Escaping From Daddy Issues
After two more hours of torment, consisting mainly of blows by fist, foot, and claw, Ramsilel stormed out, fists bloody.
His muttered curses reached a grinning Malachi who slumped on the floor, one fang suspiciously loose.
He mumbled, “No, wait. Don’t go. Come back, I’ll tell you everything!
” He snorted and spat blood on the floor.
“Dumb fuck didn’t even ask me anything. It’s like he just wanted to kick my ass to see if it would get the angel here.
” Raising his voice, he shouted, “Bet you wouldn’t have done that if I wasn’t chained up! ”
Groaning after the door slammed, he sat up gingerly, wiggling his tooth with his tongue.
“Damn it, that’s my good side.” Glancing around, studying his surroundings once more, he sneered.
“B-movie setup. One out of ten stars, would not recommend.” Tucking his wings around his body, he shivered slightly as his whole frame was racked with pain.
“C’mon, Flick and Nick. Where are you? Get me out of here.
” He knew he would heal quickly, but he also didn’t care for the interim pain and wasn’t looking forward to the next round.
The tiniest scuffle reached his ears, and his head jerked up as his eyes searched the corners for the source.
Finally, his gaze breached the gloom to see a small demon crouching behind a pile of barrels.
The furtive movements allowed him to find the little creature in the dark room.
“Hey,” he called softly, twitching his numb fingers at the boy.
“What are you doing in here? I’m not going to hurt you.
Can’t exactly hurt anyone at the moment. ”
The thin, dark gray body moved closer, finally pausing in a small beam of light from a jagged tiny hole high in the ceiling.
His eyes widened as he came fully into view.
His turquoise gaze glittered, and a swath of jet-black hair slid over his shoulder like an onyx waterfall when he realized how clearly Malachi could see him.
“You!” Malachi shouted incredulously. Lowering his volume when the small boy cringed, he repeated, “You. You were behind the fence at my house. You were spying on me and Chuck. Then you disappeared when I caught you. What are you doing here?”
The boy continued to stare, lips slightly parted, fingers opening and closing at his side, still taking in the sight of the larger demon chained to the wall. “I wanted to see you,” he finally whispered as his eyes continued to roam over Malachi’s form.
Nodding slowly, but still not understanding, Malachi crossed his ankles casually as if settling in to have a friendly chat.
“Alright, so now you can see me. Am I what you expected? Better? Worse? What’s your name?
” He tried to adjust his wings but winced when his ribs throbbed from the pulverizing blows he’d received.
Tilting his head, the young demon closed his mouth and frowned. Small black feathered wings fluttered behind him in a nervous gesture. His lips parted again, and he whispered, “Mordecai.”
Nodding once, Malachi tried to offer a charming smile to the child, although he figured the effect might be ruined by the blood still coating his teeth. “Mordecai. Nice to meet you. I’m Malachi.”
Mordecai bobbed his head rapidly, now eager to speak since the barrier had been broken.
“I know. I’ve been following you. I wanted to find you, see what you were like.
But… I didn’t know if you wanted to see me.
” He glanced down, color rushing into his cheeks, turning them a bright searing tomato red.
Studying the young boy, Malachi had a sudden sickening thought. “You… you kind of look like me. You… we aren’t… I’m not your father, am I?” he blurted.
Rearing back, Mordecai sputtered, “Father? What? Oh, fireballs no! That would be weird!”
Laughing in a mixture of relief and amusement at the kid’s reaction, he shook his head. “Okay, no family reunion. Got it. So, is this a good meeting or a bad one? Because I kind of feel like I’ve overstayed my welcome and I’d really like to get out of here if you know what I mean.”
“Oh! Oh yeah!” Mordecai beamed and held up a key. “That I can help with. Stole this from the lizard dude while he was busy punching the wall up there because you pissed him off. That was awesome by the way!” He grinned now, much more at ease.
Snorting in disbelief, Malachi grinned. “Kid, I like you. Now come unlock me, quickly, before that douche canoe sails back down here.”
Scurrying closer, wings fluttering excitedly, Mordecai stretched to reach the shackles and unlocked Malachi’s wrists.
Groaning as his arms fell, he rubbed his arms to get the blood flowing again.
“Asmodeus’ left nut; that’s so much better.
Thanks, Mordy. So, where’d you come from?
Why do you want to know me? Actually”—he held up one talon, gesturing to wait—“we’ll come back to that.
