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Step by determined step, I ascend His Throne. Az’s Seat of Power has always creeped me out, but now’s not the time to be skittish about it. I promised Az I’d lead while He’s down for the count, and much as I hate the idea, His People expect the leading to be done from that damn throne.
I can feel the eyes of thousands of incubi and succubi on me as I climb the steps. They’ve known I was here, known that I’m training in the infernal arts with Az, but aside from the one time I came up here to sit with Him when I couldn’t sleep, I’ve never been up on the throne. I don’t exactly belong there; by all rights, it should be one of His Children leading in His stead while He heals. I’m a nobody. Who’s going to listen to me? But then I remember that one of His Children had orchestrated a plot to bring Hell to Earth, and I know I can’t trust them to take over.
A smarter woman than I might have gone home to Lena, asked if I could borrow one of her boyfriends for a few days. Extenuating circumstances and all that. I bet Samsher would be great at ruling this corner of Hell. Except …
… Except I made a promise. I didn’t promise I’d find a suitable replacement. I promisedIwould take care of it.
I get to the top and sit gingerly on the undulating throne seat. I tell myself that it’s just damned souls fucking. Nothing to worry about. It’s creepy, but it’s not, like, dangerous. I cross my legs and drape my arms over the “arms” of the throne, which are—you guessed it—naked bodies.
My heart thumps wildly in my chest as I survey my temporary digs. Several of Az’s Children whisper to each other as they eyeball me up on His Throne. Probably talking smack. Whatever. At least no one’s outright challenging me. So far.
After about twenty time-warped minutes of awkwardness, one succubus approaches the throne. Her human form is stunning, all long legs and boobs for days, and to my surprise, she bows when she reaches the base of the steps. Bowing to me? It must be some tradition to bow to whoever’s up here. Can’t be actual deference to a human.
The succubus—Zahra, if I remember right—straightens and looks me in the eye.
“Good day, young Callie.”
Oh, cool. Az must’ve taught His Kids my preferred name. That was nice of Him.
I nod at her and offer a smile. “Hey, Zahra. What’s up?”
She raises a perfect brow and gestures at me. “I notice that Father is not here with you. Is He well?”
Shit! I forgot to come up with a cover story. Better cook one up quick. “He’s fine. As you know, I’ve been training with Him since I got here. He thought it would benefit me to take a turn up here while He …” What? While He what? “… visits His Grandchildren. My niece and nephew enjoy Az’s company. They like visits from Grandpa.” There. Now to pray that none of His demonic Children decide to check out my story.
Zahra nods and bows again. “Of course. I do hope Father enjoys His trip. However, there is business that needs tending to.” She points to a naked pair of souls standing to the side. New arrivals, from the terrified looks on their faces. Guess it’s time to step up and get started.
“Cool. That’s what I’m here for.” I look at the panicked souls and do a quick assessment of them. A young couple from the way they huddle together. Must’ve died at the same time. A car accident, maybe? Eh. Cause of death doesn’t usually matter here. It’s cause ofdamnationthat’s the kicker in this neck of the woods.
Only problem? I have no way of telling what caused their damnation. I know theyaredamned, or else they wouldn’t have ended up here. It was obviously either a sex-related sin, or they’ve got some sexual hangups that make this corner of Hell the perfect place to torture them for the rest of eternity. The key is to pick just the right punishment for whatever it was they did in their life.
Okay, so they’re either deviants or so sexually pure that sex for all eternity is a suitable punishment for them. If I pick the wrong punishment, they’ll enjoy it. What to do …?
“Zahra, tell me something: Are you and Basira familiar with the concept of edging?”
Zahra’s eyes widen, and she nods. “Of course.”
“Cool. So here’s the deal: These two don’t deserve to get off constantly. Not just yet. I say you and Basira edge them for a few hundred years before we decide if they’ve earned a different punishment.”
There. I’m not granting them orgasms, so if Zahra and her sister can keep them at the edge of oblivion for a century or three, that might do the trick. Even if they’re not guilty of sexual crimes, this should be a good punishment. It might not be what Az would do, but I’m not Az. I’m me, and I’m in charge until He gets better.
Zahra bows again and gestures to Basira, who’s standing off to the side. They collect the damned souls and haul them off into the sea of bodies to get their punishment started.
There! Torture Number One set, and it was a twofer! That wasn’t so hard.
I just might get the hang of this.
Unfortunately, I can’t give everyone the same punishment, and I can’t go easy on everyone. Eventually, someone’s going to get damned who deserves to be fucked stupid, and if I mess up and assign too lenient a sentence, someone’s bound to protest my supposed authority.
I hope Az recovers soon. Until then, it’s time to fake it till I make it.
To make up for my relatively lenient sentence on the first couple brought before me, I dig into my vague memories of Lilith’s possession of my body for some more deviant tricks. While Lilith wasn’t a succubus per se—She was a whole other class of monster—She knew enough about a succubus’s job as the Mother of all succubi that Her memories, buried deep inside me, help me devise a few more creative punishments on the next few damned brought before me. Fewer of Az’s Children balk at my edicts, and there are those that even look somewhat impressed at what I come up with on the fly.
I sit up on Az’s Throne for a few hours in Hell-time, maybe a couple days in Earth time. There’s no real gauge for the passage of time in Hell, what with there being no sun and a complete absence of reliable clocks. I ditched my expensive smart watch almost as soon as I got here, when it started having a digital seizure trying to measure time in this dimension. Like Az and the other demons, I’ve learned to let my internal clock tell me what time it is.
When my internal clock starts nudging me to go to bed, I wave over an incubus and give him strict instructions not to disturb me. Any damned souls that arrive while I’m napping can just sit and wait their fucking turn. I giggle at my little personal joke as I slip into my room behind the throne, making sure no one sees past me to Az sprawled out on the bed.
He doesn’t look so great. The grey scaly skin is paler in patches, slightly greenish in others. I check one of His bandages, and a putrid odor assaults me the second I peel back the gauze.
