Several of the humans had heard Celia's confession and stopped fighting. They backed off to the other side of the room and began talking. Soon, the rest of Hershel's congregation was quiet and staring at Polly. Lenny backed away from the human who had been attacking her. He stopped and stepped even farther away, looking sheepish and embarrassed when the gossip reached his ears. Lenny shrugged it off and began taking her true appearance while she moved to Polly's side.
"Is it true, what Celia just said?" a man with brown hair and a scar down the left side of his face asked.
"Yes, Celia and the other djinn —that's the type of demon they were, though some might call them genies—were here to take souls away from Heaven and Hell. They were trying to take over, but we have stopped them…. You're welcome," Lenny said condescendingly as she wiped a drop of blood away from her eye.
Polly shot Lenny a look telling her to be quiet. "Yes, they were not the people you thought they were."
"What happened to all those people we got off the streets?" a tiny blond woman asked.
"They're dead. Hershel took their souls and gave them to the djinn. I have no idea where they are right now, but my guess is there is a djinn out there that has been consuming them."
"Eating souls? You can't eat souls," a woman with bright red hair said snidely.
"Humans can't eat souls, but demons and angels can. We don't do it unless it's an emergency, because those souls deserve to go to Heaven or Hell." Polly was starting to become uncomfortable with this little Q and A session she'd never meant to start.
"There is a Heaven and Hell, though?" This came from one of the people near the back of the crowd that was gathering around Polly and Lenny. Polly grabbed Lenny's arm and started walking closer to where Drew was. The succubus was still out of it, but her eyelids were fluttering a little, which let Polly know she would be coming around. The crowd parted to let them through and moved after them.
"Yes, there is both Heaven and Hell. Yes, your choices take you to either one. Yes, it is possible to move from Hell to Heaven and vice versa."
"Where will I go?" Several members of the Children of Light asked the same question.
"That is entirely up to you. As of this moment, you all have a chance at redemption," Polly lied, trying to buy some time so that she could reach Drew and get the three of them back to Hell and away from all these people. Polly was certain they'd start coming after her again, and she was really tired of killing people just because they were idiots.
"What do you mean?" the petite blonde asked again. The seal of Hell shone on her soul, but it was slight, which meant she really did have a chance.
"If you leave here and live good lives, helping people, taking care of each other, there is still a chance for you. If you go out there and start stealing, lying, cheating, robbing, and killing, I will see you again and you will not like it. Part of my job is to punish the guilty." Polly smiled her most wicked and terrifying grin.
"Why should we trust you? You're a demon!" the man with the scar yelled.
"Fine, don't trust me, Roy. I see the seal of Hell is on you." Polly called up the hellfire and looked deeper into the man's soul. "You killed two people in the past. Hmm, you did it to defend another, which is honorable, but murder is murder, Roy. You will never be able to erase that deed, but if you live the rest of your life being good and helping others, you might escape Hell." Polly allowed the fire to ebb from her and noticed the others had stepped away from the man, who was now sobbing.
"They were going to kill my baby sister—I had to do something! Nobody would help me!" The man's pathetic mewling was enough to give Polly a headache.
"Go forth and do good works, and you have a chance to escape the fire of Hell," Lenny said dramatically.
Polly glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, and Lenny shrugged.
"Wh-what's happening?" Drew asked as she came to, shaking her head as if to clear the cobwebs.
"And Sleeping Beauty rises," Polly said.
"I got some info from Celia. I think I know more about the djinn's plan."
"We can debrief when we get back to Hell." Polly turned to the scared group of people. "We have to run, folks. Do what your friend Lenny said and you might have a chance." She grabbed Drew and Lenny and popped out of the church and into Hell.
"What's going on? We don't have to stay down here do we?" Drew asked, her nose wrinkling against the smells of pain, lies, and evil that permeated Hell.
"No, I just needed to get us out of the church before they went all ‘torches and pitchforks' on us." Polly smiled and steered the women to the break room.
