~~Young~~

Chapter Three

   It was all for one and one for yourself unless ordered otherwise.

   He hurried them into his privy so they could wash up- another luxury not often offered to the women- as the knock came again, this time more insistent then the last. Once they were behind the frosted door he stomped over to the wooden one leading to the hall- stark naked still- and threw it open with a growl.

   “What?” he barked at the…boy maybe? Or the soul of a girl that hadn’t made it to adolescence, he couldn’t be sure, its features and build were just too androgen. Whatever it was it had to have been one of Lucifer’s servants because it was allowed a scrap of fabric to hide its gender. The cloth hanging on its hips taking away any chance Gage had of identifying it one way or the other.

   Clothing was not allowed in hell, not for the souls sent here for their sins and was why Gage came to the door naked. To bear clothes was a privilege, and to be clothed in the presence of another meant you were showing respect for those who looked upon you. And he knew whoever had come to retrieve him was far beneath his status. The only beings who surpassed him were the Four Horsemen and Lucifer himself, neither of which could be bothered to call upon Gage themselves.

   Adding to Gage’s confusion over this thing’s gender was the voice that squeaked out of its mouth, “My Lord, our Sire has called you to the great chamber. Your time has come to return to earth.”

   For fuck’s sake the thing was shaking so hard Gage could barely understand him. And it wasn’t because of the icy frigidness that hell offered.

   Though you well and truly will burn in hell, it wasn’t from the searing pain of heat like humans had been led to believe, but rather cold, because cold can burn as well. There was no warmth in hell. Warmth was reserved for his kingdom both in heart and environment. In hell it was nothing but constant bone shivering, body aching, extremity blackening cold for those sentenced to spend the rest of their eternity there. There were flames but they wouldn’t eat the flesh from your bones, they made it throb till you wished it would fall off, fall off and at least end the agony so another new sensation of suffering could begin.

   All around there was ice. The floors, the walls, every room and chamber in hell was carved from the same component. Anything other than that had to be brought from across the realms and at a high toll for those carrying it. It took so much energy for the souls sent across to carry items back that they simply ceased to exist upon their return.

   Gage preferred to retrieve his items himself. To sentence a soul to an eternity of torture was one thing, but it never sat right with him that they disappeared from any realm he could travel to. Because he had, he had looked not believing a soul could just disappear like that, but only found it to be true.

   He used the excuse that he didn’t trust any of the fiends in hell to not lose or break his items in transport when questioned why he did things himself. Truth be told though, that bed of his was a burden even he thought he might not be able to bare. But instead of calling on the souls he just took it piece by piece until the massive mahogany bed was complete.

   He wouldn’t even let his own soul of a personal servant bring anything over for him, even though he was far stronger then the blue-from-the-cold-skinned creature standing before him. Jeremiah had been around for quite some time and had proven himself a worthy servant in Gage’s eyes. And looking for someone who would do the grunt work for him on earth- like setting up residence and finding suitable transportation before he got there- Gage offered Jerry the job. And with Lucifer’s approval the soul was granted the honor of being able to freely pass back and forth between hell and earth. No longer a soul, now a lesser demon he would never have the chance to repent, never have even the slimmest hope of paying his penance and moving on to heaven.