UNITY
CHAPTER FOURTEEN

DANI TRACED HER HAND DELICATELY over the heavy, hard-back book, brushing the dust off with her fingers. It was another Latin book of spells that she was unable to even remotely understand, but even so, it had become an important book to her over the past few days. Inside this book that she had picked up from her father's office, were small notes of translations written by her mother beside the Latin texts. The labels her mother had written for each spell were short and brief, but that didn't matter to Dani. All she wanted was to understand the life her mother had, how she hunted and how she died. The notes didn't tell Dani much, but it was better than nothing. She shut the book and set it back on her lap, looking up from her low position on the chair at her father who stood behind his desk, pointing to objects and symbols on the wall. He was finally giving Dani the explanations she had wanted, but now she was starting to wonder whether these were answers she really wanted. She had seen enough terror that came with the life of hunting and magic and had come to the conclusion that it wasn't the life she wanted to have anything to do with. Really, the only thing Dani was interested in was her mom. Every opportunity she had been given to be in her dad's office, she had used to search for books or anything that could have had something to do with her mother. If she wasn't going to get answers from her dad or brother, this was the only way.

"Are you listening, Dani?"

Raising her attention to her dad, Dani mumbled, "huh? Oh, yeah. Hexes...", trying to recall what her father was saying to her while she had been distracted.

He folded his arms over his chest after setting the sigil-covered Angel's Tablet he was holding on the desk. "You're not paying attention."

"I am!" she insisted, raking her hand through her hair.

"Do you think I want to teach you all of this? The last thing I want is for you to get involved." He waved his arms, motioning towards the bookcases and boxes of tools.

Calum sighed, leaning against the desk. "I think Dad's just trying to say he wants to keep you safe which means staying away from hunting and magic," he said, trying to soften their father's words.

"Trust me, I don't want to hunt."

"Good because there's no way in Hell I'd let you," Matthew said firmly. When neither Dani or Calum said anything, his features softened, his once angrily furrowed eyebrows now relaxed and lips forming a straight line. It was clear that he was watching the way Dani hugged the spell book to her chest. "Wait here. I need to get something." He walked around the desk and as he exited the room, he quickly added, "and don't touch anything!" Obeying his request, Dani slumped in the chair, glancing back down at the shut notebook.

"So what's up? How come the sudden disinterest? Just a few weeks ago you were dying for us to tell you everything we know." Calum broke the silence.

"That was before I almost died twice." She chuckled. Then she shrugged, "I don't know... I guess I already have the answers I wanted. The secrecy with you and dad... that all those times Sabrina would miss school it was because she was at the Academy." And Nicholas. Dani shook her head as though to brush the thoughts away. "...yeah, it all makes sense now."

"And Nick? You gonna tell me you don't miss him?"

"I don't!"

With a chuckle, Calum raised his eyebrows. "Right..." he said, unconvinced.

"I mean it, Cal." Calum was about to respond but the two silenced when Matthew Monroe reentered the room with a bronze, old-fashioned key. Warded in the bit that went inside locks was a pentagon which Dani assumed was supposed to represent a pentagram like the ones on the walls. With big, intrigued hawk eyes, Dani watched as Matthew made his way toward a large frame on the wall with an enormous silver blade in it. He carefully removed it from its nail and placed it on the floor against the floor, revealing a safe. When Matthew opened the safe with a key, he began digging through the large pile of books, angel tablets and small cases that Dani assumed were filled with weapons. With wide eyes, Dani watch eagerly as Matthew pulled out a leather book with a lock on it. She sat up straighter when she saw her father walking towards her with the items, and when he held them out for her to take, she gaped at him, confused.

"This was your mother's journal," Matthew said, voice low and slightly shaky. "It has all the cases she's ever done, all her thoughts... everything she knew. I never found the key to it but I thought you might want to have it anyway." He let out an unsteady breath when Dani cautiously took the diary his hands. "And here... take this too. It was your mom's dagger." He handed her a small knife, the blade wrapped in a leather cover.

She stared at the journal, mesmerized. It wasn't particularly pretty, but to Dani, it was the most special and enthralling thing she had ever laid her eyes on. "Dad..."

