Secrets of the Council
:.Davien's Pov.:
I have been on the road for about an hour and I was starting to wonder how Hayden was doing. I decided it was time to check in and let her know how everything was going. I pulled out my phone and dialed her number and got a little confused when I heard a ringing in the back seat. I reached over, thinking she must have left it in here, it must have fallen out of her pocket when we jumped in the car this morning. I reached back and I found not only my daughter's phone, but I found my daughter lying on the floor under a blanket.
"Hayden!" I yelled pulling the car over. I jumped out a whipped open the back door, I grabbed her arm and help her out.
"Davien, please don't be mad." She said, getting on her feet. Really? Seriously?
"Don't be mad? Hayden, I told you to stay at the house. It is not safe for you okay. They will kill you given the chance."
"And they'll kill you, Davien. It will be better if we both go." She explained. No, I couldn't risk losing both my daughters.
"Hayden, no. I can't be looking over my shoulder, watching your back. I have to go in focused. I'm sorry. I can't let you go." She was more stubborn than Lillian ever was. Lillian never would have climbed in the back seat of my car.
"Why not? Why can't I go with you?" She asked me. Now she just sounds like a three year old.
"Because they'll kill my daughter."
"Yeah, and they'll kill my sister. I'm going." She said, jumping in the back seat. Wow, she really was stubborn.
:.Kody's Pov.:
I was finally able to get some sleep in this crappy car. This was our forth hour on the road and I was getting restless. I really needed to get out of this car.
"Can I stretch my legs please? I'm dying back here." I asked. Loran and Johnny had switched about an hour ago and now Loran was sleeping next to him. Johnny slowed and pulled over the car and let me out.
"Run, I dare you." He says. I just cowered away from him.
"Why did you kidnap me? What's the point?" I asked. He simply crossed his arms.
"Well, we don't plan on hurting you, unless you give us a reason to. We need you, on our side. Against your father." I gasped and took a few steps back. He looked ready to grab me if I ran.
"But why?"
"Because, Kody, he needs to be stopped. He is truly evil, not to mention a hypocrite. Kody, people like you and me, we're banned from either world except the human world but his own daughter is one. You have been banned from having a life here. Do you honestly see that as fair?" He asked me. I was speechless. He had a point. Davien had two daughters that are half demon and half Shade, but yet no one can know we exist. We are banned from both worlds if known we exist.
"You're right. That's not fair." I said. He put his hand on my shoulder.
"Exactly, that's why we kidnapped you. We needed to get you out of there. You're safe with us." He explained, I just nodded and got back in the car.
:.Hayden's Pov.:
"Okay, it seems like you just need to head south a little longer. Then I'm really not sure where the road goes. It just says plantation. I didn't realize there were plantations in Ohio. Not that I remember." I explained to Davien as we drove. I felt like we were close now. Really close.
"Yeah, because normal maps, current maps, it states that its part of the Ohio River. But really, if you look at that map, there was a plantation. The Phorbes Plantation. Mark Phorbes built his home on the land. That map is from 1802. Phorbes built his plantation in 1799. Mark Phorbes was a good friend of mine until I realized he only befriended me to overthrow me. Mark is Loran's father, along with another one named Ralph. I checked their home in the underworld, no one was there. So this is where we go." He said. I nodded.
"Davien, why do you think they took her?" I asked. He took a deep breath and watched the road. He switched his hands on the wheel.
"To get to me. I realized they're just like you guys. One parent is from the underworld and the other is from the Light Kingdom. Both of them are although they have different mothers. Lowery and his gang and that kid Johnny are, too. There are two more I just don't know who they are yet. But I will." He said speeding up.
:.Kody's Pov.:
Everything was dark when we slowly approached the house. It was pretty big and really pretty. I got out of the car and the only sounds were our footsteps and the river. It was actually quite peaceful. I followed the boys into the house, which was dark.
"They must be sleeping. Quiet." Johnny said. I nodded. We walked into the kitchen where Loran handed me some water and a bowl of noodles. They weren't flavored and I hate noodles but after eating nothing but candy and chips all day, it tasted fantastic.
