Burn (Drift Book 3) (5 page)

“Angels took you to me?” I glared at him with confusion.

“I guess…I don’t know…you tell me.”

I didn’t answer. All I could
do was place my hands on my hips, struggling to make sense out of what Scruffy had told me.

“Another time then?” Scruff could probably tell I was perplexed. I turned to the side and looked off in the distance in thought.

“Look, bro, I’ve gotta get home. My parents are probably freaking. Let’s get together soon. You’ve gotta explain this madness to me.” He reached out and we clasped hands.

“You got it
, man. I’ll get with you before I go back.” I smiled.

“Besides…it’s the least you can do for me…I saved your life.” He winked as I chuckled.

He opened the door and just before he got back into Sandra’s car, I placed my hand on his shoulder, which caused him to turn back to me.

“He
y, bro…thanks…thanks a lot.”

Scruff smiled
. “No problem. You’re my best friend. That’s what we do. For what’s it’s worth, I’m sorry, Leo. I didn’t know…”

I interrupted him with a hug.

“All is forgiven, my man, don’t sweat it. It’s quashed.”

Scruffy sat in the car and started it
. “See you soon.” He waved and sped down my hill.

More qu
estions than answers kept coming at me. Now I had to find out if this Argento person was an enemy, or an ally. Either way, it smelled like more trouble.

Chapter 5

INTRODUCTION

The night had long since set in and I spent most of it looking for Shadow. But there was no sign of my cat anywhere. I was troubled by that. When I finally decided to give up looking for him, I got back in my tree and figured I’d think some things through and watch the sunrise
, which was just a couple hours away. Things were much lonelier without him.

While contemplating the recent happenings and what I must do next, I heard the sound of footsteps crunching against the dirt behind me on the ground. I turned as fast as I could to see who it was and was blinded by a bright white light moving
toward me from the top of my driveway. This was the type of light that usually accompanies angels when they’re in the presence of demons. This is one of the many reasons why it’s impossible to take out an angel. Being a demon, it’s very difficult to be in the presence of heavenly beings of pure light, so it’s very hard to see angels with demon eyes past their heavenly glow.

Regardless, I called out, “Who’s there?’ as
I leaped down off my tree and expanded my wings. I placed my arm in front of my face to try and shield the intensity of the light. I could sense it wasn’t a human being of any kind, so I knew it was safe to whip out my wings and get ready for whatever was coming at me.

Suddenly the light dimmed enough for me to make out two characters heading my way. I was certain
they were angels, but what they wanted exactly was up in the air. So I asked them.

“What do you want from me? Why are you here?”

I didn’t get an answer right off the bat but the light that surrounded them went completely out and I was able to gaze upon them. There was one tall male and a shorter female walking side by side. I figured this must have been the duo Scruffy had met. They were just as Scruff described them. I was a little stunned by how much their features resembled Christian. They didn’t have his pale skin, on the contrary, their skin looked much warmer, like blood was flowing through them, but they shared the same long blond, nearly white hair.

“Don’t worry, Leo, we
’re not here to harm you,” the male said in a soothing tone.

“Then why are you here? Who are you?”

“I am Argento.” He turned to his companion. “And this is Elysia. I…am hand to Saint Michael the Arch-Angel, and Elysia is hand to me.” He smiled as Elysia slightly bowed her head. Something about his beautiful companion looked familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

“You still didn’t answer me
—why are you here?”

“We’ve always been here.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I stay on earth, in whatever form necessary, to ensure balance. Lately, I’ve had all my attention on you.” He smiled.

“Apparently. It was you that brought Scruffy to me…wasn’t it?”

He simply bowed in agreement.

“If you’ve been keeping tabs on me, how have I not sensed you?”

“Like I said, I can take any form that I choose in order to
achieve what I need to. This time…I was a cat. You referred to me as Shadow.”

“That’s why Shadow…you never feared me like every other animal on the planet. I’d always wondered
about that.”

