Corruption

*
I woke up to find a heavy, furry white mass laying next to me, with its head on my chest.
“Get off of me, Lucifer.”
The wolf didn’t respond, just looked up at me with sad, sad eyes, a light blue that looked like the tears of all the souls trapped in hell. For all I knew, that’s what they were.
I stared into the sad eyes and was able to tell just from the look of them, he truly was sad.
“What’s wrong?”
Lucifer jumped up and trotted to the door adjoining our rooms, then back to me, and lay down next to me again, head near mine.
“Lucifer, I don’t know what you want. Say what it is,” I spat.
“I want to apologize,” the wolf said slowly. “What I said was... cruel. And unnecessary.”
I turned away. “I don’t care what you say.”
The wolf growled, and I just turned away.
“I don’t care what you say anymore. I don’t care. You’re just cruel and evil. I don’t give a damn what you say. You can hate me all you want. I don’t care. Just leave me alone.”
“You’ve moved on,” the wolf whispered. “You’re in the next layer. You’re now to commit a sin of your choice. But you must feel it in your heart.You’re only limitation is not wrath or one you’ve already completed.”
I looked at the wolf form of Lucifer and his sad, sad eyes.
I turned away and laid my head back on the pillow I had woken on. Tears eroded rivers in my cheeks and I ignored the soft whines from Lucifer.
“Don’t,” he commanded.
“Why? Why should I do what you say? You’ve taken everything from me. I have nothing more to lose.”
“You could lose yourself,” he said quietly, and I just started to sob even harder. That was what he was trying to make me do.
He wolf sat quietly next to me and when the tears became too much, the silent sobbing started, followed by the screaming. I screamed and screamed, no coherent thoughts forming, just pain and agony trying to escape my soul.
“It’s the dress,” Lucifer informed me after a few hours. “It’s torn the edges of your soul. That’s why it hurts to bad. It will heal with time and... well, one thing, really. Even time doesn’t work very well.”
“What is it, then?”
“Love,” the wolf said simply.
“There isn’t anyone here to love. Not Erin, Keaira, Lilim, or Lilith, all trying to get in my pants, each others and anyone’s. Not Raven who tried to kill me. Not me anymore.”
“Why not me?” he suggested.
I started to laugh sarcastically. “Oh, you’re right, why didn’t I think of that? How about I just gather up all of my love in my whole heart and soul and give it to Satan, lord of all evil, and expect maybe my heart will heal? You are the reason I am here. You’ll get no love from me.”
The wolf’s blue eyes spoke the words Lucifer didn’t. They said I already did love him and just couldn’t feel it through the pain. How could I be stupid enough to fall in love with Lucifer?
But I wasn't stupid. Loving Lucifer was not my sin, not my fault. It was Lucifer who had made me love him, and I hated that I couldn't have changed this fate.
"I know what you think," he said quietly.
"What do I think, then?"
"You think I can't feel love. You think because I am the ruler of the underworld I am truly the epitome of all evil. I committed one sin that brought me here. I was prideful. The other sins manifested much later. But you think because I am ruler of all evil, I cannot feel anything good. I cannot feel love. You're not correct. I am older than you can possibly fathom and in my many, many years I have fallen in love once. But simply because I am capable does not mean I ever will again. Certainly not with you, if that’s what you expect."
I was shocked beyond words, but he continued. "Her name was Persephone. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I brought her here to live with me. She was the first of the women like you I have taken. But she couldn't complete my tasks. She killed herself and now I see her from time to time here. You're met her, even. Her name she goes by now is Raven."
I was so shocked I jumped up, my nerves on end. "The Raven that tried to kill me?"
"Yes, the very same one. It was perhaps a thousand years ago. Maybe more. Time slips away from you when you're as old as I am."
"Do you still?"
He looked puzzled for a short moment, then realization dawned on his face and he started laughing.
"Oh little girl, would it matter if I did?"
Without another word, he vanished. I saw the writing on my wrist appear once again and it said that I had to wait. He wasn't coming back. It was my turn to figure things out.
I laid in bed to cry, eyes wet and my body convulsing with sobs. Once again, I was alone. Once again, just as I had spent most of my life, I was to be alone.
"You're not alone," whispered the spirits. "We're here, Lilium. Don't expect him to come around. He will not."
"I know," I whispered. "I know. But why does it have to hurt so bad?"
"Because you have allowed him into your heart, and he stabbed through it as you knew he would."
I laid in the bed for a while contemplating what I would have to do next. My options were painfully limited.
Eventually my options dwindled and and thoughts fled away while I lay in bed alone, trying to be at peace.

A knock on the door woke me from my stupor and I realized I had fallen asleep.
“Who is it?” I asked irritably.
“We were sent here and I’m a little curious who we’re to be accompanying for the next while,” said an unmistakably male voice.
“What... who are you?”
“My name is long and very difficult to pronounce, so I shall suggest that you may call me Modo. With me I have Lilu, Astaroth, Phenex and Adrastus.”
“What are you here for?”
“Master has sent us.”
“I don’t want you here. Leave.”
“I cannot. If master commands us here, this is where we shall remain.”
“Why did he send you then?” I asked, getting irritated.
“I believe he said that we are meant to be your toys. I have not had much experience in speaking english in a long time and I hope you will forgive me if I am not able to speak clearly.”
“Toys?”
“Yes. While some of us are incubi, the rest of us are here for other reasons.”
“Incubi?” I asked, feeling more and more stupid as time passed.
