I stand in silence at the bridge. A long stone bridge between one section of the city and the other. The city around me is massive, towering stone buildings built with gray bricks and thatched roofs. The twin red suns bask me and the buildings in red light. I raise my hood closer, covering the upper part of my face, making sure that no-one can see me. There are a few demons who pass me, most of them are ivory skinned with large wings and short horns growing out of their foreheads. They pay me no mind as they pass. There is someone who draws their gaze though. An approaching ten-foot tall specter, a man with magnificent wings and massive horns. A circlet sits on his brow, clashing with a well-tailored black suit, an inspiration he took from the Mortal Plane. My brother, Lucifer. He approaches me, stopping by my side. “Elmira,” he whispers. “We must leave before Father discovers my deception.” He places a hand on my shoulder and I take a moment to take in my surroundings before exhaling. “You can’t stay here.” He raises his head, looking at those watching us. He grimaces then raises his hand. “Leave us!” He roars. His form shines with harsh white light and the demons scream as the flee as fast as they can, leaving only my brother and me.

I place a hand on my neck, the heat from yesterday is still there, tingling along my spine, laughter ringing in my ears. I shiver and my brother kneels down next to me, meeting my eyes. He has solid gold eyes, just like me, just like my other brothers. It’s something all Demon Dords share, something we got from our Father. “He’ll discover your deception eventually,” I whisper. “I don’t want you to be hurt for my sake, brother. Not after you have done so much for me."

“I’m honored, sister, but I can handle the pain Father will bring to me, you cannot. Once you’ve completeled your metamorphosis, you’ll be his queen. Nothing more than his sex slave.” He leans in closer until his lips are right next to my ear. “My wonderful sister, my only sister, the only woman within hell will be treated no better than an object to be used. To bring children to my Father, and I can’t bear to see that happen. I would sooner be destroyed than to watch you be condemned to a life of servitude.” He lowers my hood, touching my hair with a long hand, letting my black hair fall through his fingers before placing his hands on my shoulder. “If you want to do something for me. Then continue forward with what I wanted you to do in the beginning.” He raises a hand toward the side of the bridge, drawing a long claw across the palm of his hand. He flicks his hand, flinging a few globules of blood into the air and a large red portal bursts open. “I'll stay here to placate Father. Stay safe, okay sis. Don’t let anyone catch you. Find someone to help you.”

I nod a few times, feeling tears fill my eyes, my chest feels like it’s closing up and this hurts more than the pain of being tortured by having the septagram on my back filled with more power, power that I can never handle. This hurts more than ever and I don’t want to leave my brother, but at the same time, I know he wants what’s best for me. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?” I whisper, my voice warped with emotion.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be better than fine. I’m the best demon lord across Hell and Earth. I’m the best fucking fighter ever. I am a god among godless little shits. I am Lord Lucifer, lord of light, the sin of pride. Trust me, I’ll be fine.” He prods me in the chest. “But you won’t.” He kisses me on the forehead and wraps me in a tight hug. “I love you, little sis, go and live a good life. I’ll join you soon. Promise.”

I swallow and take a step toward the red portal, I turn back to him and bow my head. My hood falls free, revealing the small horns on my forehead and my pale, human-like skin. “I’ll miss you brother. I love you.” I can’t stop the tears from flowing and he waves me off with his right hand. “Bye,” I croak.” I step into the portal and there’s a loud explosion followed by screaming, I look back to see Lucifer looking into the sky. He waves at me again and the portal closes.

There’s another loud bang and I’m bathed in harsh white light, I raise my hand to my head, blocking the sunlight. I’m here, in the Mortal Plane. There’s another loud scream and I look around. I’m surrounded by large monoliths of steel and glass, with concrete stone blocks at my feet and glass overhead in a clear semi-circular roof. There are plants held within rectangular plant pots and openings to building with awnings of different colors and goods of every shape and type.

I’ve never been to the Human realm, I’ve only heard stories, most of them are awe-inspiring and others are terrifying, but I didn’t know humans didn’t have horns. I duck my head in embarrassment and wipe away my tears with the back of my hand. I immediately start walking, the further away I get from here the better. I start walking at a fast pace but it doesn’t quite make things easier with people watching me run away from the scene of the portal. I break into a run, moving out of the small street onto a larger area. There are large metal carts that move on their own without any beast pulling them. I slide to a halt as one speeds past, nearly cutting off my escape route. I then run out onto the street, the small block-like pebbles scatter beneath my boots.

