How Deep The Roots Go ( Book One)

Chapter 13

"Phew," Augustus breathed out as the Virtue angel departed their company.

Harrison shook his head softly and then walked to the pirogue that was only feet away from them now. Temperance was waking. He could see it with her expressions during sleep.

"I do not think there was too much harm done," he kneeled down before the pirogue. "But we must stay here until she awakens. I will not risk the soldiers of the Archfiend to arrive. One still lurks near the shore. They will snuff all her powers if an opportunity should arise."

"Do you think she will remember the dream, Harrison?" Augustus asked, afraid of the answer.

"I should hope not," he tethered the pirogue to the tree. "But we shall find out soon enough." He glanced at the brightly lit moon then. "I must commend the lady Virtue for the light she has provided. If it weren't for her, Augustus, our charge would be facing a lot more than just the remnants of dream."

"The morning shall arrive soon enough," Augustus stated. "Her friend Violet will be escorting her to an establishment that sells costumes tomorrow," he sat near the pirogue then, by an old cypress tree. "Her friend is quite gifted, Harrison. The lady can read the mind of a mortal and shift ones way of thought."

Harrison sat down and was quiet for a moment. "There is a reason her and the girl are friends. It was fated by the heavens. Everything happens for a reason, Augustus. Her friend will be used for the cause. Her gift is an asset, just as our charges' is."

They saw a lone alligator then, slithering off the bank into the water on the opposite site of the bayou.

"I am mighty glad I do not hold the fear of a human any longer," Augustus took a blade of grass and stroked it in his hand. "Because if I were alive and saw that, fear would overcome me."

Harrison did not know much about Augustus when he was a human, but he was informed by the Seraphim that he was very sick while on the mortal realm. He hadn't intended to learn more, but perhaps in time the young angel would divulge the information. "I too would be afraid of that creature, Augustus."

The dawn was approaching, he noted, and it looked strangely odd in its arrival with all the light that the Virtue had provided them. It brought the two Powers relief, as each of them could find solace knowing Temperance soon would find herself back in the comfort of her own home.

"Stand watch, Augustus. The demon is coming closer. I can feel its immortal heartbeat underneath the ground I stand upon. Even though the light is here, he is brazen and foolish enough to come out."

"But there may be more," Augustus choked.

"Indeed there is more. There always will be," Harrison's mouth twisted in disgust. "But hopefully we will prevail and find what we seek and move on from this mission. Taking care of a human being with power is not necessarily my cup of tea."

Temperance saw the brightest of light during her dream. She looked down at the front and back of her hands and they were still solid in form. Her eyes rested again to the path where the man was. She bit on her lip, sighing heavily in disappointment with his absence. She smiled at the memory of him, and although perplexed with her vision in dream, she felt sated in the fact that at least the power of her gift was simmering in her unconscious. That in itself was a blessing.

She was in a deep union with peace now. She moved with it, and tasted its sweet gift of harmonious rest.

But when one is settled in an illusion, it is then that an enemy will strike.