A massive crow zoomed through the seals of Seere to get from the southern region of Hell to the central tower that housed the Dark Lord and his command. None of the guards questioned his presence, but did perk up at his pace. There was only one reason why the crow the size of two human heads would be in such a rush to meet with the supreme leader.

Lucifer was pacing a wide open room that overlooked an ocean of bubbling lava when the crow burst in and perched on the back of a chair, his feathers ruffled. The Dark Lord’s black feathers of his own wings ruffled in response, his eyes wide and anxious. “Please tell me you have news of Buriel, Malphas.”

“Sort of, my lord,” the crow said, his voice that of a gruff man.

Lucifer growled. “I don’t want ‘sort of’ news. I want actual news. Have you found him?”

“No, my lord, but—”

“Then get the fuck out of here until you do.”

“Things are worse than originally thought. Let me explain.”

“That’s not what I want to hear! Of course it’s getting worse. The longer that idiot is out there—”

“He’s not the only problem, my lord.”

“I know he has Merosiel and Drusiel with him. For fuck’s sake, Malphas, stop wasting my time!”

“A cambion was born today.”

Lucifer took a breath to continue his rant, then stopped. “What?”

Malphas shifted his talons on the chair. “A cambion was born today, my lord.”

“You know as well as I that’s impossible.”

“Well, he’s not a true cambion, I suppose. I know Buriel isn’t an incubus, but he certainly is responsible. He must be. There are no other demons on Earth right now, plus there have been no active incubi in centuries—”

Lucifer glared with his dark eyes as he stepped toward the crow. “It is not physically possible for a child to have been born by Buriel or any other demon. The human would die by the seed itself. You are mistaken.”

“I can assure you I am not, my lord.”

“Then what in all of Hell makes you think this ridiculousness?”

Malphas stretched his wings a bit and swallowed. “There was a decent sized blip of demon activity very close to Buriel’s summoning point today.”

“It is not possible that Buriel is still there, he’s not stupid.”

“Precisely, my lord. But the human gestation period—”

“I know the human gestation period, you fool!” Lucifer yelled. “It is not possible for a human to birth a demon. She would die before conception completes.”

“Well, I’m fairly certain the human host is dead now, but the cambion, for lack of a better term, is likely alive. And if he’s anything like his “father,” well…Earth is, as you would say, fucked.”

Lucifer sighed. “Indeed. And you have nothing more? I suppose a baby wouldn’t be able to willingly wield demonic powers, would it?”

“I was hoping you would know the answer to that, my lord.”

“Of course I don’t know! I just told you this is literally impossible, and you think I have the answer? We need to find that cambion. If Buriel were to find out about it…”

“Fucked, yes, my lord. My servants and I will be monitoring the area. It would be easier if you allowed at least some of them to do ground work on Earth.”

“Request denied.”

“But the Soul Reachers have been failing you, my lord. They have found no information during all this time. I beg you to allow my—”

“Silence!” Lucifer grabbed the crow with both hands and gripped the struggling president. “I do not take orders from anyone, let alone a president. Request is denied, and if you ask again, I will cut off your wings and make you eat them.” He let Malphas go, and the president fluttered clumsily back onto the chair.

“Yes, my lord. I will monitor from my house and notify you of news.”

Lucifer gazed at the lava again, rubbing his stubble-covered chin. “I want you to take a message to Gasyaxe for me.”

“My lord, I’m sure one of the servants would be better fit—”

“You will do as I say!”

Malphas jumped in the air and flew backward, keeping out of reach.

“You will go to Gasyaxe, and you will tell him that the Soul Reacher from Andromalius is to serve his duties at all times and rescan incoming humans other Soul Reachers let through. He has my permission to have hunger and fatigue removed by Foras in order for him to do his work without stopping. Paimon assures me of his power, and I trust him.”

“Yes, my lord. Right away.”

* * *

Fifty lashes with a chain whip at the end of every week that the Soul Reachers failed to find a victim of Buriel was now so regular that there was talk it would be increased to a hundred. Jack had never endured physical punishment for failure before, and there was no arguing that it wasn’t really failure if Buriel’s likely victims didn’t end up in Hell. The only person he tried to convince that the demon might be killing people going to Heaven instead was Andromalius, thinking his leader trusted him enough to listen. But the pushback earned him an extra lashing session and he kept his mouth shut from then on.

Though he couldn’t speak for the other Soul Reachers, Jack was certain that none of the ones he read were victims of Buriel and his dukes. Many seemed like possibilities, showing shock or fear in some capacity, but as he scanned their soul through eye contact, he concluded they were not victims and he left them in line to wait their turn at the desk of Gasyaxe’s entry point.

