The beast reared up from her and extended a paw for May to take, which, in confusion, she did.
"From what Seir tells me, you do get by more on luck and a bit of cleverness than anything else," he appraised, pulling her to her unsteady hooves. "That might help you, at times, but you can be much better, much more terrifying."
Mayberry blinked. "Wh-What?"
"Still, you managed some good licks before the end," he snorted in the closest thing to praise. "Progress, at least. But you're too emotional. I can see it in your eyes. Even if you somehow got past me, how would you look for your girls? Where would you start?"
"He's saying, in his own puffed-up way, that you need seasoning," explained the young demon walking over to her.
"Seasoning?" May gasped, catching her breath and trying to make sense of this. "What were you going to do, eat me and not in a good way? What's going on?"
"What's going on," he continued. "Is that we patched you up after your award-winning performance last night. It's a good thing you drive a convertible, or I couldn't have reached the wheel when you passed out."
"You lost a lot of blood," the chubby, now extinguished demon offered. "Would you like something to eat?"
Her befuddled stare was her only answer. Who were they? They could have let her crash and bleed out if they wanted to hurt her. They wanted her...for something.
'Be smart,' she decided. 'Learn before you assume.'
"Who are you?" she asked.
The young demon struck a confident pose. "We da good guys!"
"Wagers of the secret war," the winged wolf intoned with grim conviction.
"We're like you, Mrs. Mayberry," the rotund demon proudly nodded. "Demons who strive for good. Lights in the eternal darkness."
Incredulity froze her. Were they like her? Quote-unquote good demons? Demons in Hell who were good?
Were they Overlords? They knew her name and somehow knew what she strove for. But that could have meant anything. Caution reminded her of The Lesser Crown and their false intentions.
But, if they were strong and intelligent enough to stand up to The Pit's status quo, then she was curious about how.
"Um," May considered slowly, unsure how to proceed. "Okay."
The dining hall bore witness to the most vigorous, unapologetic food consumption in many a month. Eggs, meats, toast with a choice of jams to spread, and fruit juice chilled to perfection. For someone who ate on the go more often than she liked, this was an orgy for the senses, pallet, and digestion.
"Oh, this is heaven!" she managed to say with a grateful chomp. "I mean, sort of."
At the other end of the long dining table, the winged wolf, flanked by his two compatriots, watched her devour with a gusto that would have made Cannibal Colony proud.
"I'm glad you're enjoying my hospitality," the dignified wolf said. "Direct from the farms of Wrath. You should try their grapes."
May looked up. "This is your house?"
"I am its master, yes."
"Oh! Y'know, I thought you were some kind of mutant Hell Hound," she chuckled apologetically.
"Far from it," her host explained, sitting straighter in his seat and giving his wings a proud flap. "I am the Marquis Marchosias of the Ars Goetia. The young demon to my right is Prince Seir."
The youth gave a confidant point at Mayberry. "Yo."
"And our esteemed compatriot, President Amy." The round demon on the other side nodded.
"You're male?" May asked.
Amy shrugged. "My mother always wanted a girl."
"She didn't get one?" Seir chimed in.
Amy harrumphed. "Our guest almost made a princess out of you, as I recall."
"No bickering," the marquis chided. "She is our guest and, no doubt has a thousand questions to ask."
Indeed, their host started with her first after another quaff of juice. "If good demons are out there, then why aren't there more of us?"
"Quality over quantity," said Seir.
"So, you're all Goetia?" May asked. "I just heard about the one I work for. Duke Dantalion."
"Ol' Dandelion?" Seir interjected.
"Dandelion!" a laugh flew from her. "But, I never thought I'd actually meet, sorry, fight with any of you before. I guess I should apologize."
Amy shook his head. "Not at all, Mrs. Mayberry."
"Call me May."
"Very well. But, it's we who should apologize. We treated you shabbily, but Marchosias wanted to see how you handled yourself in a fight. I think you acquitted yourself quite well, truth be told."
"True dat," the young prince added. "Ever since that night at the motel, we had to check you out. You're pretty hardcore for a teacher."
The thought of being spied on her felt disconcerting, but May decided to overlook it in favor of another issue. "If you guys know about what I do on my off-hours, then why didn't you...oh, I don't know...help?"
"We had to be sure. You could've been some depressed, suicidal nutcase. Besides, you had it locked down," he defended.
"Not last night, I didn't. Were you there, too?"
"Yep. I ran by your car before you got outta Dodge. Loved how you lost the po-po, by the way."
"And we're sorry for the loss of the children you tried to save," Amy commiserated.
"I haven't given up yet," Mayberry said with grim assurance. "So, what happens now?"
"We," Marchocias intoned. "Want you to join us."
"Say what now?" she asked warily.
