Edited: 01/19/26
Chapter 34: Down Below
Danny stretched his arms above his head. "By the way. I am getting better at the drums. Mrs. Henderson says I have surprising rhythm for a beginner."
Stolas froze. His four eyes blinked rapidly. "You are learning the drums Daniel?"
"Yeah," Danny raised a brow. "It was one of the last good instruments in the class closet. Why?"
The owl demon set his teacup down with care. He conjured a gleaming violin from thin air. Its polished surface reflected the afternoon light. "I rather hoped to guide your musical education myself. The viola. Perhaps an underappreciated instrument with remarkable depth and character."
Danny glanced at Octavia. She hid her amusement behind her teacup. "I didn't know you played sir."
"For centuries," Stolas confirmed. He ran a finger along the strings. "Music is one of the great connections between realms. The mathematics of harmony transcends dimensional barriers."
"Dad has tried to get me to learn since I was five," Octavia whispered loudly. "I lasted two months before I accidentally dropped my viola into lava."
Stolas sighed. "A tragedy I have yet to recover from."
"I am not against learning," Danny clarified quickly. "But maybe after I finish my drum assignment? I would rather commit to one instrument at a time. I still have my end-of-semester performance."
The demon prince brightened. "A perfectly reasonable compromise! We shall begin your string education in the new year. I believe you will have an aptitude for it. You need excellent finger dexterity."
Octavia rolled her eyes. "Here we go."
"Setting that aside." Stolas reached inside his coat. He produced an envelope sealed with ornate red wax. It bore a flame symbol. "This arrived for you this morning Daniel."
Danny accepted the envelope. He recognized the seal of House Pyronis immediately. He broke the seal carefully and unfolded the letter. Octavia leaned over his shoulder to read.
"It is from Amara and Flamel!" Danny exclaimed. A wide grin spread across his face. "They want to know if we can visit next weekend. Apparently Flamel's dad acquired an ancient weapon collection. He wants to show it off."
"And Amara says she mastered a new transformation spell," Octavia added. She pointed to a paragraph in the elegant script.
Danny's eyes lit up. "It has been three months since we last saw them. Flamel has probably improved his swordplay even more."
"Undoubtedly," Stolas nodded. "Young Lord Pyronis is quite dedicated to his martial training."
Danny groaned. "I am still trying not to drop my sword when I parry."
"You have gotten much better," Octavia countered. "Remember when you nearly took out that priceless vase in the east corridor?"
"How could I forget? Your mother didn't speak to me for a month."
Octavia patted his shoulder. "You are doing pretty well for someone who only practices every few months. Flamel has combat training daily."
"You have made remarkable progress," Stolas assured him. "Lord Pyronis himself commented on your natural talent during your last visit."
Danny sighed. "Let us hope our next visit there is not so one-sided."
Later that Month
Hell
House Pyronis
Octavia and Amara lounged on a crimson couch at the edge of the training circle.
"Your stance is better." Flamel shifted positions. "But I can still see what you're planning."
Danny adjusted his grip. "I thought I was…"
Flamel struck without warning. Danny blocked the first attack but missed the second, the blunt wooden edge striking his ribs.
"Point," Amara called, drawing a glowing purple tally mark in the air. "That's five for Flamel, two for Danny."
Octavia winced. "You almost had him."
"Almost isn't enough," Flamel twirled his practice sword. "Another round?"
Danny nodded and rolled his shoulders. He still couldn't match Flamel's years of daily training.
They returned to the center of the circle.
"Begin!" Amara announced.
Once again, the two clashed.
Danny took the offensive this time. He launched a series of rapid strikes and forced Flamel back. Flamel sidestepped and hooked a foot behind Danny's ankle. Danny fell hard. The blunt tip of the wooden sword touched his throat.
"And that is six." Amara updated the glowing numbers floating in the air.
Danny accepted Flamel's hand and pulled himself up. Frustration showed in his eyes behind the griffon glamour.
"Don’t look so gloomy." Flamel patted Danny's shoulder. "You have improved since your last visit. Most of us train daily from the moment we can walk. You do well for someone with such sporadic practice."
"Stolas says the same thing." Danny rubbed his neck. "Losing is still annoying." At school, he was starting to hold back in his gym classes. Now, he was pushing himself just to keep up.
"Let us go again." Flamel settled back into his stance.
Flamel attacked again. Danny anticipated the feint this time. He adjusted and cut inside the swing. His blade tapped Flamel’s shoulder before the demon prince could reset. Flamel paused and grinned. This was the first time Danny had scored a point through technique rather than luck.
"Better." Flamel lowered his sword. "Much better. But I realized something."
"What?" Danny leaned on his practice sword.
Flamel looked curious. "Have you learned any combat spells?"
Danny hesitated. "Stolas showed me some defensive and offensive moves."
"Excellent!" Flamel grinned. "Then let us try again. You gotta your magic this time."
Danny glanced at Octavia for permission. She shrugged and sipped from a goblet.