The entry point was massive and separated into sections that corresponded to regions of Earth. There were approximately one thousand Soul Reachers in all of Hell, a truly rare breed, and though they were normally spread fairly evenly around the world, many were moved to the section that welcomed humans from the United States. Though it was possible that after months of freedom Buriel would make his way to other parts of the world, Lucifer insisted that more Soul Reachers be used to scan the most likely place. Some of Jack’s colleagues were desperate enough to try to avoid lashings by choosing incoming humans and attempting to coerce them into saying they had been killed by a demon. But humans entering Hell were not easily coerced since they had just as much evil if not more in their hearts. Each of these attempts earned the offending servant an extra lashing with the whip on fire. As much as Jack wished to avoid the agony of getting whipped and the pain of the wounds getting healed after each session, he didn’t dare risk having fire added to the mix.

Then a flustered Gasyaxe pulled Jack aside. Expecting to be sent for some additional punishment for some reason he wouldn’t argue, Jack stiffened as he listened.

“Lucifer is requesting that you work at all times. All shifts. Non-stop.”

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“Uh…” Jack was very tempted to argue that doing this work without rest and food would be extremely difficult.

“You are to go to President Foras immediately so he can make you resilient against hunger and fatigue. Then come back here right away to work.”

“Are the others going to do this too, or…”

“No. Lucifer requested you alone, specifically. I haven’t been told why and I don’t dare ask, but if the Dark Lord himself requests you and you alone, something is a big deal. And I guess you’re a big deal. And you better catch something because I now have to completely redo the organization that has been in place here for centuries. You are to re-evaluate every single human that arrives here, even though they’ve already been looked at by another Soul Reacher. Make it worth my time. And possibly not get whipped for once.”

The trip to the east side to meet with President Foras was filled with thoughts of why Lucifer would choose him. How did the supreme leader of Hell even know who he was? Even among the one thousand Soul Reachers he should have blended in and be seen as just another one of them. When he arrived at the central hub for the east, he passed the seal of Valefor and thought of Miles. He hoped he wasn’t in as much of a terrible situation as he was. I need to find Buriel so I can see my friend again.

The removal of hunger and fatigue wasn’t quite as painful as getting analyzed by Andromalius, but the feeling of something getting vacuumed out of his body was highly unpleasant. He was invigorated afterwards, however, and the thought of having endless energy with no effort was exciting.

The excitement didn’t last long. When he arrived back at Gasyaxe’s entry point, the lines had already been rearranged so that every human had to pass by him before arriving at the desks to have their souls analyzed. The knight led him to his post, mumbling about how things would be so backed up and that Jack better be efficient. Jack looked out into the sea of humans lined up, all awaiting their eternal fate. He worried that standing in this spot was now his eternal fate.

It was easy to lose track of the days when getting no break, even if he tried doing so by the changing of the shifts of the other Soul Reachers and Gasyaxe’s servants. Processing tens of thousands of humans every day might not have made him physically exhausted, but mentally he was running on fumes. There was no cure for mental exhaustion. His first lashing after a week of finding no one was almost a reprieve; he let the pain of each hit empty his head in hopes of a fresh start. The clarity didn’t last more than a few hours.

Gasyaxe mostly praised Jack for his efficiency at moving the line forward quickly, but expressed his concern that he was perhaps not being thorough enough. But Jack knew he was being perfectly thorough despite being so drained. Most of the humans had red or green auras, and he let them through with barely more than a glance. Certainly anyone who had been murdered by a bloodthirsty demon would not be full of evil or pride themselves. The ones who came in blue or purple, however, got their souls searched in depth. But their fear and sadness always stemmed from other life experiences or the realization that they had landed in the place they did not expect.

Occasionally, Jack would look farther back in the line to see what was coming and if his fellow Soul Reachers had been attracted to anyone in particular. He spotted a male human, standing tall with arms crossed but he tapped his fingers on his arms nervously, and looked around him while biting his lip. His aura was mostly red, but there was a purple mix hidden within, outlining his body. Jack hadn’t seen one like that before, and as another Soul Reacher walked along the line, he hoped his colleague would stop and give him a thorough analysis.

But he didn’t. He gave the man no more of a look than any of the other humans around him.

Jack wondered if perhaps the purple was a trick of the eye due to his mental exhaustion, but as the man neared, the purple intensified. It reminded him of the man that had taken him and Miles hostage in the jewelry store, two conflicting emotions within the soul. He rushed the others through until the man in question was finally before him. Jack stood in his path and stared into his eyes.

What’s this-what now-do it again?-please don’t-awful

How the man was able to exude enough anger or evil to hide the intense fear deep in his soul was admirable. “You,” Jack said. “Come with me.” As he led the man to the side, he nodded at Gasyaxe, who halted all proceedings. Everyone was watching.

With the man up against the stone wall, Jack lowered his voice. “Listen, I need to know how you got here. What happened?”

The man shifted uncomfortably, but glared. “I died, obviously. And it’s none of your business.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “Look, I don’t care why you’re here, but I need to know how you died. What happened?”

The purple aura intensified, mixing even more with the red. “Why does it matter what happened to me? I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Just fucking tell me. Did someone kill you?”

“Yes. And don’t ask me who because I don’t know.”

“How did they kill you?”

