InsaneJournal

By the time Henry had been in the basement twenty-four hours, Lucifer hadn't appeared once. Another demon had, in the morning, to bring both Henry and Hermes water. Of course, upon seeing him, Henry had immediately fainted again, and by the time he woke up, Hermes had consumed most of his water too. At least Hermes had the wherewithall to look guilty about it. And Henry wasn't yet desperate enough that it would make much difference. It looked like it would make all the difference to Hermes who was clearly at death's door. And who knew how long he had been knocking.

The pair of them had 'bonded' per se, once Hermes realised Henry knew Luna in a round about way. Before she was mentioned, Hermes hadn't really wanted to speak to Henry at all, but once Henry brought her name up, Hermes was as attentive as his wasted body would let him be. And so that was how they passed their time. Henry panicking and searching for an exit while Hermes, who was chained to the wall, remained curled up in the corner, drifting between sleeping and wakefulness. Hermes filling Henry in on what he needed to know when he could. Henry huddled against the wall, his arms wrapped around his legs, his knees trucked up under his chin, while Hermes slept.

At least, Henry thought, the lights in the basement had stayed on. Henry was pretty sure if it got dark, he would break pretty much immediately. And it wasn't a fun thought.

When the basement door slammed open, Henry immediately wished it was still just him and Hermes stuck in the basement, trying to keep each other going. The unmistakable form of Lucifer stepped into view and to his utter surprise Henry could feel - nothing. Well that wasn't true, he felt mind-numbing, pants-shitting fear, but there was no tingle. Demons could make Henry faint from how awful their tingle made him feel, but with Lucifer there was nothing. Absolutely nothing at all. He had met neutral people before but this was different. Lucifer was a void, as if he wasn't in the room at all.

The greatest trick the devil ever pulled, was convincing the world he didn't exist.

Henry whimpered and tried to edge back from Lucifer, but his back was against the wall, and so all it did was smash him up into it and take away any chance for an escape. Not that he had ever had one-

"Henry," Lucifer drawled. "I've been so eager to meet you. You, the young man who turned my Iestyn's head." Henry wanted to protest. Scream Iestyn wasn't his. Iestyn didn't belong to Lucifer. He felt like there was no air in his lungs, and there was no way he was going to be able to get any words out. He stared at Lucifer, his eyes wide and terrified, his heart pounding in his chest, his hands clasping at his knees like claws. At least curled up like that, with his knees touching his chest, he felt like his body was somewhat protected.

"I won't abide rudeness," Lucifer warned Henry. "I am your host and ignoring me is a good way to make me angry."

"Fuck off him, Lucifer," Hermes hissed. "He's terrified."

Lucifer glanced sideways at the god and he tsked his tongue. "Would you perhaps like me to educate you for awhile instead, pithy god?" Lucifer asked, and Hermes fell immediately silent. "That's what I thought." Lucifer turned back to Henry, who honestly felt like he couldn't breathe. Every horrible thing the twins had told him Lucifer had done to them was racing through his mind a mile a minute. "Now," Lucifer reached out to clasp Henry's face in his hand and tilt it upwards, like he was eyeing up a horse at market. Henry let out a terrified squeak. "What to do with you."

Henry, shaking like a leaf, finally managed to get out a word, but it was barely audible. "Please."

"Please what, Henry?" Lucifer asked. There was a cold edge to his voice which made Henry's guts twist in horror.

"Don't-" Henry whispered. "Don't hurt me." If he wasn't so fucking scared, he might have felt a little embarrassed that he was begging straight away. But Henry knew, at least somewhat, what Lucifer was capable of. And he was going to beg as much as he could.

Lucifer still had ahold of Henry's chin and he keep Henry's gaze, his own cold and uncaring. "That's exactly what I'm going to do with you," Lucifer promised him, and Henry squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the visage of Lucifer. Trying to cast his mind somewhere nice. Iestyn. Iestyn's smile. His hands.

The way he had looked in that photo at the hospital-

Before he could even realise it wasn't going to work, he felt his body being pulled away from the wall. His eyes snapped open as he was flipped over and pushed to the ground and he let out a yelp of pain as he was pinned there. "Blindfold him," Lucifer hissed to persons unknown, and then Henry's sight was robbed from him. And even through his terror, he understood. Lucifer didn't want him to faint, but he didn't want to do this alone either. There were demons in the room.

And Lucifer wanted Henry conscious.

Strong hands pulled him up, and held him fast. Then he heard Lucifer say, "the boy was rude to me. Show him the price for his transgressions." And before he could beg again, blows rained down on him from every angle. Henry couldn't see, didn't know where the hits were coming from, and couldn't protect himself so he was beaten senseless. By the time he was dropped to the ground, he had been punched and kicked pretty much everywhere except his head. Henry let out a groan of anguish, his body feeling like one big bruise.

"Get him up," Lucifer ordered, and Henry felt himself being lifted. Metal cuffs were clamped tightly around his wrists and he was chained to the ceiling so his body was stuck upright, his arms over his head. Henry let out a moan, and his head fell backwards, his body slumping because he didn't have the strength to stand.

And this was only day two.