9. Trial by Fire
Chapter nine
Trial by Fire
Nicodemus
Dad was sprawled out on one of the ornate couches in McBride Hall, his long legs kicked up on the gold-painted wood of the sofa.
A cigarette perfumed the room, and smoke slithered through his lips and out of an open window just behind him.
I hadn’t seen him smoke for quite some time, and this usually meant he was beyond stressed about something, but I knew better than to push him when he was in this kind of mood.
I sat crisscross on the floor in front of the coffee table and laid out my belongings, sliding my shirt sleeves up to let my arms breathe a little.
The room was stuffy since Blaine was home, and he usually preferred it warmer in the house.
Dad always complained about this, but today, Blaine seemed to have won the battle.
I smacked his leg when I was settled, which made him flick his silver eyes down to me curiously. “We gonna do this or what, oldie?”
“Hit me with what ya’ got,” he replied, recentering himself back on the velvet pillows beneath his long hair.
I snatched a handful of his mahogany locks and began to braid them, giving myself something to focus on.
“I feel like having the girls battle one another isn’t going to get us anywhere.
Brute strength is great, but they’re meant to rule a Layer of Gehenna, not battle other demons for the fun of it.
I need a trial that is going to show me their truth worth, their true intentions, and whether or not they can handle this job. ”
“Well…” Dad switched his cigarette for a lollipop, which he opened with precision before jamming it into the side of his cheek.
“Those two couldn’t stop fighting if their lives depended on it.
You need something to test them on separately, something that is going to really expose their best and worst qualities in the most honest of ways. ”
“Do you have any ideas for something like that?”
“Er… nope,” he popped, shrugging lamely.
I smacked my hand to my face and fell back onto the couch, my head hitting his stomach.
“You’re utterly hopeless, dude.” He laughed underneath me, and the action made me bounce from how hard he was laughing.
A frail smirk pulled up the sides of my face as I rolled over, so I was still lying on him, but could see his face. “Some God of Death you are!”
“Hey, I’ve done this crap for two thousand years, so cut me some slack. It’s your turn to take the blame for some stuff around here.” He sucked the lollipop obnoxiously between words. “Your fiancé is the one who killed all those demons, after all.”
“Touché.” I turned to stare up at the ceiling, counting the lines in the paneling above me.
A light bulb flicked in my head, and I brought a hand up to block some of the light pouring over my face from the setting sun.
“You know… when I was in Gehenna, as a soul, the worst thing I had to face was being in those pits of despair. The souls in there are hungry to destroy all forms of light and happiness, destined to always be miserable and foreboding. What if the girls had to face those souls? They could, maybe, subject themselves to the pits for a certain amount of time, on the condition they cannot help or save any of the souls inside. They would have to face the suffering of their Layer firsthand and prove they can handle the intensity.”
“Now you’re onto something,” Dad said as he bit the candy in half.
“What’s this I hear about demons and trials?
” Deveraux asked as he came inside the mansion, hanging his slick leather jacket on a hook by the main doors.
His yellow locks were disheveled, and he had sunglasses in his pocket, which meant he’d probably just come back from a ride on one of his coveted motorcycles.
“We’re brainstorming ideas for Isadora and Odessa,” I answered, waving to him casually before flicking Dad’s nose. “This old meat-for-brains is useless, though.”
Deveraux rolled his jade eyes. “As per usual.” Dad swung, but Deveraux side-stepped and slapped a pillow over Dad’s face in retaliation.
Dad let out angry, muffled cries for vengeance, but Deveraux simply sat on the arm of the couch and held the pillow to Dad’s face with his elbow.
“You were saying something about those pits, right?”
“Yeah, kind of. Do you think that idea is something reasonable?” I asked hopefully.
Deveraux sucked his teeth and used his open palm to rest his chin on.
Dad continued to squirm for freedom, but Deveraux was oblivious to him at this point.
“You know, you could be on to something here. A test of resilience is just the kind of thing a demon ruler would need. They have to prove they can handle the weight and pressure of their Layer. What if…” He finally let Dad free, who gasped horrifically on fresh air with a scowl.
“Maybe you can simulate an environment that has the truest, most pure form of despair, like a battlefield?”
“A battlefield?” I questioned, my curiosity piqued at this point.
Deveraux fell into unspoken memories for a moment, his sharp eyes concentrated on nothing, yet everything at the same time.
