The Demons

"Hey, Ellie!" Orla shouts. "Beelzebub has a job for us!"

"That's Lord Beelzebub to you." They comment sharply afterwards.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" I say, putting my earphone wire in-between my teeth so I can turn my selection of Queen off. Crowley says we should listen to it-and for human music, it's not that bad. Zerrin loves it.

Besides, we have to find things to do other than murdering someone. It gets boring after a while.
And a real deed is just what I need right now.

Naylin catches up with me, Zerrin and Orla. Beelzebub scans us, unimpressed. This is something we're used to by now.

"Tibs, you joining us?" Zerrin calls. A brown curly head appears from over a book.

"Why are you always reading?" I ask Tibby.

But I already know the answer. Hell is so boring...people rip their own throats out with staplers, for Satan's sake.
I wonder if Heaven is like this.

Beelzebub clears their throat. To remind us of their authority, no doubt. "I have decided to give you a... propozzition. A weak principality haz fled from Heaven. Your role is to convince it to join uzz before the Archangelzzz take it back. Then when it has changed, and only then, will you bring it back here to me. We don't want to zztart another war juzt yet."

We give each other blank looks. "You're asking us to convert an angel into one of us?" Naylin repeats, unconvinced. "That's impossible!"

"The angel izzz vulnerable."

Orla frowns. "Yeah, but why us?!"

"You are all similar agez, it's more likely to lizten to you."

"I doubt it." I mumble. But this is better than nothing, I suppose.

"If you don't want the deed, I can eazily give it to zzomeone else."

"No!" We all exclaim desperately in sync. There is no way we can beat a group of Archangels-who know what this angel looks like, and are way more powerful than us-and convince a principality to join the forces of Hell. It could take us years. If we aren't killed before then.