Fiends and Familiars - Debra Dunbar Page 0,60
I could trust. The fact that he escaped is as much my fault as it is yours.”
Satan must be in a rare happy mood if he was actually accepting the blame for anything. I played along, protesting that he shouldn’t take any responsibility for that. Faust had been my responsibility, and if I’d trusted the wrong people, that was my fault as well.
He waved the hand holding the cigar. “That’s all in the past now, Typhon. Faust is in our hands. Now I just need to think of the right place for him to go for his eternal punishment.”
“And that, my Lord Satan, is why I am here.” My hounds came forward to sit by my side, their eyes glowing, their fangs dripping a viscous liquid that sizzled when it hit the rocky floor. “No one in hell is as motivated as I am when it comes to Faust’s punishment. It’s personal for me. He escaped under my watch, and that’s something I feel compelled to punish with my very own hands.”
Satan’s eyes lit with orange sparks, brighter and fierier than the flame at the end of his cigar. “I’m intrigued, Typhon, but Abraxas has asked to be the one to punish Faust. And after all, he is the one who brought the reprobate back to hell.”
“And left a damned mess in his wake that I’m having to deal with,” an angry voice boomed from behind me. I didn’t have to turn to know that Lucien had joined us. He was the only one in hell who spoke to Satan in such a way, and the only one who could stride right in the devil’s personal quarters without being announced.
Lucien stopped in front of his father. “There was a reason Typhon held back on grabbing Faust. Issues in the contract for Faust’s soul had come to light and they needed to be clarified before we proceeded. Abraxas jumped the gun. I’m in the mood to hoist him up on the rack right beside Faust.”
Satan’s eyebrows shot up. “Such temper, Lucien. It suits you. But I also appreciate bold action that gets results and Abraxas has demonstrated such bold action.”
“Yeah, at the expense of our reputation.” Lucien’s reply had his father pausing mid-sip of his drink. “The contract had loopholes. If it comes out that we can’t be counted upon to abide by our own deals, to withhold action until the legalities are clarified, then our annual numbers will suffer. Humans will be reluctant to sell their souls if the deal they strike might not be upheld due to the whim of some demon who decides bold action is more important than keeping to our binding agreements.”
Satan sucked in a breath, setting his drink to the side of the lava pool. “Did we wrongfully collect a soul? What did the contract bind us to do or not do?”
The leader of hell had reason to be concerned. Wrongfully collecting and/or detaining a soul against the contract both parties had signed had huge repercussions. There would be an audit. There would be an oversight committee. Angels would get involved on behalf of the soul. Lucien’s grandfather himself might get involved. No one wanted that, least of all Satan who hadn’t been on speaking terms with his father since he’d stormed out of heaven so long ago, taking half the family business along with its assets and employees.
“We are very lucky,” Lucien shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe how lucky the denizens of hell truly were in this matter. “Faust’s soul is indeed destined for hell, but it is only ours when he is deceased. Thus when he escaped and was resurrected as a squirrel, he no longer belonged to hell and should have been free from pursuit until after his death.”
Satan let out a relieved breath. “Well, no one needs to know that we were pursuing him. And as he’s dead now, the point is moot. He’s dead for the second time, and upon his death his soul reverts to hell. Now we just have to make sure the slippery bastard doesn’t manage to get resurrected again.”
“Normally I would agree, father, but Abraxas has put the whole thing in jeopardy. In his rush to claim Faust and the glory of capturing him, he has put us at grave risk of a complaint and an investigation.”
Satan sat up taller, tossing his cigar into the pool of lava. “What the hell do you mean? He grabbed the squirrel, killed it, and collected the