I'm very sorry I've been slack with updates. Work is an necessary evil and it keeps me from writing as much as I would like to. I'm very sorry this chapter is short. I wanted to give you something though. Thank you again for all your support and kind words. I own nothing. Nothing at all! Le sigh…
Jasper and I ended up driving all night and into the next day. We were somewhere in California. Jasper had mentioned that California being the state that it is, we would have better luck. Of course, being the sunny state it is, we were going to have trouble finding a way to go unnoticed. We found a community college that stayed open late and we decided to use their library for our search.
As Jasper pulled into a parking spot, I glanced at him. "So, do you think we should just ask where their books on demons are?"
"No, I'm sure we can locate them ourselves. We don't need that sort of attention on us."
I reached for his hand and my mood shifted alerting Jasper. He squeezed my hand in comfort and reassurance.
"We're going to be okay Alice."
"Damon's a demon lord. What if there's really no way to be rid of him? What if I have to become one of them?" The last I whispered. The thoughts of losing everything I hold dear to me was devastating.
Jasper released my hand and used his hands to cup my face. He turned my head toward him. "I will never let that happen. I love you Alice. I will fight to my second death for you." I let his words comfort me. He leaned over and kissed me. "You're mine and you will always remain mine."
"I love you as well."
"I know." He kissed me again. "Let's go and see what we can do."
We got out of the car and he held my hand as we made our way through the campus. We found the library with no problems. A young college guy was the only one at the circulation desk as we entered. He gave us a nod and then gave me another glance. Jasper's arm wrapped around my shoulders. Men, I thought as I shook my head. I don't give other guys a second thought. Jasper, on the other hand, is never comfortable when other guys glance my way. It must be some guy code. They must be overprotective of their girlfriend. Or in my case, wife. Silly Jasper.
We found the correct section and we slowly began skimming through titles of books, pulling out only the ones that seem helpful. Jasper set some books down at one of the tables hidden in corner and pulled out a chair. We took our seats and began reading.
The first book I picked up was on myths and legends. I honestly didn't believe it would help and sure enough as I read through some of the pages, I shoved the book aside.
Jasper grinned from behind his book.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing. I was just laughing at the way you tossed the book aside."
I sighed. "Well, it wasn't helpful." I tossed him a smile. "It was pretty much about the devil and God and how God kicked the devil out of Heaven. Stuff we've heard a million times."
"So true." He went back to reading his book.
"Anything helpful?"
"No." Jasper placed his book down and glanced over at the history section. "Personally I think we'd have better luck searching for our pasts."
"You maybe. I doubt my asylum time is documented in a book." I didn't mean to bring up my past. It's a touchy subject for me. I only know bits and pieces of my human life and I guess it's a lucky thing that I don't remember being human. Jasper reached over and took my hand. He gave it a kiss.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."
I smiled. "There's nothing to forgive."
We continued reading and for an hour. Soon the guy from the front approached us. He gave me a grin.
"Sorry to bother you, but we're fixing to close up."
"Oh, I'm sorry." I replied. "I guess we lost track of the time."
The guy kept his eyes on me. "It's no problem. It actually happens all the time."
Jasper stood up. His tall framed towered of the poor kid. "We're leaving." He placed his hand on the small of my back and we made our way outside.
As soon as we stepped out into the dark parking lot, I turned to Jasper and laughed. "I think you actually scared him."
"Good. I wasn't too thrilled with the emotions he was feeling towards you."
I took his hand. "He's not my type." I got on my tiptoes and kissed him. We got to our car and decided to drive further down the state of California.
We had to stop at a hotel because the sun was beginning to rise and Jasper and I could no longer blend with the rest of the Cali residents. As soon as we got settled inside our room, my cell phone rang.
"Hey Edward." I greeted.
"Are you having any luck on your end?"
"Not especially. You?"
"I googled demon lord and got so many Dungeon and Dragons references and Warcraft hints. Nothing helpful."
"I'm sorry. Thank you for trying for me."
"I wasn't finished. Rosalie and Emmett had some luck in finding different demons and ways to get rid of them."
I could feel my spirits lift. I was about to comment when I heard Rosalie demand that Edward hand her the phone. After what sounded like a slap, my sister's voice greeted me. "Hey Alice."
"Hey. How hard did you hit Edward?"
"You heard that huh?" Rose laughed. "Hard enough for him to hand me the phone. Anyway, we found some information that might be of help to you. Sadly, an exorcism isn't going to help in our case. Another problem is that he's using a human body to show himself."
"I thought you said you had helpful information." I interrupted.
Jasper silently shook his head and placed a hand on my shoulder sending a wave of calm through me.
"I'm getting there." Rosalie continued. "Anyway, we all know there are numerous types of demons and classes of demons. Well, I searched demons by their names and Damon's name isn't on the list of demon lords. In fact, his name doesn't appear anywhere."
"So, are you saying he's not a demon lord?"
"That's what it appears like to me and Emmett. Emmett believes that Damon is a demon but a lower class demon. He thinks that Damon wants you to help him gain his position of power."
Jasper, hearing everything that was mentioned, nodded his head. "That makes sense. He would need someone with Alice's abilities to determine what path he would have to take."
"Exactly. So, now we know for a fact that Damon isn't what he claims to be. We just have to learn how to banish him from our world."
"Wait, what about him saying he's a vampire killer. Is that a lie too?" I asked.
"That's a possibility."
"What do we do now?"
"Carlisle wants you two to come home. I think since we have a starting point, we can come up with a plan."
I glanced at Jasper. He seemed willing to head home. "Okay, we'll be home soon." I hung up the phone. "What do you think Jasper?"
"I think I'm growing tired of Damon's lies and manipulation. I'm ready to send him back to hell."
I smiled and took his hand. "Let's head home."
