Devil's tale

Devil's tale, chapter 42

Amnon, the king of flames, the archdevil of fire, had a surprisingly gentle and handsome face. His skin was a dark shade of grey, he had four, ivory-white horns, two of which were shaped the exact same as Avarice's and sat upon his forehead in the exact same spots, the other two jutted out from the side of his head, like a crown, accenting the sides of his billowing mane of fire which sat where his hair should have been. He had two, massive almost angelic wings, only the feathers were made of pure, nearly white fire. He wore his wings like a cape around his broad shoulders. He had a tail much like Avarice's, which ended in an arrow-tip. His body was garbed not in clothes, but in robes that seemed to be made from pure blackness that wisped around his body like a writhing, black mist, given form by his will. Finally his eyes were two pits of utter blackness, with irises made of fire and with those irises, instead of more blackness, Avarice saw something incomprehensible, it was like the colour he saw was the visual embodiment of ambition, of greed.

Avarice's father smiled at him, which only served to unnerve the young devil even more.

"Look at you, having made it to the top with barely a spark of your own power left." He said.

"I can speak hellish just fine." Avarice said.

"Oh I know, but it's been millennia since I've had the chance to speak to someone who prefers a mortal language. Someone who's more human."

Avarice frowned.

"Offended are we? I'm surprised, I thought you took pride in your humanity and hated the blood I gave you?"

"Explain yourself, then maybe I'll do the same." Avarice replied.

"Making demands? My boy, I thought you were smarter than that. You have no power here with which to negotiate. I commend your efforts in getting this far but did you really expect a portal to the mortal realm up here? No, the only thing you've arrived at, is your true future."

"Which is?"

"Princedom in my realm, young one." Amnon said kindly. "You'll be a worthy heir after a century or three spent polishing your skills. I've fathered many children in this realm but none of them quite had that... human edge that you have. That capacity for understanding mortality, understanding pain. And you're the first one of my mortal children to make it this far."

"And what of my business in the mortal world?" Avarice asked.

"You can forget it, it'll only bring you pain. As much as I would have liked to meet your companions, they'll never reach you here and you'll never see them again."

"Then explain how I got past your dragon."

"A one-in-a-million fluke, nothing more."

"We both know that's not true."

Amnon smiled. "That's what I like about you, child. You're not afraid to call out authority. One day, perhaps you may even truly succeed me."

"And then what?"

"You'll finish what I started, thousands of years ago."

"Let me guess, some sort of conflict with the gods?"

"Precisely, the war to end all wars."

Avarice began to laugh. "As much as I want to hear you elaborate about that, as it sounds like it'd make for a good ballad, I'm going to have to cut you off right there."

"Excuse me?" Amnon said, crossing his arms with a playfully amused expression. He didn't seem at all offended by his son's interruption, only amused.

"I'm here for power, not to fight a war for you." Avarice said.