The prospect of such a scheme accelerated the scion’s panic attack. “It’s too much! It’s all too much! First, Hannah comes back, and I could be exposed as her accomplice any second. My brother watches me constantly, looking for a weakness, waiting for his chance to strike. And now this! Pretending to search for the Sage Stone and sabotaging my father’s plans while Leroy Hunt tracks my every move. I can’t do this alone.” He was nearly hysterical. Throwing himself into Chris’s arms, he began to sob.
The librarian held him until the fear subsided. He stroked his hair. “It’s OK, don’t worry. Everything is going to be alright. You’re not alone.”
Daniel raised his eyes to meet Chris’s. “Really? You’ll help me?”
“Every step of the way. We’ll plan this together.”
The scion smiled tremulously. “I’m so grateful to have a friend like you, Chris.”
The librarian’s eyes glowed softly. He held Daniel’s face between his hands. “Oh, Danny Boy. After all this time in my world, you’re still just a babe in the woods.” He leaned in gently and kissed Daniel on the lips.
For a few seconds, the scion fell into that kiss and, for the first time in his life, basked in the sensation of being cherished. Then his eyes widened in shock. He pulled back abruptly. “What are you doing?”
Chris smiled sheepishly. “Taking a shot.”
Daniel shoved him away and ran toward the door. “I have to go. Right now!”
“Wait!” the librarian shouted after him.
The scion pelted down the stairs and into the lobby, all the while wondering if it was Chris he was running from or yet another unconscious part of himself.
Chapter 43—Aftershock
Even after he left the library and fled down the street, Daniel was still reeling from his encounter in the Rare Book Room. It had never once crossed the scion’s mind that his beloved friend might be a sodomite. Even more shocking was the notion that Chris considered him one too. Such an abomination was strictly forbidden among the Nephilim. An offender would be banished from the brotherhood and cast out of the celestial kingdoms for all eternity. It was unthinkable that one guilty of such a sin could ever be the son of a diviner. God would surely never allow it. Had Chris forgotten that the scion was a married man who had sired four children? Daniel brushed aside the contradictory memory of his own unwillingness to consummate his marriages and quickened his pace.
His car was parked in the garage of an office building two blocks away. It was dark and quiet in there—the perfect refuge. His thoughts still churning, he ran toward the underground lot like a fox diving for its burrow. Once past the dim entryway, he spotted his car and immediately made a beeline for it. Fumbling for his keys, he managed to drop them on the ground beside the driver’s door. Only when he stooped to pick them up did he realize someone had glided up directly behind him.
“Hey, buddy. Long time no see.”
Daniel jumped up and wheeled about. The face that confronted him almost made him faint dead away. “You!” He backed up and bumped into the side view mirror.
“The name’s Erik.” The blond thief had the audacity to extend his hand.
Daniel didn’t return the greeting. Instead, he asked, “What do you mean to do? Kill me?”
Erik chuckled. “Now why would I want to do a crazy thing like that?”
“Because you ARE crazy!” the scion retorted. “You and your two friends. Why won’t you leave me in peace?”
“Your life is anything but peaceful. Besides, we have mutual interests that I’d like to discuss with you.”
Erik took the car key out of Daniel’s limp hand. He pressed the fob and unlocked the doors. “Get in,” he commanded as he walked around to the front passenger side of the vehicle.
Daniel mutely complied even though he wondered at his own willingness to cooperate. If Erik was going to kill him, the thief would surely want to stage the attack inside Daniel’s car where the garage’s security cameras couldn’t detect the crime. Nevertheless, the scion obediently slid behind the wheel and closed the door.
Erik climbed into the passenger seat and did likewise. He turned to face Daniel. “The Nephilim must be slaying a whole herd of fatted calves this week.”
Daniel squinted at him uncomprehendingly.
“You know. The return of the prodigal daughter and all that jazz?”
“H... Hannah. You mean Hannah.”
“Yup. I bet your father is jumping for joy.” Erik studied Daniel’s face appraisingly. “You don’t look too happy about the reunion though. What gives?”
Daniel hesitated before answering. He had to get his thoughts off of Chris and onto what was happening in the present moment. The thief was asking him about Hannah. He needed to make sure he didn’t betray too much information. “It’s obvious she left because she was discontented with the Nephilim—discontented with her marriage to the diviner. She should have been allowed to go her own way. My father is interfering with her happiness by bringing her back.”
Erik folded his arms and cocked his head to the side, considering. “So, you’re not even a little bit worried that she’ll rat you out?”
The scion gulped. “What?” He forced a laugh. “What could she possibly have to say about me?”
The thief shrugged casually. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe that you helped her escape in the first place?”
“You couldn’t possibly know that unless—”
Erik cut in. “Unless she’d told us so herself.”
“Then it’s true.” Daniel let out a gasp. “She was being held by you three. I thought Mr. Hunt was lying.”
“Hey, she wasn’t being ‘held’ by us.” Erik made air quotes. “She found Cassie on her own and asked for shelter. We simply provided it.”
“I see.” Daniel grew somber. “I wish I’d known.”
“If she’d tried to contact you, Hunt would have found her in a matter of weeks.”
The scion frowned in concentration. “He
