Drift (Drift Series) (17 page)

Our eyes met. This time I did
n’t turn away from Christian’s domineering gaze. I was pissed, my judgment had been handed down, and I was beginning not to give a damn about Christian’s total rule. He could do whatever he wanted with me, but when it came to protecting Shade, this is where I drew my line in the sand. Just when it seemed that he was going to run me through as consequence for my actions, Shade’s peaceful voice interrupted our alpha-male contest.

“What do you mean recruitment of Darryl Kite?”

“You mean Leo hasn’t told you?”

“Well, yes…a little. He told me his job was to make Darryl a demon, which meant I needed to be killed in the process. But Leo saved me. How can he be condemned for that?” I smiled at her as she pleaded my case to a remorseless Christian.

“Silly girl. Spiritual law is above your head. For now it is, anyway, but your time will come as it does for all of us. Are you forgetting it was he who was behind Darryl beating you…bullying you
and
nearly killing you? Are you not aware that you were his sacrificial lamb in the road of demonic advancement that Leo travels upon? You were the next step in his climb up.”

“You said it yourself,
was
the next step. It didn’t happen. Leo didn’t go through with it. Instead, he saved me.”

“Yes
, child, but you forget, he put you in that situation to begin with…deliberately.” Christian grinned as he paced in front of us.

“He may have played a role, but you pulled the strings. Darryl made the choices. Therefore, Darryl is the one responsible for his own actions, not Leo. Besides, I
’ve forgiven him for what he did, and that is
my
choice, and no one can take it from me, especially you.”

I can’t deny it; Shade
was much stronger than I in the face of Christian.

“Stupid girl.” Christian shook his head in disbelief. “This conversation is going nowhere. Have it your way. Your forgiveness still doesn’t change the fact that his actions have condemned him to the pits of Hell forever. Your petty gesture of kindness can do nothing to save him now.” Christian’s face lit up with glee.

“What are you saying? What is he saying, Leo?”

“Oh, he hasn’t told you everything
, after all. Don’t mind me, please, do tell her of your regrettable circumstances.” Christian reveled seeing my distress of having to tell her myself. So I did.

“Forgive me one more time please, for not telling you. I didn’t want to hurt you any more than you had already been hurt. I’m afraid not mentioning this was selfish on my part. I wanted to be around as long as I could.”

Her eyes welled up and her chin began to quiver. “I don’t understand.”

“Christian is the Demon Lord on earth. To disobey him is to disobey the will of Bellock, the son of Satan. Doing as I have revokes my demon privileges here and puts me back in Hell. Trust me, everyone wants to stay out of Hell. My time is over now, I must go. It’s the will of the council.”

Shade shoved her head on my chest and hugged me. I squeezed her and she lifted her head up to look at me. I wiped a tear off her cheek and glanced over at Christian. I could tell he was completely disgusted.

“This has gone on long enough. Never have I seen a demon do such things. You
’re an embarrassment, clinging to a human. But at the same time, you’re a mystery. A demon with emotions, a conscience. Nonetheless, it’s intriguing, but still makes you all the more worthless and weak. End your business with her now. We must go. The council has spoken.”

Shade buried her head
against me again and sobbed. I held her with everything I had in me. Then, I pulled out my wings, surrounding her in our last double embrace.

“Right now!” Christian ordered.

I eased her away from our embrace. She sniffled, looking to me with weary, watery eyes. Every part of my being ached. This particular emotion wasn’t a first for me. I felt hopeless; I knew I’d never see her again after I let her go.

“I love you, Shade. No matter where I am, always know I loved you more deeply than any guy, mortal or not, could love a girl. I always will.” I started to follow the marching Christian. We outstretched our arms, clinging onto one another’s hands as long as we could.

“I-I love you, too.” Our fingertips finally released.

Each step away from her felt like concrete filled my shoes.

“Now!” Christian shouted.

I only got a few yards from Shade when she stopped me with,
“Leo, is there nothing that can change this?”

I stopped to turn. “No.” But there was,
one
, small way. “Well, there is one way, but it’s futile. No one, and I do mean no one, has ever succeeded at it because, well, it’s impossible. No one dares try…and neither will I.”

“But why? Why?”

“Because, if I failed, it would mean spiritual death as well. There would be no chance of ever being in existence on any plane, ever again. I’d rather be tortured in Hell than be gone as if I never was. At least in Hell I still exist. At least in Hell…I can still think of you.”

