Page 1 of Hellfire & Bowties
1
Luc
“New batch is in, boss man.”
Luc looked up to see the captain of his guard standing in front of his desk, runic symbols glowing on his alabaster skin, which was exposed from the waist up. A permanent scowl was etched into his forehead and his leathery black wings were scraping the marble floor as he twitched impatiently.
“Already?” Luc asked, hooking a claw into the chain of a silver pocket watch and pulling it out of his leather pants to check the time.
“Right on time, as usual.” Zorun pulled a thin black blade from his belt and used it to scratch between his shoulder blades. “I could send Tana to handle them. She’s been itching to scream at some new people. I think the current lot just got used to it, and they’re not cowering in fear anymore. It pisses her off.”
“I hate pissed-off Tana as much as anyone.” Luc chuckled. “But this place is getting overcrowded, and I want to be there to make sure there’s no issues with the newbies.”
He shoved some papers into a binder and wiggled it between several others on an overstuffed shelf. It dislodged a good number of precariously placed binders and sent them tumbling to the ground, papers flying everywhere. He sighed and looked at the shelf, the number of documents on it making him break out in hives. They were sticking out everywhere, spilling over, crumpled and messy. He was pretty sure the alphabetical order was all fucked up, and his dream of having them categorized by sin was long dead.
He shuffled around his messy desk, looking for the colored sticky notes and his clipboard. He found them lodged beneath his desk leg for some reason.
He looked up at Zorun, who shrugged and said, “The desk was wobbly.”
“So you decided my clipboard was the perfect fix?”
“I couldn’t find the forms to order a new one. And we’re not up for regular furniture upgrades for another century or so.”
Luc pinched the bridge of his nose with the tips of his claws. They immediately pricked his skin, so he pulled his hand back. He yanked the clipboard out from under the desk, which slumped like a drunken uncle without its support, and stuffed the sticky notes into the pockets of his leather coat as he walked to the door.
“Let’s get this over with,” he muttered, rounding the corner into a hallway that led from his office to the main lobby, where orientation took place and their abandoned reception desk was located.
His footsteps echoed off the floor, the usually polished black marble covered with a thin layer of grime. The small streams of lava that usually ran down the rough walls were barely visibleunder the accumulated rock and dust. The place looked grimmer than ever before.
Luc tried to ignore it as best as he could.
He focused on not getting his wings caught against the protruding stones in the hallway that was always too narrow for his bulk—his plans to get them widened always got delayed by one disaster or another. It had been centuries, but he still refused to walk sideways. It was entirely undignified.
The chaos of his workplace continued to jump out with every foot of distance: mountains of mess, broken furniture along the walls, piles of paper stuffed everywhere, and what looked like miles of tape keeping several boxes from disintegrating into thin air.
“How longhasit been since the last cleanup?” Luc asked a trailing Zorun.
“’Bout a millennium, I’d say. Not too bad.”
“Not too… For fuck’s sake,” Luc muttered, wanting to figure the mess out but aware that it wasn’t a priority at the moment.
The newcomers were.
They reached the massive gates leading into Hell’s main lobby. They were carved from the same black marble the floors were made of, but the shapes of human bones and mouths stretched in silent screams made them look threatening. A gigantic statue of a horned demon spread its arms and wings out to frame the doors, ruby eyes glowing and making the shadows look longer and darker.
Luc walked through the door with Zorun, coming out into a wide, echoing hallway lined with tombstones. He spread his wings, happy to be in a space he fit in, rather than squished between walls like prey.
They arrived in the main lobby and the mayhem and the screams settled some of the anguish Luc had been feeling. He did love the smell of fear early in the morning.
Luc glanced from the empty reception desk covered in cobwebs to the huddled group of people shivering and whimpering as they watched his guards circle them, making sure they caused no trouble. The demons were clearly having a field day with it. They had their most terrifying postures on display: claws, wings, beaks, and whatever else had been given to them shining for everyone to see. It was impressive.
“All right.” Luc walked over, making sure his wings were spread wide and casting shadows around him as he moved. They made for a great entrance, and he liked theatrics more than he was willing to admit.
His leather coat billowed behind him, his dark yellow eyes shining. He waited for all the sinning souls to have their eyes on him before running his forked tongue over his bottom lip, making them freeze in fear. A wicked smile painted his features as he took a deep breath and the lights in the room dimmed.
The shadows grew longer and the air thickened as a chill fog wrapped around their ankles. Prickles broke out on their skin, and their faces froze in silent shock when the aura around Luc turned a deep red—the color of blood, of terror, of sin. He cast his gaze around the room, passing it over every single one of them before speaking.
“Welcome to Hell!” His voice boomed, the deep bass tone making the ground beneath their feet rumble and shake. Luc knew they could feel it in their bones. “You all know why you’re here, so we won’t waste a lot of time explaining. You’ve been very, very naughty in your lives, and now you get to spend the rest of eternity here. With me.”
