58. Getting the weapon

Once Elise was sleeping Leviathan left the room to find Saxon and Baylor. He couldn’t believe that the boys had gotten so worried that they came to find him in hell. So, although he was relieved to have Elise back, he could not give up this advantage. He needed to start planning his next step. The boys seemed to have in mind when they tried to speak with him earlier. He had a challenging time finding them as he wandered through the castle. Finally, he found them lounging in a tower.

“Saxon, Baylor you wanted to talk.”

“Yeah, what are we going to do to get out of hell? Our uncles still have the keys, and from what we’ve seen since we got here, it’s pretty clear that they won’t want to help us any time soon.”

“Toward that end, we do already have three. Getting the rest may be tricky though.”

“We had an idea about that. You could tell them that you are willing to forgive their capture and treatment of Elise if they will give us the keys.”

“The hell I will. They will not accept that offer anyway. Not after what she did.”

“What should we do then? We need to get her out of here. She isn’t going to be able to heal as long as she is in hell.”

“She needs her weapon; it will help her a bit with her sanity and get some of her physical strength back.”

Leviathan was right. If she could recover her dropped weapon, she would feel a bit of her old self. Divine and Hellish weapons were apart of who the demons and arch angels were. Being separated from them would deprive them of part of themselves. Getting her weapon would be essential to her recovery.

“We need to get her weapon first, and then we can focus on getting the keys. I was thinking we should capture my brothers. Then torture them like they did Elise and make them give over their keys.”

“That may be a good plan father. How do you plan to get to all of them though? We won’t have much time before they organize themselves to take her again.”

“You two infiltrated Mara’s castle. I’m sure that we can find a way to get to the others. After she has rested, I will try to convince her to go and get her weapon. In the meantime, I am going to give her the keys I have. Holding them may make her feel more secure.”

“We should also put her in hiding until we get the rest of the keys. It will stop them from being able to get to her.”

“Good idea. Once she has her weapon, we will move her to a safe house. Start looking for a good location tonight. Only talk with humans about your search though. I don’t trust any demons right now. I don’t want any of them around her.”

Leviathan made his way back to his room. As he walked down the hallway, he heard a ruckus coming from the room. His mind raced as he moved quickly to the door. He flung it open to find Elise throwing things. She had ripped up the bed and there were feathers everywhere. Her hands where bloody from punching the walls and furniture in the room. Leviathan came up behind her and grabbed her to calm her down.

She started thrashing around in his grasp.

“Calm down Elise. You are safe. No one is going to hurt you.”

“Let go of me!” She screamed.

He just held her tighter. “Stop fighting and calm down.”

“Get off me! Don’t fucking touch me!”

She bit his hand drawing blood, but he kept his grip on her. She eventually went still.

“I am going to let go now. Please remain calm.”

He released her and she shuffled away from him. She turned to face him. Leviathan looked into her eyes. She was wild, he thought like a feral animal. Then again, he thought we are both feral now. He had a raging beast inside and she was well there was no word for it.

“I need to talk to you. Are you okay with that?”

“Yes.”

“Okay tomorrow I want to take you to get your weapon. After that we are going to move you to a new location to keep you safe. Saxon and Baylor and I are working on getting the rest of the keys. Until then I want you to hold on to the keys we have. I mean you were the one who got them.”

Her face contorted. She remembered the keys. They started this whole thing. They were poison. But they were also the only way for her to get out of hell. She hated this place. Anything that could get her closer to getting out was something she could not afford to throw away.

“Yes, I want them.”

“And what do you think about getting your weapon?”

“I want what is mine.”

He smiled at her response. It reminded him of the old Elise. The one who was fearless. He had been worrying that she was too far beyond saving. Elise didn’t know how to feel about the prospect of getting her missing piece back. It had been centuries since she had any power at all.

“Good, now please try to get some sleep. You will need it tomorrow.”

She went back to bed. Leviathan wanted to be close to her without making her uncomfortable. He walked slowly to the bed and laid down. He did not try to touch her or come in too close. Sharing the same bed with her eased his mind enough that he was able to sleep. It was the first time he had rested in years. It was a deep slumber for both of them.

Saxon and Baylor came in before dawn. They went to wake up the sleeping couple. Their father woke up first. Seeing that Elise was still asleep he scooped her up.

“Father, we need to go. The battle ground has been abandoned. We can get the weapon easily now.”

Luck was on their side. Leviathans' brothers where so concerned with retaliation that they had forgotten to protect the one weapon that could kill them. Elise continued to sleep in Leviathan’s arms as he carried her to her weapon. When they reached it, he woke her up.

“Where are we?”

“Pick up your weapon. We don’t have a lot of time.”

He set her down in front of the double-sided sword. She reached out her small hand and grasped the weapon.