I'd descended to sheol to gain strength, but once there I found it hard to recover. What had Carnis done to me? Why?

Spite? Random cruelty? Flirtation? I thought about that last option. Though I was not really interested, I liked the idea that one of The Three might find me attractive. It's nice to think that after a couple thousand years, I still had it.

Realization hit me.

It wasn't any of those reasons. Carnis wanted more glory for herself. If I sent more demons to possess the people helping Mary and succeeded in killing her, there would be less credit for her and her sisters.

Stupid.

Had she not realized that this was no time to take chances?

How could I get back to full strength quickly? I could consume some of my own legion. Other demons did it. Still, I was loathe to do so. It had taken me a long time to collect them and my rank in sheol depended on their numbers.

It was time to consider a more unsavory option. The Desert of Devouring.

The place was surrounded by bars of infernine, a metal impervious to demons and souls of the dead. It was like iron, except darker. The gate to the desert was high and arched, fangs adorned the sides so that it resembled a mouth. It was both picturesque and symbolic.

The guards at the gate were two winged man-like creatures with canine faces and a single horn upon their snouts. They nodded to me as I passed within.

Inside was a place of dust and sand lit by springs of magma and the glow of half-buried souls. They flailed their ghostly arms, moaning.

These were the people who'd preyed on one other humans for gain. Their fate was to wait, half-buried in sand, waiting for demons who lived in this place to come and consume their flesh. Each morning their essences would regrow, only to be consumed again.

I approached a pack of feeder demons--lion-like creatures covered with eyes. The largest one stepped toward me, puffing out its chest and roaring a challenge at me. I charged, letting my hands reshape into talons as I flew toward it. The creature leaped at me, but I grabbed it in mid-flight and rended it to shadows.

When the others saw what I'd done, they fled like roaches exposed to light.

Now I had a large territory to feed on souls. It was a repulsive task, but I was desperate. I needed to quickly regain my strength and return to finish Mary.

The souls pleaded for mercy as I tore them apart. For the most part, I ignored them. One, though, bore a physical similarity to Mikal. When she cried out for mercy, I could not find it in me to devour her. It was fine, though. There were plenty of souls, and soon I felt strong enough to return.

I made my way back to the infernine gate, only to find it closed.

"You may not pass," one of the guards said to me in a bored tone.

"I am Darius, Warlord of the Dark and Deep," I replied.

He laughed. "Really? Show us your sword."

"It was destroyed when I attempted to murder a follower of the Son of God. Would you detain me on my errand to bring him down? Do you wish for the Abominations to learn that you stopped me?"

The demon pursed its lips and looked thoughtful. "I think they will be more upset with you for being foolish enough to come here. Now you are one of our feeders. In time, you will resemble them."

I snarled in response, startled to hear how much my growl resembled that of a lion or feeder.

I hurled my spirit at him, batting his infernine spear aside, gripping him with my talons, driving them into his spiritual flesh. He returned the favor, digging his claws into me. We bled together there at the gate, leaking our energies. Feeder demons gathered to breathe them in, keeping their distance from us and watching us with greedy eyes.

This guard, however, was no match for me. I drew him closer to my waiting jaws--and tried not to think when my mouth had grown so large and lionine. I nearly had him when a pain blossomed in my chest.

The other guard, who'd been idly watching until now, had thrust me through with a sword of flame. It was a killing blow, but I was not about to give in. Ignoring the pain, I attacked, bringing my jaws down on the first guard. By sheer will, I succeed and sucked his life force and energy into myself. My body re-ignited with power and the blade that pierced me blazed with fire, causing the guard who'd run me through to back away.

Once his hand was off the hilt, I grabbed the blade and pulled it out of myself. I stared at my new flaming sword. It was a more beautiful weapon than I'd guessed, forged of infernine and hot with passion and lust for blood.

"Here is my sword," I snarled at the remaining guard.

He backed away, holding up his hands. "Of course, Warlord. You may pass."

It gratified me to see him cower, but it was not enough.

With a cry of rage, I slew him anyway and devoured his essence. Then I stalked away, leaving the gates to the desert open. When the guards reformed, I suspected they would need to explain to the Abominations how and why they had failed in their duty, and then there might be a little trip down the Dark Stair.

"It would be easier if sheol had spas," I mused. Humans seemed to do well recovering in such places. They were, however, a lot less fun.

I smiled, then put the whole incident out of my mind. It was time to get back to work.