Shadow Warrior

Chapter 6

The smell of their food made its way into the small space and her stomach released a loud growl. She was displeased with its emptiness. This left her no other option but to exit and take her seat.

Walking out, she saw Leo working on his double patty cheeseburger. Pickles were falling from each side of the burger along with jalapenos.

Looking over to her own seat, she found her burger with fries overflowing on her own tray. The tray was a metal tin with a piece of wax paper separating the metal and the food. There was a whole bottle of mustard sitting on my tray. Smiling, I couldn’t help but blush. Leo knew me all too well. I loved mustard with my fries.

Walking by, I quickly took my seat. Once Leo’s burger was consumed, he moved on to eating his fries covered in none other than buffalo sauce. Another book in his hand. Rather than try to talk about it now, Abby decided it was best to wait.

Once her own food was complete, she snuggled in to take a nap. Now that her stomach was full, sleep was calling to her. Her eyes quickly closed and she was soon in the unconscious world.

Leo was having the worst time trying to read. He kept stealing looks at Abby out of the side of his eyes. After what happened, Leo was terrified Abby was going to confront him. His mind was full of the what-if questions. What if she is disgusted by what just happened? Worse, what if she liked it? Does she feel the same way I do and she is just better at hiding it? What if she starts avoiding me because of all the awkwardness between us? The what ifs went on for far too long before Leo finally pulled himself from that hole and pushed himself to focus on the words in front of him.

Making it all the way through the books, he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch. He had found no answers. They were going to have to hit the ground running if they were going to get anywhere in a fast amount of time.

Time was of the essence. They couldn’t chance taking too long. Their mission had gone from routine to weird to downright dangerous.

The captain came over the speaker letting them know they needed to buckle up as they would be descending soon. Leo got up and gently woke Abby. Careful when he touched her, he placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Abby….Abby woke up. You need to buckle up.” Her eyes fluttered open and she just stared into his.

Taking a step back, he turned and headed to his own seat. Locking the belt, he stared out the window as the plane slowly fell beneath the clouds.

The city around them was truly beautiful. It had that ancient feel to it. The buildings were built of stone. Feeling gravity pull at his body as they quickly moved to the runway. The plane slowed down. As the wheels of the plane contacted the concrete, they jolted.

Their plane finally came to a stop at the terminal and the captain notified them it was safe to depart the plane. They each stood up and gathered their belongings. Before they got off the plane, the hostess approached Leo, giving him a slip of paper with her name and number on it.

Abby was furious. Stomping out of the plane, she headed for their exit. Leo jogged up to her to catch up. They walked in silence. Finally exiting the building, they moved to the schoufer. Abby gave him their names. The schoffer disappeared around the corner to grab their rental.

As Leo went to get into the passenger seat, he threw away the paper he was given by the hostess. Abby noticed him throwing it in the trash. It helped to lighten her mood, but not by much.

“You aren’t going to call her?” Abby glanced up at him and plopped into the passenger seat.

“No. I’m not interested.” He shrugged and started driving out of the garage.

“Are you interested in anyone?” Abby caught Leo off guard by her question. He couldn’t lie to her. She would feel it if he tried. The beauty of their bond.

“Yes, but she isn’t interested in me.” It was the truth. Leo tried to keep his tone even.

“Oh, that’s too bad.” Abby started fiddling with her fingers in her lap. She was relieved to hear the person Leo was interested in wasn’t reciprocating his feelings. The thought of when he got into a relationship, her mind. Her heart would break the day he finds someone. Knowing in her heart they could never be together, it didn’t stop her from falling for him.

While she was asleep on the plane, she dreampt of Leo finding someone to love. In this case, it was the sleezy hostess from their plane. Her mind ran with whatever it could. When she woke to look into his eyes, she knew then, she was madly in love with him. It had been for years, she had suppressed it. Waiving off the thoughts that occasionally slipped into her mind. He is her best friend and had gained her heart. They weren’t supposed to fall for one another, it was against the rules, but she couldn’t deny it anymore. At least, not to herself. Not anymore.

The remainder of their ride was silent between them. However, Abby had turned on some music using her Bluetooth to play Trustfall by P!nk. Listening to each word, it related to her so much. Looking over at Leo, she thought of each moment of their lives together.

Leo noticed Abby staring at him and he looked over. She had something unknown in her eyes. A small smile played at the corners of her lips.

Not wanting to disrupt her, he looked back at the road. Tightening his knuckles around the steering wheel, he held on like it was the only thing keeping him here on earth.

Abby quickly looked away after Leo did. Focusing on the buildings around them. Worried, she didn’t hide what she was thinking. Her mind had wandered and she was deep in thought of what Leo’s lips would taste like. What it would feel like to have him wrap his arms around her in a loving embrace.

Leo methodically drove them to the school they had in Rome. There he would be able to find more answers. Very few knew of the archives hidden beneath the school. The only reason he knew about it was because of his parents’ rank.

Parking, they walked in to speak with the principal. She knew of the information held beneath her school. She was a very tall woman. Dressed in a black dress suit with white and black heels. She didn’t look very old, as her face was free of any signs of age.

“Good afternoon, Warriors. I understand you are here on Concurrence business. How may I be of assistance?” She asks them. Reaching her hand out to shake each of theirs.

“We seek information you hold. However, this is confidential. We will need more privacy before we can continue our discussion.”

The woman motioned for them to enter her office. Once inside, she pressed a few buttons on the wall and a blue field surrounded the office.

Standing at attention, each foot a shoulder width apart, their hands in fists and their knuckles touching. This was the stance of a warrior. Anytime they were on official business or in training, this was their resting stance.

Knowing better than to try and offer them a seat, she moved around behind her desk to take a seat.

“How can I be of assistance?” She asks.

“We are requiring access to the files below your building.” Leo stated businessily.

“I apologize, Warriors, I cannot grant you access. After a recent attack by demons, those archives have been secured and no one is allowed to see them other than the council themselves.” She explains.

“Who gave the order?” Leo asks. His voice was on edge as his body maintained its position.

“Warrior Kesh.” She stated flatly.

Ah, Warrior Kesh. He was in his 40’s. He had as many haters as he had admirers. Abby had never met him, but Leo had. He personally couldn’t stand the guy. There was always something about him that set him on edge. There was an air of dishonesty about him, but everyone he ever mentioned it to, he was accused of being jealous. The last thing he needed to be was jealous. There was nothing to be envious of.

“I would imagine Warrior Kesh is still in town?” Abby asked with as much business behind her voice as Leo.

“Yes, he is staying at the Westin. You should be able to find him there. I do not know when he is flying back to Italy. Is there anything I can be of assistance?” She stood signaling the end of the conversation.

“No, that will be all.” Leo brought his feet together to signal they were ready to depart.

As they exited the school, Abby looked over and could see Leo consumed with his thoughts. Worried, she asked him if he was okay.

“I’m okay Abby. To be honest with you, I don’t trust Warrior Kesh. Something’s up with him. Every time I’m around him I get a bad feeling.”

“If you have a bad feeling about the guy, then listen to your gut. I’ve never known you to be wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time they put someone in power who had questionable motives.”

Finishing their walk, they made it to the car. Leo drove them out and towards the Westin based upon the directions his phone expressed.