The demon Drew and Lenny had encountered in the break room before was sitting on the couch with a mug of coffee in his hand. Lenny noticed the mug had a picture of a kitten hanging from a tree limb and yellow lettering that spelled out "Hang in there" on both sides.
"Hey, I don't want any trouble! You two leave me alone, you big bullies!"
"Us, bullies?" Lenny spat.
"You're the one who attacked us!" Drew shouted.
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't say attacked…."
"Oh, yeah? What would you call it?" Lenny stepped forward, her hands clenched in anger.
"I showed some interest in that one," he pointed at Drew, "but they both just attacked me."
"Bullshit, Frank. I know what happened. I saw everything through her eyes." Polly pointed at Drew and then at the demon. "Apologize to my guests and be on your way, or you can help Bis with the gremlins."
"Fine! Sorry I attacked you girls. I was just trying to have a little fun. I was just playing with ya. Jeeze, you outsiders are so touchy," Frank said as he set his coffee mug on the break room counter. Noticing it was within Lenny's reach, he snatched it back, eyeing her suspiciously. He looked at Polly. "I have to get back to torturing Hitler. If he isn't roasted daily, I'll get the flack for it. May I be excused?"
"Yeah, get back to work, Frank. Don't ever mess with anyone in this room again, capisce?"
"Yeah, I understand," the demon said, looking awfully sulky for such a terrifying, hulking beast.
"Thanks for apologizing," Lenny said and then added, "Ow!" as Drew elbowed her in the ribs.
"Don't thank him for apologizing—he tried to hurt us!"
"But he apologized for it."
"I really am sorry. I didn't know you were friends of Polly's." Frank looked contrite.
"I accept your apology," Lenny said. "Also, it was fun kicking your ass."
"Yeah, I had no clue you had such mad skills. Props." Frank smiled weakly at Lenny and Drew, then rinsed out his mug, his eyes never leaving Lenny, and placed it in the highest possible cupboard. He turned and left the break room.
"What the hell, Lenny?" Drew asked.
"What? The guy apologized and, besides, we did kind of kick his ass."
"It doesn't matter, he was going to hurt us."
"Why don't you two just agree to disagree?" Polly said.
"Okay."
"Works for me." Drew said.
"I just have to make a stop really quick first, and then I'll take you two home. Stay here." Polly left the women in the break room and walked to her office to grab the scrap of cloth she'd found earlier in the torture cell. From there, she took it to the gamekeeper of Hell and asked him to have a hellhound run down the owner of the cloth. She returned to the ladies in the break room and popped them into Drew's apartment.
When Drew saw she was back home, she looked at them and said, "I hope you two don't mind, but I need to sleep for about a week. You can see yourselves out."
Lenny turned to Polly and said, "I don't really have anywhere to go."
Polly handed her the two keys she'd grabbed from her office and popped Lenny over to a furniture store. "Pick out whatever you like. I will make the payment arrangements while you are shopping."
"Are these the keys to my new place? I get furniture, too?" Lenny said excitedly as she looked at the keys in her hand.
"According to Lucy, you do. You
work for Hell now, and there are perks that come with it. We can't have you sleeping on the floor. Now, pick out your furniture so we can get going. I really want to get home and soak in a nice hot tub of sulfur; it really takes the aches out of the bones."
Chapter 35
Lenny plopped down on the sofa in her brand new apartment before she remembered the pain in her tail end from being tossed across the floor at the church. She winced for a second, but soon settled in comfortably. She took a sip from her soda and shoved a few potato chips in her mouth, surveying her new home.
The taupe carpet perfectly complemented the chocolate brown furniture . The sofa and love seat were both accented with an assortment of pillows in several colors, each of them making the room look even better than the last. The artwork adorning the walls made Lenny feel sophisticated and posh. In short, she was in love with her new place.
Lucifer had really outdone herself.
