The Pleasures of Hell 01.005

"She made meera?" he asked.

"The armor we're wearing," Caera said, and she clawed the wall behind her until a pebble of black stone fell free of the more reddish rock, "is made of blackstone, melted down, and mixed with demon bone. The only place to do that easily is the anvil at False Gate, but there are other ways to make it."

"Mixed with demon bones?"

"Fresh human bones work, too. Not remnant bones, though."

"Bones? What? That... doesn't sound like good alloying."

Jes poked him with her closer wing's thumb claw. Daoka had to adjust her strategy to prevent further pokes, swiping up at the big flag of leathery skin.

"The fuck is alloying?"

"Mixing metals with other things to make the metal more usable, less brittle, things like that."

Caera laughed. "Hell doesn't give a shit about chemistry, David."

"I guess not."

Arms slipped around David's chest, and hugged him tight to Dao as she clicked a few times, quietly and deeply. No need for a translator. She sounded worried.

"Yeah," Jes said. "Tacitus can use hellfire too, supposedly. Scary fucker. Wouldn't surprise me if he tried taking on Zel, given a decade or two."

"Who is he?"

Dao clicked a couple times, and rested her cheek on top of his head.

"He's a tetrad demon, a gorujin," Caera said. "A young one, but even a young tetrad is a problem for everyone."

"Think me," Jes said, gesturing to herself, "except male body, ten feet tall, and four horns."

That sounded kind of badass, and scary.

"Why's he want Daoka?"

More clicks. Dao let her hands go limp on David's thighs, claws going still, her right cheek still on his head.

"Because Tacitus is a controlling, manipulative, horrible bastard," Jes said. "He thought he owned Daoka. One day she was out doing her own thing, Tacitus wanted her, so he sent an enforcer to fetch her. Daoka fought him off, and the enforcer ended up dying in the fight. So of course Tacitus is pissed. Can't comprehend someone not doing what he wants, and he can't let that defiance go unpunished. It'd ruin his image. Now he wants Dao either back, or dead."

David slowly tilted his head, just enough so Dao could tell he was looking up at her, or at least trying to. But she didn't move her head, and he gave up. If she wanted to hold onto him like a support dog, he was fine with that. It felt... nice, in her arms.

Jes hooked her wings around her shoulders and neck like a cape, and slid in a little closer until her shoulder pressed to Dao's.

"Leos didn't give her up, when Diogo found out Dao was hiding with me. Diogo killed him."

"That... that's..." Fuck, what to say? He didn't know how to say anything that didn't sound insincere or stupid. Where was Mia when he needed her.

"Diogo and Tacitus are both bastards," Caera said. "Zel is, too, but Diogo and Tacitus are reachable. We can kill them, if we're smart about it."

Dao clicked softly, chuckling weakly, cheek still on his head.

"I'll have you know I am a smart cookie," Jes said to the satyr. "But, yes, I admit it might not work out in our favor to walk in, guns blazing."

"Do they have guns in Hell?" he asked.

"Nope."

"I'm starting to think demons watch the scrying pools... a lot."

Caera laughed. "They are, especially these days. It used to take take decades before anything interesting happened on the surface. Now, every week something insane happens, or some new TV show comes out."

Dao clicked a few times before turning her head slightly, cheek rubbing against David's hair as she looked to Jes.

"We still sharing life stories?" Jes said. "'Cause I mean I already kinda shared mine. Diogo's a fucking shit and killed my friend."

"What about Zel?" he asked. "I think you said you worked with her, or something?"

Sighing, Jes flopped her tail on her lap beside him, and ran her claws along its near-onyx leathery skin.

"Yeah, I did. I'm good in a fight, real good. Zel likes that. But I was 'trouble'"-- she air quoted trouble-- "and got into fights with a lot of her closer enforcers. Then she met Saldavin and Gorlus, and everything went to shit. Now she's convinced she can get Death's Grip strong, real strong. Nine Spires War strong, and start taking over other spires."

"Saldavin? Gorlus?"

"Her two new best friends," Caera said. "She met them... ten years ago? Two more tetrads, both korgejin. With so many tetrad working for her, Zel's gotten full of herself. It won't be long before she binds people to a horde, and sends us into the Black Valley to fight Alessio or something."

"I wonder," Jes said, "what sort of bullshit those two fuckers whispered into her ear to convince her this was a good idea."

"What do korgejin look like?"

Dao clicked and motioned to her feet near his, him still sitting between her legs.

