The Angel's Humanhood

20. The face of the devil

The guard opened the cell door and dragged Wahag by the neck. Wahag didn't struggle against it, but he made sure to lock eyes with Dow, and she nodded at him assuringly.
Out of the prison hall, the guard placed on Wahag's head a black sack that smelled of salt and copper.
That's blood, The voice said in panic.
Wahag's feet suddenly felt colder and numb, a bit like when got hit by the pixie dust. He wondered if dying at the hands of the devil would be considered an honorable death, he is the enemy of God after all. He knew as a jin, he will possibly suffer horribly, but he won't die, yet if this body dies, what would come of him? Would he be repelled back to his world which he tried for hundreds of years to escape from? Or will he remain bound to the human world wondering aimless till it perishes? He didn't like any of the possibilities. He hated the aimless existence of being a jin trying to find a purpose. If he couldn't serve God, he wasn't sure he wanted to exist at all.
The guard came to a halt. Wahag was jerked forward through what he assumed was gates to a room, and forced to kneel. He pushed his head back up trying to stop it from being forced to touch the ground. He knew how much the devil and his kin loved to force humans to bow at their feet. Something about the image was unsettling for Wahag and he resisted it with all his might. The guard gave him one last push to the ground, and when he didn't budge, he kicked him to the side and removed the cover on his head.
Wahag looked to the ceiling to find it covered in engravings in languages from different worlds. A lot of it were names of strong beings, notorious for their heinous crimes against God. His body felt tight and the air smelled toxic. Wahag searched the room for the devil's physical manifestation, but as he turned to look for the devil that terrorized his existence for days, he found a human. A man, that if it wasn't for the dark air around him, could be easily passed without a second glance.
He was a small man, who probably wasn't much taller than Dow with nothing striking about him except his bold head, a pointy beard and a round belly. He was dressed in a silk black robe with thin inconsistent golden lines running in strips through its length.
Wahag met his eyes and felt an odd desire to scream. Everything about the average looking man felt eerie and wrong. He had a smug smirk curling his lip on one side.
"The prophecy boy is finally home," the man circled Wahag in lazy steps, "hunted by dreams that come true, except for one," the man recited.
The man stroke a short neatly kept beard as he faced Wahag, "I don't see it. Shouldn't I feel mind blown being in the presence to the closest thing to a prophet?"
Wahag stared into the man's face trying to figure out if this man truly was the Haffaf everyone was talking about. But the man's short temper was aggravated by how Wahag looked like he was sizing him up. The man's cheeks gained a bloody tint the longer Wahag stared, and then his hand flew across the air and landed a hard slap on Wahag's face, that made one of his ears ring, "Who do you think you are looking at?" the man added with disgust.
It took a minute for Wahag to regain his composure and try to fully stand up.
When Wahag did stand taller than the man in silk robe, the guard behind Wahag kicked him in the back of the knee forcing him to kneel again. Wahag thought that it was typical of a big ego.
"Now, now..." The man placed a pretentious gentle hand on Wahag's bruised cheek, "Tell me, what was the grand prophecy?"
"I... I don't know what you are talking about," Wahag was genuinely confused.
The man nodded in apprehension, "Sure, Sure... Okay," then he suddenly landed another slap on Wahag's face and then grabbed Wahag's hair from the back propping his face up, "I don't ask questions twice."
The man released Wahag's head with a jerk and turned to the guard, "force some food into him. He is not allowed to die till I say so. And sort out the rest as per our laws," he finished the sentence with satisfied smirk.
"Yes, Lord Haffaf," the guard lowered his head respectfully. Wahag's stomach twisted at the way the guard treated such a foul man.
Traveling back to his cell, Wahag couldn't see any of his companions anymore. He felt something growing cold inside him. But he knew Dow must be still close and alive, because he wasn't falling apart. He sat down in his cell thinking  how he had less than two days to go till his last chance of redemption passes him, and quite possibly be enslaved to Sal in repay for the favor he could not fullfill. He wondered if he should leave this body before it was too late for both of them.
If you leave me behind, I will be occupied by something horrible, won't I?  said the voice.
If I stay you will surely be doomed, Wahag replied.
I would rather perish with you, than be used for evil. The voice said proudly.
Wahag smiled. I guess it's true that all God's creatures worship him.
Wahag decided that since there was no point in struggling that his last gift for this body would be drinking the water still waiting in front of his cell and maybe give it some rest.
As he reached for the water, "Don't drink that. Unless you want another hit of pixie dust," said a man covered in rags curled up in the cell opposite of him.
"Sal! What are you doing here?" Wahag beamed to see a familiar face.
"Someone asked for another favor on your behalf," Sal's hoofs hit the ground with a clank as he stood up.
"Dow... no, what did she offer you?" Wahag's mind ran through every horrible possibility.
"For someone who ended up dragged down here because of a crime against humans, you sure care an awful lot about her," Sal proceeded to exit his cell.
"How did you know about that?" Wahag was puzzled.
"I know many things and I have friends everywhere. Now, get up. We need to get a move on," Sal seemed to enjoy the leverage.
"I am not freeing you from your end of the favor till you tell me what it is she offered you," Wahag crossed his arms over his chest in protest.
Sal burst laughing, "you think I need your approval for that?" then he opened the gate to Wahag's cell and grabbed Wahag by the waist hauled him over his shoulder. Wahag tried to resist by kicking and pushing.
"Relax, it wasn't her! What would I do with squirmy girl like her!" Sal spoke back to Wahag's head hanging towards his behind, "Now stay still, getting out of here won't be as easy as getting in."