Stuck With You

Part 31

Antonio stared at her for a moment before turning away.  “You are a good person Celeste, but you’re too naïve.  They have a nest full of Nephilim.  What makes you think that they will allow you to talk before killing you?”

“Having the same enemies brings people together.  I may not want to work with them, I may not like how they treated my people years ago, but I will put that behind me if that is what needs to be done.  Not all of them are bad, Antonio.  You taught me that.”

“I am bad, Celeste.”

Celeste shook her head at him with a small laugh.  “You may appear bad to others, but I can see you Antonio.  You’re a good guy deep down, just like Daryn and Uncle Luc.  No matter how much you all attempt to hide that side of you, I can see it.”

Finally, Antonio glanced towards her, but the carefully neutral expression on his face told her nothing.  “That makes you dangerous.  Even with all the power in that little package, I think what frightens me the most is what you can see.”  He paused, shaking his head as if clearing a memory.  “You’re idea is a good one, but this is the last time you leave us out of your plans.  Deal?”

“The next time I make plans it will be to kill my sister.  Sorry, but I can’t make any promises.  When the time comes, I’ll be the one to do all the dirty work.”

Daryn nodded along with her words.  “Agreed, but what Antonio means is that you let us play backup.  Gabriel will have others following her.  She is not the only one who fell victim to the Nephilim.  When the time comes, you’ll have more than her to fight.”

“When the time comes,” Aidirian spoke up, “I will happily let you fight by our sides.”

Daryn, Antonio, and Innocence nodded in agreement.  Celeste smiled at the determination on each of their faces.  She couldn’t keep them away from her if she tried.  It was a good thing that she wouldn’t try.  She knew that once she started this fight with her sister that Gabriel would call in backup.  Never had her sister been able to fight her battles on her own.  It was one thing that surprised Celeste about the entire situation.  She never would have thought that Gabriel would start this war, never that that her sister would be the one to attempt to kill an entire race.  All signs pointed towards Gabriel though, and in Celeste’s heart, she knew her sister was behind this mess. 

“Okay,” she said while letting out a deep breath.  Keeping the smile on her face, she motioned towards the door.  “Who wants to drive?”

Three hands flew into the air, but Aidirian simply opened his.  In his palm were a set of keys.  Daryn stared at them a moment before his eyes widened.  Reaching in his back pocket, he dug around and found nothing.  “I can’t believe you stole my keys.”

“Your car is the fastest,” Aidirian said with a shrug, “and I’m driving.”

Daryn opened his mouth, but Celeste shook her head to silence him.  “I want Aidirian to drive.  He can’t come in with me, but at least he can keep watch.  You forget that he can see true forms.  If my sister decides to pop by, or any other type of creature, he’ll know.”

“Fine,” Daryn said while walking towards her.  Pulling her into a hug, he took a deep breath.  “Just be careful.”

He pulled away from her, and before she could reply, Antonio wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.  “Be more than careful,” he grumbled before letting her go.

She smiled at the two of them.  “I will; I promise.  You don’t need to worry.”

Daryn rolled his eyes.  “You’re walking into a Nephilim nest unarmed to talk.  Why would we be worried?”

“Fine,” she supplied with a laugh.  “Worry all you want.”

“Celeste,” Aidirian interrupted while grabbing her hand.  “We have to go.”

She nodded at him, knowing that he was telling the truth.  If she were being honest with herself, she would admit that she was stalling.  She didn’t want to go, not really.  If she had a choice, she would stay at home where it was safe.  She couldn’t though.  She had to stop this, to end it before it was too late.

***Only a couple chapters left before the end!  Hope you've enjoyed so far :)***