Part 6: Cutter’s tale
Neither of us spoke while we followed the gorgeous brunette up one flight of stairs and onto the next. She didn’t say a word either as she led us to an uncertain location, though I had to believe she was indeed taking us to meet Orchid senior; that or this was just one more mind game. Of course, that wouldn’t exactly be a surprise at this point, but I hoped that all of the bullshit was behind us. Not only was I ready to find somewhere to hibernate for the next month, but I still held onto the idea that we could bring Brandon back home. Of course, neither of those things would be possible unless we got answers to all of the insanity.
Regardless of how Grant seemed almost entranced by this woman again, I was sure it was she he had been referring to when he spoke of who had impersonated him to the Orchid family. If that was the case, it stands to reason that she was in league with the forces behind that enormous building that apparently still possessed a part of us, in one form or another. With all of that in mind, I had no doubt this woman could not be trusted, no matter what history she shared with my friend.
When we reached what I presumed to be the top floor, we followed our guide as she walked to the end of another long hallway; one that ended with a very elegant set of double doors. Though they somewhat resembled the one that opened to reveal that massive room that Grant, Brandon, and I were shot in, they were a good deal simpler in their design. When the woman in red pushed them open, I almost audibly gasped upon seeing the man sitting behind the large, mahogany desk at the back of the room.
He looked almost the spitting image of his son, if not somehow more youthful in appearance. The expression he wore was that same arrogant and slightly disgusted one that the heir to his throne would look upon us with, until he cut his gaze up to the brunette who led us to his door. When his eyes met hers, his lips formed a warm smile, not unlike a schoolboy starting at his crush. I watched on while she glided around the wide desk to stand by his side, laying her hand on his shoulder.
When Grant and I entered, two men at each side of the room glared at us; one of which was tapping on the stock of his quite expensive-looking firearm as if to let us know it was locked and loaded. The other just scowled with an expression that made me feel like he was about to growl and bark or something. Both of the men appeared as though they may be about as sharp as a basketball, but judging by their massive proportions, they were not hired for their intellect. Of course, it’s not like this was the first time I had a trigger-happy goon staring me down, but I was pretty sure I could handle neither of these two in a fight.
“So,” Orchid senior said, staring down his nose at us, “I see you have met the lovely Madame Lucifer.”
“Hate to break it to you, gov, she’s not who you think she is,” Grant said.
She just grinned back at him, knowing full well she had the old man under her spell.
“You certainly have gifts, my boy, but you should not presume yourself to be her equal. That’s blasphemy, you know.”
“Fair enough,” Grant replied, “believe whatever floats your boat. I couldn’t give a witch’s tit about whatever arrangement you two have going on, I just want to know about the building.”
“And that’s where you reveal your hand, my boy,” Orchid said with a condescending chuckle, “the building is a gateway to Hell! Surely the true Lucifer would be aware of that much.”
“Is that right?” Grant asked.
“Now, with that silliness cleared up,” Orchid began again, seemingly completely sure of the truth of things, “it’s time for you to answer my questions; the first of which being quite simple: What did you do with my son?”
“Your son?” Grant replied, “the one who fed us to that bloody place and almost left a dead; that one?”
“Just answer the question, boy!” Orchid sneered with pure hatred in his eyes.
“Your kid’s in Hell, gov. Anyone with a handy-dandy gateway should have no problems tracking him down. Just follow screams that sound like a little girl stubbed her bloody toe.”
The old man screamed out, getting to his feet while slamming his fists down on his desk. I could see the veins throbbing at his temples, and I couldn’t help but think a convenient aneurysm could make things so much easier for us. After a few moments of Orchid breathing heavily through gritted teeth, the woman in the red dress laid her hand on his shoulder once more, convincing him to calm down. He studied his hands for a few seconds, flexing them open and shut as though to make sure they still worked properly after his tantrum before he sat back down on his comfy-looking, high-backed chair.
“So, you did kill him then,” he said, releasing the tension of his brow, “So be it. He was always a disappointment to me. Fortunately, I do not need an heir just yet; not with the devil herself having preserved me so well.”
