Chapter 41

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jewel looked at him as he walked towards her. They’d already received their assignments for the day from Jon, meaning Henry hadn’t needed to head to one of the secret passages for the headquarters. Instead, he just sent Jewel a text, and they agreed upon a good meeting spot. They were patrolling up and down Powers again, and Jewel had mentioned meeting up for lunch before they started.

“What?” He asked coyly. He of course, knew exactly what she was talking about. Because Henry needed to amplify his growth even more, he knew he couldn’t afford to do the whole, keep your D.E.D. a secret route that Loki had recommended to him. As such, he now had all three of his D.E.D. out around him. A stark contrast to Jewel and her eerie Cyoeraeth, and pretty much every other exorcist he’d ever met.

“I thought we covered arrogance would get you killed.” She said, her tone hard. “This,” she motioned towards his three D.E.D., “is pretty arrogant, don’t you think?”

He held her gaze for a moment, a small smile crossing his face. He had no doubt her D.E.D. could probably still take out all three of his, but that didn’t matter. His resolve was strong, steadfast you could say, and he’d be lying if it didn’t give him a bit of extra confidence. It was rare for him to have a set goal before him like this. Something about it, that clarity, really empowered him.

“We’re trying to get me to level 20 as quickly as possible. As far as I see it, might as well get all three of my D.E.D. leveled in that time, rather than just one or two of them.”

“The experience split is going to slow this process down.” Jewel said, “honestly, you’d be better off just leveling your Drakeling. The Storm Crow isn’t bad either, but under leveled I’m guessing. And the Evil Eye is still dead weight.”

“Slow or not, this way, when I get them to twenty, I’ll have 3 level 20 D.E.D. It’s not arrogance, it’s insurance.” Henry said simply, “After all, I’ll be much better off with 3 level 20 D.E.D., than just one.”

“You’re not wrong,” Jewel said simply, “but we really don’t have time for me to just keep babysitting you.” She let out a heavy sigh. “Or is that your plan? Are you trying to just take up my time?”

He hadn’t thought of it like that, when he’d come up with this plan in his sleep deprived state before falling asleep. Henry had just figured it would be faster if he had Jewel’s D.E.D. to assist with the power leveling, and as added insurance to make sure his D.E.D. weren’t in any danger in case something strong actually came through one of the lesser rifts. After what he’d seen, he had a feeling, sooner rather than later, the exorcists were going to start noticing a power creep in what was coming through.

Additionally, Henry had thought about this as a chance to get a better gauge on Jewel. He needed to know if he could completely trust her, because part of him really wanted to be able to confide in her. She was at the top of his list, at the moment, for who to recruit so to say for his team to try and save the world. Though, now that he thought of that, maybe that was a bit too arrogant. Which of course, caused his resolve, and confidence, to both shatter in an instant.

“I figured it couldn’t hurt to get to know you better.” He said lamely. “And, there’s still a lot I figured I could learn from you.” Did he really say that out loud? Henry couldn’t help but groan internally. He’d gone from confident and cool, to lame, in the span of a second.

“Oh really?” Jewel rose an eyebrow as she looked at him. “Like what?”

“Uh,” he’d really not thought about that. Jewel was no doubt powerful. She was ruthless, skilled, and her confidence came from experience and proven skill. He had no idea what level her D.E.D. was, or what others she had at her disposal, but he had a feeling she was one of the strongest members of Strike Team Alpha. As such, he figured there was a lot she could teach him, but he hadn’t thought to actually put together a list. What all was there he wanted to learn? What was something she could teach him, that he couldn’t’ read about through the provided exorcists manuals, notes, journals, and the likes?

A thought occurred to him, as he flashed through his memories regarding exorcists. Something he’d only seen a handful of exorcists do so far. And while he’d not seen Jewel exhibit anything of the sorts directly, he had a feeling, she might know what he was talking about. After all, thinking back, maybe, just maybe, she had been doing it without him realizing it.

“I’ve seen a few exorcists use D.E.D. powers, without any D.E.D. around.” He said softly as he walked closer to her. While they were in the parking lot of Gunther Toody’s, his planned lunch spot, which was empty at the moment, he figured saying things like that too loud was still a bit reckless. Additionally, he wasn’t sure if he should be talking about it.

“I heard about Jon zapping some idiot at orientation.” Jewel chuckled. “But who are the others you’ve noticed?” Had Henry misspoke? She seemed a lot more interested in the topic than he’d expected.

“I-“ He hesitated. For a second, he almost mentioned watching JJ blast apart a hellhound with wind. Jewel knew JJ was a Demon Hunter, thanks to JJ’s own drunken stupidness. However, she seemed rather uninterested in his best friend even with regards to that. If he mentioned JJ using D.E.D. powers like Jon though, that could cause his best friend troubles.

“I noticed a powerful form around the director for a moment, though she didn’t do anything directly.” He said instead.

“Is that it?” She pried. Henry nodded to her, and she let out sigh. “And here I was, hoping you could give me something juicy.”

“Sorry to be such a letdown.” He responded.

Jewel motioned towards the restaurant. They did still technically need to eat lunch, before their shift started. “Pay for lunch, and I’ll give you a little firsthand training today on what you saw. Though, I’ll warn you, what I’m going to teach you today, is dangerous.”

“Isn’t that part of the job?” He asked dryly? Then again, considering what the Storm Crow had shown him was coming, he doubted anything else would ever be perceived as dangerous by him. After all, it all paled in comparison.

“Stupid comments like that are dangerous as well.” Jewel said, just as Henry felt a sudden force of…something, impact his stomach. He let out a sudden gasp as an icy feeling shot through his stomach, his insides seeming to freeze for a second. Pain rocked through him, so suddenly that his vision waivered, and he almost thought he imagined it. Then, it was gone, and the world was normal again. Though, for a split second, even as Jewel continued into the restaurant, he could have sworn he saw an icy figure surrounding her. But it was gone, instantly, leaving him confused, hurt, and even more interested in Jewel than he had been a second before. She’d once again proven to him, that she would be a potentially valuable ally against the invading forces that were to come. He also wanted to know... what D.E.D. did she have that had such a cold power, just like Jewel’s icy heart.