Trinity couldn't deny that the evidence seemed stacked against Zyxel when you looked at it in the way that Jessica had portrayed it. But she also knew the real reason why the storms had happened, but the silence spell prevented her from disclosing that information, because it was details that were directly related to their link. She closed her eyes and clutched both of her hands into a ball, pressing them against her lap. A single tear escaped her eye as she whispered, "But it wasn't his fault!"
She looked up at the both of them, wishing she could say what she knew, but she also understood why the silence spell prevented her from speaking about it to them. If Amara ever attempted to influence either of them for information, she didn't know if either of them would be able to resist her, any more than she had been able to. Then information about how the Demon Chant works, would ultimately get back to Amara, and her life would then be in danger.
Jessica and Rachael looked at each other.
Rachael walked back over to Trinity and sat back down in the chair. She grabbed her other hand that Jessica wasn't holding. "Trinity, you have a good heart. You always have. But right now, I think that this is something that you shouldn't be so trusting of."
Trinity sighed once more. "Maybe, but I can't help how I feel. I know it doesn't make any sense when you look at the larger picture, but when everything is broken down, it really does make sense."
Jessica frowned. "Then break it down for me. How does him killing hundreds of people in those freak storms, supposed to make any sense?"
Trinity thought about how she could explain it, without the silence spell preventing her from speaking about it. She figured she could give just enough information that would explain things that Amara would already know, and then that shouldn't prevent the spell from activating. It was worth a shot.
"You know how Amara can safely live in our world without any issues? Well, the exact opposite goes for Zyxel."
Rachael narrowed her eyes at Trinity, causing her to stop her speech.
"What's wrong?" Trinity asked, confused.
"You called him by name." Jessica whispered.
"What about it? It's not like he doesn't have a name! Why should I be afraid to call him by his name?" Trinity asked, frowning in annoyance.
Before either of them could answer, she continued on with trying her best to explain, while tiptoeing carefully around what the silence spell prevented her from saying. "Anyways, Zyxel's body doesn't react well with our world. This is why he possessed me when he first entered our world. It's one method of survival for him, but it isn't his preferred method of survival. Although, there is an incantation that allows them to be unaffected by our world as much."
'Ok, so far so good.' Trinity thought, as the silence spell didn't stop her from disclosing that last bit of information. 'Lucifer did mention after all, that Angels already knew that this world was toxic to the demons, and that the Demon Chant somehow granted them the ability to survive here. They just don't know the specifics of how it works. I just have to be careful not to bring up the exact details of the spell, or they will wonder why I suddenly stopped speaking mid-sentence.'
"From what I am able to understand, is that if his divine energy gets out of control due to our toxic environment, that's when the storms begin. Just like on the first day when he arrived. Yes, the storms were created because of him, but he wasn't in control of them. They only happened, because our world makes his energies unstable. The spell that I chanted that day, is supposed to help stabilize his energies."
Although the last part wasn't entirely accurate, it was still accurate enough and was the best explanation that she could think of that would make the most sense, while not being affected by the silence spell.
Rachael took a deep breath and held it for a long while. Her face looked blank, and it was hard to read what was going through her mind. While Jessica just fidgeted around in her seat, not knowing what to say.
"Do you really believe this?" Jessica finally spoke up. "I mean, who is to say that he didn't just make this all up to get you to trust him?"
Trinity nodded without hesitation. After all, it hadn't just been Zyxel who explained this, but Lucifer had verified this as well. "Yes, I have no doubts at all about this. I know for a fact that he doesn't want to hurt anyone." She wanted to say 'I can feel it', but that's when the silence spell kicked in and kept her from speaking.
At that moment, Trinity suddenly realized that although what she had seen inside the alley had been horrifying to her, she could feel it through their bond that he wasn't enjoying this. Nor was he wanting to do it. It was simply something he was being forced to do to survive.
The memory of her and Zyxel sitting on the cliff came floating back into her mind. She remembered how he had once asked her, if she had been placed into a toxic environment, would she peacefully try to find a means of survival? Or would she become aggressive or even destructive in her search to find a means of survival. Trinity wasn't a violent person, but if it came down to her own survival, even she couldn't deny that she would do what she had to do.
A slow smile began to appear on Trinity's lips as she began to accept this fact. She now understood why Zyxel was doing, what he was doing. It wasn't because he wanted to. It was because he wanted to live, and this was the only other method of feeding that he knew of, now that their link had become broken and damaged. Although possession might be a means of survival in their environment, she doubted that meant that he wouldn't eventually need to feed.
'Why did it take me so long to realize that I already knew the answer?' Trinity thought to herself, as her smile widened and the look in her eyes softened as she realized the truth that she had known all along. 'I let Amara get under my skin, and for a while it had worked. But now I know!'
Rachael let out her breath that she had been holding, making Trinity jump. She had been so deep in thought, the small sound was enough to startle her.
"I can see it in your eyes. You've made up your mind. You want to see him again, don't you?" Rachael stated from her observation.
Trinity gave a guilty grin that she tried to bury in her hands as both of her hands flew up to hide the expression that she already knew they both had seen. She slowly lowered her hands to peer over the tips of her fingers.
"Maybe!" she admitted aloud, before lowering her eyes to the floor. She couldn't bear to see the disappointed looks on her friend's faces, that she was sure they would show.
"If you are that determined to find him again, then we're going with you!" Rachael declared.
"WHAT?!" Jessica shrieked with fear resonating in her voice.
Trinity stared up in shock at Rachael, as she lowered her hands back down into her lap. "Why would you do this, if you don't believe that he isn't really evil?"
Rachael placed both of her hands over Trinity's. "Because, we're your friends, and if you want to go running off into danger because you believe he is misunderstood, then we will follow you and have your back! Even if it's only to protect you and make sure that nothing bad happens to you! After all, if it turns out to be true, then I don't want to be the one who didn't believe my best friend when she needed us the most!"
Jessica whimpered with worry, but she nodded in agreement. "Although it scares the crap outta me, I agree with Rachael!" She gulped in nervousness. "I'll go with you as well!"
Trinity wiped a tear of happiness from her eye. "Thanks guys! You have no idea how much this means to me!"
"But not now!" Rachael stated.
Trinity opened her mouth in an attempt to argue. Now that she knew exactly how she felt, she didn't want to waste any time. She wanted to go out there right now so that she could chant the revised chant to heal their bond between them, so that Zyxel wouldn't have to continue down a path of destruction that he didn't truly want to be on.
Rachael held up a hand to prevent Trinity from interrupting. She could see it clearly in her friend's eyes, just how passionate she was about acting on this impulse right away. "Let's plan this for this upcoming weekend. Can you agree to hold off until then? We can all say that we are having a sleepover at my house! Then we have the weekend to either prove or disprove Trinity's theory."
Trinity gave a reluctant nod of agreement as a radiant smile swept across her face. It was currently Monday at the moment, so Saturday was only five days away. She didn't like putting it off, but she understood why it would be necessary. If her father ever found out, he would pull her from school and prevent her from ever leaving the house again, until Zyxel had been dealt with by Amara. Then it would be too late to help him at all.
"Deal!" she answered.
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(Questions in the Author's Comments below!)
Books I am currently writing:
- The Forbidden Luna
- Divine Banishment