13. Chaol
Chaol
As everyone crowded around the meeting area to listen to Daniel’s story, Chaol hung back, realizing he’d made an error in judgment.
He should have told Daniel the truth before now.
He’d given Daniel part of the truth, but not all of it.
Things had gotten so hectic down in Hell that he hadn’t stopped to consider what would happen once they reached the surface.
Now, his heart sank into his gut, because he knew—he knew—these were the demons responsible for killing Amon, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it without jeopardizing everything he and Daniel were together.
His heart was torn between fury and despair.
Was his allegiance still to the last of his clan, or to Daniel? How was he supposed to decide?
His body shook with adrenaline, ready to attack at a moment’s notice, but he held himself in check.
Daniel wouldn’t like it, and none of these people would let him get away with attacking one of their own.
Even if he could take two leviathans at the same time, which would be difficult, there was no way he could also take the behemoth and the sin eater they called allies.
He didn’t even know if the behemoth and sin eater had been involved in Amon’s death. He was strong, but not that strong.
Daniel didn’t know Amon was his brother.
He didn’t know his allies had killed the last member of Chaol’s clan.
That was Chaol’s fault, and now he was standing in a room with the people who had done it.
He’d thought he’d known how this moment would go.
He would hunt them down. They would fight, and just before he killed them, he would tell them exactly why he was killing them.
But instead he was hesitating. Daniel wouldn’t like it, and down in Hell, Daniel had become his priority.
He lingered apart from everyone else for long enough that Daniel turned, seeking him out, and Talon followed his gaze, tilting his head at whatever he saw on Chaol’s face.
“We know the harbinger,” he said, pointing to Draego, who studied them all silently, “given that up until now there was only one. Who’s this?”
“That’s Chaol,” Daniel said, a slow frown furrowing his brow. “He helped me get through Hell.”
“A kalmach,” Talon said, “helped you out of the goodness of his… heart?” He looked skeptical, and Chaol stiffened.
Tension thickened the air, and Chaol’s focus narrowed as survival instincts started to kick in.
“Kalmach,” Alex repeated, looking between them with growing concern.
“Yes,” Chaol bit out. “So?”
“We had a problem a while back with a kalmach,” Shadrach said, studying Chaol and Talon, who were staring at each other.
Daniel took a step closer. “Chaol is mine, Talon.” Steel threaded through his voice.
“I just want to make sure he means no harm,” Talon said. “The last one we met was volatile.”
Chaol’s jaw pulsed. “Volatile?” he repeated. They helped the paladins kill him, hadn’t they? Amon wouldn’t have been volatile if they hadn’t gotten involved. The paladins were their enemies, too, after all. Why would they help them?
“Chaol,” Daniel said softly, but Chaol couldn’t look away from Talon’s glittering black eyes. Did he know?
“He attacked the Paladin Guild,” Talon explained calmly, his midnight eyes unblinking. “Tried to kill a lot of people, using a method that also killed a lot of people.”
“Maybe if you’d minded your own business, you wouldn’t have found him so volatile,” Chaol growled.
Talon’s eyes narrowed shrewdly. “How did you know him?” he asked. The rest of the room had gone silent, and the crowd of humans inched away from the pair of posturing demons while the other demons in the room closed in, preparing to intervene.
Chaol fisted his hands at his sides. The colors in the room sharpened as he fought the transformation, the color bleaching from his skin despite his best efforts.
“He hasn’t said anything about another kalmach,” Daniel said. It was angry, defensive. “Chaol, look at me.”
Chaol couldn’t. He was already bending. Looking into Daniel’s earnest eyes would break him, and he didn’t know which direction the pieces would fall. He couldn’t afford the weakness.
“But you did know him, didn’t you?” Talon needled. “I know you kalmachs do things differently than the rest of us. You flock together, don’t you?” There was a mocking edge to it, challenging Chaol to keep his calm, and he bared his teeth in response.
Daniel stepped closer, wariness and confusion and irritation warring for dominance on his face.
“Don’t talk about things you don’t understand, leviathan,” Chaol warned.
“I understand perfectly,” Talon replied coolly. “And I think I know why you’re really here.”
Against his will, Chaol’s gaze cut toward Daniel, who’d stopped halfway to him, looking between them. Something vulnerable flashed across his face as he said, “He’s here with me.”
Talon wasn’t swayed. “And for what other purpose?”
Daniel looked plaintively at Chaol. “Tell them. Tell them they’re wrong.”
Guilt flashed through him. He’d had his chance to tell Daniel the whole truth, and he’d chosen not to. Here was his consequence.
“Chaol, tell them,” Daniel said again.
“Yes, Chaol,” Talon said. “Tell us.”
He lunged toward Talon, and the words tore from his lips in an angry snarl.
“He was my brother!” His fist made contact with Talon’s cheek, and then chaos ensued.
Demons rushed forward to stop them, but none were as fast as Daniel, who wrapped both arms around Chaol and spun their backs to Talon, putting Daniel’s body between them.
“No, don’t! Don’t do this, please!” Daniel said in his ear.
Chaol roared, trying to pry off Daniel’s arms. “Let me go!” Goddamn him, he was stronger than Chaol now. He couldn’t possibly pry himself loose unless Daniel wanted him to.
“Promise me you won’t hurt him.”
“No!”
“Then I can’t let you go.” His mouth pressed to Chaol’s throat. “Please, Chaol. Please don’t do this.”
“They killed my brother!”
Daniel’s lips pressed hard against his ear. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered, and Chaol wanted to sink into the floor. He never wanted Daniel to be hurt by his vendetta.
Chaol sagged in defeat. He couldn’t win this. Even if Daniel wasn’t standing between them, he could never take on two leviathans, a sin eater, a behemoth, and a room full of ex-paladins and halflings. This was never going to work.
“Just let me go,” he rasped, burning with humiliation and disappointment.
“You won’t—”
“No, I won’t. Just let me go.”
Daniel’s arms slid away, his hands coming to a stop on Chaol’s waist. “Chaol…”
Chaol couldn’t stand there a second longer.
His skin crawled with the need to get away.
He jerked out of Daniel’s grip and strode to the door with one last poisonous look at Talon, who was reassuring his human that he was okay.
He couldn’t stay here; not for another second. Not even for Daniel’s sake.
The parking lot was filled with cars of all shapes and sizes.
They looked different than he remembered from the seventies.
Chaol wondered which one belonged to Talon and whether he could smash the windshield before Daniel stopped him.
It was a nice idea, if not terribly practical.
The night sky was black, the stars barely visible thanks to the city’s light pollution.
His wings sprouted from his back, the familiar weight of them a relief to his restless muscles.
“Chaol, wait!” Daniel’s voice was stark with hurt and vulnerability. “Don’t do this. Please don’t go.”
Chaol closed his eyes. He couldn’t turn around and face the hurt on Daniel’s face. “I’m sorry,” he breathed, and then with a flex of his wings, he shot into the night sky.