by Eric Vall
Without warning, a hooded figure leapt down from the stands and landed in my path. “Halt, Jacob Ralston,” a tough feminine voice commanded.
I didn’t know who the fuck this person was, but I wasn’t going to miss my chance at revenge. I completely ignored the woman with the full intention to barrel her over if she didn’t move.
“I wasn’t asking,” she growled when it was apparent I wasn’t going to stop.
In a single move, the hooded figure pulled out a wooden club and swung it down at my feet. I was able to dodge the initial attack, but the hooded figure’s weapon came up and hurled straight for my head.
Luckily, I was quick enough to catch the blunt object in my hands. My eyes narrowed as I stared down the figure in the hood, but then my anger melted away when I saw who was looking back at me.
It was a blonde woman with pointed features and two beautiful green eyes.
“We need to get out of here before we have any more unwanted attention,” her angelic voice whispered. “The last thing we need is Azazel catching on to us.”
“Fuck off,” I hissed through my helmet. “I’m going to kill that bastard here and now.”
“Patience, Mr. Ralston,” the hooded woman sighed. “You will get to Azazel soon enough. But for now, I come bearing a message from Lilith, the Demon Queen.”
“Start talking,” I shot back.
“She has been very impressed by your story, Mr. Ralston,” the angelic voice continued. “She would like it very much if you and your friends could go on a mission for her.”
Chapter 4
The hooded figure helped me stand to my feet, and I glanced around to see many of the remaining audience members were staring at us with concern. I shot them a little salute to assure them I was fine, and then they began to cheer happily.
“We got a surprise walk-out?” Todd hissed as my friends dashed over to where I was standing. “Do we need to toast this bitch, Jakey?”
“No, no,” I promised my friends. “She claims she’s a messenger for Lilith.”
Ira and Tris both gasped. “Lilith?” Ira asked. “Like, the Lilith? The first succubus? The original wife of Adam? The Demon Queen?”
The hooded figure nodded, and Ira let out a squeal of glee.
“Do you have any idea how much I’ve always wanted to meet Lilith?” she said with a grin. “I’ve looked up to her ever since, well, I was created. The way she’s manipulated Lucifer into subtly doing her bidding over the years … the way she takes no shit from anyone … she’s a fucking legend.”
“All in due time,” the hooded figure reassured us. “For now, we need to get out of here while Azazel is still none the wiser. It took me no time at all to find those people you swapped clothes with. Do you really think it will take the Father of Warfare’s men any longer? Because I can assure you, they will not be as pleasant as I was.”
“You heard the lady in the potato sack,” Todd snorted, “let’s get a move on it.”
The five of us gathered up our remaining weapons and headed toward the exit of the coliseum. The adrenaline of the battle was finally wearing off, and I was becoming acutely aware of the dull throbbing in my side where I had been stabbed by Malphas’ blade. The woman in the robe was walking about five paces faster than anyone else in the group, determined to get to wherever the fuck we were headed.
We exited the massive arena of brimstone and returned to the daily bustle of the village. There were several villagers all out and about, trying to peddle their wares or crops to the passing villagers of Thea. One of them tried to sell us a slab of freshly-butchered pork ribs, but the hooded figure blew past him like he was invisible.
Once we finally reached the outskirts of Thea, I felt myself begin to get woozy. I clutched my wound, stumbled, and only prevented myself from falling by grabbing onto a nearby windowsill.
“Hey guys,” I called out as I doubled over. “I think we need to take a breather. I’m pretty sure Malphas got me worse than I thought.”
I sat down on an overturned crate, and the two succubi walked over with concern in their eyes. Tris hurriedly removed my armored sleeve, and Ira got to work on untying the breastplate. The armor popped off in a flash, and I looked down to see my clothes were completely soaked with my own blood.
“Sorry Tris,” I sighed. “As much as I’ve enjoyed your company, I need Sia on this one.”
“Totally fine, dude,” the Sister of Sloth said with a shake of her head. “I was getting tired, anyways.”
