Capricorns and Devil Horns

Pomegranate Seeds

Sainsbury's. Fucking Sainsbury's. The place where nans do their weekly shop was the place my life turned to complete shit.

I was more of an Asda gal myself. Despite the extreme changes to my morals, judgement and life overall in the past few months, I wasn't exactly a big fan of it. Morgan had demanded we go there, however, after stumbling upon it in his quest for the cheese I'd sent him on just a couple days before. Only Morgan Sterner would be so ecstatic over going to Sainsbury's. And only I would go along just to see the joy on his face. Satan or not, Morgan was adorable.

We were paying for all the unnecessary snacks that Morgan had piled into the basket when I heard a whistle from behind me. I looked over my shoulder, to lock eyes with a stocky man exchanging money for wine with the lady behind the till. He winked at me and I turned away, not interested in the slightest. Morgan seemed oblivious, so I didn't bother to acknowledge the guy.

It wasn't until we were loading about 10 large bags into the car when I saw the guy again. I'd assumed the tap on my shoulder had been from Morgan, so was startled when the semi-familiar face stared back down at me.

"Excuse me, Miss." He said in an accent I could only describe as "foreign", though it didn't match his reddish pale face.

"Y-yeah?"

"You are very beautiful lady. It has been very long time since I have had company from female. You want to come to my home for some wine?"

I clenched my jaw, unsure how to respond to the robotic-sounding man. Then, more like Superman than Satan, Morgan swooped in to save the day. Having returned from taking the trolley back, he grabbed the guy by the shoulder and yanked him away from me.

"Fuck off, Ma-"

When he turned him around to face him, Morgan trailed off. The colour drained from his face and he looked as if he'd seen a ghost. The guy grinned, as if seeing Morgan had been his intention all along.

"Lucifer..." The man breathed.

Without missing a beat, Morgan punched through his chest, and pulled it back out, holding what looked like a fatty chunk of beef. The guy's lifeless body slumped to the floor in the Sainsbury's car park and Morgan stood beside it, a thick black substance oozing its way down his arm.

I said nothing. Just stared. Morgan said nothing. Jut stared.

After al that I'd seen in the past few months, I wasn't scared. I don't know if it was seconds, or minutes, or even hours that has passed, until he crouched down besides the guy and placed his black dripping hand over his forehead, as if checking his temperature.

And then there was fire. As soon as the blue flame spread throughout his entire body, it died. The fire was gone. The body was gone.

"What the fuck?" I hissed.

"Demon."

"What?"

"Get in the car, Sweetheart. We need to leave now."

I didn't dare argue. I got in the car and let Morgan drive home. We didn't speak until we were in the flat and the door was shut behind us.

"That man was a demon."

"A demon? As in-"

"Souls twisted and warped beyond recognition due to an extreme period spent in perdition? Correct."

"But shouldn't he have been trapped in Hell?"

"He should've been. But he wasn't."

"But why?"

"My guess is it' something to do with Hannah's "relocation" there. The gates must've been damaged somehow."

"Can't you repair them?"

"Of course I can. I run the place."

"Then why don't you? Just pop into Hell, fix the gates, and get back home in time for a late Chinese?"

Morgan snorted a laugh, before his smile dropped to a straight face.

"I can't just nip down to Hell any more, Nora. I've tried- just to see how things are getting on. Check in on Hannah Dearest-"

"-you were gonna visit Hannah without me?" I interrupted.

"I needed to assess the situation before taking you with me."

"I can't believe you would do that..."

"But I didn't! I couldn't!"

"You're literally Satan- how can you not go to Hell?"

"I can't leave at my own will. I'm bound here now Nora. By you."

"By me? What have I bloody done?"

"You became my pomegranate seeds."

"Pomegra- Morgan, you're not making any sense."

"Do you know the story of Hades and Persephone?"

"Not exactly..."

"Well, according to old Greek mythology, Persephone was hidden away by her mother. However, Hades expressed his desire for her towards his brother- her father- Zeus, who allowed him to take his daughter from her hiding place. He grabbed her from a crack in the Earth and dragged her down to the Underworld. As she was the goddess of flowers and vegetation, the Earth withered in her absence. So much so, that Zeus ordered Hades to return Persephone back to the Earth. He did. But not before feeding her some pomegranate seeds. Now, because she had tasted food from the Underworld, she was bound there in the Winter months. The problem is, Nora, I can't return home after getting a taste of what this plain has to offer."

"Wow..." I breathed, "That is a total romanticisation of abduction. Did you tell me that whole story just to distract me from the Hannah thing?"

"No Nora, this is serious. I can't go back to Hell and solve this. If one demon can get out, so can the rest. They could be anywhere and everywhere right now. And I can't leave you here. At least not by will."

"Why don't I come with you? I'm a big girl. Heck, Hell is probably safer than Earth right now. Less demons."

"Not funny."

"Wasn't trying to be." I retorted, causing Morgan to roll his eyes. "But, seriously, would it be that bad of an idea for me to come?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Because- I- You- Look, the answer's no, Dear."

"I've been there before."

"Yes. And you died!"

"But, Morgan!"

"I tell you what- buy me a pizza and I'll consider it."

"Really?"

"No. But I want pizza. We'll discuss other options over a large meat feast with extra spicy beef, okay?"

"Fine." I said begrudgily.

"Now, you ring Domino's, I'll grab the shopping from the boot. I'll give you a shout if I come across another demon."

"Not funny."

"Wasn't trying to be."