The purple now overtook the red, and Jack heard gasps behind him that he assumed were other Soul Reachers seeing what they had missed. The man trembled. “Don’t make me talk about it.”

Jack calmed his voice. “Listen, man, I’m sorry if something scary happened to you. It’s usually not important to know how somebody dies, but it’s actually really, really important right now. Regardless of why you’re here, maybe there’s a little piece of you that might still give a shit enough to save some lives back on Earth. Maybe even some family or friends you’ve left behind. I need you to tell me what happened. Please.”

The man looked at Jack, who took the opportunity to read his soul again.

Do I care?-they might die-awful-pain

“Okay, I’ll tell you.” Tears began to well in the man’s eyes. “Three guys. Young guys. Broke into my house. They had some kind of powers. The one, he got into my head, had control over me like a robot. Made me lay down in the middle of the floor, told me I was gonna die an amazing death. Then a second guy, his hand turned into a hatchet and he cut off my arms and legs and I was bleeding everywhere but I wasn’t dying, like the first guy was holding onto my life in my head or something. Then the third guy, his arm turned into a flamethrower and he jammed it through one arm hole and out the other and—” The man began to cry. “I was burning from the inside and it was the most terrible pain and it felt like hours and they just laughed at my screaming, then finally I burnt away. I swear I saw my own ashes as the fire guy burned my house down.”

The man slid down the wall and buried his face in his arms resting on his knees. Jack looked at Gasyaxe. “This guy. Buriel got him.”

The knight rushed over and looked down at the sobbing man. “You’re certain?”

“A hundred percent.” Jack knelt down beside Buriel’s victim. “Hey. Where were you? What city?”

“Cambridge. Outside Boston.”

Jack put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “I want to tell you that everything’s gonna be okay, but you’re in Hell and nothing is okay here. But maybe you’ll be lucky and it won’t be as bad as it is for some people. Do you know why you’re here?”

Red started to reappear in the aura. “I killed three of my wives and covered it up.”

Jack winced. “Yikes. Doesn’t look good for you then, man. Thanks for the info, though.” He stood and watched as two servants led the victim away.

“Which Soul Reacher missed this?” Gasyaxe growled to everyone. “Lucifer will want to know.”

Jack swallowed. He looked at the Soul Reacher he had seen pass the man up and hesitated to call him out, knowing that punishment awaited the demon. He knew him as 373 in one of Prince Sitri’s legions, a house specializing in lust and love, but not of the good kind. Jack relaxed when another Soul Reacher and a servant pointed at 373 instead, and avoided eye contact as guards took him away.

“Excellent work, 197,” Gasyaxe said. “I’ll make sure your leaders and Lucifer know of your success today.”

* * *

“I will make this quick, Soul Reacher, since I know you must return to work.” Paimon stood up from his throne and looked down at Jack kneeling before him. “I knew that punishment would not have an effect on you, but of course I can only advise Lucifer against it. He enjoys watching pain. But anyway, I know that rewards speak to you very well, at least that’s what Andromalius tells me. Isn’t that right? Soul Reachers long for rewards.”

“I…yes, sir.”

“Something about that empathy or whatever makes you have this amazing power. Though you fear punishment, as I’ve seen it in your eyes many times lately, you thirst for a reward, for happiness. There is no happiness here, but there are rewards for those who thirst enough for them, those who work so hard as to impress the supreme leader himself. Do you feel you should be rewarded for that?”

Jack found it to be an odd question. All he really wanted was to lay down or be back on Earth with Miles. He didn’t know what Paimon was expecting him to say and feared choosing the wrong words. “I…I would do my work well no matter what, sir. To request a reward from you would be selfish of me, sir.”

Paimon smiled. “You are a strange one. I wish to reward you. You have brought honor to the west! Especially since it was an eastern bastard that missed what we’ve been hunting for months. Lucifer has allowed me to reward you as I wish, and Andromalius gave me a great idea of something that will speak to your desire for rewards that you pretend you don’t have. Besides, you haven’t had anything to eat in a couple of weeks now, correct?”

Jack nodded.

Motioning to a nearby female servant, Paimon requested she bring a platter to him. Jack wondered if it would be another strawberry, and he struggled to hide his excitement. But when the tray was brought before him, he could not prevent his eyes from widening.

A selection of chocolates were displayed on the golden platter, and though Jack could not remember ever having it, his mouth salivated immensely in anticipation of the taste that he seemed to know. “Choose one,” Paimon said.

Carefully, Jack chose a piece and took a bite. Inside was a luxurious chocolate crème, smooth and rich. He put the rest in his mouth and closed it to prevent himself from drooling. The tray was removed and Paimon looked down on him with the same smile of enjoyment at watching a pet react to a treat. But Jack ignored it and savored the taste as long as possible.

“Well?” Paimon said. “Was that a worthy reward?”

“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

“Perhaps if you find another, you can be rewarded again. I would much rather shower you with rewards for making others respect us in the west, than see you be punished for having bad luck. Now, go back to work and make us proud.”