Infernal Town

Readers of my other work may recognize some characters from Demonology. The Demonology stories are not canon in the Infernal series, and these stories are. Most of the material here is entirely new. Reading the other Infernal stories is not necessary for the enjoyment ofInfernal Town.

"I don't know what the council can do about it," Ginger Harwell said. "But I think we need to dosomething." Her short red hair had little streaks of gray in it, and she wore a loose blouse of thick material, and jeans. It was impossible to detect her figure under all that, thought Jane Thurston, but she thought Ginger had a nice enough one.

"Well," said Lewis Thurston reasonably, "We can't do something without doing something in particular." He pushed his glasses up, more as a habit than anything else. Ginger was sitting across the room from him, in the chair he usually sat in but which he'd ceded to his guest. She was not so far away that he needed to use the distance part of his bifocals, nor so close that it was troublesome to do so.

Jane nodded. She wasn't a member of the five-person city council, so she wasn't going to say anything unless she was asked, but she wanted to be supportive of her husband. He was Ginger's age, in his mid-forties. Jane was thirty-three. Lewis and Ginger had gone to high school together, and sometimes, even though she was married to Lewis, she felt like an interloper when they got together. She wasn't worried there was something romantic between them; they were clearly just good friends.

"It's young women like Saffy I'm most concerned about," Ginger said. "And Alice Carville. Young women like that. Adults, but at such an impressionable age."

Saffy Harwell was Ginger's daughter. Ginger had struggled raising a child as a single mother, after her divorce, but how lucky she was to have a child at all! Lewis and Jane had tried, without success. And Saffy was a very nice girl, really. She should have gone off somewhere to school, to become more independent, in Jane's judgement. Instead she attended the local community college and continued to live at home.

"I suppose they have to make their own mistakes, Ginger," Lewis said. "Another cocktail?"

Ginger shook her head. "Oh no. I have to drive home, you know. I tell Saffy not to drive if she drank at all, so maybe I shouldn't have had the one. Hypocritical of me, although I daresay I can handle it better than she can. Anyway, it's not the same. We didn't have the same kind of temptations they have."

"We had the internet," Lewis pointed out.

"Well, yes, but even that wasn't what it is now. You know what I mean, Lewis."

"TikTok?"

Ginger shook her head. "I don't even understand the point of TikTok. Maybe Ishouldbe worried about that. But youknowwhat I mean."

"Demons."

"Yes. We didn't have those."

Lewis nodded. "Alright, Demons." He shrugged.

Jane thought his unconcern was an act. Lewis was fascinated by demons, and had been before there was any sign of them in Shadow Creek.

"Don't act like it's no big deal. They're so big and strong. They could take a girl against her will and -"

"But why would they? My understanding is that chicks find them pretty attractive, or at least lots of women do. I get the feeling that the problem demons face is fending them off; even when they try, they end up with a harem of girlfriends."

"Right!" Ginger said. "You wouldn't want your daughter to be one of a harem, would you?"

"If we had a daughter, you mean," Jane said.

"Sorry," Ginger said.

"I like to think that if we had a daughter, and she was an adult, we'd let her live her life how she chose," Lewis said. "Gay, straight. Monogamous marriage or some kind of polycule. Has Saffy even talked to a demon?"

"Not as far as I know," Ginger admitted. "But we're not talking about free will here. They have that stuff they secrete -"

"Demonol," Jane provided.

"Yes, that. It's addictive."

"Well," Lewis said. "Maybe it is. But hormones from making out with a human can be a bit addictive, too."

Ginger sighed. "That's true enough. If I'd been in my right mind, I would never have married Tom. Of course, I was pregnant at the time, and one wants a girl to have a father. Not that it worked out that way. Heck, if I'd known Saffy was a girl, maybe I would have skipped it. Less important for a girl-child than a boy-child, I think. Anyway." Ginger sighed, again, this time more heavily. "I don't want Saffy to make as big a mistake as I made."

Jane raised her eyebrows.

"Not that Saffy was a mistake," Ginger clarified. "Unintended, maybe, but Saffy is the best thing that ever happened to me. Tom was the mistake."

"Well," Lewis said, "We can't run them out of town because you're afraid that one of them will seduce your daughter. We can't run the CIA out of town because they're a religious institution, recognized by the armed forces even."

CIA? There were spies? Oh, Church of the Infernal Angels. Jane had never heard them called that before.