The marquis sat up in his chair. "Join our cause."
"Which is?" she pressed.
"Nothing less than the very transformation of Hell itself," he announced, eyes gleaming with a zeal she could see from her side of the table. "Each of us has seen the dream of an underworld paradise. The foundation of a new paradigm where equality, fairness, and freedom are its mainstays."
"The others don't understand," Amy continued. "They see evil as the end-all and be-all of existence, a path to more power on the backs of the weak. They only want to live this half-life. If they weren't afraid to open their eyes to a bigger world, they'd get so much more out of it. They could move the world more than any scheme could by lending a hand or using their power to bless the unfortunate."
"So, we use our money and influence to change things from behind the scenes and behind the backs of the other Goetia," added the prince.
"You sound like that Charlie woman who runs that hotel in town. What does this have to do with me, exactly?" May asked carefully.
"A lot. You care about kids," Seir said. "So, you know they can get it pretty bad, down here, and not just from bad schoolin'. Pedos, child murderers, and traffickers. The local talent's bad enough, but it's open season when The Living World starts sending down their very best."
"I know," she said soberly. "Earth. Hell. Sometimes, I can't tell the difference."
"That's why we want you, Mrs. Mayberry," said Amy. "You don't think the way most Sinners do. You consciously chose to stay who you were in life and not give into despair."
"Thanks, but there've been days..." May admitted.
"We believe that you could influence our children," Amy continued. "The lives you save and morals you teach today could help create the citizens who could shape Hell into a better world tomorrow."
The sheer weight of that notion gave her a profound pause. "Me? That's...I'm not that influential. I mean...really?"
"It only takes one seed to make a forest, Mrs. Mayberry," Amy sagely pointed out.
"That's why we want to know if you're up to the challenge," Marchosias said, his eyes bearing into hers.
"If you can push it to the limit," added the prince.
"Find strength you never knew was there," the president chimed in.
"And bare your teeth to the flames of Hell for a better world," the marquis concluded.
Supernaturally, their regal presences impressed upon her that they were honest in their request. But May still found it hard to fully accept it all. They were of the Ars Goetia, the most potent royal circle, second only to The Seven Deadly Princes under Lucifer. Somehow, three of their number wanted her, a schoolteacher.
Mayberry took a breath and decided, "Well, when you put it like that...yes. But not for you. I do all of that on my own. I don't really need your help."
Seir cocked a dubious eyebrow. "Uh, that crime scene you call a car says otherwise."
"And I thank you for saving me. But I can't join your little group," she sighed. "I've got way too much to do right now. In fact, I shouldn't even be here. I should be at work."
"Well, unless you were teaching hematology, you wouldn't have made it far, Mrs. Mayberry," Amy pointed out diplomatically. "The least you could do is hear us out."
"Let the Sinner go," Marchosias dismissed with a basso profundo that echoed against the walls.
Amy turned to his fellow royal. "What?'
Seir, for his part, chuckled at the wolf demon. "Uh, I know it's early, and you haven't had your coffee yet, but...hello! Me princie, you marquis? I hate pulling rank, but...No, I'm lying. I actually love doing that."
"We may be going against the law, but we do not beg," the wolf-demon defended. "We are Goetia. If our patronage and power aren't worth having, then I suggest, my prince, that she fend for herself. I will not waste my time on pride that caused another to fall."
Mayberry bolted from her chair, fierce eyes glowing on her host. "It wasn't pride that made me fall, Scruffy! What I did to my students was shameful! Evil! That's why I'm here! Because I deser..."
She closed her eyes to calm herself. The pain of the past impaled her, but she tore it away this time. She wouldn't have some royals looking down their noses at her. She wasn't weak. "Just take me back to my car, so I can get on my life."
A shadow as dark as Mayberry's mood detached itself from the gloom of a corner behind her. Then, it took shape and walked.
"I'm sorry. Is she being difficult?" a friendly voice came from the umbrage. "She gets that way sometimes."
As shade solidified into form, it molded itself into a figure, full, feminine, and poised. Details emerged, and the darkness took on the appearance of a schoolmarm in an open blouse that revealed bold cleavage, a black and red Victorian-era dress that immodestly showed her legs under a hiked-up skirt front, a tight bun of silvery, streaked hair...and Mrs. Mayberry's grinning visage behind a pair of round spectacles.
May jumped at the sight of her. "Who-Who's this, now?"
"There she goes," her smiling twin patiently sighed. "Pretending she doesn't know me. I swear, I think she does this to embarrass me."
The smirking visitor haughtily stood before everyone in the chamber's light but addressed May directly.
"Call me...Treat. Ms. Treat," she chuckled lightly. "I'm you, my dear. The best part of you there ever was!"