Hyacinth sat in a quiet corner of the library with her legs crossed, stacks of books surrounding her while a few y open at her feet, illuminated by candlelight. “You’ll not find anything in here, love.” Constantine’s voice echoed from across the empty room as he stepped into the light.“I’m still pissed at you.” Her expression was stern and she crossed her arms. “What makes you so sure these books won’t hold anything?”“‘Cause the Mold’s a lot older than anything in ‘ere.” He lightly shrugged “That Demon you're so friendly with says the spell’s gonna take another day or two, so what’s say you and me go on a little trip?”“Depends where.”“Hell.”

  She threw her head back with ughter “Hell, John? Seriously? Have you been drinking again?” “No more than usual.” He smirked“I’m…” “You’re Fallen. Makes you more at home there than well…Upstairs.”“Oh, fuck you.”“I’m right, though. Can’t deny that.”

  She groaned“Fine. Why do we need to go straight to Hell anyway?”“Few beings down there I need to have a chat with about all this. See…Had me ear to the ground on this for a bit. A lot of knowledge of The Mould on Earth has been destroyed. So, we’re gonna need something older.”

  He lit himself a cigarette.“Lot of Demons wouldn’t hesitate to stab me in the back and Angels…Well, they’re not fond of me either. But you…”“What, best of both?”“Could say that.”“What makes you think I won’t just abandon you down there for being a colossal wanker?” She raised an eyebrow“You got personal stake in this. And you know fine well you can’t kill The Mould Queen alone.”

  She fell silent and John started to walk towards the back of the library, tossing a few books aside and reaching into his coat where he withdrew a small jar containing a red liquid. The Hellbzer unscrewed the jar and, using one of his fingers, started to draw occult, circur markings on his forehead, the back of his hands and finally, drew a rge circle around himself on the stone floor of the library. “Virgin’s blood.”

  She gave him a disapproving scowl “It’s from multiple. A few drops of blood from each. Took ages.”

  He finished drawing the circle, forming it into a rge pentacle with other occult symbols within. John finished his ritual by drinking directly from the jar as if taking a shot of vodka and let out a deep breath. “Listen closely love, you’re gonna fly me soul down the hell…”“Wha-”“Hyacinth.” His eyes narrowed“I’ve never carried a person’s soul to Hell before. What if I fuck it up?”“I’ll guide ya. You’re the only one I can trust on this. Now, the circle, the virgin’s blood, the lot. That’s gonna keep my body and soul bound to this realm. Can’t be corrupted, can’t be nicked. But I still need you to watch my back down there. The second things go tits up, you fly us out. Got it?”

  She slowly nodded, her eyes wide with concern. There was a slight glow in John’s eyes for half a second before they rolled back in his head and he slumped to the ground within the circle. Emerging from his body was a spectre of John himself, a slight golden glow surrounding him.

  “No Demon’s gonna buy that you of all people are a virgin.” Hyacinth scoffed“Blood’s still gonna keep the bastards away.” He smirked, walking towards her“Hold on, what about your body?”“While you had your nose buried in those tombs, I marked every inch of this pce with protection spells. Nothing from Heaven or Hell is makin’ it through that door.”“Wait, that applies to me too.”“Well, then you’ll have to make sure I get back from Hell in one piece, then?” He chuckled lightly

  She grabbed the astral John by under his arms and looked upwards. Stretching out her body, a set of rge, dark, raven-like wings emerged from her back. A feather fell to the ground gently as the Angel took flight.

  The pit was a swirling, violent maelstrom of fire. Arms and heads, decayed and charred, reached out, trying to cw at the Angel but they were just too far out of reach. They screamed in multiple tongues, as every nguage on the pnet cried out for salvation, for mercy or to simply just be put out of their misery. The Fallen Angel’s facial expression hardened and she descended into a gap in the fmes while the astral form of Constantine looked indifferent.

