Somewhere off in the darkness, he could hear screams. The sound no longer bothered him, not even when they rose to such a cacophony that the brimstone walls trembled with pleasure, the echoing rumbles merely part of the constant ambiance of hell. He could only count himself among the lucky that he wasn't joining them.
Haden opened his eyes from where he lay on his back on a slab of living rock, his only remaining wing draped loosely on the floor. Gone was the stunning portrait of a charismatic young priest, the last echoes still lingering only in his baby blue eyes.
"Hadephobia. You've got a job, asswipe."
Hadephobiaβfear of Hell. It had become an appropriate and painful nickname for him down here. He looked up towards the sound of the voice, knowing already who came calling, and it sent his stomach twisting.
Ademkass Desdemona, one of the highest ranking among the defiled, and one of the oldest, as well, a half-breed of incubus and chaos demon. Still, he made for quite the sight standing in the doorway, clad only in black leather pants that clung to his shapely legs like a second skin. Unlike most, his complexion still held a hint of what was once a rich Egyptian tan, overlaid with a series of strange tattoos. Black dashes ran from one cheek to the other, along with a V of them down his shapely chest from nipples to groin, the same V in a mimic on his back, an almost obscene arrow down towards his more erogenous zones in silent invitation, though at the time of their creation, there had been more profound meaning behind them. Black swirls marked his palms and hips as well, perfectly balanced. Red hair fell straight to the small of his back, his eyes black, but nearly luminous in the dim light.
"What's the matter, priesty? On the rag, or is your other wing twitching itself off of you like the rest of your skin?" Adem's upper lip curled at that, sneering at the tattered, broken appendage that extended from Haden's right shoulder blade. The half-breed had lost his own wings years ago, only scars left behind from where an archangel had ripped them from his back.
Sighing, Haden closed his eyes again, his dark hair a mussed, twisted halo around his head. "What is it I have to do?"
For a moment, Adem only stared at him, the monotone response apparently
not
what he was looking for.
"You worthless sack of rotting flesh. You should be on your knees
begging
me for an assignment." He paused for half a second, as if pondering the idea, even as he stepped completely into the side chamber, the door banging shut behind him on its own.