Eat Iron

Lucifer I think Mammon's possessed... He keeps saying to "eat iron"

Do you think so? Well, he did steal all my wine... I had to throw him in the dungeon... I will check on him.

___

He knocks on the dungeon door, and it opens slowly.

" Mammon, I was just checking on you." He walks in, the door closes, and he sees Mammon tied up, surrounded by wine bottles, and chanting "eat iron, eat iron, eat iron..." over and over. "Mammon? What's gotten into you..." Lucifer walks up to Mammon and slaps him across the face, hoping to wake him from his chanting. "Mammon! Wake up!" 

Mammon looks at him, confused, and continues chanting without missing a beat. "Very odd... very, very, very odd..." He tries slapping him again. "Mammon! Snap out of it! What the devil happened to you? Oh... It's gotten worse, hasn't it?"

He sighs. His anger faded little by little. "I am not going to kill him... He is still my brother. Even if he is possessed." He looks at him with tears in his eyes. "...Mammon, my sweet sibling. Whatever happened to you..." He looks him over, noticing that the chains holding Mammon down are actually broken. He has just chosen to stay in this cell, of his own free will. He checks Mammon's arms, waist, and legs. There are no signs of torture.

"This isn't one of Satan's pranks..."

He takes Mammon's chin in his hands and forces him to look into his eyes. Mammon's eyes are glazed over, and he only repeats "eat iron, eat iron, eat iron..." over and over.

"...Mammon..."

"This is bad... I should have checked sooner."

He gently taps Mammon on the head. He stops chanting for half a second, and then continues on, unperturbed. He checks Mammon's neck and notices a small mark. "A demon bite?" He inspects the scratch mark closer. His expression turns from one of concern to one of fury. He clenches his fists so tight that his nails dig into his palms.

"Who did this? Who? WHO?!" He looks down at Mammon. His expression turns soft. "I will make them pay for this..." He looks at the little spot where Mammon's heart would be. He gently presses down so he can feel the beat of Mammon's heart.

"It's still beating. His heart is still beating... He hasn't given up yet..." He strokes Mammon's face. Mammon seems to react, turning his head away from the touch.

"...Mammon isn't gone yet...I need to get this venom out..." He gets up and begins searching his dungeon. After some time, he finds the ingredients he needs and starts brewing a potion. He uses water from the well in his basement, and mixes in some herbs he found in his herb garden. He adds a few more drops of the poison in Mammon's bite wound to the brew and then mixes it into his cup. "This should work..." He takes the cup and walks up to Mammon, standing over him. He forces open Mammon's mouth and feeds him the potion, this was only a temporary solution he knew this.

Mammon's body starts to convulse. He begins crying loudly and writhing in pain. He cries to Lucifer, begging for help, but at the same time, his cries seem to be coming from far, far away. "Mammon... Hold on a little more. A little longer. Just a few more seconds and all of this will be over..." He holds Mammon's hand tightly, his eyes locked with Mammon's. He feels Mammon's grasp tightening around his hand. He closes his eyes... and waits.

Mammon stops wailing. He lays still. It finally seems like he's been released from his torment. Lucifer sighs in relief. He feels for a pulse on Mammon's neck. It's faint, but he's alive. He picks Mammon up in his arms and carries him out of the dungeon.

"Thank the devil..."

Lucifer looks down at Mammon and holds him close. He sighs and strokes Mammon's hair. "... I need a drink..."