Open Your Heart

Chapter 18

He truly wished he could say that rain was a rarity here in Hell, but alas it wasn't. Doing the math, he figured it could simply be a form of torture for several; those who hated storms, those who hated water, those who had to be out in it. Much like himself. Char made his way down the sidewalk toward his destination slowly, already soaked despite it only having just started. When he caught sight of the address he'd found, he took a deep breath to muster up what little courage he had left for this objective. Walking up the steps, he repeated to himself the words he intended to say. 'It's been fun, but I'm done. I've got better things to do.' Over and over as he took another breath before knocking on the door. The silence that followed was deafening. He at least had expected something simple; a shout, footsteps, anything. But it was all quiet instead.

After a few minutes, he knocked again and waited. Only now did he hear movement from inside. The footsteps grew closer until the door was cracked open just enough for someone to look out. After a second, the door was closed, a chain lock released, and then it opened again to reveal Arackniss. The spider looked at him in confusion before stepping out onto the stoop, which was thankfully covered. A quick glance of the man showed that he had clearly been ready or bed, or something else. He was wrapped in a thick robe that, while being cozy, was still a very sophisticated style and his hair was wild from either sleep or something else. "What are you doing here?" There was a perplexity in his voice that was tinged with a stern disapproval. Char took another deep breath to steady his nerves.

"I can't do this anymore." He cringed inwardly as the wrong words came out. Arackniss shook his head.

"If this is about the money, I can pay you more." Char held his hands up and shook his head quickly.

"No, no. This isn't about the money this is about..." Biting his lip, he thought about the actual reason before deflating. "This is about me." Now, Arackniss looked even more confused than before. "I can't do this anymore because... I think..." Why was the truth simply not coming out now? "I don't know. What I do know is that I'm leaving."

"Leaving?" Char motioned to himself.

"This. This... afterlife. This situation that I got myself into and have been too much of a coward to get out of. Unfortunately that means leaving behind things and people that... I really like." He tried to shrug it off. Hoped that he'd managed to fake it well. "So, before I leave and disappear to the best of my abilities, I wanted to let you know." Turning, Char started down the steps before looking back quickly. "I'm sorry." As he started off again, he heard the door to the home open and assumed Arackniss went inside.

"Nissy, is something the matter?" Char almost stopped at the voice, the familiar british accent that he'd heard in the background of the call. He did, take a quick glance behind him and saw the two together. Arackniss had turned and was wrapped up in a serpents arms, looking up at the man was a gaze Char didn't think the man was capable of. Truthfully, even his own father had admitted he wasn't, and yet... here he was. . He watched as the two went back inside and continued on his way. He had one more stop to make before he left for another section of the pentagram, and he knew that that was going to be the hardest one to make.

Normally, thunder storms would put Henroin right to sleep, but tonight was a bit different. He'd tried laying down and focusing on sleep. He'd tried a night cap and a light snack. He'd even tried pacing around the manor a bit, but nothing seemed to be helping. This, of course, made it very easy for him to accept the call from the front gate about a guest. "What are you talking about a guest? Do you know what time it is?"

"I'm sorry, Boss. They just sort of walked up and asked to see you. It sounds urgent." Henroin growled before crossing his room to grab his robe.

"Who is it?" He could hear the guard asking for his visitor's name as he pulled the garment on.