Chapter Text
The day had been dreary, as most days tended to be around this time of year. Fall was still settling in after summer had been laid to rest—much like the freshly buried decaying flesh and bones of the former gardener that had recently been unintentionally unearthed by the Freelings.
Well, the bones were technically still being buried by Ben due to Katherine having cut her hand the other day and not having been unable to operate the shovel properly herself.
They had dug the hole beneath a nearby tree at the front of the hotel—as per said zombie’s avid request—Ben working with supportive encouragement from uncle Nathan about what a good job he was doing.
“Okay in my defence, the gate to that shed being locked was a big set up honestly.” The girl in the green coat began, steepling her fingers and looking sheepish as she attempted to weasel her way out of trouble for the thousandth time.
“It was practically begging to be picked and I had-!”
“Esther, please.” Kathrine interrupted, cutting off her youngest’s potentially hour-long spiel about the origins of their most recently resolved predicament. She did not have the allotted time to waste for this.
“I already told you, I forgive you for unlocking the shed. What I don’t forgive you for is giving the zombie gardener you found inside a sharpened rake before directing him towards our paying guests.” Katherine continued, crossing her arms as her face took on a disapproving expression.
“I was only wanting him to rough up that priest a little—he bothers Abaddon.” Ether protested, gesturing towards said demon standing motionless nearby as she fought for his worthy cause.
“It is true. He disturbs my energy fields and mocks me with his proximity.” The other offered helpfully with a nod, still standing blankly nearby as he observed the mother and daughter’s disagreement.
“See! Disruption of energy!”
“That’s no excuse, someone could have gotten seriously inj-ahhhhhh-!” All heads turned to Kathy at this scream only to find the hotel owner now suspended midair by a group of tentacles all emerging from the mouth of a translucent, round, floating creature, with a singular, unopened eye to its disposal.
The monstrous being was flanked by two others also descending to approach the group, the mouths of the large pink orbs all contained more sharpened teeth than seemed appropriate, or comfortable for that matter. Dagger-like fangs spaced amidst the writhing mass of tentacles which occupied the area where a tongue would normally be, though they had no other limbs besides them upon their rotund bodies
“Hey!! It’s really rude to grab people without their consent like that!” Ben shouted at the creature, recognizing that it was time to drop the shovelful of dirt he was presently holding in order to convert said shovel into a much more useful blunt trauma weapon.
“Oh goodness! Kathy we’re gonna get you down! I’ve never seen these guys before. What are they even!” Nathan questioned, pausing next to where Ben and Esther had also stopped, assuming a battle stance to mirror their own even as he inquired as to what it was they were facing.
“Gee, why don’t you just ask its name yourself.” Katherine yelled dryly, looking frustrated even as the creature made no move to hurt her in any way. Seemingly inspecting her with its limbs before eventually lowering her down to an acceptable level for her to be deposited back onto the ground, the beast then flinching as Esther grabbed at one of the lowest tentacles for a closer look.
“Never mind, I'm okay after all.” Kathy said with fake cheerfulness, brushing herself off after having picked herself up off of the ground in order to embrace her children.
“Looks like getting free was overall easier than usual. I honestly expected way more scratches.” She sighed, hugging the pair close before they broke apart, taking a step back from the monster which Esther still had a hold of.
“These things smell weirdly fishy. Almost like my favourite pacific sea salt candle.” Ben offered, he and Nathan both still looked confused about the creatures’ lack of hostility towards them as the other two beasts moved around the yard almost as if seeking out something with their closed, unseeing eyes. Ben grimacing as his sister chose to lick the monster limb held in her hand, an action that was unfortunately not uncharacteristic of her behaviour.
“Can confirm, these guys are weirdly salty for floating monsters. Can’t think of a good reason why that is though.” Esther reported, letting the tentacle go after testing the minuscule suckers for barbs on her left palm first. "Where did Abbadon slink off to? He might know more about what these guys are."
