“Cassiel, it’s so good to see you again. It’s been too long since you were in Sheol.” I glared at the woman who had attached herself to Cas’s arm. She paid no attention to me and continued to gaze up at him, her dark lips curved in a seductive smile. I wondered if her lips would look that perfect once I smashed my fist into them.
Luckily for them both, Cas gently untangled himself from her grip. “It’s good to see you too, Lisia. But I’m afraid I have no time to catch up, I have business in Dis.”
She pouted but stepped back. “I’ll be at Barzack’s tonight, once your business is finished.” Her eyes wandered to me and looked me up and down. Her tongue flicked out to run across her lips, and I saw it was forked. “Bring your woman, Cassiel. We’ll have some good times, the three of us…”
My mouth dropped open, and Cas smiled at her. “Thank you, Lisia, but I’m afraid we have other plans. Enjoy your night.” He moved through the crowd casually, but at a speed that made me think he was quite eager to shake his admirer.
“A previous… girlfriend?” I asked once he’d slowed a little.
Cas shuddered visibly. “Not a chance. Lisia is a succubus. She’ll have anyone, and she’s not my type.”
“She’s not, huh?” I paused to watch a man with three heads walk past, one head talking angrily into a mobile phone while another chomped down on a slice of pizza. I blinked then looked up at Cas. “So, what is your type?”
He opened his mouth to answer, but a small woman with tightly curled white ringlets popped up between us and threw her arms around his neck, squealing loudly. I wasn’t sure whether to stab her or check her for injuries. Unwrapping her arms from around his neck, Cas placed her gently, but firmly, back on the ground. “Hello, Finslav.”
“Cassiel! I haven’t seen you in forever! Where have you been? Surely you haven’t been earthside this entire time? It’s so dead up there. I mean, I know their dead come here, but still, you know what I mean. All those humans wandering around like mindless zombies, completely deluded… Oh, hello.” The woman turned, and I tried not to recoil in shock. Her eyes were completely black, all four of them, and she seemed to have no nose.
“Er… Hi.”
“Finslav, this is my… this is Faith. We’re on our way to the palace, so I’m sorry, but can we catch up another time?”
She nodded, her ringlets shaking about her face. “Of course, Cassiel, just so good to see you again!” She raised herself on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “Catch ya later!”
I watched her leave, then turned to Cas. “I take it this is what Deliah and Alex were referring to?” I inquired, raising my eyebrows.
“Yeah, well, kind of. You might have noticed that angels in general are, well, blessed with… I believe the Bible refers to it as a ‘fair countenance.’”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, yes, you’re all hot as hell, I get it. So all the women down here are lining up for you then?”
“Well, not just me.” He thought for a moment. “And not just women either. You’ll find sex and gender are rather loose concepts down here. People are more… themselves. I mean, sure, you get those who have a thing for wings and won’t touch someone with tentacles, but…”
“Tentacles?” I exclaimed. “Actually, no, don’t tell me. I don’t think I want to know.”
“Look, people in Sheol aren’t as restrained. If they want something, they tend to go for it, and that includes sexual partners. I’ve told you I don’t do that anymore. You’re all I need now.” He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for a kiss, despite the crowd of people that swarmed around us.
He pulled away and took my hand. It was partly an affectionate gesture, but I think it was mainly because the streets of Dis were so crowded, he didn’t want to lose me in them. We’d come down another passageway from the gateway under the Concordia, with Deliah’s instructions to head straight for the palace. She was joining us later, after she’d dealt with some other stuff she had to do—I hadn’t pried. The passageway had brought us to the very outskirts of the city. Not exactly the suburbs, but more like the slums of the city. Cas had insisted I stay close. I hadn’t needed to be told twice. Above us, the black sky hung oppressively over the ramshackle buildings, and flickering lights gleamed in windows and doorways. I shivered slightly, pulling my leather jacket tighter around me despite the stifling heat. People and demons bustled through the streets, going about their everyday lives, or deaths. Most took no notice, but I had attracted some unwanted attention, and I tried to ignore the leers and wolf whistles as I walked past. They’re no different to the assholes on Earth, I told myself, ignoring the fact that some of those giving me creepy looks were nine feet tall or had long, sharp bones in place of fingers. I held tightly onto Cas’s hand and tried to tune it out.
We moved quickly, despite the crowds, and it wasn’t long before we stood looking up at the walls of the city. To my surprise, the city itself wasn’t built of the same dark stone as Pandaemonium had been. The rock that had built these walls was a creamy colour, like sandstone. I gazed up at Cas.
“If these are the city walls, then what is all this?” I gestured behind me at the maze of streets we had come through.
