Dancing In The Void

Thunk

Echoed the sickening sound throughout the empty clearing as the rusty nail pierced the palm of her hand.

Thunk

The wooden hammer crashed down, driving it deeper, as her fingers twitched in screamless pain and blood began trickling over her skin.

Thunk

The nail sunk deeper and deeper, until it was firmly embedded in the putrid wooden cross behind her.

Thunk

One final hit... for good measure.

She shrieked until her throat was sore, yet no sound was heard as the living darkness enveloped her, drowning and choking her. Then she sensed something cold, sharp, metallic pressing against her chest. It was a feather, shaped like a sword. At first it was silver and cold, but soon it became a red-hot blade, surging with the powers of heaven itself. She held her breath for a few moments, terrified, and as the ethereal blade touched her skin, searing it, marking her before it plunged into her flesh. She screamed once more in silent agony as the mark grew, coursing like fire through her veins. The flames erupted, ripping her open from within and engulfing her body. Her skin turned to ashes, her flesh sizzled and boiled, and her bones turned to charred black.

But she was not alone. There were others around her, screaming, begging for relief from the pain. Her dreadful screeching was accompanied by many other voices, trembling with fear and torment, soon forming a chorus of damned souls in a damned city floating in the abyss. Then in the distance, through the pain and suffering came a light. A spectre that grew in intensity with each passing moment. Like a blinding sun, it grew and grew until it was everything. It soon consumed her, consumed everything and only silence remained.

Nikolai nearly jumped out of her bed as she was startled awake. Drenched in sweat and breathing heavily, she immediately put her hand over her chest. She could feel her heart almost bursting through her chest, but that feeling calmed her. The horrible nightmare was already beginning to fade away from her mind, replaced by the realization that she was safe and sound in her home. Reality settled in once more, wrapped as she was by her warm, comfy mattress of her oversized bed. The distant honking of cars and light chatter of the busy night street below was reassuring. Nikolai then fell back down on her pillow, wiping away the few tears that dripped down her right cheek.

It has been… a long time since I’ve had nightmares like that… She said to herself, taking a deep breath. She looked at her arm, and the dreadful scars that adorned it. She tried not to look at them, not to think about them, instead trying to fall asleep again. Her attempts were futile, too disturbed to be at peace again, so she checked her clock and sighed.

God, it's barely two a.m.? She groaned. I guess I’ll watch a movie or something 'til I fall asleep…

With a sigh, she slithered out of her bed and made her way to the bathroom, yawning lazily along the way. She flicked the light, but nothing came on.

“Damn blackout, means no TV I guess.” She said, glimpsing her shadowy self in the mirror. She saw her hair was a mess, unkempt and unstraightened, with a few long strands still covering the left side of her face. She was wearing nothing but a greenish-brown shirt and a pair of violet panties. She gently washed her eyes and cheeks before combing her hair for a bit.

That looks much better! She thought, before immediately yelping in pain. “GAAH!”

Nikolai bounced on one foot, clutching the toes on the other with her hand. The poor unfortunate toes that got smashed against the bathroom door frame from the lack of light combined with the sleepy haze over her eyes. She curled down, rubbing her right foot to soothe the pulsing pain. Just as the pain began to subside, she jumped, startled by a frantic knocking at her door.

“Come the fuck on I want to sleep, Who visits so late at night...” She murmured to herself as she hopped across her house to her vestibule. Nikolai was quite surprised when she opened the door and saw Constantine resting against the wall. He was panting heavily, and his shirt was a mess. It was torn, ripped and dirty, stained by the numerous gashes and bruises on his body and face. “Oh my GOD, what the hell happened to you?”

Constantine did not answer, he opened his mouth trying to let some words escape, but instead it was just some incoherent mumbling. “M-mind if I crash here for the n-night?” He asked, heaving and gasping for breath.