“Maybe so, but there
’s no chance for us to be together like that, either! This is at least an opportunity!”

“Shade, it will not be an opportunity, I
won’t be victorious. I have to go. I-I’m sorry, but I can’t.” All hope was lost between us. I started walking again.

“Please Leo, don’t go. You
’re the greatest thing that has ever entered my life. There’s no way you’re meant to be confined by him! No way! You have something more, even he knows it.”

Christian stopped his determined walk and turned around.

“So if you won’t do it for yourself…if you love me, do it for me. And if
we
fail, we do it together. Please. For me.”

Warmth took over my soul like a wave. How could I turn her down? She was the only thing that made me feel alive, why wouldn’t I pursue that at whatever cost? Christian must have known what I was considering because he looked at me with an expression I had never seen on his face before…worry.

“Christian. I declare…
Diccitidel
.”

His eyes widened. He stomped to me in a fury. “You fool. Do you realize what you have said, what you have done?” I nodded, causing him to shake in violent distress.

“So be it. It will be fun watching you be swept from the pages of existence forever. Enjoy your last night of peace; I’ll give that to you. Then, let’s start on your stomping grounds first. It will be nice to take you on your turf. Meet me on the highest point of Eagle Peak Mountain tomorrow night so we can begin. I sense a change of seasons blowing in tomorrow. It should be a delightful evening. Of course, you know what happens if you don’t show up, correct?”

I shook my head. Christian grinned and opened his gigantic wings. “Splendid, this should be fun. Oh, and don’t forget to bring the girl.” He flapped his wings, lifted into the air
, and disappeared into the night.

I spun around and walked up to Shade. “What’s going on
, Leo? What did you just do?”

“I did what we both wanted.”

“What was that?”

“Took a chance on us being together. Now all I have to do is the impossible.”

“And that is?”

I walked behind her and grabbed
her waist. “I’ll tell you after we check on Scruffy and Sandra. But for now, we need to get back to my car. Hold on.”

She held onto my arms and we flew back to the Gardens of Zeus. The words I spoke to Christian were a hell of a lot more powerful than anything Shade could possibly comprehend. I just declared war on the council, war on Christian, war on Hell, and there would be no way out until the end
. Either their end…or mine.

CHAPTER 14

TUMBLE

We soared back to my ride in a blaze. The entire time I felt tension within Shade. If I had a mortal body, I would have surely had my circulation cut off from her vi
se-like grip. This was much different from the relaxed and near carefree way she had held onto me earlier.

After doing a quick fly-over to make sure we could land without being noticed, I hurriedly led Shade to the car. When we got inside, she demanded I give her some answers. I squealed out of the parking lot and dashed onto the highway. Shade stared at me hard from the passenger seat as we headed for BNB’s, sure that’s where we’d find Scruffy and Sandra.

“What…now you have nothing to say to me? What’s going on?”

“We’re going to BNB’s.” I glued my eyes to the road.

“Don’t ignore what I’m talking about. Tell me what you just agreed to, please.”

I procrastinated a few more seconds as I removed one hand from the steering wheel and rubbed my head. “I declared Diccitidel.”

“Okay…what does that mean?”

“It means I have challenged the authority of Christian’s council. By challenging their authority, I have officially challenged the will of Lord Bellock, the devil’s son.”

“So?”

“So? It means that one by one, the three most powerful and evil entities the entire universe has ever seen will fight me. No holds barred.” I raked a hand through my wind-tangled hair. “If I
win my freedom, I will be free to roam the earth at will.”

“Will you still be a demon if you win?”

“I will always be a demon. There’s no way out of that.” I could see my answer deflated her as she looked at the seat between her legs.

“What happens next then? What do you do now?”

“Well, I must do as Christian demands. I have to show up at the highest point on Eagle Peak Mountain tomorrow. With you.”

“Why does he want me there? What do I have to do with all this?”

“This is all my doing. I’m afraid my big mouth, my choosing to let you in on who I am, and what I’m doing here, has put you into great danger. The insight you have now is a threat to many. I’m sorry, Shade. It seems like all I do is apologize to you. The more I want to keep you out of danger, the more it appears I pull you right into it.”

“There’s nothing for it now. What’s done is done. What does that mean for me?”

I hesitated, knowing my next words would hit her like a train.

