Daniel
“Don’t worry, human, I’ll get you there.”
“You don’t like that I call you human?” Chaol glanced over at him with a teasing smile.
“I just don’t understand the aversion to using my actual name.”
Chaol’s head tilted in consideration. “It’s such an ordinary name.”
“Am I… not ordinary?” He’d always considered himself so.
“A former paladin trekking through Hell to become a demon? No, I can’t say anything like that has ever happened before.”
“Well, I don’t see how ‘human’ is any better.”
“Hm, you’re right. You’re far too unique for something so plain.”
Could he blush without a physical body? His face definitely felt like it was burning.
“You’ve got a dark streak, that’s for sure. Turned away from the light of Heaven on a crazy quest to get back to the physical world. You’re willing to damn yourself to get what you want. No one in history has done this, as far as I know.”
Daniel fidgeted. He didn’t embrace the idea of damning his soul and becoming a demon, but if it was the only way to get back to Earth, so be it. “No one? What about all the other halflings?”
“They were sent here. No, I’ve never heard of a human soul choosing to come to Hell to become a demon. That’s the kind of thing people would talk about.”
Would people talk about him, Daniel wondered?
Would little demons one day tell the story of the human who chose to come to Hell?
Probably not if he got eaten by something along the way.
The thought made his stomach turn. He just wanted to get back to his family.
He didn’t care what anyone said about him, as long as this crazy plan worked.
Daniel’s boot scuffed across an uneven block of stone. How could these trees even grow up through the stone? It didn’t make sense. Nothing about this place made sense. Maybe that was part of what made it so awful. The logistics alone were making his head hurt.
“Being a demon doesn’t seem so bad. You get to live forever. Some of you even find love.”
“Love?” Chaol laughed. “If you say so.”
Daniel shot him a scowl. “I’ve seen it. Ashmedai is totally devoted to my brother.
Watching them circle each other was wild, but they worked it out.
Nic seemed really happy the last time I saw him—at least where things with Ash were concerned.
” He didn’t actually remember the last time he saw Nicolas, but what little he could recall seemed good.
Nicolas and Ashmedai standing together, leaning against one another.
The abject contentment on Nicolas’s face had sent an unusual, momentary shot of envy coursing through him, though it didn’t lessen how genuinely glad he’d been to see his big brother so happy.
Chaol spun to a stop, looking at Daniel like he’d just heard something scandalous. “Are you telling me a sin eater is living on the surface in a romantic relationship with a human?”
“Yes? And he’s not the only one. Several halflings have found humans, a couple of leviathans, and a behemoth, too. Valac, remember? I mentioned him. He’s with my best friend, Julian.”
Chaol’s ink black eyes were wide. “I thought you were joking.”
Daniel frowned. “Well, I wasn’t.” He stomped away—in the direction they’d been walking, at least. It was annoying that Chaol wouldn’t believe him about the relationships between the demons and humans in the Sentinels’ group.
He’d never seen anyone so devoted as those demons were to their humans.
It was an enviable kind of love, but he didn’t know why it rubbed him the wrong way that Chaol didn’t believe it.
He didn’t have anything to prove to Chaol.
So what if this demon thought he was full of it?
He was just a demon—but the words rang hollow as he thought them.
He wasn’t just a demon; they’d been getting along.
And for some reason it bothered him that Chaol thought demons couldn’t find love.
Why did he care? He shouldn’t care.
A strong hand snagged his arm and whirled him around. Daniel glared up at him—he wasn’t a short man, but most demons, it seemed, were taller than him.
“I’ve offended you,” Chaol said.
“No,” Daniel snapped.
Chaol arched one unfairly sculpted brow. Why did every demon have to look so perfect? They were either monsters straight out of a nightmare or fit for the red carpet. There was no in-between.
“You know what?” Daniel jerked his arm free, flustered and not understanding why. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care if you don’t believe me. I don’t care if you think I’m full of shit. All I care about is getting home to the people I love.”
Chaol crowded closer, his dark eyes holding galaxies within.
Daniel reflexively raised a hand to stop him from coming closer, but instead it wound up pressed against Chaol’s bare chest. He didn’t even try to push him away.
The sensation of warm skin under his palm brought him up short, and all his anger left in a rush as he stared at his hand.
He had no physical body here, but this felt just as real and solid as anything on Earth.
