Chapter four:

In the months that followed, Ari and Danny met on the grassy plain as often as they could, which was nowhere near as often as they would have liked. Many times one would ask his elemental to contact the other, only to find him too preoccupied or too guarded to reply. It was frustrating, and when they did manage to get together they often vented their spite.

"I just don't get it!" Ari complained one day. It was mid-winter, and the plain was covered in snow. "Michael's always after me, he just never lets off. Sometimes I think he knows, though he never says nothing."

Danny didn't answer. He had used a strip of his shirt to form a swing, and was now grinning widely as Ari's little wingelf friend swung from it. She blinked bright colours, and he felt sure that she was laughing.

"How's it been for you?"

"Pretty much the same," Danny admitted, and his smile faltered. "Dad gives me this look sometimes, as if he can see right into my head. It's scary. Damien's been staying out of my way lately, and that's kinda scary too."

"Do you think they know that we keep seeing each other?"

"I think they know I'm up to some kinda shit. But if they knew everything, why haven't they locked us up or something?"

"Wish I knew."

Ari let himself fall to the ground, lying on his back in the snow. This day, they had built snow fortresses and had a snowball fight, and the angel boy felt exhausted. Part of him wanted to leave, to go home and sleep, but he didn't want to waste one precious second of his time with Danny. Absentmindedly, he petted the salamander, which had been busy melting one corner of Ari's fortress. He was just about to resume his complaining when a large handful of snow landed on his face.

"That's for snoozing."

"Wasn't!"

He shot up, and screams and giggles ensued until he had captured the fleeing devil boy. What followed was snow-filled revenge, then revenge upon revenge until nobody even remembered who had started it. When their fight finally died down and they had helped brush snow off each other, their mood turned sombre. Both knew that they would soon have to return home.

"It's weird," Danny said, "but I've never played in snow before. Didn't think I'd like it, but I had great fun."

"You've never?" Ari asked, then he gave a short laugh. "That's right, you don't have snow back home, do you?"

"Nope. Snowball's chance in you-know-where, and all that. I thought it'd be colder."

"Well, you are a devil. You probably won't even freeze on the North Pole." Ari took Danny's hand and ran his fingers along it. "Soft and warm."

"Yeah, I guess." Danny blushed, but he didn't pull his hand back. "You ready to go?"

"No, but we gotta." The wingelf landed on Ari's shoulder, while the salamander scuttled up on top of Danny's head. "See you soon."

"Hope so."

"Next time I'll kiss you."

"You always say that." Danny made a sour face that made Ari laugh. "Fuck you, angel."

"Fuck you too."

And they were gone.

* * * * * *

Many weeks passed without any more meetings, leaving Danny with a kind of empty feeling inside his stomach that he couldn't quite explain. Sure, he missed having fun with his friend, but it was more than that. More than he cared, or dared, to admit. A couple of times, Ari's wingelf friend had visited, but only to shake her head as she dimmed to a sad blue light. Ari wasn't coming. Whether the angel boy had grown tired of his hellfriend, or was being too closely guarded, Danny didn't know. Though he felt sure that Ari would have come if he could.

Spring arrived, or at least what passed for spring in Hell, and Danny spent a couple of days helping Adriana grow new kinds of plants whose pollen would be sure to resist any allergy medicines. Her mother had been a floral spirit, and of all his siblings she was the one Danny found the least bothersome. Though she was almost Damien's age, she rarely treated him as a dumb kid, and she would sometimes even play with him. Almost like a friend.

After their work was done they went swimming in the lake, and then lay down on the beach to cool off. While he felt scorching hot droplets dripping off him, Danny's mind returned to his last meeting with Ari, and their snow fights. Those fortresses they had built, he mused, would have melted in an instant down here. He glanced out over the flaming waves, and wondered if his angel friend would have been able to bathe there. Probably not. Suddenly he felt that he was being watched, and he glanced up at Adriana. She was eyeing him with a puzzled expression on her face.

"What?" he snapped. "Leave me alone."

"You look miserable. I mean, you always pout and whine, but now you look worse than ever."

"I'm fine."

"Yeah, right." Her eyes left his for a second, and she grinned. "How come it's still so tiny? I thought it should have grown bigger by now."

"Huh?" Danny glanced down his body, feeling deeply insulted as he hurried to cover himself with his hands. "What the fuck!"

"Your salamander," Adriana giggled. "Don't flatter yourself."

"Oh yeah... right."

"Dad said you were raising it to be huge. He sounded kinda disappointed that you'd failed."

"He always does." Blushing slightly, Danny stood up and started getting dressed. "I guess I haven't been trying very hard."

"It's cute. I think you'd be happy to have it, rather than moping. Are you missing something? Or someone?"

Danny froze while pulling his shorts up. Did she know? But how could she? Unless someone had told her to watch him. Dad... or Damien? Danny was still waiting for another confrontation with his older brother, and each day it didn't come, his worries grew. Was this another way to get at him, to use Adriana? She seemed to sense his thoughts, because she gave him a brief hug, then helped him into his clothes.

