The fact that my presence on Earth is so insignificant hits me right in the gut, and I groan, rolling over to lie on my side. I don’t know what’s worse, not knowing who I am anymore or having no control over my situation.
I’m at least able to get some relief from my depressing thoughts as exhaustion takes me. Somehow no dreams plague me during my sleep.
I’m not sure how long I slept for, only that I didn’t want to make Kas wait for me to get ready whenever she comes to collect me. The bathroom in this place is even more ridiculously luxurious than the bedroom. There are multiple shower heads, and the water is steaming hot, unlike our apartment, where you were lucky if you could get a lukewarm shower. Emerald tiles line the floor and the walls, while black sconces light up the room. It’s really confusing that there’s running water, electricity, and modern-day electronics in this place… yet it also feels like I’m in a different time. It seems as though Hell follows its own timeline and trends.
The closet is filled to the brim with different clothes. The interesting thing being that all the clothes look like they come from different time periods. It’s just like the confusing nature of the decor. Most of the clothing options are dresses; luxurious and extravagant gowns that I would have never worn on Earth. I wouldn’t have even had access to clothes like this, let alone a place to wear them. As tempting as the silky gowns are, I think of what I saw Kas wearing, and decide to wear what I know, bell bottom jeans and a simple black t-shirt. I keep my hair down, and I stare at myself in the mirror.
A few of the freckles on my face aren’t in the right place, but for the most part, I look like me. My body shape seems exactly the same, it’s just different. I can’t deny that I feel stronger, and I hate to say it, but I feel more powerful. Even though my dagger was left behind on Earth, I swear it feels like I absorbed all of its power, and it’s a part of me now.
I wonder if there are therapists in Hell, maybe that’s something I should seek out.
I’m staring at myself in the mirror, getting acquainted with the new me, when Kas just waltzes into my room, holding two to-go cups of coffee and a bakery bag.
“Yes, yes, you’re very pretty. Are you ready to go?”
“I wasn’t—”
Kas grins and shakes her head. “Listen, if you’re going to survive in Hell, you’re going to need to learn how to take a joke and deal with criticism. That’s lesson number one.”
“Okay,” I concede as she hands me the coffee, and I take a sip. She hands me a Boston cream donut, and I tilt my head in wonder, silently asking how she knows it’s my favorite. Kas shrugs her shoulders but walks out of the room ahead of me.
“Let’s start at sorting and then work our way from there.” I nod my head and follow her. Her hand circles my upper arm, and all of a sudden, it’s like I’m being gripped by my chest while being spun in fifty directions before I land back on my feet.
I groan, wrapping my other arm around my stomach. “What the fuck was that?”
“Portalling, you’ll get used to it.” Her tall heels click against the white tile floor as she leads me down a hallway. Everything is white: the doors, the floors, the walls, even the door knobs. “This is sorting. This is where the reapers drop off the souls when they die in their realm.”
“Their realm?”
“Fucking Heaven, I’m going to have to start from the beginning. The world as you know it is only a small piece of the universe that exists out there. There are many worlds. Heaven and Hell are a part of those worlds. We are the afterlife. So whether you die as a human on Earth or, let’s say, as a fae in the fae realm, once you die, you come here or there.”
“Okay.” That by itself is a lot to process, but she already looks irritated with me, so I nod my head.
“Reapers are a lot like demons, but they have a special gift that allows them to easily travel with souls and not have any issues with bringing them here.” I nod my head, trying to absorb everything she’s saying.
“A few demons are in charge of sorting, there are mainly two places you can go. The pit,” she says with a smirk. “And general population. If you’re lucky and Lucifer, or the demon sorting you, sees that you have potential, you could be one of the chosen few to become a demon by our lord.”
I can’t help the snort of a laugh that comes out of me. “You all call him your lord?”
Kas doesn’t answer, she just grins at me.
“Anyway, the pit is for those who have done the most fucked-up unacceptable shit go to be tortured for their everlasting existence, and general population is a mix, some people are worse than others. Life isn’t grand, but it isn’t horrible either.”
I know I have a confused look on my face as I follow her down the hall. “But my room, it’s so nice.”
“That is the perk of living at Lucifer’s manor.”
“And why am I there and not in the general population?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “You’d have to ask him. Grab on, let’s go into the city.” I grab her arm, and she portals us to a new location. Now that I know what to expect, it doesn’t feel so jarring to travel this way.
The city is… well, not great. The sky is gloomy, and there’s a slight chill in the air. There are tall buildings everywhere you look. People—I guess that’s a slightly broad term because they mostly look like ghosts—walk the sidewalks and go into different buildings.
“The dead have jobs, homes, and sometimes families. But this is where most people go when they die,” Kas informs me in a bored tone as we walk down the street. “I imagine you won’t spend much time here, most demons don’t.”
“No?”
“Most of us spend the majority of our time in other realms, but when we do come to Hell, we’re usually closer to the manor than the city.”
