Chapter 26 - Leon

Leon refused to walk within five feet of Ciel. Which wasn’t to say that he was particularly trusting of Lazar, either; the seraph noted how the boy always kept himself at an angle where both he and the demon were in view, and wary eyes frequently darted to the halberd resting at Lazar’s side with a keen sort of caution well beyond his years.

Ciel didn’t seem to care remotely about the presence of the child. She led the group forward around the cavern walls at a casual pace, her head resting against her arms.

Ideally, Lazar would’ve liked to stay at the back of their group, where he’d be able to keep watch. He suspected, however, that Leon wouldn’t enjoy being trapped between the two of them, so he walked behind Ciel and settled for constant glances backwards to make sure the boy was alright.

“Heads up.”

Lazar jerked around, stopping just before he bumped into the demon.

Up ahead, the narrow path cut off, leaving a wide gap between it and the rest of the road with only a few sparse ledges and smaller footholds to fill the distance of the chasm. Lazar eyed the gap critically. If it was just him and Ciel, they could probably risk jumping between the smaller ledges, but that would be difficult with Leon present. The boy sputtered behind him.

“It wasn’t like that before!”

Ciel snorted and waved flippantly at the swirling storm of rocks and undulating stones to their side.

“This isn’t exactly the most stable of places, brat.” She strode forward to the jagged edge and crouched down, placing one hand down on the hard surface. Lazar guessed what she was doing a moment before it happened.

The toned muscles of her forearm bubbled, expanding and spreading until, all at once, a line of flesh shot outwards from the limb, an amorphous mass that latched onto the path ahead and formed a quivering, skin colored bridge of flesh over the gap.

Leon’s eyes went very wide, and his jaw dropped before he remembered himself and quickly clicked it shut. His brown gaze stared with a mixture of wonder and disgust.

“Go on,” Lazar urged, gesturing to the bridge. Leon’s eyes snapped to him.

“Is that flesh?”

“It is.”

“Yep.”

Both Ciel and Lazar answered at once, and the boy shuddered, the disgust apparently winning out over the other emotions.

“That’s so…gross.” It looked like he wanted to say a lot more, but was restraining himself.

“Sure is useful though.” Ciel waved her unmorphed hand at the makeshift bridge. “And I can guarantee it’ll get a whole lot grosser the more you wait. You ever smelled rotting flesh? Very strong, very un-fresh.”

“It’s not so bad,” Lazar tried to say. “I’ll walk with you. It isn’t much different from stone.” He thought about landing on the pile of flesh after their fall, trying to think of a way to describe it. “It’s just more…squishy.”

If anything, Leon looked even more horrified, and Ciel’s bellowing laughter rang above the roaring wind.

Still, the boy did end up stepping forward, albeit begrudgingly. He glared down at the bridge as if it had personally insulted him, and he seemed to be working up the courage to actually step onto it. A bubble rose to the surface and popped, and he shuddered.

Lazar stepped past him to stand on the bridge himself. It was indeed soft, as flesh was, but there was more of a distinct shape to it than the last minute pile Ciel had used to cushion their fall. It swayed a little, but otherwise stayed firm. The seraph turned to the boy and nodded, holding out a hand.

Leon scowled, and he pointedly ignored the gesture and stepped on without any help. Lazar smiled to himself as he watched the boy’s antics. Leon cringed every time he took a step, but he also seemed intent on moving as fast as he could to get it over with. The seraph remained nearby, always close enough to reach out if he fell.

Finally, Leon managed to make it to the other side. Lazar stood on the path, watching as visible relief washed over his features and he hurried forward.

In his haste, the boy’s foot slipped at the last second just as he reached the edge. Lazar lunged forward, reaching out an arm for him to grab onto. He winced a little at the vice grip. That was the injured arm, and he could feel how soaked the bandages were at this point. Still, he kept himself steady as he helped the boy back onto the stone. He expected to find more relief on Leon’s face, but instead, his brows were furrowed. He was staring at the injury, Lazar realized.

“You’re hurt.”

Lazar drew his arm back now that the boy was no longer in danger of falling.

“I’m fine,” he assured. Leon scowled.

“That doesn’t look fine.”

