Angel's Curse (27 page)

“They don’t come here
willingly,
Helena. They’re hunted down and dragged here kicking and screaming, every one of them.”

We sat on a bench in a small dark room, in front of a two-way mirror. A demon was strapped to a bed, singing the praises of God, whilst two demons — upper-level demons, so Satan told me — did battle with the good inside the possessed demon.

“I thought demons did the possessing, not angels.” I said.

“It is not a well-known fact, even amongst the angels. The seraphim, of which I once was,
are
capable of possession, though it is a closely guarded secret. As one of the highest of angels I knew of this, so it was the seraphim I targeted when I sought to overthrow heaven.”

“Two hundred and thirty-eight,” I whispered.

“Two hundred and thirty-nine,” he corrected. “Were you not aware I was once a seraph? It meant I was once privy to much. Administrators often are, and being the equivalent of a personal assistant meant I was very close to the source. I knew where all the weaknesses were.”

“Yes, sorry, I did know you were one of them, but I guess I don’t include you with them. Your position has changed greatly.”

Satan inclined his head, as if acknowledging a compliment.

“The Lord will forgive you my brothers, you have only to repent. He still loves
all
of His creations. Embrace His love and return to the light. All are welcome, all are loved. We await your return with open hearts and open arms,” the demon on the bed cried out.

Satan shook his head. “This one is particularly tough. I think we shall lose another demon. Such a pity.”

“What happens to the spirit of the angel?” I asked.

“The same thing that happens to the spirit of a demon that the exorcism is being performed upon — it dies.” He turned to me and put his arm on the back of the bench, behind me. “Let me explain how this works. Those who are, or were of the seraphim, can leave their bodies at will and possess another. If you can find the empty shell — the body that was left behind by the seraph — and destroy it, the spirit has nowhere to return. It must stay in the vessel it’s possessed, or jump to another. This may sound a simple thing to do, yet in reality it is quite a challenge. A new vessel must be close enough that the move can be accomplished within a mortal heartbeat. If the spirit leaves the vessel it’s possessed, with no body to return to, and no other vessel in close proximity, it dies. If the vessel is dying, the spirit must leave before the moment of death, during that last heartbeat, or it also dies.

“As long as the seraph’s body lives, the only thing it needs to fear is exorcism, regardless of whether or not the vessel it possesses dies — a completed exorcism always results in the death of the spirit.”

“Have you lost many?” I asked.

“To possession, no. There are some places angels fear to tread, and only the most foolhardy attempt it. In the mortal world close to a dozen of our number were lost before we realised how exorcism works. Once an exorcism begins the demon is trapped. There is no escape.
Now
my demons know to flee before an exorcism can commence. If the exorcism proceeds and it does not result in a demon being identified as possessing the victim — and it can’t if the demon has already fled — the victim is more often than not thought to be psychotic and hospitalised.”

“That’s progress for you,” I said. “What are they sprinkling on him?”

Satan looked back through the mirror and chuckled. “Demon piss. It has the same effect on an angelic possession as holy water has on a demonic possession.”

I shook my head. “How in hell do you find out what works and what doesn’t?”

“Trial and error, Helena, as with everything in life.”

The demon on the bed let out a scream that chilled me to the bone. The possessing angel was starting to lose the battle, the tables had turned.

“Have you seen enough?” he asked.

“Yes.”

We returned to the elevator. If you removed the word
demon
from the tenant directory listing of the sixth to ninth floors, you could have been in any building in any city topside. Demons wanted to improve their skills, deposited their loot into accounts, donated blood and dated, though not for romance, I was to learn. Strictly pleasurable pursuits were all they were interested in, and group dates were all the rage. A particularly bold young demon tried to talk Satan into coming to a party the next night. She promised it would be worth his while, but he dismissed her with a wave of a hand.

He shook his head. “Party, party, party, it’s all these young demons want to do. I keep waiting for them to grow up, yet it never happens.”

I stifled a giggle. He sounded like an old man complaining about the youth of today.

We entered the elevator again. If I had to listen to that godawful music for much longer I was going to go crazy. Satan just laughed every time I groaned, adding to my discomfort.
What floor number are we up to?
I couldn’t remember. The doors opened and the most sickening smell hit me full on and I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

“Do we have to get out here?”

“Not if you don’t want to,” he laughed, pressing the button for the ground floor. “I won’t bother with the first four floors today. You can take a look at your own leisure some other time. You might see some faces you recognise. I have a lot of human souls working there.”

Evil souls throughout history — Caligula, Vlad the Impaler, Elizabeth Bathory, Jack the Ripper, Rasputin and Hitler — they were all names that came to mind. Would they all be here, somewhere?

“Why do you need a cafeteria anyway?” I asked. “Demons don’t need to eat, do they? I know angels don’t.”

“It’s not only demons who work here, but you’re right, they don’t
have
to eat. Eating is a
pleasurable
pastime, even for demons. I’m not the hard taskmaster many make me out to be. I give
my
employees tea breaks and an hour for lunch.”

That didn’t sound so bad.

“They’re just never allowed to leave, ever,” he said, laughing again.

Now
that
didn’t sound quite so good.

The doors finally opened and I headed out, ahead of Satan.

“There she is, the
fuckin’ slut!
She’s gonna pay now,” the fat security guard said.

