“You have three choices.” Kate tried to sound reassuring. “You could continue your life and only write a few pieces for us here and there. We generally pay quite handsomely. You could also become a full-time employee, control what information about us leaks out and what that information implies. You would still have the time to continue your current journalistic career on the side, of course. The third option would see you in the employ of humans, becoming part of RICA, the royal institute for complex affairs, a government agency dealing with the paranormal, including us. They are currently looking for people for their new office near the library. Their new leadership is quite friendly with us.”

  Sarah took a deep breath. “Why do I hate that all three sound good? I expected to, well, pay. Not have my future secured.”

  “You surrender a small piece of freedom, doing our bidding when we need you, in exchange for knowledge and access to us and our abilities. I see that as a fair deal.”

  “Are you joking? It’s incredibly generous! Can you give me a few moments to think about it all? I want to make that decision before I go home, but I need a moment.”

  “I will give you that moment, but not in here. Let’s get some fresh air, shall we?”

  “Okay?”

  “Want to come with us, Lilith?”

  The succubus shook her head. “I have a few things to finish here. But I think I will head to the border world side once I’m done.”

  “Sure thing. See you then. Sarah, let me show you one more thing.”

  Kate and Sarah had found a bench on the Pandemonium Pza.

  “You aren’t just pranking me by telling me this is Hell when you have actually shown me heaven, right?”

  Kate chuckled. “No. This is Hell, my home. But… you won’t come here when you die, if we haven’t turned you into one of us by that point. The Heavens and Hell are the realms of angels and demons respectively. Whenever I die, I return here. We are truly immortal, we can’t be killed. Ever. If this body is destroyed or becomes unusable in other ways, I will just wake up with a new body in my bed at home. It’s a strange experience, but it is calming to know that nothing can truly harm me.”

  “But I can still die.”

  “Yes, that’s why we keep close tabs on our friends. Once you work with us, we will keep a close eye on you, not because we don’t trust you to do your work properly, but because we care about you. We will make sure you never know hunger or homelessness. You will live a healthy and long life.”

  “So, if you directly employ me, how would that work? Do I come to the library at nine in the morning, write articles and survey various news sources for anything about you and then report that and write something to control the narrative?”

  “Not quite. You will be free to work wherever you please. Our specialists from the inquisitorium will keep an eye on information that slips out and notify you whenever they need you to write something. We librarians will do the same. You will write a few announcements about events, some interviews to redirect curious minds and some ‘investigative’ reports to shape what humans know about us. While that will by far not be enough to fill a nine-to-five job five days a week, you will be paid as if it did, simply because we need you to act quickly when necessary. Whenever we don’t need your skills, you are free to do as you please. Your pay, our insurance of your livelihood, isn’t tied to how much we need you.”

  “Then I am your press person. I would still like to write that article about earlier today before I start officially though.”

  “Of course. I will draft up a proper contract, so you know what you get from us and we have something to prove that the treaty applies to you.”

  “Treaty?”

  “The Treaty of Celestis, a ceasefire agreement between the High Courts of the angels and the Pandemonium that also grants humanity certain protections and rights, among lots of other things. As our associate we can do a lot more for you than for just any other human.”

  “I see. Can I read that treaty somewhere?”

  Kate nodded. “The leather-bound book on the bottom floor, the shelf for documents from two thousand years ago.”

  “Just out there in the open?”

  “Yea, like the letters written to Lucifer some forty thousand years ago asking for the creation of the library. People just don’t look. Well, normally at least. For this weekend we have sealed off the sections beyond the first Sumerian scriptures.”

  “That’s how you found out that the librarians were demons. Pauline… sorry, Apollyon, said in the speech that you joined because you found something that got you into their inner circle. That’s that bit about the letter to Lucifer.”

  “I will enjoy working with you. You pay attention to such details, it’s amazing. Yes, you’re right.”

  “Oh, thank you. I just try to keep up.”

  “You’d be surprised how many people don’t even try. Humans overall aren’t very observant.”

  “Yea, I noticed that… it’s almost sad.”

  “And it makes someone like you stand out.”

  “In a good way, I hope.”

  “A very good way, yes. While I don’t want to cut your time in Hell short, we should maybe return to the others in the library. They will be worried about you.”

  “They don’t even know me…”

  Kate sighed. “That does not stop us from caring.”

  “You seem like very nice people.”

  “We try to be. Should we go back so you can convince yourself that we don't just seem nice?”

  “In a moment, I just want to ask one thing first.”

  “Sure, go ahead.”

  Sarah looked at Kate. “What is this like? You know, the whole being a demon thing?”

  “It’s amazing but so strange. I’ve gotten used to the hooves and horns and the tail waving along as I walk. Even the wings, as rarely as I use them, feel like they have always been a part of me. I don’t even really remember what it was like to have feet and honestly, I find them to be quite the distasteful body part. But stuff like eating, sleeping, drinking, all those necessities… I still do them even if I don’t have to. They are nice. The one thing that took the longest to really get comfortable with was my fvour of magic. We all have this baseline control over reality, being able to conjure objects, teleport, that sort of stuff, but every demon has a personal type of magic we excel in. For me, that is mind magic. Reading minds, sharing thoughts, that stuff. In theory I can even control someone’s mind, but I never tried that and it’s deeply unethical anyway. It took me a while to properly understand that demons don’t see my abilities as intrusive, just as another sense they might ck. Like a blind person won’t really see it as intrusive that you can see them but they can’t see you. You simply have a sense they ck. Don’t worry though, beyond a few surface thoughts you have been screaming into the universe, I haven’t read anything from you.”

  “Hm… It feels hard to imagine what that physical change must have felt like. Did you just wake up as a demon one day or…?”

  “It was a gradual change. I barely noticed it, besides the obvious stumbling when my hooves became a thing and nearly pinching my tail with a door. Honestly, the most impactful part was the moment my heart stopped beating. You see, demon hearts don’t pump rhythmically like human hearts do. Our blood, as tar-like as it might be, still flows, just very slowly. When Apollyon turned me, when she changed my soul to be that of a demon and anchored to Hell, my blood was the first thing to change. It was an incredible moment, one I will never forget.”

  “That sounds almost sensual.”

  Kate nodded. “In a way it was.” There was something on the human’s mind that she tried really hard to not think about. It didn’t take much more than a minor gnce to figure out that Sarah was quite enamoured and mildly turned on by the thought of transforming into a demon. “I suppose for some it might feel more intimate than it was for me.”

  Sarah went bright red. “Oh no… you read my mind, didn’t you?”

  “It was hard to miss, sorry about that. It’s honestly nothing too surprising, the way you immediately jumped on the possibility that you could be turned and your interest in how my own transformation went.”

  “But that won’t be possible, right? I’m not demon material, I didn’t prove myself in the way you did.”

  “There is time. We have friends who became demons who didn’t enter our little group the way I did. Young demons who didn’t prove themselves, because there is no need to. If we enjoy your company and your mind is capable of immortality, then we might just make the offer.”

  “Best to make sure I’m a trustworthy and good person then.”

  “If such a goal helps you be the best you can be, that’s good. Just remember that your personality is far more important than your work for us, if you want to do more than just work.”

  “Like hanging out with you… yea, seems like a good idea to actually be fun to have around.”

  “Just be yourself. I am sure you will fit in.”

  Sarah looked up at the amber sky. “Let’s head back to the library then. I saw someone making food outside when I arrived, maybe she’s still there?”

  “Fury will be here all night. Are you hungry?”

  “Oh yes. Haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

  “Well, time to get you some good food then.”