  Her form had changed as the two had entered the pit, no longer wearing her leather jacket, dress and shoes. Instead she was dressed as a warrior. Her bronze armour had shoulder pads with small spikes and it coated most of her body, while leaving some gaps for movement. Part of the glistening bronze had started to fade though, turning as bck as her wings.

  Both remained silent as they made their descent straight into Hell itself, with the Angel trying in vain to ignore the screams.

  After what felt like an eternity, they reached the edge of the fiery maelstrom and she touched down on a floating, stone, jagged ptform. The charred, decaying souls still reached out but Imps, dragon-like creatures made mostly of bone and goat-like bipedal monsters gnced over, each one keeping their distance but watching with a combination of curiosity and disgust.

  With the hardened expression still on her face, she stretched out one of her arms and the hilt of a sword appeared in her left hand. Clutching it tightly, a golden fme emerged and her eyes turned to glowing, bck opals.Letting go of John, he stepped across the ptform and took a gnce at their surroundings.

  The pit stretched out forever, the sky made of pulsating flesh, and beneath the ptform the two stood on there seemed to be no end, as the pit stretched on for further than his eyes could see.

  The astral John snapped his fingers and the ptform started to move. “This is the st time I help you.” Her voice was shaky but her expression remained hardened, while fighting to avoid eye contact with each soul as they passed by. They were part of the sky, each cloud made up of a cluster of the charred, decaying inhabitants.“Some of ‘em deserve it love.”“Some?”“Won’t be here long.”“Helllppp me…” A voice cried. The Fallen Angel turned her head, seeing the face of Gerald Hugo Bexley, or rather what was left of it.“Well, that guy deserves it at least.” She muttered to herself.

  John shook his head as the ptform linked up with another and stopped. A rge, circur ptform with a set of stone steps. Each step had the face of another soul, eyeless and groaning out as they begged for peace. John ascended the stairs without even looking at the faces, his hands in his pockets while Hyacinth, gritting her teeth, flew over the steps, her eyes fixed on John or her sword, anything to not look each soul in the eyes.

  She wasn’t sure how much time had passed by the time the staircase ended and the two faced a giant, stone door covered in markings. The most notable carved into the stone surface was a Devilish figure with a wide ear to ear smile and a pointed cape. There were two carvings of him in total, with another having him wearing a rage-filled expression. Hyacinth gred at the door and took one step back.

  A door emerged from the ptform’s floor and a decaying figure stepped out. It had two heads with sixteen sets of eyes, two arms, one shrivelled, bony and useless. It had two legs and remained barefoot, blisters all over it’s feet. “You seek an audience with Lord Mephisto?” It hissed“Aye.” John nodded“He’s not seeing anyone at the moment.” “How about you go get your boss, or I shove this fming sword up whatever you call an anus?” Hyacinth scowled“Tell him John Constantine wants a word.”

  The creature snarled and scuttled towards the door, knocking on it. Bells started to ring out and the massive door opened. The Fallen Angel squeezed John’s hand tightly as they walked inside but let go the moment they stood before a throne.

  Mephisto

  He sat on a twisted throne of stone, faces of souls marked into the surface. They silently screamed for peace as they twisted and contorted. Mephisto remained seated, his hands tucked under his chin but had a disappointed expression on his face. “John.” His voice echoed“Need a word with you.”“And you brought a little friend.” A contorted smile grew on his face, his glowing yellow eyes staring deeply into the Fallen Angel“Insurance.” “Few are so bold as you just storm in here directly.”“Well, I wasn’t gonna be kept waiting. Now, we need to talk.”“I have eternity. I want to know about your little friend. Always so tragic when one of them falls, isn’t it?”

  John stepped forward.“I know what you’ve been up to.”“Oh, and what is that, exactly?” He smiled“Two weeks ago I was in this small vilge in Ethiopia. Recent famine attracted a hunger demon that was trying to make the vilges eat each other. So, I sent the bastard back here.”