He looked as though he had almost composed himself when the woman to his right let out an almost insane cackle that caused every eye in the room to turn in her direction.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she said, still gasping for breath in between her maddening, wailing laughs, buckling over and clutching at her side, “it’s just too good…I can’t..,” she lost it again, pounding her own fist against the desk, while tears streamed from her enlarged and maniacal eyes, “ok…ok…whew…I’m good now,” she said, straightening her back out while rubbing her reddened eyes.
“What in the world…” Orchid said, staring up at her in shock, with his jaw hanging open.
“I’m so sorry, honey. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this day. I just got a little bit excited is all.”
“What are you talking about, my dear?” The old man asked, still looking thoroughly perplexed.
Grant glanced over to me with an almost apprehensive look on his face. I tilted my head back towards the door as if to suggest we get the hell out of here, but he just shook his head subtly.
“Let me tell you a story, my dearest Jeremiah,” the woman said, finally having calmed from her fit of laughter.
I can’t honestly say if I recall her story verbatim, but what she shared, only moments before my world fell apart, was not entirely what I expected. Yes, I knew Grant was ashamed of whatever went down between the two of them, but I don’t think I fully understood what he was going through at the time. Nobody said a word while she spoke; no interruptions, only silent reactions, but be it shock or respect that allowed her to keep the spotlight until her tale reached its end is not for me to say. This is what she revealed to us:
“Hell has been around for longer than most humans realize. Long before Adam and Eve were even a thought, the demons who inhabited the underworld were still searching for their purpose in their world. When more and more feet began to walk the earth, unsure of where they belonged, they gave in to their baser instincts; inflicting harm on others, stealing from them, hurting them, thrusting themselves upon one another! They had no idea of the damnation that awaited them, and honestly, the demons did not know to expect their arrival either.”
“Though they were not exactly given an instruction manual when the mutilated and grotesque souls began to fall from your realm to theirs, they somehow knew what had to be done. As the years passed, they learned to torture those who fell through the gateway; tearing into them with the crude tools they threw together for the task, or even just their clawed fingers and talons. It was something of an inherent skill they were never before aware they even possessed. It wasn’t hard for them to inflict those awful acts upon these horrendous things, as a soul that is sent to Hell is thoroughly disgusting to look upon. Oh yes, when you find yourself in Hell, Mr. Orchid, you will not have such gentle features and smooth skin, no. Your acts in life define the appearance of your soul, and I would imagine yours is quite revolting by now.”
“Some demons were specialists; having honed their skills to more of an art-form, than just a job. One of these more talented lords of the underworld was named, Cutter, due to her admirable skill with anything bladed. These gifts led Cutter to be amongst the most highly regarded demons in the realm, earning the respect of so many of her peers. Think of Hell as an infinite cityscape, with tall skyscrapers lining the world as far as the eye could see. As in cities of this world, there are upper class, and lower class sections; celebrities and wealthy citizens who live and work in the lap of luxury, while others, well, you get the idea.”
“Cutter earned her very own building in the heart of the metropolis, where she would perform her work, as well living a life so many could only dream of; dreams forged in blood. After so many decades of reveling in the screams and tears of those wretched and grotesque souls, she would carve her blades into, one was delivered to her door that caused her to begin to question her calling for the very first time. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen; which, in a land devoid of anything one would consider to be of beauty, this was no small thing.”
“Being the professional she was, she did not allow her momentary infatuation to distract her from her duties; cutting and carving into the flesh of this gorgeous thing, just as she had done to every disgusting wretch that was ever unfortunate enough to lay upon one of her tables. It didn’t take her long to realize that this one was more unlike the others than she had thought, as even the most grievous wounds her jagged blades inflicted, did not even cause it to whimper. No matter what she did, this glorious thing would not break; not even a little.”
“For years she tormented this beautiful thing, tearing away pieces at a time, watching them regrow, and slicing them apart once more, still not so much as succeeding in causing it to politely ask her to stop. And then, one day, it began to talk to her; not to make a plea, but to simply make conversation. It spoke to her as a friend, not someone who had shredded it to pieces for so long. As time progressed, she began to return the sentiment; laying her blade down to converse with the thing she was tasked to torment.”
“As the years bled together, she found herself looking forward to her appointments with this creature; no longer due to the fact she enjoyed her work, but because she could spend time with her first and only friend. It wasn’t until the day she asked one simple question that had been on her mind for some time, that she swore she would never take her blade to this thing again. ‘What is your sin?’ She asked. ‘Mine is the greatest sin of all,’ it replied, wearing a far more saddened expression than she had ever witnessed over her centuries of torturing the sinful, ‘I betrayed my father’.”
