Evelyn opened her eyes, then squinted and blinked several times as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. It was some kind of white swirl far above her, unlike anything she’d seen before. 

As she slowly began to feel more awake, she could recognize what it was made out of; filmy white material was gathered up in a twist, like a drapery in a fancy tent for a wedding, or perhaps curtains for a stage play. As her eyes focused more, she could see she was indeed lying on her back in some sort of tent. 

“This... isn't the hospital.”

Nobody responded to her muttered words, which wasn’t too unusual. The lack of beeping or hiss of machinery was.

She rubbed her eyes as she blinked again, then paused, looking at her hand in shock. There was no IV protruding painfully, nor bruising to show where one had been. Moreover, her hand was nearly unrecognizable. She couldn't see the details of her bones underneath her skin, nor was it gray and webbed with blue veins. It was a pale color with warm brown undertones rather than translucent—just like the skin that healthy people had.

She moved her fingers. Then moved them again, wildly.

I can... I can move them . Easily. It doesn’t hurt at all!

She wiggled her toes, experimentally, then lifted her leg slightly, feeling the weight of a blanket against it that didn't crush it back down again.

It's all... it’s all moving! Can I even—

She sat up.

On my own!

She turned her head, her delight at the smooth, easy movement slightly quelled by confusion. She was in a large, cushioned area surrounded by the white drapery and covered in jewel toned pillows. The soft blanket covering her seemed to be made of a very fine material, and there were others dropped in nearby piles in the same deep colors. It was all very beautiful and difficult to comprehend.

“Is heaven real?” she mumbled to herself, staring down at her body again. “There’s no way…”

“I see you are awake.”

It was the same deep voice she'd heard in the hospital. Her breath caught as she looked over towards where it was coming from. Something even more impossible to comprehend was before her, something she could only stare at in bewilderment as an unsettling chill ran through her, like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her.

Framed by two of the surrounding white drapes, one of which had just been pushed aside, was a demon sitting in an armchair.

There was simply no other way to describe it—perhaps ' devil ' or ' monster ' or some other synonym. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen, even in movies or artwork. It wasn't human or animal. As she’d observed in the hospital, it was tall, with a human-like body—human-like until the long, ink-black fingers that came to points; and its strange, pointed face, also with the deep, almost pure black skin. Finishing off the look was a long tail coming to a spade-like point slowly moving back and forth beside him with an even tempo but without a set pattern, like an unruly pendulum.

Her eyes traveled past pointed ears all the way to the top of its head, where its other clearly inhuman feature rested; two long, thick horns twisted to points. They were black but ever so slightly iridescent, like an oil slick, curving around on the outside and straight towards the center. Her eyes moved down again to meet the two shocking white eyes regarding her as she tried to absorb and make sense of it.

She couldn’t, so she turned over and flopped back down amongst the cushions, pulling the blanket back up. “Yeah, not dealing with this dream right now…”

“You require more rest?” it asked, a puzzled tone in its voice. She heard it move, as if to leave. “We can converse later, if so.”

Nope, I’m definitely awake!

Evelyn sat up again. Her heart was pounding. “W-wait.”

The demon paused from where it had moved to untie the curtains with its head slightly tilted. “Then you are awake?”

Her eyes met the white ones again, then hurried to look away, unable to comprehend that this was a living, thinking creature before her just yet. She looked at his dark clothing, feeling her brow furrow even deeper in confusion.

It—no, he, this is definitely a male—is unexpectedly fashionable? Well, alt fashion, at least, unless things really changed while I was hospitalized. What’s that style called again… 'romantic gothic,’ I think… It’s supposed to be historically inspired. Is that a damn cravat, even? He would fit in perfectly in an issue of Gothic & Beauty, that is, except for the whole demonic face and tail and hey, what the actual fuck is going on here?

The hypnotizing white eyes were watching her. Evelyn swallowed nervously, her eyes flicking around past him. The room beyond the curtains was elegant, either Victorian or Rococo styled, she couldn't remember which described the carved wooden ceilings and golden veined ivory marble floors, although she couldn't see much of it because of the large, filmy white curtains enclosing the area she was in. If it was a bed, it seemed to be indented into the floor rather than resting on it. 

