The Devil's Love

Shadow of Death: Chapter 21: Anton

Sarah and I were walking through the underworld, deciding on the right place for our wedding. Brannon was now a week old and in the time that has passed since his birth, he has discovered his feet, could lift his head a little and shrieked with happiness when Cerberus looked into the crib.

Somewhere along the way, Sarah had bought a baby book. She would frown at it and then look at Brannon, expecting him to be the same as a week old human child. Now that book was tinder for the fire, which for us was the best use of it. Brannon would never conform to what a human child could do. The problem for Sarah was that he still looked like a newborn baby and I could understand how confusing it must be.

When we looked down into the pram, he grinned back at us. He was making noises already, gurgling and screeching, munching on his hand and making a lot of drool.

We stopped at the crevice that was shrinking, the woman still hanging by her hands. She had her eyes closed, in a light sleep that was common for demons.

"Huh. Guess I forgot about her. What do you think?"

I looked at Sarah, and she shrugged.

"This is for you to decide my love, she wronged us, but you exacted the punishment."

"I have to be strong and not show weakness or compassion for them, but I can't help but wonder if she speaks the truth about Michael."

I took her hand and moved us to a garden bench, sitting to ponder the view.

"It is true that you have to be strong Sarah, but that doesn't mean that the queen cannot show compassion. She has been there for a week now; I'd say that it is likely that she will not re-offend."

"But what of the others? Will they see her get away with it and think that they can do the same and only receive such a pitiful punishment?"

"There is an alternative if you want something a little different, a little darker."

"Uh maybe."

Our world fell away, moving us into a nothing area, a pure white void. The demon fell to the ground, her body weak and distorted.

"Rise Jaynda," I commanded.

Sluggishly she stood, her legs struggling to support the weight. Sarah was standing by the pram, her hands gripping the handle tightly as she watched me pace closer.

"You have upset your queen and of course, me. You have insulted your queen, and you claim that it was because Michael asked it of you. Speak and tell us of this lie that you would have us believe."

"It is not a lie my lord, he did not ask it of me, he ordered me to do it. He told me that it was my duty to set the world of hell back to its former glory, that the queen would destroy this world."

She choked back a sob, long lines of red sliding down her pale cheeks.

"He said he had a vision of the Queen ordering the devil to put all of the female demons into the pit, that she could not live in hell with them around. Michael said you loved her so much that you'd do whatever she asked of you, including killing your beloved demons. I was told that I had to protect my fellow demons, I had to stop the queen from ordering such things. He said if she found you in a compromising position that the queen would be hurt by it and leave. I did not want to believe it, but you had turned away all of us for just one, demons are lustful my lord."

"I am not a demon Jaynda; I am a deity."

Jaynda nodded, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

I looked at Sarah and saw the compassion; I knew she wouldn't want to throw her into the pit for such things. Michael was clearly trying to break us apart from several angles. When she frowned and opened her mouth, I stopped her.

"We will be discussing it now Jaynda, and for the time it takes, you will be unable to hear or see anything. Do not fret; I will not send you anywhere without informing you first."

She nodded and closed her eyes, waiting to be frozen.

"Okay, privacy. Speak my love."

Sarah's lips twitched with a smile.

"You're not going to throw her in the pit, Anton."

"No." I smiled as I crossed the gap between us. "But you are right; the demons cannot see that she has gotten away with it. She deserves punishment; she should have spoken to me about this. Her loyalty had wavered the second she agreed to listen to Michael. I cannot have such disloyal demons in my ranks."

"What can be done though?"

I waved my hand along the length of the nothing, showing Sarah the alternative. Her eyes widened to the dark and dreary land. Mountains stood high, almost black in color. Merciless thunder and rain, lightning strikes covered the entire land. It was an abysmal area; there was little hope to be had here.

"What is this place?"

"This is where I send those who deserve punishment but do not deserve the pit."

A globe appeared beneath my hand, I turned it and searched for the last person that I'd sent there.

"My world isn't always about the pit or the lava lake; it isn't always about making them into inanimate objects. Punishments are often subjected to a checklist of sorts, depending on what boxes the person checks off with their crime will dictate what happens to them. Something had to happen here Sarah, aside from what she did and said, she faltered with her loyalty. I now realize that she cannot return to being a normal demon."

With a swing of the globe, I brought us to land level, showing the most recent demon I'd evicted.

"This is the land of the outcasts. What happens to them here is of their own choosing, they arrive and decide for themselves what will happen. There is a community of them, so far law and order has remained. I govern yet I do not control, they are still bound to me, yet they know that they cannot return to their former lives. There is no escape, no hope for a better future. Just an endless life in the darkness of a bleak world."

Sarah watched the man as he walked the path back to the village, his back weighed down by the fruits he'd picked.

"It's a terrible life Anton, how could you condemn anyone to such a fate?"

"You are looking at it from a negative perspective my love. This is an easier path; they know that there is a worse fate that awaits them if this isn't good enough. Here they live, they eat, they love. In the pit they fester in boiling lava, writhing agony with a never ending pain that has them screaming their pleas for release. Ask any of them, Sarah, they will tell you that as far as punishments go, this is the better option. Being an outcast isn't easy, but they know that they've gotten away with a lot."

Sadness gripped her as she watched the demon approach the first of a few wood shacks. A woman came out of the house and greeted him. Sarah watched with curiosity.

"What are they doing?"

"Bartering. They've created an economy. He picks the fruit; she makes things out of it. In return for picking the fruit, she gives him some of the things she makes and the remaining she trades for other things that she needs. Everyone has a task; they co-habitat in a society that is small but prosperous. What do you think Sarah? Is this sufficient punishment for my beautiful queen to be happy again?"