Chapter 23
23
CAHUANI
T he high-pitched howl that left Anthony as Cahuani bit down on his neck felt much like a spear through Cahuani too. This was his son, his child, who he had brought into the world in an act of revolution, only by the grace of the magic his gods had imbued him with, defying every belief and expectation the zealots held about people like him.
Cahuani had demanded Xaphan stay out of this despite the demon’s prior promise to handle Anthony so that Cahuani did not have to. Cahuani had realized that he would never forgive himself if he allowed someone else to bring harm to his son. Killing Anthony would leave a wound all its own, but Elias knew better than anyone that though Anthony— Tecolotl —would always be a piece of him, Anthony was also his own person. And Tecolotl was gone.
Cahuani and Anthony both had their own lives and their own fates, and they had each made a choice that brought them here. Cahuani did not regret a single moment he spent loving his son. He only regretted that it hadn’t been enough.
Cahuani flung Anthony across the ground, and the latter shrank as he rolled away from his father, until his human form lay sprawled upon the grass. Cahuani shifted back as well, paternal instinct overriding that of survival before he could reconsider. He approached cautiously just as Anthony shoved himself up onto his knees.
Blood ran down Anthony’s face, but the skin of his forehead and neck was already stitching itself back together. His eyes flashed, looking between Cahuani and something behind him.
“Traitors, both of you!” Anthony spat, and Cahuani knew then that Tlalli and Elias must be there. “I knew it! I knew you couldn’t be trusted!”
“A lot of good that did you,” Elias tossed back, his voice as nonchalant as ever.
Cahuani would’ve laughed if his blood weren’t boiling beneath his skin.
“What, Elias? Were you fucking my father too?”
“Wasn’t that obvious when I opened the door to his room this morning?”
“You fucking?—”
“Actually, it would be more accurate to say your dad was fucking me .”
“Both of us actually,” Tlalli quipped. “At once.”
“And it won’t be the last time either,” Cahuani added, his own spite propelling his tongue.
Then Anthony was on his feet, racing toward them, his form shifting once more into the bear. Cahuani was just as quick, changing midair, then slamming his body into Anthony’s. The ground shook beneath them as they landed. Anthony’s claws tore open Cahuani’s snout, but Cahuani managed to wrap his teeth around the front of Anthony’s throat again. This time, Cahuani opened a wider gash, and Anthony was unable to make a sound as he shuddered beneath Cahuani.
“I will do better in the next life,” Cahuani said in his head. He doubted Anthony would let the message in, but it had to be said. He would keep that promise. Of that, he was certain. “But I must accept my failure in this one.”
With all his strength, he kept Anthony pinned down while he used his massive paw to tear through flesh and fur, to burrow down into Anthony’s chest and up into his rib cage. Then Cahuani wrapped his paw around Anthony’s heart.
“I will bury it with your mother.”
“Cahuani!”
It sounded like lightning cracking across the land and thunder rolling across the plain. Cahuani looked up to see a massive figure walking through the fog, emerging from the tree line, shrouded in shadow. Yet that shadow was distinct. From its top protruded a pair of vast antlers like those of a reindeer. Though soon, the form began to shrink and transform into one of a man, and the antlers morphed into a cowboy hat quite similar to Cahuani’s, which was back at the auction house. It shuddered out a breath.
It was the Prince of Greed himself.
“Acheron,” Greed called while waving his hand toward Anthony. Immediately, Anthony was bound with a glowing red rope. “Take Anthony to the Helix. They’ll treat his wounds there and clip his wings before we show him to his new home.”
Although Cahuani wasn’t entirely sure what was happening, he gingerly removed his hand from Anthony’s chest, leaving his heart in place. Cahuani then shifted back to his human form just as Acheron swept the wounded bear into his arms.
“What are you doing, Greed?” Cahuani questioned. “You—you don’t have to do this.”
“I know that,” Greed assured him with a wink and a smile.
In human form, Greed was still imposing, large and muscular with a sharp smile and dark eyes wrapped in dark-brown skin. He was the most charming of the Puri and also the most hospitable, meaning it was more difficult to piss him off than even Lust, who was known for being pretty laid back himself. Cahuani had always been grateful for that.
“They’ll call it kidnapping,” Cahuani pointed out. “They’ll call for war.”
