedakah spoke the word “Dominion” into his mind. Confusion clouded his features as he tried to make sense of what it meant.

“Does Dominion mean anything to you?” he asked Jeremy.

“Yeah,” Jeremy said as he frantically checked the locks on the door for the tenth time. “A nasty bugger of a demon who enjoys contorting and bending people to his will. Honestly, most demons don’t bother will full-blown possession because it draws too much attention. Most prefer influence and manipulation. You know, intense thoughts or desires that you know you shouldn’t have but can’t seem to get out of your head? Suggestions. This guy likes to use straight-up possession. And trust me, unlike most demons, he is powerful enough to control more than one person at a time.”

“How many people?”

“A lot. I’ve run into him a few times over the years, but I usually just steer clear and stay out of his way.”

Jared frowned.

“What’s up?” Jeremy asked.

“Tzedakah says that only a few of the people out there deserve death,” Jared said, relaying the sword’s message. “That means we’re going to have to try to do this without hurting them too much.”

Jeremy smiled ruefully. “Well, at least that answers the question of whether you are just an ‘executioner for the universe.’ Of course, I’m pretty sure that Dominion will not be so considerate of their wellbeing.”

As soon as the words left Jeremy’s mouth, he noticed movement in his peripheral vision and turned just in time to see ten people charging toward them. “Crap.”

Jared was already on the move. He threw himself through the large window, shattering it, just before the first wave of drones reached their door. He took out the two closest to him with quick jabs, punching them so hard they flew spiraling away into parked cars. Jared winced, hoping that he hadn’t done them permanent damage. Before he had time to dwell on it, he was engaged by the second wave.

The remaining eight from the first wave hammered on the hotel room door while the next ten advanced on Jared. Tzedakah glowed even brighter as they rushed to overwhelm him with the sheer force of their numbers. Jared punched and kicked, trying his best to pull his strikes.

An Asian woman struck him in the face with a force that was certainly not human; his head flew backward, knocking him into a man who was trying to drag him down from behind.