"Are you going to share any of those chips?" Drew asked with a smile as she sat down on the other end of the sofa.
"That depends on how fast you can get to them." Lenny grinned, her teeth full of potato chip crumbs.
"Nice." Drew laughed and reached into the bag.
The two women jumped at the sound of a sharp knock on the door. Chuckling at her own skittishness, Lenny rose to see who was there. She opened the door and saw Lucifer standing in the doorway, holding a bottle of wine with Polly at her side.
"Hello, ladies." Lucifer walked into the living room. "I thought it polite to bring a gift."
"Hi." Lenny ushered the two in as Drew got up and took the wine before heading to the kitchen. "Please come in and have a seat."
Polly sat down on the loveseat as Lucifer took a seat in the large accent chair to her left.
"How are you adjusting to your new place?" Lucifer was obviously not very good at small talk, but she was trying.
"It is amazing," Lenny gushed. "I love it. The view is unbelievable, and the bathroom is bigger than any room I have ever seen."
"Well, that is one of the perks of being employed by Hell. Plus, we have a great 401K and dental."
"I hope it's okay with you, Lucy; I asked Drew to move in here with me. She lost her place and this apartment is so big…." She trailed off as Lucifer blotted a bead of sweat from her forehead.
Polly sat up straight, wondering what was wrong with her boss and friend, but said nothing.
"It is perfectly fine with me. This place is all yours for as long as you work for me. That actually brings me to the point of my visit."
Returning with a corkscrew and a tray of glasses, Drew poured each of them a glass of the rich red liquid and handed them out before settling in to her seat with a glass of her own.
"I want you to come to work for me as well, Drew. I was going to offer you the same deal as Lenny, your own place, a monthly stipend, and pay per job. Plus, of course, the dental and all of that. I trust that Lenny has told you all about our arrangement?"
"Yeah, she gave me the glossy version. So, this job would basically be doing the same kind of thing we just did in the church?"
"Hopefully there will be less getting your asses kicked," Polly interjected with a snarky grin. "Also, you'll get to work with me. So … bonus."
"Well, I will have to think about it." Drew took a sip of her wine. "All right, I'm in."
"Excellent." Lucifer smiled, her eyes looking brighter. "Where would you like your apartment to be located?"
"If it's all right with Lenny, I'd like to stay here."
Lenny nodded vigorously.
"That works for me. Your company cars are parked outside, by the way." Lucy dropped two sets of keys on the coffee table.
Lenny and Drew looked at each other before jumping off the couch and heading to the window to look down at the street.
"Are you kidding?" Lenny said in disbelief. "Those two cars belong to us?"
"Yes. You can fight amongst yourselves, or you can let me know if they don't suit you."
"Holy crap! I've always wanted a Mustang." Lenny jumped up and down with excitement.
"I think that I can live with a Fiat," Drew said, smiling from ear to ear.
"This job will not be all fun and games, however." Lucy leaned forward. "It will be dangerous, and it is more important than you can possibly imagine."
"We can do it," Lenny said, her confidence radiating.
"I want you all to know how important this really is. You know about the soul deficit. Souls are not making it to Hell or Heaven in the volume they should and it is causing some … difficulties."
"What kind of difficulties?" Drew asked, her interest piqued.
Lucifer stood up, running her fingers around the rim of her wine glass as she looked out the window.
"I am weakening by the day," she said grudgingly. "It is not easy for me to admit that, but you need to know."
"What do you mean by weakening?" Polly asked, leaning forward in her seat. "Not like Hades weakening, right?"
"I'm afraid if we don't get this soul issue under control, then it will mean I meet the same fate as Hades." She took a long drink of wine and turned back to the group.
"Lucy, why didn't you tell me?" Polly asked, looking wounded.
"Because one of my many sins is that of pride, my friend. I did not want to admit it, not even to myself."
"We won't let you down, Lucy," Lenny interjected. "We'll find out who is stealing the souls and get them back where they belong."
