Page 43 of Truth Revealed

He pushed his doubts aside.

And took a deep breath.

You can do this.

“I can do this. It’ll be fine,” he said out loud, wincing when a pang shot through his head.

Truth got out of the car anyway and gripped his notebook and folder tight, wiping his sweaty hands on his jeans, and faced away from the building while he collected himself. The car door closed with a slam. Truth painted calmness on his face, and he walked across the parking lot.

The interior of the bakery matched the exterior—beige, golds, and dark grays made for a calming, relaxing environment. Too bad Truth didn’t benefit from it right then, not as his pulse raced and doubt filled him. The scent of pastries, vanilla, and other delicious concoctions made his stomach growl, but he knew if he ate, he’d risk throwing it right back up.

I can do this.

Instead of going straight to the counter and ordering, like he’d done a few times before, he made his way to a table in the back, farthest from the windows.

A young man awaited him, hands clasped on the table, his bottom lip worried between his teeth, and his knee jerking up and down with his anxiety.

Truth could relate.

“Hey,” Truth greeted quietly, as he slid into the booth.

The kid startled anyway, his wide, innocent blue eyes jumping up to meet his. “H-Hey,” he rushed out.

He should be nervous.

“When you wanted their location, I didn’t think it was going to be so you could attack them,” Truth hissed, leaning over his notebook and the kid’s pastry and steaming coffee to glare at the younger demon.

Squirming in his seat, he stuttered over his answer, his hands flopping around to get his point across. “W-Well, it wasn’t supposed to b-be an attack. I thought we were just going to watch them. That’s all, I swear. It wasn’t until Deceit took over that things went wrong.”

“Wrong?” Truth pressed. “Or were you just kept out of the loop because they don’t trust you?” He leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. “And if they don’t trust you, keep you in the know, why am I supposed to?”

“Hey, man, you’re the one who came to me, okay? What do you want from me?”

“I want an equal exchange. If I’m expected to shell out information when you ask, I expect the same. Tell me that’s not fair,” Truth dared.

The kid gnawed on his lip for a bit, his blue eyes wide and innocent—but Truth didn’t let his appearance fool him. He was having a conversation with Youth, after all—a demon. One who just so happened to conjure an accurate representation when he was released from the jar. Thousands of years ago.

“That’s fair.” His bottom lip was dry and cracked from his constant picking as he spoke.

“She’s unraveling,” he finally said after a long moment of silence.

Truth perked up, but kept his face blank, calm, waiting.

“Pandora is… angry. She’s volatile. And she’s becoming impulsive. I’m not the only one worried about it.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means she’s changing plans last minute, including some and not others. It means she’s all over the place. She’s not making sense.”

“What is she not making sense about?”

“Her daughter. That girl she kept for the longest time. We didn’t get her back, at the warehouse, and she’s furious.” His eyes were locked in Truth’s direction, but his gaze was far away. “She’s obsessed with her. Always ranting about forgiveness and mercy in one breath, and then betrayal and payback in the next.”

Sofia is her weakness.

“You said you weren’t the only one worried about it. What does that mean for all of you?”

“It means…” More lip chewing. “It means we’ve been… under her thumb for so long that we don’t know how to get out.” Youth jerked his gaze to Truth’s. “And we want out. Before it’s too late, before she traps us in the jar again.”