"It should be fine in here." Amara’s feathers shimmered between deep purple and midnight blue in the firelight. "Just keep the power low. Father would be displeased if you destroyed another training room." She looked at Flamel.
"That was one time." Flamel protested. "The others started it."
Danny laughed nervously. "I haven't actually practiced it in an actual spar."
"All the more reason to try," Flamel insisted. He rolled his shoulders. The red and gold feathers along his arms bristled. "I’m curious about Stolas's teaching methods. House Goetia is known for unique arcane arts."
“I wouldn’t consider myself advanced just yet.” Danny nodded after a moment. He tightened his grip on the wooden practice sword. "Alright. Don’t complain if you get a little banged up."
"I would consider it a compliment to your ability." Flamel returned to his starting position. He lowered his center of gravity. "Ready?"
They squared off once more. The mana in the room thickened. Octavia and Amara leaned forward on the bench.
"Begin!" Amara called.
Flamel didn’t wait. He launched an aggressive sequence of strikes. He closed the distance instantly. Danny stepped back. He muttered a syllable and touched the ground with his heel.
Ice coated the floor beneath Flamel's feet.
Flamel stumbled. He corrected his balance with a flap of his wings. He lunged to regain the initiative. Danny parried the strike. Sparks flew from the collision. A faint blue glow surrounded Danny's wooden blade.
"Reinforcement?" Flamel observed. He pressed his weight against the bind.
"Something like that," Danny replied.
Flamel broke the lock. He executed a fast sequence to overwhelm Danny's defense. He aimed for Danny's shoulder.
Danny dropped his guard and whispered. A sudden gust of wind slammed into his back. The force propelled him sideways out of the strike's path. He skidded to a halt five feet away.
"Nice use for evasion," Amara murmured to Octavia.
Octavia watched Danny's hands. "He picks it up fast."
Flamel turned and grinned. "Show me more."
The demon prince took to the air. He used his wings to gain height and speed. He dove towards Danny. The attack angle was steep.
Danny stood his ground. He waited until Flamel was nearly upon him. He thrust his left hand forward. A sphere of concentrated starlight erupted from his palm.
The flash blinded the room for a second.
Flamel squawked. He broke off his attack and shielded his eyes. Danny seized the opening. He stepped in and tagged Flamel's ribs with the practice sword.
Flamel retreated. He blinked tears from his eyes. "Cheap trick."
"Still effective," Danny corrected.
Flamel growled playfully. He abandoned his aerial tactics. He stayed low and used his superior reach. He employed a disarming maneuver. He hooked Danny's crossguard and twisted.
Danny's sword clattered across the floor.
Flamel raised his weapon for the winning point. Danny didn’t panic. He extended his fingers toward his fallen blade. The wood vibrated. It flew through the air and slapped into his palm.
"A bound weapon?" Flamel sounded delighted.
"You said to use magic." Danny cast a refraction spell. The light bent around his body. Two illusory copies of himself appeared next to him. All three Dannys raised their swords in unison. "You get magic."
Flamel hesitated. His eyes darted between the three figures. He slashed at the figure on the left. His blade passed through empty air. The illusion dissolved into blue sparks.
The real Danny struck from the right. Flamel blocked at the last second. The impact jarred his arm.
The duel continued. Sweat poured down Danny's face. His breathing grew heavy. Maintaining multiple spells while fighting taxed his human reserves. He pressed on regardless. He refused to look weak after all of this.
Flamel grew frustrated with Danny's elusive defenses. He committed to a heavy overhead strike. He put his full strength behind the blow.
Danny sidestepped. He whispered a quick incantation. He tapped Flamel’s armor with his free hand. Thick layers of frost flashed across the metal joints of the greaves and breastplate.
The demon prince froze under the sudden restriction. The gears of his movement seized. His balance failed him.
Danny swept his legs with a low kick mixed with an earth tremor. The floor buckled slightly. Flamel fell to his knees. The ice held him in place.
Danny leveled his wooden blade at Flamel's forehead.
"Yield," Danny gasped.
Flamel's eyes widened. Joy crinkled the corners of his eyes a moment later. "I yield! Magnificent!"
The training room erupted in applause. Amara updated the tally with a flourish. Octavia whistled.
"That was the most entertaining duel I have had in months," Flamel declared.
Danny snapped his fingers. The frost melted instantly from Flamel's armor and into steam.
Danny sat on the floor. His chest heaved. "It was exhausting. I don’t know how you do this every day."
"You could say it’s in the blood." Flamel stood up and offered a hand. He pulled Danny to his feet. "I held us back by limiting our matches to swordplay before today. Your magical training was a nice change of pace."
Amara and Octavia joined them. Amara conjured a pitcher of water and a set of goblets.
"I’m impressed." Amara handed Danny a goblet. "I was half expecting you to blow up the room in a fire."
Danny drank the water quickly. "Stolas says anyone can throw a fireball. Few can think beyond the obvious."
Flamel nodded. "My instructors like to focus on overwhelming force. Satan’s philosophy."
"That sounds right," Octavia commented. "House Pyronis isn’t known for subtlety when he holds events."
