Chapter 19 - Kadis
1349 Words
I stand and watch the cab drive away with Jane. I really wanted to leave with her, but I have Jaed to deal with. Anger flares through me. Even though I knew that Jaed was going to test her, when I saw it was happening, I lost it. When I saw her face drawn and pale, it took all my strength not to punch Jaed. Entering the bar, I see Jaed slumped in his chair, his head in his hands. I take the seat across from him. He raises his head and I’m shocked to see dark circles under his eyes. Concern replaces my anger.
“Jaed? Are you okay?”
He runs his hand over his face. “Let's get out of here. I need somewhere quiet.”
We go to my place. I make coffee and sit down. Jaed sits staring into his mug. I wait for him to tell me what went on. The color starts to come back to his face.
“What is she, Kadis?”
He looks at me with dull eyes. It scares me to see him like this. What did she do to him?
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
“You were right. She saw me before my permission was sent. That was a shock.”
He looks lost.
“I pushed her hard, I put everything into my aura. And it didn’t work! It didn’t affect her! But that wasn’t the scary part. It was what happened after. When she asked me what I did to her, I had to answer. I couldn’t stop. The same with when she asked if she passed. I tried, but I had to answer her. It was like she tore the answer out of me. It was not gentle.”
His eyes look glassy and he blinks a few times. Drawing in a shaky breath, he looks everywhere but at me.
“She scares me, Kadis.”
I feel guilty, but he did ask to test her. And I did warn him. But it's hard to see him like this.
“I need to find out about her, Jaed. I need your help.” I plead with him, “I can’t let her go.”
“You're crazy.” he states half-heartedly.
“What do we need to do?”
“We need to get into the Archives and find something about daemons and fae. I think that is where the answer lies.”
“Ok. Give me some time and I’ll call in a few favours. Maybe we can get in without raising suspicions. I’ll send out my feelers and get back to you.”
“Be careful Jaed.”
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I take the chance and portal directly to the hallway outside Jane’s apartment. I let myself in quietly and sneak into her room. She looks so serene and fragile, though I can tell she had been crying. I strip down to my underwear and try to slip in without waking her. She shifts a bit as I scoot over and I whisper nonsense into her ear to soothe her back to sleep. She snuggles her butt into my crotch and I have to stop myself from reacting. I spend the next few hours lightly dozing and thinking about all that I have experienced. Jaed said that she was scary. As I look down at her, I see only Jane. I finally get a text from Jaed. I slip out of bed, get dressed, and portal back to him. A few minutes later, I’m following Jaed through some very narrow corridors.
“Why can’t we portal there?” I ask as I brush the cobwebs off my hair.
“Because all travel in and out is monitored. Especially portals. Now hurry up we’re almost there.”
I bite back a sarcastic retort. In a few minutes, we reach an empty crossroad, turning left Jaed stops and knocks on the first door. Mikkas opens it up and beckons us inside. He closes the door and turns right into Jaeds arms. Before the demon can say anything, Jaed leans in and gives him a passionate kiss. Grumpy and tired with all of Jaed’s secrecy, I loudly clear my throat. I swear he would have kept going if I didn’t interrupt.
“Are you quite done, Jaed?”
This time my sarcasm drips through. He plants another quick kiss on Mikkas’ lips before finally letting him go.
“Mikkas is one of the gatekeepers for the Archives. He and I have a plan to get you in.”
“But won’t he get discovered if he lets us in?”
“Nonsense, leave that up to us. We have it all planned. You will have about 45 minutes before you need to get out of there.”
I’m a little worried about the vagueness of this plan. If Mikkas is caught, he could spill who accessed the Archives without permission. Then Jaed and Jane could be in trouble as well. Jaed must have sensed my uneasiness.
“Don’t worry about it Kadis. Just get in and get out with what you need.”
“I need a little bit more info, Jaed. I’m trusting my life with a demon I don’t know. You may trust him, but I don’t.” I look over at Mikkas in apology. He seems unfazed. He actually has a grin on his face. Sighing, Jaed looks over at him.
“Fine. I am set to ‘surprise’ Mikkas at the end of his shift to perform a hand-binding ceremony. That should distract the other gatekeepers. You will enter a few minutes after I start and, as you know, it should take about an hour.”
Mikkas’ grin is huge now. And I don't blame him. He will effectively be jumping up ranks for the duration of the contract. A hand-binding is almost like a marriage. It is a ritual that is instigated by the higher rank demon. The low-caste demon then enjoys the privilege of the more powerful demon for however long they are bound. But unlike a business contract, a hand-binding cannot be bartered for favours. It must be genuine or the ritual won't work. I c**k my eyebrow at Jaed.
"Never figured you for the settle down type. You know it won't work for favours."
"That's the thing Kadis, I want to be bound to him." Looking over at Mikkas, he grins with him. "We have already talked about hand-binding. So this will work."
I have to agree. A hand-binding ritual would be quite the distraction. It happens very rarely, and is a sight to see. Because of this, they are almost always done publicly and most demons would drop everything to watch one. I could claim that they had no idea what I had planned if I am caught. I roll the idea over in my head. It could work. At least to get me in without notice.
“Here’s a map on where the books you are looking for are most likely to be. Try to memorize it and get rid of it. Mikkas’ shift is set to start right away and will end in about five hours. Wait here and memorize that map. It will tell you where to enter and where guards are usually stationed. Though it’ll be hard to say if they will be in their usual spots due to the ceremony. Luckily those who rule rely heavily on the guards and magical tripwires, they have no technological surveillance.”
I take the piece of paper that Mikkas is holding out towards me.
“Stay here and I’ll give a text when I’m about to start. Make your way to the entry point about 10 minutes after and be sure to be out before the hour is up.”
He grabs Mikkas’ hand and leads him out the door.
“Be careful Kadis.”
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The next few hours are spent playing on my phone, memorizing the map, and sending Jane a few texts of support. In my last one I tell her that I'll meet her at the funeral at 1:30. I should have enough time to make it, though it'll be tight. I just start to doze off when I get Jaed's text. I take one last look at the map and then burn it. I shake the nervousness from my shoulders and open the door. Surveillance or not I cover my face and pull my hood up. I want to take no chances that someone could recognize me later if I'm seen.
"Wish me luck." I ask to the empty room.
It's now or never.
- Writer
