HETAR

I came back home as fast as I could. I opened my lampshade and sat down on my bed. I opened the book that Nel gave me while we were still in the cafe. He said that those we needed to know about the Underworld was written here.

I didn"t know if I could trust that guy but a part of me was saying that I should.

What is the weakest part of demons . . . parts of the Underworld . . . and many dark things was written inside the book.

It took me almost an hour before I found the most important information.

. . . to enter the Underworld, you need to drink blood from a demon"s heart . . .

What the h.e.l.l is this?! Seriously?! Disgusting!

"YUCK!" I shouted in disgust.

d.a.m.n! I imagined myself drinking dirty blood!

I closed the book and stared at its pure black cover. I breathed and breathed to calm down myself.

Tsk. These are too much to handle. And I didn"t know if I was going to tell Asher about it. No. He needs to know.

~*~

I didn"t attend school today but I got up early. I wore my faded jeans, pure lavender shirt, and of course, my red rubber shoes.

I grabbed my phone and the black book before I left.

I went to Asher"s house. I knocked on the gate and it took minutes before he got out. When he saw me, he became serious. My forehead creased when I saw him wearing blue shirt and jeans, too.

"What?" he asked after he opened the gate.

Whoa. As if no confession happened yesterday, huh?

His eyes checked on my get-up. "Are you going to date that guy last night? How fast, huh? How can you go on a date in the middle of upcoming chaos?" he continuously said and I know, he meant it with sarcasm.

My eyebrows met. How did he . . . "How come do you know that guy? Did you follow me?" I asked.

He didn"t react. His face was still blank. "Yes."

"And why?"

"Well, I am just doing my job that your Mom gave me."

I sighed. "To answer your first questions, no, I"m not going into a date but I"ll meet him today but before that, I need to give you this." I gave him the black book.

He glanced at me before taking it.

"That guy, Nel, gave it to me. He"s a son of that Durlen who wants to betray."

"And you trust him?" he unbelievably asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. A part of me says that."

"What if he"s just faking it? c.r.a.p, Scarlette. We"re not 100% sure that he"s an ally."

He"s mad.

I ignored what he was saying. "The only way for us to enter the Underworld is to drink demon"s blood."

"And you believe that?"

"Nel is going to help us. He"ll help us to save Dad."

"What if it"s a trap?" he countered.

"Relax, will you?" I was starting to get annoyed. "I"m not saying that I trust him completely."

"Let"s go to Hetarnia."

~*~

"Mom!"

Mom was surprised when she saw us and also the other two G.o.ddesses. They seemed talking while sitting on their thrones when we entered the big room filled with white and silver colors.

"What are you doing here, dear?" Mom hugged me. I gave her the black book that made her face grim. "Who gave you this?"

"Nel, a son of Durlen. He said that he wants to betray his father that"s why he"s going to help us. It was written there that we need to drink demon"s blood to be able to get in Underworld."

Mom looked at me. Sadness flashed in his eyes. And suddenly, I heard her voice inside my head.

"It"s hard to decide. We can"t trust a half-devil."

~*~

d.a.m.n! c.r.a.p! d.a.m.n it! c.r.a.p!

I kept on cursing and cursing in my mind.

The chance has come and yet, they choose not to grab it!

I miss my Dad . . .

"Are you fine?" Asher worriedly asked when we got home.

I glared at him. "What do you think? Am I?"

"No."

I gave him a forced smile before I locked the gate and went inside.

"Sorry," I heard him said. "But promise, we"ll save your Dad as soon as possible."

I just sighed after finally closing the door.

"Now, what?" I asked myself. I slightly tapped my forehead. "Scarlette, think. You must save your Dad as early as you can."

When I didn"t feel Asher"s presence anymore, I sneakily went to the cafe where I went. And of course, I still brought the black book.

I felt glad when I saw Nel waiting inside – on our table last night. The cafe"s windows were made of gla.s.s so I could easily see him. He"s sipping from his white tea cup when he saw me. He smiled at me when I sat on the opposite chair in front of him.

"So, shall we start the plan?" he asked. All of sudden, his smile faded.

"To be honest, the G.o.ddesses didn"t agree with this."

He nodded. "I understand. I"m half dirty blood anyway." He looked down on his coffee and to me again. "How about you?"

I wanted to say "yes". I know. I was freaking desperate to save my Dad. But yes, my Mom was right. It"s hard to trust him.

"I want to but . . . " I bit my lower lip as I placed his book on the table. " . . . I can"t."

"Alright." He smiled again. "But I"ll save your Dad. I a.s.sure you."

I couldn"t believe on what he was telling. That"s why I just stared at him with shock plastered on my face.