A Dose of Brimstone

Prologue

As Oulixes sat on the bench, he crossed the ankles of the man he possessed and leaned against the wall. Bits of the crumbling brick grinded away into his hair. The humans had abandoned this part of the Subway tunnels decades ago, but that didn't mean the place was empty.

An immaterial woman in a long coat passed by him and stopped on the edge of the platform. One foot dangled over the edge before she completely disappeared. In a few moments, she would be back to repeat the process all over again. The woman, like the other apparitions on this platform, were just imprints, mere memories of what had tainted this railway station. Mostly harmless, and useless, unlike a real soul.

He raised a hand. His true hand, dark blue and clawed, was semi-imposed over the mortal flesh. It held a spiked, chrome chain that extended through the wall and beyond his sight. The chain, like his true form, existed beyond the material world, and it connected to a human soul, one that he had a claim on. He smiled, relishing the memory of how he had gained this particular contract. It hadn't been easy, or legal, but Oulixes didn't have to deal in legal. The mother had been desperate to stop her daughter's abuse at the hands of her husband. She never even thought about the deal she made. A drunken woman was all but useless to him, but the daughter, a soul of innocence, that was a prize that many demons dreamed of obtaining, and only he could. Well, he and his other selves.

Light filled the arched tunnels, causing Oulixes to blink. Booted feet clacked on the steps to his right. He straightened up and watched the man descend. Highlights reflected in his white blond hair from the lamps in the ceiling. He looked a little thin in the black long coat he wore. His red lips twitched to one side in a smirk as he crossed his arms and looked Oulixes up and down.

"Are you the broody one of us?" The man's smooth voice echoed through the forsaken halls. "Sitting here in the dark?"

Oulixes stood so he towered over the thin man. "I'm the one who will strip the flesh from the bones of that body you ride."

The incubus smirked. "I doubt Faust would allow that. Not when you have a package to deliver to me."

Oulixes gritted his teeth. The seed at the core of his essence kept him from ripping that arrogant face apart. He had a mission. "Let's get this over with."

The incubus held out his hand, and Oulixes slid the chain into it. The metal color shimmered and lightened, taking on a purple tint. The incubus ran a tongue over the chain and sucked in the breath.

"Succulent," he said. "Such anger. I bet she's wild in bed."

"All yours to test out now," Oulixes muttered.

He narrowed his eyes. Now that the exchange was over, he could rip into this little weasel and claim the power for his own. The pressure within him thrummed, sending jolts through his essence like lashed of a whip. No. That wasn't part of the plan. He gritting his teeth, pushed past the incubus, and headed up the stairs. In just a few feet, he would be above ground and on his way to claim other souls. He didn't need the jaded, angry girl's contract. Her soul had become bitter with the realization of her fate. The Cambione was welcome to her for whatever plans Faust had. He could find someone else pure and spend his time breaking the new one.

At the top of the stairs, instead of an exit, a decaying brick tunnel stretched out before him. He stopped and blinked. What in the Seven Thrones? He spun around and let out a guttural curse. The stairs had been replaced with the tunnel as well. His steps echoed off the stone surrounding him as he quickened his pace. He must have gotten confused. Human architecture was mind boggling to him with its materialistic laws and strange angles, but there had to be another turn or a door somewhere. If not, he could always abandon this body and find another not trapped in this underground pit. He sighed loudly, relieved to see another turn ahead. But as he rounded the corner, he realized this new tunnel stretched out beyond both the range of the body's eyes and his own perception.

Oulixes growled and slammed his fist into the bricks. The walls shook with the force of his blow and the stone beneath his fist crumbled into bits of rubble as dust sprayed into the air. Once the air cleared of the particles, a hole the size of his head revealed a passageway identical to the one he was currently in, including a hole on the opposite wall. He took a step back as his mouth went dry, and he scanned the tunnel. Someone was playing games with him. He felt their eyes on him, and he shuddered. He'd been in this body for too long.

A sharp pain burst in his abdomen, spreading past the physicality of his body to his own essence, and his hold on the human he rode slipped. Iron. The tunnel broke away into little bits of and dissolved. Oulixes stood in the subway station with it vaulted ceilings and ghosts. In front of him stood the incubus with his hand on an iron dagger that was buried deep in Oulixes.

"I think any value you had is gone," the incubus said. "I can find a better use for that piece of Faust you carry."

Oulixes dropped his control on the body and let his essence pour out of it in a dark red light. The incubus flashed in a pale purple light and caught Oulixes. He inhaled, and Oulixes felt himself being drawn in. He tried to fight, but the iron had already weakened him. He couldn't escape. Soon, he knew nothing.