Carlos was worried as he held onto Gabriel's arm. Gabriel's body was shaking so fast, Carlos worried that he was going to explode from sheer terror alone. Gabriel was afraid. He wasn't worried. He was excited.
The deeper the stone platform descended, the louder he could hear the old, weak heartbeats, their hosts easy to eat, skin, and kill.
The grinding of old stones continued, and the bright light faded as they descended deeper into the depths of the stone tower. Gio took a few steps away as he watched the young man vibrate, and made the sign of the cross.
He continued to tell himself that it was all worth it. Gabriel had something he needed, and he knew that it would eventually lead him to Santos Dominus. An astral with a connection to Santos, one that had walked right over to his doorstep was a blessing in disguise. All he needed was the approval of the other Disciples, and his quest would soon be complete, his months of travel around the world not in vain.
A thin layer of dust and dirt fell on them, the deeper they went, and finally, the magic elevator came to a halt. Carlos gripped tighter onto Gabriel, as he too could hear the heartbeats of the others nearby. They called out to him, from the dark and musty tunnel, their voices faint in the distance.
Carlos knew that the minute they entered that tunnel that Gabriel would no longer be his. He would answer the call of nature, tearing the old souls apart, whatever chance Carlos had to find a cure along with them.
Gio took one step towards the tunnel, and Carlos held up his hand to stop him.
"Wait. Just wait," Carlos grimaced.
Gabriel knew he was victorious, and he started to shake even faster, much to Gio's disdain. He finally stopped, just to take Carlos by the face, and brought him close. Gio had walked in on something personal, but couldn't look away, witnessing Gabriel's loud moans, getting high.
His fangs were deep into Carlos's neck, the venom making him weak, and Carlos grit his teeth, trying not to let it overpower him, or else Gabriel would eat him whole, and next make his way onto the rest of the monastery. Carlos held onto Gabriel, embarrassed that his knees were failing him and couldn't stand on his own. His soft grunts and Gabriel's loud moans echoed through the stone chamber, and Gio's eyes flitted around, trying not to stare.
Gio looked at the ground.
He looked at the tunnel.
He looked back at the ground, his skin flushed as the moans got louder and he began to count the cracks between the stones, waiting for their intimate moment to finish. It was a few minutes, but to Gio, it felt like hours, as his guest ate dinner in front of him, table manners be damned.
The last voice in Carlos's head he heard was Momo's repeating a stream of numbers over and over again.
One. Two, zero, two. Five-five-five. Zero, one, nine, two.
Carlos memorized the numbers in his head, over and over, until all the voices were gone, save Gabriel's. He let go, and looked Carlos in his eyes, with nothing but loyalty, and Carlos couldn't take it anymore.
"Gabriel, I swear it, this is the last time," Carlos screamed.
Gabriel said nothing and looked at the ground. Gabriel knew he was going to do it again, Carlos knew that he knew, and Gio was thankful that he and the Disciples had come up with a way to weed them out if they were nothing but overgrown, sentient mosquitoes that wouldn't give them what they wanted.
Carlos wiped off the blood trailing down his neck and walked into the dark tunnel, not waiting for anyone, focused on his own agenda.
"Wait, you can't see without a light," Gio said.
"We're fine," Gabriel replied.
Gabriel and Carlos could see at night, better than in the day, and Gio trailed behind. He whispered an incantation softly to himself, and a little light sat on his forehead, lighting up the tunnel around him.
Even though Gio had led them down, Gabriel and Carlos knew exactly where to go. They could hear the meatsuits, their unsuspecting flesh calm, but their smell strangely angry. Carlos wondered what they could be angry about if they hadn't arrived yet, the worst part of the night hopefully already finished.
The soft crunches of the dirt beneath them soon turned into soft taps. The dirt turned into white marble, the wooden beams holding up the tunnel turned into white and gold columns. A soft light appeared at the tunnel, beckoning to them, warm and inviting, the smell of ash wafting in the air.
The tunnel opened up, its mouth emptying into the heart of the chamber. Flames that could never be extinguished lit red candles, held in black sconces on the white walls. Gabriel's head swiveled sporadically, taking it all in. Months of being trapped indoors, and finally he was somewhere exciting.
The marble floors had a dull, yellow luster in some parts, mixed with gold sealing the cracks together. The Roman columns were carved out to be made of various angels, most with two wings, less with four, and only seven with six wings. They all had ghastly faces, crying tears of joy that could be misconstrued as terror, as the weight of the cavern was held up by their rock-solid faith.
"Stop gawking and come with me," Gio muttered. "We're late already as it is with your strange proclivities. "
"I have told you it's not-"
"I don't care," Gio replied tersely.
Carlos told himself he was just hungry as he glared at the back of Gio's neck, thinking about how his blood would taste, wanting to hear the sound of his bones crack between his jaws. He fantasized about how many moles he would find as he tore into his skin while they traversed through the wide halls, closer to the voices.
