The sun was setting by the time Jack had two more spheres in his velvet bag. One had been a young man on the south side of the city that Miles had convinced to beat and rob a woman. Jack had sensed a disdain toward women by the fact he glared at every one he passed by, but made sure Miles kept enough control over him to prevent a rape. The fight with this man was rough, but the connection he established showed heartbreak beneath the anger, remnants of a destroyed relationship. The second target was a woman who Jack saw gazing longingly at a baby in the park, her red and green aura indicating a deep desperation for a child, desperate enough for something drastic. Miles silently made the woman push the mother down and knock her unconscious, then had her run into a wooded area. Though Miles made no effort to protect the baby, Jack did, placing it gently on the ground, then apologized to the woman before taking the glowing orb from within. He gently carried the crying baby back to her mother despite Miles telling him to stop being a sap. Once they had the baby back in her mother’s arms, they ran off as quickly as possible.
Now they sat on a bench in the darkness of another empty park. Jack was exhausted, his right hand becoming numb and his mind blurry. A full day of hunting and a collection of three souls didn’t usually wear him out, but the excitement of the morning had taken too much out of him.
“Tapped out?” Miles said. “We did good today.”
“Yeah.”
“Only evil was destroyed in the making of this day. You got to save some lady’s life, you made me keep a creepy guy from going too far, and kept a baby safe. Val will roll his eyes, but I’ll just blame all the niceness on you.”
Jack stared at him. “So you’d be totally fine with people getting killed and raped and whatever?”
“I mean…” Miles seemed to hesitate. “I don’t want people to die like that. But sometimes that’s what happens. It can be dangerous to take the time to stop that from happening. You know, witnesses, cops, getting shot.” Miles raised his eyebrows as he stared at Jack accusingly. “Getting caught by humans means eternal torment no matter how much you kiss Andy’s ass.”
Jack growled at the mockery of his leader’s name. “Whatever. Let’s go back.”
Both of them took out their pendant from under their shirts. It was about the size of a quarter in both circumference and thickness and hung on a strong yet thin silver chain. With a thumb pressed to the sigil on the front and index finger on a code on the back, they muttered, “Reverto.”
Like a vacuum they were sucked into a tunnel of pure darkness for a few seconds traveling in no particular direction until below them opened up and they landed gently within a circular room. The wall around them was of rough stone with a few burning torches spaced evenly along it. The floor they stood on was engraved with the same sigil as on their pendants. The seal of Prince Gaap, demon of transportation, had the letters of his name spelled out clockwise around a design made up of a sideways U divided by two intersecting lines surrounded by small circles. Before them was a portal of thick red and orange smoke, and on the wall above it was engraved “No Earth names beyond this point.”
Jack took the bag out of his pocket and led the way through the portal. The smoke was moist and thick, and they appeared on the other side of the wall with their Earth clothes removed, leaving them with only frayed, faded black shorts. But it was warm now, not the frigid winter they had come from, so being shirtless and barefoot was fine. In front of them was a long counter made of the same rough stone as the walls, and behind it were three male servants dressed in the same shorts. One of them had their back turned as they sorted some items, and in the middle of his upper back was a tattoo of the seal of Knight Gasyaxe. The other two would have the same on their backs; the counter served as one of the thousands of check points for the demon of new-spirit analysis.
Approaching one of the servants, Jack placed the bag on the counter. He and Miles removed their pendants and laid them down beside the bag. The servant took Jack’s pendant and looked at the code on the back. “EA-01-197,” he muttered before dropping it into a small smoking portal on the counter. He did the same with Miles’s pendant, saying, “DV-08-0497.” Lastly, he took the bag and dumped the souls into the portal, handing the empty bag to his colleague. The portal flashed white in acceptance of the offerings and the servant nodded to dismiss them.
