Darned to Heck

God's Will

I looked around the room full of demons that stared wordlessly at me and couldn't help but laugh.  Admittedly I was also a little bit delirious from my travels and was giggling like a madman, which probably didn't help them to get over what had just happened but as hard as I tried I couldn't stop. I turned my head from side to side to take in the reactions in their full glory. I couldn't believe it had actually worked. After a few more seconds of breathless laughing I caught the eye of a familiar demon.

"How's it going?" I asked.

Belphegor smirked incredulously and shrugged as if he had no idea what to say. His cherry red eyes twinkled with mirth and his messy black hair brushed gently around his shoulders as he shook his head lightly.

"You kidnapped me you know, I should be mad at you."

He opened his mouth to reply but was quickly cut off by the Devil.

"Allison." My name was said as though I were some mythical beast that only existed in fairy tales.

I pushed my head back a little to look behind me and smiled. I couldn't believe it but I was actually happy to see the devil, after so long in darkness the familiarity of his face covered over any feelings of dislike that I had before. And for the moment I was content to just look at him. It seemed the Devil felt the same way as he smiled right back at me and for once it didn't have that evil edge to it, mostly he looked relieved.

"I don't think there will ever be a day that goes by, where I do not question how on earth it is that you exist." He said as he walked gracefully to me and held out a hand to help me up from the table. I smiled and took it, swinging my legs over the edge and standing up, only to sit down again almost instantly in a chair that had been pulled out for me. "One day you shall have to tell me, just exactly what you are."

"When I figure it out, you'll be the first to know." I replied, stretching my arms out in front of me to test my muscles after the supposedly endless journey between worlds that, to the best of my knowledge had taken only seconds to complete. Slowly the princes began to take their seats around me at the table, still staring at me as though I wasn't actually there. I could tell they all had a million questions but none of them spoke.

The Devil laughed quietly and walked back around to the head of the table. "Maybe it is something that you shall only truly discover on the battlefield."

"On the battlefield?" I questioned absently, still transfixed by the Princes that surrounded me. I didn't know it was possible to miss people so much after such a short time. I felt a familiar buzz as Belphegor sat next to me and found myself struggling to act like I hadn't.

"We have declared War Allison. Twice now the Angels have made an attempt on your life, the fact that they would stoop so low as to take you from the very halls of my palace is beyond reason and very soon we shall annihilate those who dared to cross us. You shall fight alongside us, you shall have your revenge on those who have wronged you countless times and then take your place beside me. Ruling the underworld as an equal, we shall ensure that the Angels will never overstep their place again."

While the Devil's words were trying to sink into my brain I was silent. But another part of me had other ideas. Without warning Azeolar jumped out from behind my shoulder and landed with a gentle thud in the middle of the table.

"Excuse me but she will not."

All of the demons were taken aback by the sudden appearance of the little masked demon and then looked from him to me and back again. If they had questions before now they were completely lost.

"A Kitsune?" Leviathan asked incredulously. "What on earth is that doing here?"

"I am here to tell you that Allie is definitely not fighting in whatever kind of mad war you have decided she is." Azeolar stated firmly, sitting down in front of me on the table. He didn't seem fazed by the company that he found himself in.