“Being on a battlefield… it’s the most gruesome experience anyone can ever live through.
The bodies, the stench, the death… not to mention, the tragedy of it all.
Children grasping dead parents, wives mourning husbands, houses burning to the ground…
it’s the purest form of despair anyone could ever fathom. ”
“Now there’s an idea,” Dad offered.
“If anyone knows anything about war, it’s Dev!” Blaine called as he sauntered downstairs. He heaved a bag full of baseball bats on his back and had a visor over his dark hair to keep the sun from his eyes. “He fought in some pretty badass wars in his time!”
“I don’t know if I’d call them badass…” Deveraux grumbled unsurely.
Dad flicked Blaine off. “I fought in some pretty sick wars, too, asshole, thank you very much! I was the king’s right-hand man!” he proudly confirmed.
“Yeah, yeah…” Blaine set his bats down and came to sit on the floor beside me. “You can always ask Odysseus to retrieve some of his memories of war, and use them to simulate the battlefield? That’s something Life Elementals do, right?”
“I don’t know if I want to drag him deeper into this then I have…” I muttered.
“Maybe Mom can help?” Dad interjected. “She is a God, after all. I’m sure she’d love to be needed. She’s kind of going through empty nest syndrome,” Dad whispered with a giggle.
“I heard that!” Mom yelled from outside the window, where she was planting tulips in the beautiful garden she and Deveraux were so proud of. “And for your information…” she popped up with a grimace, “I can definitely handle that. I’d be happy to help you, honey.”
“Thanks, Mom,” I crooned, gleaming like a star at her. She melted under my gesture and rushed inside to flop into me and smother me in kisses. “Oh, yuck, yuck! Mom attack!” I laughed out as I tried to free myself.
“This is payment for my help!” she cackled, pecking my cheeks wildly.
I pushed her away with a light smile. “Ok, we got our game plan. Dad: why don’t you head down to Gehenna and make sure everything is in order for our meeting while Mom and I work on getting a Realm set up.”
“Work, work, work…!” Dad groaned dramatically as he dragged himself upright.
“It is your Realm, loser,” Blaine reminded him. Dad smacked the back of his head so hard that Blaine’s visor popped off, making the rest of us laugh joyously.
“Come on, you guys… let’s get to work,” I coaxed before a full brawl broke out.
Isadora and Odessa sat at the long conference table in the Inn with cemented scowls.
They looked like petulant children being forced to sit in the corner, with their arms crossed stubbornly.
They refused to look at or talk to one another, playing the silent game as they waited for Mom and me to take our seats.
Blaine and Deveraux stood in the doorway, patiently waiting for us to execute our grand plan, but gnawing their lips with anxiety.
I wasn’t entirely sure that Deveraux was ready to relive such cruel memories again, but he assured me he could handle himself, so I didn’t bother pushing.
I flexed my hands to center myself before addressing the two. “Good morning, girls. Thank you for taking the time to take part in this trial today.”
“A trial you have yet to tell us about,” Odessa shot back.
Isadora rolled her eyes heavily. “Be patient, you obnoxious brat.”
“I do ask for your patience, girls. We have a very important, yet serious task for you to complete.” I nodded to Dad, since it was his Realm after all.
He sat up straighter and cleared his throat loudly.
“You two are going to prove that you can handle being exposed to various forms of despair. You will be working in a Layer surrounded by it, consumed by it, rather, and need to prove you can handle that kind of environment. You cannot show emotions: remorse, guilt, pain, are all off the table. We expect our next ruler to be stone-faced in the presence of such a demanding Layer, and today, you will prove whether or not you are able to keep your composure.”
“Sounds easy enough,” Isadora commented.
Odessa clammed up. “What do you mean by ‘exposing’ us to despair?”
“You’re going to cross a battlefield,” I began explaining sharply. “The goal is to make it to the other side without interacting with the souls you cross. They will be in utter turmoil, shells of their former selves that they still grieve. You cannot be swayed by their cries for help.”
“Interesting. How’d you come up with such an idea?” Isadora asked.
I gestured to Blaine and Deveraux. “We had some help, admittedly. Deveraux has fought in some of the bloodiest wars in history, so he will be providing your lovely landscape.” I stood swiftly. “Any questions before we get the ball rolling?”
“No, sir...” they replied in unison, but they both, admittedly, looked terrified.