“Huh, not sure about Abaddon.” Nathan had murmured, eyeing the monsters scanning the yard suspiciously as he rubbed his chin. “It’s almost like they’re... looking for someth-“
“Unhand me you-urghh-idiotic amalgamation of limbs, don’t you know who I am?!” Abaddon screeched, trying and failing to escape into the quickly dug shallow divot which he had added to Ben’s half-completed grave for their gardener’s body. Clearly desiring to be freed from the persistent tentacles swiftly curling around the ankles and thighs of his mortal form.
“Abaddon!” Esther shouted, racing over along with the rest of the group in order to start tugging at the writhing mass of tentacles attempting to snatch up the enraged Victorian child, though they refused to budge. Rising up into the air in an effort to pull the demon off of the impossible hold he was maintaining upon a thick root which he had previously unearthed. “What do they want from you?!”
“I’m not sure! Blood maybe? Or bones, probably one of the two!” The boy shrieked, grip failing as the stupid little hands of his earthly vessel failed him, slipping and allowing him to then be drawn up and further intertwined within the tentacles of the thing’s open mouth much to Esther’s dismay.
“This is just like that imbecilic cult all over again.” Abaddon snarled, attempting to squirm away as he was so firmly taken hostage by the creature binding him. “Don’t you dare even consider attempting to devour me vermin, I will destroy you from the inside out if you dare to try!” Abaddon threatened even as he was drawn closer to the edge of that vicious-looking mouth, though thankfully not taken inside.
Ben swung his shovel spade at a few of the lowest tentacles, which had been trying to fend off the rest of the Freelings as they attempted to free the demon from its clutches. These limbs quickly retreated back into the air following the unusual beasts having secured their desired prize.
“This does explain the salty limbs at least if it was looking for a demon though, probably to weaken Abaddon prior to whatever it wants him for.” Ben pondered, attempting to lift the mood even as he was ignored, continuing with his cheerful point. “That’s one less mystery we have to solve.”
“Abaddon! Hold on buddy, I’m coming!” Nathan had shouted, still unsure of his contribution to the scenario even as he tried to be supportive. The creature seemed to prefer to contain Abaddon rather than to do anything to end the demon’s existence. Wanting him alive for some reason, the unknown variable within the ‘why’ component of that agenda not quite sitting right with anyone involved unfortunately.
“I will bite! I always bite!” The demon seethed, writhing and snapping his teeth at the tentacle closest to him while his torso was also wrapped up the prehensile coils of the beast—limbs being bound together using his unfortunately frail wrists and ankles as points of leverage. The eye monsters seemingly having found what they had been searching for in refusing to release the demon in the same way it formerly had for Katherine.
“I repeat! I am the gatekeeper prince of the abyss of destruction, bearer of torture and eternal suffering. Put me down!” The demon hissed, eyes a brilliant red, now fully contained as the other two beasts found their way back to the one holding the boy, all now suspended far above the reach of the Freelings.
“Of course I know who you are, Apollyon. Do tell me, have you informed any of these future sacrifices of your former angelic nature? Or are they as unaware of your origins as you would prefer them to be?”
The low, multi-layered voice which had responded to Abaddon’s query seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Potentially being emitted from the earth itself as its many tones seemed to echo somehow within the open space, carrying the weight of this new revelation alongside it.
“Wait, wait, wait, angel? You were an angel?!” Esther exclaimed, eyes shining. “Holy shit there’s so many more rituals we can attempt now that I know that! I just gotta grab some supplies and-!”
“This is clearly not the time Esther, please don’t talk like that and I’d also appreciate it if you could curb the ritual enthusiasm please.” Katherine bit out sharply, still trying to brainstorm a solid method of retrieval for their demonic ward which didn’t involve endangerment of her other children.
Ben was attempting to toss the shovel high enough to hit one of the monsters without injuring himself with the heavy tool’s descent. Cowering each time gravity brought it back down to earth and yet persistently tossing it back up each time he retrieved it again.
