Angel Face

00: Preface

Devina sat on her throne, looking at the vast room before her. A dull, bored expression pulled at her face as she waited. She was nearly finished for the day. There was only one more soul collection, and she could return to her room.

The woman sighed before fishing a red lollipop from her pocket. No matter how bitter the woman was, it did not affect her sweet tooth. She unwrapped the candy and plopped it in her mouth.

The small black rat on her shoulder squeaked in her ear, whining out a plea for just a taste. Devina giggled as the friendly rodent started to sniff around her ear. Finally, the woman caved and held the candy to her shoulder for her pet to nibble on.

"You're such a silly little girl, Plague." Devina scolded playfully as the rat licked at the lollipop. "It will make you fat, you know?"

Devina glanced at the clock and saw that the poor soul was supposed to show up any minute now. Her succubus workers were running behind on schedule yet again. Such things always made her wonder what the point of being the Queen of Hell was if it didn't instill some sort of fear in her servants. Any other creature out there would think against running late for an appointment with the Devil.

The clock continued to tick away. Devina was about to get up and finish the job herself when the doors to the throne room opened up, giving way to her lead succubus. Deciding she could wait a few more moments before rushing out to collect her soul, she took a seat and welcomed the succubus in.

"How are you today, Your Majesty?" Daniella asked, bowing her head before stepping closer to her Queen.

"Dead and soulless as usual, love," Devina replied and tossed her legs over the armrest of her throne. "Where is my latest soul? We're running behind again."

"Well," Daniella gulped before delivering the bad news. "We had a bit of difficulty retrieving him, Your Majesty. He should be on his way shortly."

Devina sat up straighter on her throne, placing the rodent aside gently.

"What kind of difficulty?"

Daniella sighed and shifted from foot to foot. Of course, having to give the Devil less than stellar news was bound to have even the bravest of succubi nervous.

"He's a slippery one, Ma'am. Somehow, he managed to get through Miss Lily's compulsion and escape. She had to go to extreme measures to capture him again."

Even though the succubus was nervous, the story was rather comical, and Daniella found it challenging to keep a smile from landing on her lips.

"How so?" Devina asked.

"I believe she used the term bus crash when describing it, but it sounded to me like she pushed him in front of the bus as the police were chasing him down. His criminal record is a little tainted, Ma'am, as this wasn't his first run-in with the police."

The news wasn't anything out of the ordinary for Devina. She had seen it all, and a man running from the police wasn't anything special.

A light tapping sound came from the large doors across the room. Before Devina could give the person clearance, the doors opened to reveal her friend.

"Middie? What are you doing here?" Devina asked, leaning back into her throne as her friend padded closer.

"Work was rather slow today, Dev," Middie answered, leaning up against the throne with a loud sigh. "But very exhausting nonetheless." She let her scythe rest against her chest.

"At least you're finished for the day," Devina commented begrudgingly. She felt a bit jealous of her friend at that moment.

"Aren't you supposed to be finished by now?" Middie asked, filling the room with her bubbly voice.

Devina stirred, crossing her legs and resting her head on her hand.

"Obtaining the last soul of the day had a few complications," she answered, swirling her tongue over the lollipop.

The rat at her side peeped in protest, wanting another taste of the sugary treat. Devina rolled her eyes and reached for her pet. She pressed a kiss to its face before holding it out to her lead succubus.

"Daniella, take Plague to her cage and give her a few treats, too."

"Of course, Ma'am." Daniella wasted no time in grabbing the black rat from her master. She snapped her fingers, disappearing in a cloud of black smoke.

"She's such a quiet succubus," Middie commented, twisting her long golden hair into a loose braid.

"You know you make her nervous," Devina said, rubbing her temples. A headache was starting to blossom in her head as the hunger in her stomach rumbled on.

The Queen was growing more impatient by the second, which only added to her irritation. The hunger would only go away after she consumed her daily soul intake, and she was short one soul at that moment. Soon, Devina would start to go crazy if she didn't get that last one.

"She's scared of me for no good reason," Middie said, shaking her head in disapproval. "Do you want to get drinks with me this evening? That's something we haven't done in ages, Dev."

"I'd love to, Middie. If only this last soul would arrive already."

Devina could feel her fangs elongating as her mouth started to water and her claws just itching to rip the soul from someone.

Then, just before Devina felt as if she were about to snap, the doors to the throne room swung open.

"Your Majesty," Daniella called from the entrance. "Lily has returned with the last soul. Would you like me to go ahead and send her in?"

Relief flooded through the Queen. She briefly wondered if this is what a drug addict felt when receiving their fix.

"Of course. Thank you, Daniella. You are dismissed for the day." Devina turned back to her friend with a slight grin. "Wait for me in the lounge. This shouldn't take long."

The blonde returned her smirk before vanishing into thin air. Devina kept her eyes forward as Lily strolled in with her hand wrapped firmly around the pendant on her neck. Lily quickly began the chant that would resurrect the soul from the charm.

Very quickly, the man who appeared from the pendant was forced to his knees before the gust of smoke could clear. Lily pressed her thumb against his forehead, and he jolted awake.

His eyes jumped around the room in fear, but something else was dancing around. Devina had seen it many times before.

Curiosity.

Devina could feel the man's eyes land on her but she didn't pay him any mind as she readied herself to reap his soul. Just at the sight of him, her fangs protruded from her mouth, and her claws emerged from her nail bed.

"Where am I?" His voice echoed around the room. The only thing Devina could do was chuckle as she stalked closer toward her prey.