"I'm not spying. I know that's what you're thinking."

"I... I wasn't..."

"Little liar." She gave him a shove, but when he turned around to retaliate he found that thorny shrubs had sprung up between them. "Damien tried, you know."

"Tried what?"

"Don't act like an idiot!"

"Tried to get you to spy on me?" She nodded. "So, are you?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna tell him you're just being your regular bitchy self. Even though that's not true, you're bitchier than ever." Danny didn't answer. Instead he picked up the salamander and started walking back to the castle. Adriana followed him. "Come on, you can tell me. You know you can trust me."

"Hah!"

"We always got along, right? Sometimes, at least. And you helped me with my pollen, so why won't you let me help you?"

"Can you make them change?" Danny could hear the bitter tone in his voice, and he hated himself for being so see-through. "Dad, Damien. Everything?"

"Is it true, then? About the an..."

"No!" He whirled around and tried to punch her, but she floated away like mist in a breeze. "None of it is! Whatever Damien's told you, it's just lies."

"Methinks the lad protests too much."

"Fuck!"

"Bad language doesn't help."

"What do you want?"

"Honestly, I swear on my horns, cross my heart and hope to die, Danny. I just wanna get one in on Damien. You're not the only one who hates his guts."

"And dad?"

"Is entirely another matter. Can I hide your secrets from him? I dunno. I doubt it. But I bet you he knows already. He knows everyone's secrets."

"Then why hasn't he come after me?"

"Who knows? Maybe he's waiting for Damien to do something. He is the Heir, you know."

"I met him on Halloween," Danny sighed, sitting down. He flinched at first when Adriana's hand touched his shoulder, but then he leaned against her. "We went trick-or-treating, and we played for a while and shared our candy."

"And?"

"And then he came to see me, down here. We can meet through our elementals, he's got a wingelf."

"And?"

"And nothing. We've just been playing. Is that so bad? He's... he's my friend."

"A lot of moping for just a friend." She grinned, and pinched Danny's butt, making him yelp. "Have you kissed him yet?"

"No!" He jumped to his feet and turned away from her. "Hell, no!"

"Dad definitely knows. Danny, you're so transparent you could almost be a window."

"And Damien?"

"Is thick as a brick. He might never find out. You'd know it if he had."

"No shit, huh?"

"No shit. Is your angel in love with you?"

"I think so," Danny sighed. What use was it to try and hide anything now? "He keeps saying he'll kiss me."

"You should let him. But wait 'til I'm there, I wanna see it."

"Perv!"

"Hell, yeah! Boys kissing, so cute." Suddenly, she pushed him hard in the back, sending him tumbling into the shallow of the lake. He fell flat on his face, sputtering and dripping burning water as he got to his feet. "That's for spacing out, lover boy!"

"Fuck you!"

Danny tried to lunge at his sister, but again she drifted out of his reach, while her clothes whirled up from the ground and wrapped themselves around her. Laughing heartily, she fled back towards the palace while he gave chase.

* * * * * *

Seasons in Heaven were never more than subtle shifts in the everlasting verdancy. Autumn was the time when the trees shed their leaves only to make place for new buds mere days later. In the fields outside the Citadel, the farmers' work went on as always. And among them, these once-living who tended the crops, was a young boy. One lonely angel fighting off misery as he tried to understand his plight.

Ari's chores had lasted for days, weeks, months. Had it been years? It wasn't easy to tell, when all he did was work from dawn to dusk. And in the evening all he could manage was to drag himself to his bed to fall asleep, exhausted. He was given no time for himself, not even to think. Each morning Michael would walk with him to wherever he would work that day, and each evening Michael would tell him that his soul was still tainted.

Tainted...

Just because he had...

Ari could barely remember what he had done to merit this punishment, only that it must have been bad. He had always taken pride in being a good boy. A good angel. Yet he had done something. Seen someone. Some nights, just as he was drifting off to sleep, he could almost recall a face. A smile, slightly crooked but always friendly. A voice, clear yet with the first faint hints of raspiness that spoke of a boy soon about to grow up. If only he could remember the boy's name.

They were harvesting apples this day. Being by far the smallest of the workers, Ari was of no use carrying baskets or rolling away barrels, so his job was to climb the trees to pick the highest apples. In a way it was a relief. The last couple of weeks he had spent digging to plant potatoes, and to reach upwards felt good for his aching back. Only, now as the day was drawing to a close, his shoulders were beginning to hurt.

Michael had assured him that the work would be good for him, that the physical labour of tending to the gifts of the land would turn him from deviant thoughts. What those thoughts had been, or why he couldn't seem to get rid of their consequences, weighed him down that night as he slumped into bed.

He had been in his human form while working, and was too tired to change out of it. Yawning and stretching, he barely had time to pull off his robe before he fell asleep.