Abaddon had frozen within the tentacle limbs of the creature at this use of his former name, clearly in a state of shock at the revelation that whatever they were facing knew more of him than he would have liked it to. A low growl eventually built up within the demon’s throat as his eyes narrowed dangerously, flashing red at this blatant encroach upon his power.
“What is it that you seek from me, demon?” Abaddon questioned openly, clearly at his wits end if he was resorting to formal communication rather than his previous feral tactics.
“I wager I would recognize your nasally tonal plunge nearly anywhere, Astaroth. What business do you have appearing on my branded territory." Abaddon seethed, having gone unnaturally still as if listening to the weighted silence that followed his words. To something beneath the very atmosphere containing the disembodied voice, a sound audible only to the demon’s pitch range.
“Hmmmmmm, aren't we hungry for knowledge? I admire your perception, my dear Apollyon, and am deeply flattered at having earned recognition from one of my favourite princes of Hell.” Astaroth, as Abaddon had deemed him, continued to speak in that odd voice of his even as the snared demon himself refused to resume his struggles.
“You are of far lesser rank than me Astaroth, you have no right to any kind of claim upon my hunting grounds, with or without my demonic form being suppressed as it is.” Abaddon snarled.
He quickly kicked his feet out, rapidly enough to separate his ankles from the tentacle's grip, doing the same to his hands a moment later. Biting and clawing at the larger one encircling up and around his middle with his now-freed sharpened fingernails and teeth, causing it to jerk free of his body in reflex, freeing him to fall to the ground after a brief outburst of struggle.
The demon landed with an ‘oof’ despite his well orchestrated escape plan and was quickly surrounded by the Freeling family in order to asses his condition.
“Are you okay buddy?” Nathan questioned, looking concerned as the boy sat up and held his head, the vessel’s human organs singing out in pain and dizziness with each motion following his impact. Esther helped the other to his feet, ignorant to the deep, resonant laughter of Astaroth ringing out around them following the ensnared demon’s timely outburst having gotten him loose.
“Bravo Apollyon, your affinity for the simple tools of humanity—luck, wit and ingenuity—is reflective of your time spent walking amongst them. Unfortunately, you don’t belong here princeling.”
“Yes he does!” Ben countered, “He's eaten way too many light bulbs from my lamp in the dead of night for him to leave now. At this point I’d just be disappointed if he did.” The ginger boy continued to vent, oblivious to the invisible entity completely ignoring his protests anyways.
“I must correct you on the affront to your land, however, my dear Apollyon, for I do not seek a claim upon your grounds at all—I seek to obtain one over you princeling—over your immortal soul to be specific.”
“What?!” Abaddon bit out, pupils contracting and looking more than a bit shocked at this new revelation, even as he regained his bearings and steeled his expression of confusion into one of resolute fury. “You have no right to any sort of contract or agreement over me; in this form or the next.” The demon snarled, lip curling to reveal sharp eye-teeth as he bared them threateningly.
“Yeah I’m honestly not sure why you would think that you would have claim without some kind of deal or ceremony involved.” Esther added, brow raised. “Isn’t that like demonic rules 101?”
“Silence mortals!” Astaroth spoke again, this time veiled very thinly with the annoyance that was so very clearly plaguing said demon. “You know not of the things you speak of.” It continued to rumble.
“Unfortunately, I cannot have you interfering with my preparations Apollyon, not until I have you readied for my plans at least. You understand.” The voice let out a low, sinister chuckle following these words, the trio of monsters before the group quickly springing back into action, quickly gliding back down towards the family as if they had been wordlessly commanded to do so. Which they most likely had.
“Oh, boy… Here they come again!” Ben shouted, pointing up at the descending beasts in indication of their approach.
“Run!” Katherine had screamed, grabbing Esther’s other hand, the one not holding Abaddon’s own in an effort to bring her to the safety of the inside of the hotel.
The demon was swiftly pounced upon, being dragged off of the ground with ease once the same beast had obtained a better hold upon him, binding the thrashing being and attempting to make off with him once more, his and Esther’s grip failing to be a sufficient enough hold to retain his grip on gravity.