The gargoyle nodded and gestured to Dao as well. "Yeah, they have hooves and no tail. Big fucking wings, though. And they're as big as the other tetrad demons." She reached out and poked Dao above the nose with a claw. "And they have eyes."

Dao shrugged, clicking quietly as she got comfortable resting her head on David's again. Judging from the sound, she thought eyes were overrated.

"What's a horde? How does that work?"

Dao and Jes went quiet, before the two demons looked Caera's way. And judging from the look in the tiger's eyes, he'd hit a sore spot.

Grumbling, Caera sat up -- like a cat, of course -- and undid the strap holding a slab of metal to her right shoulder. She aimed it at him. There was an X drawn on the shapely shoulder, in the classic place humans loved to get tattoos. No, not exactly an X, but mostly one, with some shapely corners that curled in toward themselves.

"Zel gave me this, over a hundred years ago."

"A hundred years..." He gulped. Caera was old. Was that why she had a bit of that mature quality to her face? Couldn't be, not when Jeskura was sixty and looked like a demon tomboy, with big, expressive, I'm-gonna-beat-you-up eyes. "How'd that happen?"

"Zel went to war with Alessio, of the Black Valley, counter-clockwise from here. She--"

Ah fuck. He had to.

"Sorry, sorry, but this is driving me nuts. What did demons call it before clocks?" He shouldn't have interrupted her, but he had to ask before he forgot again and his brain ripped itself apart.

Caera blinked at him. "What?"

"I get that Hell is a circle, and with no way to contextualize a direction outside it, you can only go clockwise or counter-clockwise, but those are words from the surface, right? What'd you call it before then?"

Caera stared at him like he'd exploded.

"David," Jes said, groaning, "you are brain damaged."

He frowned at the gargoyle. Surely they couldn't fault him for wanting to know how things worked. He had to know. He always had to know.

Caera laughed, a deep, full sound, and her tail wagged lightly as she put the armor back on her shoulder, and lay down again.

"You are too damn cute."

He squirmed a bit, blushing again. Which of course Dao took as opportunity to hug him tighter until he struggled to breathe.

"Thanks," he gasped.

"A cute nerd," Jes said, poking at him with her tail again with Dao too busy to stop her.

"I wasn't around back then," Caera said, "but far as I know, demons usually used the Forgotten Place, the center of Hell, as their reference point, and said right or left. Sometimes East or West."

"Hmm, kinda like... if you looked down at Earth from the North Pole, East is counter-clockwise." His brain actually exploded. "But if you looked at Earth from the South Pole, East is clockwise, so that--"

Daoka gently covered his mouth, giggled and clicked, and kissed the crown of his head.

Caera grinned at him, relaxing as she rolled over onto her side slightly.

"Did you want to learn about hordes, or how to tell directions in Hell?"

Both. He really wanted to say both.

"Hordes," he said between Daoka's fingers.

"You already know about auras. Spire rulers have access to a unique aura: summoning the horde. It's powerful, and goes far, nearly to the border of the province it owns. It sucks you in, covers your mind, and before you know it, you're heading toward the spire to join the horde. Every inch of you wants to join the mass, swarm over your target, and rip and tear until it's dead. A deep need that's..." With a heavy sigh, Caera flopped over completely, on her side with her arms and legs out beside her. It was a shitty memory for her. He didn't need Mia to tell him that. "The only demons the summon doesn't seem to work on is imps and grems. Or at least, not well enough to really harness them."

"And the brand?"

"Seals it in. Binds you to the call and its purpose. Zel uses the spire's tools to make sure you can't break free of the call until it's done."

"Spire's tools..."

The tiger shook her head. "I don't know enough to talk about the spires and their tools, but it's how they rule. It's not some empty position with no power. Zel can and does rule Death's Grip with her own power, and the power the spire gives her. She's more than capable of enforcing her position."

"Yeah," Jes said. "Zel is a scary bitch. We have to be careful, the closer we get to the spire."

"Sounds like we have a lot of enemies," he said.

"She's not my enemy," Caera said.

The gargoyle stuck her tail out and whacked the tiger on the hand.

"Yet. She's not your enemy yet. When she finds out what you've been up to, you know she's going to put on you the kill list, like Diogo did Dao and me."

It was a good thing Death's Grip wasn't organized. Dao and Jes had been out and around, hunting for a meal when they found David, and assured him as long as they didn't get close to other demons, they'd be fine. Did they not have surveillance cameras in Hell? Binoculars or telescopes? Anything?

