Reap the Earth at Which you Stand [boyxboy]

Chapter L

~Monday 19th March 2018~

"Why do we always have to meet in the forest?" Dakota whined, his feet beginning to ache from the hike that he had been forced to go on, "can't we ever meet in a Starbucks or something?" He was still tired from all the horrors he had to deal with yesterday, he didn't want to be getting up at the crack of dawn to go on some mystery walk with Ysmael, Torin and Vasile. Then again, he couldn't really complain, Torin was in a worse mood, he had barely spoken the entire time.

"We're not meeting in the forest, we're meeting elsewhere. This is simply the closest doorway to us," Dakota frowned at Ysmael, sick of the lack of detail in the man's explanations.

"Ys, who are we going to see?" The hesitation didn't help, so Dakota merely stopped dead in his tracks, forcing Vasile to do the same, "tell me or I'm going back. I'm tired, I'm pregnant, and I can be of more use to-"

"Hades," Dakota's frown deepened as Ysmael sighed, "the Seer provides too much power to Joshua. Seers are demons, Hades can kill it," for a moment, Dakota actually thought that Ysmael was joking. It would have been simpler then, but his expression was all too serious for that.

"Hades, as in the devil? The Greek god?" Torin chimed in, looking just as bemused. At least it wasn't just Dakota that was kept in the dark anymore.

"Yes," Ysmael continued along the trail that was definitely not walked enough, causing the other three to follow, "there is a doorway to Hell nearby, I contacted Hades, he is waiting for us. Would you like to meet him when he's in a bad mood? No? Then let's hurry," Dakota looked to Vasile, who merely shrugged. He just seemed happy enough to be away from the injured back in Aberney's territory. Eedel had kept the two of them up all night with his crying, it was painful enough to think of, let alone live through.

"Sir," as the trees thinned out, bringing the four into a small clearing, a man waiting there bowed to Ysmael, "the doorway is open to you, Sire has instructed me to be your guide," when the man stood back up straight, Dakota caught sight of his eyes. Black. He was a demon.

"Thank you," Ysmael took Torin's hand, bringing it to his lips to press a kiss to his knuckles, "stay close, my love, their world isn't like ours," Dakota wasn't really sure what the demon had meant by 'the doorway', he couldn't see anything resembling that. That was until Ysmael walked through two trees and disappeared into thin air.

"Woah," Dakota murmured, stepping closer with Vasile, finally noticing the subtle rippling of the air between the trees, "no wonder hunters know fuck all about demons," he added, taking a breath before following his brother and king into the unknown.

Hell, honestly, wasn't so bad. Dakota had expected the fire and brimstone, and it certainly provided such. The doorway had led out onto a bridge made of black stone, over what Dakota could only describe as a river of blood, looking out toward an elegant castle. It was the stereotypical picture of Hell, and somehow so beautiful. Dakota was born into chaos after all, so maybe Hell was the right place for him. He felt at home.

"Sire is waiting, we must go," the demon looked different now, with a tail sprouting from the base of his back, long and black, dragging along the charred stone. His teeth had lengthened too, sharpened at the tips, lined with obsidian lips that matched the shade of his eyes. Somehow, Dakota had seen worse.

"It's warm," Dakota murmured to Vasile, holding onto the man's hand whilst the four followed the demon across the bridge. He wondered where the souls were, where the torture took place. It wasn't as though the devil had to make a good impression, there was no point hiding away all the realities there. It was Hell, expectations were already low.

"It's colder inside," Ysmael chimed in, keeping an arm wound tightly around Torin's waist, pulling the boy closer when he noticed his eyes wandering. There were more demons closer to the entrance, all different shapes and sizes, yet all sporting those soulless black eyes. Tails, claws, scales, wings, even extra limbs. They weren't all a pretty race, but there were a few that Dakota found himself drawn to, despite the chittering noises or hisses that drifted through the air.