Daniel waved a dismissive hand, setting the laptop on the table. “No worries, really. What’s up? Did you need to talk to someone here? They don’t usually work on Sundays, but I can give someone a call…”
Ashmedai shook his head, wondering how to put his feelings into words. He felt so separate from everyone and everything on the surface. The only thing that had made himfeel like he belonged, for even a moment, was Nicolas. It had been instantaneous, the moment he’d laid eyes on him.This one is mine, he’d known. But Nicolas deserved better than a monster who barely existed in the world. Ashmedai just didn’t know if it was possible for him to be more.
Daniel’s head tilted as the silence stretched between them. “Ashmedai?”
He rattled out a sigh.
“Is it hard to explain?”
“Yes.”
Daniel gestured to the chair on his right, and Ashmedai drifted toward it, folding himself down onto the bouncy cushion. It felt strange.
“I have… eighty-seven languages,” Ashmedai said, tapping a claw to the side of his head. “Staying in only one is hard. Sometimes.”
“Eighty-seven human languages?”
He shook his head. “Demonic, too.”
Daniel’s eyes bugged. “There are demonic languages?”
It was Ashmedai’s turn to tilt his head. “Of course. Many of us speak.”
“No, I-I know that. I guess I just always assumed you’d be speaking something… Earthly. Like Latin or something.”
Latin. He knew some Latin. He hadn’t heard any of it in a long time, though. Occasionally he came across a soul that still spoke it in the Pit. Most of them had moved on a long time ago.
“But anyway, feel free to tell me your troubles.” Daniel settled back in his seat. “I’m happy to listen, and I won’t judge you if the words give you trouble. Honestly, I’d be glad for the company. It’s weirdly quiet in here without anyone else around. I’m not used to spending much time alone.”
Perhaps speaking with Daniel would help him grasp the English language a little better. He could use the practice. And Daniel was important to Nicolas. Getting to know his brother couldn’t be a bad thing.
“Is it Nicolas?” Daniel guessed.
“Partly,” Ashmedai admitted, laying his palms on his knees. Sitting felt odd. What was he supposed to do with his hands? His cloak was bunched around his feet and yet tight down his back. What was the point of this position? “I came here… to see the surface. And I found him. I want him. But everything is so…”
“Bright?” Daniel guessed. “New?”
“Foreign,” Ashmedai decided. “Loud. Bright, yes. And fast. Cars. Trains. Humans everywhere. Good ones. Bad ones. Always moving. Never still. Why?”
Daniel looked thoughtful. “The world can be a fast-paced thing, yeah. People have jobs and families, responsibilities that pull them in all different directions.”
“And sins,” Ashmedai said. “Vices. Things they want.”
A brief smile passed across Daniel’s face. “Yeah, I suppose they do. Everybody sins.”
Daniel’s soul was bright, shining like gold reflecting the sun.
“What are yours?” Ashmedai asked curiously.
“Mine? My sins?”
“Yes.”
Daniel blew out a breath. “Damn, asking the easy questions now, huh?”
Ashmedai rasped out a laugh, and Daniel grinned, then shrugged.
“I think I’m probably stubborn. And probably prideful, although that’s taken a hit in the last few months. The guilddid a good job of making me second-guess myself. Once I set my mind to something, I’m pretty much all in.” He winced. “And I can be a little jealous, too. Possessive.”
