Jericho's POV:
I didn't think this whole thing could get any weirder, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Hearing the entire story from Miishu- the battle in Palestine, Arihaan, how Miishu, Dark, Mikhail, Fell, and even Anti were all connected...
Small world.
Miishu also told us that after the ordeal of their betrayal of Ayiya/Dark, she fled from the resistance to become a rogue witch, evading their pursuit for years. Sean turned white when she told us how old she was, poor guy.
Finally done, Miishu sat back. "Now that everyone knows what we know, I'm going to go ahead and link with Dark. He already knows where we are of course; He was even here last night."
I choked on thin air when she waggled her eyebrows at me.
"What? How the fuck did he know? I thought you warded the place!" Sean exclaimed, shooting up out of his chair to glare at the Witch, "Why the fuck are you so nonchalant about letting that thing get near Jericho?"
"I warded the house against everything but Dark. And he loves her, calm down. They're just going through a rough patch." Miishu stated in defense. She suddenly perked up, looking at something above where I was sitting.
"Well speak of the devil!"
We all whirled around to see the Demon in question standing behind the couch with his arms folded across his chest in a superior manner as his black aura flared around him. Everyone but Miishu froze, and I heard a soft, 'What the fuck...' from Felix. Dark's gaze moved slowly around the room, examining each of us individually with his piercing red eyes until they finally came to rest on Mark and Felix across the room. Dark cocked his head and flashed his signature smirk at the dumbfounded youtubers. He gave a teasing little wave to Felix that the swede shakily returned before turning to Mark.
"Hello, Mark. It's been awhile, hasn't it?" He said softly, laughter lingering on the edge of his low voice.
"Uh... Yeah, uh, hey Ayiya. Or Dark I guess." Mark scratched the back of his head, seeming more weirded out than frightened. He looked away sheepishly, "Hey, sorry about making fun of you in my videos. I uh... I thought you weren't real, so... No offense."
Dark seemed to be amused to no end by Mark's awkward apology. "No offense taken. I actually thought they were rather entertaining."
Mark perked up visibly at this, his eyebrows almost shooting off his forehead in shock. "Wait, really?"
The Demon's smirk disappeared. "No, of course not, you buffoon. Do you know how many times those idiotic videos have circulated around the Paranormal world? Far, far too many. Make any more and I'll come throttle you myself."
"Oh... okay." Mark pouted. Miishu put a hand on his shoulder, trying not to laugh.
"Alright, let me make something perfectly clear, Dark," Sean spoke up, "The only reason I'm not attacking you is because Miishu says we can trust you. One misstep from you and I'll put an arrow through your heart," he threatened darkly. Miishu and Dark both rolled their eyes, neither bothering to respond to the ultimatum. Dark dissolved and slid over the couch, reforming between me and Sean, causing him to yelp and scramble to the other side of the couch. Dark pulled me into his lap again despite my protests, locking his hands around my waist. He pressed an abbreviated kiss to my forehead as I craned my neck to scowl at him.
"Is he always like this?" Felix muttered to Miishu.
"I'm afraid so," Came a voice from down the hall. In strode the one and only Mikhail Icarod, whom I hadn't seen since Dark had transported me to his mansion in Hillah.
" !" I exclaimed, forgetting his name for a moment in my excitement. I went to jump off Dark's lap to greet the familiar face only to be pulled back into his chest. I did the next best thing and pouted.
"Good morning . I trust you've been well in my absence?" Greeted Mikhail as he folded his hands behind his back. I grinned at him, ignoring his formality.
"Yeah, I'm fine thanks to these guys."
"Is HE always like this?" Felix whispered again, making me, Dark, and Miishu laugh.
"I'm afraid so," chuckled Dark, "and no need to fill us in; Signe linked us all the details, so we're on the same page."
Mikhail leaned against the door frame, keeping his distance as always. "We'll be catching a flight to Jerusalem in about an hour, as it is impossible to teleport that far. Have the vessels pack their bags as well, we'll be taking them along to ensure that they aren't sought after," he motioned to Mark and Felix as he left the room, not giving any of us a chance to ask.
"Jerusalem?!" Felix exclaimed.
"Vessels?" Mark huffed indignantly.
"Fuck," Sean groaned.
Two hours later
Mark, Felix, And Sean ended up making a video announcing that they were going on vacation to Tahiti for a while, each posting it on their respective channels, leading to Mark getting a bit weapy eyed afterward. They were given charms, wards, and hex bags that would protect them somewhat from magic and mental attacks, along with Scepters that were apparently 'pre-blessed' and had to be recharged from an outside source. Mark accidentally destroyed the coffee table about five seconds after he got his.
When we got to the airport, Mikhail led us to a smaller plane than the others. He said that it was one of the private jets the Council granted to its members in order to avoid interaction with the common people. when we entered the cabin, the three musketeers and I stopped to gawk in amazement.
Mikhail walked past us briskly. "There is a storage room in the room to the right, a restroom in the door to the left, the beds are further back down that hallway, and beyond that is the bar and kitchen. Do not go past the bar, as that area is restricted and warded so that you'll receive a nasty shock if you try to pass it. I'm going to meditate; I'll see you all when the plane lands in seventeen hours." he called over his shoulder as he disappeared into the back of the plane.
"I've got no problems with not going past the bar. You with me guys?" Mark asked, drawing happy woops and 'hell yeahs' from Felix and Sean.
"Dibs on the whiskey! I know he has some!" Miishu crowed as they followed Mikhail's path, "You coming, Jay?"
I shook my head and smiled. "Nah, I think I'm good for now. I'm just gonna read a little if that's okay."
"Suit yourself. Hey I'm serious about that whiskey!" she called as she ran after the boys.
I felt Dark put his hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright, Jericho? I can feel your anxiety from here," he asked softly. I nodded, letting his hand slip off my shoulder as I tossed my bag and weapons on the couch and walked to the first set of seats. I settled down in the seat facing the front of the plane, leaning my head against the window to look at the clouds zooming by. Dark lowered himself onto the seat across from me, studying me intently. He was about to speak when I interrupted him.
"Do you have that book and the scroll that you gave me a couple days ago? I didn't get all the way through."
He looked like he wanted to say something, but he pursed his lips instead, waving a hand through the air and conjuring the items in question.
"Thanks."
The only sounds for the next thirty minutes or so were the whir of the engines and the boisterous laughter coming from the back of the plane. Dark's eyes hardly left me during that time. I was constantly aware of his gaze, feeling extremely discomfited by his perusal. I kept my eyes on the paper, but I kept having to reread passages because I couldn't concentrate.
I finally gave in, sighing and rolling up the scroll, laying it by my side. "Okay. What do you want?" I asked flatly. He smiled and sat back, resting his chin on his hand
"I want so, so many things from you, Jericho. But at the moment, I'd like you to tell me what's wrong. I'm not going to read your mind," He stopped me before I could ask why he didn't do just that, "Because I want you to trust me enough to tell me."
I blinked. "Wow. That's... really thoughtful, actually."
"Jericho..."
"Okay, okay. I'm just worried about my parents. I know they aren't my real parents, but they raised me and cared for me for twenty years. You can fake a lot of things, but you can't fake love like that," I said resolutely.
He didn't say anything for at least a minute, hardly even blinking. He had that unfathomable expression on his face that made it hard for me to tell what he was thinking. I was about to break the silence when he looked away, staring out the window at the sky.
"There's something you need to know, Jericho. I've been waiting for the right time to tell you, but I'm beginning to realize that there may never be a right time." He looked back at me, his expression grim. Sometimes I think I knew, in the back of my mind, what he was about to say.
"Your parents are dead."
