Chaol #2
She softened. “We aren’t supposed to interfere.
It’s been our greatest and most sacrosanct law.
Angels have no control over what happens in Hell or what its inhabitants do.
The leaders of Hell don’t mind if demons come to the surface.
Many of you come with no intention of killing anyone, but as you know, not all are so benevolent.
They should be Hell’s responsibility.” Her golden eyes met Talon’s, then bounced from demon to demon.
“Which you are in the process of correcting.”
“Holy shit,” Luke murmured.
“So this really is what’s supposed to happen,” Talon said. “We were supposed to form this group and help our humans with their demon problem.”
She smiled. “Yes. And together, you will be far more efficient than humans alone could be. They will be safer and more secure with you by their sides.”
Malachi suddenly barked out a laugh. “They already complain about not seeing any action when we patrol with them.”
Menadel inclined her head, looking amused. “That’s the way it should be.”
Talon hummed thoughtfully. “Demons policing demons. I guess it has merit.”
“We just have to deal with an angel and the rest of the guild first,” Nicolas said. “How do we do that? How do we stop Ramiel?”
Menadel sighed. Regret passed across her face. “Only one can kill him. When an angel is created, the prophecy of their death is created along with them. We cannot be killed by any other method than the one foretold.”
“And what’s the prophecy?” Talon asked, glancing at Ira, who shrugged.
“Each prophecy is closely guarded. I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to divulge it.”
Talon rolled his eyes so hard his head moved. For one begrudging moment, Chaol agreed with him. The angel wasn’t being particularly forthcoming. Was warding the Rink her only real contribution to the cause?
“Then what do we do?” Daniel asked. “Just twiddle our thumbs and wait until the prophecy is fulfilled? This guy is actively coming after us.”
“That is why I am here,” Menadel said, straightening her shoulders. “I will do what I can to help you fight him.”
“For how long?” Chaol asked. Ramiel was incredibly powerful. Would they have the upper hand at all, even with Menadel’s help? They needed to stop him. Permanently.
“Not long,” she said slowly. “I believe the prophecy will come to pass soon.”
“You need to tell us what this prophecy says,” Daniel pressed.
“I cannot,” Menadel said. She clasped her hands in front of her. “But you will learn it soon enough.”
“How?” Talon demanded.
She turned to look at someone across the room. Chaol followed her gaze to Ira, who looked unamused.
“Of course,” Ira drawled.
“Great, so we just have to wait for Ira to have a vision about it,” Talon said, flapping a frustrated hand.
“In the meantime,” Menadel said, “I suggest you remain vigilant. Ramiel is nearby, working with your enemies, and if he learns that so many powerful demons have congregated in one place, he won’t hesitate.”
Beside Daniel, Nicolas sighed, folding his arms. “About that. We really appreciate everything you’ve done for us, but do you think it would be safe for us to patrol? Ashmedai needs to feed.”
Chaol glanced over at the sin eater by the snack bar. Right. He ate sins. He’d seen plenty of sin eaters in the Pit, but he didn’t know what it looked like for one to eat sins on the surface. What did that entail? Was it bloody? That was something he wanted to see.
Menadel glanced between Nicolas and Ashmedai. “There is some risk involved. If you leave the safety of the wards, Ramiel could sense the demonic energy. You might be safe, and you might not. If you choose to go, it would be wise to take backup.”
“We’ll come,” Julian said, gesturing to Valac.
“So will we,” Daniel said.
Chaol blinked at him. Sure, he’d given it a passing thought, but he hadn’t expected Daniel to volunteer them. “We will?”
Daniel bestowed him with a sweet smile. “Yeah. Or, I guess you don’t have to come if you don’t want to. I just thought patrolling again might be fun.”
Chaol tilted his head. “I’ll come. Might be fun, and it’s got to be better than hanging around here.
” The crowd of humans staying in the Rink still eyed him with distrust, and he’d rather gnaw his own arm off than spend any amount of time in the same room as the leviathans, who were, at this moment, right across the room with their humans.
Neither of them looked over, but he had no doubt they could hear them.
Ashmedai silently joined them. “Ready?” he rasped.
“Yes,” Nicolas said, perking up and offering the hooded demon a besotted smile. “Shall we?”
A low rumble left Ashmedai as they turned toward the door. “Hope we find paladins tonight. Hungry.”
Chaol eyed him curiously as they fell into step together outside, moving away from the Rink. “Do the humans back there not care that you kill people? The ones who have just recently left the guild, I mean. Did they not find it difficult to accept working with demons?”