"Yes, we will," Drew chimed in.
"Good." Lucifer finished her wine and put her glass on the table. "So, it's settled. You three are a team."
"Just like Char—" Lenny started to speak, but was quickly interrupted by Polly raising her palm.
"If you say Charlie's Angels, shifter, I will set you on fire, I swear it."
"Okay, then." Lenny giggled. "We'll have to think of another name."
"While you do, I am going to take my leave." Lucifer smiled and turned toward the door. "I think you ladies will do fine. I'm putting all of my trust and the continuing survival of Hell in your hands. Don't let me down."
"We won't," Drew reiterated as she stood up.
"If you do, I'm sure you can guess what will happen." Lucy smiled as hellfire flashed in her eyes. "Bye, ladies."
With that, she walked out the front door.
"Well that was terrifying." Drew sat down and poured herself more wine.
"I think we can forego a superhero handle. It's not like we're getting tee shirts made or anything." Polly took her seat. "But we had better get to work figuring out how to stop this mess. I definitely do not want to get a new boss, and I can't lose my best friend."
"Then let's get down to business," Lenny said as she took her seat. "What's our next move?"
"I hope you ladies like baguettes. It seems, based on the intel I've been able to gather, you two need to pack your berets, because we're heading to Paris."
Epilogue
The bum watched as two figures made their way up the Parisian alley to the Children of Light church. They set a large crate at the church's back door and knocked lightly in an odd pattern. The door opened, and the two men were met by a woman. They grabbed the crate, and one of the deliverymen opened the lid.
"Is the Messiah here? Shouldn't he see this?" the shorter of the two asked the woman.
"The Messiah is out at the moment. I am to take charge of the delivery. You already know this," she barked sternly.
They shrugged at each other and took out a vial of some liquid, holding it up for the woman's inspection. When it met her approval, she ushered the men inside. As he moved, the vial slipped from the man's fingers and shattered on the concrete.
"Merde! You fools!" The woman screamed at them in a thick French accent. She quickly pulled them into the church and closed the door.
Thinking that perhaps there were drugs in the vial, and hoping there might be enough for him to scrape off the broken concrete and get high, the bum walked closer. It'd been twel
ve hours since his last hit of crack, and he was desperate for something to relieve the pain building inside of him.
He knelt by the puddle of amber liquid and reached out to swipe his finger through it. As the tip of his finger grated across the glass, he hissed. While he watched, blood pooled at the wound site. The man stood for a moment, sucking on the tip of his finger, when the door flew open.
The woman emerged from the church in hazmat gear, carrying a red plastic gas can. She saw the bum and sighed.
"Madame, could you assist me, s'il vous plait? I have cut myself on some glass here and could use a bandage."
"Where did you cut yourself?" The woman's voice was stern, and he dared not disobey for fear she would alert the police.
"On my finger, here." The man held up the injured finger.
"No, fool, I mean where was the glass you cut yourself on?"
The bum pointed to the smashed vial at his feet and mumbled, "I was only trying to clean it up."
"Lying is not good for the soul." The woman grinned broadly.
"No, it is not. Will you help me? It just won't stop bleeding." The man sat on a five gallon bucket of paint that was near the dumpster.
"Unfortunately, nobody can help you." She spread the gas over the smashed glass and lit a match. She tossed it onto the puddle of gas and turned to the bum. While he was busy sucking at his fingertip and watching the fire, she knocked him out with a fist to the side of his neck and doused him with gas. Once she was confident there was enough fuel there, she lit another match and tossed it on his limp form.
The flames brought him to and he began thrashing and screaming. It didn't last long. He was dead in moments and the stench of charred meat hung heavy in the air. The djinniri sighed heavily, and the flames exploded back to life as she added more gasoline to both the corpse and the vial. This could have been very bad, indeed. If the bum had not stuck around, the virus would have spread like wildfire.
Cast In Blood: Revelations Series Book 1: Page 19