Blair

Chapter 5

"It's been a long time since we've spoken, child," Orias grins, his frigid words hanging in the atmosphere with looming dread.

"Not long enough" I state, trying to be as confident as I can. I want to reach my hand down and draw my knife out of its holster, but I am afraid to make any sudden movements.

"On the contrary, it's been far too long. I've been waiting for the proper moment though, so I suppose all's well that ends well," he shrugs, casually glancing around at the fog surrounding us.

"Get to the point Orias. Why have you decided to show up now?" I demand, my voice cracking a little.

"There is no now, child. You've never left my sights. I've always been here watching your every move in the background, you just haven't known it. I know how you operate, how many you've killed, who you've killed, who you've let live. I know everything," he smiles at me. My heartbeat quickens as we stare at one another. I feel my confidence drain with each passing moment I stare into his lifeless, ebony eyes.

I make a split second decision and my right hand shoots down to my thigh, pulling my knife out in record time. I rocket it down the street as it travels in a direct path to impale him in the center of the chest. As it makes contact and spears him in the sternum, a tiny sliver of relief floods my mind. Unfortunately, my relief is short-lived because he doesn't even flinch as the blade lies imbedded in his chest cavity. He just continues smiling at me with his hands in his front pockets. He takes a deep breath before looking down at the handle of the knife, taking it in his right hand as he slowly pulls it out of his chest. My mouth hangs open and he rotates the blade around in his palm, blowing a singular breath onto it as it completely disintegrates. He wiggles his fingers around a little as the black dust of what used to be my throwing knife lightly drifts to the ground through his fingers. I take an unsteady step backwards and shake my head.

That's not possible.

"Your weapons won't work on me, little one," he smirks, taking a step towards me. I meet him with an equal step backwards as my eyes dart down at my left wrist, remembering that I have my watch on.

"What do you want from me?" I command while placing my hands behind my back. I'm trying to make it seem as casual as possible so he won't take notice of what I'm about to do.

"I want you to be prepared when the time comes. You're almost ready," he answers. I fidget with the watch behind my back and quickly press the emergency button on the side, knowing that Dani will be alerted. She's drunkenly sleeping right now, but I hope the sound of the emergency beeping and vibration will rip her out of her slumber.

"Ready for what?" I retort.

"For your day of reckoning," he smiles. Suddenly, his head c***s to the side slightly and he narrows his eyes as if he's thinking about something extremely hard. After a moment, his gaze flickers back up to my face and he nods his head in a commendatory manner.

"Ah, epinephrine…your friend is a resourceful little witch, I'll give her that. She just cut our time together down significantly.” He stares back at me and looks vaguely irritated by this information, but not entirely surprised.

"How would you know that?" I reply, taking a few more steps backwards.

"Because I know everything," he smirks. Before he even has a chance to utter another word, I whip around and take off back in the direction of my body. I don't know how long it takes for the adrenaline to kick in or if it will even work, but I'm going to give myself a head start.

"Run run run,

As fast as you can,

But you won't escape me,

Nobody can."

I hear Orias singing, his voice swallowing me whole like a nightmarish soundtrack that I can't turn off. My lungs and legs are burning as I fly down the street, but I won't stop for anything. Far off in the distance, I see the door to my hotel building fly open and out of nowhere, my entire body begins tingling. I let out a loud scream as I am suddenly lifted off of my feet and forcefully drug towards the building. Everything passes by me in a blur until I am thrown through the door of my hotel room, skidding across the floor to a halt. I don't waste a single second before I throw myself down on top of my physical body, waking up instantly. I gasp for air and rapidly flail my arms, screaming at the person holding onto me.

"Blair, calm down! Hey, look at me! You're okay, everything is okay," Dani's soothing voice washes over me as she tightly holds my wrists to prevent me from hitting her. I rip my hands out of her grasp and throw my arms around her neck while breathing heavily, my entire body shaking from the adrenaline, fear and stress.

"He was there...Dani, he was there and he wants me," I shakily state, my eyes wide open and scanning the room as if Orias is going to appear at any moment. The vision of those evil black eyes tearing into my brain is burned into my memory so powerfully that I can still feel him here with me. It’s as if a part of him is permanently bonded to me wherever I go.

"It's okay…you're safe now. We figured he'd come back, we were just hopeful that he wouldn't. But you're alive and that is what's important," she replies while stroking my hair. I release her from our embrace and push myself off of the bed, glancing down at my thigh. There is a tiny speck of blood where Dani injected me and black ash where my throwing knife used to be in its holster. I close my eyes and shake my head, pacing back and forth as she stares at me with concern.

