"It's morning, Ashmodai! I was just waking up, and you had to suck me back into dreamland?" Isabelle complained, but only a little bit. Isabelle treasured the time she got to spend with Ashmodai.
"I apologize, Isabelle," his voice came from the darkness in her mind, traveling on a thread of brilliant light. By the time he finished speaking, the light had swelled, and Isabelle's mind was filled with the kind of light only Ashmodai was capable of producing. "You know I would not intrude upon your privacy if it were not important."
"I think I know what this is about," Isabelle said, feeling a heavy dread in the pit of her stomach. "She has come, right? The girl you told me about."
"Yes. Luna Lanchester is the one."
Isabelle felt herself shaking her head. "No. Why her? Why does it have to be her? She's my friend, Ashmodai! I don't have any of those. I like it. I like her. She's very lost, and I know God says we should not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, but I do believe she may find her way. Oh, Ashmodai! This is awful. Awful that it has to be her." Isabelle felt the tears in her eyes. As much as she wanted all of this to go away, she knew that it wouldn't. For as long as this earth is old, this battle has been brewing between The Coven of the Hallows, the Lanchesters and the sons of Lucifer.
Little ol' me, Isabelle thought. Little ol' me thrown into the mix of it!
"Isabelle," Ashmodai said, using that parental tone Isabelle had come to learn so well, the one that was packed with a hefty punch of comfort and security. "It may not have to end so badly for her."
"Pardon me for the interruption, Ashmodai, but aren't you the one who told me how this ends? Luna is going to die. In my opinion, that is a very bad ending."
"Not much in this earth is written in stone, Isabelle. It was never an absolute that it ends that way, only a great probability. But is the price of one's life worth the end of these creatures of Lucifer's? Would you not sacrifice your own life in order to rid Sleepy Hallow of these evil entities? As I said, though, it may not end that way for Luna. Time and events ebb and flow much like the ocean. Things change, altering the end results. Something has happened. Something has changed, possibly altering the fates of the Lanchesters. It is something that was once thought so unlikely that even I had not foreseen its possible coming."
Isabelle felt her eyes widen. " Really? What is it?"
"Bane is in love."
Shock acted like a soak-resister, preventing Ashmodai's words from sinking in and making any sense to Isabelle, because Isabelle understood full-heartedly that it was impossible for a son of Lucifer to know love.
"It is true, Isabelle. Bane has fallen in love with Luna. Luna has loved him for a very long time. This, by no means, keeps her safe, though. It may, on the contrary, make things worse for her. Unlike his brothers, Bane did not resist Luna's thoughts. Instead of randomly linking to her thoughts as his brothers do, Bane has absorbed Luna's feelings, obsessively, experiencing things through her in ways he never would have otherwise. And that is why she is here, Isabelle. Through his ability to coerce a Lanchester's thoughts, Baron Lanchester was persuaded to purchase the property for Adeline and his daughter there at Snow Melt."
Isabelle gasped. "Bane influenced Barron, putting it in his mind to buy that place, so that Luna would move to Sleepy Hallow? So that he could be near her?"
"Yes. Bane could not bear it any longer, being physically apart from her. It is entirely his doing, why Luna is here in Sleepy Hallow. Yet, it was not only the physical absence of her that he could no longer bear. There is more to it. Much more. It is very evident now that his brother, Rune, has taken an interest in Luna. It is an interest that runs deeper than the simplicity of attraction that it once was. And now, Rune and Bane are competing for her. Bane needed to bring Luna here where he could protect her from his brother and the Hylander Rune has possessed."
"Luna told me she'd been dreaming about Bane her whole life." Isabelle felt her hands cover her mouth. Heavy despair settled in her heart. "Oh, my! This means Luna and Bane have the Love-Bond, the magical ingredient The Coven has been waiting for for eons! With her blood, and her special link to Bane, The Coven would be able to gain control over the sons! This is bad, Ashmodai. Very bad!"
"It could very well be, Isabelle."
"What am I supposed to do? I mean, this is obviously where I come in, right? Ashmodai! I can't do this. I don't want to be held responsible for the soul of my only friend! I can't---"
"It is your turn to pardon my interruption, Isabelle. The Lord has faith in you. It makes no sense, then, that you would not have faith in yourself."
"Does He?" Isabelle knew He did. In her heart and in her soul, she simply knew. It was just that every now and then she needed a little reassurance. Now just so happened to be one of those times.