Danny's rubbed a sore spot on his arm. "I need to practice this more. My timing was sloppy."
"Next time you visit," Flamel proposed, "I expect you to get even better. Might actually get me to be serious overall."
"Assuming the room survives," Octavia muttered.
"Maybe we should take a break," Danny said. "Stolas let me raid his collection of Earth food again."
"Do you have the spicy crunchy things from last time?" Flamel asked.
Danny grinned. "Hot Cheetos. Yes. And some other stuff."
Elsewhere
The heavy double doors of the dining room clicked shut. Lilith stood alone in the corridor. The faint sounds of Lucifer laughing at his own joke and Charlie giggling faded away. Lilith maintained her posture until she rounded the corner. Then her shoulders slumped. The smile vanished from her face. Her expression became hollow and tired.
She walked to her private office at the end of the hall. She entered the room and locked the door behind her. The space was dark. She didn’t light the lamps. She navigated to her mahogany desk by memory and sat down.
Her hand went to the bottom drawer. She pulled it open. Underneath a stack of tax reports lay a pristine white envelope. The paper was flawless. It bore the golden seal of Heaven. Lilith stared at it for a moment. She picked it up. It felt heavy in her hand.
She opened the flap and withdrew the letter. She smoothed the paper out on the desk surface. She knew the words by heart. The High Seraphim Sera wrote the proposal. The script was elegant and sharp. However, it was the second signature at the bottom that drew Lilith’s eyes.
Adam.
Her ex-husband co-signed the document. Seeing his name scrawled alongside Sera’s caused a sharp pain in her chest.
The letter detailed a potential agreement regarding the Exterminations. The yearly slaughters devastated her people. This document gave her an offer. It was tempting. Lilith scanned the terms again.
She looked toward the door. Lucifer was only a few rooms away. He remained ignorant of this correspondence. She found the letter on her vanity exactly one month ago. She hid it immediately. She intended to show him that first night. Then she hesitated.
Days passed. Then weeks. Now thirty days of silence stood between them. She feared his reaction.
Lilith looked down at the paper. The urge to reply grew stronger with every read.
Meanwhile
Heaven
The interior of Emily’s office was a mess. Documents covered every inch of the floor. The focal point of the room was the north wall.
A massive corkboard spanned the width of the room. Red yarn crisscrossed in a chaotic web. It connected a map of the United States. In the center of the web sat a crude drawing of the Fenton Ghost Portal.
Emily stood in front of the board. Her hair was disheveled. Her halo tilted slightly to the left. She held a mug of cold ambrosia.
Emily stabbed a pushpin toward Nevada. "Maybe Area 51?"
The door to the office slid open. Sera stood in the doorway. She wore her usual pristine robes. She held a golden tablet in one hand. "Emily, The High Council is waiting for the quarterly virtue assessment." Sera stopped. She looked at the paper-strewn floor. She looked at the frantic red web on the wall. She looked at Emily.
Emily spun around. Her eyes were wide. She pointed a trembling finger at the map. "Sera!" Emily yelled. "I have almost got him!"
Sera took a slow, deep breath. She stepped into the room. She walked carefully around a pile of scrolls.
"Oh, Emily..." It was the tone a mother used when her child presented a mud pie as dinner. "You have been busy."
"It’s not busywork!" Emily rushed to the board. She slapped her palm against a photo of a localized energy vacuum. "Someone from the mortal realm accessed Heaven. They stole Metatron's book, Sera!"
"That is very interesting, but I’m sure you just misplaced it," Sera didn’t look at the board. She looked at the dark circles under Emily’s eyes. "How long have you been awake?"
"Time is irrelevant!" Emily grabbed a laser pointer. She circled a large portion of North America. "I have narrowed the origin point to the Western Hemisphere. Specifically, the United States. I suspect the West Coast. Or maybe the Midwest."
"You need fresh air," Sera placed a hand gently on Emily's shoulder. "And perhaps a nap."
"I’m not tired!" Emily pulled away. She grabbed a stack of papers.
Sera smiled tightly. She gently took the papers from Emily’s hands. She placed them on a shelf.
"We all have imaginations. It’s good to be creative. But you’re stressing yourself out over... this."
Emily stomped her foot. "It was a real human portal into Heaven!!"
"Of course they did," Sera began to steer Emily toward the door. "And I am sure the human is very sorry. Now let’s go to the meeting."
Emily dug her heels into the carpet and pointed back at the wall. "I can explain everything!" Emily shouted. "I can prove that a human is conducting forbidden experiments!"
Sera continued to push Emily into the hallway. "We’ll get you some tea. Chamomile. It helps with the... hysteria."
"I’m not hysterical!"
"You need a vacation. Maybe a spa day. We can get those nice cucumbers for your eyes."
Sera closed the office door.
"He’s out there, Sera!" Emily’s voice echoed down the pristine white hallway. "He has a portal! I’ll find him!"
Sera sighed. She marked a box labeled "Psychological Evaluation" on her tablet. "I know, dear. I know."