Page 9 of Indecent

Chaol arched one unfairly sculpted brow. Why did every demon have to look so perfect? They were either monsters straight out of a nightmare or fit for the red carpet. There was no in-between.

“You know what?” Daniel jerked his arm free, flustered and not understanding why. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care if you don’t believe me. I don’t care if you think I’m full of shit. All I care about is getting home to the people I love.”

Chaol crowded closer, his dark eyes holding galaxies within. Daniel reflexively raised a hand to stop him from coming closer, but instead it wound up pressed against Chaol’s bare chest. He didn’t even try to push him away. The sensation of warm skin under his palm brought him up short, and all his anger left in a rush as he stared at his hand.

He had no physical body here, but this felt just as real and solid as anything on Earth.

He also realized, in that moment, that he was at a significant disadvantage here. If Chaol decided to abandon him, he’d almost certainly be stuck here for eternity. He had no idea where to go or how to become a demon and make his way back to Earth. Without Chaol, he was screwed. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to pick a fight with his only ally in Hell.

But Chaol didn’t seem angry. He tilted his head, his night black eyes roaming Daniel’s face. “Come on, darkling. We better keep moving.”

Daniel couldn’t decide whether that was an insult or not, but ultimately, it wasn’t worth arguing about.

When the sky began to darken, Chaol found a shallow cave nearby—or maybe he’d already known it was there—and led Daniel inside the dark hole. He huddled against the wall with his knees raised in front of him, wondering how he’d ever manage to fall asleep in a place like this. The cave was both narrow and shallow. Daniel wasn’t sure he’d be able to lay flat without his feet sticking out.

Did he even need sleep in Hell? If he had no physical body, did that mean he couldn’t get tired? Would they just sit here in silence until morning, waiting for the darkness to run out and the light to return? Daniel didn’t know if he could handle that. Low-grade panic was already starting to set in.

He thought about voicing his concerns, but before he could decide whether to break the tentative silence that had fallen over them, a hiss cut through the air and a flame appeared in Chaol’s hand. He lowered it, and a pile of sticks slowly caught fire, illuminating the narrow cavern and revealing a matchstick in Chaol’s hand.

“Can I sleep?” Daniel asked, hugging his elbows.

Chaol leaned back against the stone wall across from him, lounging in a way that looked both comfortable and effortless. “Are you asking permission?”

Daniel sputtered. “W-What? No! I’m asking if it’s possible. You said I don’t have a physical body. Does that mean I don’t need sleep?”

Chaol’s head bobbed from side to side. “Need it, no, probably not. Plenty of demons sleep down here, though. Sometimes it’s the only way to pass the time. Sleeping is as much mental as it is physical.”

Daniel hummed. That was good to know, although he wasn’t sure he’d actually be able to sleep here.

The nights in Hell were darker than the ones on Earth. There was no moon or stars in the sky, just an endless blanket of black. Occasionally, shrieks or screams or snarls would break the silence. Each time, Daniel tensed, squinting uselessly out at the darkness. Chaol never reacted, feeding sticks from a pile at the back of the cave into the fire to keep it going.

To distract himself, Daniel asked, “Did you know this cave was here? Have you been here before?”

“Yes. I’m the one who left these here.” He brandished one of the sticks before tossing it in the fire. “Light keeps away some of the worst of the monsters. Pandemonium is lit with hellfire to keep the beasts away. They tend to tear things up, uncivilized as they are. On nights when I didn’t feel like flying home, I’d stop in a place like this and light a fire to keep the worst of them away.”

“Would they bother you? I thought demons didn’t really bother with other demons.”

Chaol tilted his head to one side. “The beasts do, yes, if only to see if I have anything worth taking. Or eating.”

Daniel suppressed a shudder. “And Pandemonium, that’s the city we saw when we were in the air?”

“Yes. It’s where the sapient demons live.”

“Do you live there?”

The firelight reflected in Chaol’s dark eyes. “I do.”

Daniel suspected there was a lot going unsaid in that statement.

“Will we… have to go there?” How the hell would he walk through an entire city full of demons?

“We will. We’ll have to pass through it to get to the transformation pool.”

Daniel’s stomach roiled with anxiety. “How dangerous will it be?”

“As dangerous as every other part of the underworld is—for a human. There aren’t any humans there, so your presence will draw a lot of attention. We could go around, but that would take longer.”

“How am I supposed to sneak through a demon city if they can all sense my presence?”