The Unknown // Colby Brock

~~ Chapter Twenty-One ~~

"What if they're making plans against us?" Mike grumbled in thought.

"Why would ki- Ari do that?" I challenged with a frown. How dare he suggest that Ari's loyalties were anywhere but with us. As someone who knew for a fact Colby was falling for her and that she could become the future queen, I felt offended that Mike would say such a thing.

"She was in heaven for a while, wasn't she? And God threw her out with minimal damage compared to everybody else. I mean you saw that angel guard. We know for a fact Arianna wouldn't have gone along with everything up there yet God didn't punish her for any of it? And gave her back to us?"

"She was never loyal to him, Mike," Cassie snapped as she shook her head. "I... I went up there a few times."

"You what?!" Reggie blurted in surprise as he stared at his girlfriend. She slowly nodded her head, though she wasn't ashamed of it.

"I wanted to make sure she wasn't being tortured. Besides having to listen to Katrina's stories twenty-four-seven, she was fine. But she never once pledged any sort of allegiance to him or showed even so much as a willingness to listen. Not like she does down here."

"Right, she's loyal to hell, not to heaven. So stop it with that," I growled angrily.

"Listen, I just don't understand why we need her down here. She - no matter what you all say - could be loyal to heaven and I just can't see a reason why she should be here."

Everyone brushed him off as we caught sight of the goddess on her way over with Ari close behind.

"I should take my leave before God gets... worried," Fate said politely, holding in a plethora of other emotions. I knew that in heaven, the 'traditional' women's roles were always sought after. God liked to do all the king and queen work while Fate just sat there and looked... well, goddess-y.

I felt for her, in a way, because even though heaven was supposed to be a paradise, she was constantly being pushed to be less important. It didn't sound all that great to me.

"You must all be careful now; he's on his last legs with hell and he could snap at any moment."

"I'll flash you to the gate." Elton almost ran out of the group to get to her and lightly place his hand on her arm. She accepted him gracefully, smiling at us all as she waved.

"Goodbye, everyone."

They quickly flashed out of the room leaving only us here to debate more, only Mike wouldn't open his mouth again because Ari was there, too.

Before I could bring up a different topic, however, my big brother just had to get excited and open his mouth. "What did she want to talk to you about?"

I noticed kitten glance at Colby almost automatically before she corrected herself. "That doesn't concern you. It was confidential," she snapped, partly playful.

I decided to jump on the bandwagon considering it was a much lighter conversation than the one we were having before. Although, Mike's constant annoyed figure in the corner of my eye wasn't helping me concentrate on the good.

"Hm, not good enough. I want to know, too," I pushed as I pulled out puppy eyes. She considered saying something, I was sure, but then she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Shut up, dork."

That was the first time she had ever given me a nickname. Kitten and dork... kinda worked.

"There are more important issues."

My heart dropped. How would I push her away from the subject of her? What if Mike brought it up and she got angry with him?

"Like what?" I challenged, copying her to keep the mood light.

She gave me a look before motioning towards the front door. "The rogues."

"They're all dead," I replied in confusion.

"Who says they all attacked? Exactly. There could be more waiting at their hideout, wherever it is. They won't be happy a chunk of them died and they might try to retaliate."

"This is why, Mike." Colby's words made my stomach twist.

He was right, this was why we needed Ari down here in hell with us and why she mattered in our army. She was smart and had all the makings of not just a demon, but also a queen. A queen of hell beside Colby. I had seen it completely clearly the moment she sat down with him when he wasn't sure what to do about his mom. He needed that comfort and no one else saw that except for Ari. Not even me. I looked at him and saw a puzzled king, not a sad one. Colby couldn't hide his emotions from her at all.

They were so close. So close to getting to the point where they would have completely fallen for one another. And then, when that happened, God would finally be happy with Colby and allow him to have hell for eternity, just like how it was supposed to be before all of this queen talk. Sam hadn't helped, but that wasn't the point.

Arianna Black would be the queen of hell soon, and I couldn't wait to see her on the throne.