Chapter 18: A Friend in Need

Dominic takes my hand in his and kisses it as we walk down the hallway together. I can't stop looking up into his amazing eyes when I hear someone approaching. Dominic turns his head in the direction of the heavy footsteps but it only takes another second for me to recognize my brother's walk. The expression on his face is serious and he hasn't looked at me once. His eyes are only directed at Dominic, and I can tell something's up.

"Gideon is waiting for you in the Great Hall." Zack finally looks away from Dominic and acknowledges me with a slight nod.

"On my way." Dominic kisses the side of my face turning in the same direction Zack came from and I pull his arm back.

"Hang on. Don't we," I look back up at him, "get any time to ourselves?"

Zack sighs under his breath, as if he's a little annoyed, and my eyes go straight to his. "Katie, time is of the essence. Skylar needs our immediate protection."

"I-I get that, but-"

"Kate," Dominic stops my words, "Zack is right. I must go." He gently pulls away and shifts his eyes back to Zack. "Escort her back to our quarters. I will not be long."

He takes off, his black cloak obediently swaying behind his large frame as he disappears down the dark hallway. Zack taps my shoulder, diverting my attention and holds out his elbow, so I take it as a question pops in my head.

"Why doesn't Dominic call you "Master" anymore?" I ask as we begin walking.

Zack shakes his head and smiles slightly like it's obvious. "He was merely calling me by my rightful title, just as 'Warrior' is his. That is all," he answers, keeping us at a steady pace.

"And what exactly does a Master do?"

He sighs again, apparently not surprised I asked. "That's a difficult question to answer." He stops so we're both standing in the middle of the hallway. "First and foremost, I work in close liaison with the Seraph Council. They depend on me to keep the Realm safe, especially when it comes to accepting outsiders or I should say, 'non-Seraph' beings as needed for medical and general workings within the castle."

"So you're like a manager?" I smile, teasing him with my choice of word. He chuckles, shaking his head. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"H-how did it happen, Zack?" My eyes fall away from his, finally asking the question I've been meaning to ask him this whole time. "How did you come back?"

His brows push together and he takes in a deep breath. "I'm not exactly sure, honestly. One day I was a fighting fires and the next, I was standing before the Seraph Council, talking to them about what my duties were. At least that's how I remember it. I was scared to death, just like you, but they took time to mentor me, making sure I understood what was going on-and that being here was because of our family lineage." He squeezes my hand. "Exactly like it is for you."

"But that's just it," I quickly get out, "what are my duties? And why are the Demons specifically after me?"

"Your duties are similar to mine, keeping the Realm safe." He looks past me and around, like he's making sure no one's walking by. "The Demons know you can destroy them, don't you see that? And any threat to them is a threat right back to us."

Gulp.

"Dominic can kill them."

"Yes, but he can't bring back life. You can."

I shake my head because again, I have more questions than answers, "Okay, so how can I do more than just getting rid of them? How can I actually kill a Demon?"

"That hasn't been revealed yet, but the Council has told me that our most powerful abilities will come in time. Just like your other abilities have." He offers his elbow again. "So, in the meantime, we have to keep you safe."

I slip my hand through his arm. "If this place is so safe, why do I need an escort?"

He closes his eyes for a second and smiles, like this answer is obvious, too. "You are our Queen. It is proper and expected for you to have someone by your side at all times-especially when you're in public." He pats my hand as we continue walking side by side.

We pass several Fighters who stop and bow as soon as they notice me. I smile and nod, wondering if I'll ever get used to this when we finally make it to my room. Zack opens the door to find Victoria hanging a new dress in the armoire.

"Your Majesty," she bends into a deep bow, "can I get you some something? Food or maybe something to drink?" she asks as if the drama from earlier never happened.

Now that you mention it.

"Um, yeah." I'd actually kill for some carbonation right now. "Can I get a Diet Coke?"

She glances over to Zack and then back to me. "Of course, anything you wish." She smiles and darts out of the room and I instantly wonder how long it'll be awkward between us. I can't worry about that now. I've got so many questions I don't even know where to start.

I catch Zach watching Victoria leave before he moves to one of the wingbacks. He clearly wants privacy so when he takes a seat, I take advantage of the moment.

"Uncle John..." I lock eyes with him before getting the words out, hoping, no praying, I didn't make the biggest mistake ever. "How is he?"

Zack's expression changes and I'm not sure if he's troubled or just trying to hide something. "He's doing okay, I suppose." He rubs his hands together. "But I'm concerned about him."

He looks away like he's slightly hesitant to tell me more. "Uncle John is for sure extremely angry," Zack admits, and his eyes come back to me. "Honestly, it's difficult to know if there's still a Demon attached to him or not." He shifts and leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I mean, obviously, he's tormented by the loss of his hand."

Oh crap, I forgot about that.

"Maybe I should go talk to-"

"No!" Zack interrupts. "We cannot allow that, not again. He's not in the state of mind to speak with you-or Dominic."

Shit.

"W-what about Aunt Kelly? Can't she help?" I begin to pace back and forth. "Isn't there anyone in this place who can tell us what's going on with him for sure?"

"Yes," he whispers, and I'm getting a weird vibe from his tone.

"Okay, then let's find out. Who can tell us?"

Zack locks eyes with me and my stomach immediately drops.

"Oh, no, no." I start pacing again. "I can't do it." I shake my head. "You saw how badly I handled that whole situation. I had no idea what I was even doing!" I raise my voice without thinking.

