Unlikely Heroes-Draft 1

Chapter 13

Chimney had immediately returned to his bedroom. He had managed to not show his pain in front of Nocturne, but now that he was alone he stepped gingerly towards the bed, wincing as he leaned over to open the drawer of his nightstand. His shirt was a ruined mess of shreds, burns, and stains. The stomach mouth chittered angrily and poked its tongue against the empty socket that once held one of its lower teeth. He still had a few bits of volcanic glass embedded in his skin, and he had been liberally splashed with demonic blood and ichor. His ribs and his chest hurt from being squeezed, and his body ached still from the soul-sickness. He rummaged through the drawer, pulling out a small jar holding a softly glowing aqua-colored soul and swallowing it greedily before pulling out another jar holding a bright orange soul, and sucking it down as well. He barely even tasted them, he was too exhausted, too sick, and in too much pain to savor them. He groaned as his body compressed into his firm mattress, and with that, he collapsed into a deep sleep.

Nocturne was on the bare edges of consciousness as something wrap around him like a warm blanket, familiar voices fading in and out of his hearing. He felt himself being tugged across the ground and multiple arms carrying him out of Hell. He could hardly believe it. Was this a dream? Another trick of Lucifer's where he was given visions of freedom only to find himself in shackles once more? And yet, the scent changed from sulfur and rot to fresh laundry and coffee, the air feeling less oppressive and heavy. He sighed in relief as he realized he recognized where he was. The steady arms were still around him, but he was only able to groan out in pain as his body was laid onto a solid surface.

"He's not healing.", that voice could only belong to Marc.

"It's Pazuzu's touch.", he felt gentle hands work over his skin, "He's lost a lot of blood", there was a heavy sigh," and his leg is broken. First thing will be to remove the shards; they'll continue to work their way deeper into him unless we get them out immediately."

He felt the first of the splinters being carefully removed from his skin. He blearily opened an eye to see Marc peering down at him, a concerned expression on his face.

"I'm...fine...don't...wo-", he felt so exhausted, he could barely get his mouth to move properly.

"Iblis, did you understand that?", Marc's worry was evident in his voice as well.

"Mmmhm, he's saying he's fine, although this time he's saying it in Low-Demonic. We will need the salve, and please put on some coffee...I have a feeling we're going to need assistance for this.",

Iblis sounded even more serious than normal. Noc willed his eyes to flutter open again, wanting to reassure them that he was not someone they should be concerned about. He felt a warm hand on his head, "Rest, you're safe", and with a slight smile he fell into unconsciousness once more.

Kira had begun to grow anxious. Nocturne and Chimney both had been gone for a while, and while she was hoping it was just a coincidence, the disturbing dreams she had as of late only made her all the more concerned. On top of that, a strange woman had appeared in her house the night before. She was petite, with chestnut-brown skin and wrapped in a green and gold sari, her black hair fastened back into a long braid. Her eyes were like milk white moonstones set in heavily-lined lids. They, and the small iridescent black horns that swept back from her head were the only signs that she was anything but human.

How she had gotten in was anyone's guess, but she had made herself at home in the kitchen, and was found cooking when the household had awoken the next morning. She said her name was Poppy, and she had been sent to guard Kira.

What she had told Kira after being questioned was hard to believe, but considering the dreams and how many supernatural beings seemed to be drawn to her life it didn't seem all that far-fetched after all. Poppy seemed like a kindly and honest being, if a bit secretive.