Nikolai had already quickly but gently pulled him inside, and was now closing the door behind him. “Yes, yes of course, come on in!” She said frantically. “My god you’re bleeding…”

Constantine stumbled into the living room and crashed down on the couch. He then brought his right palm on his forehead trying to ease the pounding pain inside his skull. Meanwhile Nikolai rushed through her house, putting on a reddish-black bathrobe and got a first-aid kit from the kitchen consisting of some bandages and an ice pack.

“Here.” she softly said, placing the ice pack on his forehead. With quickness she proceeded to clean and bandage up his other wounds. Most were just minor cuts and gashes, so his appearance was worse than his actual state. “Mind telling me what the hell happened? Did you get in a fight with Margaret’s dogs again?”

Constantine did not answer her jovial mood-lifting attempt, instead he just stared at her with his mouth halfway open for a few moments before speaking.

“There was something in my house... I think it was a girl, her hands were b-bleeding and she was crying. But she had -and I swear this is true- she had wings!” He said erratically. “Gigantic fucking wings, they were almost as long as my room! And her fucking eyes. Fucking hell her eyes were just-just white, like there was no pupil there. I can't get those fucking eyes out of my head.” He said, shaking and trembling, his hand wrapping tightly around Nikolai’s. “It was an angel.”

Nikolai silently took in her lover’s words, finding it difficult to say anything. “A-and then what happened? Did she knock you out and run off?” She replied after a few moments, with a concerned look on her face.

“No, no.” He said, shaking his head. ”When she saw me there, she shot up, almost flew out the window… I tried talking to her but she just… jumped… I panicked and ran out of the house, but like an idiot I tripped and fell down the stairs. Then I think I passed out or just kinda, lost time from shock. I ran around the street for a bit but then I came here. I ran through the forest path, so I probably got scratched up by all the bushes and shit…” He elaborated with a long sigh. “I think I’ve gone mad.”

Nikolai pressed herself against him, wrapping his arm over his back and rubbing him reassuringly. “Relax, Costy, Hani. I don’t know exactly what you saw but I believe you, and you’re not mad.” She said with a smile. Nikolai then leaned forward and gave him a fiery kiss on his lips. “I would put on a movie, but…”

“The blackout, I saw. Didn’t think it reached this far.”

“Try and relax darling, let me get some light.” She said, rushing like a whirlwind off of the couch and into another room. She returned with a pair of lit votive candles in each hand, placing them around the living room. The moody lighting immediately warmed up the room, and gave off a soothing, comfortable atmosphere. From a drawer under the couch she pulled out a pillow and a blanket, which she both tossed to Constantine.

“You, you shouldn’t.” He said, but that didn’t stop him from putting the pillow against the arm-rest and laying on it. “But… don’t stop…”

Nikolai gently snuggled up beside him, grabbing the blanket from his arms and tossing it over them. She loved how warm his body felt against her slightly chilly touch. The warmth enveloped them both, and she purred with satisfaction as she nuzzled her face in his shoulder. She felt safe, and knew in her trembling heart that he felt the same way.

“I hope you don’t mind if I sleep with you tonight.” She said, her raspy voice barely a whisper. “I… had a nightmare…”

“Aww, of course Cherry. I’m your guest after all.” Constantine said with a smile as he rubbed her arm and kissed her on the top of her head. “Its been a while since you’ve had nightmares, I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I try not to think about it.” She mumbled. “You shouldn’t either. We’ll go back to your home tomorrow and see what’s with that winged, mystery girl.”

“Mhm…” Constantine nodded, looking at the candles, watching the flames flickering happily. “Thank you for the light, its very calming.”

Nikolai nodded back at him, staring at the light as her hand trailed over his chest, rubbing and massaging him. Their bodies were pressed together on the somewhat small couch, and the friction between them was starting to make both hot and steamy under the covers. It didn’t help how lithe Nikolai was dressed, and soon lascivious ideas began to form in her mind. She needed a plausible excuse, but coming up with one didn’t take her long.