Suddenly I’m airborne, my legs hurt a little and I fly over the side of the metal cart, slamming into the ground on the other side. I immediately stand up, rubbing my side, it aches, but I need to keep moving. “Holy shit!” Someone screams. “Why the hell did you step out in front of the car?” He yells. How does he know I’m from Hell? What’s a car? Why is he mad? I was just running across the street. I break into a run again. Fleeing toward an alley where there are large metal cans lining the wall. “Hey, come back here!” The guy yells. He’s chasing me with a box to his ear.

“No, you can’t take me back!” I yell. “You can’t make me go back!” He’s mumbling something now. I can’t hear him, but there're loud explosions coming from behind me. They’ve likely discovered my disappearance by now and tracked me to Lucifer. His betrayal has been discovered and now they're chasing after me. My brother made sure that he did this before my other brothers could chase after me, so now I’ll only be fighting soldiers, but that doesn’t change the fact I’m not confident in my abilities. The other guy turns his head then he trips over his own feet, slamming into the ground, yelling out in pain. I turn back to see his black hair slick with sweat, blood pumping out his nose. There’s a demon standing over him, with red skin and massive red horns, flames flickering on the tips. One of Sathanus’ servant. I turn away, then turn back, grinding my teeth together. I raise my right hand, showing him my palm. “Release him. I command that you release him!”

Sathanus’ servant grins and he steps off the man, approaching me. His hair blows in a small breeze and his grin widens. “Come with me, Lady Elmira. Your Father is furious.” His voice is grating, annoying, he reminds me of Sathanus. Anger disguised as attempted charm. I level my right hand with him. Don’t miss, don’t miss. “So? I’m waiting,” he growls. He’s getting more irate. I feel my back twinge and white light burns its way down my arm before it settles in my right palm. The demon’s eyes widen and he spins around, trying to escape, but he doesn’t. He screams as his head explodes in a blast of white light. The sound of the scream echoes through the alley and I wince as I hear growling in the other street. I continue running, out of the alleyway and onto the next street.

I need to find a place to hide, somewhere that isn’t in full view of everyone. Maybe in one of the carts. No, I don’t know how they work, maybe one of the buildings. I spot a brick building with a green and white awning with a few dark windows. There’s a large red door with a bell over the door. I burst into the building, the bell ringing as I enter.

The room is large with wooden flooring and circular wooden tables and chairs. There’s a large wooden counter with a glass display with food. A man with gray and black hair stands at the counter, cleaning a mug with a white cloth and he looks at me as I enter. “Welcome-” He stops, seeing my clear distress. “Are you okay miss?” He asks.

“You must hide me,” I whisper. “They’re chasing after me. I can’t go back, I can’t,” I gasp. He looks behind me then he beckons to me with his right hand. I approach him and he grabs my shoulder pointing at where his legs are, there’s a small open space beneath the counter, hidden from view. I kneel down to the ground, pushing myself into the spot. It’s tight, but it’s something. The man presses a red button next to me, then he looks at the door, placing his hand on a strange metal and wood shaft. He then looks down at me, his eyes widen in shock, he opens his mouth to say something then the door dings and I hear low growling. I squeeze myself deeper into the hideaway, my breath catching in my throat.

The man’s jaw drops and he wraps his hand around the shaft. “What the f-” He stops. “What the hell are you doing?” He growls. Does he know I’m from Hell too, or is it just a saying? I’m thoroughly confused. “I don’t know what you are, but I don’t think you’ve come here to pay for coffee.” There’s a loud creaking over my head and a head moves passed the threshold of where I’m hiding. I cover my mouth, stopping myself from breathing.

A dark skinned demon with almost a wispy, shadowy figure. A forked tail drops down next to my face and I start shivering. One of Beelzebub’s ilk. “Where is she,” he growls. “I know she’s hiding somewhere. I can smell her,” he growls.

The man’s forehead creases as if annoyed. Then he pulls the shaft up. Sticking it in the demon’s face. I catch my breath, nearly causing me to cry out. Then there’s a loud explosion causing me to smash my head against the counter. My ears ring and I wrap my arms around my head. Blood soaks down the side of the counter splattering into the ground at my feet, soaking into the sides of my robes. I whimper, fear taking hold. I want to bolt, I want to start running again, but I’m frozen to one spot, constantly shivering. There’s a loud shriek as the demon’s notice the situation and the door rings once more. “Heel demons of Asmodeus and Beelzebub! The gate calls for you once again! Hearken my words and do not return! This place is not your home! Begone!” A woman yells, her voice booms through the room and I cover my ears and I feel my back burn in agony, I groan wordlessly, there are a few explosions and then the room goes silent. There’s a long silence like the entire world has been silenced with the woman’s voice, then she starts speaking again. “They’ve been cleared. They were looking for something or someone.” She stops, almost as if she’s listening to someone speak the floor creaks as she paces. “I suspect it’s someone, but I can’t be sure why they have to be incredibly important. Convene on my position. We’ll talk more in a face to face.”

