Chapter 17
Blake was sitting in his office reading through his emails. He clicked open one from Ash and looked at the designs he had sent. He would show them to Baylan, but he loved them all. Once Tudor finished resting, he would talk to both him and Puff about the triple kings’ design.
He hadn’t even considered stationery or logos for the pack or for being king.
He was pulled from his thoughts when there was a knock at the door. “Come in,” he called.
The door opened, and Ash walked in. “Hey, Blake, have a minute?”
Blake grinned. “For you, I have lots of minutes.”
Ash laughed and threw himself into the chair in front of Blake’s desk.
“I’ve just seen your designs. They’re all amazing.”
“I was just playing around with them. I can make any changes you want.”
Blake shook his head. “No changes needed. They are perfect as they are. Send me an invoice, and I’ll pay it for you.”
Ash scowled. “Shut up.”
Blake laughed. “Fair enough. So, what brought you here and made you miss lunch?”
“Busy morning. I had some cake before I came in here. While you were training earlier, someone came requesting sanctuary. They said it’s known far and wide this is the safest place to be.”
“Did you grant them sanctuary?”
Ash shook his head. “No, that’s not for me to decide. I have, however, had him cuffed and thrown into the cells.”
Blake leant forward and crossed his arms, resting them on the table. “I’m sure you had a good reason for doing that. Who is requesting sanctuary?”
“Albion Warren.”
Blake’s mouth dropped open. “Seriously?”
“Yep. He said if we gave him sanctuary, he would tell us what Barnabus is up to. He mentioned The Rising. He also mentioned a spear. I had no idea what that meant and bluffed; he then mentioned that Barnabus had sent his shadow here to spy on us.”
“Come again?” Blake asked, looking as confused as Ash had been earlier.
“Apparently, it’s a thing demons can do: send their shadow off to spy for them. They can’t be seen, scented or heard.”
“Well shite,” Blake exclaimed.
“I don’t know how we can search for a shadow,” Ash confessed.
“No idea. We need to talk to Tatum,” he said, standing up, “and then see if anyone else has any ideas.”
Before they could move, there was a knock at his door. “Come in,” Blake called.
The door opened, and Frederick stood there. “Sorry, I can come back later.”
“No, don’t do that. What’s up?” Blake asked.
“Barnabus tried to release demons from Tartarus earlier. The hell hounds stopped him. Maletayah and Barnabus had a sword fight, which the demon lost. He was sporting some impressive injuries when he vanished,” Frederick told them.
“But here’s the thing, Maletayah outfought him.
He couldn’t mimic the angel’s fighting skills. ”
“That’s good to know,” Ash said.
Frederick nodded. “Hades thinks that because they were fighting so close to Tartarus, it might have affected his powers. Some of the angels are joining the defence teams. Hopefully when we encounter Barnabus again, we can find out if they really can beat him.”
“You said he was injured. He might even die of his new injuries as the Hayes Pack shaman is currently residing in our cells,” Blake said.
“What?!” he exclaimed. “How?”
“The idiot came to us for sanctuary,” Ash replied.
“Which he obviously won’t get, but he told us that Barnabus has sent his shadow here to spy on us,” Blake added.
“At the risk of repeating myself, what? How?”
“We were just off to talk to Tatum about that. Join us.”
They found Tatum and his mates, along with Dane and Peyton, hard at work in the library.
Everyone called out a greeting as they entered.
“Tatum, what can you tell us about demons and their shadows?” Blake asked.
“That’s a closely guarded secret. How did you find out?” Tatum asked.
“What about demons and shadows?” Dane asked, looking confused.
Tatum sighed. “A demon’s shadow can work independently from their bodies. They can be used as spies, as they can’t be seen, felt or heard. They just blend in with natural shadows.”
“Wow,” Peyton said. “Can you do that?”
Tatum nodded. “All demons can, but I’m not sure all demons know they can.”
“Can demons’ shadows track another demon’s shadow?” Frederick asked.
Tatum shook his head. “No, it’s just a shadow,” he paused and looked at Saxon. “Could you use magic to find one?”
“I’ve no idea. It’s not something I’ve ever tried. Does it hurt when your shadow leaves?”
Tatum shook his head. “No.”
“What are you thinking, babe?” Wynter asked.
“I’m thinking that Saxon could practice trying to find my shadow, then we can see if it can be done,” he looked at Peyton. “Could you try as well?”
Peyton nodded. “Yep,” he looked at Blake. “Give us an hour, and we’ll let you know.”
“Thank you,” Blake said.
“Why, do you want us looking for shadows?” Saxon asked.
“Apparently Barnabus has sent his here,” Blake replied.
“Could it get through the wards?” Peyton asked.
“No idea. Can you check that as well?” Blake asked.
“We can,” Tatum said.
“Thanks, now that’s out of the way. Do you know anything about a spear?” Blake asked.
“You know about the spear?” Saxon asked in surprise.
“No, but it was mentioned earlier by the Hayes Pack shaman,” Ashton answered.
Saxon waved to the table. “That’s what all this research is for; we’re trying to locate it. My research said it was in the , but it’s not.”
“So, what is the spear?” Frederick asked. “What is it needed for?”
“The spear was created by Hephaestus,” Saxon said. “It’s said to be the only thing that can kill a Titan. There was a film out a few years ago, saying the spear was split into three. One part Zeus’s thunderbolt, one part from Poseidon’s trident, and the final part from Hades’ pitchfork.”
“Is that true?” Dane asked. “Is it made up of three parts?”
“Not that I’ve found in my research. I think it’s just a spear,” Saxon replied. “The clues I found led me to the , but neither the three of us nor Alex could find it. That’s why we’re going through everything we have, to see what I missed.”
“So why would Barnabus want the spear?” Ash asked.
“If you have the spear, you could potentially release and control a Titan,” Saxon explained.
“The Titans were the generation before Zeus and the others, right?” Peyton asked.
“They were. I honestly don’t know how many, if any, are still around,” Saxon said. “But if Barnabus is after the spear, chances are some still are. He could also use it to kill any of the gods.”
“Oh, hell no!” Frederick exclaimed. “We’re gonna need to talk to the gods and see what they can tell us,” Frederick said. “Hades and Han are coming to dinner tonight. We could invite Zeus and Battle to join us and ask them.”
“We can do that. Frederick, can you message Battle for me?”
“Yep,” Frederick said, pulling out his phone. He typed a quick message and sent it off. “Done.”
“Thanks. Peyton, do you know where Puff is?” Blake asked.
“He, Mateo and Atticus are having a training session with General Delinga. He’s helping the three of them try and learn how to work together.”
“I’ll catch up with him later then, thanks.”
“And we’ll start learning about catching shadows,” Tatum said.
“Perfect, thanks chaps.”