At the other side of the room was another large seal engraved on the floor, this time being of Prince Seere, demon of internal transportation. At each of the four points of the cardinal directions was a pillar just over waist high, each with yet another seal. Jack walked to the one marked with that of Amenadiel, king of the west, and Miles went to the one opposite for Carnesiel, king of the east.
“See ya, 197,” Miles said.
“Later, 497,” Jack said.
They put their palms on the seals and disappeared. The vacuum of darkness brought Jack to an open and bustling area that seemed to stretch for an eternity on all sides. Crowds of demon servants wandered about, each with a blank expression as they went about their duties. Most of them were male, and among all of them was a mix of attire; some had shorts like his, others just underwear, and some scattered ones were naked. Jack always wondered what those servants had done to have the privilege of clothes taken away. He knew it was usually minor things like arguing with the guards or fighting with each other or stealing food, all things Jack had never done and had no desire to ever do. He liked his shorts, even if they weren’t as nice as his Earth clothes, and it was certainly better than getting sneered at or spit on as naked demons often endured.
The endless stone region of the west echoed with the footsteps of everyone that passed. The only voices were of Amenadiel’s guards barking orders as no idle conversation was allowed. The guards made sure all servants went obediently to the proper pillar that would take them to the various houses within the west. Many of the demon servants were carrying things like food, bricks, bags, or messages between the various houses, placing their palms on the associated seal. A few of them looked at Jack scornfully, jealous that he did not have to carry out tedious and exhausting tasks. Jack ignored them, but he did not ignore the sight of the two massive buildings before him.
The center of the western region was home to two castles cut out of the rough stone of the massive cave-like area around them. One was for King Amenadiel and the other larger one was for Great King Paimon. The Great King was the master of all the other rulers in his court. He knew of all the happenings within each house and often made visits to each. Only once did Jack have the pleasure of entering the massive castle and meeting Paimon face to face. He had no idea how long ago it was; all he knew was that it was after he arrived in Hell for the first time. It seemed so long ago, like he had been here forever, though he knew he had not.
In a courtyard of sorts outside Amenadiel’s castle were five large boxes made from thick plastic, each holding a screaming human. The humans were being tortured in various ways: two with continuous white-hot flames, a third getting their limbs repeatedly cut off with a dull saw wielded by servants, and two more getting lashed with a flaming whip. The five humans were not always the same each day; they would rotate with others being tortured in private rooms, adding humiliation to their eternal torment. The west side was not known for having a lot of tormented humans under their care, but because there were two rulers in Paimon’s court that could communicate with animals and had a particular passion for them—President Camio and Duke Barbatos—any humans guilty of animal cruelty on Earth were sentenced to serve their eternity there. Jack used the sight as a reminder of what could happen to him if he ever disobeyed, as demon servants were not safe from getting the same fate.
After looking at the sight for a few moments, Jack approached the pillar for the house of Andromalius, placed his palm upon it, and was whisked away to another open area almost exactly like the central one he had just left. In the middle was the earl’s castle, significantly smaller than that of Paimon and Amenadiel, but still quite lavish in design. He had been inside countless times, and he hated it every time.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
A large section on one side of the open area was lined with stone tables and benches that seemed to stretch a mile each. The demon servants that sat there were eating silently, watched by passing guards. Every one of them was marked with the earl’s sigil on their backs: three parallel lines with an S in the middle flanked by four I’s, the earl’s name spelled out clockwise. Jack walked to the first line of tables, which was assigned to Legion 1 of the external servants, or those who completed assignments on Earth. He had to walk for five minutes before finding an open seat, and sat on the uncomfortably hard bench to wait.
Female servants flitted around the tables, carrying trays to and from the demons. Their attire was mixed as well, some with a black tank top and short-shorts, some with a bra and panties, and others naked. A male demon across the table from Jack reached a hand out and placed it between the legs of a passing servant. She nearly dropped the tray she was carrying as she stopped and allowed the continuous touch, though her face showed anguish. A guard patrolling the tables stopped to watch, but when the demon did not stop after a few seconds, the guard smashed the arm away with a baton. “Too long,” the guard muttered as the demon rubbed his arm.
