The Devil's Apprentice by Patrick Stewart (polar express read aloud TXT) 📕

glass doors. It led into a wide corridor. Torches flamed with the red fire of hell. The walls were dark, like the colour of blood left to waste. At the end was the staircase that led up into darkness. It was up there that Satani resided.

Alex had only seen Satani the one time. When she had torn out her his soul and fed him her juices… he shuddered at the thought. The woman was equally attractive as she was terrifying. Alex hated the bitch. Part of him feared her. Another part was enthralled by her. Too many emotions. He couldn’t let any of those out today. This was too important. The fate of the human world depended upon it. Any of the five demons could cause serious damage to the truce between angels and demons. The breakdown of the truce would lead to war. Millions of humans would die in the process.

Alex didn’t walk up the staircase.

Fuck.

Post-traumatic stress disorder.

He wasn’t ready to go up the staircase that ascended into darkness. Not yet. The looming darkness of the stairs, it made him think of a black hole. One that had already devoured his soul. There were four doors on this floor. Alex decided to try those instead.

The first door to the left had an oval door knob. The devil’s face was imprinted on the brass. The devil. Satan. Not Satani. She’d deposed of her older brother over a thousand years ago, but still, his face was everywhere.

He pressed his palm against the cold brass. His fingers clasped around it. As he turned the doorknob, it burned red. He pulled his hand away quickly. Biting back a curse, he whipped his hand in the air. As the stinging reduced, he glanced at his palm and the angry red burn mark.

It would go away soon. Demon Hunters healed quickly. He was more careful with the next door. He pulled his hand away quickly before it could burn his skin. The fourth door on the left was open. Alex pushed it open.

It was a circular room with tall black pillars and arches around the dome in the centre. Small criss-crossed patterns of black and white decorated the dome. To the left of the room was a library. The wall was stacked with books going right up to the domed ceiling. Dozens of shelves extended out.

To his right, the wall was metallic silver. It held a personal armoury. There was a complete set of armour. Resting on two short black poles protruding from the wall was a long sword, longer even than his longsword. The blade was thick. Parallel lines of red ran from the guard to the point.

Beside the blade resting on the wall was a silver shield with three circles of red lines that started at the outer edges of the shield. There was more body armour, chainmail, blades and even a whip. Most of the weapons had red lines circled in some fashion.

Past the armoury was what looked like living quarters. There was a bed large enough to comfortably fit six normal sized humans. Beside the bed was a long wardrobe. The wood was a dark mahogany. It had double doors and a single mirror on one side. Alex caught a glance of his reflection. He was only wearing his jeans. The demon receptionist had torn off his top. His chest was built like a tank. His eyes were no longer burning fire. He was glad for that. It would be difficult to explain to Satani.

Past the bedroom, on the opposite side was a single brick wall. It was at an odd angle. The wall started ten feet away from the room. It stretched for another twenty feet, coming to a halt before the last library shelf.

The wall didn’t reach up to the domed ceiling. It rose twelve feet into the air. Alex could see a red light coming from within the space. It was brighter than that emitted by the burning torches. Alex walked around the wall towards the opening. He could hear noises. It sounded like water being poured into more water.

He turned the corner and looked behind the wall. There was a large bathtub in the centre. It was dark blue in colour. It rested off the ground on golden legs. Scarlett lay in the tub. Her head rested against the edge of the cast iron. Her eyes were closed.

The bath wasn’t filled with water.

It was filled with red hot burning lava.

Alex could feel the heat from where he stood. Standing on either side of the cast iron tub were two demons. Both were completely naked. Each held a golden jug in hand and poured lava over the exposed body parts of Scarlett. Her knees, her breasts, her head...

Alex should have been more shocked, but he supposed the demon was from hell. She must be used to fire and heat. She was enjoying this. The look on her face was pure bliss. It was enthralling. Without realising it, Alex had entered the space and was walking towards Scarlett, completely fascinated.

The naked female demons ignored his approach. But Scarlett opened an eye. The black pupil stared at him. “You made it past the receptionist.”

Alex looked down at his chest. “Lost my shirt.”

“I knew you would be back,” Scarlett said. “You’re bad at following orders. You don’t know your place.” She rose from the bathtub looking every part the goddess as the lava rolled off her naked body. It left a golden tinge to her red skin. “I’m going to kill you.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“You don’t get to break the rules, filthy Demon Hunter. You’re only allowed into the hundredth floor by invitation. That only happens when Satani has a need for her little whores.” Scarlett finally seemed to realise he was topless. She stared at his chest. Her eyes then took in the rest of