Chapter Twenty-Three

Even though it was a structure built by demonic hands, the hall that they were using for the summit was nothing less than divine. Chandeliers made of solid gold and diamonds covered the ceiling, and every wall was furnished with beautiful red drapes. As the ambassadors poured in, Zia sighed and straightened her hair. She was wearing a simplistic red gown with dull rubies woven within. Elizabeth wore a similar dress, except it was green and used emeralds instead of rubies, while Kashif donned a simple tuxedo. "Compared to everyone else, we look like a bunch of bums," Elizabeth joked as Zia rubbed her aching forehead. The other ambassadors' suits and dresses were all exceedingly more extravagant than theirs—especially the delegates from the upper levels. Hell, even the servers rushing around bussing tables had better clothing.

"This is just embarrassing," Zia mumbled as she stared at the chandeliers above. How was she going to approach anyone when she looked like some sort of half-assed escort? "Hey, God, do you mind showing your humble servant some mercy?" Maybe it was because she was frustrated, but that little prayer was too audible to slip under everyone's noses.

"Ms. Lombardi, you should know better than anyone that there's no God here," a familiar voice called out to her from a nearby table. When she realized who it was, Zia bit her lip. Her day just went from bad to worse.

"Dr. Leeson! How have you been these past few days?" she asked. The devil chuckled and nodded as he pulled up a nearby chair. It took every ounce of Zia's willpower to stop herself from scowling.

"I've been just fine! Thanks for asking!" he said as he plucked a small cup of water from a nearby tray. "I hope you found everything in the hotel satisfactory," he said as he sipped his drink. "It's a shame I wasn't able to stay. I would've spent the past four days preparing for this summit." She wasn't sure what was worse, Dr. Leeson's atrocious grin or his half-baked acting. The devil was trying his best to keep up appearances. However, she saw straight through him. The second she arrived at the hotel, he immediately left for some unknown office—no doubt to partake in some of the Demon's more secretive activities.

"I'm amazed you can keep up with all the work. I swear that you must have the Almighty on your side. I mean, how else could you explain that amazing luck? All this time and nothing has gone wrong," Zia grinned as she watched the Demon's lips quiver. However, Dr. Leeson wasn't the only one with secrets to prod at.

"As I said before, there's no God here. The reason everything is going so smoothly is our preparedness. Not all Demons are impulsive barbarians, Ms. Lombardi. Some of us are quite sophisticated. I'm sure that, if you give them a chance, you will find many of my brothers and sisters agree with me."

"This smug prick!" Zia thought as she clenched her fists. She had given his kind more than enough chances when she was damned! She swore that she recognized over half of the Demons currently present. In the past, she had suffered greatly at many of their hands. "Sorry, but I can't make any promises." Thank God she didn't have a natural face, or else she might've let something slip.

"I knew that's what you would say," Dr. Leeson conceded as he rolled his fingers against the table, "but don't worry, I'm a patient man." She nearly leaped for joy when she saw the Demon get up to leave. "I know you'll come around eventually, Ms. Lombardi. And when you do, remember that my office door is always open." The second he was out of earshot, Zia turned to Elizabeth and frowned.

"Do you think the Drakes can be swayed to that devil's side?" she asked her subordinate. After a few moments of thought, Elizabeth frowned and shook her head.

"I doubt it. Even though they're sharing information, they can't do anything until Purgatory's population has been stabilized. Thanks to the flood of damnations recently, there have been just too many eyes on their government for them to make such a bold move." Zia pinched the bridge of her nose and scowled as she watched a group of Drakes walk by.

"What about the Giants? I thought they were trying to improve relations with Purgatory. Do you think they would try something?" Yet again, Elizabeth shook her head. In her silence, the bodyguard took a small notepad out from one of her pockets. Whenever Zia had her do any research like this, she would record her findings in a notebook. It was blessed with a cheap enchantment that made it incapable of being opened by anyone but her.

