Time: A long time ago (Shax and Verin's young adulthood)
Place: Aministrative halls of Hell, Earth "This isn't really punishment for you." Verin leaned back against the rock wall beside the desk. "Of course it is." Shax slouched on the high stool, rolling the blood pen back and forth across the ledger. "It's so dull and monotonous. And it takes forever." "Yeah, but you get to boss people around, you little shit. Stop moaning." The next demon approached the desk. All of the demons in line were a variation on a theme—huge horns, hairy bodies, troll-esque faces, each with a wriggling sack slung over one shoulder and documents clutched in their free claws. Shax reached for the documents, careful not to touch the attached demon. Krampuses weren't careful at all with hygiene and they stank like wet, swamp-muddied socks. Shax sighed and sorted through the papers, all in order. The goblins at the head of the line helped the Krampuses with the forms if they weren't the literate sorts, for which Shax was grateful. Goblin handwriting was far superior to Krampus. "Male child, several infractions—attempted drowning of kittens?" Shax shook his head. He should've been beyond shock by this point, but human children astounded him still. "Well, that's an automatic eatable offense." He checked off the appropriate boxes, signed in the supervisor space and added a note to the bottom. "You have royal permission to terrorize as much as you please prior to consumption." "Thank you, highness," the Krampus snarled as he retrieved the papers and moved on. It wasn't disrespect. They all spoke in snarls. "It's all mixed messages, you know." Shax turned to Verin while they waited for the next Krampus to trundle up. "Shax, steal me this. Shax, steal me that. You're such an excellent thief, Shax. Followed by recriminations and punishment when I steal the wrong thing." Verin snorted. "You stole your mom's tiara. Even I knew that was a stupid fucking move." "Still. You see my point, don't you?" Shax didn't expect an answer beyond more snorts, so he turned back to his Krampus supervising duties. The next Krampus had hunched shoulders, eyes flicking this way and that. Not suspicious at all. "You bagged this one for making siblings cry? Tsk." Shax pointed and intoned with his best imperious voice. "Put that one back and sing the beatings versus eatings song seven times before you go out for a replacement." "But Prince Shax, I’m so hungry!" "You should've thought of that before making an inappropriate catch. Go!" The Krampus whimpered, but hurried off. Royalty had its privileges, after all. The next one had a sack that was kicking and shrieking. Oddly, the sack seemed to know demon royalty. "Prince Shax! Prince Shax!" "So you have a human child in there?" Shax tapped his pen on the stone desk. The Krampus pulled out a hideous grin and nodded with enthusiasm. I will not bang my head on the desk. I will not. "Open the sack," Shax said with a weary sigh. As soon as the sack was untied, an imp wriggled free and leaped to his hooves, pointing at the Krampus. "You are in so much trouble!" Then he caught himself and knelt properly. "Your highness. I beg pardon." "I should say. Who do you belong to, little one?" Shax did a quick assessment as he spoke. The imp appeared unharmed. "Prince Vassago, highness." Shax clicked his tongue in reproof. "Well, you probably are in trouble then…" He glanced at the designation on the paperwork. "Krampus Three Seventeen. Go and tell Uncle Vassago the number, little one. He'll have to decide while this Krampus goes to sit in the corner over there and does not have supper." The noises coming from Verin made it clear he was stifling a guffaw. "You're not helping things. I hate supervising the annual Krampus feed. A thousand Krampuses and I swear only three of them have any sense. There are rules." The next Krampus in line had a sack that was crying. That wasn't too unusual, but this sounded more heartbroken than frightened. Shax frowned as he looked over the paperwork. "This is very messy." "Do by self," the Krampus said, puffing its chest out with pride. Ah. One of the barely verbal ones. "I see. So, the reason for trapping appears to be—and correct me if I'm wrong since it's difficult to decipher--kissing other girl." "Yes. On list." "What list? Certainly not on ours." The Krampus felt around in its ragged, dirty cloak and produced a much creased and stained list. "List. Man gave." "You know better than to take direction from humans," Shax grumbled and smoothed the list out. "Pits' sakes. No. These are normal human things, like kissing another girl. Strife!" Shax waited until the goblin administrator huffed and puffed down the hall. "My prince?" "Find out where this list came from and make certain the source is eliminated. Also, have someone return this child. She shouldn't be here." "Yes, Prince Shax." Shax put his head on the desk and heaved a huge, I-must-have-patience breath. "How many more do we have to go, Ver?" Verin gave his tally sheet a quick glance. "Hey, you've seen a lot already. Only seven hundred and thirty-eight more." It was Shax's turn to whimper, but he managed a sub-audible one. Dignity and all. "Next!"
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About The Brimstone Journals
Extra treats for our Brimstone readers, Brimstone Journals will post every Tuesday. Short scenes from characters' lives before, after or during the stories. About the Author
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