Page 5 of Indecent

“You saw the—dammit, it came back, didn’t it?” He sighed hard. “Whatever. Yeah, sort of. I left the guild not long before I kicked the bucket. I don’t know why I’m still wearing the ring. I didn’t have it on me when I died.”

Chaol hummed. “I was never human, but as I understand it, you appear in the afterlife as you perceived yourself during life. Being a paladin was a part of who you were, wasn’t it?”

“Well, yeah. Up until they went crazy.”

“Went crazy?” Chaol asked curiously.

“Yeah. It’s—kind of a long story.”

“It’s a long journey through Hell.”

“Well, then maybe I’ll tell it eventually. I’d rather have my feet on the ground, though.”

“Fair enough.”

“So you’re saying I’m responsible for the ring showing up here. I still consider it a part of my identity.”

“Something like that, yeah.”

Daniel didn’t like that. He didn’t know how to remove ‘being a paladin’ from his identity. He’d thought he’d done that already when he left the guild. “Hm. For better or worse, I guess. But also, no, I didn’t mean you’re my first demon in the hunting-them sense. I meant that I have friends on Earth who are demons.”

Chaol snorted. “Sure you do.”

“I do!”

“Name one.”

“Ashmedai, the sin eater.”

Chaol laughed. “No, seriously.”

“Seriously! He left Hell a while back, didn’t you hear? Valac the behemoth escorted him out—and Valac is also a friend, by the way. He’s dating my best friend. Ashmedai is practically married to my brother.”

“Shut—up.” Chaol was wheezing, his whole body shaking against Daniel’s with uncontrolled laughter.

“Hey, buddy, do I look like a liar to you?”

Chaol just kept laughing. Daniel didn’t know whether to be offended or not, and the most important thing, he told himself, was that Chaol absolutely did not have a nice laugh. Nope. Not at all.

Chapter 2

Chaol

When the gates in and out of Hell had slammed shut while Chaol was traveling through Purgatory, he’d thought himself well and truly fucked. He’d been on his way out, because he had a bone to pick with someone on the surface, and suddenly he found himself trapped. He’d wandered for a while, figuring he’d sense the gates opening back up and be on his way.

But then he’d come across him. He’d sensed him before he’d even seen him. Daniel, who smelled like sunshine and earthy greenery. He smelled like freedom, like everything Chaol hadn’t known he wanted. The human, with his warm brown eyes and wild curls, was like that first breath of surface air after centuries below. Everything inside Chaol shifted the moment he laid eyes on him.

Mine, he’d thought, inexplicably. It didn’t make sense, but he wasn’t one to ignore his gut. He had to learn more about this wayward human soul. And that fucking reaper already had him in her grasp. The human was halfway to paradise when Chaol decided to take a gamble. Something about the human seemed worth the risk.

And he was right, because this human was his ticket out to the surface. Chaol would be spending a lot of time with him in the coming days, and maybe he could figure out why something in him insisted that this human belonged to him. His plot for revenge was still a priority, he told himself. He couldn’t get to the surface without Daniel. This way, he could assuage his curiosity while working toward their chance to escape. Two birds, one stone.

Now, Daniel was in his arms. Chaol tried not to think about how good it felt. He hadn’t been this close to another being in a very long time, and something about the human was satisfying in a way he didn’t understand. Like he’d been missing something and finally found it.

He’d had a clan once. Kalmachs hunted and lived together, but Chaol had been alone for a long time. He’d forgotten what it felt like to be pressed up against someone else. To hold them in his arms. Daniel was warm and solid. This… was nice.

Daniel had shied away from Chaol’s true form at first, but he seemed comfortable now, talking to him like normal. That was weird enough; most humans screamed at the sight of his true form. Daniel had so readily accepted him. Maybe he did know some intimidating demons on Earth. It would explain how blasé he was toward not just Chaol but his whole situation. If he knew halflings, why would he balk at the idea of being one? It wasn’t what he would have expected from a holy man, but he respected it. Once he’d made the choice, Daniel didn’t waver. He was decisive. Brave. And pretty damned easy on the eyes.

But Chaol couldn’t let himself entertain whatever this was. Daniel needed him, and he needed Daniel. It was a business arrangement and nothing more. Chaol had to remember that. No matter how nice it felt to hold him, he was just a means to an end.