To be quite honest, I was pretty bummed. I’d just realize
d that my furry feline friend had been Argento in disguise, and was never going to come back to me. That was hard to digest.

“So it was you
with Shade’s chain that led Scruffy to her diary?”

He bowed in agreement again.

“How did you get the chain?”

“It came off Shade when Sierra and Molina kidnapped her.
I decided to keep it until…an opportunity presented itself…so to speak?”

“
And you’re helping me…a demon…why?”

“Well, as you know, we cannot directly interfere in matters between the powers that be in Hell and their own inhabitants.
We can only ensure balance between Heaven and Hell as it pertains to earth. If your Lord Bellock, his council, and anyone else from Hell start to bend the rules to suit Hell’s advantages here on earth, as you know, we must step in and make sure things don’t go too far as it pertains to human soul collection. Christian has done some things that we do not approve of,
especially
when dealing with you. Shimmer has been out of line as well. Things like taking your beautiful Shade, and the raid the vampires did at the human gathering, sending this town into a panic, are far beyond crossing the line. We are here to make sure this madness does not continue. Balance must be restored.”

“But why did you help me get out of the Caverns of the Forgotten
if you can’t interfere?”

“We didn’t.” They both grinned.

“Of course you did. You brought Scruffy to me.”

“Yes…
yes, I did. Of all beings, you, being a Drift Demon, should know that there’s a difference between urging a human to do something, doing that something for them, and giving them the choice. All I did was present Mark with an option and he chose to find you, and, well…he needed a lift. So…I gave him one.” He grinned at me cynically.

“Yeah, but you
still interfered…”

“Interfere? Is that what you think I did? Was it me that made the choice to try to free you? Was it me that freed you?” Argento raised an eyebrow.

“Well, no, but…”

“Then I did not interfere in your Dicci
ttidel from Hell. Instead, I merely…
assisted
a friend in need. You know, it’s kind of like when humans give a ride to a stranger when broken down on the side of the road. Besides, there is no rule between Heaven and Hell that says human involvement in
spiritual
matters is restricted. From what I know, it was Mark, a human, that interfered between you and Shimmer’s vampire clan. Not me, Argento.” He smiled sheepishly.

“Technically…you’re right.”

“What does a technicality have to do with it? If I’m right…I’m right.”

“So, was it you that sent me the neutral portal in the woods that night? The one that took me to Agrelia
’s realm? If that isn’t direct involvement, I don’t know what is.”

“You assume too much, Leo. Not I, Elysia,
nor any being in Heaven has sent you a neutral portal. That agreement wasn’t made between our side and yours. I would look to one of your own kind to find the answer to that question.” He looked at me sharply.

“So, if you’re not here to hurt, help, or hinder me, where do we go from here? What’s the point?”

“I’ve told you…we are only here to keep balance. Nothing more. Heaven has a stake in your Diccittidel claim as well.”

“And that is?”

“It’s simple. No demon has ever won Diccittidel. It is in Heaven’s best interest to monitor this. If you do succeed, then others of your kind may find encouragement to attempt freedom as well. One less demon in Hell means one less soul under Bellock’s command. That’s good for Heaven.”

“What about balance?”

He grinned and approached a little closer, waving his arms out in front of him. “Well…even Heaven doesn’t mind if the scales happen to tip in our favor.”

“I would imagine not.
Even Heaven thirsts for power.” I shook my head.

“Not power, my dear boy, free will. Complete and total free will among the human race. No interference from Heaven, or Hell, just living their lives and accepting the choices
they make. The purest of ways to harvest souls. No persuading, no misleading, no urging. Just a human’s free mind making decisions for itself.
Those
are the purest souls…whether they are good or evil. We hope for the day when this…tug-of-war between the over and underworld will cease. But until the day Hell quits dabbling with the humans, we will always be here to hold the level…and if possible, tip the scales in our favor.”

“So where do
we
go from here?” I waved my finger back and forth between us.

