Chapter 2 – The Hand Of The Devil.

It is the next day, under the cover of darkness, that Todd encounters Elyria again.

"So you are real?"

"Real? If that's how you put it."

"I had assumed you to be a dream."

"Even dreams can come to be reality. You of all people should know that, Barker; for how long did you dream of your vengeance?" Todd is quiet and starts to mop the floorboards clean of the blood, thinking. Elyria clicks her fingers and a list appears in a puff of smoke, and names begin to appear in fiery writing.

"What's this?"

"Your list of victims. Your eventual salvation."

"It's a long list."

"You have time, Barker. The fates have decided it."

"My God… so this is a definite arrangement?" Todd runs a hand over the stubble on his chin, and takes a few steps back in shock.

"What would you know of God?" Elyria sneers and tosses back her golden hair with a gloved hand, her eyes once again hidden under the black shadows that seemed to surround her. "You never were one for religion. A short spell in Purgatory, then Hell, that's what this God of yours would do for you."

"And our arrangement is any better?"

"Have I ever been anything but straight with you? Did I not stipulate the exact terms of this contract? Terrifying and horrific as this deal may seem, Lucifer has held nothing back from you. He knows what lays in store for you."

"And that is?"

"Nothing. Death is nothing." Elyria sits on the window ledge, staring out of the smudged glass panes and continues, with a deep melancholy lying heavy in her voice. "In Death, we see all. We see the end of worlds, the panic and hunger of the poor, the gluttony and vanity of the rich. Life is shallow, purposeless. And then we are Judged. The great Saint Peter of Heaven's pearly gates evaluates your achievements, and if you are to be deemed worthy you go through these gates into what mortals believe to be the eternal paradise." She is mocking by the end of her speech, and her fingers curl into fists at the mention of Peter.

"You sound sceptical," Todd says, edging towards her slightly to get a better look at her face. "Especially about Peter."

"Peter deserves nothing! Did he not denounce the man he swore he would always believe in? He should've been the one damned to Hell, not Judas. Judas did what he did out of guilt, and he asked the forgiveness of this God of yours."

"Suicide is a mortal sin, Miss Elyria."

"Suicide is despair. Your God should protect His people from such despair, else how can He deem Himself to be this great protector? This… this shepherd," she spits angrily, "supporting His flock throughout their trials and tribulations? If I did not know Lucifer, I would swear this God is a lie."

"Why can you not say this now?" Todd is close to being able to see past Elyria's hood, and he can already see her pale nose, which is small and almost button-like on her face. Her lips are again that same shade of dark red against her skin, and there are small drops of red liquid on her chin from where she has been spitting so angrily. The droplets, Todd knows, are blood.

"There cannot be a Hell if there is no Heaven, Mr Barker. It would be imbalanced." She wipes the blood off her chin with the back of a gloved hand and takes a deep intake of breath. When she is calmer, she looks at Todd. He still cannot see her eyes.

"Will you not remove your gloves, madam?" He is intrigued as to their purpose, and catches Elyria off guard.

"What? I don't think so…" She tugs gently at the top of each finger as she works them loose nervously, exposing her wrists. Todd marvels at the ivory paleness of her skin, so like marble, and instinctively reaches out to touch her right hand.

"Barker. Don't touch me."

"Why?"

"These are the hands of the Devil, darlin'. Just take this list, and make a start tomorrow. They're on there in order of when they'll make an appearance, don't you worry. And don't you dare think of cheating me, Barker – I'll know. And your punishment will make you wish you'd never crossed me."

"And what makes you think I should be scared of you and your cheap magic tricks?" There is a quake in Todd's voice, and from her shadowed face he feels the mysterious eyes pierce him.

"My cheap magic tricks? You'll see sir. Oh how you'll see." With that, her body slowly fades from view in front of Todd's disbelieving eyes.