A Falling World: Chapter 5 Part 2: Mourning and Hate

Inside the building a single man stood behind a counter. His eyes were pitch black and he had pale oily skin than glistened under the phosphorescent light. Most days he stood there silently waiting to hear the necessary codes from his higher ups to let them enter and leave. On some days a boy or girl would enter on a dare or because they were lost and he would just wait for them to leave. He liked those days, he tried to keep an ear out for them after they left seeing if he could hear their screams as the wards took effect and misfortune steered their fates in worse directions. After all, rules exist for a reason and there must be consequences for those who breach another’s system without consent.

 Then there were days like today that the man didn’t like. There were some who lived off breaching others systems. They loved it when the fates turned against them because they knew how to overcome it and then use it as an excuse to intrude even more. A never ending cycle that forced him to choose whether to break the rules or not. Neither choice was the correct one and each infraction was a mark against him. It was why he was still without a name, still standing where he was as others, his lesser, got promoted and towered above him.

The man hated who he heard approach, he could tell who it was by the sound of his footsteps on the wood. The weight, the gait, it was the grimm and the only thing he could do was brace himself for another infraction – another set back in his eternal pursuit of a promotion.

“Bellfire! My man, same as ever I see. I’m going to need you to call Hastur for me. I got business with him he just doesn’t know it yet.”

Richard leaned against the counter that Bellfire was stationed at obnoxiously tapping his fingers against the wood as loudly as he could while Bellfire glared at him unmoving. Richard spoke to his partners “Do be sure not to leave you two, this place is warded to cause misfortune on anyone who leaves without permission. I was so confused the first few times I left this place I actually found myself thinking these guys had a mole inside our force and were trying to ambush any grimm that came by, but nope, just some heavy duty warding.”

Bellfire was not his name, he hated that the grimm called him that. A name was a special thing, something that granted power, something that granted purpose with actual meaning. For someone to bestow a name without those attributes was an insult beyond words which caused the festering hate within him to boil more.

Bellfire looked into the grimms eyes and within them saw every good and bad thing he ever did. The two coming to a balance and showing himself as he truly was – a monster. The scale leaned almost exclusively to the bad and from that Bellfire could see all the potential he had. Once again, his view of himself was reaffirmed with the grimms visit. He was without question more qualified than his pathetic peers to bring misfortune and pain into this world and he hated how his superiors couldn’t see that. What’s worse was that this visit would only be another strike against him as letting the grimm see Hastur was a violation of the rules. So Bellfire stared at the grimm hoping this time he would just leave and hopefully let some poor sod stab his lungs out with heated metal.

“You know how much I love you Bellfire, out of everyone here you’re my favorite demon, which is why I would just hate tapping that bell right now for you.” Richard said pointing at the bell on the desk, “We both know that just wouldn’t be good for anybody right? So I’ll tell you what, you tap the bell or I do and we’ll just see what happens when two grimm enter a demons den.”

Bellfire rang the bell and fire bellowed behind him taking up the entire wall. “Hastur.” He said staring at Richard. When the flames died down there was a clear opening where a wall once was and from within a rasping voice was heard asking if he heard right that he has been summoned. “A grimm has called for your service Hastur. He has with him two.”

Richard tipped Bellfire a twenty and walked past him into the back with Holly and Alphonse behind. In the den there were about thirty or so demons going about their business in various forms that covered their domains. Only a minority could pass as human and Hastur was one of them.

Hastur seemed displeased at there being two grimm in his presence, or maybe it was just Richard that he was displeased at seeing. Richard could tell that Hastur wasn’t happy to see him when Hastur said as much, “I don’t like seeing you here. What brings about this unwelcome occasion?”

“Oh don’t be like that, I bring bounty your way.” Richard quipped.

“And what bounty is that? Are you offering these two you brought with you?” Hastur asked.

Richard laughed, “Of course not. The gift I bequeath unto you all are your heads. As a grimm I generously grant you all the gift of continued existence. You’re welcome, I know you appreciate it.”

All motion in the den stopped and the silence was pervasive. Holly and Alphonse could hear themselves breathe as everyone now looked at Hastur and Richard. Holly spoke up “Are you sure you want to be so abrasive? Everyone is staring, they don’t look happy.”

“They’re demons, being unhappy is kind of their thing.” Richard quipped, “They’re staring because of Hastur. Hastur has been summoned. Hastur has to deal with a grimm who just granted every demon in this den a gift. Hastur is now representing them all. Hastur cannot turn us away, he has to deal with us and every word and syllable will be used to judge him. Isn’t that right – Hastur?”

“What do you want grimm and what will you pay?” Hastur asked looking at Holly and Alphonse.

“Two things. First there is a vampire on the loose. You’re going to tell me where he is. There’s also a girl I’m tracking down you’ll tell me where she is. I’ll pay you in opportunity.”

Hastur grimaced, “helping you hunt down a vampire seems like a good thing to do. What kind of respectable demon does that?”

“Ahh,” Richard responded “not just a vampire, Hastur, an immortal vampire. Stregoika is awake several decades too soon. If you help me hunt him down he will hate you forever. He will die, but he will never stay dead. His rage against you will be eternal and for eternity you will have that power over him.”

Hastur was nodding, “And what of this girl? This seems trivial enough for one as insufferable as yourself. Clarify what this girl is to you and what your payment is.”

Richard had to force himself not to roll his eyes at the minor insults Hastur tended to throw his way. He knew he was trying to save face as much as possible but still the whole thing seemed childish. “The girl is human,” he said “just learning magic. Her involvement got someone I know killed. My resources are thin right now which is where you come in. You find me a lead on her and I give you six days in my sector without interference, eight if you can find a link between the vampire and the girl.”

“That’s a mighty proposition grimm, and I will accept the payment of Stregoika’s hate, I will also accept payment of your six uninterrupted days, and if there is a link between the vampire and the girl I will find it and accept the additional two days as well, but I’ll need more than that. You see, there’s movement afoot and what you offer benefits me alone. The time has come where I must be altruistic and offer gifts to my superiors. So grimm, in exchange for my service, and before us all here in this den, what do you offer to our lord?”

Fuck, Richard thought, he never knew a demon to pull this shit. They were self serving and prideful sure but false generosity was a rare trait. Still, this was a good opportunity to get rid of an item that might bite him in the ass later on “I offer your lord, once the matter with the girl is concluded and the vampire Stregoika is again behind the veil, a spear acquired directly from the trials of apotheosis. A spear filled with divine power.”

“Then I accept this deal grimm on the condition I see and verify the divine nature of this spear before nightfall tonight. Summon me at a location of your choice before that time comes and we will seal our pact then.”

Richard left the building and they made their way out of The Under. It wasn’t until they were mid way up back into the Vaishmin that Holly asked if he really just offered a demon a week’s worth of unfettered access to the mortal realm.

“Yup, I did. Honestly though, if a human is dumb enough to sell their soul to a demon they kind of earned damnation. Besides, if the captain has a problem with how I’m doing things he can give us some damn resources. Otherwise he can bite the bullet and accept that between Stregoika running free and a demon making deals the latter will cause less damage.”