The next time I went to the Human World, I was surprised to see Will standing there with a box in his hands. It had the bakery logo on it and I gaped.
"Is that...?" I trailed off, staring hopefully at him.
He smirked and opened the box for me to peek in. I got closer and saw the rolls and some bumpy looking things. Immediately, I snatched the box out of his hands and settled against a tree, grabbing a roll. He slid down beside me and frowned.
"I hope you plan on sharing at least one." He said, holding a hand out expectantly.
I was tempted to make a run for it with the treat, but decided it wouldn't be all that fair to him. I handed him a roll before moving on to my second one. I set the box in my lap, smiling as I ate, my feet wiggling happily.
Will chuckled, watching me. "You are easy to please, aren't you?"
I nodded, my cheeks puffed out from the rolls I stuffed in them. I chewed and swallowed as quickly as I could to answer, "Humans don't know how good they've got it. They can eat this yummy food and stay outside as long as they want without going blind!"
"As long as they don't stare directly at the sun." He pointed out, nicking another roll. "And they do turn a nasty shade of red if they're out in the sun too long without some sort of protection."
I smiled at the image. "They're such fragile things. Even their souls are flimsy; so easy to corrupt."
Will's smile fell, but I didn't notice it much. I ate the last roll and warily grabbed the bumpy thing. Its bottom was wrapped in a papery material. There were dark purple things embedded in it. I gave a small sniff, my brow furrowing when its scent was unfamiliar.
"What's the matter? Don't like blueberry muffins?" Will asked, noticing I hadn't eaten it.
"Muffin?" The word was odd. "Blueberry? What are they?"
He looked like he wanted to laugh at me, much to my chagrin. It took him a moment to compose himself enough to answer me. "Muffins are like bumpy rolls, only they taste different. And blueberries are fruits, a food that's very good for you. Try it."
"D-do I eat the paper?" I asked uncertainly.
Will sighed and snatched the muffin from me. I tried to get it back, but he held me at bay with a hand on my forehead. "Wait a second! Honestly, you're such a child."
Ignoring the insult, I leaned forward on my knees to watch him intently. He unwrapped the muffin and pulled off a piece. He popped it in his mouth and chewed. With his mouth full, he said, "See? It's good. If I knew you never had them before I wouldn't have got them."
He handed the muffin back to me. I took it in my hands and mimicked his actions of pulling a piece off and placing it in my mouth. Slowly, I chewed and swallowed. I came to the conclusion: "It's delicious."
"I told you." He replied smugly, grabbing his own muffin.
I sighed contentedly, leaning my head against the tree. I had finished the last muffin and placed the empty bakery box beside me. Will rubbed at his mouth and fixed me with an amused look.
"You have crumbs all over your mouth."
Without thinking, he reached forward and wiped at the corners of my mouth. I gaped at him, not daring to move, as I stared at his surprisingly gentle expression. His eyes met mine and they widened momentarily before he shot away from me. I looked away, my ears pink from an emotion I couldn't place. I could hear his heartbeat, loud and fast, match mine.
"I've always wondered," Will said after a moment, "how demons got souls."
I shrugged, thankful for the change in subject. "There are two methods of gaining a human soul. One is to simply suck it out of their bodies. Not much fun for demons."
Will wrinkled his nose.
"The second way is to cut it from their body. The soul can be located in three different locations: the brain, the heart, or the eyes. I never paid much attention in Soul Theory during my education, but if I'm remembering correctly the location of the soul was based on the personality of the human." I continued.
Demons and the Angel of Death can see a human's soul. It makes it easier for the Angel of Death to collect it and demons to steal it. Depending on the human, the soul varied in color, but always emitted a soft glow.
"I've never seen a soul; that's Luke's field. I just go and write the names of babies in my Book of Life and keep record of them."
I tilted my head to the side. "Baby? What does a human baby look like?"
Will gave me an odd look. "What did you look like when you were younger?"
"Well, I was smaller and I couldn't talk. I had to be taken care of." I answered.
"Basically a human baby then. I guess we all start the same way then." He folded his arms behind his head.
I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. "You and I aren't much different, you know. I'm basically an angel without wings."
He snorted. "And much different...ah, 'cultures.'"
We stopped talking for a while after. A breeze ruffled the trees and I shivered slightly before shifting a little closer to Will. His body was giving off an extreme amount of heat and I could feel it even with several inches between us. I was almost jealous of it. He didn't seem bothered by the chilly air of autumn. Most of the leaves had fallen off their trees. My ears twitched every so often when I heard some creature or human traipsing through the forest.
"Do you have animals up in Heaven?" I suddenly asked.
Will and I had been telling each other more and more about where we lived, finding the two, unsurprisingly, to be obviously different. Initially he had shown some resistance, mistaking my innocent curiosity for something more sinister. We made a deal that benefited the both of us: for every one question I asked about Heaven, he could ask me one thing about Hell. He would never admit to it but he was as curious about Hell as I was about his home.
He shook his head. "Animals have souls, but they go somewhere else. I'm not quite sure where. Why, does Hell have animals?"
"Yeah, hellhounds and...horses...of a sort. I'd bring mine with me but I'm not sure how well he would adapt to the light, or how he would react to you."
He grimaced, "That's alright; I've seen hellhounds before. So, you have your own?"
"My brother and I have one each; my sister doesn't like animals. I haven't really named mine, but I've had him since he was a pup."
"What do you call him then?"
"Hound. I've always called him that and he responds to it."
Will looked like he was about to pout. "I love animals; I wish we were allowed to have them up in Heaven. It would make the whole place better, in my opinion. Not that it isn't great now!"