“It isn’t life threatening and will heal on its own,” Lazar explained calmly. That didn’t smooth the boy’s expression at all, if anything he only scrunched his eyebrows even more.

Before Leon could say anything else, however, a loud thump made him jump, and he spun around.

Ciel rose from where she’d landed on the path, evidently having used her flesh manipulation as a spring to leap over. A few stray rocks tumbled down from the cavern walls, but the path itself remained sturdy outside of the initial vibrations. The demon grinned and patted the dust off her hands.

“Well, looks like we’re all in one piece.”

Lazar nodded. “We should continue forward,” he said. The longer they stayed in the cavern, the more likely it was that more of the path would be destroyed.

Leon mumbled in assent, and Ciel shot him a thumbs up.

As Lazar turned to continue, he thought he could feel Leon’s gaze burning into his back.

—

Traveling to the exit took significantly longer than Lazar originally estimated. In addition to the sheer size of the cavern, the narrow path and constant danger of stray debris meant they had to proceed slowly.

The further they moved from the center of the space, the more Lazar felt that tug return. Now that he knew what it was, however, it was easier to ignore. He gripped his mark, as though the physical barrier of his hand would be able to stop the sensation.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

As they walked, Lazar noticed Leon lagging behind more and more, his steps increasingly uneven. At first he thought he was also reacting to the effects of the pull, but more than once he caught the boy’s eyes close before he snapped them open again and pushed himself forward. Lazar frowned and slowed his own pace.

“Are you alright?”

“Fine,” Leon grunted. The seraph was once again struck by how small the boy was.

“Are you sure? You don’t appear well. Are you perhaps sick, or—”

“Chill, the kid probably just missed his bed time or something.” Ciel raised an eyebrow, deliberately switching to a more mocking tone. “Is the little human getting sleepy?”

Leon looked like he was seriously considering the ramifications of attacking the demon, but it seemed his self preservation instincts were ultimately stronger than his anger.

Lazar peered at the path ahead. They were fairly close to the exit at this point, and similarly to the place they’d entered from, there was a larger area of steady, unwarped stone just beside the opening. Resting in the tunnels would be dangerous, as the darkness would make it difficult to notice an attack, but they might be able to take a break just at the edge of the cavern and take turns watching the opening.

“Can you make it to the exit?” Lazar asked. “We can stop and rest there.”

Leon’s expression hardened with determination, and he nodded. The seraph smiled encouragingly. He would’ve offered to carry the boy, but he didn’t think he would agree to it.

That didn’t stop him from walking a little closer though, and if that bothered Leon, then the boy didn’t mention it.

—

By the time they reached the exit, Leon looked ready to collapse. Despite his now very obvious tiredness, it still took a good deal of coaxing to convince him that it was okay to sleep.

“We’ll keep watch,” Lazar explained. Suspicious brown eyes darted to Ciel, who just raised an eyebrow. The seraph kept trying.

After some more convincing, the human finally agreed, albeit reluctantly.

Leon shifted so that his back was against the cavern wall and he was a safe distance away from both the exit and from the demon and seraph. Then, with a final glare, he lay down where he could watch both of them.

He managed to keep himself awake for much longer than Lazar would’ve guessed. In the end, however, exhaustion finally overtook the boy. His breaths soon evened out into the tell tale slow rhythm of sleep. The seraph sighed in relief, and Ciel snorted from where she sat near him.

“Babysitting not going well?”

“I’m not really sure what to do,” Lazar admitted. “I… haven’t interacted much with children.”

“Well, don’t look at me. Literal demon, remember.” Ciel dug into the bag she’d kept slung over her shoulder, pulling out one of the pieces of meat, and bit into it without any warning. A bit of blood dripped down, and Lazar was silently impressed that there was still blood left after so much time had passed.

“Anyway, just channel your old childhood memories or something. You’re not that old, you’re certainly closer to the kid than me.”

“Seraphs live a long time,” Lazar pointed out. “I could be older.”

The demon threw her head back and laughed, so loud that Lazar was surprised Leon didn’t wake up. The boy must’ve been even more tired than he’d realized.

“Believe me, you’re definitely not.” She ripped into more of the chunk with her teeth, chewing gracelessly, then pointed a bloodied finger at his arm. “You’d better fix that up before the kid starts freaking out even more.”

