Succubus Lord 12

by Eric Vall

  “He’s not prompted by anything,” the Knight of Hell shot back, “that’s what I’m trying to tell you! I don’t know if it’s a little voice in the back of his head or if he’s got some sort of grand plan he’s working toward or if he literally just stands around and throws darts at a dartboard with different activities on it!”

  “He’s chaotic evil,” Todd elaborated. “Totally a loose cannon. But still totally the best Demon King we’ve ever had. His methods are unorthodox, but he gets the job done … ”

  “I don’t think he’s Magnum P.I.” I shook my head somberly.

  “You don’t know that, bro,” Todd snorted, “but now my hopes are up. If he has anything other than a giant Tom Selleck mustache, I’m gonna be sooooo bummed.”

  “All I’m saying is be careful,” Eligor finished up her thought. “Whether it’s today or tomorrow or five years from now, I can assure you that Abbadon will cause us trouble. Big fucking trouble.”

  “Then we’ll just have to make sure we get to him first.” I smiled and slapped the knight on the arm. “If I had to guess, I’d imagine Abbadon wants to help us find Gressil. So, if he offers us an uneasy truce, I’m sure as fuck gonna take it. I can’t afford to fight two Demon Kings at the same time, and I’d bet he can’t, either.”

  “Especially not one who has a reputation,” Libidine reminded me. “You’ve now killed two Demon Kings, and you have Lilith officially on your side.”

  “I don’t think she’s official yet,” I reminded my team, “only me, my Demon Lords, and my allies know she’s with me.”

  “If that many people know,” Sia chuckled, “then it will eventually get out to everybody. There’s no way it won’t.”

  “Oh, well,” I shrugged, “I’ve never really understood why it needed to be a secret, anyway.”

  “Because my mistress is notoriously neutral,” Eligor explained with a somewhat offended tone. “For several millennia she has stood by Lucifer’s side as a loyal Demon Queen. The second Beelzebub and Gressil know she’s allied herself with us, they will go into panic mode. And you know what they say about beasts backed into corners … ”

  “They’re easier to kill!” Todd blurted out. “Ya know, because they don’t have anywhere else to run.”

  “No … ” the blonde woman sighed and facepalmed at the same time, “they’re the most dangerous because they don’t have anything to lose.”

  “Thaaaatttt doesn’t sound right,” Todd argued, “like, if you’ve got them in the corner with the gun cocked and ready to go, there’s no way in fuck they’re gonna get outta there. Sure, they might be able to deal some damage, but you’re still gonna kill them somehow--”

  “It wouldn’t just be Beelzebub and Gressil, either,” Eligor interjected. “If word gets out Lilith, of all demons, has taken a side, the other Demon Kings might start to worry. Then we could have another set of foes to defeat.”

  “There’s only like, two Demon Kings left that aren’t on our side,” I reminded Eligor. “And, just like your mistress, this guy’s notorious for not taking sides, either. If we have to kill fucking Moloch, so be it.”

  Finally, we arrived at a set of large doors painted a deep shade of blue. Each one was three times my height and had to be at least twice as wide as my body, and they were held in place by a set of giant black iron hinges. Right in front of me was a metal statue in the shape of a bull, where the nose ring acted as the knocker.

  I reached up, pulled the ring back, and knocked twice.

  There was silence on the other side of the door for a moment, but then I heard a ruckus. Suddenly, the blue doors were flung open, and I awaited whatever horrors were on the other side.

  Much to my surprise, there was only a short, red-haired Shade. The man was wearing a tuxedo with an elegant black bow tie and a pair of pristine white gloves. He bowed to me when I opened the door and then motioned for us to enter.

  As I came through the threshold, I nearly stopped in shock.

  This wasn’t the murder palace I thought it was going to be. Instead, the floors were made up of white marble with occasional tiles of gray and black. At the center of the room stood a spiral staircase that wrapped around a dangling crystal chandelier, and all the way at the back were two doors that surely led into other wings of the castle. There were renaissance-esque paintings all over the wall, but they had one, small, tweaked detail.

  Instead of angels and saints, these paintings were all of famous demons.