Do you know where we are? More importantly, do you know how we get the fuck out of here? ”
Nodding with excitement, Mordecai bounced on his toes.
“Yeah, I do know! I mean, I know where we are and how to get out of here. Yes, to both. Follow me!” He spun and hurried to the corner where he’d been hiding and pointed behind the barrels.
“There’s a tunnel back here. Um, can you do your dog form? You’re too big otherwise.”
“I can, or I turn to smoke and shadow. I’ll do that.
It’s quieter,” he explained as he dissolved himself into a dark cloud.
For a moment, he gazed at the hole in the ceiling, knowing he could just leave that way.
He swirled around the child, deciding to follow him instead to get more answers. Ready when you are, lead the way.
With awe widening his eyes, Mordecai whispered, “I wish I could do that!” He turned to the mouth of the tunnel and crouched, crawling forward on hands and knees. Glancing back at the hovering shadow, he jerked his head. “C’mon.”
Flitting along behind him, Malachi followed the young demon, pausing occasionally to check behind them. He wasn’t sure why, but the kid felt important, and he didn’t want anything to happen to him. It was strange the way he felt oddly protective of the boy.
The tunnel twisted and turned, dipped and rose until it finally grew lighter as they reached the end.
A large boulder blocked most of the opening, and Mordecai had to turn sideways to slip through.
Malachi simply floated through until he reached the other side.
Checking his surroundings carefully, he sagged with relief when he didn’t see anyone lurking in wait.
Quickly, he reformed into his natural demon body, crouching against the face of the cliff they had emerged from.
“Alright, we’re out. Good job,” he praised in a low voice, not wanting it to carry to anyone they couldn’t see.
He gazed out over the hellish landscape, cringing at the barren wasteland full of lava vents and deep crevices.
It was a nightmare come true, which was, of course, because they were in actual Hell.
“Hmm, the Deadlands, I see. How did you find me? Why are you following me?”
Mordecai stared at his feet, chewing on his lower lip thoughtfully.
“I’ve been following you, and I saw them take you.
I wanted to know you. Because I’ve heard so much about you.
I wanted to see if the stories I heard recently were true.
If you really are as different as they say.
” His eyes drifted up to get caught in Malachi’s hard stare.
“Stories?” he asked dryly, irritation creeping over his skin.
He was tired of being the object of curiosity.
A spectacle. The oddity of the demon world when all he wanted was to be left alone to live his life with Chuck.
“I guess you want to know if it’s true? If I went soft?
If I’m a traitor to demon-kind? Am I fucking an angel?
You helped me because you were curious? I’m not a sideshow kid.
Look, I appreciate you getting me out of there.
But quit following me. I’m not a circus act, okay?
Go on, get home and stay safe.” He stood, shaking out his hands that were still tingling a bit from the hours of being chained over his head.
“It’s not that!” Mordecai protested, waving his hands frantically. “That’s not what I meant.”
Huffing out a humorless laugh, Malachi patted the child on the head.
“It’s alright, Mordy, I’m not mad at you.
I’m just tired. So, go on, get out of here; I need to get home too.
Chuck’s probably worried sick.” He rolled his shoulders and glanced about, wondering where he would find the nearest portal to the human world.
“Wait!” the child shouted frantically from behind him. “I still have to tell you who—”
Whatever else he’d been about to say was cut off with a gurgle, causing Malachi to spin back to face him.
Cold anger whipped through him as he saw Ramsilel with his claws clamped around the child’s throat.
A sick grin stretched the demon’s mouth, an ugly knowing grin as he was clearly betting Malachi wouldn’t let him hurt the child.
“I’m afraid we haven’t finished our conversation, Malachi. Let’s get a move on; we don’t want to be late. I need to get you ready for the next part of our plan. It wouldn’t do for the angel to find you too quickly now, would it?”
Malachi growled, “Let the kid go. It’s me you want. I’ll go with you.”
Shaking his head, Ramsilel scoffed. “No, I don’t think so. On your knees, Malachi.” He jerked his head at the lizard demon, indicating he should chain their prisoner again.
Tongue flickering faster in excitement, the scaly bastard swooped in quickly and snapped manacles around Malachi’s wrists and ankles once more. He hissed gleefully as he tugged on them, ensuring the prisoner could not escape.
“Alright, you’ve got me. Let the kid go,” Malachi growled again.
Ramsilel didn’t even blink as he rammed his elbow into Mordecai’s temple, knocking him out cold before tossing him over his shoulder like a sack of laundry. “Let’s move.”