I weakly reached over and placed my finger against the tattoo of the blunt on my forearm. A brilliant white light shot out of the ink, engulfed Tris in its radiance, and then sent her back to Earth. Immediately after, I fumbled around and touched the image of the glowing gold hand. The light returned, but this time it held a much smaller, more petite figure.
As the light of the spell dimmed, I saw Superbia in all her glory. The tiny redheaded succubus was as skinny as a pencil, but she filled out in all the right ways. Her large, violet eyes seemed to smile when they met my own, but then they grew concerned as the woman realized why she’d been summoned.
“Jacob, you’re injured!” she gasped as she ran over and knelt down at my side.
“It’s just a flesh wound,” I lied. “Malphas’ spear, that’s all.”
“You fought Malphas?” she asked in shock.
“Yup,” Todd retorted proudly. “We totally tag-teamed his ass and turned him into a warm bucket of fried chicken.”
My stomach made a large gurgling noise at the imp’s words. “Don’t mention food right now, Todd,” I sighed. “I don’t think we’ve eaten anything since back at the First Circle.”
“I have food back at my dwelling,” the hooded figure explained. “If we ever get there, that is.”
Sia shot the figure a dirty look. “Hello, Eligor,” she gritted out. “It’s been far too long.”
“Good to see you again too, Superbia,” the figure answered sarcastically.
The redheaded succubus closed her eyes and summoned golden Hellfire into her hands. “This is much worse than it looks,” she said with a click of her tongue. “I’m glad you summoned me when you did. Infection would have been imminent. That is, if you hadn’t died from blood loss first.”
The succubus placed her shimmering hand against the gash in my side. At first, her touch was painful, but then the sensation changed to one of numb warmth.
I watched as the golden spell surrounded my wound and slowly began to turn the wet blood into dark, hard scab tissue. Then the edges of the gash began to pull themselves together as if they were being sewed by an invisible needle. Within seconds, it had completely disappeared, and I felt good as new.
“There we go,” Sia said proudly. “That should do the trick. Is anyone else ailing right now?”
“We’re all going to be ailing if we don’t get a move on it,” Eligor grumbled. “Azazel is still in Thea, you know.”
“Sheesh,” Todd whispered to the rest of us loudly. “Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the stable this morning.”
The four of us began to chuckle at the imp’s joke, but a glint of steel flashed in front of us and stopped just short of Todd’s neck. The imp let out a girlish squeal of terror as his eyes widened, and he felt around to make sure his head was still attached to his body.
The hooded figure stood there with her sword held menacingly. She was close enough now I could make out a faint smile on her thin pink lips, and I could see the pointed features of her face. Eligor took a step back, sheathed her sword, and turned back toward the edge of town.
“Alright, alright,” Todd sighed. “No jokes, I get it. Everybody’s a critic.”
“It’s alright, Todd,” Sia reassured the imp. “Eligor is not known for her sense of humor. She’s actually fairly stone-cold, if you want to know my opinion.”
“That sounds familiar … ” I said as I gave the madame a slight jab with my elbow.
“Please,” Sia replied with a roll of her eyes
. “My state of mind when you met me was sunshine and rainbows compared to Eligor.”
We began to follow the mysterious figure, but we made sure to stay a few feet behind her so we could speak without being heard.
“I’m starting to get the impression you two don’t get along,” I chuckled to Sia.
The madame shook her head furiously. “Not at all,” she explained. “Eligor was Lilith’s most trusted servant, and I was Azazel’s. There was always a power struggle between the two parties, so naturally their second-in-commands were thrown into the middle of it all.”
“So was there ever like, a super-sexy catfight between the two of you?” Todd asked curiously. “I’m asking for a friend.”
The three of us looked at the imp, unconvinced, but he just threw up his armored hands.
“I’m serious!” he bickered. “The Toddster’s only into the human babes, remember? That kinda shit doesn’t get my yogurt-cannon going, but it sure would for some of my listeners!”
“I-I have no words,” I gagged as the imagery of Todd’s words flitted through my head. “You really think there’s a market for that?”