“You now possess knowledge that no other human
being has privilege to. This makes you a threat, mainly to Hell. If you were to spread the secrets I’ve told you, and people believed you, mankind could start sniffing out demon involvement in their lives. If mankind can more clearly recognize demon interference in the world, then humanity would be more inclined to stop them. It’s possible that demons, vampires, and Hell in general, could be eradicated from spiritual history, all because of what
you
know. Can you imagine the magnitude of no longer having to
believe
in Heaven or Hell, but
knowing
with one hundred percent certainty that they are always there? Sincerity would be lost, and life would be a façade because everyone would be playing a role to get into Heaven. It’s the not knowing, but still believing, that tests worth, it makes humanity show who they truly are, givers or takers, saints or sinners…” I paused to reach over and grab her hand. She squeezed mine hard in return. My next words, I was positive, would do nothing to comfort her. “Shade, if I lose the challenge, there will be no one here to protect you from the wrath of the council. Even being with me now, I can’t keep you shielded from Christian’s tricks and trials. Being that you’ve seen him, and know what you know, there would be nothing stopping them from shutting you up if I was gone. They will hunt you and torment you until you die, or join them—you can count on that from this moment on. I’m truly sorry. We’re in this together, for better or worse.”

Shade sat silent only momentarily, then she offered up a solution. “I guess that leaves us only one choice then.”

“And that is?”

“Beat their wicked asses.”

That helped break the tension a little and I chuckled. I have to admit it; I totally dug her style.

We remained speechless on the rest of the drive to BNB’s. When we approached the well lit-up sign that stood over the eatery, right off the bat, we could see Scruffy and Sandra standing behind her car like they were searching for something, or someone. We pulled in and parked in a space across the lot. Scruffy and Sandra scampered over.

Just before we got out of the car I told Shade, “Remember, they didn’t know you were there tonight, they didn’t see you. Keep quiet about everything…
everything
.”

“What do you think I am…an idiot?

We were hardly a few steps from the vehicle when our worried friends approached.

“Shade! Leo! Oh my God, that was crazy! You totally missed it
, girl.” Sandra gave Shade a big hug.

Scruffy and I shook hands and hugged. I could tell he was relieved to see me
.

“Dude, what was the deal with those freaks at the hill, man?”
he asked, not really looking for an answer, but rather questioning himself about the strange situation.

I was going to reply, but Sandra stopped me with a huge hug. “Oh
, Leo, thank you. If you hadn’t shown up, who knows what those idiots would have done? I’m so happy to see that you’re okay.”

“No problem, girly, that’s what friends are for. I’m glad you guys are all good.” She hugged me again and then stood next to Shade and related more about what happened before I arrived on the turbulent scene.

“So, man, I’ve never seen those people around here before, who do you think they were?” Scruffy asked.

“I’m not sure. I think they mentioned they were from Whispering Falls. They seemed drunk or something, just looking for trouble. I don’t think they
’ll be back.”

Scruffy looked at me with suspicion, “Yeah. How did you get there so fast? For that matter, how did you get away from those jerk-offs?”

I spit out the most reasonable explanation I could think of. “Well, once you two took off, they ganged up on me. I told them I was an off duty security guard paid to monitor Miller’s Hill. I said I was driving by and saw lights. When I saw the fighting going on, I called the cops. I told them they had a few minutes before the police showed up and arrested them for trespassing. That’s it, in a nutshell.”

Although my story sounded believable, I think he smel
led a rat. He was opening his mouth about to say something when Sandra beat him to it.

“Where were you, Shade?”

“Leo dropped me off at that convenience store. You know, the one a few miles from Miller’s Hill? I tried to go with him, but he wouldn’t let me. He wanted to keep me safe.”

“Good, ‘cause girl, you didn’t need to be there
, anyway.” The ladies began chatting away as Scruffy grabbed me by the back of my arm and escorted me from the ears of the gossiping gals.

“We
’re friends, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then don’t sell me that line of crap, bro.” He smiled.

“What are you talking about, Scruff?”

“Don’t play me, man. There wasn’t any other car around besides Sandra’s. I know you didn’t come in your ride. Those fools didn’t come in a car, either. They just came out of nowhere. Tell me what’s going on, brotha. Tell me what is
really
goin’ on.”

Before I could concoct a reputable answer, Sandra flew up to him and saved my butt. “Crap
, Mark, we gotta go. I have to be home in fifteen minutes!” She tugged on his sleeve.

Scruffy could only muster a grin that told me he knew I was saved by the bell. “We’ll talk about this later, bro.” Sandra yanked him away. “Later on, guys,” he spoke as he spun around to his impatient girlfriend.

