The Rise Of Sir Pendergast The Great

Chapter VI: Power In Submission

"Stay on all fours," hisses Bean.

"Why?" snaps Pendergast. "I'm already wearing these chains." He sniffs the links. "That smell like used diapers and old fish!"

"You're supposed to be the soul I'm torturing," Bean tries to keep her voice low. "So act tortured!"

They walk down a nondescript city street that floats, flips upside down, and turns direction at random times. However, they still manage to keep a straight trajectory.

"You know," notes Pendergast. "There was a time when I thought this scenario would have been fun."

"Really?" Bean replies sarcastically. "I never would have guessed."

"Hey, it's not like I would have been a bad catch!"

"No," concedes Bean. "But you were my dad's hand of discipline too often for me to be, in any way, interested."

"Touché, my lady."

They fall into silence for a minute, Pendergast distracted by the hot gravel burning his hands and knees.

"If I were a demon," muses Bean. "Who just died, where would I be sent to?"

"The processing plant?" suggests Pendergast.

"No," says Bean. "He died before you did, technically, so he would have been there already. Plus he's a demon who's been to Heaven. I'm guessing whoever's in charge here would have put him somewhere...different."

"Somewhere different," Pendergast thought for a minute. "If I had a knight defect, then return, where would I have sent him? I suppose I would have cast him in the dungeon, then put him on trial for treason."

"Ouch, way harsh!"

"You don't take a lifelong vow of loyalty," Pendergast explains with some passion. "Then run away and expect to come back without consequences! Then every soldier in the army would only appear in battle as they felt like it! A kingdom that hopes to win wars needs hard, iron-clad assurance from its army."

"That's a good point," says Bean. "But we're in Hell. This whole place is technically a dungeon!"

"For humans, sure, but what about demons? Where are demons sent when they disobey?"

The two stop and look around, as if the sidewalk that now carried them across an abyss would somehow show them exactly where the demon jail was.

Pendergast stands up and stretches his back.

"Get back down," growls Bean. "You're going to blow our cover!"

"My back hurts," protests Pendergast.

"You're in Hell, everything's supposed to hurt."

Bean notices a tall demon nearby, on a similarly hovering chunk of pavement. It looks at Bean and Pendergast, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

The cat-suited princess kicks the knight in rags, right in the back of his knee.

"Ow! What was that--"

"Don't talk back to me," shouts Bean, kicking him again. "Human, uh, peon! Yeah, you human peon! Get back on the ground, like a dog. Like the dog you are! Yeah, I know that hurts!"

She slaps and kicks Pendergast until he kneels down again. The watching demon chuckles and, when their sidewalks descend back to the ground, walks away.

"Sorry," Bean whispers quickly. "But we have to be convincing."

"I get that." Pendergast still winces and rubs his inside knee. "Ow."