1 The L-word

It was a hot winter's day in the Fifth Circle of Hell when the succubus Hyacinth Thermise was led in fetters through thronging crowds to the Halls of Injustice. Demons and devils of every kind jostled to get a better view of the accused. It had been a long time since Hell had seen a case as serious and as scandalous as this one.

Hyacinth held her head high, her red, cat-irised eyes scanning the crowd unafraid. The icy fetters chafed at the pale purple-black skin of her wrists and the shoulders of her leathery wings. Only her clawed feet and sinuous, pointed tail were free and she let the latter swing back and forth with an arrogant, unconcerned air.

If the Infernal authorities wished to make a spectacle of her, then let them!

Beneath her arrogance, however, Hyacinth felt a rising fear. She had expected hoots and catcalls and abuse from the crowd, but the silent staring she had encountered along this walk of shame was far harder to take. And yet she kept her chin up, her curling horns pointed to the fire-wreathed sky.

One of the pair of gigantic alastors escorting her took her shoulder in his great clawed hand and pushed her forward. She sighed. The melodrama of it all! Well, Hell enjoyed a show, it was true. Might as well give it to them. But the overkill of having two alastors escort such a low-level demoness as herself she found ridiculous rather than flattering.

The crowd didn't feel the same way with their hushed observation. Even the howls of the damned amid the flames were subdued. But Hyacinth knew it wasn't her that everyone was afraid of. It was her crime that had shocked them to silence.

She turned and hissed at an imp that had reached out to touch her and the little creature scrambled back into the safety of the writhing crowd. Some demons near him surged forward and the alastor on her left breathed sheet after sheet of flame over their heads until they fell back. The other alastor grabbed Hyacinth's shoulder and pushed her forward again.

"Hey, keep your big mitts to yourself," she snapped.

The alastor considered her with its crystalline eyes and shrugged.

"Just doing my job," it grumbled.

The twisted minarets of the Hall of Injustice came into sight. One of the alastors kept the excited crowd at bay with threats and flame while the other led Hyacinth up the high onyx steps.

A little hooded figure with eyes like burning coals was waiting for her at the top. "Miss Thermise? I'm Abraxas, your court-appointed lawyer."

Hyacinth stared down at him. He passed her a flaming card which she glanced at then tossed away.

"Sorry Abraxas," she said. "I thought I told them I'm planning to defend myself."

The darkness in Abraxas's hood looked hurt. "I would strongly advise against that, Miss Thermise. The crimes you have been accused of are among the most heinous..."

Hyacinth sighed. "We all know this is a show trial, Abraxas. I'd love to give your career a kick in the tail, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait for the next sap to get frog-marched up these steps."

Abraxas began to say something but the court security had already arrived to take custody of Hyacinth from the alastors. The devils signed off on the transfer and then led her into the courtroom proper. One stopped Abraxas but Hyacinth sighed and turned to him.

"Let the little guy in. He's my lawyer."

The courtroom was far noisier than the streets had been. The public gallery was packed and demons struggled with each other to get a better view of the proceedings. Devils were stationed at every exit to the great black courtroom, standing to attention and doing their best to hide their own curiosity as Hyacinth was led to the defence's table. An imp undid her manacles while another pulled a chair out for her and she sat down.

Say what you liked about imps, at least they're polite.

As Abraxas clambered onto his seat beside her, Hyacinth glanced across at the prosecution. The prosecutor was a tall female devil, red-skinned like all her kind, her jet-black hair done up in a stern bun that made her look older than she was. She studiously avoided Hyacinth's gaze and kept her chin haughtily pointed up in the air, tapping her teeth with a pen.

Abraxas, meanwhile, took his notes out from some mysterious place he had secreted them in his robes and promptly spilled them across the table.

Hyacinth stared up at the ceiling and sighed.

Suddenly a hush fell over the public gallery and spread to the rest of the courtroom. The devil at the base of the judge's bench leaped to his feet. "All rise! His Horror Judge Skelemis presiding!"

The door to chambers opened and the judge strode in.

Skelemis was an elderly demon, his halo of flames a dull yellow, but the eyes with which he scoured the courtroom were clear and hard. He sat himself behind his bench, placed his gavel on its stand and then glanced at the documents waiting for him. He frowned and squeezed his brow with a taloned hand.

"Ms. Voreus, am I reading this correctly? The defendant stands accused of Fraternisation with a Human in the First Degree? There must be some mistake."

"No mistake, Your Horror," replied the prosecutor.

"But surely not-" The judge's voice fell to a whisper. "The L word?"

Voreus nodded.

Skelemis sighed. "Well, that explains all the crowds outside. Let's have the opening remarks, then, shall we?"

Voreus stepped out from behind her table and coughed. "Demons and devils of the jury..."

Hyacinth stared at her claws as the list of her crimes was read out. When the final and most serious came, muttering broke out in the public gallery and Skelemis banged his gavel once. "Order!"

It all seemed scripted to Hyacinth and very tiresome. As soon as everyone calmed down the judge called upon the defence. Abraxas started to stand but Hyacinth got to her feet herself and placed a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down.

"I'll be speaking on my own behalf, Your Horror."

An intake of collective breath and more muttering from the public gallery. Skelemis leaned forward in his chair.

"So you will be conducting your own defense, Miss Thermise?"

Hyacinth opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind and said, "Well, no, not really, Your Horror. I'm quite guilty of all of the things the prosecutor just listed. But I'd like to offer an explanation for my actions and to throw myself on the mercy of the court."

"Mercy?" Skelemis' flaming brows furrowed. He flicked his fingers at the imp court clerk who hurried over with a dictionary bigger than it was. Puffing, the imp lifted the book onto the bench and Skelemis at once flipped through it.

"Hmm... oh yes, here it is. 'Mercy'. C rather than S. Well..." He quickly read the entry then looked up at Hyacinth. "Miss Thermise, are you sure you're using this word correctly?"

"Yes, Your Horror."

"But surely this is some fashion of insanity plea, is it not?"

"No, Your Horror. I just wish to be given the opportunity to tell my story."

Skelemis glanced toward Voreus, who shrugged. "Very well. We will hear your story, then."

Hyacinth stood up. She swept her flashing eyes across the faces of the jury, the court officers, the public gallery, Abraxas and Voreus and the judge, and then she began to speak.