“Oh my god, Costy, this shirt’s so dirty. Its got blood on it. Take it off.” She commanded quite aggressively, suddenly jumping up and sitting on his thighs.

“W-whaa, whu, huh? What?” Constantine mumbled, suddenly startled from his peaceful relaxation.

Nikolai didn’t answer him, she only stared wide-eyed at him, her mouth curved into a sly smile. “Come on. Take it off.”

Constantine sheepishly obeyed the order, taking off his shirt with slow movements. “Y-you sure about this?” He said, his voice suddenly higher with excitement.

“It’ll make us both feel better after such a troubled night.” She said, biting her lower lip as she watched him undress. When he tossed away his shirt, her hands began tracing over his chest and stomach. He looked good, decently fit, if a little on the skinnier side, but she loved him nonetheless. “Wow… I like the battle-scarred look these cuts give you.” She whispered seductively, running her hands over the bandages and band-aids she applied earlier. She gave her fingertips a slight stain of red from the few droplets of blood that seeped through. Without hesitation she ran the fingers over her lips, licking them with her tongue.

“Shhhhhk… god… thats, you’re hot as fuck, if only slightly gross.” Constantine inhaled sharply and giggled as the excitement of it all began to overpower whatever inhibitions he might have had. “You like the scars? Maybe I should get in fights more often, come home all hot and sexy for you.” He smugly laughed.

“Don’t get too wild Hani, we both know you’d get your ass kicked.” She retorted, while she began moving herself forward and back, rubbing his thighs with her derriere.

“Or… maybe I’d kick too much ass…” He said provocatively, as his hands began to wander over Nikolai’s hips.

Without warning, she lunged forward over him, pressing her lips passionately against his. Darkness suddenly loomed over them, as her movements were so swift and aggressive that she’d snuffed out both candles. Giggling could be heard as they both realized the night ahead of them would be long, but a lot more fun than either had anticipated.

The first light of morning trickled in through the large tinted windows of the living room, hitting Nikolai directly in the eye. Her eyelid twitched, and the pleasant dream she was immersed in was immediately dispelled. Any hopes of further indulgences were immediately dashed by Constantine’s loud snoring that woke her further. With a tired eye she looked at him, seeing him in an awkward position with his mouth wide open and his left arm across his eyes.

Carefully, she got out of bed and pulled her slippers from under the couch. She put them on, wiggling her toes inside the puffy, tiger-shaped footwear then made her way to the bathroom. The lights were still off, but at least the sunlight made it easier to see. Nikolai yawned and lazily began to brush her teeth. She could hear Constantine stirring awake all the while, and realized his stirring was approaching. It was at that moment that Nikolai realized she was nude. As if on cue, Constantine sleepily opened the door, and found himself smacked in the face with a yellow towel. There was a brief yet beautiful moment where he got the chance to stare at her shapely, supple form, but it was snuffed all too quickly.

“Cantsh you knooock?” Nikolai yelled, her toothbrush still in her mouth. She slammed the door open in her boyfriend’s face, and heard a soft ‘Sorry’ come from him as she did. She couldn't help but smile.

A few minutes later she met Constantine in the kitchen. He had poured himself a coffee and was listening to some very relaxing rhythmic music on the radio.

“Hey Niko, sorry about earlier.” He said, his voice still slightly hoarse from just waking up.

“Shh.” She silenced him with a kiss. “Don’t sweat it.” Nikolai smiled as she tightened the long black bathrobe around her body. She moved over to pour herself a cup and Constantine continued talking.

“About last night though. I’m still a little shaken about what I saw, but its a sunny day, let's go out for a walk and check it out, in a bit?” He asked.

“Oh, I thought you were gonna bring up the other thing.”

Constantine was quiet for a moment, before his cheeks turned beet red. “O-oh… that, well that was great, that's always… always great. I fell asleep right away after, hope my performance wasn’t too… shaky.”

Nikolai giggled. “You did great, Hani. You hungry? Want me to whip up some breakfast?”