"It is unlike you to doubt this. Of course He has faith in you. So much so that He has sent me into your dream world to be your guide. I am not sent unless it is important."
"Can't you just go kick some angel butt and we can all be done with this?"
Ashmodai's gentle laughter came unexpectedly to Isabelle. "As interesting as that sounds, no, Isabelle, it cannot be done that way. Luna is in grave danger. Without an invitation, I cannot protect her. Visiting you in your dreams and sharing crucial pieces of information, is the extent of my protection. And I assure you, this will not be enough. My physical presence will be direly needed."
The weight in Isabelle's heart seemed too heavy to bear, but she knew she had to be strong. She had to prove her self worthy. The Lord had chosen her to be His soldier. She gave herself to Him to use however He saw fit. She would not let Him down. This thought gave her confidence a great boost, and the heaviness in her heart had been lifted.
Isabelle felt a smile move over her face. She knew she alone did not have the strength to do this. But the Lord did. And knowing He was there, knowing that no matter what happened His will would be done, was comforting to Isabelle.
"I see you are ready to hear more, Isabelle," Ashmodai said. She could hear the proud smile in his voice, and this edified her confidence.
"Yes. I am ready for anything the good Lord sees fit for me."
"Bane knows that if there are no living Lanchesters left on this earth he and his brothers will be free from The Coven," Ashmodai said. "It is only he who knows, as of yet.
Isabelle felt the stab of shock, but it did not penetrate, as she knew it would have only moments ago, had the Lord not renewed her strength and courage. "But I thought you said that was The Coven's heavily guarded oath secret? They knew they wouldn't stand a chance if the sons where to ever find out how to escape them. They knew the sons would shed the Lanchester blood right down to the very last drop. The coven may be powerful, but nowhere near even one of the sons, let alone all four of them combined. How could they let something so important like this slip---" The answer hit Isabelle hard, like a knock upside the head.
"Oh, Ashmodai, I did this! I told Luna how the sons could get home! Bane found out because of me. Because he was in her head. He heard me tell her about the secret! What have I done?"
Bane is guarding this secret from his brothers, but I am sure it is only a matter of time before he can guard it no more. With the way the Lanchesters and the sons are linked, it would be nearly impossible to keep this a secret for very long. It is inevitable. The others will be coming. And not just the brothers, but the entire coven, Isabelle. Many dangerous people, creatures, have an interest in Luna's blood. And with her being here in their coven-stead, she is within their grasps. Bane professes an animosity toward Luna, denying his feelings for her. He said that he will do what it takes to be free from The Coven. Bane is unstable, unpredictable. His love for Luna is driving him more mad. There is no telling what he will do. There is no guarantee that Bane will choose love over his own freedom."
"Oh, poor, Luna! What a predicament."
"Yes, Luna has been through a lot already, but it has only just begun for her. Bane and The Coven are not her only problems. Rune is not
a force to be reckoned with. He is the second born son of Lucifer, and he is nearly as powerful as Bane."
"It seems these are impossible odds for Luna!"
"She must know everything. She is a warrior. Do not forget that. She is a descendant of the most fearsome warriors of all times, Isabelle. She is strong. She is a fighter by nature. Most importantly, Luna must be led to the Lord, soon, before it is too late, like it was for Isis Blackhawk. Luna's days here on earth may very well be numbered. Descendent of fearsome warriors or not, there is no mortal power strong enough to protect her from the son's of Lucifer. There is no mortal power capable of destroying them. She will need me, especially if Bane chooses freedom over love."
Ashmodai's words formed a lump in Isabelle's throat. She gulped, swallowing them down with difficulty. Desperation viciously gnawed at the edges of her newfound strength. "But I think Luna is an Atheist. She will be difficult to lead!" Isabelle felt that familiar pull, the slow assent of her ethereal being as Ashmodai released her from the realm of dreams. The feathery softness of floating was once so beautiful and comforting. But not this time. This time, it felt so very frightening having to leave the safe and peaceful light beneath her as she drifted up and out of her slumber and into a world full of scary, evil creatures.
Isabelle woke with a start. She rushed out of bed and down the hall toward the phone so fast that her feet nearly tangled clumsily together.
All hell was about to break loose, and Isabelle was the only one who knew about it.
All angels, good or bad, excluded, that is.
****
Chapter Forty-Four
Luna