The floorboards creak and then the footsteps stop on the other side of the counter. “Gates,” the man whispers. “In the midst of greatness,” the man seems to mutter sarcastically. “I had it handled, I didn’t need your help.”

“I’m sure you did,” a woman says sarcastically. “But then again, you would have ruined your wonderful store. Your countertop is already covered in demon blood.” A thin hand clutches the edge of the counter, her fingernails are painted red and her hand seems quite youthful, she raises her hand away and she looks toward the door. “Can you brew three cups of coffee? We’ll pay you well.” The man places the shaft on the counter with a large bang, causing me to jump. I hit my head on the counter once again and clutched my head with my right hand. “What was that?”

“The gun,” the man growls. He turns around and then there’s some loud clinking of mugs. He moves over to a metal box and it starts humming. The door swings open and the bell rings again. “Great… Powers,” the man groans.

“Gates,” A man yells. “What the fuck is going on? Why the hell were demons crawling through downtown?” It is a figure of speech it seems. “Don’t you know?”

“I know that they were here for a purpose. It wasn’t some random teleporting, though I lack the information required to answer just what that purpose is.”

“Dennis knows. The barista here. They were looking for a girl. A girl that he’s hiding.” Dennis, the old man spins around and a mug smashes against the ground. There're loud footsteps which stop to my left, Dennis grabs the shaft and levels it with the man to my left.

“Fucking psychic,” Dennis growls. “Take a step back if you know what’s good for ya. I won’t let you touch her, she’s terrified an’ it don’t matter if she’s like them. She was running away from them for a reason!”

I look at the man, he’s a tall guy in a blue trench coat and glasses. He has black hair and green eyes staring at the two of us then he takes a step back, raising his hands. “Look, Dennis. We’re not going to hurt her. We just need a few answers, then she can do whatever she wants. I’m sure she wants to talk too.” The man looks at me. He looks unsure, he’s bluffing, he has no idea what I’m thinking, unlike Dennis, he can’t pierce my mind. I’ve been discovered anyway. I climb out from my hiding spot, rising to full height then I turn toward the other two in the room.

There’s a large muscular black skinned man with brown eyes. He’s wearing a tank top and brown trousers. He has glasses too, but they're blacked out. The woman is different, she’s in a red dress, she looks quite beautiful with long golden locks and beautiful blue eyes. She reminds me of a doll I used to have when I was younger. She must be Gates. She goes pale when she sees me looking at her. “Impossible,” she mutters. “Janus, step away from her, she’s incredibly dangerous.”

Janus looks confused. “What do you-”

“Just do it!” Gates shrieks. Even in fear, she seems to have a commanding voice. Janus takes a few steps back, his trench coat fluttering. I look around, the black man has his fists raised, the flesh bulging with muscles while Gates has her hands out in front of her, red light burning on her fingertips. My foot starts tapping the ground and I can feel my body quaking in fear. I’m terrified, tears start to tumble from my eyes, I swallow past a lump in my throat and I use the countertop to steady myself, sticking a hand in warm blood.

I shriek in surprise and fear and I drop to the ground, clutching my head, my body shivering. Tears are flowing out of my eyes. I don’t know what they can do, but my brothers have told me horrible things about Humans, about how they can destroy buildings with their bare hands. Even their tubes seem to explode, their carts attack people at will and their buildings tower over everyone as if they will collapse with the slightest gust of wind. “I want to go home,” I sob. I shouldn’t have left, I shouldn’t have thought it would be better here.

“What the hell, Gates?” Janus growls. “Incredibly dangerous, huh? She’s a terrified girl! So what if she’s a demon? She doesn’t look in league with these guys.” There’s some movement and a hand moves into my vision. Long fingers, offering me a hand up. I hesitate for a moment before taking his hand. I don’t know what to do or who to trust, but I have to be active in finding a place for myself. “There you go,” he says gently. He leads me around the counter then to a table where he pulls out a chair for me which I sit in. He then sits close to me and I move my chair, scooting away from Gates and the large man. I draw my hood down to my shoulders, I trace my horns to bring me a little bit of comfort in such a scenario. Janus places the back of his hand against the table next to me as if reaching out to me. His eyebrows come together, annoyance tempering his gaze. “Truly terrifying, Gates. Dennis, can you give her something to drink, like a hot chocolate or something? I think she’ll need it.”

