Shadow Warrior

Chapter 5

He was small, but looked unpleasant. Standing, we waited for him to address us.

“Galadin requires p*****t up front.” His voice was deep and hoars.

“We have payment.” Abby pulled out a trinket from her pocket. It looked like just a normal gold necklace; however, experienced eyes would be able to see the insignias engraved in the metal. It was a bewitched necklace. Warlocks had a fascination with such objects. They were becoming harder and harder to come by. Depending on what spell was cast, it took a major toll on the warlock.

Handing the necklace to the goblin, he examined it. Making faces as he turned it over with his claws. Once satisfied he had inspected and determined its authenticity, he grunted.

“Galadin shall accept. Follow me.” He motioned with his hand. His hands were oversized for his body. He was quite disproportionate.

He scanned his finger and the lock disengaged. Entering, they saw a large open area. It looked to be his living room. To their right was a larger kitchen. Then to their left there was a short hallway containing 3 doors.

“Wait here.” The Goblin instructed. He moved toward another door on the other side of the room. Entering, he shut the door right behind him.

They stood there and didn’t move. Both preparing for whatever might happen. They didn’t want to be too far away from the exit.

The door the goblin entered, soon opened and a man came walking out. Abby never got used to how young he looked because of how old he was.

“Looks like I have guests.” He gave a gentle smile. In doing so, we could see a long row of sharp teeth. “How can I be of assistance, young ones?”

“We are looking for information on the Black Book of Souls.” Leo was down to the point. There was no point in having pleasantries.

“Down to business we are. What do two Shadow Warriors want with such an evil book?” His eyes were full of curiosity.

“We suspect someone is attempting to bring Valak back.” Abby stated matter of factly.

“Oh, that old bastard? Who in their right mind would want him wreaking havoc here again?” His eyes grew dark. “It took us centuries to put him back last time around. We don’t need his ugly face running around here again. He will disrupt everything.” Galadin’s facial expression betrayed his thoughts. He wasn’t happy about this news.

“Will you tell us where the book is?” Leo asked flatly. He wasn’t enjoying the theatrics. He just wanted to get the book and move towards their life going back to normal. No more chasing possessed people for months on end to only have them die and then the demon is off towards another human.

“I wish I could. After Abdul Alhazred wrote the book, no one knows what happened to it. He wrote it using the skin of pigs and the ink was his own blood. If he hadn't been so delusional, I would have been very impressed. However, Abdul was batty. Last I knew, Saint Peter was looking for him. The spells in that book were the ugliest of ugly. Directly destroying the laws of nature. Anything from necromancy to evocation to greater demon possession. Greater demons need help when they possess, as they are too powerful for the average human vessel.” He was rubbing his chin with deep thought.

“Do you have any leads?” Leo asks with frustration slowly consuming him.

Galadin smiled. “Why I do. If the Saint is the last one to have it, I would check with the Catholic church. We were in Rome when I had heard he was in possession of it.”

Leo looked over to Abby. “You ready for a road trip?”

Abby gave an exaggerated sigh. “I guess.”

“Is that all?” Galadin looked over at us.

“Yeah. I think we are good now.”

Galadin took a long look at Leo and Abby. “You two seem awfully young to be taking on such an endeavor.”

“We are old enough and skilled enough. Thanks for your concern.” Leo was unusually short with Galadin. Abby looked over at him. Leo’s face spoke of his anger.

“Should you run into trouble and need my help, just burn my card.” Galadin brought over an all-black card to Abby. Taking it, she slid it into her pocket. He may not be the greatest person to have as an ally, but he would be the only one who could get to them fast enough.

They departed Galadin’s and headed for Concurrence’s airport. There they could catch an immediate flight to Rome. On their way, Leo debriefed his parents. They suggested waiting for guidance from the council, but time was of the essence. By the time they finally made a decision, Valak could have already been released.

Stopping by Leo’s house, they quickly packed and headed out. Being as they have their paperwork, there is no real security at the airport. Most humans believe this airport has been abandoned. Spells hid the planes that came and went.

Making their way over, they saw no one else was going to be traveling to Rome. This gave them the opportunity to have the small plane to themselves. The insides looked more like something you would see in a movie. Two beds were towards the back. One of each side of the plane. Followed by the bathroom at the back of the plane, the host area towards the front near the captain’s door.

Taking seats in the larger seating, each of them buckled in and readied for departure.

“Good afternoon, Sir and Madam. We will be departing shortly. Until we let you know, please remain seated. We will have food available for our trip. It looks like we have a long trip ahead of us. The flight in total will be 10 hours 45 minutes. Do either of you need anything before we take off?”

