The Unknown // Colby Brock

~~ Chapter Three ~~

"Tara," he warned with a flash of red in his eyes.

I had been in hell for less than twenty-four hours and I had already disobeyed the devil twice, yet I had received no consequences for my actions besides being grounded, essentially, so I bit the bullet on this one, too.

"I think you should just go back to torturing people who actually deserve it and leave Tara alone."

That didn't go down well in his book as he disappeared in a flash of red only for the same flash to appear right beside me followed by a hand grabbing my arm. Next thing I knew, I was in my room and that red flash had the culprit gone, leaving me alone.

I heard the lock turn in the door and instantly ran at it, banging as if it would do anything. "Hey!" I yelled, but could only hear his heavy footsteps going down the hall. Son of a bitch.

I slumped on my bed in anger and crossed my arms. I was sulking like a child, but for good reason. Was visiting a guy so much to ask for? It didn't seem like it to me.

Just as I was about to lie back and sleep my way through my punishment for talking back, another red flash blinded me. I was concerned for a moment, but when Griffin and Xepher appeared in the middle of the room, that concern flipped into relief.

"Thank you, baby. I'll call for you when I want to leave," Xepher said as she gave Griffin a quick kiss.

He smiled and nodded, glancing over at me before disappearing in the same red flash.

I frowned. "You can't do that flashy thing?"

"No, no, I'm not actually a demon... well, not really anyways. I was like you," she explained as she took a seat on the bed next to me. "I was alive, then I died. Griffin knew he wanted me the first moment he saw Tara taking me to the kennels, and thankfully my soul was just dark enough that the devil chose to allow me to stay in the group, with a lot of begging from Griffin, of course. That guy is stubborn..."

"The devil or Griffin?"

"The devil," she snorted. "And it looks like he's deadset on keeping you out of the way as much as possible."

"Clearly," I grumbled.

Xepher and I moved at the same time when we shuffled to lie down on the bed on our sides facing each other. I couldn't help but look at her hands, and at the nails and weapon she secretly had stashed in there. She must have caught my gaze, because she chuckled at the confused look on my face.

"I'm a mixture between being human and being a demon," she explained. "Griffin also managed to convince the devil that I could be useful in making new weapons since I already had a styling background in life. He agreed, but he didn't allow me to manifest completely as a demon. The... incident happened around the same time and he was tired."

"He can just do that? Make people demons?"

"More like he can remove the soul and give you as many powers as he pleases, including the ability to do the same, but he's always kept that one to himself. I don't technically have a soul anymore, but it isn't destroyed, so it still exists, and that means I have some abilities, but not all of them."

"So what can you do?"

"Manifest almost anything out of thin air, which is my specialty." She held up a hand which, after a quick flick of her wrist, suddenly held a large dagger that looked much too terrifying.

I almost felt the need to back away, but she made it disappear.

"Pretty good for making weapons and bringing designs to life."

"So, you were alive... do you miss life?" That question seemed to hit hard because she went silent for a while. Her eyes were focused on the pillow where her head rested, and her mind was elsewhere.

I chose to leave her to her thoughts and go into a world of my own. I hadn't been in hell long enough to decide whether I missed being alive or not. I knew that I would rather be away from the devil, but besides him, life in hell didn't seem so bad. I didn't have my sister and I didn't have my parents, though, and the thought of one of them coming down here terrified me a little.

Finally, Xepher's mouth opened. "I miss my family and friends, but I wouldn't trade what I have here with Griffin for them. So no, I guess I don't miss life. Besides, I haven't stumped my toe in centuries."

Wait.

"Yes, I have been here for centuries. Eternity means eternity. The devil has been here the longest. He spent two centuries here completely alone besides the screaming burning people, and then he found... friendship, of sorts, and it ended badly. He decided to build somewhat of an army so that if he ever had to battle his ex-friend, he would win. That's why everyone else exists: he created them."

"Out of what?"

"They were all born angels and he converted them to his ways. Don't worry, they all consented to it. Then obviously God kicked them out of heaven and sent them down here...

"I know the devil is an asshole sometimes, and he's harsh and even cruel, but he has more bad experiences than you will probably ever know, and deep down I think he's broken, you know? Trust issues beyond understanding of anyone else on any plain of existence."

That made sense. Wasn't the story of the devil that he was an angel and got kicked out of heaven to rule hell? That had to have hurt at least a little bit. The devil's story was sad, which meant that Xepher was right and he probably was still broken in some way.

So maybe I was being a little harsh on him by disobeying his every move.

Fine, devil. You can have it your way this time.