Scorn of Angels by John Patrick Kennedy

what?
    Nyx had no idea. All she knew was that she had to try to bring back her Angel, and they had to stop Tribunal before he could finish his plan. Epiphenia was an Earth Angel and could live no place else. Even now, Nyx could feel her need for the soil and sky of her home. Once Epiphenia had entered Nyx’s body, escape had become imperative, mitigated only by her need to bring her friends with her.
    We get Ishtar, we get out, we get Epiphenia back, and we get rid of Tribunal. Then I am coming back and teaching Lucifer the true meaning of pain.
     
    They reached Lucifer’s castle minutes later.
    For Nyx, being able to travel unmolested was a luxury almost beyond imagining. The time she had spent as a soul had given her only the slightest glimpse of the unending torments that each faced in Hell. Nyx looked down at the plains below her, where thousands of Angels and millions of demons attended the souls of the damned. The screams and wailing were full of fresh agony every minute. There was no relief, no time off, no final rest. And there was no part of Hell that was ever silent, save for the great pit through which Nyx and Persephone had re-entered when they’d come to rescue Epiphenia.
    I wonder how many souls are still sane, Nyx thought as they winged over . And if they’re not, does the punishment mean anything anymore? Can it mean anything if they don’t remember who they are?
    They were not thoughts she’d ever had as Queen of Hell, but disguising herself as a soul had changed her perspective somewhat. She wondered if God ever thought about the souls he’d damned. The souls he’d created to live on the imperfect earth, given miserable lives to, and then damned.
    “There,” said Persephone. “That window.”
    Nyx turned her attention from the plains to the huge mountain where Lucifer’s castle stood. It was a monument to his arrogance, built while he was still at war with Nyx, to show that he was King of Hell. Nyx had made him live in it, as a reminder of how much he’d lost. It figured that he’d still keep it as his residence.
    Too bad it won’t last.
    It was tall, with a dozen towers, and crenelated walls edged with Hellfire and decorated with the impaled flesh of souls. Other souls and a few demons hung on the walls of the castle, usually wherever there was a stream of Hellfire falling down the sides, just to ensure they remembered why they were there. There were few windows because Hell had no light to speak of, and there was little worth looking at. The window Nyx and Persephone were aiming at was near the top of one tower. It was high and narrow and framed a perfect view of the Lake of Fire.
    The castle was buzzing with activity. A hundred Angels patrolled the skies around it. A dozen stood outside the front door, and Nyx had no doubt that a thousand more were inside.
    “It’s going to be a huge fight getting Ishtar out of there,” said Persephone, her tone making it clear she was relishing the prospect, not dreading it.
    “Yes, it is,” said Nyx, though her tone was grimmer. It wasn’t that she didn’t look forward to the fight. It was that every passing moment was time they were giving to Tribunal to perfect his plans. They needed to get in fast, get out fast, and vanish into the mountains of Hell until they could escape.
    No problem. Really.
    Nyx angled them toward the window. The Angels they flew past didn’t notice them, which still surprised Nyx, though it shouldn’t have. Just how powerful is Epiphenia? she wondered as they passed within ten meters of one of the Angels. He looked away at just the right time to not notice them at all.
    Nyx shook her head and kept flying.
    “Just about there,” said Persephone.
    “Stand by,” said Nyx. “And don’t break contact, no matter what.”
    Lizard-demons were common in Hell. They were long and thin, with hooked scales that ripped open any flesh they touched. They had teeth and talons that were even more wickedly sharp, and which caused an