Death's Apprentice

4

The bright sea turned to dark caverns; air rippled and acrid smoke drifted in swirls along the dark ground. Pits of burning blue lave dotted the landscape. Despite those and the burning torches, no heat seared my skin.

A growl echoed through the cavern. A dark form rose from a lava pit. I stumbled back, eyes wide. It was tall. I doubted my head would reach its chest. Dark black skin, the same color and luster of obsidian offered camouflage, despite the molten rock streaming back into the pool. Its eyes were the only reason I could tell where it stood; those same searing yellow eyes focused on Death.

"What are you here?" it said, annoyance dripping from every word.

My eyes finally adjusted to the dim light, allowing me to make out more of the demon. Two sets of twisted horns grew from their head, one set curved to look like tusks. A mouth filled with razor teeth hung partially open, and their arms hung to their knees. If that didn't throw off their proportions enough, their lower legs were double what they should've been. I don't know what I expected demons to look like, but this one was pretty close to nightmare fuel.

The demon stepped out of the lava and shook themself. Lava sprayed everywhere. Death shoved me behind him, shielding me and letting the molten rock hit his skin instead of mine.

"Lilith, you look hot today," Death said. I peeked around him to look at Lilith. Some of what I thought to be lava turned out to be her hair. Her violently burning, blue hair.

"Hardee-har-har. Like I haven't heard that from you a million times." She rolled her eyes. She brushed ash off her clothes. "Are you going to tell me why you're here, or are you going to cart me off to another demon trial?"

"Is Lucifer home?"

"If this is about the chocolate, you're too late. He already ate it," she said, before growling something out.

Death snorted and shook his head. "It's not about the chocolate. Do you know where he is or not, Lilith?"

"He's hanging in his palace. Unfortunately, not literally."

"Thanks. I'll try to tie him up by his hair for you," Death said. He walked away and I followed, staying a step behind him. I looked back and saw a shimmering light surround Lilith. When it vanished, so did the scary demon lady.

"Hey, kid," Death said, grabbing my attention. "If anyone tries to sell you anything, say no and punch them in the face. Unless it's a young person, push them into lava. Actually, if anyone comes up to you push them into lava."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because anyone up here isn't exactly going to win any awesome person award anytime soon."

"Wait, I thought Hell was below Heaven."

"And it is. We're just on the first circle. Um, have you read the Inferno?"

"I've heard of it."

"Well, it's wrong. This circle, the highest circle, is the whole 'torture the souls of the damned' area. The rest of Hell is pretty nice. Murderers, human traffickers, animal abusers, they all end up in here while other souls live pretty nice after lives on the circles below us. I mean, it's not the greatest place, it's still Hell, but I'd take carpeted kitchens over having my skin flayed off any day."

I couldn't argue. We continued walking through the scream filled caverns, and I did my best to ignore the souls being tortured. Out of nowhere, Death stopped. I almost walked past him; he shot an arm out, keeping me from walking straight off the cliff.

Death groaned, a deep, guttural groan that almost sounded like a growl. He turned his face to the ceiling. "This isn't funny, Lucifer! Stop destroying the bridge!"