9. Daniel
Daniel
On the other side of Pandemonium, dark forest gave way to rocky swampland.
Jagged boulders jutted up out of the flat ground, and pools of murky liquid that Daniel didn’t dare call ‘water’ bubbled and sifted around the boulders.
The ground was soft beneath their feet as they picked their way through.
There was no clear path, so Daniel resigned himself to following Chaol, who did his best to find dry land, though he did occasionally have to fly Daniel from spot to spot.
In the distance, a long, flat hill jutted up into the sky, too small to be called a mountain.
Light emanated from the other side of it, and when Daniel asked about it, Chaol grimly explained that the Pit was on the other side. It was too close for comfort.
Large, winged creatures soared overhead sometimes, and each time, Daniel stiffened.
There was no cover here, nowhere to take shelter if something decided to dive toward them.
Chaol didn’t seem overly concerned, though he did keep an eye on the sky whenever one of the creatures passed over them.
Daniel didn’t know if his cloak was to thank or if the creatures were just uninterested in them.
All in all, it was a long and dirty walk.
Whatever the liquid was soaked into his boots and the bottom half of his jeans despite his best efforts to avoid it, staining him like black oil.
His boots sank into the muck frequently, and he and Chaol both cursed colorfully throughout the day.
They were both painted in the stuff soon enough, hands slapping into the muck whenever they lost their balance.
The sky was darkening, and Daniel was beginning to fret about being caught in the swamp after nightfall, when Chaol finally said, “Up ahead. We’re almost there.”
Daniel couldn’t see anything up ahead but more boulders, but he felt it when the ground changed, taking them down a shallow, slippery hill. At the bottom, a black pool spread out before them, cradled on the other side by huge, jagged rocks that almost reminded him of a stylized sun or star.
They stopped by the edge of the pool, which was a solid rock that appeared to have sunk into the pool, providing them somewhere solid to stand at last. Chaol doubled over, putting his hands on his knees and panting for breath.
It had been a long and grueling walk, indeed, if even the demon was feeling it.
He was coated in the black stuff. It covered both arms, and at some point during the day had wound up smeared all over his abdomen, too.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Daniel snorted out a laugh.
Chaol looked up at him in offense. “What the hell are you laughing at?”
Daniel gestured to him and then himself. “Us. Look at us. We’re a mess.”
Chaol shook his head, shooting him an exasperated smile. “Funny. Worth it, I hope.”
With trepidation, Daniel cast his gaze toward the black pool. “Yeah, I hope so, too.”
“Perhaps I can help with that,” a new voice said, and they both whirled to face it.
A pale figure emerged from the shadows. Bald and wearing a sharp black suit, the man who approached them carried with him an aura of danger.
His shiny black shoes didn’t sink into the muck; he walked on top of it as though weightless.
His golden eyes found Daniel’s, and he smiled, baring canines that were just this side of too sharp.
Dark veins were visible under his too-pale skin, and Daniel took an instinctive step back.
“Who are you?”
“Holy shit,” Chaol breathed, stiffening.
Daniel frowned over at him. “What?”
Chaol ducked his head, gripping Daniel’s wrist tightly. “Lucifer,” he breathed.
Shock—and fear—stole the breath from Daniel’s lungs, and his body tensed to fight or flee. Probably flee. There was no way he could go toe to toe with Lucifer. He’d barely survived the angel. How much more could this place throw at him?
Lucifer waved a hand through the air. “Please, don’t be afraid. I come to offer you a deal.”
“You want me to make a deal… with you,” Daniel said in disbelief, and Chaol’s hand tightened around his wrist in warning.
Lucifer’s head turned in the direction they’d come from, toward the swamp and Pandemonium somewhere beyond it. “I seem to have a snake in my hen house.”
Daniel swallowed hard. “The angel.”
“Yes. He came here not with Heaven’s blessing, and I wish to see him leave.”
“Why don’t you just kill him? You’re Lucifer.”
Lucifer smiled again. “An angel cannot be killed here in Hell. We could battle for eternity and neither of us would ever win. But he shouldn’t be here. What he’s doing is an abomination.”
“What is he doing?” Daniel asked. “I thought demons couldn’t be killed here, either, but he sure as hell killed that demon in Pandemonium.”
Lucifer sighed, his dark brows drawing together. “Exactly. He is stealing the Wrath of demons.”
“Wrath,” Chaol repeated.
“A human has a soul. An angel has Grace. A demon has Wrath.”
Daniel knew it. He knew demons had some kind of life-force. It was the only thing that made sense.
“Why does he want it?” Daniel asked.
“That I do not know,” Lucifer said, clasping his hands in front of himself and looking almost mournful.
“For nothing good, I would imagine. Wrath, like Grace, is a particularly powerful substance. It grants demons their strength, their immortality. To steal it, to consume it, I assume would make him much more powerful. Why he wants that power, I can’t say.
All I know is that he cannot be permitted to stay here. ”
“What does that have to do with us?” Daniel asked.
