Abraxus Lightbane is a demon.
Specifically a hell hound. He stands a
massive seven feet tall when balanced on his hind legs. He is covered in a coat
of delicate, porcupine-like quills and the base of his spine continues into a
large reptilian tail. In his cavernous maw are housed dozens of sharp, deadly
teeth which are perpetually bared in a menacing snarl. His eyes are large obsidian orbs, in which
oneself can be seen, a cruel reflection of one’s true self. Hands, or perhaps
something more like paws, are the size of dinner plates and the tip of each
digit is graced with a large obsidian claw which he has a habit of clicking
together as he thinks. In short, Abraxus
is a nightmare. Also . . . Abraxus is extremely bored.
This demon’s profession . . . nay, his very point for
being is to herd souls. For all eternity he is charged with guiding lost souls
through various sectors of hell. One would think, being created for such a
purpose would make a creature naturally inclined to be content with doing such
a task. This was not the case with
Abraxus. There was only so much entertainment one could find in snapping at the
heels of a soul struggling across the rocky plains of the underworld.
Always the clever demon, Abraxus
created his own form of entertainment. At random he would choose a soul. And
while continuing his herding duties he would torment that “lucky” soul into
telling him stories of the human world. Often the soul would find itself so
terrified it lacked much room for creativity. It would spoutt miscellaneous
plot-lines of whatever it happened to remember from its life on earth. Perhaps
memories, or tv show episodes and movies.
One day Abraxus managed to catch an
extremely creative soul who managed through her terror to narrate several
stories of adventure and romance (a topic Abraxus found entirely too hilarious).
His attention was drawn from his eternal task, and in his distraction a soul
managed to escape. A soul, stumbling along at the edge of the ragged group,
took his chance and scrambled off.
By the time Abraxus had drained this
entertaining soul of every story she could come up with, the escaped soul was
long gone. His gaze drifted across the group for a lazy moment before his eyes
widened in terror. One was gone . . .This couldn’t happen. This didn’t happen.
He inhaled deeply. It was fine. He must
have simply miscounted. He was a demon
not a human mathematician. There was no way he had lost one of his souls. He
was a hellhound. This was what he did. He swallowed the rising bile and
continued along, snapping his lizard-like tail at souls who strayed or
stumbled. He couldn’t have lost one . .
.right?
“Mr.Lightbane?”
“Yes?” The large demon sitting dejectedly in his
chair lifted his head slightly.
The succubus secretary sitting a few feet away at her
desk gave him a sultry look over the top of her glasses. “They’ll see you in a
moment”
The demon simply nodded and clacked his large
obsidian claws together. His large reptilian tail, which forced him to sit
slightly sideways thumped against the blood red tile floor. He ran a paw over
his canine-like face and between her large ears, following the flow of the
delicate, yet deadly, quills there. The huge beast sat like that for a few more
minutes, growing all the more agitated as the seconds ticked by.
Finally, seemingly out of nowhere the succubus looked
up from her work and announced. “Go on in, Mr.Lightbane. They’ll see you now.”
The demon rumbled and lifted from the chair,
shuffling morosely across the room and through the large double doors inset in
that wall. The door made no sound as it swung open but a large gust of hot air
ruffled his quills and caused him to wince slightly. “Ah, Abraxus Lightbane. I
haven’t seen you in years. How’s your father?”
The wolf-demon, Abraxus, lumbered into the room and
stood there, his long arms hanging in defeat at his sides. “He’s as destructive
as always, sir.” Abraxus growled softly and dared to glance up at the demon
sitting at the desk before him. He was terrifyingly beautiful. Large horns
jutted out of his forehead and his pale skin was almost translucent in the
light. The heat Abraxus had encountered earlier seemed to emanate from the
being before him and caused the metal nameplate on his desk to smoke. “Head of
Soul Transportation” the smoking hunk of metal read. “Wonderful!” The other
demon laughed and slammed his palms down onto the desk. “Now . . I wish we were
meeting under better circumstances but it can’t be helped.”
Abraxus winced and resisted the urge to wring his
tail in his palms. “Yes, sir.”
A hefty file was tossed onto the desk and the pale
demon stared steadily at Abraxus. “Would you like to tell me what happened?”
