Demon's Journey

“What are you planning on doing?” Raea asked as she flew alongside Palan. Cleo had managed to climb up her tail and onto the angel’s back, hugging Raea’s neck for dear life.

“Sneak inside. Find Sariel. Kill her,” Palan said. “We can also find the Creator’s judgment if you want, but you know what the contract said. After I kill Sariel, I’m taking her head and returning to Eljiam. Do you know where the portal is?”

“It should be in the basement of the central tower,” Raea said and pursed her lips. “The council used to activate it to recruit demons for the armies. But that stopped after the four’s betrayal. I think there’s a certain number of archangels required to activate it.”

Palan furrowed his brow. “Do they have to be conscious?” he asked. If anything, he could kidnap a few archangels from the influential families and use them as batteries. He’d worry about it after killing Sariel.

“I don’t know,” Raea said. “Can’t we just wait for the archlings to arrive? Abaddon’s taking care of your sister, right? I understand that you’re feeling restless, but that doesn’t mean you should be hasty.”

“I’m never hasty,” Palan said and snorted.

“Really.”

Palan ignored Raea’s comment and reduced the intensity of the black light surrounding his body. He descended towards the ground, floating above the two collapsed bodies in the wasteland of brown. “Palan?” Raea asked as she circled around him and braced herself for a landing.

“Are horns common amongst angels from the capital?” Palan asked and raised an eyebrow. He prodded Uriel with his foot, flipping her body off of Creed’s. Their eyelids trembled, but they remained unconscious. Palan squat beside them and tilted his head to the side, inspecting their injuries.

“No…,” Raea said as she landed beside Palan. “I’ve never seen anyone with horns before. Actually, I’ve never seen any different angels—other than myself and Pyre. But Pyre’s part demon. Could they be like us?” Her brow furrowed as Cleo climbed on top of her head and peered at the bodies. “They’re still alive at leas—what are you doing!?”

Palan plunged his hand into Creed’s chest, his fingers cutting through the other demon’s bones like butter thanks to the power of greed. “Eating,” Palan said and raised an eyebrow as he chucked the heart into his gaping torso-mouth. “Want some?”

“No!” Raea said and turned her head away. A scaly hand protruded from her head.

“I’ll have some,” Cleo said and received a liver from Palan. She munched on it, dripping blood onto Raea’s head.

“Why are you eating them?” Raea asked and made a face. She tilted her neck, causing Cleo to fall off. Her nose wrinkled at the gory sight. She sighed. “At least wipe your mouth when you’re done.”

“Think about it,” Palan said as he finished taking the organs out of Creed’s body. “They survived Pyre’s invention. How strong would they have to be to do that? Besides, you should eat while you can because you never know when your next meal will come.”

“Good motto,” Cleo said and burped, licking the blood off her fingers. She skipped over to Palan’s side as he began tearing apart Uriel’s body. “Can I have the heart this time?”

“Sure.”

Raea sighed again and covered her face with her hands. “Why am I friends with you two?” she asked. Her stomach churned at the smacking and slurping sounds coming from beside her. She resisted the urge to incinerate the corpses and sang songs in her head instead. It wasn’t the first time that Palan ate people, but she was used to seeing them as chunks of meat. If she squinted hard enough, she could pretend it was pork, but she couldn’t do that when he was literally ripping apart an angel in front of her face.

“That’s odd,” Palan said. “The heart’s not beating.”

“Because you killed her?” Raea asked and shook her head. She stared at the ground, drawing circles in the dirt with her finger.

“No,” Palan said. “Usually it continues to beat if you rip it out of a live person. Maybe she died when the demon died?” He shrugged and handed the heart to Cleo. His torso-mouth made quick work of the rest of Uriel’s organs. “Store the bodies in your space when you’re done.”

Cleo grunted as she chewed. It had been a while since she last ate angel meat. She had developed a taste for it when the group was still traveling with Elrith. She belched and rubbed her stomach before wiping off her hands and lips with a towel that she passed to Palan. She leaned over and grabbed Creed’s foot. His toe bumped against her stomach, causing her to tilt her head. She pulled on Creed’s foot again. It bumped against her stomach. “Uh, I can’t store him,” Cleo said and blinked. She raised her head and glanced around. Was her space full? She removed a tent from her space and tried again. Creed’s body still refused to be stored.

“Try her,” Palan said, pointing at Uriel. Cleo dropped Creed and tried to store Uriel’s corpse into her space. She shook her head when it failed. “What can’t you store?”

“Live things,” Cleo said. “Too big things.” She bit her lower lip as she cycled through her memories. “Oh, and this orb thing that the headmaster gave me, but it had the same power as my space.”

Palan scratched his head. “Interesting,” he said. “Maybe we should eat the rest of them for now.” He ignored Raea’s disgusted face and bent over Uriel. His red and purple tails opened their mouths while Danger Noodle watched. Before the tails could swallow Uriel and Creed, the bodies shone with a white light, causing everyone to shield their eyes. The light gradually dimmed, allowing them to see again. The corpses were dissolving into thousands of motes of light. A wind blew past, scattering the motes and blowing them into the capital. Even the blood on the towel that Cleo had used disappeared with the breeze.

Cleo blinked and rubbed her eyes. There was no trace of Uriel or Creed left, as if neither of them had ever existed. But her stomach still felt full, so she was sure they had. “What kind of sorcery is this?” Cleo asked and scratched her head. Neither Palan nor Raea had an answer.

Palan crossed his arms over his chest. Even the residual heat the two had left behind was starting to fade. “I guess that doesn’t matter for now,” he said. “We don’t have the luxury to worry about disappearing bodies. There’s things to be done.” He raised his head and narrowed his eyes at the capital. Danger Noodle wrapped around Cleo, and he leapt into the air. Raea’s brow furrowed as she took one last glance at the empty patch of dirt before following her demon. She’d ask Pyre the next time they saw him.