"The adrenaline theory worked, but there is some lag time between this world and the AP. It wasn't immediate and somehow Orias sensed when you injected me. But more important than that...my weapons don't work on Orias and he destroyed my knife with no effort. He...he called me out into the AP in the same way that I do to my targets except he was able to transport my astral body without me walking at all. I opened my eyes and I was already three blocks away when I didn't even move," I mutter, still frantically pacing the room. Dani nervously bites her bottom lip and stands up, yanking the nightstand drawer open to rustle through some loose papers. She latches onto one and hands it to me as I look down and read it.

Biblioteca Bartolome Calvo

"Why are you showing me a library advertisement?" I question while the paper trembles in my palm.

"Because we need to do some research. We still don't know anything about Orias other than he torments the s**t out of you and that's not enough. We need to know what we're up against. The situation with Diego, Isaac, and Smith can wait because this is far more important. The library opens in an hour, so let's quickly grab some food, be the first ones in and the last ones out," she demands. I look back down at the paper and nod my head, my ears thumping since my pulse is still entirely too fast. Dani walks over to my bag and grabs a pair of light denim shorts and a flowy yellow top, tossing them to me.

"We are going to figure this out, okay? I promise," she reassures me while staring into my eyes with determination. "We will figure out how to kill him."

•••

11:30 AM

•••

"Did you find anything yet?" Dani inquires from the computer next to mine. I take a large swig from my water bottle and shake my head.

"This is all I've found so far," I answer, rotating my screen so she can see it.

Orias;

In demonology, Orias (also spelled Oriax) is a Great Marquis of Hell and has thirty legions of demons under his command.

"I mean at least that's something," she sighs, leaning back against the worn wooden chair with a yawn. I take a deep breath and continue scrolling through Wikipedia as if I'm expecting some new information to pop out at me.

The minimal articles I’ve found online might seem helpful to Dani, but they don’t to me. I can’t find any knowledge on where Orias originated, how old he is, any potential weaknesses or skills – there is virtually nothing to find regarding his existence. Google’s only beacon of light about Orias is that he’s a high ranking, evil entity in hell with legions of demons under his command. But, the first time I ever interacted with Orias, he told me that the devil doesn't exist, so it would stand to reason that demons wouldn't either. If that’s the case, nothing that we’ve uncovered even matters because that means it’s all folklore and bullshit.

"Okay, I need some caffeine in my system or I’m going to pass out. Do you want anything?" Dani inquires as she stands up and grabs her purse.

"No I'm fine, the epinephrine was enough of a rush for me today. Thanks though," I mutter in response with my eyes glued to the computer screen. I draw in another breath and resume my googling, spending the next ten minutes or so looking at nothing important. We've been here for a few hours and so far, our efforts have been fruitless. I still can't find anything besides what I've already read and it's making me think this entire endeavor is pointless. I guess I don't really know what I was expecting when I sat down to research a little known mythological demon named Orias, but this is probably about right.

"No estás buscando en el lugar correcto," I hear a mans familiar deep voice state from behind me. I close my eyes and sharply exhale because I already know exactly who it is.

"Do you have a f*****g death wish?" I seethe without looking at him. I'm in the middle of a public library, so causing a scene right now isn't advisable.

"Not exactly," he states as I tap my fingers on the desk and sigh. I slowly stand up and turn around with my arms folded across my chest, leaning back against the wooden chair. My eyes finally lock in place with Isaac Diaz's ocean blue ones and I am immediately taken aback.

Damn, he looks even better in the daylight.

With his stubbled face and dark brown hair trimmed into a perfect taper fade, he looks like some sort of rugged male model. My eyes flicker down his body, noting those staple sleeve tattoos that compliment his tanned skin to perfection. I was too preoccupied during our last interaction to even notice how tall and muscular he is, but now I do as he towers over my short self from a few feet away. My eyes dart back up to his once again only to find him smirking at me.

"Why are you here?" I question in a deadpanned manner, hoping he didn't notice me checking him out.

"Does it matter?" he shrugs in English that's so good I can barely detect his accent.

"Let me guess, you're here to blackmail me in exchange for something since you've probably already figured out who I am. If that's the case fair warning, I'm not opposed to killing you in a public institution then covering it up as gang related activity," I caustically inform him.

"I've got no interest in blackmailing you, Blair," he replies while grinning with perfect white teeth. At the sound of my real name leaving his lips, my entire body naturally tenses up. Part of me was really hoping that he wouldn't know my name, but I knew it was a shot in the dark. He immediately takes notice of my tension and lifts his hands in a placating gesture, trying to show me that he comes in peace.