"If the Giants form a treaty with the Drakes, that will only result in the loosening of Purgatory's borders," Elizabeth said, "and—even though they hate Angels—they wouldn't dare move against Heaven without some serious backing." Zia groaned as she watched Elizabeth close her notepad.

"So, what you're saying is we've hit a wall. Dr. Leeson and his pals sure are thorough." At this rate, she'd come out of this summit empty-handed. "If we want to find out what those devils are planning, we can't count on them messing up." That meant they would have to bring in some outside help.

"We could recruit an operator to intercept their transmissions," Elizabeth suggested as she leaned back into her chair. "What about that guy you spoke to on the ship? I think his name was Jeremy." Zia didn't even have to think to know that was a bad idea. Jeremy was one of the Bureau's top operators, but he was also one of the busiest. Even though Zia would love to have access to his skills, what she needed was somebody reliable.

"You could always ask the Templar," Kashif chimed in as he rubbed his aching left shoulder. Fancy suits were never comfortable for him. "He was there the night that you followed Dr. Leeson, after all. Plus, since he's an Angel, I doubt he'd mind helping you out with stuff like this if it helps protect Heaven." Zia scoffed; that man was not like ordinary Angels.

"I doubt that crazy bastard would be interested in working closely like that. He's a Cherub that prefers to fly alone." Even though she and Aeron Weber were technically partners, that didn't mean they were comrades. He wouldn't follow her orders like Elizabeth or Kashif, and since he was one of the Bureau's top officials, she didn't have the civic power to ask for his assistance publicly.

"For our plan to work, we need the Templar's political support," Elizabeth said as she chewed on a particularly crunchy cookie. "If we could convince him to announce an official endorsement of you and the lower levels, the rest of the Bureau would have to follow suit. After all, he is the face of the judges." Elizabeth was correct. In Heaven, the templar was a godlike position. If Aeron openly supported Zia and her jurisdictions, she could get a much-needed boost to her diplomatic power. Plus, it would allow them to open an official investigation into Dr. Leeson and his contacts, which would make their job easier.

"Having his support would be nice. However, I'm in no position to ask for it. Even though the other diplomats know we're on good terms, there'd be hell to pay if I ask Aeron for his support." Thanks to that whole fiasco she started on Charon's ferry, those bastards would be watching her every move. "Ugh… I'm starting to regret spitting on those fools' pride," Zia thought as she bit one of her thumbnails. "Dammit! What should I do?!" She was out of options.

"Maybe we could—" Kashif started only to be cut off when a small explosion rocked the gathering hall. Immediately, he and Elizabeth dived to shield Zia.

"What in God's name was that?!" Griswold yelped as he rubbed some dust from the explosion out of his eyes. "Are we under attack?!"

"That's impossible," Zia thought as she reached for her pistol. Diplomats from all over the Universe were gathered here today. There wasn't a faction in all of creation that would willingly assault them here. And if the summit were being targeted, an attack wouldn't begin with such a minor explosion. Hell, calling it a flashy firework would be a more accurate description!

"Interesting… I can't say I expected that to happen," a voice said from the center of the dust cloud. Immediately afterward, Zia sighed and lowered her weapon; she knew who it was instantly.

"Well, Mr. Weber, you sure know how to make an entrance." She wasn't the only one who recognized the little troublemaker. Dr. Leeson also realized that the Bureau's Angel was the intruder. The Cherub was dressed in a simplistic black tuxedo, with two cross-shaped cufflinks dangling off his wrists. He looked quite dashing, but that professional image was ruined when a strange blue puff of smoke came out of one of the Cherub's pockets.

"I didn't know these guys could burp," he whispered as he fished a vial out of his coat. Inside the glass was the tunneller Dr. Leeson had given him and a few shards of metal. With a curious gaze, Aeron watched the insect eat one of the shards before burping out a small number of flames. The tiny explosion this caused was loud but mostly harmless.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Mr. Weber," Dr. Leeson laughed as he handed Aeron a glass of wine and a few scrolls. "These contain the summit's schedule as well as some important information regarding formalities. If you wouldn't mind, please read them, and don't be late."

