The elevator doors opened and the prerecorded announcer with a way too excited, steamy voice filled the floor.
"Bottom floor, baby. Ooooh, yeah!"
He hated when his job got him to Lust. He had nothing against the act itself, nor the sin. But demons here lost all sense of tact about the time Mammon hired his first accountant. Poor sap didn't last an hour.
He entered the elevator. It smelled musky inside, thank Satan the mirror inside was clean.
He got a good look at himself as he threw his leather bag on the floor. He used to be an imp from Greed. But that was a long time ago, his bright red skin has turned a green shade of blue because of his current employer. He focussed q bit on five scars on his throat. He never scars, but these… the never faded.
His white hair was kept in a short ponytail, his horns began at the top of his forehead, going along the skull and then turning ninety degrees in the opposite direction, doing one loop as they went past his skull, the tip of the right one was chipped.
His yellow eyes were sunken and baggy looking at him with a tired gaze from behind fake glasses. It's been about two weeks since he last slept.
He moved his head and his neck made a pretty loud crack that sent shivers down his spine. That was a good one, but it also moved his clothing which responded with a metal cling.
Ah, yes. The chains. The symbol of his "status" and a reminder of his position.
They currently were in the shape of a poncho.
- Right, Wrath.- he spent two days there. Hunting down a couple of imps. The attire seemed to fit the situation. But he'd rather walk up to the pearly gates and beg for a spear to the head than adjust it for the current setting.
With a quick rush of clicks they reshaped into a snazzy suit and tie.
He pushed the penthouse button.
Elevators on the living world play annoying monotonous music that drive passengers crazy. He would prefer that to the almost literal ear rape he was experiencing now. He was pretty sure there was a beat but it was drowned by a woman's obnoxiously loud, fake moans and panting. He wasn't even sure the moans kept up with the music. He was looking for the speaker so he could rip it out, alas he probably couldn't do that without damaging the lift, so he endured.
*Ding*" You're on top, baby." the same sultry voice as on the ground floor exclaimed. Doesn't this eventually get boring? he wondered. Surely, you would grow numb to it after a few years. He grabbed the bag with his tail and exited the elevator. The decor was your typical Lust trash. Dicks, tits and pussies. No rhyme or reason, just theme.
He let out another sigh and approached the secretary's desk. An imp girl from Wrath greeted him with a smile.
- Howdy, suggah. What brings you Vorecious Studios? - the Wrath drawl was so thick it had to be fake.
- I represent Mantally co. I have business with Mr. Draque Vore. - he placed the company card on her desk. She started reading the company advertisement.
- "Mantally co. Where we provide any service for any desire, prices are always negotiable". And you have an offer for Mr. Vore? - she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
- Oh, no. He already talked with Offer. I'm here to collect the payment.
- Well good luck with that. I'm still owed three paychecks. - she buzzed her intercom - Mr. Vore. There's someone here from Mantally, says you owes them money.
- Tell them to fuck off! I have a board meeting.- Vores voice came from the speaker. The girl gave him an apologetic smile.
- Sorry honey. - he only nodded.
- That door? - he pointed at a big archway door filled with sexual figures, she nodded quickly - Well you're probably gonna have to look for work elsewhere. - he placed a different note on her desk. A chain link piercing it - This place in Pride is hiring a secretary. Show them the chain link and you'll have a recommendation, they should offer you 50K a year. If you haggle you should bump it to 70. - she looked at the note and then at him, quickly hiding it in her cleavage - Oh, and drop the Wrath accent. Not as sexy as they say it is.
She let out a sigh of relief.
- I know. You're gonna kill him? - she asked as she started gathering her things.
- Probably. He owes us more than money. The Tally Man demands payment. - he approached the huge doors, two chains emerged from his back imbedding into the wood. After a short struggle the doors flew open, the hinges broken. The secretary was in the elevator as the door hit the floor. He entered the room, a group of demons were sitting at a table, looking at him with befuddlement. A three Incubi, a succubus, two imps. And at the top of the table was Draque Vore. A Slug Demon from Gluttony. Big, fat, smells as much as you can imagine and was currently driving daggers into the intruder's face with his eyes.
- Gentlemen, ladies. My name is Bill 88, I'm a Bonds Demon representing Mantally co. Mr. Vore you signed a contract with us and the due date was a week ago. Do you have the required price?
The room filled with chatter, they knew what his company did and the payment they usually demanded.
- Payment for what? The contract said you will help me obtain wealth and status here in Lust. I achieved everything myself! - this was true, at least as to the nature of the contract. One of Bills chains pulled out a notebook from his bag.