“Some did,” Nicolas said, “and others still do. I mean, a lot of them don’t actually work with us.
They just came to us because they had nowhere else to go.
We’re working on getting their personal information set up so they can get jobs and start building their own lives.
The guild keeps stuff like our birth certificates and social security cards.
Talon’s got the halflings working on replacing all of that, either with copies or replacements, but it’s a slow process.
And since they’d rather be here than fight us, we try to be patient with them.
We all had to go through a little deprogramming to accept the demons in our lives.
” He cast them a rueful smile. “Some more than others, I guess. Like Julian, he’d already left the guild before he and Valac were a thing.
He didn’t have to choose between the two. ”
Julian shrugged one shoulder. “I did some deprogramming, too. I just did a lot of it silently while I was still in the guild. I did a lot of soul-searching. A lot of questioning my own morals and sense of justice. I just didn’t want to hurt anyone who wouldn’t hurt me.
As it turns out, that includes some demons.
Halflings mostly mean no harm. Sin eaters only eat sins; they don’t hurt innocent people.
Valac was a guardian of the gates of Hell; he didn’t have much to do with humans of any kind.
” He shook his head helplessly. “It didn’t make sense to me to hate something that didn’t want to harm me. ”
“And as it turned out, the paladins meant far more harm than any demon,” Nicolas said darkly.
“So all the paladins who remain with the guild,” Chaol said slowly, “are the ones who would kill you all for your tolerance of demonkind?”
“As far as we know, yeah,” Nicolas said. “There are a few who didn’t leave that I’m surprised about, but if they’ve chosen to stay for some other reason, they’re keeping it to themselves.”
“They think we’re abominations,” Julian said, tugging Valac’s meaty arm around his shoulders, “because we don’t just tolerate demons, we’re in relationships with them.”
“They’d understand if they’d fuck one,” Daniel said suddenly, and Julian choked on a laugh.
Chaol grinned. “Good luck finding a demon who’d fuck one of them.”
“I know a few who like a challenge,” Valac mused.
Julian turned wide eyes toward them. “Hey, I heard Draego say there’s a human in the guild right now that he wants to protect. Wonder which one it is.”
“We shall find out soon enough, I suspect,” Valac said. He towered over the rest of them, eyes scanning the empty street ahead of them.
Julian hummed. “Ira probably knows.”
“Ira definitely knows,” Daniel said. “He told Talon he’s staying out of this one, though. We overheard them talking.”
Chaol scowled at the mention of the leviathan, and Daniel didn’t miss it, reeling him in and smacking a kiss to his cheek.
“You still good with being here?” he asked softly. The others turned away and pretended to give them privacy, though they were all well within earshot, even the humans. Chaol appreciated the attempt at discretion.
Chaol mustered a smile. “I’m with you.”
Talon and Shadrach weren’t the real problem, anyway.
Amon could have chosen not to do Lilith’s bidding.
He could have chosen to stay in Hell with Chaol instead of whipping the possessors into a frenzy and teaching them how to burst from their hosts.
Amon was the real reason Chaol had been left alone.
He couldn’t blame the leviathans for protecting their humans.
Knowing what he knew now, he would’ve done the same.
He thought Amon would try to avenge him if the roles were reversed, but would he have? He hadn’t chosen Chaol when it mattered. Maybe Chaol was really angry at Amon for not putting their clan first—even though he and Chaol were the only ones left of it.
Chaol pushed those thoughts away and slung an arm around Daniel’s shoulders.
The past was the past. He could spend years ruminating on Amon’s motivations, but he would never have real answers.
He was here now, and that was what mattered.
The night around them was dark, and sirens wailed in the distance.
A warm, gentle breeze ruffled their hair and clothing.
Only the brightest stars were visible tonight.
The sky was like a blank canvas of potential.
Maybe he would take Daniel flying after they finished patrolling.
He could take him out over the ocean, show him how vast the world really was.
“Movement,” Valac warned. “Up ahead.”
Chaol stiffened, listening intently.
“Footsteps,” Daniel breathed.
“Humans,” Ashmedai growled, and a sinister laugh rattled out of his hood. “Dark souls.”
A group of men rounded the corner up ahead. Sword pommels were visible over their shoulders, and they stopped at the sight of the Sentinels a short distance in front of them.
“Go, baby,” Nicolas said, nudging Ashmedai.