“The whole servant thing,” Juliana said with a sigh. “Ylva seemed very excited to get Nel as her servant, according to Nel herself. Then she gave me and another person these rings. I think she might have used the word ‘subjects’ once or twice when referring to us. And then there’s Arachne and her coddling of Eva, though I’m not sure that’s the same. You’ve–”
Prax stopped and asked, “ring?”
Juliana held up her finger. Just the one finger.
He gave no indication of caring in the slightest. “Interesting. I thought I felt something from you, but convinced myself I was hallucinating. It promises Death–with a capital ‘d’–to any demons who would dare attack you–”
“It didn’t stop the imps.”
“Ah, but the poor unfortunate captives here may be desperate enough to ignore such things. We are in one of the worst corners of Hell. And yes, that ring marks you as someone’s property.”
Prax glanced down at Shalise’s fingers, turning his hands over. With a shrug, he turned and started walking.
Juliana stood frozen as the cogs ticked on inside her head. She had to take a few quick steps to fall in line again. “Wait. Property?”
“You did not know?”
“She said it was a gift. A reward for a task.”
“Something so simple a child,” he glanced over his shoulder and gave a small snort, “would have no trouble completing?”
Juliana cracked her neck to one side. “Maybe.”
“Nothing to worry about. If she tricked you into being claimed and did not tell you after the fact, leaving you to your own devices, she probably just likes you.”
She mulled that over for a moment before nodding. “Which brings me back to my original question. Why all the servant stuff?”
“How much do you know about a demon’s domain?”
When Juliana did not respond, Prax continued.
“They cater to our desires, both conscious and subconscious. Anything we want just happens.”
“Sounds nice.”
He turned and sneered–a rather ugly expression on Shalise’s face. “For a time, perhaps. Imagine getting everything you ever wanted. For eternity. Any effort you put in, instantly invalidated. Constructing something specifically to be a challenge still feels fake. Designing a scenario where you purposely lose isn’t even a real loss. It feels fake and every demon knows it.
“This prison is massive,” he said, waving his arms around. “We’ve been walking for hours and we’re only just leaving the high security section. There was more back behind the room with the crystal that you never even saw. And all the cells are full.
“Millions of demons here still pale in comparison to the sheer amount of demons that lay down one day within their domains and never got up, giving in to the despair of our existence. Another set of demons chose to stave off eternal boredom by visiting other demons’ domains–always a risky prospect; the domain caters to the owner’s whims. If that owner so chose, they could easily turn their domain worse than this prison. Many in that second set get enslaved.
“The demon who gave you that ring? The other one you mentioned? They’re the
Prax’s speech was getting more and more heated as he continued. He was almost spitting as he spoke about the summoned demons.
Based on his talking, Juliana doubted he had ever been summoned.
“Why go for an unknown quantity when tried and proven demons are readily available,” Juliana almost whispered to herself.
“Exactly.”
“But mortal servants?”
“Prestige. As I said, few demons actually get summoned. Fewer acquire mortals. You mortals are short-lived, so those that constantly have servants…”
“Get summoned a whole lot more.”
“You retain your individuality as well. That is a major factor for some. Domain constructs cater to our whims as much as any other aspect of domains. You do not. It brings a little slice of your world down here.”
“So the stories about demons dragging people to hell?”
“The demon wanted a pet, slave, servant, attendant, follower,” he glanced over and Shalise’s eyes actually glowed red for a moment, “lover. Something that could think for itself.”
Juliana frowned as Prax went silent.
Did Eva know what accepting the ring entailed?
And Eva was trying to turn herself into a demon. It didn’t sound like a very pleasant experience. Then again, Eva was already on Earth. It wouldn’t be difficult for her to seed the world with plenty of summoning manuscripts for herself.
“And you plan to keep Shalise here, forever?”
“It is in the cards.”
“Let her go.”
Prax stopped walking. He turned.
