Yay, another chapter! A big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to interact with this story, whether that be by favoriting it, following it, or just giving it a glance! I appreciate and love every single one of you! As always, a big thank you goes to my beta and best friend for taking the time to help me with this story despite how busy she is. I do not own Welcome to Hell. That honor belongs to the wonderful Erica Wester. So, with all that out of the way and without further ado, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
The shrieks of pain that echoed throughout Hell had never been louder than they were on this day. Caius walked through the gates, eyebrows raised and a look of confusion fixed on his beautiful face. He was used to screams of pain and howls of agony coming from Hell. That was, after all, the purpose of his Lord fiancée's realm. Today, however, the screams were almost deafening and were coming from a single soul: Sock.
Caius flew toward the direction of the screams, face pale. If the shrieks of agony were coming from the room he thought they were coming from, his plans were ruined. His plans would only work if Sock remained afflicted with the Catalyst, but if his Lord fiancée and his siblings managed to exorcise it…Caius shook his head. He couldn't and wouldn't allow that to happen. Sock could destroy the entire planet for all he cared, but Caius would not lose this battle.
As he came closer to the source of the noises, his fears were confirmed. His Lord fiancée's office looked drastically different. The endlessly towering filing cabinets and small desk were gone. In their place was a small bed. This bed was placed in the middle of the room and was surrounded by stubs of black candles. The candles were lit, but the light that was coming from them was almost pathetic. They did not so much light up the room as they illuminated the shapes of the bed and the figures surrounding the bed.
Sock was resting on the bed, eyes glowing dimly in the dark. Mephistopheles and his older brothers, Saol and Bas, were standing around the bed, murmuring softly. Caius remained in the corner of the room, near the doorway. He knew that the brothers wouldn't notice him as long as they were focused on the exorcism, and Caius would not risk being caught now. That wouldn't do if he intended to sabotage the exorcism. He had promised Jonathan Combs that he would hurt Sock, and Caius was a demon of his word. With a smirk, Caius crouched low to the ground and continued to watch the scene before him unfold, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Jonathan stood in the shower, letting the hot water run over his aching body. Along with the wounds on his arms, his whole body ached from being tossed across the room by the demon. The blonde smiled and closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of the water running over his body. Even though he was wounded and exhausted, he knew the victory would ultimately be his. Whether or not, Caius chose to admit it, Jonathan had won.
Mephistopheles glanced at his elder brothers, trying to hide his emotions. Though he hated to admit it, even to himself, he was nervous. No, that wasn't quite right. He was verging on fear. He had only ever seen one other Catalyst, and the exorcism for that soul had ended in disaster. Mephistopheles couldn't help but wonder if the same would occur for Sock. If that was the case, Mephistopheles could kiss this dimension and all the rest goodbye. The Catalyst that had taken residence in Sock was so much more powerful than the first Catalyst could ever hope to be. If things went awry, all facets of life, all branches of the known universes would go up in smoke. The only good thing that would come of utter annihilation would be that Mephistopheles would no longer be obligated to marry Caius. That demon was nothing more than a spoiled child. The only reasons Mephistopheles had agreed to the marriage were to appease the higher-ranking demons after the whole "Sock fiasco" and to have an easy piece of ass at the end of every day. He could honestly care less about who Caius was or what else he had to offer. He was a tool to keep the peace and relieve stress. That was it. Mephistopheles took a deep breath, forcing himself to return to the task at hand. Being distracted while the fate of the known universes rested with himself and his brothers was definitely a no-no at the moment.
Caius, meanwhile, was fuming in the corner of the room where he had been hiding. How dare Mephistopheles think such things? His father had promised that Lord Mephistopheles would see the marriage as a gift, a blessing even. Now Caius knew the truth. Mephistopheles only saw his body and political value. He could care less about how deeply Caius truly loved him or the plans he had to help keep Mephistopheles organized and free of stress. However, now that the young demon knew Mephistopheles's true feelings, Caius had a much different plan in mind. If he could keep Mephistopheles and his brothers distracted, the Catalyst would quickly overcome Sock. The universes would be destroyed, and the three beings he hated the most right now would be destroyed right along with them. The young demon grinned a sickening and sinister grin before standing and dusting his clothes off. He strode forward toward the three celestial beings and the small suffering demon.
"My, my. What is the cause of all this excitement, my love?"
I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! The story is reaching the end, but I have a few chapters left. As always, constructive criticism is appreciated, but flat-out negativity is not. I won't promise that the next chapter will be up soon because I'm kind of all over the place right now, but I promise I'll follow through with this story until the very end. I love you all! Happy Holidays!
XOXOXOXOXO