“
We
will be watching, waiting, from a distance. Awaiting whatever outcome. If need arises, we will be here to offer guidance, encouragement…even advice. All one has to do is call for us and we’ll be there. Again, not to aid, but to assist.” He winked at me and turned away, walking over to his very silent hand, ushering her to follow him.

I stood in silent confusion as I watched them walk away and get nearly into the surrounding woods before calling out to them once more, “Why…Argento?”

They turned back around to face me. “I’ve just told you why, Leo.”

I look
ed at him with skepticism, “C’mon, Argento…why?”

He just stared at me for a second and started to turn to walk away. Elysia did just that and headed into the woods but Argento stopped and turned back to me with a calming smile.

“Because, Leo, sometimes even a demon gets a second chance.” He half-grinned and walked into the woods behind his hand.

I’d heard Shade say that line
to me once before. Now that the introduction was made between me and the mysterious Argento and company, it just made things all the more complicated. More players were in the game now and the pressure was mounting.

Chapter 6

CALM

All morning as I watched the sunrise, I thought about the conversation between myself and Argento. A lot of things he said troubled me, but one thing stood out; it was when he mentioned to “look to one of my own” about the neutral portal that took me to Agrelia. What did he mean by that? Angels aren’t the type to lie or mislead, but was he lying about “assisting” me with the portal in order to help complete my quest? I couldn’t be sure, but if he didn’t do it, who did?

Another thing I thought about doing today was going to visit Scruffy and his family
, not just because I missed them or anything, but because I thought of a way to meet up with Anne, Shade’s mother, to get word to her about her daughter, and I needed Scruffy to set it up. Of course I wasn’t going to tell her anything about the vampires and what not, I was going to make an effort to calm her by telling her that I knew where her daughter was, that she was safe, and that I was going to try and rescue her soon. I knew she would pry deeper, but I wasn’t going to give her any more information than that.

T
here was no way I was going to walk up to the Lewis home and knock on the door. I know that Richard was out for blood and he’s highly suspicious of me right now anyway, whereas Anne seems to have a better grasp on this situation and is a little more trusting. I’d need to have Scruffy get word to just her, then meet me somewhere outside. Hopefully she would agree to meet me without any human authorities in tow. I mean, this isn’t something I have to do. I’m just doing it as a courtesy to her mother. She needs to know that her daughter is alive.

I waited until the early afternoon and took off for Scruffy’s house. Naturally I didn’t fly.
When I got there I saw Sandra’s car in front of the house. I hoped that Scruffy was just using it and that she wasn’t there. Scruffy knew too much about me now, I didn’t want
another
human getting involved because knowledge about me was getting out of hand.

When I knocked on the door,
Scruffy’s father answered and was elated to see me. “Leo, great to see you!”

I returned the sentiments with a handshake and was immediately escorted inside to the living room. Scruff’s mother walked in, gave me a hug, and asked if I was hungry. I forgot how warm and caring his parents were. I came to realize that I
did
miss them.

“Mark,
” his mother yelled, “Leo is here! That bedroom door better be open, you two!”

Now I knew that Sandra was here and it frustrated me a little bit. It was going to be hard to talk with Scruffy about setting up a meeting between me and Shade’s mom.

“It is! Tell him to cruise on in here,” Scruff replied.

“Go ahead, son.” His mother pointed.

“Thanks, Mrs. Spears.” I smiled and headed to his room.

I walked in and Scruffy greeted me with a bro-shake and Sandra walked up and gave me a very long
, tight hug.

“I’m so happy you’re okay
, Leo…Mark told me everything.” She let me go and looked at me with sincerity.

I looked past her at my friend
, annoyed. “Really, man? Everything?”

“Sorry, bro. I couldn’t help
it. I don’t keep things from my girl.”

“You struggle to keep things from anyone. C’mon
, man.” I rubbed my hand against my face in frustration. I should have known Scruffy couldn’t keep a secret for very long and in this case he made it less than twenty-four hours.