  I recognized Baphomet’s goat-like head as it looked down at a bunch of peasants in a field. He was floating down angelically while shooting black Hellfire onto the poor humans below, and his garments flapped in the wind as a black halo rested atop his horns.

  Right beside him was a painting that bore the likeness of Azazel, and I nearly lost my shit when I saw it. The former King of the Fourth Circle was floating in the air, and he was holding a trumpet in one hand and his giant-ass broadsword in the other. Even though he was a massive, red-skinned demon who could have ripped a man in half without effort, the artist went out of his way to make the Demon King look cherubesque.

  I was sure the bastard loved that.

  “My name is Timothy,” the red-haired Shade announced as he snuck up behind me. “Abbadon wanted me to inform you that you are to make yourself at home while final dinner preparations are being made. I shall come and get you when it is ready.”

  “Uh, thanks, Timothy,” I chuckled.

  What the fuck was going on here? This guy was supposed to be some sort of insane monster, yet he had a loyal butler and kept his castle as pristine as it could possibly be?

  “Jacob!” Gula gasped from across the room. “You need to come see this.”

  I ran over to where the curvy, redheaded succubus was standing and looked her deep in her purple eyes. They were full of worry as she reached out and pointed at the painting straight in front of her.

  When I turned to look at it, I saw exactly what she was worried about.

  It was a recreation of Michelangelo’s Birth of Adam. However, the two main figures were replaced by ones that made my hair stand on end. On the left was me, in all my naked glory, sitting on a rock with my index finger outstretched. In the sky beside me was Lucifer, clad in his red velvet suit and wearing a shit-eating grin on his face. Where our fingers touched in the painting, there was a spark of red Hellfire.

  I bit my lip and clenched my fist with anger when I saw this brazen attack.

  “He’s trying to fuck with me,” I growled, “Abbadon knows my heritage, and he’s trying to get into my head before I even meet with him.”

  “As I said before,” Sia reminded us as she walked over and inspected the image, “Abbadon is not your ally. Whatever you do, don’t let him lull you into a false sense of security. If you let your guard down, that’s when he will strike.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” I growled and tapped the hilt of my sword. “I’m going to have one hand on this thing at all times.”

  “Sounds like me when I sleep,” Todd snickered, “one hand under the pillow, and the other on the paste catapult. You never know when you’re gonna need to launch the ‘ol splooge loogey in the middle of the night.”

  “Ewwwwww,” Gula gagged, “just when I think you couldn’t think up anything more gross … ”

  “There’s plenty more where that came from, Firecracker,” Todd said proudly as he puffed out his chest. “I’m not even a quarter of the way down the list of nicknames for the gooey grease.”

  “Just--Just stop.” The Sister of Gluttony shuddered.

  “But seriously,” Todd said as he got uncharacteristically serious for a moment, “I don’t really trust Abadabadoo either. I mean, he totally sent a ginger to come and greet us. A ginger, bro!”

  “And what, may I ask, is wrong with being ginger?” Sia asked as she and Gula both shot Todd a death glare.

  “Gingers are creepy as shit!” The imp shuddered. “They’re the kinda people I see in my nightmar
es, usually coming at me with a knife while their freaky, freckled faces are stuck in a sinister smile. At least I can always see ‘em coming in the dark, though. Their blinding white skin always gives ‘em away. And then there’s this jabroni … he’s a Shade, so somehow, some way, the universe found a way to make his skin even whiter!”

  “So, you think we’re creepy?” Gula pouted, but her eyes were still shooting daggers at Todd.

  The imp raised an eyebrow at the succubi as confusion took over his face. Then he shook his head furiously, scoffed, and let out a chuckle.

  “No, no, no,” he explained. “You two aren’t gingers. You girls are redheads. Guys are gingers. Biiiiigggg fucking difference. I don’t see you girls with pasty white skin or Chucky-esque curly hair or--”

  “Abbadon is ready to see you now,” Timothy said as he suddenly appeared behind the two succubi.

  “Jesus tapdancing fuck!” Todd screamed as he summoned black Hellfire around his body and rocketed straight upward in a panic.

