Burn (Drift Book 3) (17 page)

“At least from what we know on our end
,” Anne interrupted Shade.

“Fair enough, but that still doesn’t mean that your dreams
—this dream—is going to come true. Besides, it’s up to your interpretation, anyway. Even if your dream is real, you could be wrong about what it
really
means…right?”

“Well
, yes, but—”

“Then we can’t assume that’s what it means. It scares us a
ll and gives us no hope. Leo was told he couldn’t defeat the two foes that he beat, but yet, here he is, still standing. So let’s not bet on the worst, okay?” Shade looked around at everyone.

“Shade…there
’s a lot of truth to what your mother is saying and you know it. The earthquake, my beef with Hell, the things we’ve been though, recent visits from certain guests…I think your mother might be right.” I glanced at my frustrated girlfriend, who looked at me with shock.

“Of all people
, Leo, you’re the one we’re counting on, and you’re saying that you might die?” She swallowed hard.

“I’m not saying that.”

“Then what are you saying?”

“I’m
saying that nothing is set in stone…nothing. I was supposed to die twice already in this quest, but I didn’t. I expect no other news than I’m supposed to get killed again. I don’t believe I will die, and if I did, I might as well give up now, so of course I’m not saying that.”

Shade looked relieved and leaned away from me as I continued to speak.

“But what I
am
saying is that I feel your mother is right about one thing. Christian, and the couple of demons that rank above him, may be opening the doors to Hell.”

“Are you saying that these demons, or vampires, or whatever, are just going to be allowed to run amuck?” Anne questioned.

“Oh no, they’ll be held in check, they must be. Others are watching and making sure of that. They’re more about coming for me, not for humans…although I can’t completely rule that out, but I must admit that I can’t be certain of that, either. It’s just they’ve never done that in the past that I know of,” I warned.

“Great.” Sheriff Taylor shook his head in frustration.

“There is something that I haven’t told you all…something more.” I watched everyone in the room lock their focus directly onto me.

“What
?” Shade asked.

“I’m afraid that there will be one more trial before my final meeting with Christian
, but I hope I’m wrong.”

“
And that is?” Shade pushed me further.

“A demon by the name of War.”

“War?” Benjamin reiterated.

“That’s right. War
,” I confirmed.

“What about this…War, Leo?” Anne urged.

“War is the hand, or next in command, to Christian. In Hell, War is in control under Lord Bellock, son of Satan, when Christian is out of the underworld. He is feared by all that dwell in and out of Hell, even feared by angels. No one has ever seen what War looks like because he’s always concealed by a black, hooded cloak, but it’s rumored he can take the shape of anyone in Hell or even become an actual entity that dwells within the underworld. For instance, if I was stuck in Hell, he could take on my likeness or even embody me to fight as him and with his power. He’s loyal to Christian and only follows his commands, and of course Lord Bellock’s. To my knowledge he’s never left Hell… although I have no proof of that.”

“So…his only interest is you or does War want more than just you?” Shade asked. I completely understoo
d the logistics of her question because of what happened to her the last time we had to face a council member.

“I’m sure he’
ll come just to kill me, there’s no reason War would directly come after a human, that just doesn’t make sense and I don’t detect that’s Christian’s intent for him.”

“Is there anything we can do, Leo?” Sheriff Taylor asked.

“Yes. Stay out of the way…all of you. If a time comes when I must face War, wherever and whenever that may be, just stay away and hope for the best. That’s the best help you could give me.” I smiled at them.

Everyone stared at each other around the table in obvious worry.

“Don’t forget to continue to care for Leo as well,” a familiar voice to me, but not to the other guests in the room, well, maybe Scruffy, called out from a corner in the room. I turned to see Argento and Elysia entering from another room.

Sheriff Taylor turned to them and reached for his holster
. “Who are you two? How did you get in here?”

Everyone that remained seated stood up while those that stood backed away. Only Scruffy and I remained calm.

“Hey, Argento,” Scruffy called out.

Argento bowed to him.

“Easy, Sheriff,” I signaled to him that we were safe. “Everyone…meet a couple of bonafide angels straight from Heaven. Say hello to Argento and his hand, Elysia.” I stood up to introduce them and the two bowed again in greeting.

A few reluctant hello
s were muttered and the duo approached the dining room table.

“Yeah…How did you guys get in here?” Scruffy smirked.

“Dude, they’re angels…enough said.” I grinned at him.

Argento and Elysia
smiled. “We go where we are needed,” Argento answered, “Please…everyone relax, be seated, we have more to add to this evolving situation.”

Everyone, except for me
, sat down in the empty seats. Those that didn’t have a chair found one. I moved closer to the two angels and paid close attention to their words.

“As Leo said, I am Argento, hand to Saint Micha
el the Archangel, and this is Elysia, hand to me.”

Everyone greeted them
.

“We have been giving Leo the best advice we
can and are here now because you are the chosen few that have been allowed access to this privileged information. You know what no other human on earth knows. You have insight as to what is going on in the world around you and why our mutual friend Leo is here.”

“You
’re really a couple of angels?” Richard asked.

“Yes
,” Argento answered.

“And you’re allowing all of this to happen to him…to us?” Shade’s dad became a little ruder.

“We allow nothing. We are observers, and at times, here to prevent things from going too far,” Argento continued.

“Too far? Don’t you think Heaven could have stepped in a little sooner? You know…before vampires ran wild a
ll over this town kidnapping and killing our children?” Richard started to rise but Anne grabbed him, pulling him back in his seat.