"Of course," Aeron nodded as he and the Demon shook hands. As the two men greeted the other, Zia sighed and turned her attention to Dr. Leeson's entourage. Judging by their quivering lips, they didn't care much for the Templar's company, which wasn't surprising. Angels and Demons were natural enemies, after all.

"Please, go and enjoy the reception. Our leader will be with you shortly." As Dr. Leeson slithered back into the crowd of diplomats, Aeron sighed and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Okay, little buddy, lunchtime is over," the Cherub cooed as he sealed the tunneller's vial with potent magic. There was only one thing left to do now.

"It seems that God might've heard your prayers, Ms. Lombardi," Elizabeth mumbled as she watched Aeron hurry over to their table.

"Do you have business with us, Templar?" Zia asked him as she watched some of the other ambassadors turn their inquisitive gazes towards them. As she thought, talking to this Angel in public would bring her nothing but trouble.

"I just have a few questions," he said as he sat down in one of the cushioned seats.

"It isn't like you're short on resources," Zia started as she crossed her arms, "can't you just bring your queries to Jeremy or another operator?" After checking to make sure nobody was eavesdropping on them, Zia leaned over and brought her voice down to a whisper. "Let me get straight to the point. Why, with all your options, are you starting with me?"

"Because," Aeron grunted, "my questions can't be answered by people who live in Heaven. I need the word of someone who spent time here, someone like you." Now that caught her off guard. What information could he possibly need that required her knowledge? Usually, Zia would be hesitant about answering a question like this. Dredging up memories from her painful past wasn't something she particularly enjoyed doing. However, since it was an Angel who was asking, she'd make an exception.

"What do you want to know?" Zia asked as she leaned back into her chair. As Aeron made himself comfortable, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black cigarette box. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and placed it in his mouth in one smooth motion.

"It doesn't seem like anybody's listening to us," he thought as he placed the box back into his pocket. Thanks to the drug's boost to his hearing, he could quickly tell when any undesirable persons got too close.

"You don't have to worry about spies. I would've sensed them by now if there were any. Just go ahead and ask your questions, and please, put the fruit away," Zia said as she rolled her fingers against the tabletop.

"You know what this stuff is?" the Angel mumbled as he pressed the burning tip of the cigar against his heel. Zia nodded; of course, she knew what fruit was.

"Before my skin was seared to its current sensitive state, I used that drug frequently to help me avoid any pursuing Demons. After so many years, I've grown to despise the stench of it. "Now," she mumbled as she took a sip from her glass, "what do you want from me?"

"I guess there's no use beating around the bush," Aeron thought as he turned his focus to the ambassador. "I want to know about the souls that are kept in Tartarus." Out of all the possible questions, that was one of the few that Zia hadn't expected. The name of that infernal prison wasn't mentioned often, especially not amongst Angels and their ilk.

"Can you be a bit more specific? There are thousands of souls trapped in that hellhole," the ambassador mumbled. Tartarus sat in the middle of the Ninth Circle. It was one of the very first prisons constructed in the realm. Only the worst of the worst got sent there.

"Angels," Aeron clarified, "I overheard some Demons talking about it. They said that there were Cherubs imprisoned in Tartarus, and I'm not talking about Satan." For a brief second, the air stood still. "I thought that, since you had to clamber through all nine circles to escape, you might be able to shed some light on this rumor," he continued.

"Your kin? In Tartarus?" She was under the impression that Aeron was the first of his kind to step foot in Hell for centuries. "Sorry," the ambassador apologized as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "But besides common knowledge and hearsay, I don't know anything about that place." Back in the day, when she was wandering through Hell's barren wastelands, her focus was on evading capture, not research. "Unless you're one of the poor bastards trapped there, information about that pit is almost impossible to find."

"So, there isn't anything you can do?" he asked as he turned to Elizabeth, busy scribbling in her notebook. "What about her? Do you think your little bloodhound could dig up something?" Once again, Zia shook her head.