“Can’t refuse an offer from you.” He said, his face lighting up with excitement.

“Well, go get washed up and dressed, I’ll make some eggs in a minute.”

“Y-yes Ma’am.” He said. He was somewhat used to being ordered around like that by Nikolai, and generally put up a bit of a front, but today he was not entirely against it.

Within the next fifteen minutes Constantine was ready, and so was the food. He sat down at the table in the living room with a small but delicious meal prepared for him: two perfectly cooked eggs surrounded by some hash browns and another cup of warm coffee. Nikolai didn’t have a plate in front of her, just some toast with butter that she was snacking on.

“You not eating?” Constantine asked with a mouthful of food.

“Not feeling super hungry.”

“C’mon Niko, you gotta eat something that toast ain’t gonna cut it.” He stabbed one of his hash browns and placed it on her napkin. “Here.”

Nikolai stared at him for a moment, pouting, but she shook her head and picked up the crunchy morsel. She placed it on her toast and folded the bread over it, turning it into a pleasant sandwich. “Okay, fine, that was nice.” She added.

“Of course its nice, you’ve always been a better cook than me. And see, I can give orders too.” Constantine said, earning himself another friendly jab in the shoulder. He chuckled, and Nikolai giggled.

Once both were finished, they cleaned up, but left the dirty dishes in the sink. Constantine insisted he’d wash them for her, but Nikolai was adamant about doing them later. With that, both got dressed and made their way out. Constantine borrowed one of Nikolai’s larger clothes that fit him well enough, a nice deep black button-up shirt that she’d ordered online but accidentally bought at a larger size. That along with the jeans he was wearing made for a comfortable outfit for this nice warm autumn day. Nikolai meanwhile wore a pair of short jeans, a plain white shirt, and a small vest over it. She also put on a pair of black nylon thigh-high and a matching set of long gloves over her left arm. Constantine watched as she put on her last item, the flaming rose eyepatch over her left eye. She noticed a small but visible pang of sadness wash over him as he watched her cover up all her dreadful scars.

“Ready?” She asked.

“Yeah.” He said. The two made their way outside quickly, and found themselves under a clear blue sky, and a calm, warm breeze gently touching their skin. Nikolai wrapped her arm around Constantine’s and the two began to walk.

“How come you still hide your eye after all this time?” Constantine asked after a while, having stewed over the question ever since they left. It was a question that he had asked before, many times, and yet each time she felt the same burning fury well up within her, accompanied by the same painful answer. She knew he meant well, but he could never truly understand. Even after all this time, unlike his, her scars never faded. Their pain was etched not just in her skin, but within her very soul.

Nikolai was silent. Her grip on him loosened somewhat, but she still held onto him. “You know why.” She said, her voice quiet, but with an undertone of her anger slipping through. “I don’t… want them all to see.” Her gaze turned to the innocent passersby, a cold and disgusted look. “They all look at me and see just the scars. Not me. I don’t need, nor do I want their pity. I want to be just another random stranger on the street, not a freak.” As she spoke, the two of them passed by an antique store, one with a mirror right up front. Nikolai glanced at it as she walked, and saw herself staring back. A large crack in the facade of the mirror crossed over her face, cutting away the left side.

They don’t know what its like to choke on your screaming… what its like to feel Death wrap her cold and burning claws around your neck… A dark stray thought passed through her mind, before she pushed it away.

“I’m sorry I asked. I just… hoped you wouldn’t feel the need to hide anymore.” Constantine apologized. “I’d want the world to see you, the real you, as beautiful and perfect as I see you.”

“Me too. But perhaps one day.” Nikolai said with a sigh. “And thank you.” She said with a smile and a quick kiss.

“I’m still somewhat jittery over last night.” He added, trying to change the subject. “I’m getting antsy just getting close to my apartment.”

“Me too. I slept a lot better after you arrived though, so that was nice.”

