Higher Hell
Chapter 14: A Friend of the Devil
Am I dead yet?
If I am, it fucking hurts like hell.
I could hear something.
What the hell is that?
Somebody crying?
That was it. Desperate sobbing sounds of grief.
Who would cry for a dead demon?
Something wet hit my face.
I felt it! I could feel!
How could I feel if I’m dead?
“Cas. Please, Cas. Don’t go. Don’t leave me here alone. Please.”
“Gabby?”
My voice broke from my throat dry and raspy.
“Cas!”
I opened my eyes.
There she was, weeping above me. Her trembling lips smiled in relief.
She threw her arms around my neck.
It felt warm, her still shaking body pressed against me.
I liked it.
It seemed to strengthen me somehow.
“You were fantastic, Cas! It was amazing!”
She tried to help me sit up. I grimaced in pain. My wings, leg, and ribs were killing me.
“Oh, sorry. Are you still hurt?”
“Don’t worry about it. Demons heal fast.”
I looked into that pretty face, still stained with tears and the blood of her father. I grinned, shaking my aching head.
“You get me in more trouble, sister.”
A laugh erupted from her throat. After all she’s seen in the last few hours, she can still laugh.
I was glad.
“What about you? Are you okay?”
Her smile faded. I could see she was deathly afraid to look around the room. If she had to look at the remnants of death and destruction in here, she’d probably start screaming uncontrollably again.
“I’m not hurt. Just get me out of here. Please, just get me away from this place.”
I brushed the purple locks back off her face and, with some effort, got to my feet.
My leg was healing fast. The bones were probably already knitting themselves back together, but it still hurt like hell to walk.
With one arm around Gabby, I guided her to the door we’d come in through, the door to the roof. I ripped it out of the frame where it had been jammed and it fell to the tiled floor with a loud BANG.
It was slow going up the stairs with my bad leg, but I knew the worst was to come.
On the roof, I let go of Gabby and shut the peeling door.
“Just a sec.”
Oh, this is gonna hurt.
I carefully reached behind my back, my ribs on fire with pain.
“Oh, shit!” I gasped.
I lifted my wing bones into position.
This was hurting more than when Scirlin pulled them out of joint. I just hoped I wouldn’t pass out from the pain.
SLAM!
“AHHHHHH, FUUUUUUCK!” I cried.
Holding my wings in place, I’d slammed my back against the peeling, flaking old door.
I swayed on the spot for a minute, my vision blurred by the agony shooting through my body.
But it worked.
My wings were back in place.
I flexed them and thought I was going to collapse, it hurt so bad. But the more I worked them, the less it hurt.
Gabby came over and gently put her arms around my waist and laid her exhausted head on my chest.
“Thank you, Cas. You saved my life.”
I patted the back of her head.
“What’re friends for, huh?”
She looked up at me with that same awestruck expression she’d had earlier.
“How did you do that?”
“Do what? Put my wings back in joint?”
“No. What you did back in the room.”
“I don’t know. What happened exactly?”
She shook her head, confused.
“What do you mean? You couldn’t tell?”
“I thought I’d died. Everything got black. I was outside my body, I think. But there was that echoy roar and that bright light. What the hell was that?”
Gabby was astonished.
“That was you, Cas. You were yelling NO! in the most powerful voice I’ve ever heard. It hurt my ears and felt like it shook the whole room. And the light was coming from you! It was you! And- Oh, my God! You were beautiful! Your body changed. Your hair was like gold, pure gold. Your face, your body, all of you was glowing. The light was shining out of you! And your wings! They were the brightest, purest white! So white, it was like I’d never actually seen real white before. I don’t know what you did, but Scirlin hated it. He hated it but,…I don’t know if jealous is the right word, but it was like he wanted to be it. I could feel it from him when he was scratching my chest.”
She shuddered and her voice broke as she recounted that last bit. She put her hands to her head like she was trying to block that part of the memory out.
She gazed up at me in awe.
“You were the most beautiful thing in the world.”
I just gawked at her.
What?
No.
That can’t be. It just can’t.
I shook my head.
“No. You must’ve seen wrong. That couldn’t have been it. That could never happen. With all the stress and trauma you were experiencing, it must’ve just been an illusion or something.”
“I know what I saw, Cas, and so did Scirlin. What was it? Why couldn’t it happen? ‘Cause it sure as hell did happen.”
My turn to look astonished.