  A scowl appeared on John’s face.“But, that wasn’t before I ran into one of your lot. Demon, an idiot by the name of…Hmm.” He cleared his throat, stretching out his arms “Zoz'garuk!” He shouted, his voice echoing.

  In a plume of fire, a Demon with the wings and head of a bat but the bipedal body of an ape appeared, looking dazed.“What the…” The Demon jumped as he took in his surroundings.“Tell him what ya told me, mate.”

  He faced his Lord and master and started to tremble while a scowl formed on Mephisto’s face. The demon fell to his knees.“My Lord I…”“Don’t be too hard on him.” John shook his head “He didn’t give things up that easily. Just about two deals ya made.”“Please!” Zoz’garuk trembled

  Before the Demon could utter another word, his body was lifted into the air by an invisible force and he was pulled apart, his body bursting into fmes before it could hit the ground. “You didn’t need to kill him!” Hyacinth snapped“Oh, it talks, does it?” “You're damn right I do!”“Love, stop talking. Please.” John pleaded “You can’t tell me what to do.”Mephisto leaned forward with a grin on his face.“The two deals. One you made a few years back, the other one in the nineties. Zoz’garuk spilled his guts on both.”“I make deals every day, John.”

  His gaze was fixed on the Fallen Angel.“What can I offer you?”“Nothing.”“Oh please. Every being across the cosmos wants something.”“I know how you work, Demon. Even if you could give me everything I wanted, the price would be too steep.”“A pity.” He leaned back on his throne “Restoration could be yours at the snap of my fingers.”“Hyacinth.” John muttered “This is between you and me, you big bollocks. See, you’re making deals every day a' the week. That’s why this one was so interesting. You ask for souls, favours. The works. No different than any other Demon or Lord of Hell.”

  John smirked“It’s pathetic. Asking for a marriage.”“What are you talking about?”“Made a deal with a superhero, and you maniputed reality so that nobody on the damn pnet could save a granny from a gunshot wound. 'A course, you did your homework. You’re bound by rules. If the granny dies of unnatural causes, the deal is null and void.”

  Mephisto scowled. “You might wanna check on the 'ol bird.”

  With the wave of his hand, the Lord of Hell tore open part of the sky before them and all three could see the inside of an apartment.. There, an old woman y on her deathbed and sitting at her bedside was a hero dressed in red and blue spandex.

  “See after me run in with your mate, I took a trip to New York. Met the granny while helpin’ her with the shop. Nephew weren’t around. Too busy. All it took was me shakin’ her hand.” He held up his hand, the smirk still on his face.“Delivered a spell. One only I can break.”“You dare!” Mephisto bellowed, rising from his throne as he stormed towards John.“Careful. Anything happens to me, and she dies. What’s that deal worth to you?”

  “John, what the fuck!” Hyacinth snapped, storming forwards with her sword raised “That’s…Holy shit, is that fucking Spider-Man?! You’re gonna kill Spider-Man’s grandman?!”“It’s his aunt. And it’s her life for another deal our mate’s gone and made.” “John…”“Don’t test me, Hyacinth.” He snapped “Do you think Mephisto is the first Lord of Hell I’ve put in his pce? I saved you before. I could just as easily put you back where I bloody well found you.”

  She took one step back, lowering her bde. “Fuck you.” She hissed“Remember, we’re not done.” “I do hate to interrupt this quarrelling but what is your price, John?”“Back in the nineties you made a deal with something that’s not human anymore.”“You’re going to have to be more…Specific.” “You know I’m talking about The bloomin’ Mould Queen. You're protecting her. I know you are. Your Demon said as much. Tear up that contract if you wanna keep this one.”“Do you think a marriage is worth revoking my protection on something that powerful?” He scoffed

  John clenched his fist and the old woman started to gasp for air.“It’s not the marriage you were interested in, was it? Their daughter. She was going to stop you. That’s why you’re so interested. The old bird dies and you lose your throne.”