"It's okay, honey. I want you to have it. Your mom would want you to have it," he insisted, nodding and wiping his hands on the sides of his jeans. "Take care of the journal, alright?" Dani nodded, her eyes too glued to the book in her hands to say a word. This book was her mother's journal– her mother's entire world, basically, filled with hunts she did, things she felt... filled with answers. And it lay right in Dani's hands. She didn't have a key to open it, but a warm sensation filled her chest and she already felt so much closer to her mother. "You go ahead. We can continue looking at our history and some more spells tomorrow if you still want to learn about it. Cal and I are gonna look over some cases now."

Dani looked up at her dad curtly, unable to draw her eyes away from the notebook, although still shut, for more than a few seconds. "Thanks, Dad," she said before standing up and leaving the room with the notebook pressed tightly against her chest. Dani almost tripped on the stairs several times, but still her attention to the book was undivided as she walked into her bedroom. Switching her lights on and closing the door behind her, Dani sat down on her bed with the book in her hands. Just as she was about to rummage through her bedside table for a bobby pin to try to open the book with, she jumped up from her bed to the sound of a loud whoosh. She gasped, frantically spinning around to search for the source of the abrupt sound. Immediately as she turned toward the window, she saw Nick.

"What the hell, Nick? I thought I told you-" Dani stopped herself from continuing when she saw the way he stood so distressed, both hands pressed against the back of his head and his eyebrows knitted together as he fought back tears. Dani frowned and started moving toward him. "What's wrong?"

"I messed up, Daniella." His voice was so soft it sounded fragile.

"I don't want to talk about this again, Nick." Dani sighed, shaking her head apologetically. While seeing him so upset made it feel like there was a weight on her chest, she couldn't let herself associate herself with him anymore.

"No." He stepped closer to the brunette. "Sabrina's in danger because of me."

Dani frowned, looking into Nick's eyes more attentively now. "What are you talking about?" She asked, but all Nick did was tightly squeeze his eyes and look away as tears fell. "Nick, what happened?"

"I didn't have a choice, Dani. I had to do what the Dark Lord asked of me." She frowned, trying to comprehend what he was saying but none of it made any sense to her. "I'm so stupid," he cried, throwing his head back. "Now Sabrina's in trouble and it's all my f-"

Cupping his face with both her hands, Dani forced the distraught boy to look at her in the eyes. "You need to tell me what happened so I can help you, okay?" She wiped a tear from his cheek with her thumb, and when he nodded, she held his arm and pulled him toward her bed. They sat down and Dani watched the boy as he buried his face in his hands. "What happened to Sabrina?"

"Nothing... not yet," he mumbled shakily, lifting his head up. "The Dark Lord— Satan... he asked a favor of me when Sabrina first started at the academy." Nick paused to swallow, a few more tears trickling down his cheeks. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "he asked me to keep an eye on Sabrina. To get close to her and find out more about her- but I swear, Dani, I didn't know this was why! I would never want to hurt Sabrina." Dani was at a loss for words, staring at her lap in an attempt to process what Nick had said. Her father had briefly described the world of witches and warlocks, including their ruler, Satan. Even so, she struggled to comprehend what Nick had said. She understood him, she did. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Nick would do such a thing. It didn't sound at all like the Nick she knew who, despite everything she'd been through because of him, was one of the kindest people she knew. He killed someone he considered his family for Dani... but what Nick was telling her now sounded like the exact opposite of that. "Say something, Dani... Please," he begged, eyes shimmering with tears again.

"Why didn't you say no?" Dani asked slowly, eyebrows furrowed, more in confusion than in anger.

"I couldn't. You can't say no to the Dark Lord. I had to do it. Now she and her friends and aunts have a plan for tonight at this ball the Dark Lord is attending... I think to trap him. I don't know," he rambled, burying his face in his hands again, shaking his head.

Dani closed her eyes and ran her hand over her face in thought. She had more questions than they had time, probably. Instead of frustratedly asking the panicking boy why he had done such a horrible thing, she started thinking of solutions, deep down knowing that no matter what Nick did, he was still the charming, caring person she met at Sabrina Spellman's home. "My dad can help us, okay? I need you to calm down so we can go talk to him."

