17. Madelyne

seventeen

Madelyne

A nxiously I pace Mom’s room waiting for Georgym to get back with my dad. Not that he’s been gone long, but I’m worried. Worried that mom won’t wake up, that dad won’t come, that the gemstone won’t work. It doesn’t help that there’s this annoying tugging in my chest. It’s growing stronger and stronger by the second and I feel like I’m about to lose my damn mind. My grandfather, on the other hand, is sitting on the couch perfectly relaxed.

“How are you so calm right now?” I growl.

He lazily lifts a shoulder. “I don’t know. Probably because for the first time ever I don’t feel the call of Hell. There’s no tug of demons needing my assistance, no burning need to go somewhere, help someone, do something. It’s peaceful.”

“Is that what this feeling is? Someone needs me?”

“Well, I don’t know what you’re feeling, but probably. You’re being called. You don’t have to answer every call, but if you can, it’s good to make an appearance. Sometimes that’s all it takes.”

“Make an appearance,” she huffs. “I don’t even know where I’m supposed to be going.”

“When has that stopped you?” Oz asks as he quirks his brow and smirks at me.

Damn these men and their logic and their sexy smirks.

“Just clear your mind. Trust your magic to take you where you’re needed,” Luc says.

Just clear my mind. Okay. I can do that.

Closing my eyes, I take slow, measured breaths until my brain latches on to the feeling deep in my chest. One second I’m in Mom’s room, the next I’m in the soul sorting room. Two demons are arguing over a book.

“He clearly belongs in greed, Haygelica,” one says with an attitude that makes it clear she not only thinks she’s right but also thinks she is better than the demon opposite her.

“That’s not greed Cassinda. That’s gluttony,” the other scoffs, rolling her eyes.

“Ladies. What seems to be the problem here?”

They both freeze and look at me.

“Who are you? How’d you get in here?” the demon with an attitude problem demands.

“Cassinda! Do you know who that is ? For the love of Hell, don’t talk to her like that!” the other demon, Haygelica I think, scolds her coworker.

“Why? Who is she ?”

“ She is the new devil,” I answer before Haygelica can respond. “One of you called me here. I’m assuming because of this book. Give it to me.” I hold my hand out and Haygelica hands me the book they were arguing over.

Wonder how she knew who I was?

I flip through the book, quickly coming to a decision. “She’s right. It’s gluttony. I’ll take it.”

Their heads bow and they do that weird arm crossing thing Georgym did just before I pop out of there.

Man, I hope that doesn’t become a thing.

When I get to the Gluttony office, I look through the book again, this time seeing the souls’ misdeeds. They were gluttonous alright, but only because they were a competitive eater.

Is that really worth an afterlife of torture?

The book changes, showing me all the good he did in his life. The competitive eating was the only sin the book could pick up on. I mean, it had to have been pretty serious for him to end up here, but he wasn’t that bad. Heck I probably did worse when I was “human”.

I said I wanted to change things when I came into power. Well, here’s my chance. This soul doesn’t deserve to stay here for all eternity. Maybe I can use his torture to convince him to repent. The minute I think of his punishment, the book bursts into flames.

Popping into the torture room assigned to the gluttonous soul I now know was called Harold, I can see that the punishment I decided on is already beginning. Harold sits behind a long table absolutely groaning with the amount of hotdogs atop it. He is flanked on either side by a competitor that will always be just one hotdog ahead of him.

I’m slightly disgusted by the sight of this man shoveling hotdogs into his face at a rate that makes me surprised he didn’t end up here sooner. In the back corner of the room, a door I hadn’t noticed before opens and a long line of nuns fully dressed in habits all wielding a ruler or wooden spoon file in. They begin their slow walk around the table and each time one of them passes Harold they whack him in the back of the head with whatever they happen to be carrying.

“Repent.” The nuns chant in unison after each whack. Whack, repent, whack, repent, the circle goes round and round and Harold begins to sob.

“What did I do? Why am I here?” He begs me to answer his questions as he shoves more hotdogs in his mouth.

“You, Harold, have been a very naughty boy. I suggest you listen to your teachers.” I shoot a wink his way before I disappear.

He may be in hell for being gluttonous and greedy but none of his sins seemed like enough of a reason to keep him here for all eternity. The illusion of the nuns from his childhood boarding school shouting at him to repent definitely won’t be fun for him, or feel very good, but it may just succeed at reminding him what he really needs to do to get out of here. Repent. It may take him a week, it may take him a decade, hell it may take him a century but I’m confident he has the capacity and the tools to do the real work both mentally and spiritually.

Feeling pretty good about my first official Soul Placement, I pop into the hall outside Luc’s office.

Well, I guess it’s my office now.

Maybe I can get some more work in while I wait for Georgym.

“Whatcha doing, Sweetheart?”

“Hellfire, shit, fuck! You scared the hell out of me, Zarreth!” My hand flies to my chest as if it could keep my racing heart inside.

“Sorry,” he chuckles. “But you are getting much better at your hell curses.”

He shoots me a wink. “I was looking for you. There’s something I think you should see.”

Oh no. What happened now?

“Just come on, come with me. It’s nothing bad.” He rolls his eyes, already understanding my expressions.

I follow him to the security office and he points to the wall of screens.

“Notice anything different?”

Looking at the screens that cover the wall, it takes me a moment to figure out what’s different. “Oh my hell… is that?”

“All of your castle employee’s wearing your crest on their arm instead of Luc’s? Yes, yes it is.” Zar says with a sexy smirk.

“But how did they know? I thought it was weird that Haygelica knew who I was but I never would’ve guessed everyone knew.” My mouth is gaping as I stare in wonder at all the subtle differences.

Not only are the crests on the demons’ uniforms different but so are the crests on the banners hanging outside the castle. The throne room also looks a bit different now. There is still one large chair in the center but now instead of being decked out in reds and blacks and golds the chamber is in purple and hell flame blue and just behind the main throne there sits 4 slightly smaller but similar thrones.

One for each of my mates.

If I could I would spend all day studying the changes both large and small that the caste has made in my honor but something slightly more pressing catches my eye.

“Oh my hell, Zar! Is that?” Without giving him even a second to respond we are both gone in a cloud of smoke.