The Devil's Mate

Chapter 5

It is in mankind's belief that Hell is the place no one wants to go to, a place that is filled with pain and suffering. The reality is I've been in hell for the last twelve hours and surprisingly it has been nothing but boring for me. Other than a little bit of exploring which allowed to find out that the blue river of fire is hot. When I opened the front door of Helmsley Mansion, I found out that the hot air outside is filled with crying, screaming of those being engulfed by the hot flames and growling and crackling from the hellfire which is what the Devil told me is what they're called before telling me to come back inside before I overheat.

Currently, I'm sitting across him in a beautiful library that has countless books lining nearly a thousand over shelves, making it the most extensive personal library I have ever seen. Not that I've ever seen one in person but the internet has been my best friend since I turned twelve so I've seen quite a few large personal libraries. On the desk that separates us, long rolls of papers with that horrible chicken scratch handwriting are spread out in front of me as I study what has been going on in Hell since the beginning of its existence.

In paper plates and plastic cups quite too close to the manuscripts for comfort, at least for me, are the remains of what was our dinner. Pepperoni pizza, Hawaiian pizza and sprite from that pizza parlour that I had been at when he ran into me. 

Also, much to my surprise, he isn't as bad as the horror stories make him out to be. He's also been the perfect gentleman to me...scratch that he's been very distant and cold but informative whenever I have a question. For the first hour after me waking, I had asked him to take me home but every time he just answered with the same 'no' that I've given up on leaving.

One thing I learnt from moving homes every six months, no matter how much you hate the situation, you've just got to make the best of it since there is nothing to be done about it. That's what I'm doing right now. Accepting that I'm going to be here for the foreseeable future and making the best of it by learning about my surroundings.

With my brows furrowed, I put the manuscript down to look up at him, clarifying, "To sum up this paper, you never fell from grace and this realm is a gift from God, your father? In the bible, it was written that you tempted Eve to defy God because you hate humanity."

"The bible is a storybook that my father thought would be a good idea to remind humanity of the consequences of their greed," He tells me, not looking up from a paper that he's scribbling on. "Adam and Eve were greedy. Father gave them everything they could ever need to live yet they wanted more. They wanted a child, the forbidden fruit of mankind and they paid heavily for part-taking in that act outside of Father's will."

"Everybody wants children," I mumble in protest. "It's a way of life."

"Not back then," He sighs, looking up from his paper. "Adam and Eve saw that my Father could create life and they wanted to do so too. To be on the same level or maybe to even be higher than God himself. Of course, my Father is a foolish man. He gave them children despite their betrayal and those children killed each other despite the women he gave them to carry on Adam and Eve's lineage."

Nodding in understanding, I lean back into my chair as I digest this information. When I was younger, outside of my regular lessons in school, Mum has taught me religious lessons at home and she always told me that the forbidden fruit was an apple. Hearing what happened makes the story more plausible and I can see why God threw them out of the Garden.

I would be mad too if I were him.

"Then why did he 'gift' you Hell?" I ask curiously, wanting to know more.

"I believe Father said '"My firstborn, Lucifer, son of the morning will be gifted a realm of his own.' at my coming of age ceremony in front of the angels, archangels and the deities of other religions. After the ceremony and a good lecturing from me, Father announced to his concerned people that I will be using my realm as a form of punishment for the humans considering that I hated how much he loved and always forgave them for their wrongdoings, I was okay with the idea of it."

I can't help but laugh at the reason why Hell was created. To me, God sounds like a doting father that spoils his children while he sounds like the disapproving wife who wants to make those said children better people. My laughter catches him off guard since al he does is stare at me in confusion as I try to stop laughing.

"You're different from what your Father's storybook made you seem to be," I tell him softly, my laughing having ceased. "You're nice."

"Nice is not a word you should ever use to describe me, Victoria," He says darkly, resuming his writing. "You don't even know me."

For the first time since he took me, I give him a genuine smile stating as a matter of factly, "That's why you kidnapped me right? So that I can get to know you."

"When you smile like that, you look cute," He compliments when he glances up at me to see why I've stopped talking. "I hope to see that smile more often."

Lifting the manuscript to hide my flaming face, my response is slightly muffled by the paper as I say to it, "I am confident you'll be the reason I have this smile on my face."

My embarrassment is amplified when he utters, "I heard that."

The silence that follows his words is comfortable as we both immerse ourselves in our works. By the time I've gotten to the birth of God's second son almost five million years after his birth, it's been three hours since we last spoke to each other and I'm beginning to feel tired of sitting in this chair, reading his horrible handwriting.

"Will you show me around Helmsley Mansion?" I ask him tentatively. 

Breathing out heavily from his nostrils, he nods in the understanding of my request. As he stretches in his seat, his thin black shirt rides up a little giving me a peek of his well-defined body that the fire in the hearth casts shadows upon making his toned body more appealing than it already is.

Whether or not he noticed my staring he doesn't mention it as he holds his hand out for me to take. Reminding me of yesterday when I ran into him, I take his hand and as expected, he pulls me against his body allowing the sparks from his touch to spread throughout my body. Unconsciously, his lips pull themselves into a soft smile as he looks down at me but when I return his smile, it instantly disappears and is replaced by an indifferent look.

I guess that was nice while it lasted...I think to myself as he guides me out of the maze that is his library and towards the foyer from outside of which he found me earlier after my 'nap'. The little people gather around us as he begins introducing me to his world.