Page 17 of Hell of a Thing

The sound and smell of my own charred flesh as I slowly cooked on the aptly named hot plate, an added horror. The flat surface was big enough for two or three people to roast on, but I lay in the middle, all alone save for the she-demon whose gaze never wavered. She wouldn’t miss a moment of my suffering. A ball of white-hot agony festered in the middle of my back no matter how I squirmed to move away from it. It wasn’t long before I was glued to the table and my efforts ceased.

How long I lay on the metal table in the middle of the room, I didn’t know, but I prayed to anything or anyone to save me. My fool self thought my prayers were answered when the she-demon walked up. But she just gave a delicate sniff and turned a hidden dial under the table.

The table grew impossibly hotter, and I tried to scream again even though my voice had long given out. But then the table beneath me cooled, and the she-demon pulled out a metal spatula she used to begin prying me free, tsking as she did so like my being fucking melted onto her table was such an inconvenience.

Eventually, she stood back with her hands on her hips, satisfied, though I knew the skin at the center of my back where the pain had been worst was firmly attached to the table.

“Pull her off and bring her along. I’m going to do this one personally.” Her wicked grin filled me with a fear I hadn’t realized I had the energy for. What else was there? The Devil had mentioned something about cuts, but surely, I would die soon.

The clown stepped forward at his mistress’s bidding and pulled me off the table. A tearing sound met my ears, and a scream tried to rip its way out of my ruined throat but failed. I refused to look back to see how much of me I’d left behind.

Shaking uncontrollably from the pain, I would’ve cried if I could gather the moisture. The smell of burnt hair made me want to vomit, but something told me if I vomited on the clown, whatever was to happen next would be all the worse.

Where was he taking me? My body bounced painfully in his arms, my burned skin pure agony against his thoughtless jostles. Bloodied. Well-bloodied. Those were The Devil’s words, and something about cuts. I shuddered, knowing I would die here and no longer caring if it would at least bring an end to the hideous pain they were about to inflict on me.

But I had to do this right. They wanted something from me, and if it was the last thing I would do, I would make sure they didn’t get it.

My King was pleased, and it was time to prepare his prize. Humming a cruel song from the underworld about the beauty of splintered bones—how they shined, how they glistened—I followed behind Claunid as he took the girl to what would be her final destination.

The metal operating tables within were still soaked with blood from their previous occupants,and I eyed them with annoyance.

“Can we get this shit cleaned up, please? I’m about to work.” It wasn’t often I wielded the knife myself nowadays, but I wanted to make sure my kitten was perfectly prepared for The Devil.

I couldn’t trust anyone else with her.

A girl wearing the ruins of a pink sweater was being hauled towards the extractor, and I put my hand on Claunid’s arm so he would know to stop.

My kitten could use another little dose of fear.

The extraction began with a chair much like the ones from the tasting room. This one, however, was made of ancient wood, it had been used in Hell for centuries to constrict whatever unfortunate soul was being tortured. Human or not. Beside it stood The Machine, a metal monstrosity stretching almost to the ceiling with a hole in the center. It was a creation of my own that eased the extraction process and allowed us to work more efficiently.

Demir and Joden, a couple of low-level demons whose meat suits bubbled along the joints of their grotesque human forms, shoved the girl into the chair. Immediately, her arms locked into place on the armrests.

Oh, she tried to resist, screaming and fighting. We could put a sigil of silence on her, but the sound really was pleasant, and the ghouls did like to hear it while they worked.

It put everybody in a much better mood.

The bigger of the two demons, Demir, trailed one finger along her cheekbone, wiping away a tear as it fell. Then he brought it to his lips and sucked. Shuddering, his lips parted into a wicked grin, exposing jagged rows of teeth. One of the boils on his inner elbow burst at that moment, dripping puss onto her leg. She whimpered, her body shaking visibly, eyes wide with terror as the tendons along her jaw and temple strained against the stretched skin. Her tongue flailed uselessly as she begged for her life, spittle rolling down her chin.

The girl’s terrified eyes darted around the room, seeking a salvation that wasn’t coming. I chuckled, loving when they did that, like they expected one of God’s angels to come bursting into the room just to save them. Demir stepped away, allowing Joden to take his place in front of the girl. In his hands, he held a special talisman. Something The Devil gave to me with careful instructions.Only a handful of my demons knew of its existence, and even fewer were permitted to wield it. A chalice, carved from one piece of The Devil’s horn. After it was shaped, my King had carved special sigils into it. To keep them hidden, and his soul magic secret, he covered it in layers of metal sourced from demon blood. I don’t know how many of my kind were sacrificed for its creation, but the beautifully crude tool allowed me to continue my mission.

Joden brought the chalice to the gap in the center of my machine, carefully placing it inside before returning to the terrified girl. The chalice would draw on The Devil’s own magic to activate the machine. It was beautiful.

With a yank, Joden brought over a stand holding black tubing we’d harvested from a vacuum cleaner. The tube was positioned in front of the girl and a metal head piece lowered over her head. The girl tried to turn away, and I chuckled. She must feel the way her muscles were locked into place, but she still tried. It was adorable when humans did that. The metal piece was fit over her head and a round circle with hooks was dropped in front. She watched in horror as Joden pried her mouth open and fit the metal circle behind her teeth, holding her mouth open. Joden went to press the switch, but I stepped in front.

“I’ve got this one, Jodie.” With a wink back at Kitten, I skipped forward and pressed the red button, feeling a thrill when the machine roared to life. The chalice changed from metallic to a deep purple as the ethereal magic worked and the tube quaked with the force of suction. The girl’s screams became garbled as a shimmering, translucent mist plumed from her throat and flowed out and into the dark tube. By the time it was processed and pulled into the chalice, her essence had turned a pleasing amber hue.

The girl’s eyes rolled back as the talisman pulled out every last drop of her soul, the convulsions coming to a stop only once the glimmering liquid touched the brim. Joden hummed cheerfully. I walked around the dead girl, holding out my hand expectantly. Without hesitation, he pulled the chalice from the machine and handed it over. I took a sniff to get an idea for the final step of the process before wordlessly handing it to the ghoul who shadowed me.

“Put it in the barrels with a bit of cinnamon and cherries. It’s not quite special collection material, but it can go into the general stores.” I justhoped the others proved better than this one. My gaze fell on the kitten, who watched the dead girl with horror.

Yes, yes, she was dead now. Boo-freaking-hoo. With a roll of my eyes, I turned to the mid-level demon awaiting my command. Her tattered clothes didn’t quite hide the proud horns atop her head.

“Dispose of it.” If only I could use her corpse for the ghouls, but with her soul so completely extracted, they would balk at the empty flesh.

The cup’s efficiency was a bit of a problem that way. With so many ghouls to feed, it’d be helpful to use all these corpses, but no. I’d have to take them out to the rural village I’d noticed nearby, let them feast and then set a fire to burn the evidence.

They’d be happy with that, but for now, I directed Claunid to bring my kitten to the blood-soaked table. I’d have preferred it was clean, but whatever. I was about to make it a whole lot bloodier, and I couldn't wait to get started.

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