Chapter 13 - A demon and a nephilim work together. No this is not the start of a joke even though it sounds like one.
(again, the Chapter title is too long and I refuse to shorten it :D)
Avery closed the circle as soon as Jasper and Hargamon vanished, blowing out the candles, before stepping out of the chalk circle.
»Where did they go?«, she wanted to know, heart beating out of her chest. To her relief, Aristes didn't look any less frantic.
»To the Underworld probably. I can fly us«, Aristes said, ready to jump out of the window right this second. But Avery hesitated.
»I have a better idea. We are going to take my car. They have my tools in case we need them. Besides, I don't think you plan on flying both of us back here, after we get away.« Aristes hesitated for a second before he nodded.
»Good point. You're driving, though.«
Luckily it was already late enough for them to not get stuck in any sort of traffic. Fifteen minutes later, they were standing in front of Batest, waiting for the demon to clear Avery. He looked at her with an intense stare without saying anything for so long that Aristes started to nervously jump from one leg to another.
»I cannot let you downstairs«, Batest said finally. »You are a nephilim. Divine entities of any kind aren't allowed downstairs.«
»You what?«, Aristes exclaimed in surprise, staring at Avery with wide eyes, who looked like she wanted to hide behind her hair
»Yeah. Didn't know either like a month ago«, she said abashedly.
»Do you know what that means?«, he asked, grabbing her arms in excitement.
»That we two are something like arch enemies by nature?«, Avery suggested and Aristes scoffed.
»What? Bullshit. No, it means that you can fix this!« Aristes let go of her and pulled out a small, intricate looking knife from his pocket. It looked dull and lackluster.
»Is that what I think it is?«, Avery asked, breathless and Aristes nodded.
»Probably.«
»Selene said it was broken.«
»Not broken«, he disagreed. »Just empty like a battery. And you can load it up again.« Avery looked at the demon when he pressed the knife into her hands. The blade immediately started glowing in soft, golden light, like someone switched on a light bulb and Avery was the power source.
»Is that... my divine energy?«, she asked, sounding surprised and a bit shocked and Aristes nodded.
»Exactly.«
»Do I need to understand how that works?« Aristes smiled in sympathy.
»Not really.«
»Good. Because I don't«, Avery sighed and pocketed the knife. She then turned to Batest, leaning against the chest-high counter. »Please let me in. It's not like I want to stay. We just have to get my friend out of there before that crazy demon of yours eats his soul«, Avery complained, staring Batest down like she did with every person standing in the way of the things she wants.
»I am very sorry, but you are only allowed to go upstairs«, Batest said unimpressed or simply not interested.
»Excuse me?«, Avery stuttered. »Upstairs? As in heaven?«
»Obviously«, he said and left a baffled Avery behind, so Aristes took over.
»Come on, Batest. Please make an exception. Just this once. I'll owe you one. It's really important.«
»This may be true, but there are still rules I have to oblige.«
»Is there anything you would be willing to exchange for making an exception for me?«, Avery wanted to know and Batest looked at her, seemingly taken aback.
»You're not going to threaten me?«
»Excuse me?«, Avery exclaimed with wide eyes.
»Nevermind. There is actually one thing«, Batest thought out loud. »I would like to go on a holiday for a week. I haven't had one in the last three millenia. There's no one who would take over my job«, he explained.
»That's all?«, Avery asked before she smiled and stretched out her hand. »We have a deal. I'm going to work for you on my next semester break.« Batest looked at her for a moment, as if trying to find out if she really meant it, before he returned the smile and shook her hand. He then printed out Avery's pass to the Underworld and slid it over the counter.
»There you go«, he said. »Someone will come by and deliver the rule book. And I will be awaiting you for your part on the promise.« Avery took her pass into the Underworld and grinned.
»Fine with me. Thank you.« She followed Aristes into the elevator that opened, turning slightly to the demon, when the doors closed before them.
»Just to make sure, I didn't just sell my soul to a demon, right?«, she asked and Aristes chuckled softly.
»No, you're good.«
As it turns out, Hargamon isn't very skilled in kidnapping humans. They expected they had to search for Jasper with the help of Avery's pendulum but no such thing was necessary. They found Jasper at the first place they looked: Hargamons flat.
Or actually, they found him in the place outside the cave, soaked in Holy Water, running towards them. Aristes could smell the Holy Water and backed away on reflex. Jasper must have spilled the Holy Water over himself so Hargamon or any other demon wouldn't dare touch him.
Hargamon though was hot on his heels, spear and fireball in his hands, throwing them after the running human.
