26. Kushiel

One minute Kushiel was sitting with the ghost, Cassius, and Aunt Ro, and the next he was in the middle of a small clearing surrounded by trees. He had grabbed onto the ghost without thought, and it had never occurred to him that he would fade with it and be transported.

But here he was, wherever here actually was.

He was in a large clearing with dirt beneath his feet facing a forest. There was something very wrong with the trees surrounding him, however. It looked like they were all decaying. His first thought was of Cassius—surely his human was frantic at his disappearance, and he concentrated on sending reassurance and calm out toward Cass. Kushiel didn't know if it worked, but it was the best he could do in the moment. He had to investigate things here before he transported himself back to Cassius.

He looked next to him, and the ghostly lost soul was still gripping his hand, but it was very still and clearly afraid. He turned around and gasped at what he saw, for there, in the middle of the clearing, huddled up in a mass, were all the many lost souls from Erebus. They were barely moving, barely even formed. Kushiel could sense them as well; their grief and pain made his entire being ache with sadness. Who would do such a thing to souls?

This was where all the lost souls were, and they were not even functioning beings. The difference between the ghost next to him and the ghosts huddled in a mass in front of him was extreme; Kushiel had forgotten how bad the ghost had first been when he had seen it. He wasn't even sure that the ghosts in the clearing were capable of movement. He had no idea how he would redeem them all or what he would do with them, but perhaps Cass would have some ideas. After all, the message had stated that they could do something together.

He looked carefully at his surroundings, struck again by how the trees looked… wrong. Nevertheless, he knew he could find this spot again to transport here. With that thought, he opened his wings, ready to fold space and time and go back to Cassius…

Only nothing happened.

He looked at the ghost next to him, whose hand he was still holding.

"I'm sorry, my lost soul, but I do not think I can take you with me. I will bring back help," Kushiel reassured the ghost.

They nodded their head, letting his hand go, and they backed up almost to the trees, but they did not leave the clearing. Kushiel opened his wings again, enfolding himself, and…

Nothing.

What in heaven?

He tried walking toward the trees that were closest to him at the edge of the clearing, and as he reached the treeline, it was like he hit a wall.

He was trapped.

He didn't let himself panic. Cass would feel that, and he didn't want to worry him. There was nothing here but the lost souls who had been turned into ghosts, anyway. He closed his eyes and pictured Cassius; he let all his love for the man come crashing through him, and it was like he could sense him. It seemed Cass wasn't far away, and Kushiel thought he was getting closer. That made sense, though, because Cass had said something about being able to see the ties that bound them together, and if that was the case, then surely Cass could find him. He just had to sit tight and wait for his mate.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you here," a voice said from behind Kushiel.

He spun around. On the other side of the clearing, behind the row of trees that looked to be dying, stood a demon. He had skin the color of tarnished gold, and his wings and horns were… wrong. His horns looked dull and brittle, and his wings looked like he was missing feathers. Kushiel vaguely recognized the demon, but he didn't remember him looking like this.

"Mammon?" he guessed.

The demon smiled widely. "Of course you've heard of me. Mammon, Prince of Hell, Lord of Greed and Avarice at your service," he said, giving a slight incline of his head. "What on earth is the gray angel doing inside my ward? Although I suppose that is rather fitting."

"I was with the ghost," Kushiel answered, motioning toward the lost soul, who was partly huddled behind him.

Mammon looked momentarily confused, his forehead wrinkling before it smoothed out. "Ah, yes, that's right. They're ghosts. I seem to keep forgetting that part," he chuckled.

Kushiel didn't know what to make of Mammon, but he didn't think showing any weakness was the best move. He thought about what Cass would do in this situation.

"Why exactly amI inside your ward?" Kushiel demanded, channeling Cass's confidence.

Mammon looked puzzled at that. "Well, yes, that is the question, isn't it? I have no idea. I did lose a lost soul when this all began, and I triggered a spell to try and find it, but I had no luck until it uttered my name, and then I was able to hone in and transport it here. You must have somehow been sucked up too." Mammon shrugged.

"Well, I demand that you break the ward and let me get back to my work," Kushiel stated, and as he was finishing, Aunt Ro popped up next to Mammon outside of the clearing. Kushiel looked at her and blinked. She appeared to be wearing a dress with thistles on it.

"That's right, Kushiel, you tell him!" she cheered.

Mammon, who couldn't see her, answered Kushiel. "Ahh, well, that I can't do. Not yet at least. You'll have to wait… oh, maybe a month? I can't see them, because did you know we can't see ghosts? Which is rather absurd, and we really ought to rectify that. I can feel their essence though, and it shouldn't be long now, and then I'll take the ward down. You don't need to eat or drink, so you'll be fine, but I'm afraid it will be rather boring." Mammon shrugged apologetically.