He also realized, in that moment, that he was at a significant disadvantage here.
If Chaol decided to abandon him, he’d almost certainly be stuck here for eternity.
He had no idea where to go or how to become a demon and make his way back to Earth.
Without Chaol, he was screwed. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to pick a fight with his only ally in Hell.
But Chaol didn’t seem angry. He tilted his head, his night black eyes roaming Daniel’s face. “Come on, darkling. We better keep moving.”
Daniel couldn’t decide whether that was an insult or not, but ultimately, it wasn’t worth arguing about.
When the sky began to darken, Chaol found a shallow cave nearby—or maybe he’d already known it was there—and led Daniel inside the dark hole.
He huddled against the wall with his knees raised in front of him, wondering how he’d ever manage to fall asleep in a place like this.
The cave was both narrow and shallow. Daniel wasn’t sure he’d be able to lay flat without his feet sticking out.
Did he even need sleep in Hell? If he had no physical body, did that mean he couldn’t get tired?
Would they just sit here in silence until morning, waiting for the darkness to run out and the light to return?
Daniel didn’t know if he could handle that.
Low-grade panic was already starting to set in.
He thought about voicing his concerns, but before he could decide whether to break the tentative silence that had fallen over them, a hiss cut through the air and a flame appeared in Chaol’s hand.
He lowered it, and a pile of sticks slowly caught fire, illuminating the narrow cavern and revealing a matchstick in Chaol’s hand.
“Can I sleep?” Daniel asked, hugging his elbows.
Chaol leaned back against the stone wall across from him, lounging in a way that looked both comfortable and effortless. “Are you asking permission?”
Daniel sputtered. “W-What? No! I’m asking if it’s possible. You said I don’t have a physical body. Does that mean I don’t need sleep?”
Chaol’s head bobbed from side to side. “Need it, no, probably not. Plenty of demons sleep down here, though. Sometimes it’s the only way to pass the time. Sleeping is as much mental as it is physical.”
Daniel hummed. That was good to know, although he wasn’t sure he’d actually be able to sleep here.
The nights in Hell were darker than the ones on Earth.
There was no moon or stars in the sky, just an endless blanket of black.
Occasionally, shrieks or screams or snarls would break the silence.
Each time, Daniel tensed, squinting uselessly out at the darkness.
Chaol never reacted, feeding sticks from a pile at the back of the cave into the fire to keep it going.
To distract himself, Daniel asked, “Did you know this cave was here? Have you been here before?”
“Yes. I’m the one who left these here.” He brandished one of the sticks before tossing it in the fire.
“Light keeps away some of the worst of the monsters. Pandemonium is lit with hellfire to keep the beasts away. They tend to tear things up, uncivilized as they are. On nights when I didn’t feel like flying home, I’d stop in a place like this and light a fire to keep the worst of them away. ”
“Would they bother you? I thought demons didn’t really bother with other demons.”
Chaol tilted his head to one side. “The beasts do, yes, if only to see if I have anything worth taking. Or eating.”
Daniel suppressed a shudder. “And Pandemonium, that’s the city we saw when we were in the air?”
“Yes. It’s where the sapient demons live.”
“Do you live there?”
The firelight reflected in Chaol’s dark eyes. “I do.”
Daniel suspected there was a lot going unsaid in that statement.
“Will we… have to go there?” How the hell would he walk through an entire city full of demons?
“We will. We’ll have to pass through it to get to the transformation pool.”
Daniel’s stomach roiled with anxiety. “How dangerous will it be?”
“As dangerous as every other part of the underworld is—for a human. There aren’t any humans there, so your presence will draw a lot of attention. We could go around, but that would take longer.”
“How am I supposed to sneak through a demon city if they can all sense my presence?”
“There are ways of hiding a human presence. I can’t do that yet, because I don’t have the materials, but once we’re closer to the city I should be able to find something.
And don’t worry, I’ll be escorting you. If any demons learn about your presence, they’d have to fight me to take you, and most won’t bother.
Demons are opportunistic. Like vultures.
They don’t want to fight for their meals. Not with the Pit so close by.”
“Most?” Daniel repeated, feeling ill. His body didn’t seem to care that he couldn’t physically get sick. It was going to threaten to anyway.
Chaol smiled. “Don’t fret, darkling. We’ll make it.”
