Hades' Halls

Secrets and Confessions

"What about the nice people?", asked Seb, concerned.

Georgie brushed the question aside. "We'll refer them to someone else. The Archbishop of Canterbury perhaps. You could do that couldn't you Nyala?"

"Getting his number", said the girl, her thicker than clotted cream Scottish accent becoming increasingly understandable as her fellow residents adapted to it.

"See", said Georgie, pointing her thumb. "No worries."

A council of war was being held in the detritus that was the dinning room. After two long days of data collection, processing and analysis in which caffeine had played a staring role, the seven had taken a break to assess their results and discuss further steps. Unofficially headed by the ever-optimistic Georgie (Footnote 1), the conversation had taken a turn towards morality, always a difficult topic when devils were involved.

"It still feels like a breach of privacy", said Seb, loathed to oppose Georgie but feeling that he must. "Surely there must be some other way."

Georgie rubbed her face. Lord she was tired, so tired that a bed or couch was unnecessary, the floor would do. But the others were still going and therefore so must she. It did not help that the time not spent developing schemes to boost Hell's attendance was given to additional study. Georgie was aware that she possessed a decent amount of intelligence and a bizarre knack for aerospace engineering but the statistics were not in her favour and so Georgie went without sleep. She would be damned if one of the boys got a higher grade in an assignment.

With great effort, Georgie heaved herself to the surface to reply to Seb. "Do you want to go back to cold showers?" It was a tad unfair but it was the only thing her sleep deprived mind could conjure.

Seb grimaced at Georgie's evasion. "That's not what I-"

"Then you don't have to do it", Georgie cut him off, really not in the mood for any argument more complicated then would you like a coffee. "Lydia will be a natural" she said with a nod to the redhead, "and we'll all take it in turns. Four hour shifts in accordance to what fits our individual timetables." The collective groan at the words 'four hour shifts' had Georgie make amendments, "Just some sort of rota. It doesn't have to be all the time anyway. We can iron out the details with Hades."

"Humph", said Seb, folding his arms as the others rolled their eyes.

The continued animosity between Seb and Hades was one sided with Hades doing all he could to make Seb, if not a friend, then at least someone who did not look as though he was going to tear his throat out at any given moment. The others put up with it but Georgie had had enough. Standing, she pointed to the open doorway into the hall. "A word Seb".

Besides Nyala who was having a whale of a time doing something mysterious and highly illegal, the other students sent Seb expressions which usually arise in a classroom when a disruptive child is sent to the headteacher. Sympathy overruled by crushing relief that it was not them whose parents were going to be called and were going to spend the rest of the day listening to a symphony of tutting's.

Himself experiencing mixed feelings, but of a different nature, Seb rose hesitantly and followed Georgie out the door, closing it behind him at her gesture. Leaning against the banister, Georgie waited for the rest of her vision to return. She must have stood up too quickly, having made it into the hallway through memory and sheer willpower.

Unaware of this, Seb stood anxiously, breathing hard through his nose as he waited for Georgie to rebuke him kindly but with a sharp edge of disappointment. It was with surprise therefore that he heard her words.