"It's about time you got back. You only left this morning." I heard from the doorway. I turned to see Lowery standing there with Ian behind him. I set my fork down and sat straight up. When he saw me, he turned and walked away.
"Yeah, I took the long way back. I don't think he knows where we are." Johnny explained. Lowery nodded and said he was going to bed. I continued to eat the noodles and the boys all went off to bed. One by one until I was by myself. I couldn't sleep. I was now sitting on the couch, just laying there waiting for sleep.
About an hour later, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. I was still trying to sleep with no luck. I looked up to see Ian sitting at the table in the kitchen. I laid back down and closed my eyes. Trying to sleep. I just kept moving.
"You know there are plenty of rooms and comfortable beds upstairs." Ian said, suddenly standing over me. I jumped off the couch.
"Um, yeah, I don't know. I just sat on the couch and stayed there." I said. He smiled a little and motioned for me to follow me.
"Come on." He said. I slowly followed him upstairs.
"How's your jaw?" I asked. He looked confused for a minute then he smiled again.
"Fine, he didn't hit me that hard. Don't say anything but Johnny can't throw a punch if his life depended on it." I laughed a little.
"Ian, why do you...how'd you put it today? Um, 'keep up appearances,' with Davien? If you don't like him, why do you always come over?" I asked. He stopped and run his hand through his hair.
"Because Davien pretty much...He, uh. Davien raised me. My mom died and my dad wants nothing to do with me because of who I am. Davien was there when my father wasn't. I have put on a show for him. When I was younger, I had no idea about my mom. Then my grandfather told me about her when I was about ten, but made me swear I wouldn't tell a single person about it because I would be sent to the human world to fend for myself.
"Finally, I found Ralph and Loran. They were relieved to find someone like them. Then we found Johnny and started a group. We noticed how we were different from the demons. Our eyes are usually a lighter color, same with our hair. Like yours is blonde. My mother was like yours, a Shade and my grandfather said she had the kindest heart, but my father wouldn't see that. My grandparents hid her away and waited for her to have me. I don't know if the queen and her Council even know I exist.
"Anyway, after my mom had me, she kept me. She would explain that my hair was some fluke thing. She didn't know why my hair and eyes were so dark. But um, one night, a Seeker came for her for questioning. I was never actually told about what. Well, she ended up lying. My grandparents found my dad. He took me in but my grandfather told me it was only a few months before things changed. I was told by many that my father loves me, Davien was on of them. Maybe he does, but he doesn't show it. Davien was the only one who was ever there for me after my grandparents died." He explained.
"Then why are you doing this? If he means so much to you, why are you trying to over throw him?" I asked.
"I don't know. I guess...Wait, how'd you know about that? Loran and Johnny both said they didn't tell you and neither did Lowery." I didn't know how I knew. I just did.
"They didn't. I just...I think I figured it out." I answered. He nodded and continued walking.
"Ian, is he really dangerous? I mean, is everything Lowery told me true?" I asked. He fully turned in front of me suddenly and I almost bumped into him.
"Yes, Davien is very dangerous. To you and Hayden, I'm actually not sure."
:.Hayden's Pov.:
"Davien, how much further?" I asked, yawning. It was a little after midnight and we have been on the road since noon. He sighed. He pulled over and opened the map. He turned the light on and stared at the map very intently. Several minutes pass before he says anything.
"About twenty more miles. Not much longer. But, we're stopping. We need sleep. He pulled off to the side of the road, being as we were in the middle of nowhere and couldn't find a motel. He got out and got some pillows and a blanket out of the trunk. I still had the blanket I was hiding under. Davien handed me a pillow and I curled up in the backseat. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep.
:.Kody's Pov.:
"Kody, wake up!" I heard. I just rolled over and tried to fall back to sleep. Suddenly, I was shocked awake by ice cold water. I jumped up and tried to catch my breath. I should've known it was Lowery before I even looked up. I went to hit him but he put his hand up and I froze.
"Don't mess with me, little girl. You have no idea what I'm capable of." He said, letting me go. I sat down on the bed and Lowery threw a towel at me.
