Dream Eater (m|m)

Chapter 20

"Alex, get your things," Damien orders as he unlocks our apartment and lets us in. "We're leaving."

"Where will we go?" I ask, rushing to throw clothes in a bag.

He thinks for a moment.

"Back to Carnâk," he says. "You know it already, and we'll be relatively safe."

"What about that Oran guy?" I ask. "Doesn't he still want to kill me?"

Damien doesn't answer immediately, and continues to throw things into his travel bag. "I can handle Oran. He caught me by surprise the last time. If he gives us trouble again, I'll be ready. Besides, he'll be more interested in the fact that one of his people is a spy than in picking a fight he can't win."

"You think that's what Maliel meant about an informant?"

"Yes. Possibly it's the same person who betrayed Sakariel. I'd give quite a lot to discover who they are."

"Why can't we just stay in the dead zones here on Earth?" I ask, unwilling to give up our current lives so easily. "We could go to England like we did last time, or...Canada, or something."

"No. Last time all I did was use a bit of power. This time I was forced to reveal my true form. It's like ringing a great bell. The reverberations will continue for a long time. Azael would be able to find us wherever we go."

"But not in Carnâk?"

He hesitates.

"Carnâk is protected in its own way. Azael may know we're there, but he and his people aren't welcome and can't enter that realm with anything but a full-on assault. He won't risk that."

"How long do we have?" I ask. I've finished packing, but I'm not quite ready to leave.

"A few hours. Travel between realms isn't instantaneous, and Azael resides in one of the deeper hells. Maliel and Yakketh likely haven't even reached it yet."

"Then there's something I want to do before we go. It won't take long, I promise."

~xxx~

It's already nearly midnight, but I knock on Dante's door anyway. They answer, wrapped in a long purple robe and looking a little more disheveled than usual.

I see the reason in the form of two bodies asleep on the bed.

"Alex, darling! What are you doing here so late?" Dante asks.

"Sorry for interrupting your meal," I say, glancing at the bed. "I came to say goodbye."

"Goodbye? What do you mean? Oh--hello, Damien. I didn't see you lurking there in the shadows."

Dante's opinion of Damien has thawed over the last few months, but I still wouldn't quite describe it as warm.

"Dante," Damien nods. To me he says, "Make it quick, Alex. We don't have much time."

Ushering us inside, Dante wakes up their 'guests' and sees them out. The man and woman cast us unhappy looks as they depart, and I wonder if they think they've been replaced.

I tell Dante what's happened and what we plan to do while Damien wanders the apartment, admiring the paintings. He hasn't seen them before, and he's obviously enamored.

As I conclude my story, Dante casts a glare at Damien where he stands enthralled before their latest work. It's the painting of me they began when I was staying here.

"So he used infernal power because a bunch of ill-behaved humans barely old enough to drink called you names and waved a gun? Honey, that happens to me at least once a week," Dante scoffs.