Dennis grunts. Returning to the box and Gates lowers her hands, the red light dissipating, she takes a seat opposite me, looking at me, her eyes harsh, analyzing me. “You’re a theoretically impossible existence,” she mutters. “There are no female demons… Unless you’re just a very feminine male.” The large man’s gaze snaps to Gates and Janus seems surprised too.

“You’re kidding right?” The big guy asks. “I’ve seen- holy shit, I’ve never seen a female demon.”

I shake my head, my hair sweeps across my neck and I push it away. “I’m the only one. My Father inhabited a human body to have me. It was- a surprising situation. I wanted to escape because I was bound to have a life just being my Father’s sex slave.”

Gates nods a few times, her eyes seem a bit glazed as if she’s thinking about something then she sighs. “That makes a lot more sense.” She turns to Janus and the large man. “Hercules, Janus. Demons can have sex with a woman in our realm but they always have male children. The reason for that is because they have only Y sperm and not X sperm. They literally are incapable of having female children. Satan… Which I assume is your Father-” She stops, waiting for me to respond. I nod simply.

“Hold up!” Hercules yells. “She’s a child of Satan? Doesn’t that make her a demon lord?”

“That’s why I said she was dangerous,” Gates hisses. “However, it seems I was wrong, because if she was indeed a danger, we’d already be dead. I’m incredibly glad that isn’t the case.”

I look down at the table, feeling embarrassed at the whole situation. Janus’ hand seems to shake, but instead of drawing it away, he moves it closer to me, as if sensing my discomfort. This doesn’t mean they’d be willing to let me go, though. There’s just as much the chance they’ll look at me as an active threat and they’ll lock me away, then I’ll be in a no better situation than before. “What will happen to me?” I whisper.

The three of them exchange glances and Dennis approaches with a tray then places mugs in front of us. I take the mug in front of me, it’s wear and it smells sweet and rich. I sip at it and my mouth fills with incredible liquid like ambrosia. Something I’ve never tasted before with richness that only my Father would be able to drink. Gates sips her own coffee then shakes her head. “We have to keep an eye on you, but at the same time, we can’t expect you to do normal work in the Human world. I have an idea, but it might be a stupid idea.”

A grin widens across Janus’ face. “That’s a fantastic idea. We could have her join a junior division. She has both surveillance and protection and she won’t be trapped in a jail cell.”

Gates grinds her teeth together. “I don’t appreciate you reading my mind Janus. Then I assume you are for the idea?” Janus gives an impish grin, knowing he’s done something wrong. He takes a sip of his drink, giving me a small wink. “Hercules?”

“I’ll go with whatever you decide. I honestly don’t care. She doesn’t seem like much of a threat, but then again, I’ve been wrong. I’ll look at her as a teenager and as a teenager, she needs a stable environment with others like herself,” Hercules grumbles. He doesn’t seem all too interested in the situation. He looks a little lost. He looks at Janus as if expecting something out of him.

Gates nods, turning to her drink. She drinks for a while in silence and I return to my own drink. I barely manage to finish it before She stands up. She watches me silently for a few moments. She’s a cautious person, she’s watching in case I do something wrong. She grimaces then walks over to the counter. “Thank you. Here,” she removes some paper and hands it to Dennis. “Keep the change.” She beckons to me, her hands flash with red energy, then she flicks out her hand and a large golden gate bursts open. It’s not a demonic gate, more like a portal between points on the same plane. At least it’s something I’m certain of, something that I was taught by Lucifer. I feel pain burn through my chest and I stare at the ground.

I approach the counter and look at Dennis and bow my head as low as it can go. “Thank you for risking your life for me. I’m sorry it ended in such a way, but I wish you the best,” I whisper. I raise my head and the man is smiling. It’s the first time since I ended up here that I’ve seen him smile, but it’s contagious. Even with the pain of leaving my brother, even with the fear of fleeing my own father I smile.

He reaches out a hand but stops himself. “You remind me of my own daughter,” he grins. “What’s your name?”

“Elmira,” I respond. “Elmira is my name.” I turn away, facing the group of three, standing by the portal. I feel lost like I’m leaving everything behind once again. I hesitate, dancing from foot to foot, wondering whether perhaps I should stay and risk it, or go with them and experience another change in scenery. I look at Gates, Janus, and Hercules. Janus has a sad smile on his face as if he can feel what I feel, he holds out a hand for me, nodding his head once. He mouths something. I understand. I approach him and take his hand, he places a hand on my head and I exhale. He definitely reminds me of Lucifer, he makes me feel welcome. He leads me through the portal, clutching my hand tight in his grasp. “Thank you,” I whisper to him. He gives me a smile only I can see. He heard me.