“Have fun, Mads. Maybe I’ll get lucky and see you around,” Zeph tells her with a wink before hugging her.
“Be careful,Amica Mea. Watch everything like your life depends on it because it just might. I love you,” I whisper the last part against her lips before sealing mine to them in a bruising kiss. I’m already hating this plan. Luc is going to hog all of our mate’s attention and there’s nothing I can do about it.
“See ya later, boys,” Luc sings with a smile, waving his hand and sending us on our way.
I appear in Zofina’s room, startling her.
“Belz! Where did you come from?”
“Your father sent me. He’s stolen my mate from me and sent Zephyr and me to work,” I grumble.
“Why has he done that? It’s not right to keep mates apart. Especially when they’ve only recently bonded.”
“Well, apparently, Luc has a plan for Maddy. Seems the teacher has become the student,” I chuckle. Zo looks at me in confusion, so I explain. “Maddy is getting lessons in Hell. I get to teach her about security. Zeph gets to teach her about the demons of Gehenna and you get to teach her about the palace… whatever that means. Of course, that’s only when Luc isn’t keeping her busy showing her what it means to be the devil.” At her gasp, I nod. “That’s right, she’s his new shadow. Devil knows what she’s going to witness today,” I grumble, rubbing my temples. I can feel a headache coming on.
“I’ve been in Maddy’s shoes. I know exactly what she’ll witness today. Hopefully, she’s strong enough to handle everything he’s going to throw at her,” Zo murmurs before going back to her book. She stares blankly at the pages, giving away her nerves.
I don’t comment on it though, turning to my work and leaving her to her thoughts. I see an email from Zarreth marked with a red flag and open it, ignoring all other messages. My eyes fly over the intel, stuttering over a section in the middle…This isn’t good.
five
Madelyne
BelzandZephdisappearand I’m left alone with the devil… again. Which, of course, reminds me of what I said to him the last time we were alone together.Fuck. I chewed out the fucking devil. And now we’re alone together. How’s he going to make me pay for my insolence?
“I don’t know what that look is for, but you can stop worrying. I’m not going to punish you for your outburst. You were right. It is my fault Marjorkorie is the way she is. And I apologize for any part I played in making your life hell.” He doesn’t even smirk at the hell bit, making me believe he’s completely serious about this unexpected apology.
“Thank you. Your daughter’s a bitch. But I know it’s not all your fault. She needs to take responsibility for her own actions. Even if you were the worst father in the world, it wouldn’t excuse her actions.”
“You make an excellent point, Granddaughter. I’ll tell you a little secret. The souls that get sent here to be tortured? They can end their torment at any time. All they have to do is repent,” he tells me with a shrug and my eyes widen in disbelief. “If a soul repents forallof their sins, they’re released and can spend the rest of eternity in Heaven. It’s not advertised, of course, and it only works when they truly mean it. Empty words won’t get you out of Hell. Perhaps I’ll end Marjorkorie’s suffering if she ever repents,” he says thoughtfully.
“What happens if a demon repents?”
“Usually nothing. Demons can’t go to Heaven, so there’s no point in repenting for them. Unless they’ve caught my ire. In which case, I’ve forgiven a demon a time or two…”
He looks lost in thought, as if maybe he’s remembering the last time he forgave a demon. I am so fucking curious. I’m dying to ask what he’s thinking about, but the moment passes just as quickly as it came and the haunted look turns to a smile yet again. He claps his hands and stands, walking around his desk as he holds a hand out to me. “Now that you know Hell’s little secret, let’s show you the processing office.”
“Processing…” My words are cut off as smoke wraps around us, getting thicker and thicker until I can’t see in front of me. When it clears, I’m surprised to see we’re standing in a huge office space. There are cubicles covering every inch of floor space with demons sitting at desks and reading books?What the hell?
“This is the soul-sorting office.” Luc spreads his arms and smiles as he explains what it is I’m witnessing. “When a soul is sent to Hell, the sorters read their book of deeds.” He points to a demon in front of us with its nose buried in a book. “They will determine, based on the soul’s actions, what kind of punishment they deserve. Once the sorter has made a decision, they place the book in the proper slot and the soul’s punishment can commence.”
I watch as the demon closes the book and slides it into one of seven slots on its desk. “Why are there seven slots?”
“One for each of the deadly sins, of course.” He smirks at me.
“Of course. Silly me.” I roll my eyes and we both laugh.
“Over one’s lifetime, the choices you make and the sins you commit add up. If you don’t repent for your sins, and they’re grave enough, you end up here. The sorters see all of your sins and decide which one you committed the most. They then send your book to the corresponding sin’s office, which we’ll visit next, and the sin office decides your punishment.”
The demons around us go on about their business as if we’re not even there. Luc snatches a book from one of their hands and holds it out to me. “You try. What sin would you classify this soul as?”
Tilting my head, I take the book and open it, carefully reading the long list of this soul's sins. I think he’s committed every sin there is, but one is prominent throughout. “Lust,” I tell him, closing the book and looking to see his reaction. Was I right? Did I impress him?
“Very good. Care to visit the Lust office and see how they determine this soul’s punishment?”
“Uh, yeah!” Luc laughs at my eagerness and snaps his fingers, sending us along to the next stop on our tour. We appear in another office set up the same way. Desks cover the room, with only small walkways leading to a heavy door that seems to be the only way in or out… Unless you can pop in like us, of course. But Belz said normal demons can’t do that. It makes me wonder where exactly we are and how the worker demons get here every day.
Luc strides over to the nearest desk, the demon working there going perfectly still. Slowly they raise their head but before they can say anything, Luc shoves the book in their face. “Tell me this soul’s punishment,” he barks, making the demon jump before quickly taking the book and opening it.
