Page 14 of Indecent

“Yes, could barely believe it,” the rybboc said. “The southern gate was breached by an angel.”

That drew him up short. “Wait, what? You’re not serious.”

“Deadly serious, I’m afraid,” the estrith said, stretching her talons across the ground and leaving gouges behind with her terrible claws. Chaol tried not to think about what those talons could do to Daniel’s delicate skin. “I was there when he appeared, golden-eyed and vicious. He started laying waste to everything around him, but not just to kill. He kept sucking this red shit out of every demon he killed, like he was drinking some kind of energy from them. None of us stood a chance. He cut one of my arms off before I managed to fly away. Luckily for me, Hell provides.” She lifted her hand, rolling her wrist to show that she was newly healed. Demons rarely died in Hell. Being here sustained them. It was one of the few perks of staying.

“I lost two perfectly good cart-pullers before we got away and nearly lost my cart, too,” the rybboc said. “One arronid isn’t strong enough to get me anywhere fast. It’ll take weeks to reach Pandemonium at this rate.”

Chaol glanced over at the remaining arronid. It was lying on its stomach, legs curled under it and its strangely human-shaped head lax. It looked very much like a dead spider, and only the faint rise and fall of its back revealed that it was still breathing.

“Why the fuck would an angel come down here?” Chaol asked. “If they wanted to kill demons, there are plenty on the surface that aren’t supposed to be there.”

“Don’t ask me,” the rybboc said. “I plan to get back to Pandemonium and stay there until this blows over.”

“So, what happened?” Chaol asked. “Did they deploy any of the upper level demons to fight off the angel? Is he still down here?”

“We don’t know,” the estrith said. “If he shows up again, I won’t be stupid enough to try fighting him off. I suggest you do the same.”

Chaol hummed. “Good to know.” He stood. “I think I’ll head to Pandemonium myself. There’s safety in numbers, after all.”

“I don’t suppose I could convince either of you to carry my cart to the city’s edge, could I?” the rybboc asked, eyeing them both—particularly the estrith, who was the larger of the two of them. She stood and stretched her wings.

“Not on your life,” she replied.

“I’m no damn cart puller,” Chaol agreed. “If you have the supplies on that cart of yours, wander into the forest and set up a couple of traps. Arronids are stupid; it shouldn’t be hard to catch a few more.”

The rybboc rubbed his jowls thoughtfully. “That’s not a bad idea. If I catch any extra, I could always use their meat for a nice travel snack.”

Chaol inclined his head. The estrith took flight, buffeting them with wind from her wings, and Chaol left the way he’d come, walking down the road until he was out of sight and then disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

But when he got back to the tree where he’d left Daniel, his human was nowhere in sight.

“Danny? Darkling, where’d you go?” he called softly, mindful of how close he still was to the rybboc’s resting place.

He caught the human’s sunshine scent, leading deeper into the forest, and rushed after it. Goddammit, he’d told him to wait. Why would Daniel have run off?

The path twisted through the trees, seemingly going in no logical direction. Chaol’s heart thundered as he followed, straining his ears for any nearby sound. He couldn’t have gone far, surely. Chaol wasn’t gone long. And he’d told him to scream. Why hadn’t Daniel made some kind of noise to let Chaol know he was in danger?

He understood why when Daniel’s scent soured with fear. Bright red, human blood speckled the path of his scent, and fear squeezed Chaol’s heart. Daniel was hurt and scared. Maybe he wasn’t thinking clearly. Maybe he couldn’t scream for Chaol.

He broke into a run. He had to find him.

Chapter 5

Daniel

Daniel watched Chaol disappear through the trees fretfully. He didn’t want to be in Hell, but that was outside his control now. He also didn’t want to be alone in Hell, which was also outside his control.

He pressed his lips together to keep from calling out for Chaol again. The last thing he needed was to alert those other things to his presence. They might be safe for Chaol to talk to, but that didn’t mean they’d abide Daniel’s presence.

He wrapped his arms around himself and put his back to the nearest tree. The bark was rough through his thin T-shirt. The shadows here were thick despite the dusky daylight, and he didn’t want to risk something sneaking up on him. His eyes frantically scanned his surroundings. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d come to rely on Chaol. Without him, Daniel felt frightfully alone.

He still couldn’t believe he was here. It didn’t seem possible that this was really Hell. He’d tried to live a good life. He was never supposed to know what Hell actually looked like. And sure, he’d come here through some mitigating circumstances. It wasn’t like he was sent here. But more than anything, he wanted to be back on Earth with his brother. He wanted to see Julian shoot Valac that dopey, lovesick look again. He wanted to hear Talon bitch at somebody and then turn around and call Alex ‘little bird’ in the most tender voice he’d ever heard. He wanted to hear one of Ashmedai’s raspy little laughs and watch his brother’s face light up at the sound.

They were his friends, his family, and he didn’t know what he’d done to deserve being ripped away from them so soon.

He ducked his head and rubbed a hand over his eyes. For someone who didn’t have a physical body, it sure felt a lot like he was about to cry.

When he raised his head, his breath caught in his throat. Around him, the forest was gone.