It was often when Lucas became fed up with the way things were run in Hell. The demons were the worst to get along with, the same with angels. Demons and angels were just not his favorite beings to be around. At least with humans they had certain goals they set for themselves. All angels cared about was greater good. All demons cared about was making every creature feel like shit.
He was no exception to this stereotype. Mischief could have been his middle name if demons had one. However, demons were meant to do a job. Their existence wasn’t exactly known to humans, though they liked to write a bunch of crap that sounded true but really only had the names right.
This was very curious to him. Humans had so much to live for and yet they had such short lives. They worked so hard to live to other human’s expectations, always looking for approval, but they always died. What were they striving to do? Why keep on living if you knew you were going to die? Why go to such trouble to acquire wealth and fame when it would only disappear?
Most times when he got too deep into his own thoughts, Mathias would be there to pull him right back. It was a change when Mathias was sent down to earth and had successfully made a contract with the high demon. Lucas had been sure that would have been the end of their relationship until Mathias came back a hundred years later. Though it was like a year to demons, it would be the longest the pair had been apart since—
He blinked. Could it be that this would be the longest they’d been apart since they were created?
That was a strange thing to think about. For all these years, they had been side by side—except for the years down on earth. While it didn’t bother Mathias, being close kind of bugged Lucas. Demons couldn’t stand anyone, so how was it that they were able to be together for so long?
He conjured up a large fluffy bed and lied down. The pillows were clouds, the bed a wide open blue sky. The ceiling to the small cave that was his own turned sky blue, tiny white clouds floating above his head. The sun peaked out from the corner, shining radiant beams his way. Out of all the scenes he’d seen on earth, the sky was his favorite. Humans couldn’t fly, but they had mimicked the action by building big machines called airplanes. They payed each other to fly them up into the sky, sometimes so they could jump out, relying on a parachute to keep them alive.
He’d imagined it was like sex. Falling from the sky was about adrenaline and maybe sex was too? These foreign concepts made him wonder all the more about life on earth. These were things he would never be able to experience if he stayed in Hell. If he could only make a contract then he would have all the time he needed to find out what it really meant to be a human.
No demon would ever want to be a human. Humans have no power and were at the mercy of angels and demons—beings that could end their life with one look. But there was something about the emotions they possessed. Though they got their family structure from demons, they had this odd trait that didn’t come from either parents. The way they described this union to their children was when a man and a woman love each other very much—
He paused. What came after that? Marriage? That seemed right, but some parents didn’t get married. He shrugged. What happened then didn’t matter, it was what came after that made all of the difference. It takes a man and a woman to make a child. That was the rule of thumb. Of course, a man and a man couldn’t. Neither could a woman and a woman.
These facts were important to humans. They didn’t think that these unusual unions were right. Lucas wasn’t sure why that was, but he was going to keep it in mind when he visited again.
His thoughts drifted away with the clouds. New ones came fluttering in, looking no different than the firsts. This change eased him for some reason. The white clouds came up against his face, soft and welcoming. The cloud didn’t disperse when it made contact with his face. It morphed into a soft material of silk, covering him from head to toe. The warmth was what he focused on the most. Every other thought was pushed to the back of his mind, the loser of the attention and importance.
Sleep was taking him over, pulling him deeper into her embrace. He couldn’t see her. Darkness hid her true identity, but he didn’t need to know who she was to take pleasure in her gift.
A few more minutes and he would have been asleep. The fantasy was disturbed by Mathias’s voice and presence.
“Lucas?” Mathias shook Lucas’ shoulder. “I’ve got good news.”
He raised his head and blinked. “What is it?”
It was hard to believe there would be any good news for him. He’d been filled in with only bad news for so long that it seemed impossible.
Mathias grinned and if Lucas was being completely honest, he was scared of it.
“You’ve been called by the high demon.”
***
The first memory Lucas had of existence was waking up beside Mathias. They were grown demons, not at all similar to human children. When the original demons appeared, he wasn’t scared of them. Their appearance was to bring fright to the humans, not other demons. Lucas had been fascinated by their red skin and long black horns. He had been curious but not brave to reach out and touch them. They had closed in on them, just two, and taken Lucas into their arms and coddled him. Mathias had wrapped his arms around one of their waists, staring up at them with wonder.