"Are you stuck in there?" Aunt Ro gasped.

"Why am I stuck here for a month?" Kushiel asked, trying to answer Aunt Ro without being obvious. He didn't know if she'd be able to help, but he didn't want to give her presence away to Mammon.

"Oh, that's how long these ghosts will take to dematerialize. We can't see them, but they're already fragments of ghosts. The process will continue until there's nothing solid left, and then they won't need to be contained anymore. Once their ghostly forms disintegrate, their blackened souls will be transported to hell, and there won't be enough light left in them for any chance of redemption. You also won't be needed in hell anymore, but I don't expect you'll mind," Mammon answered easily. He mumbled, "The absurdity of making an angel come to hell. I expect you'll be quite relieved to focus your attention back on Limbo."

Aunt Ro gasped. "What he's describing is an abomination! Sucking the essence out of ghosts until there's barely even a soul left! Then forcing those souls into hell because he took away their chance at redemption! Why would he do such a thing? You ask him, Kushiel," she demanded.

Kushiel wondered about that, but he also had a more pressing question. "But more souls will be brought to Erebus, and although it will take decades or even centuries, the numbers will build back up again."

Mammon cackled gleefully. "They won't, though! I took care of that. When I had the idea to turn all the souls into ghosts, I made the entirety of Erebus into a portal. Any souls who are put there will automatically be turned into ghosts and will end up here," he said smugly.

"Why would you do such a thing?" Kushiel asked, dumbfounded. "Why would you interrupt the order of the universe?"

"The fact that hell loses a number of souls is nonsense. Our numbers should only be increasing! My domain is one of the most populated circles of hell, my legion number above most other areas, and yet every single year, I lose souls to redemption. It is absurd. To think that I would not know what was best for the souls in my care!" Mammon complained.

"He's insane," Aunt Ro muttered.

"They'll go backto hell with no hope of redemption, and they'll add to my quota. I'll claim them all, and my ring of hell will be the most populated! Lesser demons will be begging to join my legion! I will be the most popular Prince in the underworld with the most souls!" Mammon ranted, gesturing wildly with his arms.

"He really is full of greed," Aunt Ro said, staring angrily at the demon.

Kushiel felt Cass closer now, and he knew it wouldn't be long. He also sensed something else in the woods, coming toward them. He wondered how Mammon didn't sense it as well. He only had one question left for the demon. "How did you accomplish this? It couldn't have been on your own, because we don't think about ghosts," Kushiel mentioned. He needed to know if Mammon had an accomplice.

Mammon smiled slyly then. "I'm proud to admit that it was my idea to stop redeeming souls to increase our quota. I've brought this to the leadership team for quite some time, but when they refused to listen, I went to the top. Of course my ideas and all the support I had were impressive to the most important people," Mammon bragged.

"He's insufferable," Aunt Ro muttered. She looked behind her then and seemed a bit shocked, but Kushiel couldn't make out what had caught her attention.

"The more souls we have, the more impressive, of course, and the more lesser demons under my control. What do I care about the souls? They did what they did and deserve to be in hell. They certainly shouldn't get second chances. And why shouldn't I have more? I deserve it! I was going to make this work no matter what, and I told the leadership team and the head of hell that. Of course, figuring out how to get the souls out of Erebus was a difficulty, but I figured that out too," Mammon bragged.

"Since we can't see ghosts, how did you figure that out?" Kushiel asked. Aunt Ro disappeared then, but Kushiel could feel that Cass was almost there. He heard, as if Cass was whispering in his ear, I'm coming Kushiel. Just hold on.

Mammon continued, "When I told Lucifer my plan, he told me that it was not in the order of the universe, and the only way souls would be outside the realm of the gray angel would be if they were ghosts. He told me we can't see ghosts, which I can't believe has been kept from us. He commented that ghosts would be hard to hold anyway and would require great power and warding to accomplish, but I knew I could do it. And I have," Mammon stated, gesturing at the clearing.

Kushiel felt Cass so close, coming toward his side of the clearing. He also saw a dark figure behind Mammon, but the demon seemed completely unaware of anything going on around him.

"Of course, finding the proper spells, creating the portal at Erebus, and then warding this clearing have sapped my energy quite a bit, but I used the earth, the sea, and the strength of the trees to help me. It has taken its toll," Mammon stated, gesturing at his horns and wings, "yet soon these souls will be brought into my ring of hell, and I will be all that much stronger."

Mammon looked slyly at Kushiel then. "I might even become the strongest demon in all of hell. The leadership has been the same for eternity, and maybe it's time to change that."

Two things happened at once then; Kushiel felt Cassius step out of the forest behind him, and at the same time, a figure stepped out from the forest behind Mammon.

It was a hellhound, and Kushiel had no idea if he was here to help them or Mammon.