Abaddon (Demonology III)

IX

IVY

Abaddon allowed me to see Finn, but not alone. I was forced to venture deep into the castle's dungeon, where Leviathan dwelt with Finn's emaciated body. When I first began to descend into the dungeon, the sharp smell of blood assaulted my nose out of nowhere, and then came the smells of dew and salt. It was the most unsettling combination of smells I'd ever experienced. As I reached the bottom of the stairs I saw Finn laying there, chained up with a bloody hole in his gut. I almost wished he was dead, for his sake.

"Little Miss Queen of Hell, what can I do for you?" Leviathan jumped a bit when she saw me. She was holding a cattle prod that was dripping with blood. I wanted to lash out at this monster for having the audacity to put her hands on my family, but I was in no position to do so. I may have been Abaddon's wife, but I knew he valued his military and power over everything else.

"I'd like to talk to my brother." I carefully walked over to Finn and brushed the hair out of his face. He looked somewhat happy to see me, though it seemed like he would be happy to see anyone that wasn't Leviathan. It would be a bit difficult to tell him what I needed to with Leviathan here, but I was sure I could manage. During our first encounter, Finn and I ended up in some dream world together where he learned about us having the same father. We didn't share that same blood anymore with him being a demigod, but that part of him had to still be in there somewhere. I focused on our first fight, on the way he looked at me when he found out we were siblings, on the way I wanted our family to be once this was all over. I felt my body become lighter, as if I were floating up into space. Sure enough, within a matter of seconds, Finn and I were back in that dream world.

We were outside the house in Cameron. While Finn may have seen it as his home, to me it was a prison. I had been put into a deep sleep and sealed away for years in this house, and I dreaded seeing it again. But I had bigger things to worry about.

"This again . . . " Finn's voice sounded much more hoarse than I remembered. He stood up straight and walked up the steps to the porch. "I guess there are some bonds that extend beyond blood, huh?" He turned to me and gave a laugh that was obviously forced. I couldn't blame him. These days, we didn't have much to laugh about.

"It's been a while." I said awkwardly. I didn't know if I should talk to him like he was my brother or like he was a god. "I need to ask a favor. It's for Mom - Raven." Even though I had accepted her as my mother in the absence of my real mom, I didn't know if Finn would be okay with me stealing away a woman he had barely gotten to know.

"You can call her that." He shrugged. "She and Wynne are all either of us have left, when it comes to family. What does she need?"

"To make a long story short, God might still be alive, and the King and the Serpent plan to use him to defeat you." I rushed through the explanation. "But, we could use that to our advantage. First, we need to confirm whether or not God is still actually alive. All you have to do is check the chapel in Heaven, in the council room. If the sun icon on the floor is still glowing, he's alive. If it's not, then we have to go back to the drawing board."

"That's wonderful, but how am I supposed to get past Leviathan? She's been down in the dungeon with me since I got here." He sounded like he was truly relying on me. It was uplifting, in a way. Was this how it felt to be recognized by an older sibling?

"Don't you remember? My mother was a succubus." I gave a grin. "I'm sure with a little effort, I can capitalize on how much the King hates you and trick him into giving you a chance to escape."

"And what do you have in mind?"

"How does a 'public whipping' sound to you?"