“They called for war the moment they sent him to that auction,” Mammon returned. “Look at this. Does this not look like a setup? Killing him won’t change that. The whole reason they recruited him was for this purpose. I think you know that, Cahuani.”
Cahuani stared at him, the last of his resolve beginning to crumble. Yet only when Mammon gripped his shoulder did Cahuani begin to break.
“If he hurts . . . anyone else . . .” Cahuani breathed, trembling. “If he costs us?—”
“We’ll keep him safe,” Greed assured him. “And we’ll keep him out of the way... But his soul is going to the same place. Might as well give him a chance to repent.”
Cahuani chuckled. Tears streamed down his face.
“Two angels?”
Cahuani looked up again at Greed’s words only to find that Greed was looking over his head. Cahuani turned around to see Tlalli and Elias approaching.
“Wait a minute now,” Greed said, leaning dramatically as if to get a better look. “Is that who I think it is?”
“Mammon,” Elias called back good-naturedly with a wave.
Cahuani found it odd to hear someone other than the other archdemons call Greed that, but he couldn’t pick apart that thought at the moment. He also wasn’t entirely convinced that Greed had only just realized who Elias was, but he said nothing.
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
“Will you still give them refuge?” Cahuani questioned.
Greed nodded after a beat. “Of course we will.”
“Thank you so much.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just tryna be a more charitable guy.”
Cahuani managed another soft chuckle. “Of course.”
“You should head inside though, collect whatever you need. I already had folks grab some of your stuff from that mansion. Sloth and Lust have your place cloaked, but once the angels realize what’s happened, I doubt it will hold long. It’s best we keep with the plan and take y’all back Downstairs for now.”
Tlalli and Elias reached them then, and Greed tipped his hat with that million-dollar smile of his on display. Cahuani was more interested than ever in whatever history Greed and Elias shared, the looks they traded dripping with old wounds and untold stories. Now was not the time, however. They had to get moving.
“Here,” Xaphan said, reaching them as well. “Anthony dropped it back at the mansion. I figured we shouldn’t leave it behind.”
He held out a dagger with an intricately carved ivory handle and a curved silver blade that seemed to glow a faint blue.
“I managed to knock that out of his hand, and then he shifted like a fuckin’ coward,” Elias filled in, nodding to the weapon.
Cahuani had never seen anything like it, but he could feel the aura the blade gave off. It was rancid, and it sent a chill down his spine. The discomfort only intensified as what looked like anger blanketed Greed’s expression.
“He had that?” Greed asked.
“Yeah,” Xaphan returned with a wince. “And as someone who’s been stabbed by a Dominion blade before, I can say without a doubt in my mind that this? This is some other type of shit.”
“And you’re absolutely right,” Greed said grimly.
“What is it?” Cahuani asked, unable to take it anymore. If he understood Xaphan’s meaning, this was a different type of blade than the one that almost killed the demon several months back. And not just different but worse.
“An Ashen Blade,” Tlalli stated, her eyes fixed on the dagger as if it might fly at her of its own volition. “The only thing that can kill an angel.”
“Well, not the only thing,” Greed said, his southern American accent thick, “and it wouldn’t kill an archangel, but it does allow for an angel to kill another angel. Or for a mortal to. And they were likely the prototype for the Dominion blades, the ones the other angels carry around that nearly took out our dear friend Xaphan here.”
Cahuani recalled the story of Xaphan being attacked by the Dominion and nearly dying from his wounds. However, he’d never asked exactly how or what he’d been attacked with.
“How do you know all that?” Cahuani wasn’t sure he’d asked aloud until Greed looked at him.
“Because we, the Puri, were forced to help invent the Ashen Blade. It’s one of the first things we disagreed with the archangels about.”
“Can it kill a demon?” Cahuani questioned.
Greed turned back to Xaphan and glanced down at the blade still in his outstretched hand. After pulling a handkerchief from his own breast pocket, Greed carefully wrapped the dagger and stowed it inside the lining of his jacket.
“This particular ‘model’ wasn’t intended to, no,” he answered. “There were no demons when it was created, but who knows how their older weaponry has evolved since our departure given what their new weaponry is like. I’ll have Sloth check it out when we get back.”
“But that’s proof, right?” Tlalli stated, then bit her lip. “Michael was intending to let Anthony kill us.”
