Burning Hope

Chapter 22: The Reason We Die For Tomorrow

I walked up to the door that read 429. This was Jian's dorm. I silently wondered if it was okay to start showing this information to one of the people that might have been sending me these letters in the first place. I shook my head. If he was the person that had threatened to kill me twice already, when I showed him the note, he'd obviously be surprised. The notes might even stop coming if the traitor knew I was on their trail. I convinced myself that I wasn't completely insane for doing this, and that this was actually quite a good idea either way.

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It took two minutes before it finally opened. I heard the heavy rock music that had been blaring suddenly stop. I was met by Jian's face, his brown eyes staring at me curiously.

"Yeah?" Was all he said.

I cleared my throat, trying to sound as professional as possible. "Look, I know it must be really strange having the Prince of Sciana randomly appearing at your door, but I need to talk to you about something." I pulled out the letter and handed it to him. "I've gotten two of these so far; once today and once yesterday. Talia said that you're really observant and might be able to tell me who's been writing these letters."

Jian nodded. "And what happened to the other one?"

I blushed and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. "I kind of threw it away."

Jian sighed and leaned against the door frame. "It would have been a bit easier if you would have given both of the letters to me, but I guess I'll have to work with what we've got. I'll see what I can do."

He motioned for me to follow him inside. I did so and watched as he sat down on a chair next to a bunch of instruments. I looked up on the wall, where something caught my eye. There was a poster hanging there, with a picture of four boys with stage makeup and black and red contacts. One of them was holding a guitar, the other held an electric bass, and another one in the back was holding a pair of drumsticks over his head. The one in the middle held a microphone over his head and looked as if he was screaming. I knew that guy. That was Jian! I gasped as I read the heading. "Die for Tomorrow: Live at Madison Square Garden!" I picked up a CD case that was lying around. It read "DFT demo for new album".

I couldn't believe it. Jian was the frontman of one of my favorite rock bands. It was easy to understand why I hadn't made the connection sooner, since I was never really the type to memorize all the band member's names and favorite hobbies.

"Go on, say it." Came Jian's voice from behind me. "It looks like you're going to explode if you don't, so why don't you just say it?"

I took a deep breath. "I am a huge fan! Usually, my music taste is a strict diet of electronic, but Die for Tomorrow is probably the only heavy metal band that I listen to regularly. I bought your first album on iTunes! I love how your songs bring up issues that almost anyone can relate to!"

Jian chuckled. "Thanks." He looked up at me. "It means a lot to me when people say that they like my band's music. I mean, DFT wouldn't be where it is today without the support of our fans."

I nodded. Jian seemed like a really modest guy, and one that was easy to get along with. Stars like Raziya could learn a thing or two from him. I nervously waited for him to speak up as he looked over the note. He frowned as he looked up to meet my gaze.

"This doesn't make any sense." He said. "The handwriting is a perfect combination between mine, Hazu's, Madoc's, Luc's, Kallan's and Talia's. They even worked in a bit of Adrian's handwriting by crossing the t's with a diagonal line."

"So you're saying that the traitor seriously thinks I would suspect Adrian?" I asked, crossing my arms. "Adrian is the person I'm trying to protect! He's innocent! He couldn't have gone back to Kali! You can't fake the pain and trauma that I saw in his eyes, in the depths of his soul. He's not the traitor!"