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I straighten in my seat and raise a questioning brow at her. “Yes, Callie?”
The young woman takes a few hesitant steps up the throne’s massive set of stairs leading to my seat. “I can’t sleep. I was hoping You wouldn’t mind some company for a little bit.”
“But of course. Would you like me to conjure a more comfortable place to sit?” I know Callie well enough to be aware of her discomfort with my choice of seating here in Hell. Some people find the moving, undulating throne made up of damned souls fucking to be somewhat … disturbing.
“No. That’s okay. I’ll just come up there.”
Brave of her. As she ascends the stairs, I will My Throne to shift into a wider seat, more of what humans would call a loveseat or small couch. Callie should have a space of her own, where she’s not forced to squeeze in beside me. I can’t do anything about the bodies that make up the structure, not without conjuring something new, and Callie said not to.
She reaches the top and sits gingerly on the edge of the new “cushion” I’ve provided, her pretty face reddening. “This is so weird. Like, I guess You get used to it, huh? The bodies, the constant movement of them.”
“I suppose. I’ve used this throne for millennia; I never considered it odd to begin with.”
“Huh. Yeah, that tracks, I suppose. When it’s what You’ve always used, it probably doesn’t seem as weird as it does to me.”
I decide a change of subject is in order. Callie didn’t come up here to discuss My Throne. “What troubles you, Callie, that you can’t sleep?”
She shrugs and looks down at her hands folded in her lap. “I dunno. I mean, I do know, but it probably sounds stupid to someone like You.” She reaches up and toys with the end of one golden braid. “I’m kinda lonely, I guess.”
This catches me by surprise. “Lonely? There are legions of damned all around you, not to mention myself and My Children.”
“Yeah, but they’re all busy. The souls are all being tortured, and Your incubi and succubi Kids are all doing the torturing. I don’t really have anyone to talk to besides You—which is nice, don’t get me wrong, but … I guess it’s just different than what I’m used to. I grew up with a big family. Mom, Dad, Lena, and our three brothers. Then they died, and I was kidnapped. By the time Lilith was exorcised from me, Lena had Your four sons around. Fast forward a few years, and now there’s my niece and nephew, too, and it makes this place seem soquietin comparison. Sure, there’s the screams of the damned all around, but it’s not the same kind of noise. I’m used to Lena’s snark, Ben’s laughter, Niki’s crying. Constant sounds of family. Here, that’s all missing.”
Interesting. I wouldn’t have thought that to bother her. I wonder if this is a temporary longing for home, or if it’s indicative of an end to Callie’s time here. “You miss your family. That makes sense, I suppose.” I ponder for a few moments before an idea comes to me. “Would you like to visit them?”
Callie’s big eyes get even bigger, and she waves her hands wildly. “No! Oh, my Gods, if I came crawling back now, Lena would never let me hear the end of it. I’ve only been gone, what, a few weeks in real time? I can’t go back yet.”
“I wouldn’t say you were ‘crawling back.’ A visit is just that: temporary.” I rub my chin in thought for a moment. “How about calling it a field trip of sorts? We could use the time topside for you to practice accessing the infernal energies while on Earth. Now that you’ve grown stronger, I’m sure it would be easier for you.”
“You’d come with me?”
“Of course! I wouldn’t leave you to face Lena alone. Your sister is a force to be reckoned with on the best of days.” I offer her a smile to ease her mind. “I would never let my friend tackle such a task on her own.”
“Cool. I appreciate that.”
Callie scoots closer and leans against me, wrapping her arms around my waist in a hug. The platonic human gesture awakens something in me, but I behave. I put an arm around her shoulder and hold her gently until her breathing evens as she falls asleep next to me.
I could easily plane shift her to her room and put her to bed, but the disorientation of the act could wake her. Instead, I let her stay the night with me, holding her close and struggling to fight my baser instincts. The human concept of “blue balls” is becoming more and more familiar to me, something I’d never thought possible in all my eons of existence.
In the morning, we’ll go visit Lena and her family. That should help with her cravings for a taste of family. A taste of home.
I just hope she doesn’t decide to stay.
Chapter 5
Callie
Az suggests packing for our trip upworld, but I refuse. I don’t plan on staying long enough to get comfortable; just a quick trip to see my family, then back to Hell for me.
Rather than take the long way home—there’s an abandoned church in Nowhere that has a direct portal to Hell inside, but it lets out miles and miles away from Lena’s place—we plane shift directly to Lena’s front porch. Plane shifting used to creep me out, but I’ve gotten used to it. A little disorienting, but all in all not a bad way to travel. Beats fighting traffic, anyway.
My palms sweat as Az rings the doorbell like some kind of normal human. It feels strange ringing the doorbell of my own house, but then I remember that I left this place for a chance at freedom. It’s not my house anymore, if it ever really was.
Lena’s house, Lena’s rules, right?
The wait for someone to answer drags on for a few minutes, long enough that I wonder if everyone’s at the magic shop. Did we come on a workday?
Finally, I hear footsteps thundering inside. The door flies open, and there stands Lena, red-faced and out of breath. I’m pretty sure I’m in for the dressing-down of a lifetime, but I’m just happy to see her.