“Bro,” Todd said matter-of-factly. “There’s a market for everything under the sun. The internet is a deep, dark place if you really take the dive. There was one time I saw--”
“I’m going to stop you there,” I said as I raised up my hand and cut off his words. “I want to live the rest of my life without knowing how that sentence ends.”
“To answer your question,” Sia interjected in an attempt to get us back on subject, “yes, we have come to blows a few times. Usually when I was on an errand for Azazel that Lilith thought was ‘overstepping his authority.’ Our struggles usually ended in a stalemate, though. Eligor is a much better combatant than I, but her magical abilities are nothing compared to my own.”
“Sounds like a rematch is in order?” Ira asked hopefully. “I want to get beaten raw by a badass knight. Malphas didn’t quite pack the punch I was hoping for.”
“Demon knight?” I asked curiously. “I thought Furcas was the only ‘Demon Knight’ in Hell?”
“Technically, yes,” Sia continued. “The recently-deceased Furcas was the sole Demon Knight in Hell. Eligor is not a demon.”
“She’s not?” I gasped. “Then how is she Lilith’s right-hand woman?”
“Because, just like Cupiditas, she’s a fallen angel,” the redhead sighed. “Unlike the succubi, Eligor wasn’t created by Lilith. That meant the Demon Queen saw her as an equal, rather than a subordinate.”
“I sense a twinge of jealousy in your voice, Sister,” Ira prodded.
Sia’s eyes narrowed at the dark-haired succubus. “You’d be jealous too if you worked your tail off to be the best you could possibly be, only to be assigned to one of the most cruel Demon Lords in existence,” the madame spat uncharacteristically. “Working with Lilith has been a dream of mine for centuries.”
“Careful, Sister,” Ira snarked back, “you may have been my madame for a millennia, but we’re partners now. Please don’t speak to me with that tongue.”
“Well, uh, it sounds like you’re about to get your wish,” I interrupted and tried to ease the tension. “Eligor told me Lilith herself has a mission for us.”
Both of the succubi looked at me curiously.
“What could the Demon Queen possibly want from a mortal and his succubi?” Sia pondered aloud.
Todd made a loud “ahem” noise, and the succubus jumped with surprise.
“Sorry,” she corrected herself, “a mortal, his succubi, and their imp.”
“‘Their’ imp?” Todd scoffed and crossed his arms. “Not cool, Strawberry Shortcake. Not cool at all.”
“Are you schoolgirls done gossiping?” Eligor called back as she came to a halt a few feet in front of us. “We’re here.”
The four of us stepped up to meet her and instantly realized we were now standing on a large cliff. A beautiful valley of green grass spread out before us, stretching on for at least two or three miles before it crawled up into the spire of another mountain. There was a large lake out in the center of the valley, and a small herd of vargrats drank from its banks. It would almost have been serine, had I not known what those vermin were capable of.
“Where’s ‘here?’” Todd asked. “Are we pitching a tent or something?”
The fallen angel completely ignored the imp. Instead, she simply surrounded herself in a color of Hellfire I’d never seen before. It was green, but it wasn’t the deep shade of emerald Liby and I’s telekinetic spell was made out of. Instead, it was vibrant with a hint of yellow, almost like a lime. The spell caused Eligor to lift up into the sky, and she began to aim down at the ground below.
Suddenly, the ground began to quake, and for a moment I wondered if there were giant worms in the Fourth Circle, too. My fears were halted when the grass below us spread apart like a giant sinkhole, and a large, square metal structure rose out of the ground. Eligor’s dwelling continued to rise until the bottom of the structure was even with the ground at our feet, and then she motioned for us to follow.
“Home sweet home,” she sighed and strutted toward the entrance.
Eligor threw open the door, stepped inside, and then stuck her head back curiously. “You guys coming?”
The dwelling was large, but it was about as plain as you could get. The walls were made of dark brimstone, and it completely lacked any sort of window or opening save for the main door. It currently sat atop a massive pillar of stone that had been raised out of the ground to create a makeshift platform.
“Elemental magic,” Ira said with a nod. “She is very much like Cupi. And not just because she’s a smoking hot blonde, either.”