“Don’t let the matriarch find my corpse collection. I bequeath it to you now, shemon.” That sentence seemed to be his final words to the budding witch before releasing her hand to avoid taking her with him. The demon resorted to chanting in Latin, eyes darkening before his mouth was easily covered by one of the monster’s limbs to muffle the oncoming curse he had been intending to cast upon the creatures.
“No!” Esther shrieked, attempting to pull away from her mother’s strong grip at the removal of the other’s presence beside her.
“What about Abaddon, he’s the one they’re looking for, we can’t just abandon him!” The girl reasoned, digging in her heels to maintain her stance as she was practically dragged away by her mother much like Abaddon had been by the creatures.
“Who knows, maybe he’ll be happier wherever they’re taking him.” Ben said, brow creased as he spoke the words, a pitiful attempt to convince his sister of what he himself knew to be untrue.
The trio of living Freelings were quickly restrained by two of the tentacled beasts while only the third one, it seemed, had been tasked with securing their resident demon once more. If it had been permitted to strangle Abaddon to death first it would have had an easier time with it, but it did not seem to be allowed to kill the other and instead was left to deal with the thrashing whirlwind of teeth and claws which the demon had become.
“Cease this stupidity Astaroth, whatever claim you make upon me will be invalid and rebound on your own soul when it has failed.” Abaddon growled out as he was finally sufficiently ensnared. He had sufficiently chewed at the tentacle obscuring his mouth enough for it to have left him thankfully, even as he shifted to still lunge towards the closest tentacle with his incisors once more.
“Failure is not an option. Do not fear, Apollyon, I will not come to such a conclusion. Your retrieval is proof of that.” Astaroth explained, the voice echoing a low chuffing sound almost akin to laughter, the animalistic noise reminiscent of those which Abbadon himself would make when content or pleased.
“I do not fear.” Abaddon refuted, visibly offended by such a notion even leaving the mind of another through speech. “I am its root cause.” He hissed, gaze narrowed in a rather frightening leer for the human vessel he inhabited to express.
“You are truly a force to be reckoned with princeling. The fact that it is so difficult to get ahold of, even in this limited form, attests to your strength and power.” Astaroth flattered, even as Abbadon refused to lower his guard for such intentionally disarming words.
“Unfortunately our game ends here, Apollyon.” The voice continued, seeming to channel more volume into the way said tone carried within the space as if to drown out all others in some form of announcement.
For a moment nothing seemed to change aside from the Freeling family all being released as the demon was once again brought high up into the sky, the other two creatures then following alongside the one containing him.
The tentacled monster holding Abaddon swiftly turned its squirming inhuman hostage to face it’s terrifying mouth and shuttered eye before the latter opened in a blinding flash of light to reveal an oddly coloured orb beneath the eyelid
Dark sclera surrounded a bright red iris characteristic of all hell beasts, that singular pupil fixed solely upon Abaddon as he met it’s inescapable line of sight. The demon’s own eyelids quickly seemed to grow oddly heavy, though he knew he did not require sleep, let alone at a time such as this.
It had been far too long since he had experienced such frivolous needs, having last experienced them before he had fully consumed the soul of the boy within his vessel and it had still craved such very human desires as sleep.
However, now Abaddon felt exhaustion take him of a different, more persuasive accord, one clearly inflicted by exposure to this unusual hell beast’s gaze; trying to fight against the artificial pull of tiredness for as long as he could bear the unusual blight upon this form.
Physical attacks he could handle with ease, this was a different technique, unfamiliar to him—dwelling briefly on how such a tactic could be added to his own arsenal before he inevitable succumbed to the pull of the beast's will, eyes shutting as he fell limp and unconscious within the creature’s cradle of prehensile limbs.
“Sleep princeling.” Astaroth rumbled. “It will be easier for us all if you cooperate well. That way we will not have to return to finish off your group of underlings.”