"Yes, I know your name, but I was being serious. I'm not going to leak any information about your identity and I'm not here to blackmail you," he attempts to reassure me, but I'm not buying it.

"Bullshit. If that's the case then why would you show up here when you already know I thoroughly regret letting you and Diego live?" I demand in a hushed tone.

"Trust me, it wasn't advised for me to hunt you down. I did it because I want to help you," he replies.

"Help me with what?" I push further.

"With that," he responds, pointing at the computer screen with information about Orias displayed on it. My gaze flickers from the computer and back up to his face as I try to connect the dots. What benefit would he gain by helping me with Orias? Better yet, how does he even know about him?

"Why?" I flatly question.

"Because I like you," he offers.

"You like me? Let me ask, do you frequently find yourself attracted to women who've tried to kill you?" I sarcastically roll my eyes.

"Don't be so quick to judge, angel. I let you live and vice versa, so obviously we share some similar feelings," he grins. I narrow my eyes at him and bite my bottom lip, silently willing him to burst into flames so I can undo my stupid decision to keep him alive.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm no angel pendejo," I glare at him.

"Fallen angels are still angels," he smirks before nudging his head in the direction of a locked room on the back library wall. My gaze pans from him, to the door and then back to him again as I raise my eyebrows.

"I'm not going back there with you," I scoff.

"Do you want answers or not?" he insists.

"Depends on what I have to do to get them," I shrug. He laughs a little at this comment and I unintentionally find myself smiling. I quickly catch my vulnerability and clear my throat, shoving that weakness back down to the depths of hell where it belongs.

"Come on angel, I don't bite too hard," he winks before heading in the direction of the room. I sigh loudly, begrudgingly following behind him and towards the unknown before me.

Hopefully, I'm not walking right into an ambush or something.

We reach the padlocked door and Isaac withdraws a bobby pin, jamming it into the lock. He wiggles it around a bit until I hear the unlocking click and he removes it from the door. He pushes the heavy wooden door open and motions for me to step inside as the smell of musty air emanates from the darkness before me.

"Ladies first," he bows a little. I roll my eyes and step into the redolent hallway, the smell of almonds and aged chocolate drifting through my nasal passage. I flick on a light switch that reveals a long hallway lined with old books and papers crammed onto built-in wooden shelves. There are singular, cobweb draped light bulbs spaced out about ten feet apart on the ceiling that seems to lead into some sort of circular room way off in the distance but I can barely make it out. I hear the sound of the door shut behind me before Isaac skirts past my right hand side, making his way down the hall.

"So, do you project often?" I inquire, hoping that I can gather a little more information about Isaac and what makes him tick. The more I know about him and any potential weaknesses he has, the better off I will be in the long run.

"I do it when it's necessary. I would ask you the same question, but I think that's pretty self-explanatory," he responds as he casts me a glance over his shoulder.

"What exactly do you know about me?" I prod. I don't know if he'll be honest and forthcoming regarding what he knows, but I want to see what I'm working with.

"Your name is Blair Windsor, you're the Reaper and you are also the true head of the Del Sur cartel even though you've got everyone else convinced it's Samuel Martinez. I believe you structured it that way on purpose to keep yourself off the map. Your friend Denali Moore helps keep you off the grid physically as well, but that's about it as far as information goes. Couldn't seem to dig up any family information or history about your past," he replies.

"Thank god," I grumble under my breath. I’m inwardly relieved that he wasn't able to uncover anything other than what I was aware he already knew. I've got quite a few skeletons in my closet that only Dani and Sam know of and I'd like to keep it that way. I’m sure Isaac would love nothing more than to dredge up a plethora of dark secrets from the depths of hell, as would many others. People would literally kill for personal information about me.

Isaac lets out a sigh as he slows his pace so he can walk next to me, periodically glancing in my direction. I make it a point to continue staring straight ahead even though I can tell he wants to talk. I’m not much of a social butterfly to begin with, but he seems like the type of person who relishes these interactions. He shoots me a lingering gaze as our feet shuffle across the worn concrete flooring and my head finally snaps over so I can glare at him.

"If you keep staring at me, I’m seriously going to consider changing my mind about letting you live. The bounty on your head is f*****g insane and the more I think about it, the more tempting the money is," I warn as he chuckles to himself and looks back down the hallway.

"Carajo angel, you have got to be the feistiest woman I have ever met. Can't exactly say I hate it though," he sighs, shoving his hands into his front pockets.

"Get in line dude. You're not the only one throwing your d**k at me," I sarcastically huff.

“Maybe not, but I could probably outcompete the rest of them if I tried,” he suggests.