Pretty luxurious... heavenly , honestly, except for... uh...

“Am I dead now?” Evelyn asked, more to the room at large than the demon. She felt over the back of her right hand as she stared around herself—confirming again that there was no IV bruising, nor the annoying medical tape residue. Not only that, but she could feel it. Her fingertips ran over her skin without numbness or tingling, only a soft, smooth feeling of touch. 

I didn’t think I was headed for heaven, like my surroundings seem to reflect… nor hell, really, as the goddamn demon sitting in front of me does. I thought I was just headed for… nothing, and all of this is the opposite of that!

“You are alive. I healed you as agreed.” The creature took on the same pose he had in the hospital, leaning back in the chair and steepling his fingers as he observed her. He seemed to be absorbing her appearance in a similar way that she had been absorbing his, but she couldn't read the look on his face to say for certain. 

“Am I really healed?” Evelyn looked at her legs, wiggling her toes again and marveling at the sensation. She could see them moving under the blankets. “It seems so, but... And where am I?” 

She paused, feeling her forehead wrinkle almost painfully as she looked back at him. “More importantly, what are you?”

“ ‘What ?’ Not even ‘who’ ?” The voice didn't sound offended, instead, there seemed to be the faintest hint of confusion coupled with the slightest tilt of his head. It somehow irritated her.

“Are you going to answer me or not?” she demanded, surprised at her own bravery. “ Who are you, then?”

Shouldn't I be terrified right now? Maybe it's because I'm not sure that this is even real... or maybe that Megan nurse was right and I really am just a rude asshole at heart, even in the face of danger.

He adjusted his pose slightly, his eyes running over her again. “You may call me Asmodeus.”

That seems pretentious, somehow. I get the impression that's not his real name. 

“Asmodeus… That's your name? Okay, so what are you?” She realized that her own hand was wrapped tightly around her other arm across her body. She hoped he didn't notice.

Okay, maybe I am a little afraid… I don’t think I should show weakness though, right?

She inhaled sharply as he stood. She looked up, then up some more—he had to be over six feet tall, not counting the horns. He seemed long in almost every way—he had very long limbs, long fingers, long tail, and long horns. He was also very angular, his torso v-shaped under its perfectly fitted clothing. 

Looking at this humanoid body makes me feel weird. Like he’s so similar to a human, but so clearly not… it’s really hard to comprehend. That’s gotta be it.

He took two steps closer to the edge of the bed area to look down at her, and she had the strange realization that she didn't know how tall she was anymore. She guessed that if she stood, she might be as tall as the lower part of his chest, but she wasn’t certain.

“I am of the Fae. Specifically, I believe your culture’s terms of ‘demon ,’ or perhaps ‘devil ,’ will be more familiar to you.” He crossed his arms, somehow looking thoughtful rather than threatening despite just how far above he was.

“Oh my god—I am in hell, then?” Evelyn felt a small bit of horror coupled with confusion as she shifted on the soft cushions, glancing around her surroundings again.

M-maybe I was a jerk, but that still seems kind of harsh! Who could possibly be nice with the kind of pain I was dealing with every day? Still... Hell is awfully comfortable, if that's the case!

“You are Below.” He didn't elaborate on that point, placing a hand on his chin as he continued. “Now, I will be calling you...”

I have a really bad feeling that he's thinking up a nickname for me for some reason!

Evelyn was quick to interrupt that potential.

“My name is Evelyn Barraster. I’m pretty sure you even said it, yesterday, or, uh, whenever that whole thing happened.” She looked up at him defiantly. He seemed unfazed.

He waved his hand dismissively, then nodded, seeming satisfied. “That is correct, but here, I will be calling you Eve.”

“Then I will be calling you Az, so we can both mispronounce the start of the other's name,” she snapped back. He gave her an odd look, tilting his head slightly again. Evelyn felt like she was beginning to read his expressions a bit more easily.

He seems... confused? Maybe he expects me to be more passive. Maybe I should be being more passive especially since I don’t know what the fuck is going on yet! But I don't want to seem afraid... I'll just keep charging ahead like an idiot, then!

She decided to change the subject before he pushed back. “More importantly, where am I? What's 'Below'? And most importantly, why am I here?”