Licking his lips, Carlos looked up at the ceiling and saw various illustrations that reminded him of the Sistine Chapel. These, however, were different. Much different. Instead of the holy pictures of God's creation of man, Carlos could see abhorrent and vile depictions of monstrosities.
Writhing bodies, horned babies, women fornicating with monsters, and giving birth to organisms that would be given mercy if killed. All of these pictures told a story, their bodies thronging and squirming in the hell flames.
In the center of the madness stood a man, impervious to the flames. Resolute in his white armor, adorned with a golden seal on the front, the same that the others wore on their robes. Carlos's neck craned up to inspect it even more, and he refused to stop staring, his head turned at an impossible angle.
He had long given up pretending to be like the meatsuits while at the monastery. No matter how hard he tried, they would still think of him as a savage. Gio looked back to see his head contorted and quickly turned back to the front.
Gio wondered when he would get used to their oddities, and worried if he did he might become like them as well.
The cavernous area led into another tunnel, this one well lit, the pictures now on the sides of the walls. Gabriel brushed his hands along it, feeling the ridges, parts of the pictures carved into the marble walls. His attention was taken away from the architecture when they came upon the robed men.
All of the old and wise, their faces hard to see, covered by their hoods. Their hushed whispers turned to silence as the demonic forces they could feel enter had arrived. They stood around another eternal flame, this one in the middle of the room. The smell of myrrh lingered in the air, and the smoke funneled upwards, towards a small hole in the ceiling that revealed the nighttime sky.
Carlos and Gabriel already knew they were begrudgingly allowed to stay at the monastery but were never sure why. They could feel the hatred in the room, as they stood still, not breathing, not blinking, not trying to pretend any longer.
The men made it even more clear that this was a one-time event, and that they shouldn't get ahead of themselves. From the crowd came forth Fiorino, who revealed himself by taking off his hood. Carlos wasn't surprised, but Gabriel let out an audible gasp.
"Gio, tell the others what you've told me. They refuse to believe me."
Gio was more than happy to tell everyone his genius plan, at least, the parts they needed to hear. He gestured to his guests( captured victims) and told the old men that they would be able to get rid of their demonic problems.
"How can those that are inherently made of sin, get rid of maleficent forces that walk among us," said a voice in the crowd.
"They are the children of Santos Dominus, and the younger one is an astral, " Gio proclaimed. "We can use them to find what makes his children walk in the daylight. We can use the younger one's powers to finally rid us of those filthy pests. "
The men began to mumble amongst each other, small grins crawling across their spotted jowls, their loose skin rubbing up against the collars of their shirts. They tried to be quiet, discussing amongst themselves, but Carlos and Gabriel could hear it all with their enhanced senses, their treachery loud like the crackling flames.
Gabriel glared at not Gio, but Carlos. They exchanged silent words, staring into each other's eyes, and Gabriel wasn't happy.
Why would they ever think we would betray our family? Why would I ever betray the other astrals as well, Gabriel thought.
We won't. We'll get what we want and leave, Carlos thought.
I don't want this. I just wanted to be with you, Gabriel thought.
Carlos sighed and again he stared into his brown eyes, making it clear that he wouldn't let them get away with whatever half-cooked plot they would have to weed them out.
We need to stay here or else we can't be human again, Carlos told him.
I don't want to be. I like me now, and nothing will change that, Gabriel replied.
They ignored the many pairs of eyes on them, waiting for their reply, as Gabriel and Carlos were deep in conversation.
"Are, are they well," a short man asked. "Should we check on them?"
"The younger one tells me they are connected. Shameless." Gio's reply was laced with snark, causing Gabriel and Carlos to smile at him, knowing their fangs scared the meatsuits. Gio knew they were taunting him, and had nothing to fear, his brothers by his side in the face of evil.
He would sacrifice them both, lambs to the slaughter.
"If you want to join us, you need to pass a test," Gio said. "Months of training go into those who are deemed worthy, but for you, there will be no need. You seem to be confident in your strength already."
"They most certainly are, after Alvarez threatened me, in my study," Fiorino shrilled.
The old men started to squabble amongst each other, like turkeys, the flaps on the bottom of their chins swaying as they spoke fervently, the flecks of spit on the sides of their mouth returning after they wiped it away.
"Fighting fire with fire was how the Disciples were formed, was it not," Gio boomed. His voice carried through the room, bouncing off the walls and he sucked in the air into his chest, trying to carry his voice out farther.
"I have no need to convince you any further. If they win, we have two new strong members. If they die, they are unworthy, and two fewer devils gracing God's green Earth."
Gabriel said nothing, and he looked at Carlos again, disappointment splayed over his face. His lower lip had a slight pout, his eyebrows furrowed, and Gabriel spoke so softly, at first Carlos was sure that he had misheard him until he repeated himself.
"Why do you want to be human? They're all so horrible."
Carlos looked at the ground and said nothing.
He didn't know why.
He just hoped it would make him feel not empty anymore.