Traven walks to him and puts his hand on the boy’s shoulder.
“What’s your name, son?”
The kid leans back away from him.
“Luke.”
“Do you want to go to Hell, Luke?”
Luke looks at the others for help. Muttonchops takes a couple of steps in their direction but stops when the knife I throw at his feet embeds itself in the tile floor with a metallic
“Do you want to go to Hell?” Traven asks.
Luke puts his hands in his jacket pockets. Stands up straight, trying to look defiant.
“To be with Lord Lucifer forever? Yes. Of course.”
“I can help you with that right now.”
Traven shoves Luke against the wall so hard his head bounces off the marble. When the kid opens his mouth to yell, Traven holds it open and leans in like he’s going to kiss him. Luke pulls back but there’s nowhere to go.
Black vapor drifts from Traven’s mouth into Luke’s. A breeze of dust. A wet, oily stream of fluid. Buzzing things like microscopic wasps. It smells like burning feathers and rancid onions. The kid’s face darkens with sin until he’s as black as Manimal Mike. When Traven steps back, Luke collapses on the floor, coughing and drooling on his designer lapels. Amanda and Muttonchops rush to him.
Traven looks down at Luke and says, “Did you think damnation would be easy?”
Amanda screams, “What have you done to my son?”
“I damned him for all eternity. Isn’t that right, Lucifer?”
“The father here gave him a black karma enema. Luke is stuffed with more sin than the entire NBA.”
I kneel down and push up Luke’s eyelids to have a look at his pupils. They’re pinpoints. Barely visible.
“You understand that there are traditions and procedures Downtown. My guess is that bloated with this much sin, there isn’t much I can do for him. He’ll end up on a paddleboat on the river of fire. Or in the Cave of the Despised, with razor crystals and flesh-eating spiders. Which do you think he’d prefer, Mom?”
Muttonchops looks at the kid. Takes out a silver coin and puts it on the kid’s tongue. Black tarnish creeps over its face. In a few seconds it looks a hundred years old. He looks at Amanda.
“He’s telling the truth. I’ve never seen so much sin in one body.”
He turns to me and bows his head.
“Forgive us, Lucifer. We were blinded by your outward appearance and couldn’t see the real you.”
“You’ll have plenty of time to nose-polish my ass Downtown. Right now I want the answers to my questions.”
“And my son?” says Amanda.
“Answer my questions and I’ll see what I can do for Little Lord Fuckitall.”
“Praise to you, my lord.”
“He wishes to only be addressed as Lucifer,” Amanda says to Muttonchops.
“Forgive me.”
Luke opens his eyes and tries to push Amanda away
