The Disgraced Angel Book Two: The Dark Guardian

Chapter 30

Damon went to Angela and took her hand. This idea seemed rather childish, he admitted that, but it seemed one of the better ideas that came to mind. Everyone else's mind was blank with either worry or amazement. One of the few advantages to living for thousands of years was that after the first few centuries, everything stopped surprising a person so much.

"Evan, take Angela's other hand, please."

Damon would have laughed at Angela thinking he was nuts if he thought it appropriate. "Dad, what are we doing?" she asked.

"We are going down there, no matter how scared either of you are. This shit is ending, and it's ending as soon as we can make it. Can't do that if we don't go down there. Whatever's down there, we can handle."

"Holding each other's hand?"

"Exactly. Once we get down there, the ground could very well close itself up again. If that happens and it's still pitch black, we won't lose each other if we hold each other's hand like a chain."

"So hold on tight and don't let go." Evan said, trying to sound more optimistic than he felt at the moment.

"You got it." Damon agreed. As Evan took Angela's other hand, Damon was pleasantly surprised to hear Angela laughing for the first time in days. The whole thing seemed ridiculous to her, but she would go along with it just to get it all done. After all, this was a laugh or cry situation, and she would rather laugh than cry like a child. Damon squeezed her hand gently, and they took careful steps into the black hole that no one else in their right minds would willingly walk into.

A few feet into Hell itself, the ground did exactly what Damon expected it would. The only difference was he wasn't knocked onto his stomach this time. He felt the vibrations as the earth moved above them, and the gaping hole closed above them as if they had never gone underground at all. Once the ground closed, the area around them immediately lit up, just as Damon had expected as well. Sometimes he had to wonder if the whole place had been set up this way on purpose. If God could create the world and use him as a scapegoat, did He at all have a hand in this place? On the other hand, would He knowingly create a place like this? Damon guessed he would never know the answer.

The ground below them was nothing but sulfurous rock. It was one of the worst things Angela had smelled for a long time. It was still completely silent, not entirely what they expected. If this was Hell, weren't there supposed to be tortured souls or something like that? Angela supposed they might be further down somewhere. The glowing ominous fiery light was exactly what she expected though. In fact, that must have been what was lighting the place after the ground had resealed. Evan held her hand securely, and with her father on her other side, she felt as if she could handle this crazy shit. They were going to find that damn candle wax, find her uncle, and get the fuck out. She peaked out over the edge of where they were, and saw nothing but a long path leading further and further down. Angela felt dizzy as she looked down, and nearly fell.

"Be careful, Angela. Don't look down." Damon warned.

"How far down do you think we need to go?" Evan asked, his voice echoing around them.

"No idea."

What they needed was a guide. But Damon doubted they would find one. Hell was not meant to be a helpful place. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of people wound up down here. He briefly remembered the last person who had made him so angry he nearly lost control. Fred Chambers, the man who had kept children tied up in a dark basement for his own sick reasons. Fuck, he hoped he wouldn't see that shithead down here.