He added the last part hastily, looking nervous. I smiled and it grew wider when he leaned toward me to whisper conspiratorially, "Between you and me, I've heard that God Himself sneaks out of the palace to play with animals when He thinks He can go missing for a while."
"Maybe He'll let animals into the palace soon." I suggested, holding back a laugh.
He smiled wistfully. "I can only hope."
It wasn't the first time he'd mentioned God before. He liked to talk about Him; I could tell he really loved Him. I was curious and was tempted to ask what God was like but worried Will would think it suspicious.
My curiosity got the better of me in the end. I asked hesitantly, "Hey...what's God like?"
His reaction, while not out rightly suspicious, was edgy. He glanced sideways at me, his eyes brightening in a way I learned early on meant he was getting ready to release his power if need be. "Why do you want to know?"
I chewed my lip and looked away from him. Head down and eyes on my lap. "W-well, this is the seventh time you've mentioned Him and I'm curious. I'll tell you what Lucifer is like in return! I-if you want, that is."
He studied me with his intense eyes. I peeked shyly at him until he sighed exasperatedly. "You certainly are nosy for a demon. I learned they aren't terribly inquisitive and dull."
"I learned Angels smelled bad and couldn't fight worth their salt." I shot back, irked by his insult.
"And?" He tilted his head slightly at me, his lips quirking.
"...Shut up and tell me about God." I grumbled.
"Ah, you think I smell nice!" He snickered.
I felt my face warm up from mortification. "I do not! Stop changing the subject and tell me about God before I electrocute you!"
His snickers started to cease but his infuriating smirk did not fade. "Alright, alright. God is, uh, well, beautiful. Actually, beautiful doesn't do Him justice. He's surprisingly young; He's only been God for a little more than a thousand years. He's very gentle and loving and has this warm aura."
"He personally visits new souls to make sure they are comfortable and He likes to read to the children. Sometimes He'll help the cooks and make ambrosia for everyone and there's always enough for us to have seconds."
His smirk finally faded into a soft smile. It was a nice expression on his usually smug face. I offered kindly, "He sounds nice."
"So, how about Lucifer?" He sounded reluctant to ask and his smile disappeared.
I looked around, as though worried a demon would lunge out. I spoke in a hushed tone, "He has long brown hair and red eyes that glow. His teeth are sharp and He emits this heavy aura. He makes you feel like you can't breathe. He'll act loving towards you, but...that isn't how He really feels. I know what He really is, even if no one else can see it. We're just His pawns. Even the King obeys Him without hesitation."
Will blinked, his brow wrinkling with puzzlement. "The King? Hell has a king, too?"
"Yeah. His name's Lin. My father is his adviser. He's a bastard." I muttered the last part, but he still heard me. He cracked a smile.
"Your father or the king?"
I pretended to contemplate before offering, "Both, but Lin is more so than Father. At least he can pretend to be pleasant."
Finding myself quickly boring, I rubbed my eyes. "Let's not talk about Heaven or Hell anymore. I hate talking about my home. I only do it because you ask."
"Sounds fair," He agreed, "I wouldn't want to talk about a place I despise."
For some reason his words offended me and I felt myself bristle and quick to defend Hell.
"I don't despise Hell!" I objected as I stopped rubbing my eyes. I could see spots.
"Then why do you come here so often?" I froze and gawked at him. He looked at me expectantly, his arms folded across his chest.
I dropped my gaze and rubbed the back of my neck. This hadn't been the change of subject I meant. Any time he and I began to debate I felt inclined to surrender and just agree with whatever he was saying. I detested confrontations of any kind and he was the opposite. Our arguments typically ended with him as the victor and me meekly bowing my head like a punished hellhound.
"It's just a nice change of scenery. You'd want a breather if you lived in Hell, too. But, you don't know what it's like. You can fly wherever you want, see whatever you want. You don't have to worry about how long you've been in the Human World and people love you. You aren't earthbound or seen as something inherently evil or live in a place where the air is dead and heavy in your lungs, or fearful to do anything at all, else be punished for something as small as treading on the dress of a noblewoman."
As I continued, my voice grew bitter and I dug my nails into my palms. I was surprised by the wave of fury and resentment I felt and ducked my head, shamed. A large hand hesitantly touched my shoulder. I looked up, amazed that he willingly touched me. We always kept our distance from each other, me more out of respect than a lack of desire in touching him and him more out of disgust. Earlier had been a fluke; he hadn't been thinking, but this time he initiated contact willingly.
His gaze was soft and he had an unreadable expression on his face. It almost looked like sympathy. "You're jealous, aren't you?"
I huffed and knocked his hand off my shoulder. "Of course I'm not jealous; I prefer the darkness to light. I belong there."
"So why are you here?" His question wasn't venomous, just genuinely inquisitive.
I could tell him how I really loved the Human World and how beautiful it was. How I wanted to learn everything about it and explore all its terrains. I had heard of a sea of sand that extended far as the eye could see. I would love to see that and forests where it always rained and the trees kissed the sky. Endless oceans blending into one another, lands of ice, valleys of heat. Yet, when I tried to say the words I choked on them and lied.
"I don't know." I murmured softly, looking down at my feet.
I stood then, brushing dirt off my bottom. "I should go. My lack of presence has probably been noticed."
Will stood as well. "I need to get back to work anyway. I can't spend the whole day babysitting a demon."
His words were teasing but he looked like his heart wasn't in it. I attempted to smile and gave a little wave, not looking at his face. "Not sure when I'll be back, but you'll know."
"I'll know." He echoed, nodding his head.
I looked back at him once more before facing the portal.
ns 15.158.61.51da2
