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SJ

“A nd now we wait.”

I sat back on my haunches, scraping my sweaty hair back off my forehead, tucking it behind a horn. We—myself and my two faithful Hounds, that is—watched the infernal flames as they grew higher and higher around the artefact I’d placed in them.

The heat, already oppressive (this was Hell, after all), became almost unbearable. The flames changed colour, from the usual merry orange, to blinding white. I squinted, leaning closer to see if the artefact was still intact.

The fire crackled violently, throwing sparks in all directions. I leapt backwards, but I was too late. One of the sparks collided with my breeches, searing a hole through the leather and scorching my skin.

“Fuck!” I patted the smoking hole, my thigh smarting.

Just as quickly as it had started, the flames completely died, collapsing in on themselves and leaving nothing in their wake but glowing coals.

“Is that supposed to happen, Boss?” Beezle, the older of my two Hounds, asked.

“I do not know.” I peered into the embers. Had the fire consumed the artefact? Had my experiment failed completely?

“Boss?” Bub, the younger (and sillier) of my Hounds, shoved me until I fell face first, almost into the scorching coals. “Did it work?”

“Careful!” I growled. With one tentative claw, I sifted through the fire remnants. My chest constricted with each passing moment when nothing appeared.

Ting!

I froze. Then, with the renewed vigour of someone who had the fate of an entire kingdom weighing on him, I scrabbled frantically, uncovering the metal that had made the chiming sound against my claw.

And there it was. Silver, nondescript, easy to conceal inside a pocket.

A Soul Token.

“You did it, Boss!” Beezle howled, tail thumping frantically on the lava stone floor. “You know what that means …”

I marvelled at the small item, which, if my calculations were correct, had the potential to save Hell.

“We go to the Human Realm, and we test it out,” I murmured.

“Daddy’s gonna be so proud!” Bub panted merrily.

“Yes, well …” I coughed into my hand, still staring down at my small, shining invention. “I think we should do some research, you know. Find the right human to test this out on. Before we say anything to Father.”

I pocketed the Soul Token. “After all, if the test goes awry, there might not be a chance to attempt this again …”