See You in Hell

Warrior's Welcome

"Kerik!" Ash's father bellowed up the stairs, "Come eat."

Kerik, Ash's older sister, descended the stairs. She was slender, with jet black hair that reached the top of her long pointed tail.

"Oh, so nice to finally meet you!" Kerik grinned at Christine. Christine felt a little nervous in her presence. Her eyes were fully black, and she had sharp canine fangs. Her claws were almost an inch long. Clearly, she was the warrior of the family.

"Um, hi," Christine said, "My name is Christine."

"Ash has told me about you!" Kerik said, "You live in the portal house!"

Christine nodded.

"You've got to meet my friend Xantha. She loves all things human."

"Cool," Christine smiled. She felt welcomed in. Ash's sister was nicer than she looked. And then there were his parents.

Lucifer didn't look like the portrayals of Satan in the media that Christine had seen. Sure, there were the horns and claws, but the way he showed himself to Christine was quite... pleasant. He was almost handsome, if Christine liked men. He just looked like a regular guy with horns, wings, and pale skin like a vampire. Christine assumed he could change form to be scarier. Maybe he was hiding his true form so he wouldn't frighten her.

On the other hand, Brinny looked terribly beautiful. Christine tried not to look at Ash's mother too long, for fear of staring at her. Ash had mentioned briefly that his mother was a fallen angel, and had studied transformation at the University. Apparently, she could become all sorts of creatures.

"Mommy," Ash said, "Chris doesn't eat raw meat."

Brinny looked at the plates on the table. She'd gone to all this trouble to prepare a nice raw steak for everyone. How could this girl be so ungrateful? She was in Hell! She should eat like the rest of them.

"Why wouldn't you tell me that before I prepared her steak, Asmodeus?" Brinny asked.

"I'm sorry. I forgot," Ash frowned.

"It's really okay," Christine spoke up. She felt Brinny's gaze on her as she picked up a piece of the bloody steak and took a bite. "Mm. I don't normally indulge where I live, but maybe it's okay down here."

"Everything is okay down here," Kerik said. "I mean, you don't have to feel guilty for eating a steak."

Christine smiled. Did animal-borne bacterial diseases and viruses not exist in Hell? She could get used to this. Ash touched her hand briefly, and they finished their meal without much more drama.

After dinner, Christine and Ash stood up to leave the room, but Lucifer stopped them. His voice was terrifying to Christine. He spoke another language, one that wasn't spoken on Earth, and Ash looked at Christine.

"I'll be there in a sec. You can go hang with Kerik."

"Sure," Christine nodded. She left the room, but she could still hear the twisted voice in her head.

"Hey!" Kerik said, "Coming?"

Christine followed Kerik up some stairs to a balcony. They sat and were brought some wine by an imp. Kerik thanked him and he left.

"You might not like it. It's blood wine."

"Huh?" Christine asked, "What's blood wine?"

"Um, nothing," Kerik didn't want to offend Christine any further by admitting it was blood from those she'd killed in war, both demon and human, "Just like pig's blood. I like it, but you might not."

"Yeah, I'll pass, thanks, though," Christine smiled.

There was a knock on Kerik's bedroom door, and she went to open it, seeing one of her best friends.