Before they could respond, I jumped in
. “Richard, they don’t have anything to do with what went on. This has everything to do with Hell. I know this may not make sense to you, but you must believe me when I say that without these two, your daughter probably wouldn’t have come home. This is above you…above you all. Take comfort in knowing that we’re doing everything we can to ensure that no harm comes to even one more human. There is an order to things…laws, that not even Sheriff Taylor would know anything about. They must be followed.”

“Are you saying that an alliance, of sorts, is happening here between the three of you?” Sheriff Taylor pointed out.

I looked to Argento for the answer. “In a sense, yes, but we realize Leo is still demon. There are reservations between us, I’m sure. We are here as advisors to him and nothing more. It’s up to Leo whether or not to take our advice.”

“So what brings
you to our dining room today? Advice?” Amanda asked.

“Indeed.” Elysia finally spoke up and stepped forward
. “Leo, you are correct, War will be set free, but no one knows what or whose identity he will take…not even Heaven. As we speak, filth from the fires of Hell, are plotting to spill out all over the human world ahead of War. First they will come as a drizzle, then when War is released will come the flood.”

“What do they want?” Shade asked.

“Hell sees an opening for their beasts to come out and corrupt in numbers greater than any earth period in history. It appears they want to keep the eyes of Heaven very busy with this Diccittidel engagement. We fear that there may be a larger agenda falling into place…” before she could say another word, Argento reached over and grabbed her by the wrist. He stepped in front of Elysia.

“As we’ve discussed
, Leo, more information will come to you on an as needed basis. What my hand is trying to say is that we think Christian has more than just your quest for Diccittidel on his mind. As for what exactly he has planned, we are still unclear, but we are working on it.”

Everyone looked around at each other in confusion, but I remembered from previous conversation
s that Argento would inform me as he saw fit. I respected that agreement, even though I knew there was more to the story than what they were telling me.

“Is that why you
’re here, then? To confirm that War will be coming for me and to hint that Christian has something more up his sleeve? I’ve pretty much put that together already.” I added a touch of sarcasm in order to prod them to get to the point.

“Yes, but we’re here today
more for the humans. We have shown up to introduce ourselves and have brought counsel to them as well,” Argento answered.

“What do you have to tell us?” Shade asked.

“As I’m sure Leo has warned you, Christian is one of the most dangerous demons in all of history, next to Bellock and Satan. He isn’t egotistical and foolish as Shimmer was, nor is he arrogant and as self-absorbed as Agrelia. He is the most dangerous mind any of us, and I do mean
any
of us, have ever encountered. Not only that, and this is directed at you, Leo, he is every bit as powerful as us angels.”

“I was afraid of that.” I sighed in frustration.

“But…he does have his weaknesses, too.” Argento half smirked.

“What weaknesses are those?” Shade questioned.

“Love,” Elysia answered.

“Love?” Anne added.

“Yes, that is why we have come to visit you. The kindness and generosity that you have shown Leo, knowing what he is and putting yourselves in harm’s way because you care for him, is the greatest weapon you have against Christian. These are signs that you are all beginning to love him, well, I think we know you love him, Shade.” Shade smiled and looked down at the table. “When the time comes, Leo will need that emotion. It will be his greatest weapon against Christian,” Elysia informed us.

“But Leo has the Demon Dagger. That’s the greatest weapon he has against Christian…right?” Scruffy interjected.

“The Demon Dagger means nothing to Christian,” Argento chimed in.

“What are you talking about?” I was stunned.

“The reason why Christian hasn’t attempted, and will not attempt to come for the Demon Dagger is because…no demon can kill him with it…not even Leo.” Argento glared at me more intensely than he ever had before. I wasn’t expecting that.

“What?” Shade shouted as some grumbling broke out around the table, “Then how is he supposed to kill Christian?”

“Another way,” he answered.

Shade threw her hands up in annoyance, wanting him to stop being so vague.

Argento then took his hard stare off me and gave Shade a look of serenity. “With Love. Like we are trying to tell you, the love you hold for him is the strongest weapon forged against Christian. When the times comes, let it blossom into courage.”

“What do you mean by that?” Anne chimed in.

“They’re angels, Anne, they always speak in riddles. Don’t bother trying to get a direct answer. Like your dreams, it is up to us to figure this out,” I responded to her. Argento and Elysia simply bowed again.

I could visually tell that everyone was a little frustrated by the angels
’ lack of directness, but I knew if we all put our heads together, we would not be led astray. I understood why they couldn’t be straight to the point with us, they couldn’t just give us the answers, that’s direct interference. I felt like presenting the information to us in this way brought us closer anyway because we needed to work together in order to figure out what they were talking about. Very clever.

“What about this…War character? Can Leo’s dagger be used to kill it?” Benjamin weighed in.

“Yes…which is why it’s still a necessity. Not to mention Leo can be killed by it, of course, in the hands of War or Christian...or anyone else, for that matter,.” Argento answered.

“So let me get this straight. I can’t kill Christian with the dagger but I can kill War
, and love is how I can kill Christian?” I scratched my head.

Again, the two of them bowed.

“Well, hopefully we’ll figure it out.” I looked around at everyone.

“Remember, love one another and continue to care for Leo, it is your greatest strength.” Elysia smiled.

“We will go for now, but know that we are watching, and when you need us, we will be there…but not a second earlier,” Argento added.