- Your first hire was a Mr. Lense. A freelance cameraman from Pride. He just so happened to have a raw recording of Verossica Mayday with an Imp. A recording, your second hire, Ms. Gimp, edited so the popstar could not be immediately recognized. Then your third hire, the PR, merchandising and advertising expert Mr. Cash spread the word of the recording, which generated you traction within Lust, sinners in Pride and Hell's nobility. - Bill lifted his gaze to Vore - Cash, Gimp and Lense are associates of Mantally, who owed us services for past dealings, those debts are now paid. - As he said that One of the incubi, the succubi and one of the imps rose from their sheets and started leaving the room, Bill gave them a side glance - If you would wish to continue working with us, contact one of our Offers. - that left two incubi and an imp with Vore and they didn't look very confident in their futures - Mantally has held up our end of the bargain. The price you agreed upon were three sinners of at least mid tier strength. Do you have them? - a shot deafened the room as Vore pulled out his gun quite quickly for a Slug. The bullet was fought by one of Bills chains - That's a no. Therefore as per contract you hellish belongings, assets are forfeit and will be liquidated to pay what is owed. Oh ,and of course I will be collecting your soul. I advise everyone else to leave. - they didn't need much convincing. A nervous sweat appeared of Vores brow.
-N-now listen. I'm sure we can figure something out. - another shot missed Bill completely, as three chains gashed towards the slug demon, wrapping around his arms and tail, lifting him up - I can give you money, women, I have contacts with horny nobles! - a fourth chain wrapped itself around Vores fat neck, his eyes bulged with fear - Please, I'll do anything! I'll suck your di..! - a wet splorch silenced this pathetic display as the chains quartered the slug.
- You couldn't have been good at it. - he said to the floating flame of Vores soul. It was quickly grabbed by Bills chains and placed in his bag.
- That makes ten. - he said as he left the room. The Tally Man sent him out to collect ten souls, now that he was done he could go back to HQ and get a break.
He approached the elevator again.
*Ding* Wanna go down on me, baby?
Bill's tired expression didn't change as his chain shot up, piercing the lift's ceiling, cutting its cables. He gave the chain a little fist bump as the lift plummeted to the ground floor. A few seconds after it reached its final destination he jumped down the elevator shaft.
It took Bill an hour to get to the nearest Intersection, Mantally's private interdimensional hubs to their HQ. As it was explained to him: "It's magic, don't question it".
The building was inconspicuous, the only identifying feature was the chain link drawn on the door. He placed his palm on the symbol
- Bill 88. - a quiet click later he opened the door and entered a larger room. Given the location Lust was the theme like at Vores place, but this time it was a bit more tasteful. Sex and nudity were placed as accents while more esoteric lusts, like belongings, power, violence, took center stage. Some say Lust is the source of all sin. But the same could be said about the other sins, and you don't really have to squint to see it.
There was only one other demon in the room. A Bonds Demon of Succubi origin, Debbie 69. It was spelled Debtie, even they had to follow a theme, but they were given freedom on the pronunciation. Which was good given all the Ivans (Investment), he had to deal with in the past. Plus there were the nicknames, when the only thing discerning you from your colleagues was a number, a little nickname goes a long way.
- Hello, Nice. - he greeted the former succubus.
- Four eyes! Finally someone. You're the first person walking through that door in days! - she almost jumped from her seat as she approached Bill and gave him a hug. He was tired, but he would have to be dead to resist an embrace from a voluptuous succubus. She still had that aura about her, he couldn't resist to give her cute butt a little squeeze - Going to HQ? - he gave him a playful slap on the cheek as she returned to her desk swaying her hips along the way.
- Yeah, I finished my rounds. Sorry, but Voracious Studios is closed.
- Good. Their vids were subpar lately. Did the slug beg? - she started pootin in a request for a portal to HQ
- Pitifully so. His final words were offering me a fellatio. - 69 laughter at that, then her face had a quick tick of disgust as the mental image appeared.
- Thanks for that. Now I'm gonna be dry for a week. - Bill gave a little chuckle.
- You did ask. How's the book going? - the succubus smiled, reached under her desk and handed him a large stack of papers.
- Done actually. Now I just need proofread. Any ideas? - Bill looked at the title and pitch of the novel.
- "Lust of Ambition", an Incubus' journey of fulfillment and self exploration in the rings of hell. Sex, danger, mystery. Written by… Moisty Cavern? - he looked at Debbie with a raised eyebrow.
- Pen name. Couldn't go with Debbie 69. Not a name that draws attention. So what do you think?
- I don't give opinions on books I haven't read. Sounds interesting though. Give it to Offer 32. He was a newspaper editor before he started working for us. Just don't expect a quick return. - he handed her the manuscript back, as a door at the back flickered and opened with a dim red light.
- Your ride is here. Say hi to the Debbies for me. - she smiled at Bill and waved him goodbye as he walked through the portal.
