Chapter 25 - Human

Lazar’s mind churned, grey eyes rapidly scanning the boy in front of him even as his hands remained perfectly still.

About four feet tall, underweight, worn and tattered clothes. The seraph ran through his knowledge of the human aging process. Based on his size, he estimated that the boy was around nine or ten years old, possibly older if his scrawniness was indicative of malnourishment.

The human stared up at him, just as frozen as the metal resting against his throat. His brown eyes were wide, his entire body drawn in a line of tension and trembling ever so slightly. The motion was subtle enough that it wasn’t immediately obvious.

Despite his fear, he didn’t shift his gaze, meeting Lazar’s with the sort of defiance born from years of practice. The seraph was surprised at the fire there, sparking beneath disguised fear. The boy had better control over his expression than many adults did.

Lazar exhaled. It was very unlikely to find a human child alone in the Abyss. He reminded himself that there were plenty of demons who looked human or could alter their appearance. He couldn’t afford to lower his guard. Not yet.

“Who are you?” he asked, voice calm and steady. His grip on the halberd remained firm. The boy swallowed, but to his credit, he didn’t look away.

“Who’re you?” he retorted.

Lazar heard Ciel snort behind him. He frowned and tried again.

“What are you doing here?” He paused, then added in a softer tone, “I don’t mean any harm. I only want to be certain of your identity.”

The boy’s eyes darted down to the sharp halberd blade and back up to the seraph dubiously, but he seemed to sense that Lazar wouldn’t put it down until he got an answer. He shifted his weight.

“I was following the tug,” he finally mumbled. Lazar blinked, processing the words.

“You’re a fallen?”

The boy bristled. “I’m human!”

The seraph’s eyes scanned him again, and as he shifted, he could make out a hint of dark, coiling markings poking out from his collar. It was only a flash, but he would recognize that pattern anywhere. It was a larger version of the mark on his own chest.

Lazar’s shoulders loosened, and he drew the halberd back, bringing it to rest at his side. He could see the boy release a breath as he did so, but the wariness in his gaze didn’t lessen at all.

Lazar bowed his head. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I was worried you might be a demon in disguise.”

For a second those brown eyes filled with confusion, but it was quickly replaced with that same defiant anger. He jutted his chin out and crossed his arms, and the action exposed even more of the markings below his sleeves.

"No you’re not. Cassius says you’re not really sorry if you’d do it again!”

Lazar winced. That…wasn’t an untrue assessment.

Trying to remember every time he’d ever interacted with children, the seraph carefully crouched down so that he was eye level with the boy, who seemed intent on not backing down.

“I’m sorry for scaring you,” he amended, trying to convey as much sincerity as he could in his tone and body language. “I tend to be a bit…over cautious because of my duties. I promise I won’t hurt you.”

“I don’t think the duty talk’s gonna work on a little kid,” Ciel drawled. Lazar glanced back, and he saw that the demon was watching casually from the side, an eyebrow raised and golden eyes glimmering with mirth.

The boy tensed, his gaze darting over to the flesh eater.

“You’re…a demon?”

Ciel grinned sharply, cocking her head to reveal the mass of golden eyes on the left side of her face. Her single curling ram horn shone in the silver light.

“Sure am, kid.” She took a step forward, her height easily looming over him. “You’re awfully small.”

“Ciel, there’s no need to scare him,” Lazar interrupted.

“Pretty sure you already got that covered.” She jabbed a thumb at his halberd, still grinning.

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The boy took a step back as they spoke. The seraph tensed, ready to leap forward if he got too near the edge of the ledge. Thankfully the child seemed just as aware of his position, not moving any closer to the whirling storm of debris and ripped stone behind them.

“You don’t need to be scared of her,” Lazar said to the boy. “It’s true that she’s a demon, but she won’t hurt you either.” He shot her a look, and she just raised an eyebrow, which was probably the most amount of “confirmation” that he’d be able to get from the flesh eater.

“I’m not scared.”

Both the demon and seraph looked at him, one with unconcealed amusement and the other with skepticism, and the boy scowled.

“I’m not!” He added, quieter, “I know demons aren’t all bad.”

That made Lazar pause. He considered the boy again. While his clothes looked worn, he himself didn’t appear particularly injured. Based on the extent of his markings, he’d likely been in the Abyss for some time now, and he didn’t think a young boy would be able to remain unscathed for so long by himself.