“That simple answer inspired her to lay down her tools for good, never to turn them on another poor soul again. This, unfortunately, brought her content existence to an end, as her greatest talent was now a thing of the past. In choosing this single being over everything she had ever cared about, she began to lose all that she treasured, with the exception of what had become her obsession. When her friend rose to power; becoming the king of all of the land around her, she was unable to follow, but he never forgot about her.”
“One day, many years after he claimed the throne, he found her once more, but she was far from the intimidating specimen of her younger years. Although the years had not been kind to her, he spent months nursing her back to health, before taking her with him on a most interesting appointment. They scaled mountains she had only dreamt of climbing before he led her through caverns she had never before seen, and onto a pathway that she had only ever heard spoken of in legend.”
“After days on this quest, she finally witnessed a light brighter than anything she could have ever imagined, as the path had led them to something she could have never conjured, even in her wildest dreams. When she looked upon the glorious landscape that shimmered behind the rippling portal, she wanted nothing more than to leap through to bask in its beauty. ‘This is where we must part,’ he said, bringing her a pain she had never felt, breaching through her entire being.”
“He promised he would see her again someday, but there was much work that had to be done before he could free himself from his prison. ‘Learn all you can about them,’ he asked her, as she stepped through the gateway to another place. As she gazed back through the opening, she could see the sadness in his eyes and knew it mirrored her own. When the opening began to shrink; to seal the two away from one another, he made one last parting request: ‘Go forth and remember me, Lilith.”
“It wasn’t until she reached a bubbling stream that she became aware of how her appearance had changed. Whether it was the effect of this strange world or one last gift from the one she left behind, she did not know, but neither did she question it. She could not believe her eyes, as her reflection revealed not a demonic beast born of Hell, but a beautiful, raven-haired enchantress.”
“Humanity was still quite young, but she could not find her place amongst them. For decades, she walked the land, never aging like those she was now surrounded by. As the centuries passed, she grew lonesome and distant. Not only was she unable to hold on to any relationship she formed, but she still longed for the company of the one she had left behind. She got bitter. She got angry. She regressed to the only constant she had ever known; the only thing she was good at.”
“As her loneliness consumed her and her sins against the people who felt like little more than ants to her began to mount up, she became more and more aware of a voice calling out to her. Allowing her heart to soar at the possibility that the friend who released her from Hell may have finally come back to her, she followed the haunting voice until it brought her to the doors of a larger building than she had ever laid eyes on. Inside the walls of that place, she found not who she had longed for, but a new and glorious purpose.”
“In the open hall she found behind those doors, she found a book lying upon a simple table in the center of the room. The moment she touched it, she knew what it wanted of her; to bring it souls to feed upon. Though she had not freely admitted it, she secretly longed to be accepted back into the home she had been set free from so long ago, but with her new purpose, perhaps she could create her very own Hell; one in which she would be the queen.”
“As time passed by, she entered more and more names into her precious book, but when she came across a human who shared her lust for blood and power, she finally found a truly kindred spirit. The Orchid family came to know her as the Queen of Hell herself, though they had no reason to suspect otherwise with the power she wielded and the riches she rewarded them with. Even with her new mission, as well as her mutually beneficial associates, she still felt insufferably lonesome. Though she had finally found her place in the world she was forced into, she still was without a true companion of her own.”
“It was nineteen forty-two when her solitude would finally come to an end, or so she thought when she saw him again. Though he looked far different to her unchanged eyes, she knew it was him the second their eyes met. The resentment she had grown for him practically melted away in that briefest of moments. For many years, he stayed by her side, though that time together revealed him not to be the same as he once was. While she had found her way back to the talents that defined her, his heart had grown softer; more tender, perhaps.”
“Though neither of them was the same as they once were, they attempted to forge a life together on this plane. She walked away from her endeavors with the Orchids and the mysterious building to share a life with the only thing she had ever truly loved. Unfortunately, their vastly altered outlook of the world and its people took its toll on their happiness, and she regressed once more to her only gifts. She tried to hide her passion from him, but he always had a knack for finding the truth of things.”