Hargamon and Jasper noticed Aristes and Avery at the same time. One looked relieved. The other one threw a detonation in their direction. Avery managed to hide behind a pillar while Aristes dodged and hurled himself at Hargamon. Both demons went down, crashing onto the stony ground like thunder thanks to their more substantial existence down in the Underworld. They were rolling on the ground, a mess of claws and fangs until Hargamon got the upper hand, pressing Aristes to the ground.
»Stay away you pestilence«, Hargamon screamed, with a booming echo that reflected from the empty hallway. »It belongs to me. You sacrificed the human. The contract between the two of you is null and void.« Hargamon lashed out with his claws making Aristes scream, when they sank into his chest like poisonous thorns, burning the flesh and ripping open skin that started bleeding. Aristes fought back by summoning hellfire in his hands, pressing the flames against Hargamons sides, burning the flesh it touched. Hargamon let go with a pained cry and lunged out to kick Aristes, but the demon rolled out of the way and got onto his feet. He reached out to throw another round of hellfire at him, but Hargamon was faster, running towards him and kicking Aristes to the ground once more before summoning his spear, holding it above his head ready to strike down and to impale Aristes.
»No! Leave him alone!«, Jasper shouted when he saw what Hargamon was about to do. His heart was pounding so hard, he could hear the rush of blood in his ears from the fear of losing Aristes to a crazy demon. So he said the only thing that he could think of, that would possibly distract Hargamon from hurting Aristes. »He's just trying to help me. We never even had a contract in the first place!« And indeed, Hargamon let his arms holding the spear sink down as he stared at Aristes.
»You didn't have a contract«, Hargamon hissed like a divine realisation.
»I faked the paperwork«, Aristes admitted and Hargamon laughed.
»Oh, I'm going to destroy your whole life, sweet little chaos demon. When I'm done with you, you'll never again be allowed back on earth. But first, let me eat this human's soul while you watch«, Hargamon said in anticipation when Aristes kicked the spear out of his hands and pushed the demon against the wall behind him. That's when Avery came out of her hiding spot and threw a bottle with holy water at Hargamon. The glass bottle shattered against the wall, spreading its content above Hargamons head and onto him. The demon screamed in pain, when the water hit his skin, burning his substance with the sizzling sound of oil hitting a hot pan. Aristes didn't waste any more time and scrambled onto his feet, following Avery who already grabbed Jasper and started running down the hall. They heard Hargamon yell after them but neither of them stopped long enough to cast a glance back. They needed to go out of the Underworld as fast as possible.
»Thanks for not hitting me with that holy water«, Aristes said, while catching up to Avery and Jasper.
»You're welcome«, Avery replied, doing her best to support Jasper while running who was still dripping with holy water. »We need to get you cleaned off, as soon as possible«, she added. »So Aristes can help me carry you.« For once Jasper didn't disagree. He was out of breath and in so much pain, he wasn't sure he wouldn't pass out on them.
»Any ideas?«, Avery asked while Aristes ran ahead to hold open the door they needed to go through for them, carefully avoiding Jasper.
»Yes, but it's not a good one«, Aristes answered, leading them through the Underworld as fast as possible.
They ended up at a gloomy hallway, dimly illuminated by the light coming through the dirty, cracked windows on one side. If Jasper would stand near the glass, he would see the wide, dark river flowing beneath the windows like a vein filled with molasses. The water made its way through a deep gorge and was part of a bigger river system that connected all of the Underworld. Aristes opened one of the windows, revealing a windowsill and the abyss behind it.
»Unfortunately, this is the nearest source of water that's safe for you to bathe in«, he said, pointing down the gorge into the broad river.
»You want me to jump. Down there«, Jasper asked just to make sure he was not going insane. But Aristes nodded. He at least had the decency to look sorry.
»Kinda. I'll fish you out as soon as you're in it, of course.«
»Oh, good to know. I thought we were going to drown me«, Jasper replied with a fake smile. »It would solve my problems a lot faster.« Upon that Avery hit him in the shoulder, hard.
»No it wouldn't«, she yelled, looking at Jasper like the fierce witch she was. »Don't ever say something like that.«
»Sorry«, Jasper mumbled and Avery patted him on the shoulder.
»Don't apologize. You're going through a lot. It's fine. Just jump down to clean that holy water off of you, will you?« Jasper looked her into the eyes and sighed when he realised she meant it.
»Alright. Don't let me drown, please«, he said, reflexively reaching out for Aristes who was about to help him up the windowsill, before both remembered and backed away.
»Right«, Aristes mumbled. »Actually, let me go first. I'll wait in the river bed instead of jumping behind you.« Jasper stepped aside, watching as Aristes climbed the window sill like it was just another step in a staircase and jumped without hesitation. Jasper watched Aristes gliding to the ground and realised he never actually saw his wings. Not up close. He found the feathers scattered all over his flat, yes. He knew the wings were black. But he never actually got the chance to take a good look.