"Like I said before. Unless you're one of the souls trapped there, or a member of Hell's top brass, trying to find anything tangible about Tartarus is a fool's errand. Searching for information about that place is not worth your time," Zia told him. Even if Angels were being held there, it wasn't like they could do anything. "Demons are notorious tricksters. What you heard was probably just the latest in a string of gossip." Aeron bit his lip; something about this whole thing didn't sit well with him. During the days leading up to the summit, he spent his time questioning some other Demons. Ordinary citizens would usually parrot the rumor, but they would give him a different response if he asked a soldier.

"I'm sorry," an officer told him yesterday morning, "but I'm not allowed to comment. Do you mind telling me where you heard this silly story?" The whole ordeal stunk of corruption and conspiracy. Then again, that didn't surprise him. He was literally in Hell. There wasn't a soul down here that didn't have something to hide.

"If that's the case, I can only get answers by breaking into Tartarus itself," Aeron sighed as he mumbled under his breath. It wasn't like him to get so worked up over hearsay. However, this one intrigued him in ways others hadn't. What could he say? He just loved a good mystery.

"As much as I care about the Demons' idle chatter, you need to worry about this summit, Mr. Weber," Zia said as she got up from her chair. "Once Satan shows up, the party will begin. You need to be ready for that. Since you're an Angel, those hooved bastards likely have something planned for you. Who knows? Maybe they'll send you to Tartarus to join your brethren." Aeron couldn't help but smirk at the ambassador's little joke. He'd welcome that. It would make his job a lot easier.

"Well… keep your ears open. If you do, I'll owe you a favor," Aeron told her. He wasn't in the business of trading goodwill, but today he'd make an exception.

"What sort of favor?" Zia mumbled as she lightly scratched her itchy skin. "If it's a personal one, I'm afraid you'll have to go to someone else. However, if you're offering an endorsement, that's a different story." Aeron scoffed.

"If you want my support, just ask for it," he responded as the other ambassadors whispered. "Heck—in their eyes—you already have it. Why not make it official?" Even though Zia was much more politically gifted than he was, that didn't mean she was flawless. Like most geniuses, she tended to overthink things. "Well… I guess I can give her a little push," the Templar thought as he stood up and shook the ambassador's hand. "Ms. Lombardi, you've gained yourself an ally!" His purposefully loud proclamation stunned Heaven's other diplomats, bringing the old farts to their knees.

"You could've been a bit subtler," Elizabeth mumbled as she watched some of Zia's rivals start to sweat bullets. That little outburst probably added a few weeks of work onto their schedules. "Do you think you'll be alright, Ms. Lombardi?" she asked. "When negotiations start in a few hours, they will try their best to knock you down now."

"I'm not that worried about those stuck-up old prunes. Until they get back to Heaven, those bastards can't do anything to me," she hissed as a group of guards lined up against the central staircase. "What worries me is Dr. Leeson and his entourage. We still have no idea what that devil is planning. Maybe if we—" she started only for Aeron to cut her off.

"Be quiet. Something's happening," the Angel said as silence fell over the hall. That was when Zia heard the footsteps. They were quiet at first but quickly grew into thundering claps that made her entire body shake. Soon, it seemed as if the whole summit hall was shuddering.

"Attention!" Dr. Leeson called out from a small pulpit above the main hall. "The Ruler of the Nine Circles will now grace you with her presence." Aeron and Zia both bit their lips; it was finally time.

"So, Satan's decided to show himself," Aeron thought as he pushed his way to the front of the crowd. What could he say? He was curious to see what the Prince of Darkness looked like. However, besides that, there was something else that grabbed his interest. "Wait," he thought, "did Dr. Leeson just call his lord a… no… there's no way." Aeron shook his head. "I must've misheard him!" the Cherub thought as the Antichrist dramatically strolled into the hall.