It was obvious that she knew the answer already, but Cahuani suspected she needed someone else to confirm it. He could understand that need. He’d had it when Anthony betrayed him, too. It wasn’t easy to watch your whole world crumble before your eyes and not think you’re missing something.
“I’d say so, darlin’,” Greed returned with a sympathetic look as he clapped a hand on Cahuani’s shoulder. “But we’ll talk about all that back home. Xaphan and I are gonna go check in with the others while y’all pack up.”
Greed and Xaphan disappeared then, and Cahuani took a moment to look out at the estate. He committed it all to a fresh memory—the gardens at the rear of the house, the Lake of Cuetlaxochitl fanning out beyond them, and the warm-red walls of his ancestral home. At once, he felt entirely himself. He tried not to think about the fact that this might be the last time he saw it for a while. And maybe even the last time he saw it like this at all.
With a soft breath, he turned back to Tlalli and Elias, only to find that Tlalli now stood alone a few feet away. He gave her a questioning look, but she merely gestured toward the lake. He turned to see Elias walking toward it.
Before he could think too hard about it, Cahuani turned back to Tlalli.
“Why don’t you go inside, see if there is anything you’d like to steal while you’re here again?”
She gave him an unimpressed look, but he shooed her along anyway with half a smile. Eventually, she rolled her eyes but took the hint and headed into the house. Cahuani then made for Elias, who had seemingly collapsed near the shore and was looking out at the water. From here, he looked entirely human.
Cahuani sat down beside him. “Having second thoughts?” he asked, only half joking.
Elias snorted softly. “I can’t afford second thoughts.”
“Then what’s going on?”
Elias laughed again, but this time, the sound was overrun by a potent anger. A dark-red glow emanated from his skin and grew stronger with every word. “They set me up. I have spent my entire existence, thousands of years, trying to uphold their regime! I gave them everything, and this is what I am worth! A fucking scrap in the middle of the woods!”
Cahuani could do nothing but listen. He wished to reach out, but he didn’t know how or if it would be wise. Emotions had never been his strong suit, although he had gotten better for Anthony. Not good enough but better. It seemed he would have to learn once more.
“That is what they do,” Cahuani stated, deciding it best to be logical if nothing else. “That is what they have always done, Elias. And I know. I understand your loyalty, and I commend it, but you have a chance now to start over.”
“Yeah, in Hell.” He snorted. “How the fuck am I supposed to do that?”
“It won’t be forever, and you can do whatever you want when all this is over.”
“If we survive.”
“Tlalli and I will be right there with you. And she’s starting over too. We all are really. But these are our lives, some of which are going to last a very long time. Maybe we should start actin’ like it.”
Elias looked at him now. “And you—you’re willing to die for this? This cause the demons have.”
“Survival? Yeah, I am.”
“The angels are supposed to be protectors, lovers, friends. Yet every angel I know, the ones I still trust, are tired. They’re exhausted, and they’re—they’re fed up.”
Cahuani wet his lips. He had so many questions. He always wondered just how much the angels that worked beneath the Dominion knew about the Dominion’s dealings on Earth. He wondered how many would choose to fall too, if given the opportunity. Thus far, he’d seen two in a day, which seemed quite high for a single incident. That told him more than enough about the Heaven that took his son.
“I remember when the Puri left,” Elias said, his voice growing suddenly softer. “I remember the agony the Righteous God was in. But things were good for a while. Until they weren’t. And everything changed after Michael and Raphael took over officially, and—and the...”
He seemed to catch himself, and there was a look of shocking revelation on his face. Like he’d just connected two devastating dots. Cahuani did not wish to push him. It would do neither of them any good, and Cahuani knew that eventually, the Puri would get all the information they needed from Elias. Cahuani could wait. Right now, he only wished to get his lovers somewhere safe.
“Look, you don’t have to make all the decisions right now,” Cahuani said at last. “You don’t have to parse fact from fiction in the span of a day, either, Elias. So just... Come with us. We’ll figure it out from there, and the moment you say you want out of Hell, I’ll get you out. I promise.”
“You can’t promise me that, Cahuani.”
“You underestimate my influence.”
Cahuani’s lips curled, and Elias laughed. It sounded absolutely joyous, the most pleasant thing Cahuani had heard today. Almost as pleasant as Elias’s moans mixing with Tlalli’s the night before. In a matter of hours, he’d gone from grateful to greedy. These few days with Tlalli wouldn’t be enough for him, and one night with Elias wouldn’t be either.