There was silence for a long moment as Abraxus
weighed his options. Better to tell him then let another demon tell it. “Well
. . . I was doing my job, making sure the souls were herded through the Jagged
Pass and onto the Brimstone plains.” He glanced up when he paused and received
an approving nod in return. “And . . . It can be so repetitive, sir. All day
back and for back and forth making sure none escape . . .” He didn’t dare glance
up that time before continuing. “So I . . . I had taken to forcing the
souls to tell me stories as I guided them along and . . .yesterday while I was
listening to one of these stories . . . some souls escaped.”
“Escaped?”
“Yes . . .they . . .ran away while I was
distracted.”
“Well did you hunt them down?”
“No, sir. T-they managed to slip back through the
portal.”
The Head of Soul Transportation, pursed his already
almost non-existent lips. “What . . . stories were they telling you?”
Abraxus forgot himself for a moment and his eyes lit
up with delight. “Well there was this one about a woman who can talk to ghosts
and she helps them pass on. That one is a comedy I believe. There’s was also a
story of great horror that I was told about a group of young humans called a
‘Glee Club’” He made little quotation marks with his claws, “that sing songs
and dance.” The thought caused both demons to shudder visibly.
“Ah . . . I see.” The demon gathered the papers on
his desk together and hummed. “Well . . . There will of course be a punishment
for this. Despite your quality felhound work, those souls were very valuable to
me.”
The wolf-demon dropped his head again and tapped his
claws together. “Of course, sir.”
“Now . . . I am going to need to be repaid for those
lost souls. So here’s the deal. Come here.”
Abraxus stood there for a moment before stepping
forward and leaned over the desk slightly to see what his boss was pointing at.
There seemed to be a window in the top of the desk and in that window a
teenage human girl sat, playing what he recognized (Proudly) to be a human
musical instrument. “Who is that, sir? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“That my, pin-cushiony friend, is your new home for
quite a while. To recoup the losses you have cost me you are to be put in the
body of that human girl. Your job is to convince her to let you into her heart
and when you do you must corrupt her and bring her back here. You see . . She
has a particularly appealing soul and I want it. Now, if you get her soul to me
you will be returned to your previous position here in the underworld. Until
then you will live in her head. Now this is a punishment so the only time you
can communicate with her is when she’s asleep. During her waking hours you will
sit there and see what she sees. Feel what she feels.” The demon’s eyes had
taken on an amused gleam and Abraxus stopped himself from gulping audibly.
“That is . . . Until she accepts you. Then you have total control. Now. I think
we should get you into your new home as soon as humanly possible” He
chuckled darkly and his hand shot out to grab his employee’s throat. Before he
could escape, his head was being shoved through the window in the desk and
suddenly he was falling.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
When Abraxus awoke the first thing he noticed was it
was very dark. The second was he couldn’t move. Panic clenched at his chest and
his breathing picked up speed. It’s fine . . . just . . calm down and wait.
Eventually something will happen and I’ll know what to do. He waited
for what had to be hours. As he waited he came to learn he was lying on his
back. A pressure along his back and the backs of his legs indicated that.
After many tests he also learned he was very much trapped. It felt like
being enclosed in a slightly too small body-suit. He could feel it pressing in
on him at all angles and he panicked again when he realized he couldn’t feel
his tail.
Finally, something happened. He was suddenly blinded
as a second pair of eyes, which he stared through like tiny windows, opened. He
blinked and let out a silent roar of terror. Most demons, such as himself
were painfully allergic to the light and learned to avoid it at all costs. Now,
his most sensitive appendages were exposed to it.
The view suddenly changed and he felt the comfortable
pressure against his back disappear. In a sudden epiphany he realized where he
was. Ooh dark lord I’m in the human girl . . . The girl, his host, as he
liked to refer to her for he felt like a parasite using her body as a home, got
up and carried them both across the room to the window. She looked out at the
snowy day and groaned. I agree human girl, snow is disgusting. He
hissed, half hoping she’d hear him. Much to his disappointment she made no
indication that she’d noticed his presence and he growled as she continued her
business. She seemed to be putting on warm clothes. This is good . . .we
will stay dry. As her gaze panned about the room he caught sight of
pictures taped to the wall, all of masculine human boys. Her victims
perhaps? He rumbled curiously for, despite his knowledge of human stories,
he knew very little of their normal lifestyle. Courting her to my side will
be simple . . .as soon as I can get her to hear me. He set to the task of
yelling, roaring, and being all around raucous in order to get her attention.
Nothing worked.
