Chapter 18

18

I knew Lacey had had the same idea as me. Use the Scarlet Hex Dagger to expel the darkness from Levi and bring him back to his old self.

Of course, Tanner, Zad, and Rage voiced their distaste. But it wasn’t a negotiation, not really.

I knew this step complicated things, but it would be the easiest way to have Levi back. And once we had him back, he would be a great force on our side, fighting alongside us.

So, after breakfast Tanner told us to get ready. “We’ll assemble a small team and leave at noon.” He turned to Lily. “I’ll need a glass of whiskey.”

She nodded and left to procure it.

Jasmin glared at him. “It’s eight in the morning.”

“In the human world,” he retorted. “Here, it is whatever the hell we want it to be.”

I frowned at Tanner. Was he always like this underneath the fun, bickering guy I had met before? Or had circumstances become so grim, it erased his fun side?

Tanner took his seat while he waited for Lily. With a groan, Jasmin took the chair to his right. “Maybe I should have a glass too.”

As everyone filed out of the dining room—Abbie followed Lacey out—I approached them. I stopped behind one of the tall chairs and looked at the siblings. “I know Lord Drake is preoccupied, but maybe we should keep him and DuMoir Castle informed of what’s going on.”

Tanner nodded. “I’ll call him.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Calling Drake doesn’t require thanks.”

“Not just that, but for agreeing to save Levi, and organizing a team to help me.”

“That dagger is too powerful, and it seems we’re all doomed if we don’t help, so …” He waved his arm wide. “I’m doing what any decent leader would do.”

Jasmin rolled her eyes. “He wants compliments, Ariella. Right now, we should say he’s doing a fabulous job with the underworld, and there’s no better king than him.”

“A lie and we all know it,” he said, a coldness in his tone I had never heard before.

“Yes, but we’ve talked about this before,” Jasmin said. “Fake it until you make it. No one is born knowing how to rule. You’ll learn, and the best way to learn it is on the job.”

“It’s a messy way to learn.”

“Besides, you’re not alone. You have me, and Erin and all of the demon hunters, and Lord Drake and DuMoir Castle. Anything you need, you know they will help.”

“But that makes us look weak, unprepared. What if someone realizes we’re in way over our heads and decides to attack us head on? I don’t really mind not being king, but I do mind if a person worse than me takes over.”

Jasmin placed her hand on Tanner’s arm. “And that’s why you’re the best for this job.”

I stared at the siblings. They'd always been chatty, snobby, and crazy and uncaring. They bickered all the time, and I thought that was their normal day.

Unless that was a shield, a facade so the world thought they were powerful.

Maybe I was overthinking things, but seeing them like this, with their walls down, showing their worries, and being there for each other, was heartwarming.

“I agree with Jasmin,” I said. Both of them looked at me as if surprised I was still there. “The fact that you feel you’re unworthy, and you want to protect this realm makes you a good candidate to be king.”

Tanner frowned. “Wait, I never said unworthy.”

I smiled. Jasmin laughed. “Ah, that’s awesome. Please continue. Maybe he’ll bicker with someone else other than me.”

Lily came back with a glass of whiskey and another of wine.

“I should go get ready,” I said.

I left the siblings alone in the dining room. As I turned the first corner, I bumped into Lacey and Abbie.

“There you are,” Lacey said.

Abbie held the diary. After the revelations, I had returned it to her, though I was dying to read it. “Are you ready?”

I shook my head. “But I’ll never be, so we should get this over with.” She nodded. “Are you coming with us? We might need your help with Levi.”

“That isn’t a bad idea,” Lacey said. “You said we’ll need someone with immense power to wield the dagger. That will be you, for sure.”

She chewed the inside of her cheek. “I should warn Maggie, then. I told her I would be back soon.”

“Of course,” I said, relieved she was coming. “Meet us at the gate at noon?”

“For sure. But for now …” She handed me the journal. “I know you’re probably curious about the dagger, so why don’t you read until it’s time to leave. Unless you have too much to do until?—”

I took the diary. “No, if everything works out, we won’t be gone long.” I glanced at my phone. I had two hours to read. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” She waved at us and left, as if she knew exactly how to navigate the castle.

Maybe she did.

“How about you?” I asked Lacey. “Need to get ready?”

