Zeph wouldn't know it but they didn't simply fly through the air. It was something more akin to warping than flying but the explanation would've been wasted on him anyway.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0KDLrHtxE
All he knew was they were walking away from the beach of Hell when all the sudden, they were transported to this new cave-like structure.
Nico's grip loosened from his shoulder and Zeph looked around.
"Huh, you aren't throwing up." Nico inspected Zeph, wearing a look of genuine puzzlement for the first time.
"What happened?" Zeph instinctively tried to catch his breath before realizing he didn't need to. He wasn't affected by the move at all.
Nico shook free of the distraction. "We moved! We're in a mostly safe place, now. This is my domain. I call it, 'Oasis."
Nico outstretched both his arms to show off the new surroundings in all their opulence. It was a sparsely lit cavern with more of the same reddish stone that filled the rest of hell. It was like an underground liar. The rock walls bore small openings that vaguely resembled hallways but were closer to crude tunnels with dark bends that obscure their destination.
It was really just more Hell, except danker and less open.
Zeph blinked on the 'Oasis' and wondered if the real Oasis was hidden around the corner somewhere. Then he searched for the punchline behind Nico's eyes but the demon seemed to be completely serious and a little giddy.
"So, what do you think?"
Zeph watched him with uncertainty before decorum forced words out of him. "Uhm, it seems like a safe area. I guess that's why you call it the Oasis."
"Good. We worked hard for it." Nico proudly straightened his vest and shirt. "Well, back to business. This place isn't cheap. I have someone here who can send you back but I need something in exchange. I need soul coins."
"Coins? You mean literal money? It's literally a business transaction?"
"Of course, Zephy, my boy," Nico stopped himself and stared in a direction that made him frown. "Ew. Let's just keep it at Zeph."
"But I'm broke, you gave me my only two soul coins and I don't know how to get 'em back."
Nico silently shook his head and guided Zeph down a stone corridor that maintained an ambient light from no apparent source.
"You're impatient, fallen. Your mortality is showing."
They cornered a passageway and entered a dug-out nook. Inside was a messy desk covered in mechanical parts and tinkering tools. A tall-backed stool stood positioned in front of the desk with no sign of life from where Zeph was standing.
"Spin, are you busy, sir?" Nico stopped at the threshold of the shop opening.
The seat of the stool swiveled around to reveal a small stumpy demon with thick wrinkles all over his body.
"Neeks! What can I do ya for?" The demon's voice was scratched like he gargled glass on each syllable. "And who 'companies ya?"
He was a petite creature, not much larger than a football. A thick layer of loosely folded skin wrapped his form, creasing at his corners and joints. He was practically laying in the chair but in the fetal position with short, atrophied legs dangling uselessly over the edge. His arms however were long, with lean, narrow muscles maneuvering narrow, needle-fingers.
Nico was unphased by the otherwise repulsive appearance of the demon. "Spin, sir. We need an expert." He turned to Zeph and patted the back of the stool. "Spin, here, is a bit of an expert in all things transitive energy."
"Oh Neek, ya flatter me. Be happy ta help, though. What we workin' wif?" Spin smiled toothily while he spoke. Said teeth scarcely lined his gums, jagged, chipped and of various colors that didn't represent a healthy dental routine.
Nico explained the circumstances of Zeph's death and Spin shared some concurring thoughts about Dunball and Heaven's rejection. Zeph barely heard either of them. He was distracted by the mysteriously fleshy piece of meat that was wedged between two of Spin's teeth.
"Great! Does that work for you, Zeph?"
Zeph shook his head as he realized both demons were staring at him. Nico gave a face of mock impatience. "Me? Does what work?"
Nico took a step closer to Zeph. "Do you want to make a deal?"
Pete's parting words echoed in his ears.
Don't make deals.
But he also said Dylan was in danger, that he needed to find a way out of hell. So far everyone Zeph had met in Hell had tried to kill him except for Nico. Was it truly possible that Nico could help him? Other options hadn't made themselves apparent.
"Can you help me save Dylan?"
"Let's be clear about one thing: I do not care about helping you or any mortal. I can get you back to the mortal plane, though. What you do with the trip is up to you... mostly." Nico folded his hands behind his back.
"This is where you tell me where the rest of the deal comes in, isn't it?"
"Yes, Zeph. How's 500 sound?"
"500 what?"
"Souls."
"Souls!? I don't have any souls!"
"Surely you are familiar with the concept of debt."
"Okay but how do I pay it back if I'm broke?"
"Honestly, Zeph, keep up. This is a simple concept. When we make this deal, you will be under contract with me."
"A contract? Wait, can we talk about this first, I don't even know what's going on."
"What's going on is you get what you want and I get what I want." Nico smiled a shark's grin. "All you need to do is sign the contract, you know since it's going to be a debt. It's up to you, though. It's a good deal."
"Wait, I don't know. Can't we talk this out a little more?"
"No, there is nothing to talk about. We send you back to the mortal plane and then you owe me souls."
"See it's that last part that's the problem. How do I-"
"Zeph," Nico cut him off. "Do you wanna save your son?"
"He's still not my son."
"Whatever. This is not that complicated," With a wave of his hand, Nico summoned a curling, floating parchment between them. It glowed with fiery red letters emerging as if written by an invisible hand. The terms of the contract manifested before them as Nico spoke. "In exchange for transport, whenever you end someone's life within the duration of the contract, I get their soul and that's worth one coin. Until your debt is fulfilled."