* * * * * *

That same night, Danny was feeling too restless to sleep. Dinner had been tedious beyond belief, with most of his siblings rambling on about evil deeds they had done or wickedness they had witnessed. Even father had seemed bored before long, and had even caught Danny's gaze at one point. The two had shared a rare grin and rolled their eyes together.

If his father had been any other man, Danny would have welcomed the exchange. As it were, it now took root in his mind and grew. What had it meant? Had they both been bored silly by Arabelle's account of poisoned minds and rotted hearts, or had there been more to it?

Damien had barely even scowled at him, which was unusual but far less scary. With him you always knew, with their father you never knew. In Hell, paranoia crept close behind your every step, ready to whisper her venom into your ear.

Giving up his vain attempts to fall asleep, Danny got out of bed and started pacing his room. He kept talking in a low voice to his mother's statue, telling her about his worries for Ari. How he wanted to know if his angel friend were all right, but how at the same time he was afraid of the answer.

What if something bad had happened? Or worse, what if Ari just didn't want to see him anymore? But if that were so, then why did the wingelf still come to visit him from time to time? He wished that the tiny creature could speak in words and not just colours.

Over the past few weeks, a plan had begun to form in Danny's mind. A simple plan, but a dangerous one. He hadn't yet put words to it, not even inside his own thoughts, but now it spilled forth in whispered words.

"I could... I could go up there, you know. See for myself." He leaned against the statue, seeking what comfort he could from its rigid stone features. "The salamander... I bet it could. I mean, Ari came here, didn't he? That first time?"

He stared out of the window. In the distance, the lake shone a fiery red against the dark, starless sky. One of the few perks of being family, he thought. The view from his room was great. From far away he could hear the faint moans of the Petrified Forest, interspersed with the occasional growl from Kerbie. There were other noises as well, from within the palace.

Murmuring voices, doors opening or slamming shut, pained shrieks from whatever creature invoked a family member's ire. Then there were fainter, less recognisable sounds. Occasional creaks and thumps, dull groans and mournful whimpers, gusts of wind sneaking through cracks. Sibilant whispers that Danny never knew if they were real or just coming from inside his own head.

No, he decided. It was too dangerous to do it in here. If someone barged in while Danny's mind was elsewhere, he could wake up to find... what? Surely nothing good. He needed a safe place, or at least as safe as anywhere could be in Hell.

* * * * * *

"You are almost pure." Michael's words filled Ari with joy, and he felt the first smile in forever creep onto his lips. "You've worked hard, and it pays. Tomorrow you will come with me, and sing for the dawn."

"Thank you, High One."

"Now go and wash. You're dirty all over."

"Yes, High One." Ari took off running towards the river, but after a couple of steps he stopped and turned. "Thank you, Michael. For showing me the Light again."

"You did all the work." The angel smiled. "Now, go."

Ari followed the river upstream until he found a secluded place where it passed through a small grove. The trees would help keep his modesty, he mused while he slipped off his robe. Just as he was about to step into the chilly water, something brightly colourful fluttered in front of his face. Startled, he fell back and landed on his rump with a groan. He looked around then spotted the thing again.

"Hello there, little one," he greeted the tiny creature. An air elemental. Ari couldn't remember ever seeing one so close. It seemed agitated, and flashed fiery read and yellow. "Can I help you?"

The wingelf kept flying in circles, changing colour all the time, but Ari couldn't even begin to guess what it wanted. Instead he obeyed Michael's command, and waded into the water to clean off. The little elemental stayed with him the whole time, getting more and more frustrated with his lack of reaction. Ari decided to ask Michael about it in the morning, after the singing of course. Surely there must be someone in the Citadel who knew more about wingelves.

By the time he got dressed, it had gone, but not before glaring angrily red right in his face. In the back of his mind, Ari felt as if he should be more concerned, but he felt oddly detached. Michael had said he would soon be pure, and right now that was all that mattered. The problems of others? Well, he should care, but he really couldn't. His mind was set on tomorrow. On singing with the host, in the glow of the Light.

Back in his bedroom Ari took off the robe again, and lay down on his bed. It was a warm night, and he didn't bother with blankets. Just as he was about to close his eyes, though, the wingelf returned. This time, it flew right up to him, and kissed his forehead.

At once, he felt himself fall out of his body, plummeting from Heaven, drawn downwards by the elemental through realm after realm, ever down until he finally landed on a grassy plain under a dreary, overcast sky. Raindrops fell on his face as he looked up, trying to find out where he was. Thankfully, he somehow had his robe on again, so he didn't have to feel...

"There you are. At last!"

The voice made Ari gasp, and he spun around to find... someone. A boy; a stranger. It took him only a moment or two to realise the truth. The horns, the black wings, the barbed tail. A snarl twisted his features, and the boy's lopsided grin died away as Ari hissed at him angrily.

"Devil!"

To be continued...