Chapter 24: The road trip…to Hell

Edwin looked around himself, Damon by his side. Hell was a letdown if Edwin had to be honest. Where were the volcanos, the imps, the half-naked women?

"Oh, my lady," Edwin could hear Orion's smirk, even though the man was trudging through the garden they were in with sure steps. The purple flowers they were stepping on gave out wailing sounds. Edwin tried to ignore it all. "Do you honestly believe that this here is not worthy of being a part of Hell?"

Edwin sighed. Sure, the nickname still gritted on his nerves, but it was not as bad, these days. A softer note could be heard in Orion's voice, who, even though Edwin had tried to stay away from the man, managed to seduce him in bed most nights than not.

"Well, you have to admit, Orion, that this place is quite peaceful," Seraphin spoke, reaching out, and taking a hold of Edwin's hand.

The Lich twined his fingers together with the man's, glad that Seraphin was on his side. Even though he knew that Seraphin was saying such things only so that he could argue with Orion, it was still a nice touch.

"Well, can you really say otherwise? This place is called: The Peaceful Garden. As long as we have one pure soul with us, we can make it to the end," Seraphin countered, as he smiled in Edwin's direction. "And we do have one snowflake with us."

"Snowflake?" Edwin could hear Damon's amusement, as the vampire took his hand in his. "No, our Edwin is an ember. You will get burned on him if you want to keep him."

Edwin gulped. Oh, Damon knew. Of course, he knew. 

How could he not know that Edwin was letting Orion lead him into their own little depravity when the man lived with them? Traveled with them?

"Damon…" Edwin began, as he carefully let another baby animal's soul evaporate out of him. He was running out, and soon, the truth would come out.

Something told him that Damon won't like him then.

"No, no, it is nothing," Damon said, as he leaned in. The peck on the lips was soft, but Edwin still felt so, as if his heart was heavy. "Nothing at all. I have always known…"

"We are nearing the Archdemon's palace," Len, the Muse, or so Edwin thought, for the man got growled at by Orion every time he came too close to the brunette, pointed at a tall building at the end of the road. "Lord Edwin should stay here."

"Why?" Edwin might not be the best of fighters, but he wanted to see the palace. Surely, the demon who resided in this garden must be a good one?

"The garden, love," Damon began, as he brought Edwin's hand to his lips, and placed a soft kiss on the man's knuckles. "Is here to sort out the souls the Archdemon likes to eat, from those he finds putrid. And you are what the man considers a healthy snack."

Edwin heard as Orion chuckled. He glanced at Seraphin, whose lips were tugged up in a smile.

Did he really have it in him to argue? And why was he still with two demons? Damon was so…

A flower hissed at him; Edwin bit his bottom lip.

"Huh, strange," Damon said, as he stepped on the flower, flattening it. "Maybe you should go back to the human world?"

"Nah, he can come with us," Orion countered, as he took out a dagger. "See us in action, and all that jazz."

"It is too dangerous," Seraphin countered. Still, Edwin did not lie to himself. The man did not care about his wellbeing because of any feelings he felt towards him.

He cared because he was now a ghoul. And those needed a Lich to survive.

Edwin knew that Orion knew of his little trick. How could he not, when the man knew him better than anyone else? Had shaped him?

"Yes, I'd like to come," Edwin squeezed Damon's hand, willing a bird's soul out in the air.

Orion's chuckle was telling, Seraphin's nails were digging in his palm.

How was he going to survive this?

0000

Edwin staid put, as the four battled. The Archdemon, a tentacle monster with a hole in the middle, was making short work of them.

Edwin watched as Orion was thrown against a column, and he took in a shaky breath. If he did nothing now, he knew that the Archdemon was going to eat him. For the being would surely see the good souls Edwin had consumed and think of him as a snack.

Edwin concentrated, pressed his hand on the ground, and thought about how tasty the soul of the demon was going to be. He tugged; the demon turned to stare at him.

"Rotten to the core," the words came out so, as if the demon had not spoken in eons. Edwin tugged once more, only to be picked by a tentacle, and then swallowed whole in the black hole.

He fell. He did not know for how long he was going to fall, and he did not care.

There was no grimoire for Liches, no. But there was something better, or so Edwin thought.

Fairytales.

He opened his mouth, and then did something he had the right to do, but never wanted to.

He gave out a soul scream. Forcing his acidic mana into the Archdemon. Digesting him even as he trashed.

