Page 25 of To Dwell in Shadows
The sound of a great crack filled the hall as Mammon violently slapped Vanthee across the face. Selene gasped.
“You fall short of your duties as Guide,” Mammon said. “Our prince will never favor one so callous to his human.”
“No, no, it’s fine! I never asked for a tour,” Selene said urgently. She was no fan of Vanthee, but she certainly didn’t deserve that.
Vanthee stared at the floor, holding her palm against her cheek. “I’m sorry, Father.”
Mammon sighed. “I’m disappointed in you, but fortunately, we can fix this slight right now. Vanthee, you will give Lady Selene a full tour of the grounds and take her anywhere she wishes to go. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Vanthee said, still looking at the floor.
“Excellent. I have much to do today so please excuse me,” Mammon said. He fluttered two fingers away from his forehead in a salute. “Dark blessings, Lady Selene.”
“Uh… same to you,” Selene said, watching Mammon clip-clop away.
When he disappeared around a corner, Selene approached Vanthee cautiously. “Are you all right?”
An angry red handprint was visible on Vanthee’s cheek. She gave Selene a defiant look. “I’m fine.”
“That wasnotokay,” Selene said. “At least not where I’m from.”
Vanthee rolled her eyes. “Oh, shut up.”
Selene bit her lip, feeling completely out of her element. “You don’t have to take me on a tour. I can just look around on my own.”
“Apparently, I do.” Vanthee sniffed. “But it’s going to have to just be around the grounds. I don’t have time to go outside the gates. Is there anywhere in particular you want to see?”
“I don’t know enough to say. How about just a general look at the top spots?”
“Fine. Follow me.”
Vanthee was a terrible tour guide. When she wasn’t striding down the hall so fast Selene could barely keep up, she’d simply wave her arm in the direction of places that seemed important.
“Turret of Whispers,” she said, gesturing for Selene to peek out a window. Before Selene could even get a good look, Vanthee was already rushing down a set of stairs that led outside to the main courtyard.
“Crypts of the Forsaken,” Vanthee said, pointing at a structure that looked like a decaying mausoleum.
“Chapel of Mourning,” she added, breezing past a small building with a hole in the roof. A trio of demons wearing bloodstained robes ignored them as they passed.
“Sanctum of Agonizing Rectitude,” Vanthee said, gesturing at an arched doorway that appeared to have survived a fire.
“Wait, wait. Vanthee, slow down!” Selene said when she finally caught up. “What are all these places?”
“The top spots of the Underworld, like you wanted.”
“Yes, but what are they for?”
“Lots of different things.”
I’m going to strangle her.“I know, but can you tell me a few things about each one? What happens in the Sanctum of Agonizing Rectitude?”
Vanthee smirked. “You don’t know? That’s where all the Vengeance demons spend their time.”
“It is?”
“It’s where they go to feel the impact of every wrongdoing a soul has committed in life. Then they take all that suffering and turn it back on them. If they repent, they’re allowed to transition to the Afterworld. If not, they go to the Vaults of Eternal Torment.”
“Oh.”