“Dis was built millennia ago. At first it stood empty, but as more humans died and their souls came to Sheol, it filled up. Now the city cannot maintain all the souls that come here, so they spread out past the walls for more space, though should there be an attack on the city, then I think they would certainly call all inhabitants inside.” He moved towards the huge gate that stood before us, and I hurried after him. If someone attacked the city… Who the hell would attack a city in, well, Hell? I turned to look back the way we came, but the streets and buildings seemed to go on forever, and I couldn’t see an end to it. The thought seemed ominous for some reason, trying to deal with the notion that this was the home to maybe a third of all people who had ever died, maybe more. The heavy, dusty air caught in my throat, and I doubled over in a short coughing fit.
Cas put his hand gently on my back. “You okay?”
I took another breath, slower this time, and smiled weakly at him, my eyes watering. “Fine, but I’d kill for a beer.”
Cas grinned. “I’m sure they’ll have some kind of refreshments at the palace. Come on, let’s get going, it’s still some way away.”
The gates towered above us, easily four or five storeys high, and arched at the top. There were clearly no worries of any kind of attack, seeing as they stood wide open with no guards to be seen. I followed Cas through them and into the city.
“Don’t go wandering off,” Cas called over his shoulder. “This place is a complete maze, and I’m hoping they haven’t moved stuff since the last time I was here. A lot can change in a few centuries. We’ll need to head this way for a while, towards the next gate.”
“I won’t. How many gates are there?” I asked, stepping back to allow a man carrying a large wooden chest with his four arms through.
“Nine altogether.”
“Nine?”
Cas grinned. “Of course, have you never heard of the nine circles of Hell?”
I frowned at him. “What, like in Dante’s Inferno? Sure, but—”
“So Dante is rumoured to have actually visited Dis in the 14th century,” Cas explained.
“Okay, stop right there. I know I’m a bit behind on all this stuff, but you’re telling me that Dante actually came here, then returned to Earth to write about it? Why do I think you’re trying to stitch me up here?”
Cas laughed. “I wouldn’t dare, and I’m serious. Obviously he’s not accurate about a lot of it, but he did get quite a few details right. So he either visited, or he was told about it. I’m thinking he was told, because he got a lot mixed up.”
“Like what?”
“Like the fact that he puts only three of the circles in the city, when actually all nine are inside. Each concentric circle has its own gate. When the city shuts down, it would be a very hard place to breach, because each gate would have to fall separately. And yes, each circle represents different types of sins, but you won’t exactly see people being tortured here. That’s not what this place is.”
“No, I’m starting to see that.” I looked around as we moved through the streets. These were slightly more spacious than those outside the city, and I was noticing a lot of plants and greenery. I said greenery, but there was no bright green anywhere, everything was dark green and brown, like holly leaves. Deep red and violet flowers climbed over archways, and tall trees with black leaves bore beautiful white flowers. As we passed spaces between houses, I peeked in to see gardens, some more extravagant than others, with water features and statues of Greek gods.
“Cas, why is there a statue of Venus in that garden? I kind of figured once people had got here, they’d figure that this was the religious deal and forget the other stuff.”
Cas shrugged. “This circle belongs to the people who weren’t Christian in life, but who were decent people all the same. The ‘virtuous pagans,’ I believe Dante called them. Some kept their own beliefs even when they died, and many saw Samael and Lilith as representations of their own pagan gods.”
I whistled quietly. “That is some level of faith on their part.”
Cas nodded. “Yes, I suppose it is.”
We wandered through the streets until we came to the eighth gate. The buildings in this circle seemed different again, though still of the same sandstone. There were intricate carvings in the stone around and above doorways and windows, and I paused to examine them for a moment. Cas stopped to watch me, wearing a strange smile on his lips.
“What?” I asked, giving him a quizzical expression and leaning closer. “Oh…” The carvings were detailed depictions of graphic sexual acts. Men and women, and demons as well, reclined in all sorts of positions, some of which gave away the fact they weren’t necessarily human, as they would have to be missing several ribs to pose in that particular way. I was in no way a prude, but some of the carvings made even me blush slightly.
“See anything that takes your fancy?” Cas teased, grinning at me.
“Maybe…” I smiled innocently and pointed to one on his left. He glanced down at the depiction of a woman being penetrated by three men at the same time, and his eyes flicked back up to mine, his mouth dropping open. I winked and moved on, leaving him gaping after me.
The eighth circle, of course, was Lust, and housed some of the more refined and specialised brothels in the city. According to Cas, there were a lot more in the slums, but you had to have a strong stomach to attend those. Some of the kinks they catered for apparently didn’t even exist on Earth, due to some demons’ physical anatomy. I didn’t question him further, though I could tell he was dying to enlighten me.
We made our way deeper into the city, and each circle reflected the sins it had been built to house. I was amazed and intrigued by the colourful food markets in the Gluttony circle, and Cas had to drag me away from the designer clothes shops in Greed, where the paving stones were inlaid with gold designs and towering marble buildings screamed wealth and luxury.