"Come downstairs. We all need to talk." He said also throwing clothes at me. I quickly changed into the button-down flannel shirt and jeans. The jeans were kind of big but I found a belt. I walked down the stairs and found everyone in the kitchen. There were a few guys I didn't know. Ian was joking around with Ralph, throwing food at each other. I looked around noticing I was the only girl here.
"Kody, hey. Here have some eggs." I heard from the stove. I looked over and saw Vincent, the reporter from the apartment fire, holding a pan. But Hayden said he arrested her in the Light Kingdom.
"Thanks." They were all actually really nice. They played and joked around like most guys I know. I ate my food. Even Lowery was nice. Daniels, Lowery's one minion was the youngest, while Ralph was the oldest. Lowery and his followers stood by the stove. Ralph and Johnny were talking to Loran and Ian and Vincent talked to me.
"So, you just found out about all of this? How does that work?" Vincent asked. I sighed.
"Well, Davien and Lillian had me and the council forced them to give me up. I never knew about any of this. Not until around the time my apartment caught on fire." I explained. Both Ian and Vincent looked at each other. "Anyway, my parents, my adoptive parents, they kept it from me. My whole life." I finished. Ian sat forward.
"Quick question, how old are you?" Vincent asked. Ian hit him on the arm. He looked over. "What?" I started laughing.
"I'm twenty-three." I answered.
"Wait, just twenty-three? No hundred or thousand? Just twenty-three?" Ian asked. I nodded.
"How old are you two?" I asked.
"Well, Vincent's almost a hundred and fifty. Now, there is a misception that Daniel's the youngest. But he's seventy-four." Ian said, shaking his head. "Everyone always forgets I'm fifty-one." He finished.
"Fifty-one?" I asked.
"I look good for my age." I was shocked for a second then I realized we don't age past thirty-five.
"Hey, Ian, we know your the youngest, we just like picking on this guy." Ralph said, slapping Daniels on the shoulder, earning a glare from the boy. We all started laughing.
"Oh, but now we got a new youngster. Kody is only twenty-three." Vincent said.
"Ah, she's just a baby." Loran yelled. Again. we all laughed. This was actually a lot of fun. The boys were actually really cool. Even Lowery.
"Hey, you have a familiar right?" Antoine, the other one of Lowery's asked. I leaned forward.
"Dude, I have two. Props of being the daughter of the king and queen." I said. I got some ohs for that.
"Yeah, can't be as cool as my crow." Loran yelled.
"I have a falcon." I answered. He got booed.
"What's your other one?"
"A hippo." Ian looked at me.
"A hippo?" I nodded. The boys all told me about theirs. Ian had a tiger, Vincent had an otter, a really mean one too. Ralph had a buck and Johnny had a bear. Loran had a german shepherd. Antoine had a jaguar, Daniels had a badger. And Lowery had a snake.
:.Hayden's Pov.:
"Alright, Hayden. How much further?" Davien asked. I looked at the map again, We got turned around in Cincinnati and had to find another way to get to the house. That put us about three hours behind.
"About twenty-seven more miles." Like I said, we fell behind. Davien nodded and got off on the exit. I was confused for a second. Then I saw resturants and gas stations.
"Alright, let's get gas and something to eat. Then we go." He said. I nodded.
:.Kody's Pov.:
Okay, so getting kidnapped wasn't so bad. They weren't even evil. They were actually kind of fun. I hung out with Ian most of the time. He made me laugh. We eventually snuck off to his room and started playing twenty questions.
"No, I'm not answering that. Not a chance." I said, smiling so wide my face started to hurt. He just laughed, throwing popcorn at me. He leaned over and grabbed a beer from a mini fridge he kept next to his bed. He handed me one after opening it and I took a quick drink.
"Come on, your not going to tell me about your first boyfriend?" I just shook my head and took a handful of popcorn, shoving it in my face as someone knocked on the door. He turned to see Loran standing there, looking a little upset.
"Hey, Ian. We need you down here." He said and we slowly stood, following him out. We made it down the stairs to see all the guys were standing in the living room with a man I've never met before.
"Shit." I heard Ian say under his breath. I looked from him to the man. He was tall with brown hair and brown eyes and he was wearing a suit.
"Hello, Ian." Ian kind of stood between me and the man.
"Hi, dad."