The rest of the walk was had in silence. The two of them were comfortable just being around each other, even without speaking. Eventually, they reached Constantine’s apartment, despite the few detours they took. They had meandered and walked through a couple parks, enjoying the pleasant atmosphere. Now they were inside the gloomy building, still dark from the lack of electricity.

“Guess no elevator still.” Constantine said with a groan.

“I blame you for living on the top god damn floor.” She added with a giggle.

Their ascension was slow, but they soon found themselves standing before Constantine’s apartment. He opened the door, and sheepishly walked inside. It was chilly, but that was mainly because of the broken window. The two of them inspected his bedroom, carefully stepping over the shards of glass.

“Well… your window is definitely broken.” Nikolai said, somewhat disturbed that this was more than just some hallucination her boyfriend had had.

“Impeccable detective work, Holmes.” Constantine said with a biting remark.

“Fuck you. I mean, maybe someone threw something through the window or something.” She said with an exasperated laugh.

“We’re on the tenth floor?” He said, confused.

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Well, whatever it was, its definitely not here now. You should call someone for this window at least.”

“The landlord’s gonna think I broke the window.” Constantine groaned.

"Well, fuck him." Nikolai said plainly. She picked up a shard that fell on the windowsill, carefully inspecting it. A thought began to form in her mind. "There's a lot of glass." She said.

"Y-yeah, the window's broken." Constantine said. "Don't cut yourself."

"No dumbass, I mean, here on the inside. If you broke it there should barely be anything right? A lot more should be on the pavement outside..." Nikolai moved closer to the window. "Whatever it was, it definitely crashed into your window..." She continued, but did not finish as her eye landed on a peculiar object. As she inspected the window and the surrounding area, trying to endure the powerful winds of this height, she saw something. A feather, lodged between the grating of a metallic pipe climbing alongside the wall. She inspected it, trying to discern if it was just a random pigeon’s feather, but some instinctual sensation deep in her chest told her this was not the case. The feather was large and sharp like a dagger. It shone a striking silver color in the sunlight, and there were some noticeable specks of blood stained on it. Before Nikolai could even think about reaching out and grabbing it, a gust of wind blew through the air, dislodging the feather and carrying it away.

“You okay Niko?” Constantine said, continuing his cleanup of the shards with a small dustpan and brush.

She stepped back, unsure of what to think or say. “You said this… angel… this girl you saw, her hands were bleeding right?”

“Yeah, I thought there’d be a lot more of a mess around, but its just the window.”

“You said she had wings, perhaps she covered herself up with them?”

“You’re suddenly acting like you actually believe I saw an angel in my room, Nikolai.” Constantine said, concerned. “I mean, I’m very thankful you believe me, but shouldn’t you be all skeptical and everything, you changed your tune right away.”

Nikolai shook her head and sighed. “You’re right, I’m just trying to make some sense of what you saw, or what you might not have seen. And truth be told, I can’t come up with anything. Maybe you were just tired and imagined it, maybe your brain saw something in the dark with the blackout, maybe the moon shone weirdly and the broken window reflected something.”

“Something… that talked to me, Nikolai?”

“I don’t fucking know!”

The two stared at each other in silence. With a sigh, Constantine walked away, throwing the shards of glass in the trash. When he returned, he found Nikolai in contemplation.

“Okay. It seems neither of us is really sure of what happened last night. There’s not much evidence that anything has happened, aside from your window definitely being broken.” She said. “So, why don’t we leave it at this? Call your landlord, tell him about the window, and you can come crash at my place until its fixed. We can call Evan and spend the weekend chilling with some movies and snacks. How’s that sound?”

Constantine’s concerned expression flipped to one of happiness. “You know, sure. That sounds great. And you’re right, I’m not entirely sure what I saw or what happened either. Everything is just a hazy blur. Let’s, let’s try and have a fun weekend instead. Yeah?”

“Yes!” Nikolai said with a fake, excited smile. She jumped in his arms and gave him a tight hug.

