Abaddon (Demonology III)

VII

FINN

"My dad couldn't stay with us in Hell for long - we knew that, my mom and I. So we tried to get back out into Earth. We knew spirits could stay on Earth for a certain amount of time before decaying, so we figured we would move back and forth between Hell and Earth to accommodate our needs. Sounds simple, right?

  "At first everything was okay. We had made two successful trips to Earth and one to Hell. But then . . . that 'war' that you fought in against you know who started taking its toll. Hell became stronger, and it was bleeding out through the gateways. My mom had been in Hell for so long that its aura flocked to her. It was overwhelming her. She started convulsing and her skin was cracked and glowing like magma. My dad refused to leave her side. Then . . . she just burst like a bubble. I was able to handle it because I'm not human anymore, but my dad . . . I just hope it was painless.

  "For the next few days - or weeks, it's become so hard to tell - I just wandered. There were these strong winds that seemed to only affect spirits that carried me, and I let them. I didn't know what to do. I had no motivation to do anything. But the more I traveled, the more I picked up on the murmurs. Murmurs about you. They spoke of you like they were speaking about a messiah, a god even. They prayed for the day you'd come to save them, because you're the only one who can.

  "That's what lit my fuse. To think that the boy who fell out of the sky and in front of my car was so much more than just that, it reminded my of my purpose. I'm a huntsman. I joined the Holy Shield to protect humanity from malicious beings, and I failed. I know the Shield fell apart physically, but our movement still stands. Mankind will not be controlled by demons and angels and gods, we decide our own fate. And I know I'm not as human as I once was, and you're not as human as you used to think you were, but we both care about this world deep down. 

  "That's why you pulled that stunt over in the U.K., right? You've found a purpose again, just like me." Luna squeezed down on my hands and looked me in my eyes. The twinkle in her eyes sent an uneasy chill through my veins. Her memory was distorted. It felt like ages ago, but I remembered exactly what happened the last time I had seen her. In that maze Lucifer constructed to test Thalia, Lilith and I, Luna was one of my obstacles. I had burned her soul with my fire. I had essentially killed her in the afterlife, or so I thought. If she didn't remember that, what else was gone from her memory? 

  "I love you, Finn." She reached up and kissed me on the cheek, then, quickly, planted a peck on my lips. She probably had no clue who Thalia was, or Lilith for that matter. She didn't know that I had chosen Thalia over her.

  "The feeling's mutual," I said in the most un-romantic way that I could. "You did save my life after all. But we need to get going. I have to find a friend. The longer we stay here, the less time we have to move."

  "You can't stay? Just one night?" A woman standing just a few feet from us asked. I assumed it was Celine's mother from her southern drawl. She wasn't old, but looked worn out. Living under the rule of a demon for any period of time would do that to you, I supposed. 

  "I appreciate the offer, but I really need to go." I said with a smile. The gesture felt so foreign and unpleasant on my lips. Even the one I had flashed to Celine beforehand was a little odd-feeling. Something inside of me was changing. I had felt it just a couple nights prior with Lilith, and earlier in the day before the heist of the Needle. I was rediscovering part of me. 

  "Well, you can come back any time you need to. If Luna trusts you, I do too." Celine's mother put her fists on her hips and grinned. She looked like she would fit right in back in Cameron. Her husband stood beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.