Betrayal held three fingers in the air. “Scout’s honor.”
“You weren’t even a scout,” Daria pointed out.
“How do you know?”
“Ugh!” Daria groaned, grabbing the blade and leaving the garage.
“What? What’d I do?” Betrayal asked, hands up as if in surrender.
“Just for that, you can sit in the back,” Death growled, pointing a finger in his direction. “And make sure he’s tied up enough.” He aimed his pointer finger at Cadmon in the chair.
“Fine,” he grumbled.
“And you can watch him tonight,” Death added for good measure.
“What? No way! I don’t wanna watch him.”
“I was on watch last night. Tonight can be yours.”
“What about Hope? He can watch him too,” he argued.
Death leveled him with a glare, stepping forward. “I get that you’re upset and itching for a fight, but we can’t go in unprepared. Not only because it’s too dangerous, but because we can’t risk losing anyone right now. Not only for Truth and Misery and every other demon that’s locked away, but for Daria too.”
The longer he spoke, the more Betrayal seemed to deflate, until his arms were crossed and he was unable to meet Death’s gaze. “Fine. I’ll watch him. And I’ll be on my best behavior.”
“Good. Now let’s hope we find something worthwhile.”
I hope so anyway.
HOPE
Hope entered the house with Death and immediately set off to find Daria. As soon as she’d left the garage in a huff, he knew there was something going on that had less to do with Betrayal’s obnoxious annoyance, and more to do with unseen anxieties.
After scouring the house, he finally found her up top on the walkway between the two bay window towers.
“Hey,” he murmured softly as he stepped onto the deck.
The evening sun was hitting the front of the house, so they were cast in the roof’s shadow, making the last dredges of the summer breeze a little cooler.
“Hey,” she answered. Still dressed from her date with Death, she huddled down in her sweater and looked out at the water. The sun’s rays struck it in a glimmering explosion of liquid diamonds everywhere it could reach.
“You doing okay?”
A simple shrug. “I guess. I have faith in us. But it doesn’t stop me from worrying. Doesn’t stop the what-ifs from sneaking in.”
Hope studied her profile, cast in shadow but still visible in the evening light. Freckles dusted her nose and cheeks, her long dark hair loose and flickering in the sharp breeze.
His footsteps were quiet as he joined her by the banister, placing his hand atop her own and squeezing lightly.
“The what-ifs are the infection of self-doubt. If you ignore it, let them sit there and fester, it’ll only get worse. But I’ve found that if you actively think through them, you’ll realize they sometimes don’t make sense. If you discredit them, they have less power, and the infection heals itself…”
As his words trailed off, she glanced over at him and smiled softly. “You’re always so good with words. Of all the others, you’re probably the only one I’d meet on the street and think, he’s beyond his time.”
Amusement tickled his chest. “Thank you, I think.”
His breath caught at the sound of her laugh. “It was a compliment. You’re just… wise. It’s like you don’t say a single thing that you haven’t really thought about.”
“I’m not a fan of wasting words.”
Daria’s stare flickered, and he cocked his head to the side. What was she thinking about?
“I can see that,” she murmured. Her cheeks flushed, and she turned her gaze to the water.
And now, suddenly, he really wanted to know what thought had crossed her mind to bring that pretty pink to her cheeks.
“Once the sun sets, we can head out. Cadmon should be fine until we return.”
“We’re just going to… look, promise? No secret plans involved?”
Hope understood where her worry was coming from, and he squeezed his hand around hers again. “Promise. There are no plans that have been hidden from you.”
Her shoulders lifted with her deep breath before they fell again, and Hope wished there was something he could do to ease her worries. “Okay. I just don’t want to lose any of you during all of this.”
He wanted to offer her a simple, you won’t. But he couldn’t, because he truly had no idea what was ahead of them. “I wish I could make you a promise that it won’t happen, but I can’t. I will say that none of us are eager to let you go, so let it be known that we’ll try our damnedest to stay safe. If only because of our own selfishness.”
Turning to him again, she allowed him to see the storm of emotions rolling through those blue eyes of hers. “Thank you for that. It somehow makes me feel better than any empty promise could.”
Hope liked that about Daria. Well, he liked a lot of things about Daria, but she valued truth and honesty. Words with meaning.
And for someone who didn’t have a lot to say more often than not? He found it comforting.
They let the silence drape around them as the sun sank deeper and deeper behind the house. The crickets chirped and the water continued to trickle as they looked on, even though the magic of its glitter faded with every minute.
When darkness settled and the clouds passed overhead in a rush of midnight blue, Hope glanced over. “Are you ready?”
“I will be. Just give me a minute more. You can go on down though, I’ll be right behind you.”
Hope paused for a second, but when Daria just squeezed his hand once and offered him a smile, he dipped his head and left her alone.
It would give him a chance to touch base with the others.
When he entered the kitchen, he found Betrayal rinsing out a glass.
“So domestic,” he teased, and Betrayal sent him a droll stare. “Daria is worried one of us will get hurt. We are just going for surveillance, right?” he asked, narrowing his gaze. If any of them were to deviate from the plan, it would be Betrayal.
And he knew it too, from the glare he returned. “I know why you’re asking me specifically, and even though I refuse to take offence, I’m still annoyed. Yes, we’re just going for surveillance. Find an entrance, maybe spy on some demons, assuming there’s any left, and locate a weakness.”
“So there’s no secret plans up your sleeve?” he asked again, just to be on the safe side.
“No. No secret plans, dammit,” he growled, and sat the cup in the drying rack.
Hope shrugged, content with his answer. “Alright.”
As if he didn’t trust his agreement, Betrayal rolled his eyes and motioned to the garage. “Cadmon will be fine while we’re gone. I double-checked and reinforced the bindings. Even fed the guy a meal. He should be happy.”
Hope chuckled at that. “Five-star resort service. Bravo.”
“Well, I can’t say I broke out the silk ties or anything, but…”
Hope’s grin widened at his teasing. “I’m not certain he’d prefer that. Might assume you’re offering another kind of service.”