“Yes. Male demons that corrupt with sexual desires. May I please come into this room? It is tiring to speak through this door.”
“I’m not dressed very well.”
“Then dress yourself.”
I sighed and untangled my body from the sheets. With a quick glance down at my body I realized I needed to shower. Badly. How long had it been since I last showered? How long had it been since I was last out of that damn bed?
I walked to the bathroom, legs stiff and uncomfortable.
“How am I to shower?” I asked the spirits in a whisper.
“Transform us to a chain. A thin metal chain around your ankle, wrist, or waist and you can wash around that. It will be much simpler than taking us off.”
I did just that, finding that it was not difficult to transform the dress, I just thought and it complied. It became a small metal chain around my ankle.
After I had thoroughly cleansed my body and my hair, I exited the bathroom to find a man sitting on a stool just around the corner of the bathroom.
I shrieked and the spirits instantly formed a towel around my body, but the silver chain remained around my ankle.
“What...?” I stopped when I saw his eyes were closed, and he had yet to move. “Uh, hello?”
The man slowly opened his eyes, and cocked his head to the side. “Is something wrong?” he asked, voice deep and bright green eyes piercing into mine.
“What are you doing in here? I was showering?”
“And I was sleeping. I’m not the biggest fan of those idiots out there. Aren’t I allowed to sleep?” he snapped.
“I... I suppose so,” I said, suddenly feeling maybe he wasn’t in the wrong. Maybe I shouldn’t have snapped.
“So you’re Lilium? Lucifer wanted me and those morons to come here. My name is Phenex, by the way.”
“Phoenix? Like the bird?”
“No, idiot. P-h-e-n-e-x. Phenex.”
“Oh. Well, I’ll be going, then.”
“Don’t you have to get dressed?”
“Oh yeah....” I deliberated for a minute, and I willed the spirits to form clothing on my body. They must have either known what I wanted or dressed to my mood, because they formed royal blue jeans and a white and black striped blouse with imitation blood spatters on it. Maybe I was feeling a bit broken. Perhaps that explained why they looked how they did.
“I see you’ve made some friends,” he said, raising an eyebrow at me.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m no idiot as you are. I know those are spirits of the realm you are in. They’ve bonded to your soul.”
“I...”
“What did they tell you was the reason they were bonding to you? They do not choose the ones they bond with lightly, for separation can kill the human, and leave the spirits damaged beyond repair.”
“They said that... that I could help them.”
“Interesting. We’ll have to see about that.”
“Well, I want to go back out now if you don’t mind,” I said, attempting politeness.
He gestured to the door. “Be my guest.”
I walked out slowly to find the other men all sitting around looking bored.
“Lilium,” greeted one of them with a smirk. His black hair and brown eyes brought unwanted memories. “I’m Modo. This is Lilu,” he said, gesturing to a thin man with tanned skin and dull grey eyes, “this is Astaroth,” he continued, moving onto the man lounging on the bed with mid toned skin and sandy blonde hair, “and this is Adrastus.” Adrastus had pale skin, light blonde hair and light blue eyes, much like those of Lucifer’s wolf form.
“Hi,” I breathed, slightly staggered by the way their eyes followed me.
"Hello," they chorused.
"Do you want something?"
"Master promised us a good time," Modo said expectantly.
"Not now. Please. I... I don't feel good."
"Aw, bullshit," muttered Astaroth.
A sudden burning on my wrist alerted me to new instructions. I looked at them. "Don't resist."
I sighed. "I will get back to you if it's alright. I feel a bit ill at the moment. May I please have a little while?"
"No, you can't," Lilu said as Modo approached me.
Modo grabbed my wrist with one hand and used the other to push a lock of my hair behind my ear. "Relax," he murmured. "It will be fun."
"Please," I begged one more time before my skin started to prickle with heat.
I looked at my arms, and they looked completely ordinary at the moment, but they quickly started turning red and inflamed as the heat began to grow inside me.
"It's hot," I mumbled, and they laughed.
"Master must be watching," the one named Adrastus said, grinning.
"What's he doing?" I asked, but before he had a chance to respond, a sudden light caught my attention. My body was on fire. Everything except my face was burning. Even my hair caught fire.
"Help!" I shrieked, but they just laughed. With no help from them, I stood in place, unable to move. Modo had long ago stepped back and the four of them stood in a line, smirking at me.
It lasted for so long that they had all left by the time it ended. Adrastus was the last to go.
It slowly began to subside until the flames were gone and the only remnants were my charred skin.
I fell to the floor and started sobbing as soon as my body unfroze.
Lucifer. He had done this. He had hurt me. Worse than ever before.
"Well, what have we here?" asked a deep voice I recognized as Phenex's.
I slowly, slowly lifted my head and saw him peering down at me. "You look like shit."
He picked me up, causing me to scream, and laid me down on the bed.
The others came in at my scream, and smirked.
"Good plan, Phenex," Modo said, smirking.
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
He started to leave, but stopped in the doorway. "Don't touch her."
"Why shouldn't we?" taunted Astaroth.
"Because I said don't. Not now."
Without another word, Astaroth climbed on the bed. Before he could reach me, though, Phenex got to him and punched him in the jaw. "Don't touch her." When Astaroth recoiled, and cursed at Phenex, he hit him harder, this time knocking him unconscious.
“Anyone else wanna have a go?”
When they started to approach, he sighed. “I didn’t want to have to do this.”