He never could get used to the Tally Mans portals. While magic portals of demon nobility bend reality, to connect two places, His open gateways to some sub-dimention where you travel the distance in a single step, though you do feel the vertigo as sometimes even millions of miles whiz by you in a second. As he emerged on the other side of the portal, his legs were a bit shaky and he had to embrace the wall to stay vertical. He gave himself a minute for his stomach to settle and for the room to decide where the floor should be.
He shook his head one final time and approached the Great Reception. A desk two hundred feet long, with 30 Debbie's behind it.
- Hello, Onethree. - he greeted the first ever Debtie. A three headed Hellhound with four arms, rumor had it she was once three separate sisters but when one of them died they made a deal with the Tally Man. Bring back the dead sister and all of them will serve him forever. Let no one say the boss doesn't have a sense of humor.
- 88. The boss will see you. You smell like dried up semen. - each sentence was said by a different head, he wondered how their lungs work.
- Good to see you. Thank you, I'll go to him now. I just came from Lust, probably that's why, 69 says hi. - he nodded to each head and approached a very large door.
He entered the Tally Mans chamber, a significant portion of which was dark. No one really knew what he looked like, the real him. He once saw his lesser form, a hunched over vulture of a person, sandy skin, lanky arms, sharply dressed tough. He always stayed in the shadows, just at the corner of your eye, always in blurr of your vision. There were rumors, stories, even legends about who or what the Tally Man is. Some say he's an angel that came to hell with Lucifer, others claim he's a high hellborn demon, like the Sins. Others even say he's a unique creature entirely, sent to hell by the creator to do as he always does, keep a tally of all the souls, both hellborn and sinner, in hell. Rumor has it he's the one who proposed the yearly purges.
- Bill 88. - a deep booming voice reverberated through his very bones.
- Good day, sir. I've completed my bonds and await my debriefing. - one of Bill's chains started lifting his bag towards the ceiling which was a couple dozen feet above him. Somewhere in the halfway point, a gnarled, dried up, husk of an arm in the color of tanned sand shot from the shadows, snatching the bag and pulling it back into parts unknown, all the way making sounds reminiscent of snapping twigs. A pair of pale yellow eyes opened somewhere 20 feet above him.
- Sit. - a dim little spotlight illuminated a chair in the darkened area. Bill did as he was told, that was not a request - You were sent out to collect 10 bonds. This mission took you 13 days, 5 hours, 3 minutes and 35 seconds to complete. This is above your regular time by 2 days and 3 minutes. Why?! - he could feel the pressure in the room rising on that question.
- Apologies, sir. Bond number 3, a sinner named Michel Fritz decided to run. As a result of the chase my car was damaged beyond my abilities to repair. Consequently I had to pursue the other bonds on foot, hence the delay. - The Tally Man remained silent for a while, Bill began to be nervous. The boss never kills of course, but there are fates far worse than death.
- Acceptable. - the void finally spoke and 88 gave out a sigh of relief - Your bag contains 20 souls, reason?
- Two bonds did pay their due. Two sinner souls from Izakile of Greed and four hellborne from Satan. The remaining six are clients who's deals resulted with them working for my bonds, as they refused to see reason, their contracts had to be terminated early. - another prolonged silence, until the Tally Man spoke again.
- Acceptable. You have fulfilled your duties to satisfaction. You are relieved from duty till next week or until summoned. Your payment will be transferred once you leave my office. Go. - Bill stood up from his chair, gave a courtesy bow to the Tally Man and left the room. Outside he leaned on the wall and started hyperventilating. The Tally Man's will, just being in front of him is enough to send a full grown demon into a panic. Those in service to him have it even worse. He eventually collected himself, a quiet notification on his phone confirmed the Tally Man's words about Bill's payment. He left the building, saying goodbye to the Debties 1-3, on his way and strolled out into Pride.
A week off, he could use it. He was tired, his eyes were dry, his back hurt, his head was throbbing, a limo was about to hit him… what?
He didn't really hear the honks, he didn't see the headlights, he recognized that it was long as he bounced three times on its roof. Must be Valentino's. He hit the trunk of the limo on his way to the pavement and he laid there, the shock blocking out pain.
Well, this wasn't the way he thought the day would end, at least he'll get some rest. A day or two at least. He wasn't a sinner to survive something like this, but he was a Bonds Demon. His life isn't his, neither is his death. The chains will drag his corpse to his apartment and wait for the Tally Man's magic to put him together. He just closed his eyes and awaited the blissful void. As the chains lifted him he let out a sharp exhale, caught and a weak.
- Fuuuuuck… - this was not gonna kill him. Great, now he's gonna have to be a vegetable until he heals, unless. He looked at his chains, who were, for lack of a better word, looking back at him - Mercy kill? - he suggested, as the two reminders of his bondage looked at each other and quickly snapped his neck. He let out a sigh, as the chains dragged his corpse towards an apartment complex.