  We all watched as the little imp floated up to the ceiling, placed his back against it, and then pushed his tiny figure back as far as it would go. He stared down at the red-haired man in terror and refused to even blink as he watched his every move.

  “Uh, as I was saying … ” Timothy repeated after he cleared his throat. “My master is ready to see you now. Please follow me to his study.”

  I watched in amusement as Todd, without taking his eyes off Timothy for a second, slowly began to crab-walk across the ceiling and then down the wall like something out of The Exorcist. Once his tiny hooved feet touched the ground, he made a “I’m watching you” gesture to Timothy with his fingers, and then he sauntered over and began to follow us.

  The red-haired Shade led us out of the main landing and through one of the pristine arched doorways. Our metal boots clanked against the marble as we walked through the hallways of Abbadon’s castle, and I couldn’t help but admire all the crazy, macabre sculptures and paintings he had on display.

  Even if Abbadon was a psychotic, murderous Demon King, he appeared to have good taste.

  Timothy finally stopped at an eight-foot tall black door with a pentagram carved onto the front. Next, he cleared his throat, bowed his head, and then began a deep chant whose vocalizations seemed to come straight from his throat. The sound of the Gregorian chant reverberated off the building’s marble structures as its volume seemed to intensify.

  As the sound crescendoed, a dark red liquid began to crawl slowly down from the top of the pentagram on the door with the speed of molasses until it had filled the entire symbol. A few drops of blood splattered against the sterile floors as the ritual was finished, and the door made a loud groaning sound. Then the black door slid itself open as Timothy glanced down at the blood on the ground unceremoniously.

  “I’ll have to get someone in here to clean that up,” he sighed. “Master doesn’t like to have his beautiful dwelling soiled. Other than, well, the rec room … ”

  “What’s in the rec room?” Eclipse asked curiously.

  Timothy stopped, flipped around, and stared down the tattooed succubus intensely.

  “I pray you never find out,” he warned ominously, and then he turned back around and led us into Abbadon’s study.

  The first thing I noticed as I walked into the room was just how dark it was. Unlike the rest of the castle, the entire place was lit only by candlelight, and the series of flickering, warm light gave the room a cozy feeling that wasn’t found too often in the Circles of Hell.

  Meanwhile, the floor was made out of polished dark mahogany, and it creaked under our feet with every step we took. The walls were made out of an equally dark wood, and they had several nooks built in for both books, statues, paintings, and other curiosities the Demon King had collected over the years. Then, on the floor, sat a giant, bear-skin rug I recognized immediately.

  It was Alphamegnon, the bear demon we’d slain only a few months ago.

  How was that possible? We’d literally watched the creature explode like a gore-filled balloon. His body should have been scattered across the Fourth Circle in a million pieces right now.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Abaddon’s rough voice spoke up from the other side of the room, “‘he looks good for being blown to smithereens.’ Well, let me tell you … that thing you killed wasn’t the first Alphamegnon, but he certainly was the last.”

  A manic, high-pitched laugh filled the room, and it originated from a massive black, winged leather chair on the far side of the study. The chair spun around on its pivot, and that’s when we saw him.

  The King of the Seventh Circle didn’t have horns like all the other demons I’d met before. Instead, the top of his head was covered with short, dark black hair that stood straight up like a troll doll. His red ears were equally as troll-esque, as they both ran up the side of his face into a curved point. Abaddon sat there, bare-chested, and his pectoral muscles looked like they belonged to a fucking Greek statue.

  As the Demon King stood from his chair, his giant, black wings spread out from his body and curled downward like a dragon’s. Then Abaddon came around the corner of his desk, and I could see the entire lower half of his body was scaly like a snake’s.

  How fitting.

  Timothy fell down to his knees and bowed instantly.

  “Serpico has brought them to you, Master,” he said without looking up. “Just as you have asked.”

  “Thank you, Timothy,” Abaddon said as he walked over and placed his hand against the Shade’s shoulder. “Now, if you could, please go and fetch me an ale. I’m finding myself beyond parched at the moment.”

  “R-Right away, master.” Timothy put on an air of appreciation, but his voice and body were both trembling.