Zeph's eyebrows furled as he stared at the emanating light swelled in his vision. He was still working out what any of it all meant.
Nico rolled his eyes. "It's simple really."
Realization dawned on him, late as always. Zeph met Nico's eyes in bewilderment. "You want me to kill 500 people?!"
Nico clapped. "Impressive! It's like watching a mouse finally navigate a maze."
"I have never killed anyone, before. Now you want me to murder 500 innocent people?" Zeph turned around and started searching for the exit.
Nico calmly followed Zeph, like a predator. "Innocent? I have no use for the innocent, fallen."
Zeph stumbled down the rocky hallway's uneven ground, checking around corners and passages for any way to escape. Panic set in more and more each time he accidentally walked in on the demon residents in each room. Their demonic faces twisted with teeth or tentacles, but always hungry looking.
A small crowd of demons gathered behind Nico as he followed after Zeph. "I need the damned, fallen. Not innocents. I need the baddest of the bad. Unrepented assholes that deserve what's coming to them. My domain and its safety is not cheap. Nor are the people under my care. Your sacrifices of those damned will help maintain this domain."
"You're insane. I am leaving this place. I'll find another way back!"
Nico stalked after him without haste.
"No one will tolerate your existence, fallen. You are tainted. Half the city would kill you as an affront to the natural order," He let out a disturbing laugh. "The other half would eat you just to know what you taste like."
"I don't care! I'll run. I-I'll fight." Zeph gritted his teeth as he rounded another corner. "I won't give up!"
"Stop this game, Zeph." Nico's voice started imperious, but there was something hidden in his tone that was wiggling beneath the surface. "This is frivolous. You can go back to the mortals. Save Dylan. Save the girl. I will get you there. You can take your time paying me back."
Zeph found the end of the hallway.
He stared at the red-veined stone, feeling the heat of the half-dozen demons standing only a few feet behind him. Looming. Breathing.
The crowd stood at the gates of his emotions.
He had to escape to save Dylan, but the only way out was through the demons. If he accepted, he would have to take the lives of others. Humans.
People.
His eyes welled, but he tried to blink it away. He was back in that awful bedroom again, risking life and limb and now his very soul to save someone else's son.
He never left that room. He was still there.
But he didn't stop then. He couldn't stop now. Nothing would stop him. Zeph knew he would go to hell and back for Dylan.
Zeph closed his eyes on the stone, back to the demons, and released his clenched fists. The cool sensation of releasing his fingers filled his palms. It held his hands as he recognized something that Nico said.
"You called him by his name. You called him Dylan." Zeph turned around to Nico. "You remembered his name the whole time didn't you?"
"No. I-I just was trying to get under your skin." Nico's eyes darted to his compatriots.
"You did! Are you trying not to-to care?" Zeph took a step forward that Nico took backward. "Niquitius, are you afraid to admit that you relate to us, mere mortals?"
"You are being ridiculous. You sound ridiculous. This is purely for financial gain." Nico started to believe his words. "Now sign the damn contract so I can be rid of you."
"Oasis." Zephaniah looked around the hall, as if to understand it's granite as he stepped closer and closer. "This place. These demons. You are hiding them. From the natural order you were talking about. What's wrong with these guys that they have to be hidden in your domain?"
"Enough, mortal. Do not pretend to understand us. Sign the contract or I will resend my offer and leave you to wander the wastes on your own." Nico's face hardened and the contract inched closer.
"50." Zeph declared.
"What?"
"500 is too much. 50" His eyes narrowed on the demon. The glowing red letters flickered and changed on the contract as Zeph spoke.
Nico smirked and paused for almost too long. "50? What do I look like, charity? I can easily get 400 elsewhere."
The red letters flickered again, filling in some demonic symbology for 400.
"Then go get 400 elsewhere. I can do 100. How's 100?"
Zeph watched the letters shift this time.
"300 and I will be losing money." Nico's face glowed red with the shifting of the letters.
"150-"
"200 and that's my final offer!" Nico's eyes brimmed with excitement and the corners of his smile touched his ears. The glow of the letters stared back at Zephaniah. He could almost feel it on his skin. Or maybe that was his cheeks filling with the implications of accepting this offer.
If he accepted this, he would have to kill 200 people.
"What happens if I fail to get you all the souls?"
"Then you relinquish your soul to me, and I can do with it what I wish. It will be transported immediately and directly to me from wherever you break the contract." Nico's smile doesn't budge.
"And you will transport me to where Dylan is?"
"I can get you very close. Same time and space as him but you won't just pop up next to him. You'll have to walk a bit, I am sure."
One last time, the letters shifted on the parchment, and finally Zeph could make sense of the characters. It was just as he said, plain and simple.
Transport to the mortal realm in exchange for a debt of 200 unrepented souls.
The details laid clear beneath it in plain language. Though demonic, Zeph could read it as well as English. Complex legal jargon was absent here. There were no tricks that Zeph could see in its clauses.
Zeph reached towards the contract and a pen materialized in his hand.
"I am going to save him, Nico. Nothing is going to stop me." Zephaniah Rios signed the bottom of the agreement in a cursive far neater than he'd ever written when he was alive.
Nico's smile faded with the glow of the contract. The paper disappeared as if it were never there. Nico and Zeph stood in the center of the hallway and met eyes once more.
"I guess we will just have to find out."
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