Holding onto his arm, Dani led Nick out of her room and down the stairs to the closed door of her dad's office. "Dad," she called, knocking on the door urgently. "Dad!" The door was swung open and Dani stepped back.

"Is everything o-" Matthew cut himself off when he laid his eyes on the tall boy beside his daughter. "What the hell are you doing here?" He said lowly, stepping forward and evidently pulling a small knife from behind his back.

"No, no, no, Dad! He needs your help." Dani stepped in front of Nick, guarding him from her furious father.

"Why would I help a warlock?" He said rhetorically through gritted teeth to the boy. "Especially you."

"Dad, come on," Dani pleaded. In a time like this, the last thing they needed was for her father to cause a scene rather than help.

"No, Dani," Matthew hissed, eyes still boring holes into Nick who stood helplessly still. "What makes you think you can come into my home like this?" He yelled to Nick.

"What's going on?" Calum appeared from behind the angry man.

"If you'll just hear me out..." Nick said hopefully, stepping forward slightly. "We could really use your h-"

"No, I won't hear you out, kid," Matthew seethed. He pointed to the door. "The only thing I'd like to here is that door closing behind you when you leave."

"Freaking Satan is here in the flesh and the world could literally end because instead of helping you're standing here yelling at Nick!" Dani exclaimed, tapping her foot anxiously on the floor. "Will you just let us explain what's going on before you decide whether you want to help him or not?"

Matthew stared at his daughter for a few seconds, his lips pursed and arms folded over his chest as though contemplating whether to listen to her. Dropping his arms to his side, he finally turned to Nick again and through gritted teeth, he said, "talk."

Letting out a sharp breath, Nick started explaining the nerve wracking situation. "Sabrina, she's half mortal, half wi-"

"She's a Nephilim, I'm fully aware of that. Get to the important part."

"The Dark Lord... Satan... he wants to enslave the tribes of human and witchkind and to rule over everything with his demon army... with Sabrina as his queen." Even though it was a brief description, Dani shuddered at what Nick was saying. Her friend was in trouble, and what made a bad situation even worse was that Nick played a part in it. "There's a ball tonight and the Dark Lord is going to be there. We need to trap him. There's this thing... the Acheron Configuration..."

"No," Matthew said, "that won't be strong enough for an archangel."

"Do you have something that can trap him, Dad?" Dani asked, peering over her dad's shoulder to look at his office despite not knowing what any of the objects inside were.

He scratched his chin in thought before responding. "You can take me to him, right?" When Nick nodded he continued, "alright... you wait by the car. Calum, help me get everything to the car."

"Okay." Dani nodded, immediately starting to walk away with Nick. She knew her dad had only been talking to the warlock, but she hoped he'd been to distracted to notice that she was inviting herself on the trip. Of course, though, with her luck, Dani was pulled back by the arm. She closed her eyes momentarily before turning around to face her father.

"Not you, young lady."

"But Dad, I want to help," she pleaded, biting her lip hopefully.

"We agreed that you wouldn't hunt," her dad said firmly.

"I'll be safe, I promise. I won't get involved," she assured as convincingly as she could. "We can't waste time arguing about this, Dad!"

"Let her come. I'll keep an eye on her," Calum said, patting his dad's shoulder. Dani smiled at her brother gratefully when their dad nodded, giving in.

"Fine. Go wait in the car," he handed Dani the car key after pulling it out of the back pocket of his jeans. He leaned in closer to Dani to whisper, "and Dani, if he lays a finger on you, stab him in the jugular," but it was clear by the volume he used when he spoke and the way he glared at Nick that he wanted to boy to hear. Dani rolled her eyes and motioned for Nick who had uncomfortably shifted toward the door to follow her outside.

Dani sighed when she sat in the car, taking in the coolness of the air and the strong scent of leather. She hadn't realized how tired she was until she touched the cushioned seat, but the soreness of her body and the droopiness of her eyes couldn't compete with the burning desire in her gut to help her friends. She watched Nick bounce his leg. Like some sort of a tick, he continued to do it incessantly, his hands bound together in his lap with thumbs playing thumb war. Without thinking, she reached her hand out over Nick's lap and picked up his hand, intertwining her fingers with his. So shocked by her own actions, Dani almost snapped her hand back, but the way he tightly squeezed her hand stopped her from retreating. "We'll fix this, okay? Sabrina's going to be fine."