Hell really was medieval.

"I hope she... she doesn't hurt Mia," he said.

Daoka clicked a few times and hugged him again.

Jes nodded. "Yeah, I doubt Zel will eat her anytime soon, if ever. She's patient. She'll try and figure out how to use her first. And that's of course assuming we can't catch up to Diogo and figure out a way to kill him."

Caera shook her head. "We're not gonna catch up, you know that."

Daoka clicked, louder than usual.

"Exactly," Jes said. "Any number of things could happen. Maybe Mia will hit them all with the same aura David did us, and they'll spend a whole day and night in one big orgy?"

Groaning, he rubbed his eyes with his palms. "Please don't make me think about that."

"Hey, this is the only way to keep your horny brain on the goal." Jeskura climbed up to her feet, stretched out her wings, shook out her tail, and got moving. "Let's go. We'll find something to eat tomorrow."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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~~Mia~~

They found a crevice, higher up along the mountain wall than the others nearby. There were crevices everywhere, small ravines, rock ditches, everything a mountainscape that wanted to kill her could offer. That included bloodgrip, a black, ever-so-slightly green vine with red thorns, that had a habit showing up in places her hands wanted to brace against. She hadn't stabbed herself, yet, because either Adron or Scilra were always ahead of her, calling it out.

"We stop here," Diogo said. "Tomorrow's rekindling is the last before we reach the spire." Nodding to himself, Diogo sat down against a wall of stone, and didn't move. Talk about being literal.

Mia watched the group prepare for the night. No one got naked and asked an incubus to finger them. No one grabbed anyone else and used them like a fleshlight. No one even asked for a quick blowjob. Everyone found rocks and grooves to settle into for the night, and the few that'd take first watch took high perches. Hopefully the lack of sexual activity was coincidental, and not because Mia had been decidedly not-horny ever since she'd nearly been pounced by a giant lizard that also nearly killed the closest thing she had to a bodyguard at the moment.

She didn't know if she should not want that, not want it to be true that the weird tingling sensation all the demons were feeling, was linked to the subtle vibration she sometimes felt inside her. If it was true, then there was something special about her, something that had all the demons confused, and would guarantee Zel took an interest in her. Maybe she'd try and use her as a tool for power. And maybe she'd eat her, hoping to gain that power. But then, if she was a perfectly normal human, Zel would have no reason to keep her alive at all.

Nights in Hell lasted about twelve hours, and her afterlife body seemed to still want about eight hours of sleep. Perfect for night watch. A third of the demons took a shift for four hours, then another third for the next four, then another third for the next four. A perfect balance all the demons understood innately.

But for the humans, it was a little different. They weren't asked to keep watch, and actually got to spend some time doing whatever they wanted before sleep took them. They could sleep all twelve hours if they wanted; their afterlife bodies seemed okay doing that, too. But Mia had other plans.

She sat down beside Hannah. Adron took first watch, and Hannah found a spot against the mountain wall that cut in a bit, an alcove that covered her sides and overhead a little. Like an animal, finding a place that would protect her the most.

Hannah was a bit taller than Mia, but not by all that much. Short blond hair and blue eyes, and just as slim as Mia, too, with thinner legs, and slightly larger breasts. Very much a ballerina build.

Mia sat down next to her.

"You're in great shape, you know," Mia said.

"Had to be, to survive here."

"Oh, you got in shape down here? You can do that? Your body shape isn't permanent?"

"Yeap." Hannah held out an arm, and flexed her bicep. It wasn't a big bicep, but a lot better than most girls. "Being a betrayer only takes you so far."

A betrayer, right. 666 etched on her forehead and everything.

"I--"

"I know you want to ask. Just ask."

"I..." Wincing, Mia took a deep breath, and looked away to stare at Adron's back in the distance. "What'd you do? To end up in Hell?"

Hannah let out a slow sigh, and shrugged. "Bunch of things, really. I was driving once, out in a remote area to visit someone. It was dark. I hit someone by accident. I drove off."

A sledgehammer, to the guts.

"You didn't... call 911 or something?"

"Nope. Didn't want to get in trouble." Oh god. "I did other things, too. When I was young, I stole money from other kids. Stole from my friends and strangers when I got older. I was good at that, good at being quick."

"I... I..."

"Not long before I died, I lied about my ex-boyfriend beating me, and got him in a lot of trouble."

"Jesus."