Lazar frowned down at the soaked bandages. After testing them a few times, he sighed and began the process of redressing the wound.

“I’m sorry for delaying our journey,” he apologized as he worked. “I know we agreed to reach the gate as soon as possible.”

The flesh eater waved flippantly.

“Eh, it’s not that much of a detour. And I’m not gonna say no to free food.”

At Lazar’s look, Ciel snorted.

“Relax, it’s a joke. The kid’s barely got any meat on his bones anyway. Not worth the effort.” She paused, golden eye gleaming. “Besides, I’m guessing you’ve got more reasons for helping than just the goodness of your heart.”

“I’m curious about the Cassius person he mentioned,” Lazar admitted. Having successfully undone the old bandages, he was now applying more pressure to the wound. Thankfully, though he’d definitely reopened it, it still wasn’t bleeding as much as it had been initially. He paused, considering. “Have you heard of a demon like that?”

Ciel hummed. “Can’t say I have. The name’s a little familiar, but most names are down here.” She shrugged. “Certainly never heard of some good samaritan demon helping out fallen children.”

The seraph nodded. “I also found it strange. We should be careful when we reach our destination. I’m…not sure this Cassius will be trustworthy.”

“No need to tell me twice. Not like I go around trusting people anyway.”

The cavern shook as another piece of stone crashed into the wall, though Ciel continued eating, unperturbed. Lazar began ripping up some more fabric. They would need to purchase bandages and other first aid supplies as soon as it was possible. Their current methods weren’t sustainable long term.

As he continued working, listening to the flesh eater eat, Lazar’s eyes darted back to the cavern behind them. The stone pillars and stalactites obscured it, but he could still picture the tear clearly in his mind.

“Are tears in the Abyss usually like that?” he asked carefully.

“You’re gonna have to be more specific than that.”

Lazar gestured vaguely. “I’m certain it was a tear, I’ve seen them before,” he tried to explain. “But, well, all the ones I’ve encountered have opened into darkness. That tear was the opposite.” If anything, the pure white light had reminded him more of Elysium than of anything he would ever associate with the Void.

Ciel was quiet for a few moments, silence stretching between them. Finally, when it had nearly grown unbearable, she responded.

“I’ve never seen another tear like that, no.” Her golden eyes gleamed in the light. “But if you ask me, it shouldn’t be all that surprising. Not like anyone knows much about the Void anyway.”

“Perhaps,” Lazar murmured. “It’s still…strange.”

The more he thought about it, remembering that hollow feeling in his chest as he gazed into the gaping tear, the more uneasy he grew. He shifted his position and continued focusing on his task.

Ciel, having finished the chunk of flesh, now unceremoniously wiped her hands on the surrounding rocks. She had gone quiet as well, eyes sharp and focused on some unreadable, distant thought or memory. Lazar finished tying off the new bandage. Around them, the swirling wind whistled, and Leon’s steady breaths rose and fell in an even rhythm.

“You’d better get some sleep too,” the demon finally said. “Can’t have you collapsing before we hit the gate.”

Lazar glanced first at the exit, then at the sleeping human.

“I can take first watch,” he offered. Ciel snorted.

“Still don’t trust me not to eat the kid? Actually, no, that’s pretty valid.” She rose to her full height, yawning exaggeratedly, and strode further away so that she was on the other side of the little platform. Back against the wall, she remained seated in a slightly hunched position.

“Nighty night,” she said before proceeding to snore dramatically. Lazar felt the corners of his lips tug upwards, and he shook his head. He wouldn’t be surprised if the flesh eater remained awake the entire time.

Still, the illusion of being alone allowed the seraph some time to think. He closed his eyes, focusing on his soul again, half terrified that he’d feel the same hollowness of the tear there.

To his relief, the tiny spark was still present, however empty its surroundings. Lazar exhaled and once again attempted to expand his senses, though he kept his eyes open while doing so this time.

He stayed like that, reaching for the essence around them, grey gaze shifting between the entrance, Ciel, and Leon’s small, sleeping form, the dark lines of the boy’s mark jagged and harsh in the silver light.