Lucifer gestured to the black pool. “I can help you transform into something far more powerful than a halfling. In doing so, you will become a target of the angel. Lead him to the nearest gate—your kalmach friend here knows where to find it—and lead him from Hell to Earth. There, he will have a physical body and can be killed.”
“No,” Chaol said immediately. “No, hell no, you’re not using Daniel as bait.”
Daniel’s heart lurched with fear for Chaol, but Lucifer didn’t even look at him.
His gaze rested resolutely on Daniel. “You are a warrior. You know your fight on Earth isn’t over.
Granting you more power will help you protect your loved ones in their upcoming war.
They’ll need you, and they’ll need the power I am offering you. ”
That was exactly what he wanted. It was why he’d come all this way. If he could make himself stronger to help his friends, it was a foregone conclusion. He didn’t know what kind of demon he would become, but it didn’t matter. He was Daniel Garcia. He would always do what he could to help.
Chaol tugged on his wrist. “Danny, no. No.”
Daniel sighed, meeting his eyes. “Chaol, that angel can’t be allowed to stay here.”
“Why does it have to be you?”
“Because it does,” Daniel said simply. “Because I’m the only one here who can make the transformation. Do you see any other humans lining up to become demons?”
Chaol shifted from foot to foot. “I just…”
Daniel gently removed Chaol’s hand from his wrist. “I’ll be okay.”
“You will be uniquely prepared for battle,” Lucifer added. “I will even gift you with a hellfire blade to help you along the way.”
“Will I be able to kill the angel with that?” Daniel could barely believe the words left his mouth. He was seriously talking about killing an angel. Up until a few days ago, he hadn’t even known for sure that angels existed.
A small, almost deprecating smile crossed Lucifer’s face. “No. Hellish weapons can’t kill an angel. But it should level the playing field.”
“What can kill an angel?” Chaol asked.
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t need you,” Lucifer replied with an arch look.
Chaol laughed humorlessly. “So you want us to throw ourselves in this rogue angel’s path and just hope for the best?”
Lucifer’s gaze cooled, and Daniel instinctively stepped in front of Chaol.
“No. I want to give your human here a chance to lure him to the surface, where you can then find a method of killing him. As I understand it, this human already has some powerful demons in his company. You’ll have allies when you get to the surface. ”
Daniel tilted his head. “You know about that?”
Lucifer’s smile was sharp. “I keep an eye on the surface.”
A little shiver rolled down Daniel’s spine. Lucifer had been watching them? For how long?
“Let’s just say I have a vested interest in what you and your allies have been doing.”
He couldn’t believe that. “Really? But—we hunt demons.”
“You hunt the animals who slip through the cracks to the surface,” Lucifer said, inclining his head. “They are inconsequential. Your quarrel with the paladins, however, will leave a lasting impression on multiple realms.”
Daniel goggled at that.
Lucifer waved a hand at the pool. “Well? What do you say?”
Swallowing hard, Daniel met Chaol’s glittering black eyes, a galaxy of concern just for him. “Guess I’ll see you on the other side.”
Chaol inhaled sharply. “Danny…”
Daniel tried to nod and shake his head both, bobbing it in an awkward circle. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be okay. Temporary pain in exchange for a whole eternity together, right?”
Chaol glanced at Lucifer, then back to Daniel. “I-I thought I could handle watching you do this, but…”
Daniel understood. He wouldn’t like watching Chaol put himself through something painful, either.
He hooked a hand around Chaol’s neck and drew him down for a kiss.
One last kiss as a human. He tried to commit it to memory, the shape of Chaol’s mouth and the taste of his skin. It was over all too soon.
And then he backed away. He didn’t take his eyes off Chaol as the black liquid sloshed around his ankles, his knees, his thighs.
It was freezing cold, and his breath shuddered in and out of him.
Tension filled his body as the liquid reached his chest and shoulders.
The last thing he saw was Chaol’s handsome face, lined with misery, before he sucked down one last breath and disappeared beneath the surface.
He didn’t know what to expect. The liquid around him seemed to block out all light, but he got the sense that he was sinking.
It occurred to him that he had no idea how deep this pool actually was.
How far down would he go? His fingers clenched into fists at his sides.
How long was he supposed to wait? The anticipation was almost worse than pain.
When his lungs began screaming for air, he tried to swim back to the surface, but his limbs didn’t obey him.
He couldn’t move. He tried to thrash, but it felt like his body was numb.
He was going to drown. Panic shot through him.
He couldn’t hold his breath any longer. It hurt-hurt-hurt, oh God.
He couldn’t die here, but his lizard brain didn’t understand that.
All he knew was that he needed air and there wasn’t any to be found down here.
His body convulsed as his mouth opened against his will.
Black fluid flooded into his lungs, and sharp pain radiated through him, spreading from his chest through every inch of his body.
His blood was boiling in his veins. Muscle shredded below skin.
Organs cooked in his belly. His skin felt like it was on fire even though he was submerged in icy liquid.
He couldn’t scream, but that didn’t stop him from opening his mouth and trying anyway.