Soon, after Constantine finished talking with his landlord, the two of them prepared to leave. Nikolai lingered in the room alone for a few moments. She stared out the window, and her nightmare replayed in her mind alongside the feather she had seen. A storm of dark and terrible thoughts and fears raged in her mind, above them all a single doomed sentiment:

Why does this feel like the beginning of the end?

Mephistopheles sighed. It wasn’t out of some issue of annoyance or irritation, but sheer fatigue and boredom. His eyes glazed over the pages of the book he was pouring over, and he realized he wasn’t actually reading anything. He flipped back a few pages, trying to focus and actually understand and remember what he was reading. But the second he started, his eyes began to wander again.

“This shit is so tedious.” He said. “I thought I’d spend my time up here doing more exciting things than reading books for weeks.”

The room was empty of a response. Instead, the only sounds Mephisto heard were the clinking of a teaspoon stirring in a teacup, and the subsequent slurping, capitulated by a satisfied ‘Ahh’.

“And what exactly, d’you propose, Mephisto?” Belial said after a while, still lounging in his fancy, comfortable throne-like chair. He continued sipping his tea, while occasionally snacking on a sugary treat he had on his table. His yellow eyes stared at the demon, unblinking and firmly waiting for a response.

“I… don’t know really? This is supposed to be a hunt right? Aren’t we wasting time making me read all this shit?” He said, shrugging his shoulders.

The answer he gave was unsatisfactory, and Belial sat up in his seat, leaning forward. “You think dis be… leisure? Just us two passin’ de time?” He said, but didn’t wait for a reply. “Listen, you use ta be a merc, correct?”

“That’s right.”

“Back den, did you do any… ‘untin?”

“From time to time. Sometimes we’d get an assassination mission for some princeling the next city over.”

“And back den, how did you hunt someone?” Belial asked, putting a noticeable accent on the word this time. “You talk’ to folks right? Get information, learn when and where. Make a plan, follow da trails.”

“That’s… right. Where you going with this?”

“Say you go to a ba’ here. Y’know what dat is, righ’? Some fool starts telling you ‘bout some shite he saw, corna’ of twenty-fou’ street. What'd ya do den? You don’ know where dat is, hell, you don’ even know what a street is. Can you even trust dis fool?”

“We had streets back then…”

“Do you know dis town? Dis people? Dis world? You know how to interact with people? No. You’re wet behin’ da eaas. Da books, dey for learnin’. You learn now, you don’t die lata’.”

Mephisto leaned back in his chair, annoyed. “I don’t think books beat real life experience.”

“Dey don’t, but we can’t exactly throw ya to de wolves without any preparations, right?” Belial smiled. “You rememba’ owa talk when you first arrived? ‘Bout what we do here? Humans outnumba’ us demons a million to one. Say you ask de wrong person de wrong questions. One small misstep, now you’re a rumor. Rumors spread fast, and dey reach da eaas of the wrong person even fasta’.”

“Wrong person? You mean like, lawmen and such?”

Belial laughed heartily. “You think pigs are what worries us? No litwick, humans aren’t as stupid as you might think. Dere’s dangerous ones among dem. Hunters for those like us too out dere. Demon hunters.”

“Is that right?” Mephisto asked, suddenly intrigued and deep in thought. “So there are those that are aware that demons like us exist?”

“One in particula’ is a particularly irritating pain in de…” Belial coughed. “De Huntress we call’er. She’s been on Azzy’s trail for a long good yeaas. Some personal beef with him in particula’.”

“Is that why you guys keep the operation on the move, bouncing from city to city every couple years?” Mephisto asked.

“If she finds us fast we move even fasta’. Although, she’s been quiet for some time. Nary a whisper of her around.”

“Perhaps she lost Azazel’s trail?”

Belial shook his head. “Nonsense. You’ve not met’er. And you still vastly underestimate the sheer drive and raw determination some of dese humans are capable of. Dey are smart, cunning, and powa-ful in numbers.”

Mephisto sighed, leaning over and grabbing a biscuit from Belial’s snack-tray. “So what then, we stay in here scared shitless that humans will find us out?”

