Soul Guardian

Chapter 5: Minor Torments

Over the next month Bael spent his days in hell and his evenings helping Six. She gave him books, tried to teach him how to cook, and in return he took her shopping and opened any particularly stubborn jars.

There was a fringe benefit to their association of course. The more he understood the modern world the better he became at his job. The other demons were hesitant at first but enthusiastically welcomed his ideas after a few demonstrations. What really won them over was the socks.

Salrafast, King of starvation, eyed the fluffy socks with contempt. “What do they do?” He asked. “Do they consume their wearer? Are they horribly uncomfortable? Is there some hidden insect?”

“No, no and no.” Bael said with pride. “They’re just normal socks. In fact, they’re still warm from the dryer. Try them on.”

“I fail to see how this is a torment. But I will humor you.” Salrafast said as he donned the socks and experimentally wiggled his toes. “They’re really quite comfortable.”

“Of course they are.” Bael assured him from the other side of the room. “They’re the most comfortable socks in the world. Now, would you please walk towards me?”

Salrafast had barely gotten halfway across the room before he stopped mid stride and cried out in disgust startling the assembled demons. He pointed down accusingly at the puddle of ice cold water that he had unknowingly stepped in. “Oh sweet Lucifer, that is truly unpleasant.” He kicked his foot to try and get dry but it was useless. The sock was completely soaked through from toe to top.

“Now, if you could please continue walking towards me.” Bael prompted. “I have another surprise for you.”

“I don’t want to.” Salrafast said defiantly. “In fact, I would rather take my chances in bare feet.”

“As you wish.” Bael said with the evil grin of someone who knows just a bit more than they’re telling. “But if I were you I would rather have wet feet than step on a lego.”

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The demon king looked up in horror wondering what Bael could possibly have in store that was worse than wet socks. “What’s a lego?”

“Don’t worry.” Bael assured him. “You’ll find out.”

A few days later one of the higher ranking fire demons came to visit him in his office. He looked at her suspiciously. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Maharet?”

Back when hell was still being built, Maharet and Bael had collaborated on several key projects until a difference of opinion had led to their falling out. Ever since that their professional relationship had been strained at best. Most recently his department had blocked her department’s plan to run a pipeline through the forest of suicides. It couldn’t be a coincidence that she was showing up in his office so soon after.

“No occasion. I was just in the neighborhood and I thought I would come by and pick your brain.” She said. “I saw your presentation on minor torments and their effect on torture fatigue, great stuff. Really great stuff in fact.” She leaned in close. “How exactly did you come up with that all on your own?”

The implied insult was clear. She had always seen Bael as a mindless bureaucrat and herself as a gifted visionary, a shining beacon of progress in the gloomy underworld.

“It’s all pretty obvious once you think about it.” Bael lied. Maharet had a well earned reputation for being hot tempered and unpredictable. She would burn any bridge so long as it got her what she wanted. “Humans can get used to almost anything, adding a little variety in now and again prevents that.” Maharet smirked. “I just assumed that you were getting information from one of the damned souls in return for preferential treatment.”

“You know as well as I do that I almost never spend time in the pits since I went into management. And while we’re on the subject, that might be how you do your job, but I have standards.”

“Alright.” She said with a flick of her long fiery mane. “Just know that I’ll be keeping an eye on you, Bael.”

He watched her leave, knowing full and well that things could go very badly if Maharet found out about Six. The best case scenario was that she blackmailed him, the worst case scenario was that she told the other demons about Six and they tried to use her for their own plans.

“Don’t look too close.” Bael muttered under his breath. “You’ll poke your eye out.”