The Devil Within

Monsters Aren't the Only Things That Go "Bump" in the Night

"Good morning, Aziraphale," you said, waving at the angel behind the library's desk.

Aziraphale had to be the most mellow angel you have met so far. He was stationed in the library of the House of the Blessed when it was first formed, going over each and every piece of literature that humanity has ever written. Spending so much time around humanity in both literature and, eventually, in-person altered his views. Aziraphale learned from the scrolls and books along with Diogenes. The angel's original job was to be the Librarian but he quickly evolved into a companion to save Diogenes' sanity. Talking to someone who actually understood Diogenes' work was a nice change to the constant doubts and angry yells from people on the streets. Having an actual conversation was nice for both parties but Aziraphale feared he would lose his friend when Alexander Milligan was Blessed. Luckily, Diogenes continued to have conversations with Aziraphale but he brought Alexander too. Eventually, everyone was introduced to Aziraphale and each of you has had some nice conversations with him. If any of your angels were too busy to speak to, Aziraphale would gladly lend an ear if you need it and quickly relay information to Heaven if he believed it was dire. Now, his vessel gave off a kind-older-man vibe. Aziraphale's vessel was a little round in the front and he just had a caretaker's complexion. In all honesty, he looked almost exactly like Aziraphale from Good Omens. Even had the same mannerisms save for the love of food and flavours. You were a little sad about that little detail but didn't dwell on it too much. 

"Good morning," Aziraphale said your name as he looked up from his book. Ironically, he was reading Good Omens by Neil Gaiman. "Anything specific you're looking for today? Leasure reading? Research?"

"Research," you confirm, nodding. "Diogenes told me the other day about killings in Athens. He said that they didn't feel right and he wanted me to take a look into it."

"And you agree with him?" Aziraphale asked setting down the book.

"On the surface, it looks serial," you answered, recalling the photos and reports that Diogenes 'borrowed'. "Adolescents are being killed and the Medical Examiners say that they were eaten by animals. All that was left of any of them were bits of their torsos." You shook your head and sighed. This was your first Hunt that involved young children and it disgusted you. Anything that involved hurting children disgusted you.

"Those poor children," Aziraphale commented as he pointed to your right. "You know where the Greek Monster section is." 

You nodded and gave thanks to Aziraphale before walking towards the section of books that Aziraphale organized for you. The considerate angel has taken it upon himself to organize the library for the Blessed specifically. Your section was filled with your favourite stories, from non-fiction to fanfiction, all of your favourites and some recommendations that were similar to what you've already read. You were a little embarrassed when you first discovered that section... especially since most of the fics were written post-2009 and you feared discovery. Luckily, Aziraphale didn't exactly care or pay attention to the release dates, he was just happy that you liked your little nook in the library. He also made sure to get all of the mythologies that were true to their actual monsters in one specific row of shelves. Aziraphale called it The Hunting Section. You decided to open that bit up for everyone so that they could learn more about monsters as well. Of course, they weren't allowed to look at your other shelves just as much as you weren't allowed to look at theirs. 

You got to the shelf and skimmed the Greek Monster section, looking for anything that could lead you to what you were hunting for. It didn't take you long to find the myth of Lamia, Queen of Libya. There weren't that many monsters that ate children in Greek Mythology. Hell, there was only one. Lamia was a beautiful queen who was a descendent of Poseidon. Her father was Belus, son of Poseidon. Her beauty enamoured Zeus and, in typical Zeus fashion, he couldn't keep it in his pants. Lamia gave birth to one of Zeus' many, many, children but that child didn't last long. Hera was angered that Zeus had yet another affair and punished the mortals because there wasn't much she could do against the King of Gods. Hera killed Lamia's child, causing the woman to go insane. Lamia turned into a cannibal, killing and eating other people's children due to her own grief. Hera then cursed Lamia for killing innocent children (ironic) and made her develop shark characteristics. Hard scales appeared around her face and on her neck. She grew two extra rows of teeth, all razor-sharp and her original set of teeth sharpened themselves. Lamia's pupils also grew almost to the size of her entire eye.