Had I really- ?
But-
I can’t. It’s not even possible. For any demon, let alone for me.
“My angelic form?” I whispered, more to myself than to Gabby.
“Your what?”
“What…What you’re describing, that’s what I looked like as an angel. My angelic form. How I was all those eons ago in Heaven.”
We stared at each other for a moment.
“Does that mean you’re…That you can go back- ” Gabby began.
“Don’t. Don’t say it. I don’t want to think about it. I’m not gonna get my hopes up. Let’s just get outta here.”
I put my arms around Gabby and flapped my aching wings. We rose into the cool, star lit sky.
Had these wings really been white again?
Gabby’s words ran through my head as we flew through the night air.
Was it really possible?
I don’t know. But we’ve got more important things to think about right now.
Like where am I going to take her now that her apartment is gone.
The Trash Bin.
The music store was the only place I could think to take her. It was closed, of course. Gabby had locked the doors herself just a few hours ago.
She unlocked the doors and we entered the dark store.
Gabby replaced the shirt that had been torn by Scirlin with one off a rack of old concert t-shirts. A yellow Jesus and Mary Chain shirt. The color didn’t suit her. The yellow kind of clashed with her purple locks, but at least it was one of those cool bands she’d turned me onto recently.
Gabby came out of the restroom after washing the blood from her face and hopped up on the sales counter looking very small and tired.
Poor girl.
I wished I could do something for her. Something to make her forget the horrors she’d witnessed at her father’s apartment.
But she’d also witnessed something incredible. Something that should’ve been impossible.
I’d really changed back into an angel. For a few minutes anyway.
How could that be?
The Old Man had personally taken away our angelic bodies when he’d kicked us out of Heaven, and instantly transformed us into the assortment of freaks we all are now. In his anger at our defiance, he’d made it impossible for us to ever take our Heavenly forms again.
But I’d done it.
Without even realizing it.
It made my head hurt just trying to work it out.
I flexed my black, crow-like wings trying to imagine them pure white again. It’d been so long, it was hard to even picture it anymore.
Had the Old Man fucked up when he made me a demon? Or was it possible for any of us under the right circumstances?
Or maybe the Old Man let it happen on purpose.
Nah.
Why would he interfere in the business of a couple of demons and a Human girl? He’d never bothered before.
“Ah! Here you are!” a voice came from the darkness.
What the fuck?!
A man was walking through the dark store towards us.
Gabby cried out in startled surprise, and I almost fell over in shock trying to quickly changed back into Human form.
“Don’t bother, Casmiel. No need to transform.”
I froze, staring at the man as he stepped into the light streaming in through the storefront window from the street.
Father Buchanon!
He was standing right there in front of us, his face beaming warmly with pride as he smiled at me.
He sighed happily, contentedly.
“Casmiel. You have done wonderfully.”
What the fuck is this?
“No offense, but aren’t you supposed to be dead, Padre?”
He laughed a deep, hearty chuckle. His eyes twinkled in the street light.
Then he transformed into a beautifully handsome, chestnut-haired young man.
With pure white wings.
“Gabe?! What the hell are you doing here?”
Gabby was totally at a loss. She looked back and forth between us in confusion.
“Gabe?” she asked meekly.
“Gabriel. You know, the angel. Gabby, Gabe. Gabe, Gabby.” I introduced them.
“An angel?” Gabby couldn’t believe her eyes.
“I’m sorry to scare you like that. I’ve been looking everywhere for you two.” the angel said.
“Gabe, what’s going on? What the fuck happened to me earlier?”
“Cas, should you really be swearing in front of an angel?” Gabby whispered to me.
Gabe chuckled again.
“Don’t worry, Gabby. Cas here was a pretty foulmouthed angel back in the day too.”
Gabby was too curious to wait. She asked the question that was on my lips.
“What happened to Cas? Is he going to be an angel again? Is he going back to Heaven?”
Gabe’s brow furrowed. He ran a hand through his thick chestnut hair.
“I don’t know what happened, Gabby. I was actually hoping Cas could tell me. That’s why I’m here.”
“What? You mean the Old Man didn’t do it?” I asked.
Gabriel looked down at the floor nervously. He looked sad.
“I’m afraid the Lord doesn’t understand what happened either.” he said.
Gabby pulled a skeptical face.
“God doesn’t understand?” she asked.
Gabe gave her a knowing smile.