"And we can't run the demons out of town," Lewis continued, "because firstly, they have civil rights, and secondly, we don't know where in town they are. Maybe they just visit occasionally, and live in Pittsfield or something."

Ginger frowned. "We could make them feel a little less welcome. Mrs. Claridge has a spot reserved to talk about them at the next meeting, and she's distributing a petition to ask them to leave us alone. I don't think Brenda Carville is any too happy about them either. And I don't know if you've seen how many books on them Wanda Gonzales has ordered, but we could put an end to that, too."

"The library board is independent for a reason, Ginger."

"Sort of independent. We appoint them, don't we? We could get a new crew in. Mrs. Claridge, maybe, she'd love it, and it would get her out of our hair."

"You can't be serious? That woman, on the library board? And I think it would only give her more to hector us about."

"Father O'Boyle, maybe. I'm sure we could find some others."

"Seems to me like having a priest decide what books a public library buys isn't separation of church and state," Jane said, unable to stay quiet any longer.

Ginger frowned. "Well, all I ask is that you think about it, Lewis. You've got a sharp mind, and you understand the law better than I do. If there's something we can do, you can figure it out. Will you think on it for me?"

Lewis nodded, "I'll think on it, Ginger." He looked at Jane, and Jane looked back. The look Lewis gave her said, she believed, that it cost nothing to promise to think about it. It was the sort of promise that could be kept without thinking very hard.

"Thank you, Lewis. And now I have to get home. Saffy has Alice over, and apparently they were both at the library researching demons. I want to keep an eye on them."

"Wanda told you what they were doing at the library?" That didn't sound like Wanda, the town librarian. Wanda was big on patron confidentiality.

Ginger shook her head. "No. Miss Dalton probably would have, when she ran the place. No, I heard it from Brenda, who just happened to be there at the time."

"Ah," Lewis said.

If Brenda had a job, Jane thought, she'd have less time to be a busybody. Jane did not like Brenda Carville, and hadn't liked her more when Lewis told her that one time Brenda had tried flirted with him while lobbying for his vote to let the country club expand.

As she remembered it, Brenda ended up winning the vote, even with Lewis opposing.

Ginger got up. It was too warm for a coat, even in the evening, so it didn't take long for her to leave after a round of hugs. Jane liked Ginger, but she was also jealous of her. She'd known her husband for five years, and Ginger had known him since kindergarten, which was longer than Jane had been alive.

Lewis reclaimed his chair. Jane sat in hers.

"Are you curious?" Lewis asked.

"Curious about what?"

"About the demons?"

"Sure," Jane said. "Why is that church here, of all places? Presumably because at least one demon is nearby. There was a female one that opened a bank account, of all things. And I've heard someone saythey saw a male. Is there one or two? Do they live in town, disguised? If so, who are they? There's lots to be curious about."

Lewis shook his head. "All true, but not what I mean. I meant if you were curious what it is like to be with one. It's supposed to be an extraordinary experience."

Jane smiled at Lewis affectionately. "I'm a very happily married woman, Lewis."

"Aw, I love you too."

Jane grinned.

"Doesn't mean you can't be curious. I mean, I'm curious about, well... I mean it's just looking."

Jane laughed. "And you have the Emma Watson exception."

"Right."

In a silly moment, Jane had agreed that if Lewis ever had a chance to sleep with Emma Watson, he could have a hall pass. Of course she hadn't exactly felt like she was taking much of a risk. Lewis was kind, brilliant, and looked every bit the legal nerd he was. Not to mention the unlikelihood of him ever meeting the movie star in the first place.

"So, are you curious?" Lewis asked.

Jane hesitated. This didn't seem as harmless as Emma Watson. On the other hand, she didn't want to lie. "Sure. Curious is a good word."

"What if you had a hall pass?"

Jane's eyes narrowed. "What are you suggesting, Lewis?" She had a good idea, but she wasn't going to jump to conclusions.

"What if you had a hall pass to, uh, satisfy your curiosity? Like the Emma Watson exception. An exception for demons."

"You know, Lewis, I really did mean that. If you got a chance with Emma, I'd be supportive. But we both know there's not much chance of that. It's a very different thing, to say, a demon, when we think there are two or more in town, than it is to say, say, Hugh Jackman."

"Wolverine? You like Wolverine?" Lewis asked, not believing.

