twigs and rustled leaves and I wondered if it were such a good idea after all. There were no more cries. It had seemed to be ahead of us, but I couldn’t be sure. But shortly, I found out. We pushed through the low-slung, twisted, leaf-laden branches between two ancient trees to see a figure etched white against a vast dark trunk, a stark silhouette in negative.
"Christ!" I blurted.
"Shh!" Caroline warned me, terror ballooning her eyes more at my exclamation than because of the being we saw before us.
It was a woman, naked—and beautiful—crucified to a titanic oak.
She snarled at us, her upper lip curling to expose her teeth. There were no fangs other than her human-like incisors, but still the effect was terrifying. We were both afraid to approach any nearer, as much because of her feral grimace as because of the woman’s broad wings, which had been opened and spiked into the tree’s grooved bark.
We were stunned, speechless, just stood there gawking at the creature. It was plainly a Demon…albeit the most human-looking species I had yet encountered. So what was it doing staked to this tree? Was it being punished by its own kind?
There were probably ten to twelve spikes pinning each wing, spaced between the four umbrella-like support struts, which were jointed like finger bones, and along the slender upper arm of each wing. I was reminded of the remains of the dead devil I had found in my hiding place back in Caldera. I noticed that veins squiggled across these pallid membranes, thick and dark beneath their translucent surface, like a mysterious calligraphy.
There had been controversy as to whether the Messiah was pierced through the palms or through the wrists. For good measure, this woman had been nailed through both palms and wrists with more of those thick, crude spikes with their broad heads. I suspected that these spikes were made by the Demons themselves, with purposes like this in mind more so than for use in construction, though the Damned had probably adapted them to such uses. I was reminded of my own crucifixion upon graduation from Avernus University. I began to suspect that this was a revenge meted out not by her fellow Demons, but by lost souls like myself, who also couldn’t forget their crucifixions.
The female devil was also spiked through both feet, but they were not placed demurely one atop the other as in the case of the Son. Her legs had been lasciviously spread out along the broad curve of the trunk, as if she sat astride the back of some huge animal, and they’d been further anchored in placed by spikes through her ankles. Still, I was surprised that even this many nails could hold her; every species of Demon was reported to be uncannily strong. Of course, she was no doubt weakened from the pain and blood loss from the black iron pike that had been shoved into her guts like a spear. Directly into her navel, in fact, pinning her there like a butterfly. Perhaps it was some perverse reaction to the fact that a Demon, spawned in no mother’s womb, would have an umbilicus at all.
Blood was caked around each nail. It had flowed the plain of her belly then dried, matting her pubic hair into a scabby crust. It twined around her limbs and streaked down her wings, cracking and flaking. Fresh blood still oozed, however. It was as black as India ink.
The Demon gave a savage jerk that electrified her whole body. We both took an involuntary step back. The spikes did not loosen.
Seeing that growling at us wasn’t going to help it any, the Demon tried to bully us instead, taking on an air of authority despite its helplessness. But I could hear the pain and weariness behind the throaty, deep tone of its voice.
"Set me free, you two! Now! If you don’t, you’ll be the sorriest souls in Hell, I promise you!"
"Let’s go!" Caroline implored me, taking hold of my arm. I couldn’t blame her; the Demon’s voice frightened me as well. But not more than her eyes did. They were feline; huge and
"Christ!" I blurted.
"Shh!" Caroline warned me, terror ballooning her eyes more at my exclamation than because of the being we saw before us.
It was a woman, naked—and beautiful—crucified to a titanic oak.
She snarled at us, her upper lip curling to expose her teeth. There were no fangs other than her human-like incisors, but still the effect was terrifying. We were both afraid to approach any nearer, as much because of her feral grimace as because of the woman’s broad wings, which had been opened and spiked into the tree’s grooved bark.
We were stunned, speechless, just stood there gawking at the creature. It was plainly a Demon…albeit the most human-looking species I had yet encountered. So what was it doing staked to this tree? Was it being punished by its own kind?
There were probably ten to twelve spikes pinning each wing, spaced between the four umbrella-like support struts, which were jointed like finger bones, and along the slender upper arm of each wing. I was reminded of the remains of the dead devil I had found in my hiding place back in Caldera. I noticed that veins squiggled across these pallid membranes, thick and dark beneath their translucent surface, like a mysterious calligraphy.
There had been controversy as to whether the Messiah was pierced through the palms or through the wrists. For good measure, this woman had been nailed through both palms and wrists with more of those thick, crude spikes with their broad heads. I suspected that these spikes were made by the Demons themselves, with purposes like this in mind more so than for use in construction, though the Damned had probably adapted them to such uses. I was reminded of my own crucifixion upon graduation from Avernus University. I began to suspect that this was a revenge meted out not by her fellow Demons, but by lost souls like myself, who also couldn’t forget their crucifixions.
The female devil was also spiked through both feet, but they were not placed demurely one atop the other as in the case of the Son. Her legs had been lasciviously spread out along the broad curve of the trunk, as if she sat astride the back of some huge animal, and they’d been further anchored in placed by spikes through her ankles. Still, I was surprised that even this many nails could hold her; every species of Demon was reported to be uncannily strong. Of course, she was no doubt weakened from the pain and blood loss from the black iron pike that had been shoved into her guts like a spear. Directly into her navel, in fact, pinning her there like a butterfly. Perhaps it was some perverse reaction to the fact that a Demon, spawned in no mother’s womb, would have an umbilicus at all.
Blood was caked around each nail. It had flowed the plain of her belly then dried, matting her pubic hair into a scabby crust. It twined around her limbs and streaked down her wings, cracking and flaking. Fresh blood still oozed, however. It was as black as India ink.
The Demon gave a savage jerk that electrified her whole body. We both took an involuntary step back. The spikes did not loosen.
Seeing that growling at us wasn’t going to help it any, the Demon tried to bully us instead, taking on an air of authority despite its helplessness. But I could hear the pain and weariness behind the throaty, deep tone of its voice.
"Set me free, you two! Now! If you don’t, you’ll be the sorriest souls in Hell, I promise you!"
"Let’s go!" Caroline implored me, taking hold of my arm. I couldn’t blame her; the Demon’s voice frightened me as well. But not more than her eyes did. They were feline; huge and
Similar Books