“Whoever told you God knows everything, doesn’t know God.”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” I interrupted. “The Old Man doesn’t even know how I did it? But I don’t know what I did or how I did it…And it happened to me!”
“All I can tell you, Cas, is that the Lord seemed very happy with you. We’re all as proud as can be.”
Great. Fat lot of good that does me.
“I’m not going to Heaven, am I?”
Gabe shook his head sadly.
“No, Cas. I’m sorry, but it’s just not time. I can’t take you back with me.”
Figures.
Not that I’d really expected to, but it still sucked to be told so.
Gabby spoke up suddenly.
“Wait! Was it you? When we stayed at the church, was it you or the real Father Buchanon?”
“That was the real Father,” Gabriel said. ”I’m sorry to say he really is dead, and…well, let’s just say, he’s not at my place. I just thought you’d react better to a familiar face than if I’d showed up a total stranger. I was there at the church when you were, however. I was sent to check on the situation after Scirlin killed Gamygyn. That was quite the conversation you had with the Father, Casmiel.”
“Yeah. Bet you thought it was pretty funny, huh?”
“Hilarious! I could hardly contain myself.” Gabe chuckled warmly again.
“I’m glad you find this all so entertaining.” A new voice came from the darkness.
Click, clack. Click, clack.
Oh, shit.
The Big Guy.
He stepped out of the shadows and stood between me and Gabriel.
I was astounded. The Big Guy rarely ever came to the World of the Living. My heart was racing. If he’s here to take Gabby…
Nothing I could do could stop him if he was here to complete his deal with Bianco.
Gabby was staring at the three of us without a clue as to the danger she could be in. The Big Guy hadn’t bothered to take another form. He still had the goat-like horns poking out of his black hair and the long priest’s cassock barely revealing his hooves.
To Gabby, he probably just looked like one more demon, though a more handsome, slightly less freakish one.
Satan nodded at Gabriel.
“Gabe.”
“Luce.”
They greeted each other a little stiff and awkwardly.
They’d been close friends at one time.
Good friends who chose opposing sides in The Argument.
“So this is the Human girl you saved from Scirlin, is it, Casmiel?”
“Um, yeah- yes, Master. This is Gabby. Gabby, this is my, um…my Boss.”
Gabby’s eyes grew wide with fear and she quickly grabbed my arm and pulled herself close to me for protection.
Satan rolled his eyes and shook his head in slight annoyance.
“There is no reason to be afraid,” the Big Guy said. ”I’m not here to hurt you.”
“Wait,” I spoke up. “You’re not here for the deal Joe Bianco made?”
“There was no deal between Joseph Bianco and myself. Gamygyn tried to tell you this. Besides, Bianco had no right to barter away this girl’s soul anyway.”
“But, if he didn’t make the deal with you, who was he dealing with?” I asked.
“I don’t know. That bothers me very much. Perhaps Scirlin was alone. He may have impersonated me to fool Bianco into making the deal, but for what purpose, I can’t say. However, Scirlin was never the sort to complicate things with plans or strategies.”
“He mentioned his “Master”,” I recalled. ”He said his Master visited Bianco. And before he died, he was saying “Master, save me”.”
“You think someone was giving Scirlin orders to kill the Biancos?” Gabriel asked.
“Possibly. But if so, whoever it is has kept their involvement extremely well hidden.” Satan replied.
“So is Gabby safe now or not?” I asked them both.
“No other demon than Scirlin has shown any interest in this girl’s soul. I don’t believe you have anything more to worry about.” Satan said.
So Gabby was safe. What the hell had Scirlin been up to though? Why go to the trouble of getting Bianco to make a fake deal for his soul just to get at Gabby in the first place?
Gabby relaxed her grip on me slightly, but she still looked more than a little scared.
Hey, who wouldn’t be scared if Satan walked in the room?
To my surprise, he turned to Gabriel and ignored me.
“Hell is in an uproar, Gabe, and I need some answers. All the creatures of Hell are out of control because of what happened with Casmiel tonight. Some are in a furious rage that he was allowed his angelic form, thinking it an insult to them and to me. Others are in riotous jubilation. They believe Hell has been redeemed. They are hailing ‘Casmiel the Lazy, Savior of Hell’.”
Hmm, ’bout time I got some credit for-
Wait a minute.
Casmiel the Lazy?
Hey, it might be accurate, but it’s still not very flattering! I hate to admit it, but I actually liked Firegazer better as a nickname.