As if Elias had gone to the same place, he said, “I can see why Tlalli likes you.”
Cahuani waved him off. “Please.”
“No, I can feel it. She really does like you.”
“Well, to be fair, she really likes you too.”
Elias chuckled, but the sound soon ended in a frown. “Three days ago, she couldn’t stand me. And I really told her just to suck it up and take Anthony’s shit. I never should’ve told her that.”
“Now you’re giving yourself too much credit,” Cahuani pointed out. “Tlalli was never gonna listen to you anyway.”
They both laughed, and Elias shook his head. “I mean, yeah, but I still should have supported her.”
“We all got lessons to learn, Elias. Better late than never.”
“I just—Look, I want you to know that whatever y’all got goin’ on, I’m not trying to interfere or anything.”
“You won’t. You haven’t.” Cahuani picked up a flat stone and rubbed it between his fingers. “... But you have feelings for her.”
It wasn’t a question, and Elias knew it. “Do you?”
“I don’t know what I feel.” Cahuani sighed. “That’s not on her. I’ve been... numb for a long time to a lot of things, and emotions like this not least of all. I’m still learning to feel like that again, but she makes me want to. Does that bother you?”
Elias glanced at him. “No, actually. I just—I want her to be happy. And she seemed really happy last night.”
They shared a smirk. Then Cahuani said, “Yeah, but that had as much to do with you as it did with me.”
“Does that bother you?”
Cahuani allowed himself to truly consider the question, but the outcome did not surprise him. He had already been thinking about it for as long as they’d been talking. He had been trying to figure out what he could offer to both Tlalli and Elias. He didn’t want to be the decent man and just bow out, nor did he want to be the possessive man who put his desires first.
Right now, all he wanted to be was the man who loved. And maybe Elias was just as integral to that as Tlalli was.
“No,” Cahuani said honestly. “In fact, it makes me proud. It makes me think that if we worked that well together for one shared goal, why couldn’t we work that well together again? And if so, helping each other start over becomes a thousand times easier.”
“Yeah, I suppose it does.”
“And maybe it doesn’t work forever. Maybe it only works for now, but what’s so wrong with that?”
“I don’t see anything wrong with that. No shame in taking what we can get.”
“Exactly.”
“Are y’all plotting on me?”
The two looked over their shoulders to see Tlalli coming toward them, still in nothing but Cahuani’s wrinkled dress shirt and panties.
“What else would we be doin’?” Elias shot back.
“Mm-hmm, thought so.”
“Speaking of which though... I should tell y’all both something.” Elias looked between Tlalli and Cahuani with an expression that bordered on embarrassment. “I sorta... May have seen y’all’s little video.”
Tlalli made a strangled noise in her throat. “What?”
Elias huffed. “Well, when I found it in the bathroom, I swiped up on the screen to turn off the sound. You’re the only being in existence who still sets a full ringtone for a text message by the way.”
“Okay, hey now.”
He ignored her. “But when I swiped, the video just—started playing.”
There was a long beat of silence, Elias seemingly bracing for impact, before Tlalli burst into laughter.
Cahuani chuckled quietly, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“I’m assuming that was before we met in the conservatory?” she asked.
“Well, obviously,” he replied. “Sorry?”
She rolled her eyes. “Honestly, I’m just kinda disappointed that Anthony didn’t see it now.”
“I mean, we could always make a new one, and if they need help torturing him...”
Tlalli smirked at him, and even Cahuani gave him an impressed look.
“You’re gonna do just fine in Hell, I think,” Tlalli assured him.
“I concur,” Cahuani agreed, though his expression cleared after a moment. “Did Anthony say anything? Before y’all started brawlin’?”
“Naw,” Elias said, “but he looked very, very surprised.”
Cahuani stood up with another soft laugh, patting Elias’s shoulder one more time. Cahuani and Tlalli shared a knowing look, and he figured he need not say anything else for now. He kissed her cheek as he passed and headed up to the house to collect the rest of his belongings. It wouldn’t be long before the angels did whatever they were gonna do.
Of course, he really only cared to take one thing. It was the only thing he could not under any circumstances leave behind: a porcelain box on his dresser, in which his wife’s ashes were held. He might be ready to start over, but that did not mean he was leaving her behind.