Beloved Evil

FIVE

The walk to "the Devil" was long, and as Tara looked at the man beside her from the corner of her eye, she wondered how he remembered which way to go. She had hoped that a "tour" through the castle meant that she would notice some kind of exit, but she hadn't had any luck yet. It didn't help that she almost had to run after Aridam either. Every time she took one step, he had taken three.

They passed strange looking people on their way, in all shapes and sizes, some looking angelic while others looked downright demonic, with purple eyes and sharp teeth, and as they passed a man with greenish skin, Tara was sure she was going to faint.

She couldn't help the awful feeling that all of these people had been right all along, because if this wasn't Hell, it had to be some kind of traveling circus, and what was the chances that she had been kidnapped by a ringmaster? Well, probably bigger than the chances of her going to literal Hell.

"We're here," Aridam finally said as he stopped in front of a pair of big double doors that stretched all the way to the high ceiling. Two armoured soldiers were standing on each side of the wide door, long spears in hand.

Tara gulped.

"You are to curtsy when we stop in front of him," Aridam said. "Understand?"

She nodded, trying to get her breathing under control. Even if this wasn't Hell, she was still about to meet the man that the others had crowned as their Devil. And also, she had no idea how to properly curtsy.

Aridam made a gesture towards the soldiers, and soon the doors began to slowly open, a loud sound echoed around her as they moved and finally fell into place.

Tara didn't dare to look up. Instead, she focused on the marble floor beneath her feet and followed Aridam when he began moving inside the room. It smelled nice in there. The floors were shiny, the lighting dim and warm.

"Hello, brother," Aridam said as they entered.

"Aridam" a deep voice greeted. "What do you want?"

The voice sounded bored.

Aridam slowly came to a halt and Tara stopped beside him. She remembered what he had told her, and awkwardly bent her knees, trying to curtsy the best she could.

"This is Tara," he said. "And, well..."

He thought for a while. 

"The whole situation is kind of curious."

"Do tell," the bored devil urged on.

Tara could feel Aridam looking at her. She wondered if she should speak up, but quickly thought against it. It was probably better to keep her head down and her mouth shut.

"She was sent to the cells earlier today," he explained, "but the strange thing is, that she doesn't remember anything before that at all. No death, no limbo, nothing."

This caught the attention of the king. Tara could hear him leaning forward in what she assumed was a throne.

"Did Mildred find cause of death?"

"Yes," Aridam answered. "Broken neck."

"Is she on the list?"

"No, I've checked multiple times."

The king thought for a while as Tara wondered if they could all hear her heartbeat, or if it was just her. It was beating against her chest in a desperate attempt to escape, to get the hell out of this situation.

"That's impossible," the king said. "The girl surely must be lying."

Tara could feel her body get ridged.