Page 25 of The Human Element (The Human Element Collection #1)
Samuel
Samuel had already scarfed down half of his breakfast. The food was unlike any he ever had in Hell.
Everything on his plate was absolutely delicious and he was finding it hard to pace himself.
As he took another large bite of his eggs, he looked around the restaurant.
Well, it looked more like what they called a pub up here.
It was filled to the brim with deep, rich wood colors and leather seats that were heavily worn down.
There was some sort of rifle hung, prominently displayed on a wall, along with various knick-knacks around the place.
From what he could tell, the building was old.
It had these broad posts that went from floor to ceiling and looked as if they could’ve been taken off an old pirate ship, at least the pictures of ones he had seen in books.
The lighting was so dim that he could hardly believe it was daylight if it weren’t for light trying its best to stream through a few windows on the far wall.
Despite its eclectic decor, it felt comfortable and homey.
Currently, Samuel’s attention was on the tv that was playing some sort of sitcom about an office that sells paper, which he thought odd, but seeing as comedy wasn't much of a genre in Hell, he found it incredibly amusing. Suddenly he heard his name being called from across the restaurant and saw Lorelei’s smiling face waving at him, and Daemon’s brooding look as he followed behind her.
They were holding hands and Daemon looked reluctant to release it as they pulled out the wooden chairs at his table and took a seat.
Lorelei sat next to him and Daemon sat opposite from him; most likely to get the best view of him as possible in case he did something fishy.
Samuel understood why Daemon was so against him coming along.
He just hoped he could prove himself to Daemon in a way that truly showed that he wasn’t going to do anything to harm them or ruin their mission.
As Samuel was lost in thought, he hadn’t noticed Lorelei addressing him, until her and Daemon were both staring at him.
He quickly finished his bit of something called “hash” and wiped his mouth before at last responding to her question.
“Huh? Oh yeah, breakfast is pretty good here. And I slept well, thanks for asking.”
He watched as Lorelei flagged down a waiter for a menu and began skimming over it.
Daemon ordered some eggs and toast with a coffee, while Samuel couldn’t hide his surprise at how large a breakfast Lorelei was getting.
Daemon must’ve noticed Samuel's dismay, because he made a point to acknowledge it.
“Yeah, don’t let it alarm ya, this one eats perhaps even more than you do.”
Samuel got excited at the fact it seemed Daemon might’ve been being friendly to him, but when he looked up to see Daemon’s attention fully on Lorelei, he figured the comment was more directed towards her than him.
“Shut up.” Lorelei chuckled into her coffee cup. “ You said we had a big day ahead of us. Might as well fill up when I can. Ready to go over the plan with us?”
Samuel’s ears perked up, although they had told him what had happened up to this point, he wasn’t exactly sure on what they were doing here.
“Alright, well, first things first, I thought we’d go check out Stonehenge after breakfast. I got us tickets for the tour, just to see if anything sparks for you while we're there. I highly doubt it since there will be so many people around. Which is why tonight after everyone has left, we will be returning to allow you to have some alone time. But before we do that, we are going to do some training.”
Samuel spoke nervously before Lorelei had a chance to respond.
“T..training?”
Daemon eyed him a moment but kept his attention on Lorelei.
“Yes. Training. It can only be assumed that Hell will send more demons after us once they find out about what happened last night. And Raphael already told me that Heaven was most likely to retaliate as well. There is no denying that if we run into either side, they will be sending highly trained fighters and I know I can’t protect you like I previously thought.
I plan to train Samuel, assess if you truly lack abilities, and see your fighting skills in action. ”
Daemon paused, looking Samuel directly in the eye. There was no way Daemon was the type of teacher to go easy on someone; the idea of sparring with him terrified Samuel. Samuel let out a sigh when Daemon’s gaze didn’t last long, turning his body to look at Lorelei as he spoke.
“And I will be teaching you the basics of the Enochian language. I have thought it over, and seeing as the piece of my soul has helped you thus far by providing you a bit of my healing capabilities, it stands to reason that this part of you might also allow you to use Celestial speech.”
“Has a human ever been able to do so before?”
Daemon finished off his cup of coffee before responding.
“No. Not that I know of. But I also had never heard of an angel performing the spell I did to save your life on a human either. So the side effects have been completely unknown until now. If that piece of me is allowing you to use some of my power to heal yourself, it doesn’t hurt to try and see if it can be harnessed in other ways, too.
This way, if the need arises, you will be able to better fend yourself. ”
“That makes sense. Do you think we will have time to learn all of this before they send anybody else after us?”
Lorelei was obviously shaken up about the events of the night prior.
Her arm was bandaged up, but Samuel knew that the fire lasso used was a brutal weapon that left most maimed for life.
From what he was picking up on the conversation, the spell they explained to him that Daemon cast to attach a piece of his soul to hers when she was little, was allowing Lorelei to heal quicker than most humans and could possibly allow her to speak the language of the angels.
The only time he himself had ever heard it was when Daemon was using it to help him fight.
When he was hiding and peeking up from behind some tall brush, Samuel swore he could visibly see the magic from the spells hanging in the air around them.
It wasn’t completely clear, but he could see traces of blue and purples forming spirals and flowy loops in the air like a misty smoke.
Yet, it was the final spell Daemon cast that put all the others to shame; the Finishing Spell.
Samuel obviously knew about the spell the angels used to kill demons; one of the only ways to do so, but he never could’ve imagined just how powerful it really was until he saw Daemon perform it with his own eyes.
It made the hair on the back of his neck stand straight up and was beautiful and terrifying at the same time.
It was something he never imagined witnessing, and definitely something he would never forget.
“Honestly, I think they will take some time to come up with a new plan of attack. I would say until tomorrow at the earliest.”
Samuel saw Lorelei’s shoulders tense.
“That’s not a lot of time.” She looked at Daemon with concern flooding her eyes.
“You’re right. It’s not. I guess that means we're going to be working double time today. And for fuck’s sake, let’s hope Magnus was right about your intuitive and possibly psychic potential. Time is not our ally.”
And with that, their food finally arrived and they ate and chatted about normal things for the remainder of the breakfast. Samuel asked questions about life on the Earth; Daemon cracked jokes at Samuel for not knowing about things; Lorelei scolded Daemon and answered Samuel’s questions cheerfully, and so on.
This was the first time Samuel ever spent with and around humans.
They were not so different from himself or the other demons he grew up with, other than the lack of demon features.
And despite himself, a feeling of familiarity rose within him.
Even though the situation was far from what most would consider normal.
This one breakfast, a time of pleasant conversation, jokes, and good food, made him forget about the hard journey still yet to come.
To others looking in and watching the three of them chatting and eating, it would look completely and utterly normal.
But to Samuel, it was extraordinary, because it was the first time in his life he felt he might actually belong somewhere.