Damien was lying on the bed, stroking Kitty's hair while drifting in and out of sleep. The sun had risen, but he hadn't noticed. Day and night seemed to blend together without him realising. He rarely slept. It had become routine to him to stay up most of the night. He didn't even know what day it was or how long it had been since it was dark.
The sight of a mass of smoke interrupted him from these thoughts. The smoke was black, so he knew it wasn't Satan. It had to be one of his demons. To confirm his guess, the cloud dissipated to reveal Leviathan. Her messy red hair spilled out as she floated in the air. Damien was always a little disturbed by her half-rotten face even after all these years of knowing her.
Leviathan bowed. "My prince, I have urgent news. One of your soldiers has fallen."
Fallen? Did she mean someone had died? By "soldier", she meant a demon. Damien wracked his brain for who it could be. His eyes went wide.
Could she have meant Mammon? Was Mammon dead?
He took one last glance at Kitty's sleeping face, then gently moved him off and got off the bed. "We'll talk somewhere else." He announced, walking over to the door.
Leviathan nodded and followed him to the study. This was Damien's favourite place in the house, full of books and rundown old computers. They couldn't afford any high-tech devices. After the war, things like phones and computers became ridiculously expensive, unless you were in the futuristic cities full of internet cafes and massive platform screens in the street. There were three computers in the house and everyone had mobile phones, but they were cheap and old and didn't work that well.
Carrie was usually in there on the computer, but today it was empty. Damien slumped into the desk chair and crossed his legs. He didn't want to have this conversation. He dreaded to think which demon ally was dead.
"So," Damien said, sighing. "What happened? Was it Mammon?"
"Yes, my prince," Leviathan lowered her head. "I'm afraid it was. Obeying his orders to assassinate Dana, he entered the Imperial Palace but was killed in the process. He was torn apart by soldier angels. They ate him alive."
This made Damien feel sick with guilt. He sent Mammon to his gruesome demise. He hadn't thought his decision through, commanding him to kill someone who couldn't be killed. Damien began shaking with grief. He hid his face in his hands.
An innocent person, a loyal ally of his, was viciously killed and it was all his fault.
"Are you all right?" Leviathan asked with a worried face.
"Yeah." Damien sat up straight and inhaled. "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you for telling me."
"Of course, my prince," Leviathan stayed for a moment. "It's not your fault. We're your soldiers. We fight to protect you and the king, even if we die. That's what we were trained for."
A bitter smile appeared on Damien's face. He knew that was true, but it didn't mean he agreed with it. He regretted sending Mammon there.
"That's not all, my prince." Leviathan said. "We believe that Dana was told of Mammon's attempt on her life, most likely by someone allied to you."
"Why do you think that?" Damien frowned. "It could have been the archangels or God who told her."
"Yes, we thought so, too, at first. But Mammon was covered in Hell smoke, so they shouldn't have been able to detect him. It must have been someone with prior knowledge, possibly a demon or maybe someone who overheard."
"But I was alone when I gave the orders." Damien chewed his lip. "Actually, Levi was there, but it couldn't have been him. He was with me the whole time, asleep."
"Then it must have been a demon."
First one of his demons had been murdered, and now one had apparently gone rogue. Damien couldn't handle any more stress. His mind had been spiralling out of control after seeing Dana again. How many more problems would he have to deal with?
"So that means I've been betrayed?" Damien muttered and ran his fingers through his hair.
"It seems so. I apologise, my prince." Leviathan said with a solemn expression. "We'll do whatever we can to catch this individual and punish them appropriately."
"Mm-hm." Damien rubbed his neck, eyes on the floor. "Thank you, Leviathan."
Leviathan bowed once more and vanished. Damien exhaled and leaned back. He didn't want to deal with this shit. He wanted to go to sleep and never wake up.
He was about to go back to the bedroom when he heard a knock on the front door. He opened it and Ken'ichi's cheerful face greeted him. Damien smiled and allowed him in. He was glad to see him. He needed something to take his mind off what happened.