Nick nodded, still looking down at his lap. He looked so unconvinced and hopeless. Dani couldn't imagine how guilty he must have felt. "I'm sorry," he said suddenly.

"It's okay. This is all going to be sorted out."

"I meant about us," Nick mumbled, slowly raising his head up to his left to look into Dani's eyes. "I know you don't want to talk about this, but I really am sorry." He looked back down to his lap, shaking his head shamefully.

"It's fine," Dani squeezed his hand reassuringly, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. A part of her did accept his apology. She was seeing more and more how difficult it was to be a witch or warlock. Between the academy, Amalia, the Dark Lord and who knows what else, Dani couldn't have imagined how hard it must have been for Nick. It was probably even worse for Sabrina. Still, Amalia's breath on her skin and the painful wound on her face that still hadn't wound wasn't something Dani could forget with such ease, and the fact that Nick had lied to her– that she'd kissed him thinking he was something that he wasn't– was still engraved in her brain. "I mean it, Nick, it's okay," she promised, staring at him although he refused to look at her. "Something tells me I would've gotten myself into this mess on my own eventually," she mentioned, trying to lighten the mood. She grinned contentedly when she saw a small, side-smile appear on his lips.

"Knowing you, you're probably right." Dani chuckled lightly, glancing down to their intertwined hands fondly. "But I should have done something sooner," Nick said. Dani felt responsible for the way he continued to beat himself up for it. "It's not just that. I shouldn't have lied to you about so much. I shouldn't have watched you suffer with the confusion after seeing your father and brother doing that exorcism in the woods when I knew exactly what they were doing." He ran both his hands over his face before looking straight ahead with empty eyes at the headrest of the seat in front of him and shook his head. "I almost got you killed before and now it's Sabrina's turn–" his voice was silenced when Dani's lips met his. She tried not to smile against his lips at how he froze in surprise at the unexpected sensation of her lips on his. She herself was beyond nervous by her own actions, but Dani only began to realize it when Nick's fingers came up to caress the skin of her neck, leaving a line of goosebumps in their wake. This time, it was Nick who smiled into the kiss when Dani shuddered at his touch. Her arms snuck around his neck, pulling him closer to her. She was faintly aware of Nick smiling into the kiss, evoking her own euphoric grin. She'd craved his touch, his smile, his reassuring hand in hers, anchoring her to reality. She had needed his comfort as much as he needed hers and it became clear to Dani that this was the exact same Nick she had always known. The same Nick that wouldn't let her wander around in the woods alone. That kissed her atop that ferris wheel. She hadn't realized how much she needed to be reminded of that.

The loud slamming of the front door of the house pulled them apart, the two of them hurriedly sitting themselves as far away from each other as possible, gluing themselves to the car doors in fear of Dani's father having seen them being even a little bit close to one another. Nick cleared his throat awkwardly and Dani looked down to her fidgeting hands as if they were the most interesting thing she had seen. While the trunk was being opened and something abnormally heavy was being loaded inside, making the entire car dip backwards slightly, Dani and Nick still refused to move a finger. She seemed even more drawn to her hands when her dad opened the door to the driver's seat, climbing inside while Calum climbed into the passenger's seat.

"He try anything, Dani?" Matthew turned around in his seat to look between the teenagers intimidatingly. Dani unthinkingly glanced at Nick before looking at her dad and shaking her head. Was her difficulty in making eye contact with her dad telling?

Relieved, Dani let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding when her dad turned back around and began driving. She looked at Nick who carried an identical sheepish smile on his face. She chuckled softly and gazed down at the space between her and Nick, pursing her lips as her hand and his snaked toward each other, intertwining once again. That warm, comforting feeling of home that Dani had longed revisited her chest. A feeling that no one could give her better than Nicholas Scratch could.

_____ ♔_____

→ author's note

i really loved writing this chapter!! i hope you enjoyed reading it. let me know what you think!

also be sure to check out the new cover for the book!! VRPond made it and it's stunning as always. i'm sooo in love with it!

again, i hope you liked this chapter. votes, comments and follows are more than appreciated!