They were bigger than Jasper had thought they would be, spread out so Aristes could glide to the ground after catching his rapid fall. He landed elegantly on the dusty ground, looking up to give him two thumbs up.
Jasper nodded and grabbed Avery's hand, she held up to help him onto the windowsill.
»Let's get over it«, he mumbled, looking down into rushing water beneath him. It wasn't higher than the jump from the cliffs he did when he went to the seaside with Avery last year. But with his current luck, he'd jump directly into a fish-monsters mouth that would eat him by swallowing him in one piece.
Jasper took a deep breath and locked eyes with Aristes, who was still looking up at him, waiting to rush into the water to get him out, once he'd washed off the holy water. Jasper then stepped forward and jumped. The fall was short and fast, before he crashed feet first into the cold, dark water. It wasn't cold enough to make him go into shock, but it sure as hell wasn't comfortable either. Jasper kicked to the surface, feeling his whole body protest against the activity once more. He then felt a hand grab his arm, pulling him to the surface and he went limp from relief and exhaustion. Aristes pulled him out of the water and into his arms, flying both of them to the dusty river bed.
Aristes set down on the ground, carefully letting Jasper go, only when he was sure he wouldn't collapse to the ground.
»You alright?«, he asked hesitantly. Jasper nodded, still gasping for air in between his coughing fits.
»I'm fine«, he croaked eventually. »Not dead at least. And not burning you upon touch. Why aren't we back with Avery«, he asked.
»Well be in one second. There's just one more thing«, Aristes said. »Hargamon didn't break the curse and he won't leave your soul alone.«
»Well, I know. What's your point?«, Jasper asked, when he noticed the fear in Aristes eyes.
»That I don't want anything to happen to you or your soul. And I have an idea for how to do that. Even though I really don't like it«, Aristes said, gently laying his palm on Jasper's face. Jasper swallowed, his heartbeat skyrocketing.
»Does this idea also involve making sure you will be able to still visit earth when Hargamon blabs out that we faked paperwork?«, he asked breathless.
»Yeah.«
»I hope you realize that you don't have to do this. Not for me at least«, Jasper said quietly and Aristes shot him a stern look.
»Shush. We're both in this together. I give up my free will, you give up your soul.«
»True. Then go ahead. Let's do this.«
»Are you sure?«
»You're not the only one who trusts me. I trust you too«, Jasper said softly, making Aristes smile for a moment.
»You know, I swore to never do it again. I hate being under contract. I lose my own free will. Humans made me do horrific stuff. They used me for their revenge, their hate and rage.« Aristes took a deep breath, his eyes finding Jaspers. »But you're right. I trust you. And I want to help you.« Jaspers smile was soft, barely there but Aristes saw it. It soothed the fear burning in his eyes. Jasper felt the irrational urge to find every single human being who ever dared to hurt Aristes. Which was stupid because they were probably all dead by now anyways. Killed by the very being who was holding him so gently.
Jasper forgot how to breathe when Aristes carefully bumped their foreheads together. He had his eyes closed, a small smile on his lips. They were close enough that Jasper could feel Aristes warm breath on his face. He weirdly noticed Aristes smell as well. Something dark and soothing like charcoal and incense. It made his heart flutter painfully in his chest.
»Thank you, Jasper.« Aristes took a slow step back, determination visible in his features. He held out his hand. »Ready?«
»I feel like I should be the one asking«, Jasper answered and took Aristes hand. Aristes raised his other hand. His index finger vanished in a puff of black smoke and got replaced by his real one. A clawed, bony finger, sharp enough to cut through skin like paper. And that's exactly what Aristes was about to do. He looked Jasper in the eyes.
»I'm sorry, this will hurt«, he warned gently but Jasper only nodded.
»It's fine. Nothing I can't handle.«
Aristes put the claw against Jasper's palm and scratched a fine line into it. The skin split open, turning red from the blood dripping out. Aristes leaned down and ran his tongue over the scratch, sealing the contract, while staring into Jaspers eyes. His own eyes glowed red for a moment, like the embers of a fire. Jasper watched, knees soft and his heart pounding, mentally reminding himself that this was not the time to tell Aristes that he loved him.
Jasper's gaze fell on his palm, where the scratch turned black and left Aristes sigil behind. It was the sign of the demon that marked ownership over Jasper's soul. It looked like a tattoo.
Or some kind of wedding ring, thought Jasper. Until death do us part. The thought made him involuntarily laugh. Aristes looked at him confused. He was probably the first human who genuinely smiled while making a contract with a demon.
»What is it?«, he wanted to know, but Jasper just smiled.
»Nothing«, he said, closing his hand, which Aristes was still holding, and looked determinedly into his eyes. »Now, let's get out of here, shall we?«
Aristes grinned.