“Yeah, good one. You couldn't handle me even if I gave you a shot," I scoff.

"I could try…maybe you'd be pleasantly surprised," he shrugs.

"Or horribly disappointed. That seems more likely," I argue. He grins at me as I shake my head and redirect my gaze ahead once again, electing not to respond anymore.

This man is either the most ballsy or the most idiotic person I’ve ever met…and honestly, it’s a bit captivating. He came here knowing I was going to kill him based on my last threat, yet he’s not concerned in the slightest. He’s flirting with a woman who tried to assassinate him and his uncle for money. It’s also insane to me that he has visible tattoos as an avid projector with an obvious skill set. For someone who’s trying to lay low, tattoos are a poor choice and they make you a walking billboard. That is an immediate way for someone to identify him, but that concern doesn’t appear to be high on his priority list either. He’s probably one of those people who uses their body as a canvas for art in the form of tattoos, not that I blame him. I personally love tattoos, I just don’t have any due to the nature of my career choices. But, the way the variety of black and grey florals, dot work in the form of concentric mandala designs and swirling celestial phenomenon’s sit on Isaac’s tanned, muscular arms is something that only leaves me with the desire to see more of him. I unintentionally find myself wanting to explore the remainder of his skin with my eyes, hands and lips.

But, I don’t mix business with pleasure so that’s never going to happen.

We enter a large circular room at the very end of the hallway and I gaze at the vaulted ceiling in awe. I look above me at a massive circular pane of glass that is casting light into the room, illuminating an antique black podium in the dead center. The podium features a thickly bound leather book sitting atop it that's covered in a thin layer of dust. Every inch of wall space is covered in archaic texts and scrolls as I slowly walk around, running my fingertips over the aged bindings of a few books on the shelves.

"This is an older section of the library that Diego showed me a while ago. It's restricted because all of the texts are ancient, but ancient is exactly what you're looking for," Isaac states as he walks over to the podium and gently wipes off the book it holds. I shuffle in to his left hand side and glance at the binding on the book, narrowing my eyes at the words printed on it.

In tenebris me vinctum

"What does that mean? I can't read Latin," I inquire while pointing at the words running up the spine.

"It means 'In the darkness I am bound'. This book was made after someone discovered the Tenebra and Aura realms and it has old folklore about some of Tenebra's supposed inhabitants," Isaac replies, flipping through some of the pages until he reaches a stopping point. He backs away from the podium and allows me to stand directly in front of it so I can read more properly.

Orias (also spelled Oriax):

The true first legionnaire of Tenebra and a master of manipulation.

A henchman of darkness and the bringer of death.

Orias bends the eyes of men to see what he wishes, appearing in many forms to those of his choosing.

Drawing from the power of many and one simultaneously, men crumble and women fall prey.

The ender of worlds.

A keeper is chosen,

The key will open a vessel.

And those who are but at the edge of life and death will birth the apocalypse,

Tainting souls with darkness,

All-consuming chaos that will be Pandora's box.

Death.

Like a poisonous weed it will spread until a home it creates,

A cancerous infestation paralleled to g******e.

The creator will be the destroyer.

It must be so.

I flip the worn page over for some sort of explanation of this cryptic text only to find that it is blank. I rub my face with my hands as my blood runs cold, my mind going a million miles per hour. I am positive that none of this makes any sense and I've got no idea how this will help me. All it does is reconfirm that Orias really is 'the boogeyman', but it doesn't tell me why he is interested in me or how to kill him.

"What does any of this mean, Isaac?" I hesitate with worry.

"Well, the first part is folklore about who Orias is. The second part is a prophecy," he replies, walking over to point out the poem.

"A prophecy about what? The end of the world?" I inquire.

"Exactly," he nods.

"And the circles?" I implore, watching as he takes a deep breath.

"That I don't know. We haven't been able to figure it out and there is nothing written about them," Isaac sighs in response. I look up at him and swallow the lump in my throat, wondering how any of this pertains to him or me.

"What does that have to do with you wanting to help me?" I press onward.

"If you knew the name Orias, it's because you've interacted with him before. No normal person just knows the name Orias and he doesn't choose to present himself to everyone, only those he believes will be of use to him. You've got a line of communication with him for whatever reason so I think we can help each other out since we both want the same thing; for him to be gone permanently," he explains with a straight face. I shake my head and step away from the podium, anxiously pacing back and forth in front of it while Isaac's deep blue gaze follows me around. I finally stop pacing and turn to face him, taking a deep breath.

"Who are you?" I challenge with a puzzled look.

"I'm the Guardian," he smiles at me.