At this a harsh, warning flare of rage and anger was almost static within the air itself, emitting from an origin point planted deep within the grounds, causing the hair to raise upon the Freeling’s arms and the hell beast to still unnaturally and swiftly shutter closed its powerful eye.
The shockwave of force had felt like a threat towards the offending demon following the notion of potentially causing any injury to the family living upon the grounds of the hotel—the group knowing there was likely only one inhabitant of said building who had the innate capacity to set such a hair trigger of dark magic in place.
“Abaddon!” Esther cried, held firmly within the circle of her mother’s arms to avoid the clutch of those beasts if she were to approach them again—blood running cold at the sight of him so unnaturally caught in the snare of sleep. So used to his wakefulness even when resting that the very image of such an occurrence had her heart pounding erratically as fear flooded though her.
“Silence human, do not wake him.” Astaroth’s multiple voices rang out once more in their disjointed harmony as a circle of gold was seemingly drawn in the earthen ground with fire directly below the creatures, forming an abyss-like portal within the earth.
“Apollyon’s fate does not require your frivolous concern, I hold no intentions to harm the princeling.” It snarled out as the trio of beasts dove down, disappearing into the portal along with their prize. “However, I am glad our little exchange was able to occur so smoothly and will gladly supply my end of our deal in return.”
The portal vanished at this, the golden lines upon the ground snaking up to form some sort of outline which quickly took on shape and colour as the object it formed solidified before the group’s very eyes.
A circular, twisted fountain finally stood directly where the portal had been, a serpentine wolf head—flanked by wings and made of gold—perched upon the top where the spout would have been for a water fountain, directly above the rather large rounded basin below it.
“Did that thing mention an exchange?” Nathan questioned, breaking the silence that had fallen over the area, even the wildlife seeming more than a bit disturbed by the occurrences that had just gone down.
A moment later the fountain seemed to rumble to life, the sound being emitted from the very earth beneath their feet it seemed, before something spouted forth from the mouth of the dragon-esque wolf head.
Gold coins poured from the jaws of the metal beast in a seemingly endless flow, filling the basin to full before halting in its pouring at last.
“It’s gold.” Ben whispered, still unsure as to how loud they should all be being now that every monster in the surrounding woods was most likely listening out for movement of prey.
Esther quickly bound over to the basin and grabbed a handful up to bite at one of the coins as a few more dropped down into the bowl.
“Esther, what are you doing? Those could be cursed for all we know!” Her mother yelled behind her, stepping forward after her daughter in approaching the fountain, which rumbled once more before depositing the same number of coins which Esther had fished out of the fountain back into the basin from the head.
“It is gold. Real gold.” She revealed softly, handing one over to her mother to inspect as the other two Freelings approached the pair. “And it replaced the ones I took so I think it may be inifnite.”
To easily test this theory three more coins were taken up into her palm and three more were dropped into the basin in response by the head of the gilded spout.
“I don’t sense any curses on it either, and I'm usually pretty in tune with when things are. Plus demons aren’t really supposed to cast anything upon items within their exchanges, it defeats the purpose of it being equivalent.” The red-haired girl continued, her enthusiasm seemingly muted following the events which had just occurred.
“That brings the question of which one of you made a deal with Astaroth in the first place, for money?!” She bit out, eyes narrowed as they landed upon her mother. “Honestly I think the question answers itself; anything you’d like to tell us mom?”
There was a beat of silence for a moment as it was Katherine Freeling's turn to look sheepish while being scolded by the younger.
“I—well... I may have gotten desperate! You're not the only one who’s experimented a bit with the potential benefits of a supernatural hotel. I tried a few other things as well, this is just… the first one that actually worked.” Katherine said, looking more than a bit defeated.
“Mom! I experiment but I’ve never made deals with demons! Not even Abaddon himself. Demonic deals are the riskiest thing you can possibly try!” Esther countered, equally exasperated and frustrated by the day actions stemming from her own mother’s hypocritical decisions.