“Don’t worry Leo, your secret is safe with me…us.” Sandra tried to comfort me.

“Is it, guys? Is there anyone else that I should be aware of that knows about what’s going on with me and Shade?”

“No one else.” Scruffy spoke with certainty.

“Absolutely…no one. I promise you, Leo, I won’t let it get past us.” Sandra gave Scruffy an evil eye.

“I hope so. If you two only knew how much danger your lives are in now, you’d wish you didn’t know. Just look at what happened to Shade.”

“So what
has
happened to Shade…exactly? You said you would clarify things. My price for saving your life.” Scruffy grinned as he and Sandra sat down together on the bed.

I gritted my teeth together, trying to decide how to start. It didn’t matter anymore
at this point how much more they knew. The two of them were already armed with more information that took them past the line of being naïve, so I walked over to Scruffy’s door and quietly closed it. At this point, the more they knew about the world around them, the better off in preparation they were for defending themselves should trouble arise.

I started off telling them why I was in Mountainside to begin with. Beginning with Darryl, the why and the how, even going into what happened that night
at the party and after I shooed them off of Miller’s Hill. I spared no details and left nothing out, well, within reason. Some things they didn’t need to know. For the most part though, I told them everything up to this point as I knew it and as it happened. They just sat on the bed, slack-jawed, unable to speak.

“Just to point out
, Scruffy, the girl angel, her name is Elysia…name doesn’t begin with an A, bud.”

“I knew it was something like that. Elysia, huh? She is very…Elysian.” Sandra shoved her elbow into Scruffy’s side.

“She is. Hence the name…I guess.” I smiled at Sandra’s playful jealousy.

“So what
’s your next move, Leo?” Sandra questioned.

“I have to kill Shimmer…or be killed. Either way, Shade’s fate
lies in my hands.”

“You’re going back to Romania?” Scruffy
inquired.

“That’s where he’s at
, that’s where Shade is…so yes.”

“Do you need us to go with you?” Scruffy swallowed hard. Although appreciative, I chuckled at his polite
, but probably not genuine offer.

“No
, man. I just need you both to stay here, stay safe, and keep quiet. There’s something you can do for me today, though.”

“What’s up?”

“I need you to get word to Anne Lewis, Shade’s mother.”

“About what?” Scruff tilted his head.

“I need to let her know that Shade is safe. That’s all.”

“Why don’t you just go over there?”

“Because dummy, Mr. Lewis thinks that Leo has something to do with Shade’s disappearance. I’ve been talking to Anne off and on lately, he wants Leo to talk to the authorities. He can’t go there.” Sandra answered him for me.

“I see. So what am I supposed to tell her if I can get her alone?”

“Tell her to meet me by herself at the fountain in the Gardens of Zeus tomorrow afternoon if she can. Around one o’clock.”

“What if she can’t make it? What if I can’t catch her alone to tell her?”

“She will…and so will you.”

“You want me to go over to their house today?”

“Yes, as quickly as you can. Sandra can go with you if you like. Someone has to have common sense on this task.” I winked at a chuckling Sandra.

“Easy now.” Scruffy
smiled.

“We’ll head over there right now
, Leo,” Sandra added, jumping off the bed and pulling Scruffy up with her.

“Will you be coming back before you leave
, bro?”

“Unfortunately, no. I must get back to Transylvania and face off with Shimmer.”

As they were gathering their things to leave, Scruffy stopped doing what he was doing and placed his hands on his hips, lowering his head. “I just realized, with all the craziness going on right now, I may never see you again after today.”

Scruffy’s words stopped Sandra in her tracks right as she was opening the
bedroom door, “Oh my God…you’re right. We may never get to see you…or Shade ever again.”

“This is very true, but that
’s the hand I’ve…we’ve been dealt. This is why the knowledge you have now is so very dangerous. It’s paramount that you keep what you know secret or you
both
may turn up dead.”