“So, is it true? Has Casmiel brought about our redemption? By saving this girl’s life, has he caused the reunion of our Worlds?”
For all his power, the Big Guy couldn’t quite hide the hope in his voice. If it was true, it was what he had always longed for, his deepest desire.
“I’m sorry, Luce,” Gabriel said, looking at the floor. “Nothing has changed. No one in Heaven knows what happened to Casmiel. It wasn’t the Lord’s doing I’m afraid.”
He tried to disguise it, but the bitter disappointment was clear in his face.
“Then we must continue as we always have. Redeeming the souls of the damned until we have redeemed ourselves.”
The Big Guy turned to me with a stern look.
Oh, shit. Here it comes.
“You’ve done well, Casmiel.”
What?
Did I hear right?
Did the Big Guy just compliment me?
“Uh, thank you, Master, but- didn’t I fail my mission?”
He gave me an even more stern look.
Maybe I shouldn’t have brought that up.
“You broke several rules. And you failed to personally bring me the soul of your target. But Joseph Bianco is now in Hell. And one of the demons who had done the most harm to our overall mission has been destroyed. You stayed true to my principles, Casmiel. You may have failed in the smaller mission, but you have helped greatly in the most important mission…To repair the rift between our Worlds.”
He turned back to Gabriel.
“We will return to Heaven one day, Gabe. I know we will.”
Gabriel smiled and gave the Big Guy a nod.
“I look forward to it, Luce. I really do.”
Gabriel waved at me and gave Gabby a wink, then disappeared.
The Big Guy faced me and crossed his arms.
He just stared at me.
I’ll never get used to that. It was still disconcerting to have those powerful eyes boring into me.
He sighed.
It was very uncharacteristic of him. He seemed tired and uncertain.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Casmiel.”
“What do you mean, Master?”
“It may be dangerous for you to return to Hell. There are some demons who are very angry with you. They may try to harm you. However, if you return it may help to pacify those who think you are going to Heaven. Either way, I can’t just leave you in the World of the Living.”
Gabby finally spoke up, very tentatively.
“But…Sir, could Cas just stay with me? Until things calm down, that is?”
Satan looked at Gabby like he’d forgotten she was there.
Gabby recoiled a bit. I think she was wishing she’d kept her mouth shut. If it’s tough for a demon to have Satan staring you in the eyes, I can’t imagine what it must be like for a Human.
“You care for Casmiel. I can see he is important to you. But his place is in Hell. It would be impossible for him to stay in your World indefinitely.”
“How ’bout this,” I offered. “I’ll come back and help settle things in Hell, but once everything’s back to normal, I want to be able to visit Gabby whenever I want.”
“Are you making demands of your Master?”
Oops.
Maybe I went a little too far. Should’ve worded that differently.
“Uh…Well, I mean- “
He grinned.
“Very well. Once things are taken care of in Hell, you may visit your friend.”
Gabby beamed at me. Satan was actually giving us what we wanted!
“Thank you, Master!”
“As long as it doesn’t interfere with your duties.” he warned.
“My duties?”
“I have plans for you, Casmiel.” he said cryptically with a smile.
Oh, I don’t like the sound of that.
“Yes, Master.” I said very unenthusiastically.
“I’m returning now,” Satan said. ”We have much to do. I’ll expect you shortly. Don’t make me wait.”
With that, the Big Guy vanished.
I smiled at Gabby.
She smiled back.
That pretty smile always made me feel good. I’m gonna miss that.
Gabby slid off the counter. Without a word, she hugged me tightly, her head laid against my chest.
I morphed back into my Human form one last time, put my arms around Gabby’s shoulders, and kissed her forehead.
She stepped back, quickly wiping at her eyes with a sniff.
“I’ll be back soon. I promise. Are you gonna be okay?”
“I’ll be all right. Are you sure you will be?”
“Well, Hell’s all gone to…itself. It ain’t gonna be a trip to Disney World, sister.”
She giggled.
I’ll really miss that sound too.
“You realize just how lucky you are? You’re probably the only living Human to have actually met God’s right hand man, the angel Gabriel, and Satan himself both in the same night! Maybe the only one ever!”
Gabby grinned slyly and shook her head slightly in mock disbelief. Her two purple locks waved against her pale pretty face.
“Yeah? I guess somebody down there likes me.”
wacky…