Darksiders: Light In Darkness (Fourth Book)

Chapter 10: To Hell and Back

     Damiana and Death stared up at the large display, one donning a look of confusion and the other in absolute happiness.
"Now this display is an artifact founded just last week and is thought to be from during the Aztec period." The cheeky female guide chirped, white teeth glimmering as she gazed across the large group of tourist she was tasked with.
Some took pictures, almost every single one of them ignored the sign that read "No Flash Photography" next to the exhibit. Death's left eye twitched and he pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes closed as he did so.
"What the hell are those lights?" He muttered to Damiana, who decided that it wasn't worth explaining to the eon old being about camera dynamics.
The guide's fake merry smile dimmed a little and decided against her better judgement to warn the tourist another time about their cameras.
"What is interesting about this certain object is it was found inside a ceramic vase. The markings are unlike Aztec writing or any writing known to man. It is definitely an anomaly, probably an anomaly like the Bermuda Triangle." The guide continued, smile now gone as she donned an angered frown.
"Is there anything else that makes this an anomaly, ma'am?" Damiana's hand instantly shot up in the air.
"Oh! Many things make this an anomaly! It's a case of some sort and it's locked, so many things can be held within. Also, the paintings surrounding the vase was most interesting." The guide's frown turned into a perky smirk and she straightened her crisp blue jacket.
"They depicted a drawing of a winged being, most likely an angel from Christian belief because of the halo shown about its head. Considering the Aztecs were a polytheistic society, it puzzles many of our nation's top scientists and historians because of the appearance of a being from a monotheistic religion." She continued, smiling widely at Damiana in newfound liking.
"And finally, come closer everyone." The guide waved the group to come closer.
As the group walked towards the case, Damiana slipped away from Death and elbowed her way to the front.
"The lock is in the shape of a circle...but there's a hand indentation."
"Do you think that's the key, a hand?" Damian muttered to the guide.
"Mayhaps-"
"Lady, can we see the dinosaur exhibit?" The boy punched the lady's arm, voice thick with a German accent.
"Oh sweetie we don't have dinosaurs here." The lady glanced back at the boy with a forced smile.
"I said; I WANT TO SEE THE DINOSAURS!" The boy screamed, kicking the guide.
    His shoe glanced off the woman's shin and left a long skid of dirt on her marvelous white stockings. When he pulled his foot back to kick the guide again, Damiana intervened and grabbed his shoulder.
"Chill, you brat!" She hissed, tightening her grip on the boy.
"Excuse me, do not touch my son!" Another male voice with an even stronger German accent.
    Grabbing Damiana by her forearm, the man pulled her back and glared down at her, seemingly getting ready for a fight with the young girl. Before he could utter another sentence, Death strode up to the man casually and easily pinned his arm behind his back.
"If I were you, I would let go of the girl, now."
"De-Dad, are you crazy?" Damiana hissed, trying not to say her brother's true name in public.
    Death looked up at Damiana and blinked once and let the man go, obviously confused by Damiana's statement.
"Look, tell your daughter to keep her small dreckig hands off my son!" The man hissed, leading the boy away.
The guide watched the two go and dipped her head in respect to Damiana and Death.
"Thank you." She whispered, scurrying away to meet up with the rest of the group.
"Look, we should probably get out of here before Hans over there tells security about what you did, so let's make this quick." Damiana looked back at the glass case and studied the box.
"Why did you call me Dad?" Death asked quietly, now having a visible blush of pinkish red of embarrassment across his cheeks.
"Because- hey! My necklace is glowing!" Damiana looked down at her necklace as it made a faint blue glow when she neared the box.
"Hm. Maybe we should come back at night...security isn't so tight in this room." Damiana muttered to herself.
"You didn't answer my question."
"Death. Let's go so I can make better plans. We can go to Central Park if ya want." Damiana smiled, deep in her thoughts.
When Death didn't answer, Damiana shrugged and grabbed Death's hand, urging and dragging him out the museum's exit.
               ******************
     Death and Damiana walked in silence together, each in their own thoughts. Occasionally, Death's eyes would flicker over at Damiana and stayed on her until she happened to glance back over at him. The first few times, he would blink and look away quickly, pretending to be deep in thought when Damiana called his name.
"Hey, hey, hey Death. Death. Death. Death! Are you ignoring me? You're not good at it. Hey hey-" Damiana poked him playfully.
"What, Damiana?" Death snapped, trying to keep his patience wth her.
"Was it weird I called you dad?" She asked, looking up at Death.
"Not at the slightest."
"Oh?"
"Oh."
"Elaborate?"
"No."
Damiana frowned and went to say something else, but her eyes wandered over at the small deserted play area for children.
"Ooooohhhhh! It's never been this empty!" Damiana skipped over at the playground and clapped happily, looking more like a 6 year old as opposed to her 16 year old facade.
"C'mon, DAD!" Damiana giggled, waving Death to come over.