"I'm happy to see that everyone's in attendance," an unexpectedly high-pitched voice said from the precipice of the main staircase. That was when Aeron finally laid eyes upon the leader of the Nine Circles, and for a second, the Bureau's top judge thought he was hallucinating.

"Holy…" he mumbled—at a loss for words—as Hell's ruler walked down to the bottom of the steps. "I can't say I expected this." By all accounts, he thought that Satan was a guy. However, that couldn't be further from the truth. The ruler of Hell was truthfully a beautiful, voluptuous woman. The black hair cascaded down from her scalp looked like it was woven from the shadows themselves, and her horns—which consisted of a pair of antler-like bones—were wrapped neatly around her head like a crown of thorns.

"Well, aren't you shocked?" Zia giggled as she watched Aeron's jaw drop to the floor. "I thought you, being the templar and all, would've known that Satan was a woman." Instead of answering her, the dumbstruck Cherub just shook his head.

"Everyone I've ever known has always told me that she was a male," he said. Yet again, Zia laughed and patted the Templar's back.

"That makes sense. She was damned long before you were even born. Unless, like me, you spent some quality time down here, I doubt you'd ever discover the truth." Zia shook her head; that rumor was unexpectedly common up in Heaven. "Although, I honestly didn't expect her to look so young. Today's the first time I've seen her in person." Aeron sighed as he rubbed his aching forehead.

"And none of you ambassadors ever thought to correct this error? I know for a fact that many of my brethren would be shocked to learn this." Instead of answering his question, Zia just grinned and shrugged.

"Hey, as far as Heaven is concerned, Satan's gender isn't significant," she exclaimed as her eyebrows narrowed. "She's still the same bloodthirsty maniac that has plagued all of creation for eons."

"Right," it would be naive to forget that, even though Satan's proper form was a breathtaking woman, he was still staring at the fallen Angel who betrayed God and all his kin. "The Nine Circles sure is an interesting place," Aeron thought as Satan and her army of bodyguards walked past him. The hair around her ears parted for a moment, allowing him to see a very recognizable earpiece. It was gold, and its sides were embroidered with tiny silver snakes.

"Do you see that earpiece that she's wearing?" Zia asked him—she must've noticed it too. "The design is a tad more complex, but doesn't it remind you of the transmitter that Dr. Leeson uses?" Aeron nodded—that thought had crossed his mind.

"That devil has probably been feeding her information since we arrived in Purgatory," Aeron scowled. As he spoke, Zia couldn't help but smile. They were finally getting somewhere! Sadly, before she could celebrate, the Templar crushed her hopes. "You're ecstatic. I can see it in your eyes," he said as he straightened his jacket and slipped on his transmitter. Jeremy would want to hear about this. "But I recommend that you curb that enthusiasm. It isn't surprising that someone like Satan has been spying on us. Until we know what sort of information that Demon has sent her, we can't do anything." They would need hard evidence to convince the other realms to move against one of the Universe's leading factions.

"You know what they say," Zia shrugged, "there's no smoke without fire." Even though they still had much to do, they had finally found an answer to one of their many questions. And in Zia's eyes, that was more than enough. The positive aura that was exuding off her being was suffocating and made even Aeron crack a smile. However, this moment of bliss ended quickly when they heard a familiar voice call to them from across the hall.

"Since when did the Templar care about petty interworld politics?" the voice said as a sinister chill ran down their spines. "Now, now," the voice's owner whispered again as a pale hand wrapped around Aeron's left shoulder, "why don't you let me in on the fun? We Angels have to stick together."

"Lady Satan!" they heard Dr. Leeson cry out as several Demons rushed towards them. "That Angel is the Templar. He's too dangerous for you to be so close to him!" Aeron shivered as he felt the Antichrist's palm rub against his neck. He wasn't scared, just surprised. Even though she had a beautiful figure and flawless skin, her touch was slimy and scaly like a python.

"One of her epithets is the father of lies. Her entire appearance might be an illusion," Aeron thought. Sadly, he had no way to prove his little hypothesis.