  “Good boy,” Abaddon said smoothly, and then he pulled his hand away from his servant. “Now run along.”

  The second Abaddon’s hand was removed from Timothy’s shoulder, the Shade took off like a bat out of Hell. Within seconds, he was out of the room, and we were left alone with the King of the Seventh Circle.

  All of us looked at each other tensely, but nobody wanted to be the first to talk. Nobody but Todd, of course.

  “I- uh, I love what you’ve done with this place,” the imp chuckled awkwardly. “The corpse of one of your brethren really ties the whole place together, ya know?”

  “Ahhh, you must be the imp.” Abaddon grinned as he slowly stomped over to Todd, placed his hands on his waist, and bent over to inspect the tiny demon. “Beelzebub, Baphomet, and Gressil told me all about you when they were trying to convince me to join their side. They said, and I quote, ‘why would anyone want to ally themselves with a creature who jabbered on twenty-four seven about pointless, foul things?’ And do you know what I did?”

  “Uhhh, what?” Todd asked somewhat cautiously.

  “I sent Lacinateros into their domain,” Abaddon grinned, “also known as the motor mouth demon or the Demon of Eternal Annoyance. They were not pleased.”

  “Ha!” Todd guffawed. “I kept telling people I wasn’t the most annoying thing in the universe. Fuck, I’m not even the most annoying person I know, and I know some annnoyyyyiiing people.”

  “My friend,” Abaddon continued, “I can assure you that you’re not even the most annoying person in this castle.”

  “It’s Timothy, isn’t it?” Todd giggled. “I just knew that guy was a twat. Fucking gingers, man.”

  “Yes!” Abaddon laughed and smacked his serpent body right where his knee might have been. “He’s soooo annoying!”

  As I watched the imp and Abaddon interact, something wasn’t adding up. All of the other Demon Lords, angels, and Kings, told me this guy was the most brutal, sadistic, and murderous Demon in all of Hell. Yet, there he was, laughing and yukking it up with my best friend like they were old pals.

  “Why have you brought us here, Abaddon?” I finally spoke up.

  The Demon King instantly stood up straight, and the smile faded from
his face in a flash. His expression contorted into a look of annoyance with a hint of simmering rage as he turned to face us.

  “Hello, King Ralston,” he said as he allowed a false smile to slide up the corners of his mouth. “So wonderful to finally meet you.”

  “I wish I could say the same,” I growled, “I don’t have much good will to give a demon who tries to kill my friends and me.”

  “Like that one over there?” Abaddon mocked as he pointed at Gula. “If I recall correctly, she locked you and your friends in a freezer and then tried to burn the whole place down.”

  My blood ran cold in my body at his words. He knew way more about me than I had originally thought.

  “That was different!” Gula protested and stamped her foot. “Tris and I were still under the control of Azazel when that happened.”

  “Precisely,” Abaddon shrugged, “times change. People change. Situations change. Just because I was your enemy a few months ago doesn’t mean I am still your enemy now.”

  “So, that’s why you brought us here?” I scoffed. “Because you want to make amends and form an alliance?”

  Abaddon’s eyes narrowed at my suggestion.

  “Alliance?” he mused. “With you? The King of the Seventh Circle doesn’t make ‘alliances,’ King Ralston. I’ve always lived and died by my own actions, and that’s not going to change just because you’ve swept in here and shaken things up. No … I’ve brought you all here today to offer a ceasefire.”

  “A ceasefire?” Eligor muttered. “Let me guess, you want us to help you take out Gressil now that he’s here on your turf?”

  “Very good, servant of Lilith.” Abaddon clicked his tongue. “I can see why Jacob keeps you around as a plaything.”

  “She’s not my plaything!” I hissed. “Eligor is a loyal member of my team, and a great general in my army. I’d like to see anyone in this universe be as loyal to you as my friends are to me.”

  “In time, you may,” the King of the Seventh Circle warned, “but that’s what I am trying to avoid right now. We are not allies, King Ralston, but I have a proposition for you … Gressil and his forces were able to get through my defenses and have taken up residence in the inner circle of my domain.”