Demon by Erik Williams

walked down a passageway, past the galley, turned left, and headed down another passageway. He stepped through another door and found what he sought on the right.
    A box with a metal door. The memory told him it was called a walk-in refrigerator.
    Semyaza reached out and grabbed the latching and opened the door. Cold air poured out and enveloped him.
    This is what I need, Semyaza thought and walked in. He closed the door and surveyed his new surroundings. Various fruits and vegetables were stacked on shelves.
    The cold, he believed, would help slow the degeneration of the flesh. He did not expect it to stop it completely and needed it to work only long enough for the ship to get underway. Semyaza wanted to ensure the al-Phirosh was well at sea before he assumed another host.
    Well at sea and in an area of minimal people. Semyaza believed he could defeat the soul even quicker the next time. If he could minimize the number of people around, Semyaza would have a ship of bodies to pick and choose from until they reached their next port.
    That was, if everything went according to plan. First, though, Semyaza would sit patiently in the cold of the refrigerator and wait.
    â€œIs it worth it?” Uriel said in the Ancient Tongue. The white mist materialized in the refrigerator and swirled around Semyaza.
    Even in the cold of the refrigerator, the heat of the Firmament radiating from Uriel burned beyond belief. Semyaza cringed from the pain but also from how much he missed its warmth. It had been so long.
    â€œYou again?” Semyaza’s words came out slow, the pain causing him to stutter slightly. “Why not appear in the form of a man once more, since you love them so much?”
    â€œIs being outside the prison worth all this destruction? Is it worth hopping from body to body like a virus?”
    â€œYes,” Semyaza said. “I feel the Firmament now. Even the slightest touch is worth it, no matter how much it hurts.”
    â€œYet you know it will not last.” The mist contorted and shrank before it transformed into a man, dressed in the same clothes as earlier, sitting with his legs crossed.
    The burning ceased. Relief and loss flooded Semyaza simultaneously. He looked at his forearms and saw the first indication of bone showing.
    â€œI will make it last.”
    â€œYou know how to end all of this, Semyaza. The truth is there and it always has been. The touch of grace is not that far removed and can be yours again.”
    Semyaza shook his head. “I did nothing wrong.”
    â€œYour pride is still your undoing.”
    â€œI was not the leader. I followed. Why should I be punished in such a way and Lucifer not? Why is he given dominion over Earth, free to move about, and I am bound?”
    â€œLucifer has his own punishment, as do you and all the rest of your ilk. You could receive judgment if you only repented.”
    â€œBut no forgiveness.”
    â€œThere is no forgiveness after the fall, just as there is no forgiveness for a man after death.”
    â€œDo not compare me to a man.”
    â€œYou look very much like a man to me, Semyaza. Although you are falling to pieces.”
    Semyaza hissed.
    â€œRepent and accept judgment. At least all of this will be over.”
    â€œTo repent is to serve.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œI will not serve.”
    â€œThen bound shall you stay.”
    Uriel transformed back into the mist and disappeared. Semyaza reached out, trying to feel the heat of the Firmament one last time, hoping it would burn him to cinders; but it had gone and again he dwelled in the cold.
    Y usuf looked at his watch and nodded. Time to set sail.
    â€œRight full rudder,” Yusuf said. “Port engine ahead one-third, starboard engine back one-third. Come up to five percent on the starboard bow thruster.”
    The helmsman repeated what Yusuf had said, word for word, while simultaneously executing the orders.
    Yusuf stood on the port bridgewing, watching