"You two are wary of me, I can tell," Satan whispered, "however—after this summit—I hope you'll come to view me differently. Once the talks and negotiations are finished, why don't you both stop by my office? I know you two have some questions for me. Especially you, Templar."

"I'm assuming that you're referring to the contract?" Aeron asked her. What else could it be? However, much to his and Zia's shock, the Antichrist just shook her head.

"That's a small part of it," she said as several ambassadors started to make their way into the large meeting hall. "Ah… it seems that we've run out of time. If you want specifics, you'll have to stop by my office." With that, she shook Aeron's hand and walked away. "I wish you two the best of luck in the summit. Especially you, Ms. Lombardi, tell your citizens I said 'Hi.'"

"That witch, she's a damn eyesore!" Zia cursed as she watched Dr. Leeson and his guards form a wall between their lady and the Templar.

"My lady! That was far too dangerous!" Dr. Leeson yelled as he and the rest of the Demons disappeared behind the crowd of diplomats. "The Templar has the power to kill you! Why don't you realize that?! I still can't fathom why you decided to invite him here."

"It seems that Dr. Leeson isn't too fond of you," Zia told Aeron as she angrily straightened her hair.

"I already know that," he mumbled. Something strange was going on. At this point, it was apparent that Dr. Leeson was feeding his lady information about him. However, the logic behind this decision eluded him. If the Antichrist felt uneasy about his power, then why was he allowed to come to this summit in the first place?

"Ms. Lombardi! They're about to start the meeting!" Elizabeth called from the main entrance. She and Kashif were both holding the gigantic doors open. Their humongous metal frames must have weighed at least four hundred pounds each.

"You two try way too hard, you know that, right?" Zia sighed as she hurried into the conference hall. "Are you coming, Templar?" After a few awkward moments of silence, Aeron nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah," he said as he watched some candlelight dance against the walls, "I'm coming." For some reason, this whole situation made him feel uncomfortable. Why did the Bureau decide to send him here and not some other diplomat? And why was Satan so interested in him? "So many questions are popping up at once," he thought as his lips curved into a frustrated frown. This visit was going downhill fast. "I've got a feeling that this report will be a pain," he continued while holding his transmitter up to his ear. Once he was past the main entrance, Elizabeth and Kashif closed the massive doors behind him—enveloping the lobby in a deafening silence.

"Heh, he's perfect," Satan muttered as she stared down at the empty lobby from the rafters above. She was sure now; Aeron Weber would make an excellent addition to her collection. "I hope you're ready, Mr. Weber, because the wheel of destiny is slowly starting to turn." She closed her eyes and sank into the shadows, disappearing like a fish in deep water.

Three thousand years ago...

It's amazing what you notice about yourself when you keep a journal. I've been running around the Nine Circles for eons, and every day I see something new. I came into this world as an Angel, pissed off a deity, and somehow stumbled into my current position running the Universe's dumpster fire. However, it may be more accurate to say that I'm Hell's first prisoner. I've pined for Earth's blue skies and the mortals' unguarded smiles with each passing day. I know it may sound rich coming from me, but even I long for a change in scenery now and then. The dead are just not as fun as their living counterparts—it's that simple. And I'm not the only lord who's suffering from boredom. God seems to have gotten a bit tired of the Universe as well. The worlds he's creating today are far less unique than those I've seen in the past. It may not be evident to most, but it wasn't that hard to notice for someone as old as me.

Our king of kings has also gotten a bit lax when it comes to damnations, as well. In the past century alone, my yearly intake of souls has nearly quadrupled. People are getting damned today for far less than before, and I have no idea why. Maybe the old prick upstairs is finally starting to lose it, or perhaps the Bureau has tightened their terms and conditions. Either way, something interesting is happening up there. Sadly, I have no method to know for sure. The day I was thrown down here, I lost all my connections in Heaven. My Demons can only venture as far as the mortal realm. God's garden is beyond their meager capabilities. If I want to learn what's happening up in paradise, I'll need to get a new pair of eyes.