He thought back to what the boy had said earlier. Cassius, he’d mentioned. Perhaps he was the child’s guardian.

“Has a demon been helping you?” Lazar asked carefully. The boy didn’t respond, but he went rigid, which was confirmation enough.

The seraph glanced behind them at the undulating cavern. The current ledge they stood on was connected to the outer path, and based on the distance, he guessed the boy had looped around from the exit and remained hidden behind some stones or pillars before they’d noticed him. He scanned every inch of the cavern, slow and methodical, but he couldn’t see anyone else there.

“Does this… friend of yours know you’re here?”

The boy hesitated, and he glanced up cautiously at Lazar, who did his best to appear as unthreatening as possible. The boy looked away and shifted his weight uncomfortably.

“...No,” he admitted.

Lazar frowned. “It’s very dangerous here.”

As though on cue, a large chunk of debris smashed into the side of one of the pillars. The entire cavern shook from the impact, and an ear splitting crack rang out as the structure ruptured. Thin lines spread, crawling further and engulfing the pillar until the entire thing collapsed. The wind picked up, carrying those new pieces with it and trapping them into the tear’s orbit.

“I can take care of myself,” the boy said stubbornly. “I don’t need anybody’s help.”

Were all human children like this? Lazar didn’t know, but he did know that leaving the boy alone wasn’t an option in his mind. He might be fallen, but it was still instinctual for him to want to help humans. That was what seraphs did, after all.

That, and he was curious about this “Cassius.” If he was right in assuming that he was a demon, then that only created more questions. Every demon he’d encountered in the Abyss had attacked after learning he was a fallen, and even Ciel was only working with him because of their shared goals. He couldn’t imagine a demon helping a fallen child for no reason, and he wanted to know why.

And, on the chance that this “Cassius” really was benevolent, then perhaps he and Ciel could also ask him for help getting to the gate.

Lazar’s eyes landed on the hints of the markings again, lines running like thorny vines. His fingers tightened and loosened around his halberd, and he resisted the urge to grab his own marking.

“How about this,” he began slowly. “As an apology for threatening you, will you let us accompany you back to your guardian?”

He expected some pushback. The boy so far had been consistently wary and defiant, which Lazar understood. Neither he nor Ciel looked particularly trustworthy, and they hadn’t made very good first impressions.

In some ways, the boy’s behavior reminded Lazar a bit of a young Julius. It was that same stubbornness, that same unwillingness to admit to needing help. He felt coldness rising in his chest again, and he quickly pushed the thoughts away.

“I don’t trust you,” the boy said bluntly.

“If you did, you’d be awfully dumb, even for a brat,” Ciel remarked.

Lazar quickly stepped in before the boy could retort, already seeing him bristle.

“We—I just want to help,” he corrected. Including Ciel in that statement would probably weaken its sincerity.

The boy narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. If he were older or any taller, Lazar suspected it would be a rather intimidating glare.

“Why?” It sounded more like a demand than a question.

Slowly so as not to scare him, Lazar carefully unbuttoned the top of his coat, just enough to be able to pull away the cloth and display his own mark. The boy’s eyes widened before he caught himself and quickly returned to a scowl, but Lazar could see his gaze continuing to dart back down to the marking with a mixture of disbelief and uncertainty.

“My name is Lazar,” he introduced himself. “This is Ciel.” He nodded at the demon still lounging behind them. She waved mockingly, and Lazar rebuttoned his coat and adjusted the collar. The action stung a little, and he saw that the bandages around his arm were completely soaked red. He ignored it. He’d deal with it later.

“I swear we will only escort you back to your guardian. After that, the two of us will leave and you’ll never have to see us again. Would that be alright with you?”

The boy looked away. “You talk funny,” he muttered. Lazar stayed quiet, waiting patiently and allowing the silence to stretch on and hang over them.

Finally, the boy coughed, fidgeting in place.

“Fine,” he mumbled. Lazar’s shoulders slumped in relief, and the boy quickly added, “But I still don’t trust you!”

The seraph smiled. “Of course.” He paused, then asked, “Would you mind telling me your name?”

The human seemed to consider this, eyebrows scrunching. Lazar could practically hear his thoughts churning, brown eyes flicking rapidly between him and Ciel. Finally, he answered in a quiet, hesitant voice.

“It’s Leon.”

Lazar nodded and straightened back to his full height.

“Well, Leon,” he said, gesturing to the expansive cavern and the narrow path ahead. “How about we get out of here?”