“I’m just going to stop by my room to get supplies, maybe the castle’s apothecary, but then I’ll be free.”

“Come find me when you’re done,” I said. “It would be good to read this with you. I know you’re interested too.”

“I will.” She stared at the book in my arms. “Hopefully, we’ll find something useful in these pages.”

“Hopefully.” I hugged the book tighter. “And then we’ll save your brother.”

* * *

The book didn’t have much more than what Abbie had already told us.

If the person wielding the dagger wasn’t strong enough, she would change or become magicless.

I had already lost my magic once, and as much as it wasn’t the same as before, I wasn’t willing to lose it again.

Besides, I wasn’t powerful enough. It had to be someone else.

At noon, we met at the castle’s entrance: me, Lacey, Farrah, Wyatt, Zad, Tanner, Jasmin, and Rage.

We walked together to the gate, where Tanner and Jasmin were left behind.

“Good luck,” the king of the underworld said.

“It’ll all work out,” Jasmin added.

At first, both of them talked about coming with us, but after some discussion, we all agreed that exposing the rulers of the underworld to the angels wasn’t a good idea. Tanner seemed to hate that he had to stay, but he knew what was at stake. He needed to stay alive to protect the underworld.

We met Abbie outside the gates.

“I was certain Maggie would have come this time,” Lacey said.

“She tried, but as the next in line to take over the hall if something happens to me, I forbade her,” Abbie explained.

“Nothing will happen to you,” I said. Lacey nodded in agreement.

The demon hunters Ava, Harvey, Doreen, and Andre joined us. I had met all of them before, and knew Ava and Harvey had been engaged for about two years now.

“Erin and Rey apologize for not being here,” Ava said, sounding bored. “They had other stuff to do.”

“The stuff is actually a call from Archangel Rhodes,” Harvey explained.

“A call?” That piqued my interest.

“Yeah, he sent a couple of messages to reschedule the meeting,” Doreen said, “but Erin and Rey keep inventing excuses. He then asked for a call.” I couldn’t help but stare at her beautiful auburn hair.

“If Rhodes insists, they will set a meeting date for two months out,” Andre said. He was a handsome black man, built like a wall and with long dreadlocks.

“By then we should have all of this solved,” Zad said. “Hopefully.”

“Hopefully,” I muttered in agreement.

Aspen arrived soon after.

“Thank you for coming,” Rage told him.

“Part of my work,” he said, though he didn’t sound excited. I had seen Aspen do this before, where he created portals for us. That had to get old fast.

Aspen opened a portal and gestured for us to get through. I went in first, and I took in the view. We were atop a hill overlooking the Colorado River. My friends, along with Aspen, stepped through the portal. He had agreed to stay with us since we would need him when it was time to come back, and we didn’t know when that would be.

The plan was for us to get the dagger, lure Levi, turn him, and go back to the underworld.

“This place is beautiful,” Lacey said, taking in the view.

I nodded. “I washed out after jumping from the cliff somewhere along this bank.” I pointed to the river. “Two Mojave kids found me and called their elders.”

I hadn’t revealed all the details of where exactly the dagger was. I had told them to come along with me. And they did.

It filled my heart that they trusted me this much.

“You were taken in by the Mojave people?” Farrah asked.

“Not exactly.” I jerked my chin to the opposite side of the river, toward the desert and the mountains in the distance. Joshua trees were the only green thing around. “Come on. It’s not far from here.”

We walked inland for about fifteen minutes and saw absolutely nothing but the bleak, but beautiful landscape. Everyone was quiet, but I could sense their restlessness in the air. They wanted to know exactly where we were going.

“Please, tell me you didn’t stash the dagger under a rock,” Ava said. She was joking, but there was a little uncertainty to her statement.

“Well, the thought did pass my mind when I was being dragged away from the river.” I chuckled. “But no.”

The landscape changed slightly. The Joshua trees became bigger and closer together. Trusting my memory, I continued through the trees to where the terrain fell abruptly. About sixty feet down was what looked like an enchanted valley: green grass and colorful flowers surrounded a small wooden cottage, with a smoking chimney. All of it sheltered by a thick line of full green trees.

“We’re here,” I whispered.

A woman with long, black hair tied in a loose braid walked out of the cottage, a washcloth in her hands.

She looked up, directly at me. “I’ve been expecting you.”