Of Demons and Fallen Stars

Chapter 19: Sliver of Truth

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Just like a treasure map that makes you dig your own grave, some secrets tend to be so seductive that you can’t help but uncover it no matter the cost.

***

Dream after dream, I felt like I slept for a long time. Oddly I could recall every detail of my dreams as if they were memories of just the day before. I was disturbed by the fact that not only Jean but Jasper as well was in them. Somehow that was worse.

By the time I arrived at Jasper’s house most of them were already there. It was not hard to find them even in the large house. All I needed to do was follow the noise. They were in a spacious library which was probably the only livable area in the whole house. There was plenty of room to move around even with all of us packed inside along with all the mountains of books that have scattered throughout the room. Books lined all the walls except for one side where it was covered with heavy dark blue curtains. The curtains were closed and there were only a few dim lights to see by.

I slipped in quietly and stood hidden in one corner, just watching them. They already had a half-formed plan from what I could hear of their conversations. Eiscene and the others were discussing how to implement them. Art was spreading out a huge map of the town in one of the walls while the twins put in some suggestion which, from Art’s irritated reaction, meant they were completely useless. Julia was looking pale and weak but she continued guiding the others. She was probably the only person who could keep everyone calm and functional. Everyone except me and Jasper joined in their discussion. He too was just watching all the commotion from a dark corner. Eiscene noticed me, and since I did not seem to possess the DON’T APPROACH ME sign like Jasper did, she walked over to me.

“We only just finished planning the defenses,” Eiscene said. She seemed devoid of her usual cheerfulness and energy, which says a lot about the whole situation we were in now. “We’re setting up patrols in the town perimeter. We could use all the help we could get. Are you in?”

“Yes,” I said without hesitation. I’ve decided that I would help them with everything I’ve got. It was the least I could do after what I did. And there were also other things I had to do that I will seriously need their help with. I could set up everything for it, but I seriously need their help for it to work.

“Good.” Then she sighed wearily. “The truth is we really need your help at the perimeter. I wouldn’t know what I will do if you had said no,” she smiled weakly at me. “Julia is in a pinch right now and you are probably the only other person who can accurately sense them.” My eyes travelled to where Jasper was. There was another person who is better at it than me. But for some reason he failed to mention that to them. “The way you can sense those demons last night was nothing short of incredible.”

“Maybe with some training, all of you can do it, too,” I suggested hopefully.

“It’s not like we haven’t tried, Cam. It’s just that we could only sense it when it’s within a really close range. Like how humans with strong auras can sense a ghost in a room. I was actually surprised last night.”

I kept quiet, thinking. Then I pulled Eiscene away from the others. And most especially, away from Jasper.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” Eiscene answered, her face full of curiosity, what with my confidentiality.

“You promise not to tell I asked you?” She nodded whilst miming zipping her mouth.

“It’s about Jasper,” I said, her expression changed although I do not know what to make of it. “Can you tell me about his abilities? Anything about him.” A puzzled look replaced her expression.

“Jasper?”

I waited for her to answer my question all the while hoping that my face would not give away what I felt, which was actually more than just a little curiosity.

“Well the truth is I don’t know much. I told you. He mostly kept to himself. We all know that he cared but for some reason he neither let anyone get close nor show anything personal about him.” I thought about his expression last night. “A several months back, when the first class B demon attacked, we were caught unprepared for it. A lot of us would have died if it weren’t for him. He was quite the warrior but he’s never shown any distinct ability. And I know he knows quite a lot about the demons. We are guessing he knew all about these longer than any of us. He knew how to develop and control our abilities. He goes off alone most of the time but he also goes with the group when we go for class Bs. He is usually reckless when he goes off alone but he is always treating us like fragile glass whenever we go on a mission together. He is always there to protect us.” She obviously looks up to him. Julia might be the well-loved leader of the group but all of them respected and admired Jasper above anyone else.

“Last night how did he disappear? Wasn’t that one of his abilities?”

“No. I don’t thinks so. That, my dear, is just a carefully developed skill for stealth,” she grinned. “I know because he tried to teach us and we horribly failed.” She shook her head, bemused by the memory. “It’s like seeing a master martial artist in action. You should see him in hand-to-hand combat.”

“Do you know how to ward demons,” I suddenly asked. She looked confused. I was right that she could not connect Jasper to something like demon wards. She probably thought I was asking completely disconnected questions. But to me everything seems to fall into place. That dream had got me into thinking.

“I’ve read about them,” she answered uncertainly. “But they’re so intricate that we rarely use them here. I mean there are really strong symbols that have high risks involved when you use them.”

“What kind of symbols?”

“They’re celestial symbols. Wards are dimensional magic; magic that is beyond us ever since the celestials disappeared a long time ago. Only a few of them were documented and can be used by us today, although we use it with caution. It is only because we are partly humans that we are able to use them at all.”

“What kind of symbols?”

“I know only one: the Hunter. But there are supposedly 88 main symbols, one for each celestial. They could more than wards when used together. My uncle is a self-proclaimed warlock and he has some books about them if you wanted to know more.”

“Hey Ice, Jules wants to talk to you,” Andrea said, entering the room.

“Oh, okay. Be there in a minute.”

Andrea looked curiously at the both of us for a moment before disappearing back into the other room.

“Could I ask why,” Eiscene asked. But I just shook my head. “Okay. But you will tell me about it, right?”

“Yes. When I make sense of it all.” She gave me a little smile before heading back to the others. I’m new in town and they were mostly planning the best way to protect it which I will be completely useless with unless it was in the area where Jasper was training me.

And the truth was my head was full of other things. I need to know more about the celestials for now. I had to know if I could completely trust him. I turned to leave then my heart skipped a beat when I saw Jasper staring calmly at me from the doorway, his eyes glowing like embers. I don’t know how long he had been there but I was hoping he did not figure out that I was snooping around to get information about him. But from the expression on his face he probably knew.

Why does Lady Luck hate me so much?