Daniel turned away with a sigh—and froze. Out in the darkness, movement caught his eye. A pale face appeared at the edge of the firelight.
He knew that face. He saw it in his dreams. It had once sneered at him on a quiet street sidewalk, morphed into fury and punched his friend, Alex.
A paladin who called them monsters, Casey had drawn his blade with the intention of killing Alex that night.
So Daniel had killed him first. Run him through with his blade.
Daniel remembered the sick twist of his gut when he’d done it, and later, the way he’d fallen to his knees when he was alone and prayed for forgiveness.
“You killed me,” Casey rasped. His voice barely sounded human. His pale hands clawed at his throat, like it hurt to speak. Daniel could barely make out his features in the darkness. “You killed me. You belong here. Monster!”
“Ignore it,” Chaol said calmly. He didn’t even glance over at it. “It can’t come into the light.”
“What is it?” Daniel asked, shivering. He clenched his teeth to keep them from chattering.
“Some kind of wraith. It preys on the guilt of the human souls.”
“Murderer,” the wraith croaked, inching closer and then backing away when the light proved too strong. “Killer. Ssssinner.” Its body jerked like a marionette, joints creaking as it shifted in the darkness.
Daniel pressed his hands to either side of his head, staring into the fire.
“Deserve to be punissshed. Deserve to be heeere.”
“No, no, no,” he whimpered.
“Step into the dark,” the raspy voice said. “Begin your penanccce.”
Daniel looked at it again. He couldn’t help it.
His breaths were short and quick. Chaol said something, but it sounded far away, like it was coming from the end of a long pipe.
The monster was horrifying, but it was right.
He’d killed a human being. He deserved to be here, didn’t he?
All his life he’d tried to do good, but maybe he was no better than the guild, the ones he’d cast judgment upon.
He was a sinner in his own way, just like them.
Was one really any better than the other?
Maybe he did belong here.
“No.” Chaol stepped in front of him, breaking his line of sight with the creature.
Daniel stared at his pale back. He didn’t remember standing up or moving to the edge of the light.
He laid a hand on Chaol’s bare back, and Chaol backed up into the touch.
The warmth of his skin chased away the ghoulish cold that had settled over him, and the fog lifted from his mind. Had that creature hypnotized him?
“He’s mine.” Chaol’s voice rang out. “Leave or die.”
The wraith chuckled. “Yours for now. Ours for eternity.”
Chaol reached back blindly and snagged Daniel’s wrist. “Stay in the light, no matter what.”
“But…”
Chaol lunged away. Daniel dimly saw the wraith’s face slacken with shock.
It shrieked—in fear or outrage, he couldn’t guess—and then with a sickening crunch, the noise cut off.
Gratuitous ripping and tearing sounds followed, and Daniel backed away from the cave entrance, kneeling by the fire and adding some wood to keep it going.
His teeth chattered in earnest now. The stone was frigid against his back.
When Chaol returned, he was licking black blood from his fingers and looking particularly satisfied. He didn’t sit across from Daniel again. Instead he sat directly beside him, between Daniel and the cave entrance.
“Some of the demons here, they have this way of getting in your head,” Chaol explained, leaning in far too close for comfort. His eyes glittered like starlight. “Hypnotizing you, almost. You mustn’t let them get to you.”
Chaol’s body was impossibly warm, and Daniel found himself leaning closer, pressing their shoulders together and trying to absorb it. “Thank you for stepping in. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t broken the spell. I didn’t even know I’d stood up.”
“I know exactly what would’ve happened if I hadn’t,” Chaol said. “Trust me when I say you don’t want to know. And… you’re welcome.”
With an unceremonious tug, he guided Daniel’s head onto his shoulder.
“Sleep, darkling. It’ll be a very long night if you don’t.”
Daniel balked at the idea of sleeping with his head on Chaol’s shoulder, but whenever he tried to move, Chaol’s hand tightened on his forearm as though to reel him back in.
With a sigh, Daniel rearranged his legs so his knees were facing Chaol and his body wasn’t quite so twisted.
He might not have a physical body here, but he didn’t want to risk waking with a crick in his neck.
“Just for the record, I’m getting some very mixed signals from you,” Daniel murmured as he closed his eyes. It would take him ages to fall asleep like this.
Chaol hummed, but if he replied, Daniel didn’t hear it. His exhausted mind was already drifting away on the currents of sleep.