“Easy, killer,” Todd chuckled as he headed for the door. “I think Jakey gets first dibs on all the sexy women we run into down here.”
“That’s fair,” the Sister of Wrath cooed. “Just as long as I get to share her.”
The four of us entered the building, and it was as plain on the inside as it had been on the outside. There were no pieces of decor or pictures on the walls, and the only furniture we could see were a handful of cots, a roller desk, and a chair. The far wall was covered with shelves packed to the brim with canned goods, instant meals, and all the supplies you could need for an emergency. The wall to the immediate left of the entrance had a massive armory that dwarfed even the one we’d seen in the coliseum’s prep room. The final wall of the bunker was covered with screens that displayed all sorts of blurry security footage. I recognized the slushy ruins of the Third Circle on one screen, and the windy desolation of the Second Circle on another.
She was spying on all Nine Circles of Hell.
“H-how is this possible?” Sia demanded as she stared at the screens with her mouth agape. “Lucifer would never allow this!”
“You’re right,” Eligor chuckled as she stepped over to what looked like a closet. “That’s why it’s a good thing he doesn’t know. Working for Lilith has its … benefits.”
The succubus madame’s face grew red as she stomped her feet and crossed her arms. “So Lilith and her underlings can do whatever they so desire without any consequences?” she asked in a huff.
The hooded figure of Eligor shrugged. “Oh there would be repercussions, alright,” she said coyly, “but only if one of us was stupid enough to get caught. That’s why I live in a movable bunker.”
“Movable bunker?” Todd chuckled. “This thing is huge. Probably about as mobile as Jakey’s Uncle Chub.”
“You’re literally the only person who calls Uncle Ted that,” I laughed.
Todd shrugged. “He shouldn’t have gotten caught with his pants down then,” he said nonchalantly. “The whole world saw his chode, Jakey. It’s not an image I’ll get out of my head anytime soon, no matter how hard I try.”
“You were the one who de-pantsed him!” I reminded the imp. “At my family barbeque.”
“He shouldn’t have taken the last pork chop, bro,�
�� Todd explained. “That was an unforgivable offense.”
“I can assure you, imp,” Eligor interrupted, “this place is much more mobile than it appears. Once it’s in the ground, I can summon it to my position wherever I want, in any of the Nine Circles. You have to stay on the move if you want to avoid detection. I’m hoping that, once you kill Azazel and take over this place, I can finally leave that life behind me.”
“Look, Eligor,” I sighed, “no offense, but why should I trust you? For all I know, you could have just led us all back here to murder us in our sleep. Why should I believe anything you’re saying?”
The fallen angel let out a deep sigh as she undid the ties on her cloak. As Eligor dropped the hooded garment from her body, I couldn’t help but let out a gasp of surprise. To say the woman was “stunning” would have been a disservice to her in every way.
Eligor had a head full of blonde hair so bright it almost looked white. Her features were sharp, with cheekbones that framed the perfectly-formed smile and deep blue eyes. Underneath her cloak, the fallen angel was wearing next to nothing. Two cups of dark silver metal laid across her massive breasts, each one just big enough to cover her nipples. The armored bikini top was attached to her body at her sides, which themselves were covered with a thin strip of metal that ran the full length of her figure. Both sides of the strip widened into a layered metal boot at her feet, and the fallen angel’s private parts were just barely covered up with a scaled metal thong. When Eligor turned around to hang up her cloak, her tight, curvy ass was on full display.
“Now, I’m by far the least prude of the group,” Ira said as she cleared her throat, “but isn’t that armor a little bit … impractical? It doesn’t even cover any of your vital organs.”
“Oh, Crazy Eyes … ” Todd clicked his tongue as he shook his head. “I see you’re not a fan of RPG games or DnD. Everybody knows the skimpier the armor, the more powerful it is. Fuck, I’d say the shit she’s wearing right now has to add at least fifty defense.”
“The imp is right,” Eligor said with a playful smile. “Looks can be deceiving. I stole this armor off Lamashtu’s corpse, so you know it’s the finest material you can get.”