Paine's Guide to Hell

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

   “Finally lost him,” Angie muttered to herself, craning her neck upwards to search the red sky for any sign of Oliver. The blond demon had been her shadow for the better part of the day, doggedly following at her heels long after he had finished his explanation of her future duties. All attempts thus far to shake him off had proved useless, leading to her extreme caution at the moment as she checked the surrounding area for the umpteenth time.

   The girl was crouched under an unusually low rock ledge protruding from the cliff at her back, with much of her lithe form hidden from view by a large boulder directly in front. Her leathery wings were drawn in close to her back to avoid scraping the rough surface overhead, and the scythe lay at her feet, bladed end facing inwards so as not to catch the light.

   She was not entirely sure how long she remained in her huddled position, double and triple and quadruple checking her surroundings for fear of Oliver returning to look for her. Finally, when she was at last satisfied that he would not be coming back, she allowed herself to move into the open, careful to stay within throwing distance of the ledge. Her muscles protested the movement, no matter how subtle, after being stationary for so long, but a few moments of languid stretching remedied this. 

   As she recovered, Angie took the opportunity to study the valley around her, gaze quickly taking in the large cliffs and the numerous small caves that dotted their rocky faces, as well as the coarse sand at her feet. There was no wind to stir the loose grains, and a heavy silence blanketed the land. Absently, she moved to brush her bangs out of her eyes, heaving an unimpressed sigh.

   “I'd imagine this is what the surface of Mars looks like,” she mused to herself, absently retrieving her weapon from where she had leaned it against the boulder. She unfolded her wings, giving a few experimental flaps before launching into the air to search for signs of life. When this proved fruitless, the girl growled in irritation and alighted on top of the nearest cliff, one hand shading her eyes as she looked up to check the skies.

   Oliver said that the trains seem to appear from nowhere, she recalled, scanning the dark clouds above. And they ride on air, not rails. Unconsciously, the corner of her mouth quirked up at the idea. People these days don't even know how easy they've got it. I would have killed for something so convenient when I was alive.

   The thought brought to light long-forgotten memories; things she had not dwelled upon in perhaps thousands of years. Closing her eyes, she allowed the old, faded recollections of her time on Earth to resurface in her mind, if only for a short moment as she waited. Time's passing had long ago effaced the more obscure characteristics, but if she truly concentrated, the essence still remained. The harsh desert sun, as draining as it was vital to all life; the muddy, sluggish water of the Nile, without which her people would surely perish; the massive stone structures where the sons of the gods had been laid to rest, the pride of her ancestors; to this day, she could still picture them as if they were with her now.

   Even her given name, though discarded hundreds of years before as an act of loyalty to the ruler of Hell, had withstood the ages, so firmly was it burned into her mind. Beset: protector – that was what her parents had picked for her at birth, and so it would stay as her final reminder of them, though their faces had been forgotten long ago.

   Angie was not an overly sentimental person, but even she would succumb to the odd bought of reminiscence every now and again. Unfortunately, this one was cut painfully short by the sharp shriek of a train's whistle. Abruptly wrenched from her thoughts, the demon whipped her head around in time to catch a giant, glimmering shape rise from another valley to her far right. The winds it generated reached her perch even from many yards away, buffeting her long ponytail from one side to the other and causing her wings to fan out behind her. When the force nearly lifted her clear off her feet, the girl was quick to pull the bat-like structures close, fighting to keep herself on solid ground.