Without sayin
g a word, I could tell they understood the real gravity of the situation. I felt like they, especially Scruffy, would keep our little secret. Scruffy nodded and walked up to me with his hand extended. We clasped them together and hugged, patting each other on the back.

“If you don’t come back, just know that you will be missed, bro.” He spoke softly next to my ear.

“Thank you for being my friend, Scruffy…and at times…my only one.” I leaned back as we still kept our hands interlocked.

“It’s been my pleasure
. Come back, homey…come back.”

I just smirked and nodded, releasing our hands.

“We love you, Leo…both you and Shade. Go get her and come back to us safe.” Sandra stepped between Scruff and me and wrapped her arms around my neck.

I just rubbed her back as she hugged me. I could hear her sniffling
, and when she pulled away from me, she wiped tears from her eyes.

“Well, this is it
.” I pointed for them to lead me out of the bedroom. “Go see Anne and tell her I’ll be waiting for her tomorrow.”

Scruffy patted me on the shoulder in agreement and we walked out of his room. We bid his parents farewell and headed out the door. They gave me a ride back to my home. It was a quiet ride, only a few words were spoken. When they dropped me off at my spot, we had another moment of well
wishes and I hugged them both again and watched them leave. I never took my eyes off Sandra’s car until I could no longer see it. If I had a heart, it would have sank as I watched them drive away.

There was nothing to do now but wait until tomorrow to see if Anne
would meet up with me. All night it felt like it used to. No Shadow, no Shade, no visitors, just me. I was alone again and I hated it.

When morning came, I decided t
o take off to the Gardens of Zeus. I needed a change of scenery. My spot was too lonely. Being at the Gardens was magnificent for more than one reason. There was life and beauty all around in that area and this spot would forever remind me of that wonderful first date with Shade. When I saw the fountain just past the arch in the middle of the Garden, I sat down on the cement bench and waited.

At one o’clock, almost to the second, I heard a very familiar voice call out to me, “Leo?” I turned around to verify that it was indeed Anne.

“Hey Anne,” I stood up and pointed at the bench for her to sit down. “Please join me for a sec.”

Anne looked reluctant to sit, but did as I requested and I followed behind her. She placed her purse in her lap and closed her arms around it nervously.

“What’s the meaning of this? Mark and Sandra told me you wanted to meet me here. They told me that it had to do with Shade.” She looked distressed, as if she was about to hear bad news. I quickly comforted her.

“Shade…is fine. She’s being held against her will…but she
’s fine.”

Anne let out a sigh of relief
. “You know where she is?” She teared up a little.

“I do.”

“Well, then, c’mon. We have to tell the police, Leo. Speak with Sheriff Sam Taylor. What in the world are you waiting for? Why haven’t you called the police
before
coming to me?” She jumped up. I reached up and politely grabbed her by the wrist.

“Anne…wait. You can’t do that.” I let go of her wrist.

“What are you talking about? Have you gone mad?”

“Calling the authorities will only seal her fate. You
can’t do that.” Anne sat back down in shock.

“So I’m supposed to simply take your word for it…
and do nothing? How do I know for certain it isn’t you holding her?”

“I asked you once to trust me and yo
u said you would. Now I’m begging you once more to believe in me. I,
of course
, do not have her. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt your daughter and I think I may have a way to free her from her captors.”

“Yeah, and what happens if you fail?”

“I think we both know what will happen if I fail.”

I could tell by the look on
her face that she was tormented. I reached over and grabbed one of her hands.

“Why can
’t you tell me where she is at least?”

“Look, I know how much you love her.
If there was another way, I’d take it, but there isn’t. I can’t tell you where she is because it could mess things up for me in trying to rescue her. I’m asking you to trust me…once more. If I don’t bring her back to you in a week, you can call all the authorities on me that you want. Hell, you can do it when I deliver her to you. Just let me do my thing.”

“Can you guarantee that?” She looked optimistic.