She was nice, too nice. Her eyes spent too much time looking at Leo. Abby felt jealousy grasp her heart. She was now glaring at the woman. She had long muscular legs covered in black tights, a maroon skirt and maroon dress shirt on over a white dress shirt. Her heels were 2 inches, black with a pointed toe. Her hair was the image of perfection. Not a single hair out of place. It just made Abby dislike her that much more.

Looking over at Leo, she could see he was paying no attention to the woman ogling him. This slowed Abby’s heart a little. It at least stopped her from getting up and beating the woman to death. Suddenly, Abby realized how dark her thoughts had gotten at the mere thought of a woman gaining Leo’s attention.

Taking a deep breath, she settled into her seat. Checking the buckle, she found it secure. Looking over at Leo, she saw him deep in a book. It looked old and worn. The front cover was slowly pulling away from the cardboard underneath. She could imagine the smell of its old pages. Knowing Leo, this book was somewhere he was looking for answers. The front cover read The History of Abdul Alhazred. Her suspicions confirmed.

Since Leo was already doing his research, Abby pulled out her book. The one she had been reading last night when Leo came in. She was dying to know if the main character, Jasmine, would find out that her best friend was in love with her.

Leo moved from book to book as the flight progressed. Every so often, he would look over at Abby. She had made herself comfortable. Her teeth gnawed on her bottom lip while her brows were furrowed. Leo let out a low chuckle. Seeing the cover, he recognized it as the book she had been reading the night before. She was so determined to find out if the main characters got together.

Looking at his next book, she started flipping through the pages. Hoping one of these books would provide him with more answers.

Getting to the back of the last book, he found it full of writing in another language. One he recognized as Hebrew, but that was one of the languages he had not familiarized himself with. Leo knew 8 languages: English, Spanish, Italian, demonic, elvish, dragon, Latin, and Polish. Hebrew wasn’t taught in school. Therefore, it was never an option. Considering how many demonic languages branched off from Hebrew, it may have made more sense to offer than Polish.

Taking a picture of it, he sent it over to his parents for their review. Both of them could read Hebrew. They should be able to send him a translation once they land.

Looking at the time, they still had another 8 hours to go. Leo’s body slowly lulled to sleep.

They were all jarred when the plane hit some turbulence. Leo quickly sat up and looked around. Abby was still deep into her book, having made substantial progress in her book. Her face had changed and looked happy. That twinkle was in her eyes as she quickly read each word on the page.

Leo gave her a smile. He saw the hostess move towards him. His eyes glanced at her momentarily.

“Would you like anything sir?” She gave him a big smile, but by the look in her eyes he could tell she was hoping to gain more than his attention.

“Yes, we would like your cheeseburger meal. Extra fries for her and please douse mine in green chili. Extra Jalapenos please as well.”

She nodded and flashed a smile. Looking at Abby, she had a scowl on her face. Watching as the hostess walked to the front to start on their food.

“You okay Abs?” He asked, using her nickname. Now that they were older, they didn’t use them as often, but he wanted to gain her attention. Hating to see such an angry look on her beautiful face.

“Yeah. I just don’t like her.” She looked back down at her book. Leo could see her trying hard to pay attention to what was happening in the book, but each time the hostess came out, her eyes flashed up to the woman. Her face was again consumed by anger.

Leo couldn’t figure out what the problem was. Abby was usually a very welcoming person to everyone. Maybe while he was reading, he had missed something. Maybe the hostess said something that had upset her. He observed the seatbelt light was off, so he got up and headed for the bathroom.

After quickly doing his business, he was on his way out of the bathroom when he bumped into Abby. The small space forces their bodies to touch. Her chest pressed up against Leo’s. Looking between them, he looked down and noticed Abby’s cleavage was fully on display for him. Quickly moving his eyes up to hers, he could see war in her eyes. However, he didn’t understand what was causing it.

She tried to move, but it only pressed their bodies closer together. The way she was moving, she was rubbing against is waist. Driving him mad. His body was reacting and he wasn’t going to be able to hide it much longer. Grabbing her sides, he shifted them. Their faces were now even closer. Abby moved her face and their lips gently brushed against each other.

They both released a gasp. Moving quickly, Leo went and took his seat while Abby closed the door behind her.

Leo was staring at the floor, running his fingers along his lips. The sound of her gasp was heavenly. He wanted to hear her make that sound over and over again.

Abby was hiding in the bathroom. Looking at herself in the mirror. Her tongue ran along her lips. Her thoughts were consumed with the feeling of Leo’s lips against hers. Even for just that very split second. It ignited a fire within her. Abby’s heart was racing from the contact.

Her cheeks were rosy. Splashing water on her face, she worked to hide how everything had affected her. Now she was working up the courage to exit the room.