  Mephisto snarled, raising his hand as it started to glow with a dark red energy. It was inches away from striking John's face directly but he didn’t even flinch.“Fine.” The Lord of Hell scoffed, drawing his hand back and having a scroll appear before him.

  John read the fine print as it burst into fmes.“The Mould Queen no longer has any protection from the forces of Hell. Now, break your spell on the aunt.”“Can’t do that. You won’t let me walk outta here alive. But, as soon as The Mould Queen is dead and gone, she’ll be alright.”

  He turned away from Mephisto, his hands in his pockets but stopped in his tracks before the door.“One more thing, though. You knew what she’d turn into. Why even make the deal?”“The suffering The Mould Queen spreads across the Earth is ideal for Demons. So many deals to be made, so much despair to feed upon.”

  His eyes met that of the Fallen Angel“I can see much despair in you, too. I can offer you anything you desire. And it won’t even cost you your soul.”“I’m not exactly married.” She shrugged “No, no, no. That was a one-time agreement.” He chuckled, only for his face to become a scowl instantly “Kill John Constantine.”

  Her gaze slowly moved between the Lord of Hell and to John, who still had his back to her. She gnced at the bde in her hand. “I will grant you a portion of my power to strike him down.”“No.” She sharply shook her head “Then let his soul rot in my domain and the prize is still yours. I saw you arrive. You’re his route out of here. All you need to do is fly back to Earth and leave his soul behind.”“No.” She stated, firmly “I don’t trust John, I don’t even like him. He’s a css-a wanker and I hate that I’m indebted to him. But…” She sighed heavily “You’re worse. You released The Mould Queen on the world.”“I did no such thing. Our deal was for a little bit of extra protection. And that her book series did well. The Mould is something far more primal and not from this realm nor the one you used to call home. This is your st chance. Abandon John to remain here at my mercy.”

  She turned on her heels and walked away, catching up to John. The two walked through the heavy door, which smmed closed behind them.“Y’know, for a second there…”“No you didn’t.” She scoffed “You knew I was never gonna take any deal from him.”“Well, we got what we came for. Time to go up, I guess.”

  He tutted at the sight of her scowl.“What, did you think saving the world would be…Pleasant?” “Tinevera and that old woman are one thing, but…Me?” She hid the tremble in her voice“You were gettin’ in the way. Had to show that horned bastard how serious I was.”“John, tell me that was just a bluff.” He lit himself a cigarette.“John!”He took a long drag of it “I could send you back, but…I won’t.” He shrugged “Now, I’ve seen enough of this pce, haven’t you?”

  Her eyes met that of one of the souls reaching out and she turned away. As she approached John, ready to fly him up she stooped in her tracks as all of the tortured souls around them fell silent. The Fallen Angel felt a shiver go through her entire body and she gasped. John sharply turned around, his eyes widened.

  “Oh, bollocks.”

  A motorcycle adorned in fmes skimmed it’s tyres across the fleshy skies, going at full speed towards John and Hyacinth. It’s rider, dressed in biker leathers, a chain wrapped around him and with a fming skull for a head.

  Ghost Rider

  “Hell has called for you, Constantine.”“Get us out of here, now!”

  She wrapped her arms around John and started to fly through the maelstrom of fire, but the Rider was faster. Much faster. It took mere seconds for him to close in. The souls in the maelstrom that had reached out earlier all withdrew as the fming motorcycle sped towards the Fallen Angel. “John…” Hyacinth muttered “I hate you so much…”“What are you doing?”

  With a strong fp of her wings, she tossed the Hellbzer upwards through the maelstrom. His soul ascended, reaching the top and leaving Hell. The Rider scowled as his bike caught up and grabbed her by the throat. “You didn’t stop anything. His bck soul will see judgement.”“Maybe…Just not today.” -

  Back on Earth, John let out a gasp of air and he sharply sat up within the circle. “Stupid.” He muttered, gritting his teeth “You bloody twit.”-“John’s got work to do.”