This happened all around Jack, his fellow external servants taking advantage of their privilege to briefly touch the females serving them, to partake in adding to their eternal punishment for whatever they had done on Earth. A naked female walked up behind him and leaned in to place a tray in front of him, her breasts inches from his face. He saw her bracing herself for him to grope her, then look at him with a flash of surprise when he kept his hands on the table. He looked her up and down slowly, then nodded in thanks and turned to his food. As she walked away he stole one last look; he always enjoyed the views, but kept his hands to himself.
On the tray before him was a small stone bowl of rice oatmeal, an even smaller stone cup of warm water, and a hard bread roll. Food was not needed to “live,” but hunger was a very real thing in Hell and refusing to eat would result in severe hunger pains. Jack picked up the stone spoon and quickly ate, thinking about what Earth food must taste like—it always smelled so good—to help him ignore the dusty taste that the stone gave it. He had heard stories of demons who had given in to the temptation to eat Earth food and were punished by being forced to eat feces. Once he’d had to tackle Miles and pin him down to prevent him from eating a bag of candy that had been dropped on the ground, saving him from such a fate.
Once finished with his meal, Jack walked back to the center of Andromalius’s region and past the entrance portal to reach the lodging quarters. As soon as he reached the section marked for Legion 1, the posted guard stopped him.
“197?”
“Yes.”
“The earl would like to speak to you.”
Jack suppressed a sigh. Of course he does. “Okay.”
He turned and went back to the center, slowly making his way toward the castle. He knew exactly what was about to happen and he dreaded it with every cell in his body. At the top of the stairs that led to the entrance, Jack stopped and faced the guards there.
“01-197,” he said to them.
Without a word they stepped back and allowed him inside. The foyer was decorated with statues of serpents, some of which held burning torches. Two more guards, who had frayed shirts in addition to their pants, led Jack up more stairs and through a door ordained with intertwined serpents gilded in silver and copper. Inside was a large room with velvet red carpet, all sides surrounded by large tanks of snakes. Nude women flitted about, cleaning the tanks or feeding the creatures within. In the middle of the room was a throne, and at the sight of the man seated in it, Jack immediately knelt before him.
Earl Andromalius sat back in his copper and silver throne, his weathered face partially covered by a grayish-brown beard and framed by frizzy hair of the same color. His pants and vest were pristine with faint patterns of silver all over, and in his hand was a snake partially curled around his arm. Andromalius smiled at the sight of Jack.
“There’s my favorite Soul Reacher.” His voice was strong but oddly pleasant, and he almost always started off with those same words. Words that Jack thought ridiculous since he was the only Soul Reacher in the entire house.
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ve had news from Gasyaxe. You had a very successful day, I hear.”
“Yes, sir.”
“One soul in particular was of great interest. One he said even Lucifer himself would be proud to see.”
Jack swallowed hard. “Oh?” was all he could say.
“Yes. A potential Soul Reacher. I would like to analyze your day. Not because I don’t trust you, but because I want to see how you were able to accomplish such a perfect catch.”
Trying not to visibly shake, Jack nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Come.”
Jack was led closer by the guards, who held his arms behind his back at Andromalius’s feet. The snake slithered forward to Jack’s face, tickling him with its tongue. Andromalius placed his free hand on Jack’s head and squeezed. In an instant he had fiery pain throughout his body that then concentrated in his skull. He knew he was screaming but couldn’t hear it. He felt as if his brain was being pulled out through a strainer, and though it only lasted for less than a minute, he collapsed on his side once released.
The guards stepped back and the earl called to a female servant to bring him a cauldron. Through blurry eyes Jack could only see a ball of smoke in Andromalius’s hand, which he put into the cauldron now in front of him. A billow of smoke appeared that then cleared in the middle, which began depicting everything Jack had seen through his eyes that day.