Jane made a face. "No. Not with the sideburns. But yes. He can act, he can sing, he can dance, and he's handsome. What's not to like?"

Lewis looked like he was trying to shake the image out of his head. "You're changing the subject. What if you had a hall pass for a demon, and you got a chance. Would you?"

Jane stared at him. "I don't think it would be wise for our marriage to... use a hall pass so close to home."

Lewis fidgeted in his chair. "But if it wasn't close to home?"

"Well, then, if I had a hall pass, and you were really okay with it... Lewis, is this conversation turning you on?"

"No. Maybe."

"Hmm." Jane didn't know what to say to that.

"Well," Lewis said. "I'm giving you a hall pass."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"I mean that you can be with a demon, if you have a chance. Local or not."

"Be with? This isn't the time for euphemisms."

"Have sex with."

"Kiss?"

Lewis gulped. "You'd want to kiss one?"

"I'm asking. Finding out where the lines are."

"Well, logically, kissing isn't as much as having sex, but..."

Jane laughed. "I get it. Kissing is off the table."

"No, kissing is allowed."

"Hmm. Maybe we should forget this conversation ever happened."

"I meant what I said."

"Hmm. Want another cocktail? I think I need one."

Lewis nodded. "Sure."

"I'll make them. And no more talking about demons and hall passes tonight, Lew."

"But... alright, Jane," Lewis said.

#

Saturday afternoon Wanda Gonzales sat on a padded folding chair in a large room that had been a dress shop a few years ago and had been a small grocery store when she was very little. Now, twenty or so people sat on chairs like the one she sat on, facing toward where lingerie had once been. A curvy woman in a long black dress named Devoted stood there, with dark black hair and an abundance of cleavage. On one of her breasts was an anatomically correct tattoo of a demon. She was a woman who would have gotten attention anywhere, dressed and inked like that, and she was giving a sort of homily in her role as priestess of the Church of the Infernal Angels. In spite of the priestess's physical attractiveness and blatantly displayed figure, and even the rather provocative message she was delivering about how demons and humans could best live in harmony, Wanda's attention was elsewhere, just like many of the people the priestess was talking to.

They were looking instead at a figure seated on a chair just like all the others, but facing toward them, from right about where you could once find panties (buy two, get one free.) He was huge, nearly seven feet tall, and large horns curled like a ram's on each side of his head. There was a rugged handsomeness to his bright red face. Once one got past the redness and the horns, one could observe that his jaw was square, and dimpled, his nose aquiline, and his cheekbones high. His black shirt and pants did little to conceal the powerful muscles of his chest, arms, and legs, and he sat with spread-legged casualness that tempted Wanda to stare straight at his crotch. There was a noticeable bulge, but Wanda knew that was Malphas soft. Hard, his cock was nearly a foot long and as thick as a beer can, capable of stretching her pussy enough to be both uncomfortable and thoroughly satisfying.

She had fucked Malphas three times now, although she really thought of it as him fucking her. She might start out in some semblance of control. In fact, usually she started with a blowjob. But at some point bliss took over and she was putty in his hands.

"We don't need to be in control," Devoted was saying. "That's the freedom they offer us. We can let go."

Wanda looked around at her fellow congregants. As the town librarian, she knew a lot of them, although not everyone was a reader. She recognized Arnold Fromm, the banker. There were only three men there, and she didn't know the other two. Saffy Harwell and Alice Carville were there, and they, too, were looking at Malphas rather than Devoted. Patty Carville, a third cousin of Alice's, and older, was taking notes on a notepad. She was probably covering things for the Shadow Creek News, which used to be printed weekly but was now a website. Wanda thought it unlikely Patty would post a list of the attendees. She recognized Jane Thurston, who Wanda had always thought of as a devoted wife; it was strange for her to be here, stranger still for her to be here without Lewis. Louise Jamison was also here without her husband. Louise and Mark were newish in town, and had gotten library cards a few months ago. Louise sat next to her. Wanda wondered whether Jane's and Louise's husbands knew they were there. For that matter, was it Alice or Saffy who was going out with Turk Barrows? Turk was going to the community college, so maybe it had been Saffy. He'd been a big deal in high school, because he'd been quarterback of the football team that made it to state, but Wanda hadn't heard much about him lately. Community college sports were not a big deal.

