Balthazar

Balthazar burned, his body wretched in the inferno of Hell that surrounded him. He surrendered his sanity to none other than Lucifer himself and where Mammon was, well, who knew but his own father? Perhaps the evil influence was being held in solitary. He had nearly entered the Plane after all with Gabriel's assistance and now Lucifer was heavy in woe and rage.

"Once again, he triumphs!" Lucifer sat upon the cold stone thrown, clad still in white and his black feet moved not an inch. He rested his forehead against his gripping hand, and as he clawed his temples, blood spilled from his skin at the mercy of his nails. Balthazar, who writhed upon the floor, wailed ever on as the Devil spoke. "Once again," he went on, "Constantine cheats death! Oh why!? I had him! I had him!"

"But God now claims him, my Lord." Balthazar winced like a broken beast, his appearance gangly now and demonic. He did not take his alluring human-looking body with him because John had stolen him of that as well.

"God? God?!" Lucifer spat and he sneered at Balthazar, the wailing, crying brute laid before him. "And what right did God have to his damned soul? Tell me Balthazar, tell me again why I could not take him." It seemed that Lucifer found comfort and reassurance for his failure in the continuous explanations that poured frequently from the Half-Breed's lips. This already was the third time he had asked.

"Because," Balthazar hissed, "because Constantine at last learned of selfless acts and so he sacrificed himself to save another from your domain."

Lucifer scoffed at the term 'selfless'. Such words were not welcome in his house and he roared at Balthazar then, who cowered in his presence, and at that he was once again appeased.

"And now here you lay, wretched, tired, broken. You've dwindled down to nothing more than one of my scavengers." Lucifer chuckled, mocking Balthazar. "And for what?" he added, his lips curled and tipped in disgust as he sat perched still as stone whilst many of the hungry Scavenger Demons clawed and begged at their Lord's feet, some of which that laughed at Balthazar alongside him.

"For Mammon…" Balthazar replied in his guilt.

"IMBECILE!" Lucifer's voice rumbled throughout the endless valley of flame and once again Balthazar tried to crawl to his knees, hoping to seek some form of pity.

"Forgive me, my Lord. I knew not what I-"

"Silence you wretched beast! You futile existence! You scum of my world! What use are you to me?!"

"Much use, if given the chance." The Demon had been begging for a lifetime it seemed, trapped within the boundaries of this prison, hoping to recapture the trust that the Devil once had in him.

"Should I trust you, Balthazar?" Lucifer eased back into the comfort of his thrown, a wicked half-smirk upon him. "No Balthazar, I will not make the same mistake twice." His groping hand retrieved something from a plate, a bone covered in old meat and blood. The way he chewed filled Balthazar with resentment, reminding him of the starvation he suffered. So, the Half-Breed closed his eyes in an attempt to seal the open lid that exposed his true thoughts - but there was no keeping secrets from the Boss.

"What if I could return to the Plane?" Balthazar tried him once more and Lucifer was etching of rage.

"Silence!" he barked, throwing the bone aside and spitting out what meat remained on his forked tongue as he shouted. The Scavengers eyed the meat ravenously, wanting badly to attack and devour the measly morsel, but loyalty and fear forced within them a resistance. Once again, Balthazar winced in the Devil's shadow.

"Hear me, my Lord. Please."

"I have plenty of Half-Breed filth wandering around and keeping tabs for me. What use are you now? You're ripped of everything you once were."

"Not if fully restored."

"Restored." the Devil snorted. "Give me one good reason to restore you."

"What if I could…" Balthazar winced ever on, still holding his grin beneath the pain. "…Could promise you Constantine's soul?"

Now Lucifer tilted his head slightly, not wanting it so noticed that Balthazar had his interest.

"And how would you do that?" he asked smugly.

"I know Constantine's weaknesses. I know all that he stands for, all that he loves and hates. I know where he goes, what he does…I know about the girl."

"The girl." Lucifer grinned, admiring the claws that his fingers now boasted. "Yes. The twin."

"Send me back my Lord and I will promise you Constantine's soul and the girl's as well if you wish it. If Johnny Boy is to be a tool for God, then let me be a tool for you."

"Now you promise me two things, but I don't think you can handle but one of them."

"Then I shall take care of John."

"For your own revenge or for mine?"