“Mephy, Mephy…” Belial shook his head, almost disappointed. “You’re too eaga’ to fight. To prove yourself. Dat’s not how you’ll find dis angel lass. We demons lay low, cause no trouble, and de humans let us run owa business in peace. Once you become a problem, you get dealt with like a problem.” The demon cleared his throat. “You’re unconvinced. Let me tell you a tale. You eva’ heard of da Faceless one?”

Mephisto pondered the question. “I haven’t, no. Name seems somewhat familiar but I can’t pin it.” He answered plainly.

“Dis demon was a right propa’ bastard. An archdemon in fact, ripped from de deepest pits of hell itself. The kind of heinous devil dat would make even your boss Ol Bapho’ shit ‘imself.” He said with a chuckle. “He showed up on earth one day, some hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago, started terrorizing all in his path. An undying, unkillable nightmare of flesh and blood and pure despair he was. A plague, dat ravaged and scarred de face of de earth. A god among demons, but even he with all was eventually defeated. De humans and de hunters came together, a great host, a great battle dat lasted months, years. And dey prevailed. Dey could not kill dis demon, so dey trapped him in the great desert. In a great tower, built by angels. A bargain was struck, and now de demon is deir warden.”

Mephisto stared his demon mentor in the eyes, contemplating the story and its message. “Hmm, I remember back in my days, I used to rely on my strength. I would power through obstacles, thinking that I was unbreakable, thinking I can bend my foe before me. Then I died…”

…and hell broke me. Now I’m in a new, unfamiliar world, powerless, all but alone. I’m no longer so sure. Perhaps Belial’s right. I’m too eager to rush into my own failure. He thought to himself, considering this new revelation further, but unwilling to share it with his new oppressors.

“De first place you win any battle or defeat any foe, Mephisto…” Belial lifted his hand and brought attention to his index finger, pressing it against his temple. “...Is right here. Never forget dat.”

Before they could carry on their conversation, Belial’s phone vibrated, startling Mephisto. The demon quickly picked it up, reading the message that popped on his screen.

“What is it?” Mephisto asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Azzy’s decided it’s time you caught a lead. Looks like you’re gettin’ your chance sooner dan you’d hoped. Rememba’ dat prisoner, well you’re gonna be interrogatin’ him.“

“Me? We just went over how I might not be ready. I’ve never tortured anyone.” Mephisto protested.

“Au contraire, dat was your job in hell, was it not?” The demon said with a sly laugh and a flare of his eyebrows.

“But that’s different, that’s mindless, purposeless pain. What if this is our only lead? Why waste this interrogation on me?”

“Because Azazel doesn’t give a shite, catching de angel is your job. We’re just here to make sure you do it.”

Mephisto groaned, but nodded his head in acceptance. “So what’s Azazel’s deal? I get it, you’re my teacher, keeping me from stumbling like an idiot. But him? Just running things? Haven’t had the chance to hang out with him all that much, and everytime we did he’s just kind of… odd.”

Belial chuckled, but this time, this laughter was different. It was one that betrayed a deeper, more ominous understanding than what the demon was about to reveal. “Dere’s a reason Azzy’s still kickin’ it up here after so many years, even with a hunta’ on his ass. Where so many otha’s get captured or sent back to hell if dey so much as cross eyes with one, Azzy is smart. Terrifyingly so. Don’ be fooled by his act, his goofy behavior, nothin’ more dan a trick. Some part of him, sure, yes, he's definitely an idiot sometimes. But its just a veil to fool dose like you dat think he’s a more pitiful demon dan he actually is.” Belial leaned forward, and his voice became quiet, like a whisper. “Dat man is a monster, Mephisto, take it from me and rememba’ it well. You’d do best to try and get in his good graces, cause friends he treats well, but enemies…”

“Enemies become problems…” Mephisto nodded, his voice quiet with understanding. “... And problems get dealt with.”