"And now," Devoted said, "just a closing message. Think how you can make the world a better place this week, not just for you, but for the glorious infernal souls that walk among us. How can you please them? How can you help them fit into this community? May you learn to serve them as I do."

That, apparently, was a benediction. Wanda stood up, thinking she'd like to talk to Malphas. They'd talked a little when he'd fucked her, but she wanted to get to know him better. She wanted his approval for the steps she'd taken at the library, making sure that plenty of information was available on demons for anyone who was curious, and much of it provided as a gift from the temple. If those materials had a certain slant, well, one could easily argue that there was plenty of anti-demon literature available as well, much of it hundreds or thousands of years old.

But Malphas smiled at her, waved, and headed instead toward Alice and Saffy, who had also headed his way. Wanda hesitated. Should she crowd around, hoping for a little attention? That was ridiculous. It wasn't service, and it wouldn't be good for her, either. She gave him some space and wondered what Brenda and Ginger would think of their daughters talking to a demon.

Jane Thurston, she noticed, was backing away and drifting, without a great sense of purpose, toward the exit. Others headed that way as well. It seemed like the congregants had divided into two groups: those that clustered near Malphas, hoping for some kind of contact with a demon; and those who were getting the hell out of there. Most of these people had never seen a demon before, so it was a question of whether curiosity or fear won out. Wanda joined neither group, just observing.

Louise Jamison wasn't part of either group, either. She wandered over toward Wanda. "Interesting service. What did you make of it?"

"I thought it was nice," Wanda said, not wanting to admit she hadn't paid a lot of attention.

"Do you think humans should serve demons?" Louise asked.

Wanda hesitated. "Well, I -"

Louise smiled. "I'm just curious what people think. I kind of like the idea, although... it's a bit edgy, isn't it? We're not brought up in this country to think that serving anyone is right, or that there should be anything but equality."

"Right," Wanda agreed. "But it's a human need, isn't it? To serve someone greater than oneself? Isn't that why churches exist, in general?"

"And at least here the thing we are asked to serve is real, and right there in front of us. Magnificent, isn't he?"

"Yes," Wanda said.

"I've fucked him too," Louise confided.And I know you have, was the unspoken message.

"Oh." Well, it wasn't as if she'd expected that a demon would be monogamous. She didn't feel jealousy, but not exactly sisterhood, either. "Well, then you know just how magnificent."

Louise giggled, and held her hands a foot apart.

Wanda grinned. She edged toward Malphas, wanting to listen to what was going on.

Alice Carville stuttered, "C-can I, um?"

"Can you what?" asked Malphas.

"Feel your muscles?"

"Sure."

"Alice. Oh my god!" Saffy squealed.

Alice reached out, and squeezed Malphas' forearm. "Wow," she said. "You're really built. Is it true what they say?"

"Theysay so many things," Malphas said.

"Now don't monopolize," Devoted said.

"I don't mind," Malphas said.

"Yes, my Lord," replied Devoted.

"Well," Alice said. "I guess I meant that even just breathing in your breath is like an aphrodisiac."

"Is it working?" Malphas asked.

"Oh my god," Saffy said. "Don't answer that!"

"Yes," Alice said. "Unless it's just my imagination."

Malphas grinned. "Well, even if it's your imagination, I'm flattered. Why don't you stick around for a while."

"Uh, okay."

Malphas moved on to talk to the others, leaving Alice and Saffy to huddle in the corner. Louise touched Wanda's hand. "Don't worry," she said.

"Who's worried?" Wanda said, a bit too quickly.

"We'll never be the only ones, but... that doesn't mean we won't get a turn, now and then. It's natural to want more, but..."

"She's so young," Wanda said.

"Old enough to know she wants the same thing you want," Louise said.

"I suppose. Let's go talk to them, though."

Louise nodded, and the two of them walked to the corner where Alice and Saffy were talking in low voices.

Saffy asked, "Are you going to?"

"Stick around?"

"No. You know. Let him, um," Saffy stopped, and dropped her voice to a whisper. "Are you going to have sex with him?"

Alice took a deep breath. "Well, he is awfully attractive. I feel like we have chemistry, you know? But I don't know. I guess I'll just have to play it by ear." She looked up at Wanda and Louise. "Uh, hey."

"Well," Saffy said, not seeming to care about the fact that there were more listeners. "I think I would. I mean, to find out what it was like. If it's as good as the books say. He sure does have Devoted, um...."