“Bye all! Thanks again, Leo!” Sandra added.

I waved as Shade yelled that she would call Sandra tomorrow.

I felt bad about lying to Scruffy, but there was no way I would ever tell him the truth, especially since I got Shade into this dire predicament with me. I couldn’t drag yet another soul into this mess. But that wasn’t the only reason for my bummed mood. What would happen to Shade and I when we met with Christian? I had no idea what to expect, but I knew one thing, I felt loneliness. A different kind of lonely than I usually felt though, this was fear of separation of friendship and companionship. This feeling was new to me. “I guess we better go, I need to be getting home, too.”

“Sounds good, let’s do it. It’s been a long night.”

We hopped back into my car. We remained nearly speechless on the ride. There was a sense of hopelessness between us, like we’d both bitten off more than we could chew. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking, but I was riddled with guilt. I couldn’t continue to risk my friends’ lives just because I wanted to feel normal, human again. That was selfish. I was thinking so hard that I almost drove by Shade’s place.

When I pulled in, we sat quietly in her driveway with our hands in our laps, each waiting for the other to make a move or say something. I think we both wanted the same thing, but weren’t sure what to do in order to get it. Finally, Shade broke the silence.

“You know, Leo, even though you’re a pain in the butt and you’ve gotten me into more trouble than I’ve ever been in my entire life, I can’t help but care for you.” She leaned in closer with a menacing grin.

“Ah, I think it has been
you
who’s been pushy about wanting to know more.”

I smiled as I looked into her beautiful eyes, lost in her essence as she placed her palm against my cheek.

“
Anyway
…I think you’re the most beautiful soul I’ve ever met. Thank you for an…interesting night,” she added with a humorous hesitation.

“It was my pl—”

She put her lips to mine, holding me in place with her hand. We kissed, deep and hard for what felt like an eternity. I enjoyed every second of it in spite of the body-clenching pain before we broke away. I was so in love with her that it hurt, figuratively and
literally.

She gathered herself and started to get out, then paused
. “Hey, wait a minute, do me a favor. Pull down the road like you’re leaving and find a spot to park. Turn your lights off.”

“Why?”

“Just do it. I’m gonna sneak out and hang with you tonight.”

“Shade, that may not be a good idea. You could get into trouble with your parents.”

“We’re
both
in so much trouble already and now you’re worried about my parents? If you don’t wanna be with me tonight, fine.” She scrambled to get out of the car and closed the door.

“Hang on. Of course I do. I just don’t want you in deeper than
you already are.”

“Then shut up, don’t worry about it. Wait down the street for me. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

I thought about it for a second before grinning and agreeing. She leaned in through the window and gave me a small peck. “I’ll see you in a few minutes, hang tight.”

I drove a short distance down the road and parked. I could see her house in my mirrors and constantly looked for
signs of her great escape. About twenty minutes went by when a brown-haired head poked out of a first-floor window of her house. After looking around, she jumped up on the windowsill with her knees. All of a sudden she lost her balance and fell forward. I lost sight of her briefly. She must’ve tumbled to the ground. I was about to go check on her when she sprang up and dusted herself off. I snickered uncontrollably. I could hardly wait to mess with her about it. She closed the window and jogged out to the road. Something dangled from her left hand as she ran. After a minute, I could tell it was a hoodie. It had dirt on it; I could only assume it got there as a result of her clumsy fall.

She dashed up to the door and opened it, piling into the seat as she gasped for breath. “Okay, let’s go.”

“You got it there, Humpty Dumpty.”

“Oh my God, you saw me fall?” She buried her head in her hoodie.

“I sure did, slick,” I jabbed at her.

“Easy now, demon-lackey.” She backhanded me on my shoulder.

“So, where are we going, tumbles?”

“I wanna go to your spot. I like it there. It’s quiet and I love the view, even though you
’re killing all the plants there, man. Plus I wanna see kitty.”

“Glad you said something, Shadow
’s probably hungry. Let’s roll.”

When we arrived at my place, his little tail bobbed and weaved in the headlights among the trees in front of us.

“Shadoooooow!” Shade exclaimed, seeing our prancing buddy.

Once we stopped, I walked to the trunk of the car and opened it. Shade picked up the meowing feline and stroked him. Shadow nuzzled his nose against her chin. I reached into the trunk and grabbed him some food and water, Shade came over to me with Shadow as I shut it.