He tried to calm his trembling, not just from the pain, which was slowly dissipating, but from the fear of what his leader might think of his actions. He watched the face of Andromalius as the earl watched the target human pointing a gun at him, the view from the floor as the woman was killed and the other threatened. There was no sound, not even of Jack’s voice, but the motion of his head in Miles’s direction, then back at the man who was about to shoot but didn’t, then Jack leaping to stop the man as he changed his mind. Jack looked at Andromalius for his reaction. The earl rubbed his bearded chin, then waved away the smokey vision and the female servant removed the cauldron. Jack got back to his knees to face what wrath was to come.
“You saved that woman’s life?”
Andromalius’s voice was difficult to read, but Jack’s fear rose any way. “I—I did.”
“Why?”
“I…I thought perhaps if I took him then instead of after, the soul would be better. Close enough to redemption that it would be a stronger theft from God. I thought that’s what—”
“Silence.” Even though the earl did not raise his voice, Jack still jumped a little at the command. He cautiously looked up at his leader. The face he saw held no expression. “That was incredibly dangerous. A demon getting injured with human witnesses…that is very dangerous for you indeed.”
Jack wondered what would happen to his injured body that humans should not see. “I’m sorry, sir. I won’t—”
“I am impressed with your courage.”
Holding his breath, Jack’s eyes went wide.
“I trust that you will use that courage carefully, however.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And be careful getting your partner involved in such dangerous decisions. Duke Valefor isn’t quite as…accepting of such things as I am.”
“I will be careful, sir.”
Andromalius smiled, a signal that made Jack finally relax. “It would not be fair of me to not reward you for your success today. And I think an extra reward is in order as well.”
Jack’s heart fluttered with excitement; he had only ever received one reward at a time, which itself was quite rare. He watched as the earl turned to a female servant. “Bring me the tray.”
After a few moments, the female returned with a tray displaying a heap of perfectly plump and shiny red strawberries, the stem already removed from it. Jack’s eyes widened again and he began to salivate. He couldn’t remember ever eating one, but for some reason he knew the taste. Andromalius picked up one and instructed Jack to hold out his hand in which he placed the strawberry. “You may eat it.”
Jack looked at it in awe, then slowly took a bite. The sweet juice of it tingled his tongue and he savored it as long as possible. He finished the fruit in two more bites and licked his lips. “Thank you, sir.”
Andromalius’s expression was of dominating satisfaction. Though he often favored his only Soul Reacher, he still seemed to revel in watching a servant be given a reward like a dog receiving a treat. Never before had Jack been rewarded with food, and he wondered if he would ever be successful enough to get it again.
“I will also have a guard provide you with a pillow for your rest time. Now go and rest up so you can do more great work on your next shift.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.” Jack stood and bowed before being led out of the room and to the stairs outside the castle. He struggled to hide a smile. Getting caught showing happiness would surely get his pillow taken away.
Arriving back at the lodging quarters for Legion 1, Jack was met by a guard and escorted through the endless rows of stacked cages until reaching one labeled ‘197.’ It was the third cage in a stack of four and required moveable stairs to reach it. The cage was only big enough to lay in, long and thin with a stone floor and ceiling as rough as the walls of every room in Hell. Each cage in a horizontal row was separated by cross-hashed bars, the openings small enough to see and hear through, but not to stick fingers in. Jack crawled inside head first, and before the guard closed the door, he pushed a small, thin pillow at his feet.
As Jack reached for it, the demons on either side of him began cursing.
“Andromalius’s pet!”
“I guess that’s what happens when you suck his dick so much!”
“Soul Reachers think they’re so special. Fuck them!”
Jack put the pillow under his head and stared at the stone ceiling. He had heard all those jealous words before as getting a pillow was not new for him. The thinness of the pillow only barely took away the discomfort of the stone under him, but it was enough to make the twelve hours in his cage a little easier.