Zack gets up from his chair and reaches out, taking me by the shoulders with both hands. "Just as we've discussed, your gifts reach way beyond your ability to teleport or even to save a life. I want you to think back to the moment you decided to save Uncle John. Why did you save him?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that question?" I blurt out. "I did it for Aunt Kelly!"

"Yes, but would you have done it had you known the Demon was still inside him?"

"That's just it, I didn't know," I whisper, looking away. "Well, not for sure, anyway."

"Yes, you did. When you saved his life, you also saw into his soul-which is why you collapsed afterward. You made the Demon leave his body. Dominic and I both watched it." His new blue eyes get serious when I look up, "Even though it was incredibly risky and you could have died."

"I know, I know, I have to use better judgment, I get that now. But hang on, you're not saying I'm going to have to lip-lock our uncle again to know the truth?"

"No," he replies and I let out a thankful breath, "all you have to do is spend a few minutes with him-look into his eyes, maybe ask him a question."

"Seriously, Zack? Anyone can do that." I roll my eyes.

"True, but not everyone has the gift of discernment. And I know for a fact that you do."

I take a seat across from him. "Discernment, huh? I thought you said he was too unstable for me to be around him."

"He is, but there's another way," my brother admits, his expression becoming serious again. "We will have to make Aunt Kelly agree to it, though." He rubs his jaw. "We will also need to have a couple of Warriors holding him down to keep him from attacking you."

Holy crap.

I stand up because I can feel my body start to tremble. "So let me get this straight. I may have gotten rid of the Demon when I brought him back, but there's a good chance it's returned?"

"It's rare, but yes-and this Demon could be particularly evil."

"Wait a second." I turn my face to the side but I'm still looking him dead on, "W-what exactly do you mean? How particularly evil? Is there an evilness scale?" 

"Let's just say that if Satan himself had sidekicks, this Demon would be one of them."

The look on my face must have engaged Zack's brotherly instincts because he instantly rushes to me, grabbing my arms to keep me from falling flat on my ass.

"Oh, no. I...I'm not ready for this," I get out, as Zack pulls me back down to the wingback.

"Actually, you are." Zack squats in front of me like I'm a child. "You've already dealt with him once. I'm confident you can do it again." He smiles but it's the kind that's riddled with caution.

"You and Dominic did it, not me!" I whisper-shout, trying to catch a full breath.

"That's where you're wrong." He takes my hands. "We only weakened the Demon. You were the one who removed him completely."

"Then why is he back?" I close my eyes for a second. "H-how is he back?"

Zack bites one side of his lip. "Like I said, your more powerful abilities will develop over time and this Demon, or I should say, Zull, is particularly bad and obviously extremely powerful." He lets out a breath before going on. "Most Demons don't have the strength to fight against even one Seraph, let alone three of us, all at once. I knew then that there would be a good chance Zull would return."

"So you think he's back?"

Zack's lips tighten and he nods, suddenly looking past me as the sound of quick footsteps approach us, echoing off the stone floor.

"Here you are, your Majesty." Victoria smiles, handing me a glass filled with ice and the Diet Coke I requested.

"Thank you." I take it from the tray she's holding like she's become some kind of waitress.

Zack pulls his eyes from her and looks back to me. I can tell he wants to continue our discussion privately.

"I'll only be a minute," I say and thank God, she clues in and rushes out the door before I have to ask her to leave. I don't need more awkwardness between the two of us.

As soon as she closes the door, Zack stands and walks to the fireplace, propping his elbow on the mantle. "So," he sighs, "the next thing to do is talk some sense into Aunt Kelly. She's become extremely protective of him. She barely lets him out of her sight as it is."

"Wait a second, I'm not all that convinced that this is such great idea."

He looks at me like he can't believe what I just said. "You underestimate yourself, Katie."

"And how is that?" I blurt out. "I mean, c'mon, Zack. I saved our uncle's life, against your wishes, and he still might be possessed by a Demon." I shake my head. "My confidence isn't exactly high right now."

"But that's exactly it, Katie!" Zack raises his voice. "You instinctively knew you could breathe life into him." He moves closer to me. "Don't you think that if you even sensed the presence of a Demon you would have stopped yourself?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Maybe. I don't know."

"You need to start trusting your instincts more. You have the ability to do so much more." His new blue eyes practically glowing. "I mean it, Katie, if you sincerely tune into them, your feelings will guide you."

"I wish I had half the confidence in them that you do. I mean, what if I make another mistake, Zack, then what?"

"The only mistakes we make are the ones that are self-serving," he whispers.

"What do you mean?"

"Just that." He looks me in the eyes. "Mistakes happen only if we are guided by our own will without the consideration of others."

"Aunt Kelly," I whisper. "I only brought Uncle John back for her."

Zack smiles proudly; I'm finally getting it.

"Okay," my finger taps my chin, "let's pretend I can do all the things you say I can and we somehow convince Aunt Kelly to let me talk to him-"

"That won't be easy," he chimes in.

"Is she seriously being that difficult?"

"To say the least, yeah." Zack rubs his jaw. "She wants nothing to do with finding out if the Demon is gone for sure, but it's pretty obvious she simply doesn't want to lose him-again.

"Okay. So what do you want me to do?" I ask, already pretty sure of his answer and dreading his words before they even come out of his mouth.

"I want you to convince her, of course," he says and I close my eyes. The last thing I want to do is torment her with the possibility of Uncle John experiencing more physical pain...or even death. 

"Why can't you talk to her? She'll listen to you-hell, she adores you."

"You know I've already tried, Katie."

"And if I decide against it-what then?"

"He'll die for sure. At least with your help, Uncle John stands a chance."