It’s a strange thing to look back at now. Lucas hadn’t seen the demons that had taken him in since he had been a hundred years old, thousands of years ago. Being the full-grown demon he was now, he was kind of jealous of the human children. Even when he was a young demon, he had been expected to go out into the human world and work, but young humans were granted freedom. They were pampered for years, not days, and given choices, not orders.
It seemed a little harsh to compare himself to a child. A child and him had almost nothing in common. This expectation that he should have the same privileges as another species was quite baffling, almost insane. This didn’t stop him from thinking about it. These differences distanced him even more from humans. He’d lived among them a total of two hundred years, give or take, and yet he still could not call himself one of them. They were complex, more so than demons had let on. Still, he could not show any interest in them to the other demons.
Humans were to be tortured until they lost their mind. They weren’t for examination.
All this thinking was for nothing when he reached the entrance to the high demon’s office. Office was the human word for what it was. In Hell, every demon was given a piece of it to call their own, including the lesser demons. The high demon’s land was at the highest point of Hell, covered in rocky mountains and rivers made of lava. This wasn’t what all of Hell looked liked, it was only what the high demon liked to see.
Lucas was summoned to the main land the high demon used. The air was sucked out of the tight bubble that formed around his body. His lungs collapsed and stretched in unimaginable ways but only reconstructed because he was a demon. The travel was too hard for a human or angel to handle, though neither had any reason to enter the land of the high demon.
Human souls, before they were turned into demons, were kept in a special place in Hell. They were permitted to be escorted to and from certain place if need be, but besides that, they never left what demons called the Inferno of Hell.
Lights flashed behind his closed eyes. The broken tissue in his lungs knitted back together, snapping like rubber bands to test that they would hold up. The process was nothing he could ever get use to, no matter how many times he went through it. Twenty to thirty times seemed enough to adapt to the feeling of his body being ripped apart and being put back together while he could feel everything.
He opened his eyes. Sitting before him in his large thrown, was the high demon. His long silky black hair draped over his left shoulder, feathering down into a sharp point. He wore tight black pants, a sheer button up shirt, and leather boots. His black and empty eyes stared down at Lucas, no emotion slipping onto his face. The red lights in the dark room dimmed further, casting harsh shadows across the high demon’s face.
Lucas felt his heart drop into his stomach. The room tilted before it stilled and came to focus on the demon that would change him and his future.
The demon’s eyes flickered over Lucas, pausing slightly at his bottom half. He sneered.
“Lucas, it has been awhile since I last saw you.” Lucas couldn’t help but focus on the high demon’s full lips. He blushed when his pointed tongue licked them.
“Yes, sir.” When he answered he felt like kneeling or doing something to show respect. No one ever said what he was suppose to do when in front of the high demon, but he shouldn’t be too worried. The high demon was fair though he was painted in such an evil light. At least, that’s what Lucas thought.
“You’ve grown into a beautiful demon. Come forward.”
He didn’t hesitate, not wanting to cause trouble. The ground crunched under his feet and the closer he came to the high demon, the more he felt the heat. All around him the pulse of a deeper flame could be felt. The thumps weren’t necessarily heard but felt from deep within. The unique feeling it gave was something Lucas had only felt when he was here, close to the high demon. He never really thought about the high demon much, only when it was about escaping to earth. The demon was terrifying when he looked at him. His whole being screamed he was alpha. He was the one with the power here. This feeling could have easily scared away any creature that dared to challenge the demon but under that tone was a feeling of calm and serenity. That calling was what kept Lucas on his path to the throne the demon sat upon. He wanted to be closer to this higher power, even if he might be hurt in consequence.
The demon’s gaze lingered and then drifted off to the side. His dark skin glistened from the glowing red crystals forming behind him in the black rocks. “There is a soul on earth that needs collecting. If you can do this, I will offer you a contract.”
Lucas had to hold back a gasp.
The demon raised his hand. “But there is a request. This soul must be tainted. It will be your duty to do so. If not, then the deal will be void.”
Their eyes met.
“I truly hope you succeed. I wish you luck.”
Lucas knew he needed it.
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