Hannah laughed, shaking her head as she pulled her knees up. It wasn't long before her head dangled, weighed down by something. On anyone else, Mia would have thought guilt or shame, but Hannah spoke about her past with the arrogance of a sociopath. For a few moments, anyway. The woman shuddered eventually as the mask crumbled, the sort of shuddering Mia had seen before, sometimes in the mirror. She was trying to not cry.

"I don't think that's what did it, though," Hannah said.

"No?"

"No. It wasn't actually... doing the things, that got me sent down here. I think it was the way I felt about it. I felt..." She pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them. "I didn't give a shit about whoever I hit with the car. The people I stole from, I thought they were pathetic for being so stupid to leave their stuff open like that. All the better for me, the only person who mattered. And my ex, I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to really, really hurt him. And when I did, I felt good. I felt great. It felt amazing, seeing him in pain." After a sad laugh, Hannah managed to lift her heavy head and stared up at the burning sky. "Joke's on me, right?"

It took surprisingly little poking to get the girl to talk about her apparently fucked-up past. Mia was probably the first person Hannah had talked to who gave a shit about her, judging from what she'd seen of the other humans and demons, except maybe Adron.

"Do you... still feel that way?"

"What're you, a therapist?"

Mia smiled. "Second year psychology major at university, so just enough knowledge to think I know what I'm doing, not nearly enough to actually know what I'm doing."

"Ha, fuckin' right. I knew a lot of smart assholes full of themselves. But you seem to have a head on your shoulders."

"So do you."

Hannah laughed, tiny sobs choked away.

"Yeah, well, I learned a lot of shitty lessons down here. I'm not the same person I was, back on the surface. But it doesn't fucking matter now. The only way out of Hell is dying, and now I have to die a fucking lot to make that happen."

"Can I ask, how high was your number when you were sent here?"

"125."

"That's--"

"Not as high as a lot of people's numbers, I know. But, fuck me, I didn't want to die again."

"But--"

Hannah dismissed Mia with a flick of the wrist.

"Don't. Fucking don't. I know, okay? I fucking know. I was stupid. No need to rub salt in the wound."

Silence fell on them, a big heavy wet blanket smothering them. Mia wasn't this girl's sister or lover or anything, so why push so hard?

Because it hurt, seeing someone else in pain. She knew that about herself well enough.

"Can I ask how you died?"

"You just asked."

"Trying to be polite."

"Don't. Being polite is a big flag over your head that something's up, and will get you attention you don't want." Shrugging, Hannah gestured out vaguely. "I suppose I should have died in some poetic way, right? Get my comeuppance and shit? I died in a car accident. My new boyfriend wasn't a very good driver."

"Anticlimactic."

"Ha, true."

Mia smiled at her maybe, possibly, new friend. Yeah sure, Hannah had apparently been one colossal bitch when she was alive, the sort of girl who made her entire gender look bad, lying about her boyfriend and getting him in trouble. She'd been the sort of girl Mia would have detested. Except, the girl sitting beside her didn't seem to be that other girl.

And Hell didn't care. Hannah had changed down here, where it didn't matter. Too little too late. What a fucking shitty afterlife.

Hannah glanced Adron's way. Without his sword on his back, the lean shape of his waist connecting up to his broad shoulders was gorgeous, and both girls watched him as he scanned the cliff edge to the paths below. A damn handsome man, demon, person. And compared to the other demons, a nice guy. Yeah sure he was confident, and what girl didn't go weak at the knees for a confident guy? The other demons were confident too, but they weren't nice. He was. Sorta.

"You like him," Mia said.

"He's a bastard who's got me wrapped around his finger."

"But..."

"But, yes, I like him." She rolled her eyes as she let her legs go loose in front of her. "He told me if I ever manage to kill him, I get to go up the respect ladder. Demons will treat me like one of them. I'll be free."

"Free." Being free didn't sound all that good, considering the locale. "How many times have you tried to kill him?"

"Over the years? Must have been ten or twelve times by now."

"Yeesh."

"Got close a couple times, too. Maybe someday I'll pull it off. But... I don't even know if I should." Hannah shook her head and gestured to Mia. "You like him, too."

"I mean, he seems nice, and he's... dare I say it, fun."

Hannah's grin was positively evil.

"All you gotta do is ask."

"Ask? Ask what?"

"If you can fuck Adron." Hannah shrugged and gave Mia an all-too-playful slap on the knee. "I wouldn't mind watching that. Tiny thing like you trying to fit him inside you? I bet you'd wriggle like a worm on a hook, all the way down."