What we do in the Dark

Chapter Eight

"No!..." I was taken aback by the way he yelled. Sure he yelled at me quite a bit as I was growing up but he rarely ever snapped at me. "No, sorry. Leaving here would only make things worse." He started to eat with a sad expression on his face.

"No it wouldn't, the humans up there are super nice. Besides you're a full demon, it's like the reason for your existence. To mess with the humans." I took a bite of the food. It gets better and better every time I taste his food. Though he should expand his recipes more.

"I see no need to torment the humans. They are closer to us than any other being. " He paused and put his fork down. Yet another abnormality in this household of ours. Most demons around here don't even know what a fork is. Well around here they're usually bigger, and not used for eating. "I've always been this way. You know that. I'm a sad excuse for a demon. Even before your parents were executed, I was like this. You were the middle ground of good and evil. I saw potential in you." He smiled. "I may not be able to save this place, but I'm confident you can."

"Save? What do you mean 'save'?" What in hell is he talking about?

He smiled softly. "I can't tell you now. But one day you'll understand, something bad is coming to the depths of hell and the heavens above, something beyond control. Something that could be past my time." He picked up his fork and began to eat again. I just stared at him.

"What the fuck do you mean 'could be past your time'? You're immortal, we both are. Demons are." We can be executed but that's only if we commit a crime, and Vihaan is hardly one to commit a crime. He's too scared.

"Hey, watch your language." He chuckled under his breath, but it made my skin crawl, I'm not sure why. "Just eat Thorin."

"What, how can you eat after you just said something like that? You're not-"

"Please Thorin, not at the dinner table. We can discuss this another time. I don't get to eat dinner with you much anymore, so please, let us enjoy this time." He smiled at me, waiting for me to begin to eat. I hesitated but I didn't want to make him sad.

He and I have to be the only demons in existence that have emotional connections. He misses me like I'm the son he sent off to college or something. It's true that I don't come around here as often as I used to. I do miss him, but I don't like staying in hell for too long if I don't have to. It does things to you, that's probably why Vihaan stays inside.

I started to eat again, he smiled and continued too.

What is he hiding from me?

******

"Thorin I have something for you," Vihaan spoke loudly from the study. I was cleaning up dinner. Vihaan was going to do it, but I insisted. I wanted to give him a break.

"One second." I dried and put the last dish away. Just like when I was younger, but Vihaan would be right by my side teaching me every step of the way, like he always did.

I walked into the study, it was a beautiful room, with many tall bookshelves, a beautiful wood-carved desk, a chandelier, hanging in the center of the room and a warm fireplace. Not that we needed one. You know living in hell and all.

"Come here. I've been waiting to give this to you for some millennia now." He was crouched down at the bottom of one of the book shelves. I crouched down next to him. "I figured now would be a good time." He turned and held out a small velvet box. I took it gently from his hands and we stood up. I opened it. "It's your parent's pendants."

Inside there was a single pair of earrings. Each earing was different, but the same. One was a white cristal and the other was purple. My parent's pendants...