    The only two people that were on the trail beside the two horsemen smiled in unison towards Death. They were obviously a couple, both their hands were intertwined in a loving embrace. The female smiled even wider at Death and said;
"Your daughter is so adorable, mister! I wish most teenagers were like her."
   The man smiled too and nodded once, urging his other to walk with him.
"I hope Marie warms up to you like that." The woman said to her husband.
    Death sighed and walked over to the giggling Damiana and smile faintly.
"What is it you need, Damiana?"
"Have you ever ridden on a swing?" Damiana said happily, sitting on the rubber seat suspended in air by steel rings.
"A swing?"
"I'm gonna take that as a no. I can't believe it's been so long..." Damiana sighed in longing, gripping the cool steel rings as she thought privately to herself.
"You...went on these? How do they work?" Death looked at the odd mechanism in distant interest.
"Not really, the parks were always crowded and my foster mother didn't like being in crowded areas with me...say, do you want to swing with me?" Damiana smiled widely, brown eyes becoming alit like stars in the night sky.
"No where in hell I'm going to sit on that contraption." Death shook his head.
"Then go behind me and push me." Damiana's smile grew even wider.
"What?"
"Pweaaassese, dad?" Damiana made a mock puppy face.
      Death sighed and walked behind the anti Christ, trying to hide his blush of embarrassment from Damiana, who can be relentless when it came to times like this.
"Now don't just go all out, or I'll fall, then I'll cry and call social services." Damiana stuck her tongue out at Death and waited for him to start.
"It won't be the first time you cried from falling." Death chuckled to himself, gently taking the metal rings into his hands as he took a few steps backwards.
"I broke my ankle, of course I was gonna cry!" Damiana laughed with him.
"I've broken many bones in my time, you don't see me crying." Death started, pushing Damiana in a quick yet slow movement.
"But I'm not Death now am I?"
     For a few minutes, the two fell silent. The only sounds that occupied the silence was the soft groaning of the metal rings that held up the swing and the occasional giggle that escape from Damiana's lips as Death swung her higher.
"Damiana, you never really did answer my question."
"Hm?" Damiana turned her head to look back at Death.
"Why did you call me Dad so many times?" Death asked quietly.
"Because Dad is close to Death and I didn't want to sound crazy in that museum." Damiana said quickly, now having her turn of cheeks turning a bright red.
"Is that the entire reason?"
"Of course." Damiana mumbled, not wanting the eldest horseman to know she thought of him other than a brother.
    He was...everything to her. He was a mentor, a brother, her best friend at times, and for awhile, he seemed to be more like a father to her. She heard what he said to her while she was dead...his words echoed in her head as she resided with the other souls in the Creator's realm. At first, she was angry, who did he think he was, holding her captive in the house, but after awhile, she grew to feel ashamed for feeling such anger. He was hurting and she could sense it, no matter if he had the mask on or not, she could see it.
And who was she to hate someone who was hurting in ways she can't even comprehend?
"Oh."
"Why did you say it wasn't weird when I called you dad?"
"Because for the past few days...actually for the past few years, to be honest, I haven't seen you as my sister." Death mumbled, deciding to tell Damiana everything.
"Oh?"
"Indeed. You've been more like my daughter....When you..."
"Died."
"Yes when you died...the pain I was in from seeing the life drain from your eyes was beyond words. It hurt more than when I struck down Absalom, even more so when Misery died." Death's voice donning an unusual volume of hollowness as he spoke.
"And from that...you feel as if I'm your daughter?" Damiana probed.
"No. It's from the pain I've come to feel when I remember you before you died. When I remember how you were before your actual father killed you. The amount of despair I felt when I had to dig your grave. It's from the actual spark of overwhelming happiness I felt when I saw you again, alive and well, that I know I can say with the upmost of confidence that I see you as my own." Death finished, clearing his throat.
    Damiana fell silent again and thought deeply. The feeling was mutual, that's great, thought Damiana.
"Death?"
"Yes, Dami?"
"I lied."
"About?"
"About the excuse I gave you when you asked why I called you Dad so many times."
"You did?"
     Death waited for Damiana to answer, raven black eyebrow raised in confusion as the wait turned to a few minutes. When he heard a faint but definite sniffle, Death immediately stopped the swing abruptly and waited for Damiana to continue. Her small shoulders rose and fell in a soft, abrupt sequence and she covered her face with her hands.
"Are you okay?" Death asked, trying to keep his worried tone low.
Through her now muffled sobs, Damiana shrugged, to which Death walked to the front of her and placed both his hands on her shoulders.
"Tell me."
"It's nothing...important." She tried to move her head away from Death.
"Please tell me."
"It's nothing we can do about it now...Death, was what you said true?"
"Every single word."
"I really do think of you as my father...I haven't ever really had one before...I thought nobody would want to think of me like that. Who wants a monster for a daughter anyway?" Damiana scoffed angrily at herself, making more tears rain from her eyes.