They sat in the living room. Ken'ichi stared at Damien's face with a frown. "You look tired."
"Thanks. You're hot, too." Damien said under his breath, pouting like a child.
"You know what I mean." Ken'ichi couldn't help smiling at the amused snort Damien gave him. "Are you taking your meds?"
"Yeah, course."
"Really?" Ken'ichi gave him a suspicious look.
Damien pursed his lips and muttered, "Maybe, maybe not."
"For fuck's sake, man." Ken'ichi shook his head and sighed. "You've gotta take them. You know how you get when you don't take them."
"Crazy, I know."
"You're not crazy. You're just," Ken'ichi paused to think of the right word, "ill. That's all it is, an illness, and you need to combat that illness."
Hugging his knees to his chest, Damien huffed and frowned. "It's harder than it sounds. You don't get it, so shut up."
Ken'ichi gave him a sad smile. "I know I don't get it, but I want to try and understand. I want to help." He sat up on the sofa. "First things first, you need to sleep."
"I don't sleep." Damien grumbled. "Without alcohol." He added with a smirk.
"You see, that's another thing. You have a drinking problem."
"I don't have a drinking problem!" Damien snapped. "What about you? You're not exactly sober!"
"I'm nowhere near as bad as you." Ken'ichi frowned. "I'm serious. You drink so much it's scary. I know you're a cuddly drunk and it's cute and all, but you need to rein it in."
Damien sent a weak glare his way. "It's not like I'm gonna die, so who gives a shit?"
"It's still not healthy." He crossed his arms and stared Damien in the eye. "Take your meds, man."
"All right, I will. For fucks's sake." Damien played with his fringe, still sulking.
"Good." Ken'ichi smiled in triumph. "Now, what have you been experiencing? I want to know everything."
"I don't remember everything."
"That's why I told you to write it down."
"I'm not gonna write everything down the second that I see or hear it. It's too much. I'll be doing it all day."
"Fine." Ken'ichi exhaled. "Tell me about the most recent ones."
Damien frowned, then hummed in mock thought. Then he counted each symptom on his fingers as he spoke. "First, last night, I looked in the mirror and saw cockroaches and black shit coming out my eyes. Second, I heard a little girl telling me I was gonna fucking die. Third, I keep feeling someone try to descalp me. And finally, I heard some bitch repeat the name 'Whitney Houston' over and over again. Don't even know who the fuck that is."
Ken'ichi shook his head at the last one. He couldn't help smiling again, which made Damien laugh. "Be serious."
"I am being serious!" Damien exclaimed with a grin. "That's genuinely what happened. I can't remember anything else."
Their conversation stopped when Ken'ichi's phone rang. He looked at it and frowned. "Sorry, man. Gotta go." He said, standing up. "I'll let myself out. Remember, take your damn pills." He pointed at Damien to emphasise his point.
"Yeah, yeah. Just get out my house." Damien gave a fake roll of the eyes and grinned.
He got a laugh at that, then Ken'ichi was gone. Damien sighed and got off the sofa. Maybe Ken'ichi was right. He should take his pills.
Shuffling into the kitchen, Damien decided to take his medication and try to get some sleep. It was unlikely that he would be able to drop off, but he could still lounge around in bed and relax a little, and cuddle Kitty if he wasn't awake.
He took his pillbox out of the cabinet and swallowed the tiny white capsules with some water. As he turned to put the box back, he saw Leviathan floating with an urgent look on her face. He swore and dropped it in shock.
"You scared me!" He grumbled, picking the pillbox back up and putting it away.
"Sorry, my prince!" Leviathan looked worried. "I had to come find you right away. We found the traitor."
Damien felt a cold chill run through him. His eyes narrowed. "Who is it?" He said, both desperate and terrified to know the answer.
"Um," Leviathan looked nervous. "You're not going to like what you hear-"
"Just tell me who it is, for fuck's sake!" Damien snapped. He apologised when Leviathan jumped. He covered his face with his hands. "Please. I need to know."
Leviathan nodded with a solemn face.
"It's Ken'ichi Maruyama."