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I nodded. “This isn’t my first time as a captive, I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.”
The demon took a deep breath and walked around me, examining me, sizing me up. “My name is Malachi. I have brought you to our sanctuary,” he said, “But before you enter, I must give you a warning.”
“Warning?”
“You’re about to encounter many more of our kind. Most of us have never seen an angel as whole as you before—unbowed, unbroken, and full of Light. Some may be hostile towards you. It is important that you do not wander, do not make eye contact, and do not speak to anyone but our leader.”
“You aren’t the leader?”
“I am not.”
“Who is then?”
“All in due time. Give me your hand.”
He held out his hand, plum palm up, to receive mine, pulling out a small dagger and staring at me intently, as if he expected me to outright refuse. “Why do you need my hand?” I asked.
“Our sanctuary is protected by demonic magic. It will flay the skin of anyone not marked for entry… a potent defensive mechanism that has protected us for many years.”
“It sounds… unpleasant.”
“And it is. So, if you’d like to keep your skin…” he bounced his outstretched hand as a reminder of what I was meant to be doing.
Reluctantly, I gave Malachi one of my hands. He took it in his and paused, curiously examining the deep purple tone of my fingertips and the slight elongation of my fingernails. Malachi turned his eyes up at me and regarded me with curiosity.
“These aren’t angel hands,” Malachi said.
“I can assure you, they are,” I said.
“I’ve never seen angel hands tarnished in such a way… why are yours like this?”
“How about we make a trade? I answer your question, if you answer one of mine.”
Malachi’s burning green eyes narrowed. “I accept your terms. Ask your question.”
I had to consider my question carefully if I was only going to get one. I was sure that questions like ‘why did you rescue me’ and ‘how did you know where I was’ would be answered as soon as I was marched in front of their leader.
I glanced at the demons surrounding me, noting their varied appearances; some had lashing tails, others had sharpened teeth or more than two eyes. Horns. Claws. Scales. I hadn’t realized until now, but Malachi had cloven hooves! These people weren’t angels, not anymore, and yet they had saved me.
There was only one question to ask.
“You aren’t like the other demons I met… who are you?”
Malachi paused, considering how best to answer my question. “We are the Twice Damned. Sinners sentenced to the Pit for our crimes against God… only to reach this place and choose to rebel against its malignant influence.”
“Are you saying you’re… good demons?”
“There is no such thing,” he laughed. “We rebelled against God, some of us rebelled against Lucifer, but all of us rebel against Hell. We refuse to sink further into demonism, as futile a task as that seems at times. So, we do what we can to disrupt Hell’s plans, to stop its workings or at least slow them down. In doing so we hope to cling to some piece of what we once were.”
“I… I didn’t even think that was possible.”
“Neither did we. But we persist.” Malachi paused one more. “I answered your question, now you answer mine. What happened to your hands?”
I took a deep breath. “Well… I don’t know if you’ve heard, but God is dead.”
“We may be demons, but we felt her death all the same.”
“O-kay,” I shook my head at the absurd realization that I was in Hell, explaining the Burn to a demon. “When She died, Heaven kicked us out and all of Her angels fell to Earth. Something about the Fall must have changed us, because sinning… well, sinning leads to this.” I raised my hands. “Some of us are marked in harsher ways than others… they don’t get worse over time, but the more sins we commit the more warped our bodies become.”