He either had the ability to heal himself or had sought first aid. He wrapped a hand around my throat and began to squeeze. He didn’t smell like a demon, so perhaps he couldn’t heal himself, but he didn’t smell mortal either. That made him fair game as far as I was concerned. I grasped his wrist in my hand and my fingers melded into his flesh.

Satan had stepped out of the elevator and was standing to the side, watching curiously, his hands behind his back. The guard panicked when he saw who I’d been travelling in the elevator with, and released his grip on my throat. My hand, however, remained firmly attached to his wrist.

I was furious! Men like this little piece of shit had tried to keep me down my entire life. I reached out with my other hand and grabbed his throat. My fingers sunk into his flesh. He made small gurgling sounds and his eyes looked to Satan for assistance.

Satan walked around the two of us, watching what my hands did and the determined expression on my face.

“I am tired,” I hissed through clenched teeth, “of being a doormat for men like you!”

His eyes rolled back in his head and the colour drained from his face. I let his body drop and kicked him, as hard as I could, in his fat gut.

Satan gave three short, loud claps. “Impressive. I’ve never seen anything like it. But really, Helena, if you’re hungry I can arrange a snack.”

I hadn’t realised how hungry I was until the guard’s blood flowed into my body.

“That depends on what you’ve got to eat. I don’t
do
mortal.”

“Come now, Helena, I wouldn’t have pictured you for a prude,” he put his hand under my chin — the skin burned — and narrowed his eyes, which were once again fiery red, “or is it some misguided notion that you’ll become
corrupt
or
evil
if you partake of mortal blood?”

I turned my head away. When Satan dropped his hand I looked back at him.

“They don’t appeal to me in the slightest,” I said acidly. “Now vampires’ blood, that’s sweet, and I’ve
tasted
the sweetest of the sweet.”

Satan looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes. “You haven’t?”

Was I blushing or was it just blatantly obvious what I was talking about? He peered closer into my eyes.

“You have, you little deviant!” he said. “Tell me, was it as good as I’ve heard?”

I folded my arms across my chest. “I’d rather not say.”

“Now, now, no time to get coy. I could summon
Drake
here. I’m sure he’d be only too happy to share the story of his experiences with you.”

How did he know it was Drake?

“It was great, okay.” I replied dryly. “Are you happy now?”

He laughed. “Immensely so. It’s a pity my blood is poisonous. Unless …”

“Unless what?” I snorted. “Unless you can get
your
rocks off before your victim dies?”

“Get my rocks off?” He paused, deep in thought. “Yes, I think that’s the correct term, albeit a mortal one, but what I was referring to is what some mortal kings and queens of old used to do. The smallest amount of poison, ingested every day, to build up an immunity to it. Perhaps I could find someone to share the lust with after all.”

“Don’t look at me,” I said. “I’m not interested.”

He grinned and walked around the corner. I wondered if he was working on a way to get me to change my mind. I walked a few paces behind him, not wanting to talk anymore. The wall in front of us shimmered, revealing another elevator.

“This is my private entrance, between home and the office.”

When I stepped inside I noticed there were only two buttons, one for up and one for down.

“Hurray,” I said, “no bloody music!”

This elevator was surprisingly fast. We travelled almost ten kilometres straight down in less than twenty seconds. The fact that my stomach lurched upwards attested to the fact we were moving fast.

“When I’ve finished with business I don’t want to be held up in my pursuit of pleasure,” he said.

The doors opened, revealing a plush corridor decked out in red, orange and black furnishings. There were a number of doorways along the corridor, but nothing to indicate what was behind each door.

“These are all private doorways. Only I, or those I appoint, can come through these doors. Tell me, Helena, before I show you what’s behind some of these doors, what is your preference, business or pleasure?”

I didn’t even need to think about the answer, I just blurted it, “For me they’re so closely woven together it’s hard to say where one ends and the other begins.”

“I used to have that problem,” Satan said, “until I learned to create a divide.”

Satan opened a door to a large bedroom, complete with adjoining living area and bathroom. The theme in here was more subdued — no bright reds or oranges — a much more natural and earthy colour scheme.

“This is where you’ll be staying when you’re in residence. Feel free to bolt the door. I warn you, some of my demons have
voracious
appetites.”

“And a simple bolt will keep everyone out?” I asked incredulously.

He smiled. “Not all. As master of my domain I can travel freely within it, bolts or not.”

“Rank has its privileges,” I mumbled, and Satan laughed.

“Someone will call to collect you within the hour. There’s to be a private audience and feast tonight — guests from overseas — and I need to prepare.”

He took my hand and kissed it, his lips leaving a perfect impression, burned into the skin. When he let go it started to heal. He touched my hand with one finger, over and over, enjoying watching me burn and heal.

“Don’t you need to get ready?” I said.

He let go of my hand. “Quite right. I’d be most appreciative if you wore what’s been chosen for you. It would make my guests feel more at home.”

“Whatever,” I said, closing the door on his face. I heard him laughing as he walked down the hall.

I headed to the bathroom. The taps read
hot
and
hotter.
I would have liked a shower, but there was only a bath. The hot water was scalding. It would take a good hour for it to cool down enough for me to have a bath, unless … I blew on the water and a cloud of steam billowed into the air. I dipped a finger into the water and it was only hot now, not scalding. I summoned my own toiletries, and when I was finished bathing, a toothbrush and toothpaste appeared next to the hand basin.

I thought about what sort of perfume would be suitable for a gathering of demons, to make them feel comfortable in my presence. I laughed, “Poison, of course.”