"Yours mostly." the writhed Demon assured him.

"Mine period. And what about his little girlfriend? If I can't imprison her sister, then why not add her to my collection? How will you hit two birds with one stone?"

"I know someone who can assist me. Someone that Constantine was too blinded by his weakness to deport…because he pitied her."

"Let me guess…Ellie."

Balthazar nodded.

"I doubt your abilities, Balthazar. Constantine has drained you."

"But through me your power shall rise again."

"My power?" The Devil grinned deviously, quite liking the idea all together, and Balthazar returned the same filthy expression.

"Yes, you will make me stronger," Balthazar coughed up a hack of black blood, his voice tainted in a demonic tone almost identical to that of the Scavengers, "and I will carry out what ever request you bestow upon me. Please Lord, let me win your trust. I will not make the same mistake twice. Constantine's soul belongs to you, and he should suffer gravely in Hell as your property."

How could Lucifer deny this? He longed for it, grieved for it, yearned for it. He wanted John's soul badly and he was willing to get a hold of it in what ever way.

"Alright. You've actually won me over. Surprise, surprise. But keep this in mind," Lucifer lost his grin and he leaned forward, eyeing Balthazar even colder than he already had, "if you screw up again, you'll be flushed out of existence. Completely. That means you won't be welcome back here either."

"I won't disappoint." Balthazar swallowed.

"I know you won't if you value yourself. Go seek Ellie in Ravenscar and take with you a small casualty of my Scavengers." Lucifer raised a palm, and he cast Balthazar out of Hell. The group of Scavengers that had lowered themselves about Lucifer's thrown took flight behind the excused Half-Breed and with him they too re-entered the Plane like a flock of stirred bats. Balthazar grinned evilly, his arms spread wide to embrace the power that was slowly replenished within him. About him, the wings of the Scavengers pounded against his ears along with their shrilling cries.

The Half-Breed made a horrific journey to the exit and once on the Plane again, he hit hard and his body trembled and jolted and he grew flesh and hair. Now he lay, naked in the dark, trapped atop a building. He pulled himself up at last, examining his shaken hands that had rekindled their human flesh. He grinned deviously at the sight. He was, in this moment, immediately secretive and calculating, climbing back to his feet and searching for some way off the roof. He remembered his scavenging allies then, seeing that they perched about him with their wings folded. Balthazar spoke to them,

"Go! Go and flood this city with your malice! Find those of which have a connection to Constantine in whatever way if possible!" The Scavengers fluttered into the night, wailing and screeching as they went.

Balthazar climbed secretly down the stairwell that was the escape from the rooftop, and he trailed carefully into an elevator where, to her own dismay, an old woman stood.

Balthazar heeded not to her, standing there unclad. The old woman trembled and swallowed often, her eyes trying to resist the humanistic curiosity that often led her to glance his way - not due to attraction or even mischief, but disbelief more than anything - it wasn't everyday that you were trapped in a moving elevator with a buck-naked male with God knows what on his mind, or rather, in this case, Lucifer knows what - because he did.

The elevator came to a halt and the doors slid open. From there, Balthazar disappeared and at last the old woman could faint in peace. She was appalled and shocked…maybe sickened.

It was in the streets that he wandered, thinking it the best that he stay hidden and out of the crowded and lively parts of Los Angeles, but Balthazar was yet to be surprised. A bundle of flashing lights reflected upon the dark that shrouded where he stood nude and once turned around, he saw a cop car purring behind him. He shielded his eyes from the headlights that exposed his being and in that moment, voices spoke to him over a loudspeaker.

"Put your hands up!"

"Stay right where you are!"

The car paused and Balthazar waited for the two male cops to trample to his side.

"I suppose one little game can't hurt." he mused to himself.

"Sir, are you aware that public nudity is a violation to the Law?"

"Hmm…Let me think…I was certain that a filthy city like Los Angeles would excuse it." Balthazar pretended to be mindful in a sarcastic sense, then he shot them a wicked look, one that sent a shrilling chill to each man's heart. Then he laughed, "I really couldn't care less!"

"Stay right where we can see you, we're taking you in." The two men stepped carefully towards the victim, attempting to cuff him.