Finally, mentally exhausted from being ignored while
the girl ate breakfast, did her hair, and gathered items into a bag, he gave
in. Fine human girl. You are more of a foe than I had anticipated . . . I
shall wait and watch. He cringed as she stepped outside and into the
snow. Why do you not simply fly? Don’t humans fly? The girl ignored him
once again and trudged off down the street, her boots making a soft crunch with
every step.
Abraxus had been dosing off, waiting for something
interesting to happen, when she stopped. He’d decided to call the girl Quinn,
after one of his favorite human story characters. Quinn gazed up at the sign
above her and mumbled, “Stupid school” before starting forward again. Oh no
. .this can’t be . . . He struggled with all his might. No matter how
he thrashed he gained no ground. His body was at the will of her’s. They
ascended the stairs and through the doors. A giant woosh of warm air came to
meet them and both girl and demon uttered the same phrase. One with fear the
other with resignation
“Welcome to hell.”
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Hannah worked her way down the hall, cringing away
from the shoulders that sought her jostle her every couple feet. Every
day the same thing: an elbow to the ribs here, an uttered insult about her
clothes there. By now she’d pretty much grown accustomed to their antics.
She made it to her locker and exhaled a sigh of
relief. “Halfway there . . .” she muttered to herself, and withdrew her books.
Just as her locker door slammed shut a hand planted into the middle of her back
and shoved her into the cold metal. Her books landed in a dejected pile on the
floor as she turned around and touched her finger tips to her nose.
Of course . . . Before her stood what would
have been the picture of teenage beauty. It would have been if her face wasn’t
twisted into an ugly sneer. “Good morning, Courtney.” Hannah mumbled and moved
to slip past the blonde standing proudly before her.
“Not so fast, Hannah Nerdtana,” Courtney, snarked and
the two previously silent girls behind her tittered like excited squirrels.
Hannah resisted the urge to roll her eyes and stepped
back to her previous position in front of the lockers.
“That’s better. Now, I need you to do my essay.
Something eight pages long and with lots of big words. I do have a reputation
to uphold. Having a four point oh gpa is a lot of work.” The last sentence was
pouted comically which caused the Courtney’s two stooges to giggle again.
“No. I will not. Now if you’ll excuse me I need
to get to class.” Despite her brave words Hannah quickly darted down the
hallway and into the safety of her class. She’d pay for that eventually but for
now she would live. She took a spot in the back of the class and settled in for
a long, most likely boring, history lecture.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Abraxus
watched the whole exchange in disbelief. why does this . . .Hannah (for
he had now learned her real name even though he preferred Quinn) not simply
dismember this Courtney where she stands? As far as the demon was concerned
there was no problem that could not be solved with a good dismembering.
Apparently Hannah did not share his views. This will be more difficult than
I thought.
They
had taken a seat in the classroom and the teacher had begun to speak. His voice
seemed to drone on and one, devoid of any interest or enthusiasm towards his
subject. Hannah’s gaze grew fuzzy as she lost focus. Ooohh please fall
asleep! Abraxus begged. yes! There we are . . . take a nice nap!
Her
eyes shut and a few minutes later he was released.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The
wolf-demon appeared in a large white room. He stumbled slightly as the floor
appeared beneath him. “I am free!” He crowed in delight and hopped from foot to
food in a delighted little jig.
“Um .
. .who are you?”
The
voice came from behind him. He spun in surprise, finding Hannah standing a few
feet away with a look of equal surprise. “Oh! Greetings, little human.” He
rumbled pleasantly, and bowed. “I am Abraxus Lightbane. I am here . . . because
I am,” The demon froze, unsure of how to continue. Should he tell her the
truth, or should he fabricate a lie? And if a lie than what to say!
“Are
like . . .My conscience or something?” Hannah inquired and tilted her head to
the side.
Abraxus
blinked. “urrghh . . . yes! Yes, child! That is what I am. Now, I need you to
kill someone. Anyone really!”
The
girl burst out laughing, her arms wrapped around her middle as if afraid she’d
laugh herself apart. “Who would have thought my conscience had a sense of
humor? Kill someone . . .that’s a good one.” She brought up a hand to wipe away
a stray tear before she managed to collect herself again.
“yes
ah . . hehe . . that is me. Always the joker.” The demon growled through
clenched teeth. How dare she laugh at him? He could crush her like a bug if he
so chose.
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