He fell, the darkness threatening to consume him. He felt as his lungs began to burn, as the pressure increased all around him.

Was that how people in sinking submarines felt? He asked himself.

Edwin tried to think about everything that had happened to him. He tried to think about the rage he had felt as he had died.

Why should he cannibalize himself, by giving up pure souls to the void? Just so he could look alive?

Orion was going to tell the others, he knew. The demon was rotten, and no amount of kind words were going to convince Edwin otherwise.

He tugged, thought, about how the demon's lifespan had ended, even though it had not. A trick he had used against a bear, once, as the animal had chased him around a mountain for the better part of an afternoon.

He tugged, thought about how he wanted to come back to life. A life for a life, he chanted. Justice in injustice.

The scent of rot rose. Edwin could swear that he saw a bony hand reaching out to him, felt a caress on his head.

"Well done," he heard a voice so horrific, that he wanted to become deaf, just so he would never have to hear it again. "My son."

When Edwin blinked, he was near the corpse of the demon, as Orion was helping Len to his feet, with Damon trying to bandage up Seraphin.

"Well," Seraphin must know it all, Edwin thought. Now he was going to tell Damon, and… "Good job. Now, for the hard part."

Seraphin glowed; Edwin felt like he was on fire. He should feel pain, he knew, but nothing of the sort came.

"I will be damned," Orion murmured, an unreadable expression on his face. Could it be? Was Edwin really… "No wonder the old codger has not been managing the place. He was too busy getting reborn."

Damon was looking at him with narrowed eyes. It hurt, Edwin thought, as he made a couple of unsure steps towards the vampire. The glare hurt like nothing he had experienced so far. Not even when Orion had wrapped his hands around his neck. Not even when Orion stole a kiss from his corpse.

"Did you have fun?" Damon asked, as his hands worked to close the wound on Seraphin's side. "Leading me on like that?"

Edwin blinked. So… Damon had only liked the fact that he could get to be with a pure soul?

Edwin's fists clenched and unclenched. How could be so stupid? Obviously, Damon wanted him only because of his strange dream of dirtying something that was pure.

Edwin did not know why he did what he did. He did not know why he formed a fireball in his palm, something he had never done before, and he did not know why he aimed.

The fireball sailed towards Damon's head; the man jumped to the side.

As Orion barked a laugh, and Seraphin let out a pained chuckle, Edwin knew that he was lost.

But by everything that was holy and unholy, he was done being a brick. 

Damon was his.

And not even narrowed brown eyes could convince him to let the man go. For Damon might not be a pure spirit, but he was kind.

Edwin needed that kindness. He needed that warmth, the teasing lilt of Damon's jokes.

"Damon," Edwin whispered, as his voice echoed around the empty palace. "I may not be the man whom you think I am, yes, but that does not mean that you can leave me."

The vampire snorted; Edwin blinked.

Orion barked another laugh, as he simply started to cut up the dead Archdemon's tentacles in pieces.

"If you want good old Damon, you should put a ring on it, Edwin!" Orion said, as his knife cut along the lines on the tentacle.

"Edwin," Damon started, but it was too late. Orion had already taught Edwin how to do a binding contract.

The vampire was his soulmate. He did not even need permission. Something told him that he could stop the vampire from leaving, but not force him to love him.

No, for that, he had to be himself. Better, even. He had to be his equal.

"Damon, we can make this work," Edwin said, as he made a step towards the vampire, noting that the normally soft brown eyes were now shining with fury. "I…"

"What? You love me?" Damon slapped Edwin's hand away, as the Lich tried to lay it on the vampire's cheek. "You don't know what the word love means!"

Edwin chuckled. Maybe he was losing his mind, or maybe he was just trying to stop himself from coming undone.

Still, he leaned in and offered up his neck.

"My blood is warm, now," Edwin offered, as he wrapped his arms around Damon. "Drink your fill."

"You are no better than Orion," Damon countered, but Edwin could already feel the vampire's fangs on his skin.

"Perhaps," Edwin agreed, as he ran a hand through Damon's brown hair. "But I want you by my side."

Fangs sunk into his flesh, and he let out a moan. The bond was doing wonders to him. Making him clutch at Damon. Making him lose himself.

He was not going to let any of his soulmates go. Not now, that he could feel them at the back of his mind. Three warm balls of light, in a dark, desolate soul.

Was he still a brick, even now?

Damon started to lick along Edwin's neck.

No, they could not have perfection, but that was just fine. They could have something better:

 Eternity.