“He scorned her for clinging on to the old traditions, claiming that he had found a better way. He was no longer angry with his father for casting him into the pits of the underworld, nor did he seek to punish his creations. She attempted to convince him that his initial beliefs about the horrid nature of these creatures were correct, but he would not hear it. ‘We have to help them,’ he said, which only fueled her frustration with him, and when she would not back down, he gave her an ultimatum.”
“Should she not cease her attempts to punish and torment those who walked the world beside her, he would be forced to stop her. She could barely believe her ears! Why would he have sent her to this earth, if not to inflict the only talent she possessed upon its inhabitants? This being was the only thing she had ever truly cared for, but she would not allow him to leave her a shell of her former self; not again. Regardless of her feelings for him, this was who she was; what she lived for. Perhaps she was foolish to assume she would survive his wrath, even with how powerful she had grown.”
“They had been discussing this while he drove her back to the apartment they shared in the city. When they pulled into the parking garage, she let herself out of the prized vehicle he treasured as soon as the wheels came to a halt. She stormed off, refusing to look back at him when he called out her name one last time. Before she reached the elevator, she turned back to see him still perched behind the steering wheel, gazing at her with wide and glassy eyes. The stabbing pain erupted in her heart as soon as she made the semi-conscious decision to outstretch her hand, causing the vehicle and its occupant to be consumed in flames.”
“She wasn’t surprised when he walked unscathed from the wreckage, nor when he raised his own arm towards her. His clothes were still aflame, but she could still see the tears spilling down his face as he gave her one last chance to change her ways. Through her breaking heart and anguished thoughts, she screamed at him, promising only to bring more suffering to those he now sought to save, before the brief and blinding agony shot through her entire being. As she fell into the darkness, she was certain her journey had come to an end, but she would be sorely mistaken about that. When her eyes reopened, she found herself in familiar surroundings.”
“The first thing she saw was the softly pulsing, glistening black walls. She didn’t even see the beautiful woman with the vibrant scarlet hair until she lifted herself from the plush mattress she had been lying upon. The woman never introduced herself by name; only that she was a construct of the intelligence behind the house. Lilith and the woman with the shining red hair spoke for some time, with the former swearing she would not turn her back on the building again.”
“With the aid of her new friend, she could consume a power unlike any she had ever known as she fully gave herself to the energies within those blackened walls. This, as well as her relationship with the Orchid family, would allow Lilith to plan the revenge she longed for against the only creature she had ever truly loved; the one who had betrayed her. She knew he adored a mystery and would be unlikely to resist the opportunity to investigate. Of course, I couldn’t resist having a little fun along the way, could I, Lucifer?”
She just stared at Grant, while Orchid and I shared a similar, slack-jawed expression.
“So…wait…HE is…?” Orchid stammered, suddenly realizing the truth behind the one he had thought to be the Devil on his right shoulder.
“That’s right,” she said, still not breaking her gaze from her former lover.
The old man got to his feet, signaling for his guards to open fire on the woman beside him. As soon as they raised their weapons, she flicked the wrist of both of her hands, inspiring the gunmen to train their barrels on each other.
“NO!”
“WAIT!” The two called out before they opened fire.
Grant and I both dropped to the floor covering our heads while the men drilled bullets into one another, not ceasing fire until the ammunition was spent. They slowly dropped to the carpet with a series of moist slapping sounds, as well as cracks of the bones which had shattered or split apart, grinding against one another on their descent to the floor.
Orchid ran for the door to the left of where he had been sitting before another wrist flick from the woman in the red dress spun him to face her.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” He cried out as she pulled him back to her, as though she had cast an invisible fishing line.
“It’s been a blast, honey, but I think it’s time we see other people,” she traced her fingers across the side of his pale and trembling face, and as the advanced years she had granted him began to melt away, revealing the true age of one who had looked so youthful only moments before, he fell back into his chair with his heavily wrinkled face and milky white eyes attempting to stare back up at her.
She just stared down at the pitiful specimen before clenching her fists, causing the skull lined with thin and withered flesh to practically flatten as though it was between her fingers when she tightly balled them shut. The blood sprayed across the likely very expensive desk as the eyes popped and bones split through the skin, before what remained of what was once a head planted down upon the blood-soaked wood.
“Alone at last,” she said as the room fell silent once more.