The gate that opened into the fifth circle led to a wide wooden jetty that skirted around the stone walls. A deep, wide river flowed straight through the city. Across the water, I could see a maze of wooden walkways with boats pulled up alongside. Wooden structures formed shops and homes, and tented boats glided through the dark water. I leaned over, trying to see the bottom, wondering if it was a canal like in Venice, and Cas pulled me back.
“I wouldn’t lean too far over. They might think you’re showing interest.”
I frowned. “Who might…” I trailed off as the surface broke a few feet away from the jetty, and something with a long, scaled body slithered out of the water and onto a nearby boat. It disappeared under the canopy, and I heard a brief scream and a gurgling noise before the creature slid back into the water, barely disturbing the surface. “Cas…”
Cas sighed. “This isn’t Earth, Faith, even nightmares have to eat, or, well, whatever it is they need to do to survive. The people who live here know all about what lives in the water, and it’s give and take. Look.” He gestured across the river to where another boat had pulled up and three men were hauling a long, heavy shape from the deck and onto the jetty. I recognised a scaly, sinuous body similar to the one I had just seen and shuddered at the rather human-looking face at one end. Two harpoons were being wrenched from the body, and bright green blood poured out, mixing with the dark water under the wooden supports.
“They hunt them?”
Cas shrugged. “Hunting, fishing, either would do.”
“Fishing? They’re going to eat that thing?” I felt slightly nauseous at the thought and turned to face Cas instead of watching as one of the fishermen approached the beast with a very large knife.
“Souls become physical when they move down here, and demons have physical bodies too. Most of them, anyway. Everyone needs to eat and drink, just as on Earth. There aren’t exactly any supermarkets or fast-food places down here. Okay, well, there are fast-food places, but they wouldn’t be serving burgers and fries.”
I shuddered.
“Come on,” he said as a long boat with a white canopy pulled up alongside us. “We need to get across.”
I hung back slightly. I wasn’t normally one for not taking a risk, but the scaly thing had freaked me out. “Um, isn’t there a bridge or…”
“There is, but it would take us a couple of miles out of our way. I’d like to reach the palace before nightfall,” Cas replied, holding out his hand.
I took it, but looked up at the black sky above us, and then back at him, raising my eyebrows. “Nightfall?”
“Nightfall has a slightly different meaning down here. You’ll see later. Now come on.”
I took his hand and let him help me into the boat. He paid the boatman with silver coins, and the emaciated, bearded figure returned to his position at the back of the boat, steering us across the river with a long pole. A memory of a Greek text I had read when studying history came back to me, and I tugged on Cas’s sleeve.
“What?”
I leaned closer to him, whispering so the boatman couldn’t hear me. “Cas, we can get back, right? Like, we’re not dead now or trapped or anything? Just, with the boatman, and you paid him with silver…”
“S’alright, little lady, you’re free to come and go as ye please. I don’t do anything with souls, just ferry ‘em about. S’long as you pay me, I just steer the boat.”
A gaunt face covered in a bristly beard leaned down between the two of us, and I jumped back, causing the boat to rock. The boatman laughed and returned to his previous position.
“Jumpy one you’ve got there, Cassiel. Easy on the eyes though. Dunno what she’s doin’ with you.”
Cas laughed. “She’s not usually so jumpy, Charon. First time in Dis freaks them all out, but she’ll be fine. Well, she will be if freaks like you leave her alone.”
A cackle came from the old man. “Don’t listen to him, sweet thing. You stick with old Charon, and he’ll treat you right. Boating’s a lucrative business, ye know.” He kicked a heavy cotton bag near his foot, and I heard the unmistakable chink of coins.
“Flattered as I am, I think I’ll stick with Cas,” I told him, flashing the boatman a smile. The boat bumped against the walkway, and Cas climbed out onto the side. I went to follow him, but Charon reached out and grabbed my sleeve. I felt a moment of panic as his fiery red eyes gazed up at me out of his withered face.
“You’re a good one, girl. Somethin’ to remember me by.” He slipped something small into my hand, then released my arm. I scrambled up onto the walkway and the boat pulled away.
Opening my hand, I looked down at a coin shining in my palm. “Okay, he gave me your change.”
Cas smiled. “That’s not change. That’s a ferry token. In case you ever need to get across and you don’t have Sheol coin on you.”
I held the coin up to look closer. On one side, it was carved with a long low boat with the slender figure of a boatman at one end, and on the other side, two closed eyes. The coin wasn’t silver, but it had a metallic purple sheen to it. “Ah, well, it could come in useful if we need to get out of here fast.” I slipped my hand up the inside of my t-shirt and tucked it securely into my bra. Cas looked surprised. “What? It could fall out of my pocket much easier.” He shook his head, and we turned away from the water’s edge, heading down a winding pathway between the wooden shacks. I stopped and stared as a large space opened in front of us. The buildings were at least a hundred metres from the walls, and I could see why. The walls were on fire.