She was the very same one consistently telling Esther how dangerous it was to be dabbling in any dark magic, despite having moved into a haunted hotel with them in the first place.
“The riskiest thing you can try, aside from skydiving with a blindfold on and no hands to pull the parachute. That situation also sounds pretty risky.” Ben reasoned, standing next to their mom as he faced his sister alongside her. “Esther, we definitely know mom didn’t mean to get Abaddon taken at least.”
“No, I didn’t know that was what it had wanted at all.” Katherine sighed. “I used an old-looking book that I found in the library, I put it back but it appeared back on my desk so I… I opened it.”
“It wanted to make a deal to take something from the hotel and I figured if I worded things well enough that it could be a safe option to actually make us some income.” She continued, brows creasing more with every word.
“I told it that I wanted to never have to worry about money problems plaguing us ever again and that in return it could take anything it wanted from the hotel grounds besides my family—I made sure to emphasize all of your safety. So you can imagine my surprise when my deal was accepted.” She finished, leaving the group in silence.
“See the issue in how you worded it was that you played the family card, Abaddon isn’t technically family in any way by blood so that’s a pretty big loophole on your end.” Nathan explained after a moment of thought. “Though I can definitely see where you would expect something of material value to have been taken instead.”
The ghost continued, seemingly at a loss for an upside to the situation before it almost seemed as if a lightbulb had appeared over his head.
“Buuuut, on the bright side you did get your end of the deal without a hitch so I’d say you worded that half beautifully. Just some helpful pointers for next time you decide to make a written exchange with a demon.”
The other chuckled after these tips, seemingly trying to cheer up his sister even as his efforts seemed strained. The corners of his eyes still creased with the pain and sadness he was most likely trying to mask at the absence one of their own, family or not.
“Great we lost Abaddon, probably forever, and got some dumbass fountain instead, way to go mom.” Esther snarked, kicking at the basin of the thing hard enough to hurt—still seeming very put out by the whole situation despite their newfound fortune, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.
“Hey, hey, hey, we can still fix this kiddo.” Uncle Nathan said, committed to looking for a solution to their problem at hand.
“You really think so?” Esther asked. Seemingly unconvinced even as she tried to avoid crying, aggressively rubbing her eyes after each tear as if to punish them for allowing them to have escaped in the first place.
“I know so, if we all band together I’m sure we can come up with a decent plan.” He agreed. “That voice mentioned a retrieval… maybe this is what Abaddon has been waiting for and they took him back to Hell after all.” Nathan reasoned, clearly trying to convince himself as much as the rest of them that that would be a good place to start.
“I don’t think he would have been fighting so hard against them then. I’m pretty sure Abaddon knows who he can trust to bring him back there safely.” Esther scoffed, though she also looked thoughtful at this first mention of a clue.
“It also looked like it knocked him out when it was leaving. Demons don’t sleep so it must have done that to subdue him, meaning it’s either more powerful than we thought it was or Abaddon is just more vulnerable being in a real body like he is.” Ben pointed out.
“Either way we have to help him. We got him into this mess.” Ether said, gaze pointedly flickering over to her mom with some level of forgiveness present within it. “It’s our job to get him out.” She continued.
“Starting with taking a closer look at that book to see if we can hopefully find any clues.”
She hesitated a moment before seemingly swallowing the remainder of her frustration down, gaze meeting her mother’s own.
“Mom… if you still have it could you maybe… show it to us?” The girl asked, voice almost pleading as she begged the other to understand the importance of bringing Abaddon back, hopefully in one piece.
Katherine’s mouth opened for a moment as if to instinctively protest such a notion, especially now after being made more aware of the intensified level of danger the book held. She closed it a second later, however, pursing her lips and furrowing her brow with a resolute nod of acquiescence.
Esther knew she would do this if only to try and rebuild their fragile bond of trust, which her mother easily recognized her actions had frayed.
Though Esther herself also acknowledged that no amount of reconciliation would ever be effective enough to restore their bond until Abaddon was returned to them alive and well.
Until her demon had found his way safely back home.