Page 24 of Greed

“Thank you,” she whispered to Toby.

How had her life gone from mundane to having a winter, biohazard-like creature spring up in her living room and her best friend turning into some flaming sword using ninja?

The light-headedness worsened, and she leaned to the side, placing her head on Toby. Her lids fluttered, and the world went dark.

I hated coming down to this Hell hole, pun intended. Given a choice between Hell and Earth, I’d choose Earth every time. Hell had no redeeming qualities. It was dark, excessively hot, and stank of sulfur, dead humans, blood, shit, demon sweat, and something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It was disgusting.

Traveling the Ether was fine enough, relaxing, I guess. It didn’t take much time, nor did it seem like it, but who really knew when Hell had no sense of time. Early on, I’d figured out how to manipulate my time so that I didn’t randomly disappear for months or years on end. Businesses tended to fail when you poofed out and didn’t return. Considering I didn’t like to fail, there were a few…unhappy moments during those first few trips.

I stopped to stare at the River Styx tunnel that fed the Hell mouth and the supernatural sorting station. What else would you call the spot that shuffled you off to Heaven or Hell, and you didn’t get a say? It really was just like recycling at a factory.

The River was something that I used to find fascinating and enjoyable once upon a time. Now when I wandered the cavern with its dark shore and stared at the ghostly human faces floating by to be sorted like cattle, I felt…nothing. I always had the strange urge to walk along the water’s edge and talk to the spirits like they were on a bus tour.

And now, if you look to the left for eternity, all you lucky people on the right will roast down here with us. There is one catch, ladies and gentlemen. You must sell your soul to my Father by never committing a sin, don’t ever step out of line, don’t dare think for yourself, and Father forbids you to wish for something that doesn’t align with His ideals. Well, if you are one of his angels, that rule holds true, but not if you are one of his precious humans.

Hypocritical old goat. Those that worshipped at his feet were sheep in another skin, and just because they didn’t Bah didn’t make them any less predictable.

I did like what Charon had done with his spot above the river. The café, like a restaurant, was the only place where demons, angels, or Fallen could sit and dine together. A neutral ground that no one controlled.

I decided to walk amongst the streets and buildings that led to my palace. The buildings were made of some Hell rock, black and plain and completely boring—no fancy amenities when you lived out in these parts. I didn’t even want to remember what they did with their shit. My gold cape fluttered around me as a screeching giant wingbat flew overhead. The flying rat-like creature was similar to the small earthly bats, but this one could carry a full-size demon away if you were not careful.

I loved the new black and gold cobblestone, which replaced the dull grey path that had been here prior. It was my newest addition. A loud roar sounded, and then my name was called. I groaned before looking toward Leviathan’s castle. Gnaarl, Leviathan’s second in command, was waving wildly as he jumped up and down to get my attention. Gnarrl reminded me of the children that would run after us in Heaven, wanting to see our swords. I squinted and stared as I tried to decide if Leviathan had made this side of his castle identical to mine or if it was some sort of trickery. I raised my hand and waved back, not quite as enthusiastically.

Turning my head, I looked around Hell as I walked, and I tried to see it not as me but as someone arriving for the first time. There was one appeal here, and Father couldn’t reach them down here. It was the one spot he couldn’t reach in and pluck their wings off again for fun. Several demons clothed in an assortment of fancy dress weaved their way along the streets, and I knew with one glance that they were heading to Lust’s kingdom. The rest of us Fallen steered clear of him. Although he didn’t have any reason to attack us, you never knew what a Fallen would do when someone was as bitter as he was.

“Master, you have returned,” Brill said as I stopped at the closed gates of my palace. The wide moat I’d had dug around the palace burned with Hellfire, the bright reddish flame dancing against the walls and adding an extra layer of protection from attack.

I never announced when I was coming. Better to see what the mice did while the cat was away. Brill let out a bark of noise—the single syllable command instantly had the gates opening.

He was the highest-ranking Molyneux in my army, and the first demon I befriended after my fall. I would now go so far as to call him friend.

I liked the Molyneux demons best. They were cunning and smarter than all the other war demons. They were also loyal, which was hard to find yet still large enough to scare other armies. Brill stood tall and proud, his eyes smartly averted from mine, but there was no weakness and no fear. He’d grown since the last time I’d visited, his muscled physique impressive even for his species. The black and gold leather that adorned his body made him more menacing, and that was before he’d pulled out the flaming Hellfire sword that he always carried on his hip.

After I arrived here from my fall, one of my first orders of business was to build a strong army, one that all except for Pride would fear. Lucifer, Satan, Pride, Diablo—he was the most feared of all the Seven to fall, but he was simply Luci to me. We were not as close as we had once been since the day of the fall, but we respected one another. Luci’s big issue was his temper, which had earned him the label of tyrant, and he had terrible boundaries when it came to…everything. It would be nothing for Luci to wander in when you’re in the shower and have a conversation about torture and his plans for Hell before handing you a towel and leaving like it was normal.

Before we made it halfway across the cobblestone entrance, a demon panting hard showed up at the gate.

“Halt,” Brill barked out and glared at the unknown demon. “Blayaddt roova goust harr?” Brill had been working on his other demon dialects, and I was impressed at his ambition.

“Hasha Lucifer rammanna hest Mammon voidere shett,” the small demon said, and I groaned. As if just thinking about him had made him summon me to him, the demon was requesting I attend Luci’s castle before I left.

Brill looked at me to see what I wanted to do. “Yes, I will stop in on my way back up, but tell him I’m not staying. I have things to attend to.”

The demon’s eyes grew wide, its slim body shaking with obvious fear of having to relay the message back to its master, but it turned and scampered off.

Great, just fucking great.

I turned back to the shiny black and glittering gold palace that looked out of place amongst the dull grey and bleak surroundings. The glittering symbol of my sin was burning bright for all to see against the polished black on the front of my palace.

I honestly didn’t know who would try to attack me down here, but it felt like it was the right thing to do, establish my authority right from the first moment. Now I dreamed of much loftier goals.

“How is everything going here,” I asked Brill as we marched across the open expanse of the courtyard.

“Excellent, Master. The army grows, and if they do not learn to obey quickly enough, I destroy them.” I nodded at the answer. I trusted Brill as much as I trusted just about anyone, which said a lot about the long-standing relationship we’d shared to date. Did I call him a friend? That was a tough question to answer, but if forced to answer, then I would say yes.

My black boots paused as the sound of a baby’s wail reached my ears. I turned and looked to Brill, who made a little whining noise as he scrunched up his face at me. “What in Hell’s name is that?”

“It may be easier if you see than if I tried to explain,” Brill said as he led me toward the ever-increasing sound of chatter and crying.