6.14
“Wait a sec,” Walker says, before Landis or Otter have a chance to speak. “Why so curious about how we killed another demon? You looking to off someone?”
That’s not a bad question, Landis thinks, and shuts his mouth. He gets the feeling that Walker might have more experience dealing with otherworldly entities than him or Otter - or at least, more experience negotiating with fundamentally unpredictable nonhumans. Landis backs up out of the summoning circle slowly, keeping his eyes on Abyss. They don’t move towards him. In fact, they do the opposite, and sit back down in their chair.
“Of course not,” they say to Walker. “I’m not a fool, and there’s no one I want revenge on so badly as to try and kill them. I’m just curious.”
“Bullshit you’re curious,” Walker says. “You’re a demon. Demons don’t just make gentleman’s agreements or whatever. There’s some kind of catch, right?”
Abyss looks at him bemusedly, and shrugs. “No. No catch.”
“Bullshit,” Walker says again.
“It’s kind of hard to believe that you’re helping us out of curiosity, when your friend just, like, kidnapped Austin to force him to fight to the death in exchange for helping him out,” Otter adds.
Abyss laughs. “I suppose that’s true. But, if you’ll indulge me, I am rather interested in knowing how a group of humans such as yourselves managed to kill a demon. In case you weren’t aware, it’s a feat very seldom performed, even by demons ourselves.”
So maybe there really isn’t a catch. Landis bites the jagged edge of one of his fingernails, his eyes still trained on Abyss. Maybe they’re actually curious, or actually want to help us help Austin, for whatever reason. But still - it sucks, but without any kind of binding contract, there’s nothing stopping them from stabbing us all in the back once we get to Hell.
“Can we talk it over?” he asks, out loud, looking at Otter and Walker. “In private?”
“Certainly,” Abyss says, shifting and getting comfortable in their chair.
Landis sidesteps the circle and shuffles out into the hall, Otter and Walker not too far behind. Otter nods at his bedroom door and starts towards it, holding the door open for the other two and shutting, then locking it once they’re all inside. He sits down on the bed, resting his elbows on his knees, and takes a deep breath.
Landis leans up against the door, a vantage point from which he can easily see the rest of the bedroom. He doesn’t have occasion to come in here often, and it feels like trespassing, even in his own apartment that he helps pay rent for. Austin’s clothes are strewn in a pile on the floor, and it’s hard not to look at them.
“I don’t trust them,” Otter says. “The demon, I mean. Abyss.”
“I mean, who trusts demons?” Walker asks, with a tiny snort of amusement. He paces around the bedroom, cracking the bathroom door to look inside, then suddenly changing paths towards the dresser to look at the clutter on top of it. Otter doesn’t comment on his snooping - or maybe doesn’t see it.
“I don’t trust Abyss either,” Landis says, “but I think they’re our best chance of rescuing Austin. That’s kind of what we summoned them here to do, right?”
“We summoned them here to ask them shit,” Walker says, peering into the mirror above the dresser, baring his teeth at his own reflection. “Not to have them take us to Hell. Which, by the way, is hilariously dangerous.”
“Well, we didn’t know then that Austin was supposed to fight someone to the death,” Landis says. And how are we supposed to get him out of that once we’re in Hell, anyway? It’s not like the rest of the demons are going to listen if we just tell them to shut everything down and give Austin to us. He’s going to have to fight, one way or another.
He doesn’t get a chance to vocalize that question, because Otter looks up suddenly. “You work for Austin’s brother, right, Walker? At that Paranormal Research place?”
“Look,” Walker says, “you already got me here with the whole ‘oh, it’s your job to protect Austin, oh, Jacob will hate it’ shtick. It’s not gonna work twice.”
“That’s not what I mean.” Otter shakes his head, and stands, also beginning to pace. “I mean, you must know something about dealing with demons, right? They must - I don’t know, don’t they train you for this shit?”
“For negotiating with a demon to take us to Hell so we can stop a fight to the death and save our friend? No fucking way.”
“What about just getting a demon to make an honest agreement?” Landis asks.
That seems to give Walker pause. He turns around, leaning on the dresser and drumming his fingers on its wooden surface, thinking.
“Well?” Otter asks, after several minutes of silence.
“I might know a way,” Walker says. “I don’t know if it’ll work, because it’s kind of up to the demon’s discretion if they do it or not, but there’s a way of making sure they can’t break an oath.”
“Sounds worth a shot,” Otter says, and looks over his shoulder at Landis. “What do you think?”
Landis nods. He still wants to bring up the point he never got to, about Austin having to fight, but holds his tongue as he, Otter, and Walker exit the bedroom and make their way carefully back into the kitchen. Abyss is still sitting on the chair. Maybe it was stupid to leave them alone, with the circle now broken, but nothing in the kitchen looks out of place.
The three humans in the room stare at each other, each evidently waiting for someone else to talk first. Eventually, Landis clears his throat, a little exasperated.
“So…how do we know you won’t just kill us or trap us or something once you take us to Hell?”
“Well, I suppose you don’t know for certain that I won’t do those things,” Abyss says lightly, smiling at Landis. “But I can tell you on my honor as a Lord that I have no plans to harm you in any way once I bring you to Hell.”
“Swear on the Styx,” Walker says.
That’s it? That’s his big idea? Landis glances over towards Otter, to see if he understands anything about what’s happening, and finds the same utter confusion in his eyes. Abyss, meanwhile, looks genuinely taken aback by the request. The smile fades from their face as they shift, leaning forward in their chair to look at Walker.
“My dear boy, do you even know what that means?”
“I know it’s a promise a demon can’t break,” Walker says. He folds his arms over his chest, a smug smile tugging at one of the corners of his mouth. “I don’t know what happens if you do break it, but I’d put my money on something magical and bad.”
“You’re very knowledgeable about demons,” Abyss says. Their tone is overwhelmingly positive, and they settle back into the chair, their posture relaxing a little.
Walker rolls his eyes. “Yeah, well, I work for an agency that deals with this supernatural business like twenty-four seven. There’s protocol and shit. Are you gonna swear or not?”
“I swear on the Styx that so long as the three of you are my guests in Hell, no harm will come to any of you.” Abyss quickly taps the index and middle finger of one hand to their forehead, then their lips, then their heart. Once they’re finished, they look expectantly at Walker. “Are you satisfied?”
“More or less,” Walker says noncommittally. “Did you want the whole demon-slaying story now, or later?”
Abyss hums in thought, and reaches into their jacket, drawing out a small, golden pocket watch. They pry it open with a thumb, and squint at the face of it for a moment before snapping it shut and returning it to whichever inner pocket it came from.
“It’s late afternoon in Hell right now. You have a few hours to tell your story, if you’re so inclined.”
“Alright,” Walker says, “then let’s get this show on the road. Landis, you start with how you got arrested and Austin stabbed you and all.”
Landis swallows, and moves towards the sink for another glass of water. He has the feeling he’s going to need it.