"You are not a monster." Death said, hesitantly lifting Damiana's chin to make her look at him.
"To hell with whatever anyone says to you. You're not a monster and I don't ever want you to say that near me or anyone, don't even think about it, ever again, do you understand me?" He sighed, moving a few strands of Damiana's hair from her damp eyes.
"Yes," Damiana sniffled, trying to hide her face in embarrassment.
    Quickly picking Damiana up in a tight yet warm hug, Death mumbled something in an ancient dialect into Damiana's hair.
    Not caring about what he said, Damiana felt her eyes water up again and she buried her head into his shoulder, marveling on how he responded with an even tighter embrace.
"The sun is starting to dip behind the clouds." He said quietly.
"It is...oh crap it is! We need to go back and get into positions at the museum!" Damiana wiped her eyes, smiling up at Death with newfound respect.
               ****************
"YOU KNEW THE WHOLE TIME?!" The entire charred council roared in unison, making the three horsemen stumble at the moving ground.
"Of course we did." Strife growled, rolling his eyes.
"And you thought that somehow, we weren't going to figure this out??" The middle head screeched, spitting tongues of fire from it's gaping mouth.
"Oh we knew...we just didn't think you would find out so quickly." Fury explained, smiling cheekily.
"Inexcusable!"
"You insolent- you withheld information regarding the anti Christ from us? Where is your leader, Death?"
"Uh...um." Fury stammered, rubbing her arm.
"He...is not here." War tilted his head.
"Yeah no shit, he's away on an errand and told Damiana to specifically stay in the house where she currently resides now." Strife rolled his eyes again and folded his arms.
"Why were the others so hesitant to tell us?" The third head said, obviously hinting that the horsemen were lying.
"They were not there when Death stepped out, I was. I didn't tell them because I believed he told them and I thought he would be here before this meeting." Strife said, voice void of any nervousness.
    Fury glanced at her brother and softly glared at him. He lied so fluently and easily, as if he's been doing it for ages. It made her think; what else had he been lying about. Fury shook her head and drifted back into the present. Right now was not the time to call upon past grievances, now it was to hide her siblings' from the Charred Council.
"Very well. We are to speak to Death and Damiana before this day is out. If neither of them show, we will assume you are lying and will punish you as such." The council came to a finalization.
'Great...now if only they would hurry up and come back to us.' Strife thought to himself, thinking deeply about his two siblings.
                **************
    Poking her head from the shadows, Damiana's eyes scanned the dark hallway for security guards. When the coast was clear, Damiana slid from her hiding place and pressed up against the wall. Death was outside waiting for her, she thought it wise to have him behind because although he was stealthy at best...
He wasn't nearly as fast as Damiana, he would never keep up.
'Good thing I lied and told him no one guards this place at night.' She thought, knowing full well that if Death knew the dangers of this mission, he would demand to accompany her.
Skipping in and out of rooms avoiding the glares of flashlights and their wielder's area of sight, Damiana soon came across the room with the artifact the tour guide was explaining.
'Jackpot.' Damiana smirked, running silently up to the case.
"Oh...I forgot the...oops." Damiana slapped her forehead and put her other hand on her hip. 
     She had a specific tool she had to barter with a guy in the dark alley way that she was supposed to bring...and maybe just maybe she left it with Death.
That maybe was a definite yes...
    Sighing, Damiana pondered whether or not she could outrun the guards if she smashed it open. She raised her leg and practiced a few kicks towards the glass case, practicing and perfecting her swing.
'Here goes nothing.' She thought, balancing her weight on her right leg.
    With a swift kick, the glass case shattered and an alarm sounded throughout the silent atmosphere.
"Oh shite I forgot about the alarm!" Damiana sighed and snatched the stone box from its resting place and bolted towards the exit.
"Hey stop!" She heard a human voice scream over the alarm.
"Sorry, I need this!" Damiana came to a screeching stop when a line of security guards blocked the exit staircase.
"Well fuck." Damiana muttered, looking behind her as another line o security guards flanked her from behind.
     Measuring her options, Damiana glanced at the open window beside her and smirked. When the security officers drew their weapons, Damiana touched her amulet and it emitted a cloud of dark matter, blinding all the other humans. Seizing her chance, Damiana jumped from the window and landed harshly 3 floor down to the pavement.
"Let's go come on!" Damiana ran past Death and into Central Park.
"What happened to being stealthy?" Death called after Damiana, easily catching up to her.
"I panicked." Damiana breathed.
     The two ran past the night time Central Park goers, not looking back until they came up to the same playground the two stayed for hours at.
For a few minutes, the two listened for any types of rapid footsteps. Slowly, Damiana began to chuckle, making a soft squeaky noise. When her laugh became louder, Death joined in as well with a soft chuckle.
"I cannot believe I did that."
"Nor can I."
"Well...how are we getting back?" Damiana tilted her head when realization hit.