"On second thought, I don't care for my time to be wasted any longer." Balthazar clutched their wrists, and before either of them could move they froze; and as Balthazar stepped away, the cops pulled their guns from the boundaries of their holsters and to their heads they were aimed. The shots were loud, quick and Balthazar stole the uniform from the taller, slim fellow. Then, fleeing the scene, he made way into the downtown streets.

"I'm not much for uniforms," he thought, missing the sophistication of his pinstriped suit, "but this will have to serve."

The streets crowded of people, casual shoppers, city slickers and everything in between. Strangely enough, though spawned in pits of flame, Balthazar felt at home and he grinned at the sight of it all, laughing quietly to himself. Somehow, he presumed that he already knew the outcome of it all. This time, John wouldn't get the better of him, because this time Balthazar would strike him like a cobra hidden in the bush. This was one attempt that Constantine would never see coming.

†††

Ellie mostly slept, drank water and ate the food brought to her by the Nurses, though mostly she picked at it like a sickly hen.

The Doctors knew not what to make of her. She went by Molly Greystone, but of her actual name, they were uncertain. The reason for this uncertainty was due to the untraceable files they had been unsuccessful in digging up on her. The most logical conclusion they could make, considering that she refused to tell them anything, was that she was some pitiful tramp that had given up on life, seeking some peace here within the walls of a Medical Facility.

Ravenscar was more than a Mental Institution. The Doctors here pertained to the treating of ailments, diseases and so much more. They had to, because so many lunatics were sick.

During the day, Ellie found bitter pleasure in amusing herself with Jerry Springer, the only show she felt that she could possibly find to relate herself to. Every man that she saw she sneered at because there was usually at least one thing about them that brought John Constantine back to mind. And yet, in spite of herself, the tall, dark haired fellows, what few she saw, made her want to cry because they reminded her of the good aspects she had found in Constantine - his looks.

There had been those few times when 'Molly Greystone' had grown so hysterical and overwhelmed with it all until the Doctor would rush in while the frightened Nurses pinned her down and give her a shot - something to tame the beast within. Of course Ellie, being what she was, always put up one hell of a fight, clawing, kicking and even biting at some points.

The old Indian Woman - one of the Nurses who tended her - was always wary in Ellie's presence. She never looked the Half-Breed in the eye and Ellie resented her reform. It was as if the old woman knew that there was more to this female than a mere mental case, and that much was true. One day, Ellie caught her chanting some ancient prayer to herself before leaving the room. It was there that the Half-Breed grew suspicious of her.

"Bitch." the Demoness uttered. She hated all Humans.

That night, by the hour of one a.m., Ellie was perched up in bed, grieving away and cursing every backstabber she had ever known - naming John of course.

The Hospital was silent mostly, with little activity now since many had retired home, save that one old Indian woman who wandered the halls of Ellie's room nervously. Then, the old woman froze in her steps, seeing some cruel thing before her. She fell and crawled but before her wails could escape her, blood shot from her chest and she lay dead with her heart draping out of her. The force was invisible, because nothing was there, at least as far as the typical eye was concerned. But something lurked, and it wasn't Ellie.

"Damn you, Constantine! If you were here right now, I'd…I'd.." Ellie had not heard the commotion outside. She had been, as always, too caught up in her own self-pity.

"Haven't you wined enough?" The voice was evasive and she startled slightly in her bed, her eyes finally seeing that in the corner of the room near the window a silhouette sat cross-legged in a chair.

Ellie thought for a moment, scrunching her brows and forgetting her tears. Then it came to her and she frowned at the mention of his name,

"Balthazar?" She sounded unpleased.

"Good guess." He stood, prowling about the room and coming closer to her side so that she could see a good deal of his face in what little light came through from the crack of the bathroom door - his cold eyes and sandy brown hair.

"What the hell do you want? I though you were dead. And…and how did you get in here without me knowing?"

"I have my ways. Let's cut to the chase, shall we?" Balthazar snatched a chair that rested against the wall, making himself comfortable in the company of Ellie. "I'm here on an assignment."

"You?" she laughed suddenly at this. "And why would the Boss let you back onto the Plane?"

"Hmmm…" Balthazar gritted his teeth, snapping the stiffness from his neck. "Perhaps because I know how to, let's just say, smooth talk the Boss. I'm here to reclaim Constantine's soul back to Hell…and I know that you'll be more than willing to help. Unless of course you'd rather rot in your bitterness."

To Be Continued.