You saw a ghost in the House of Lamentation.
It was late. You were returning from a nice, calm bath when you spotted the apparition. It was a pale figure that appeared to gracefully float through the corridor, wearing white robes in stark contrast to the heavy darkness around it. What you could see of its face was smooth like porcelain, except for the edges. The sides of its face were unnaturally cracked and peeling. Your breath was stuck in your throat as it turned the corner at the end of the hall and disappeared from sight.
Some things in the Devildom are just naturally terrifying to humans. The vision spooked you so much that you flew into the nearest room — the twins' room. You slammed the door shut in your rush, waking them both.
Beelzebub sat right up. His bed creaked and his head whipped towards the door in alarm. His eyes softened when he realized you were the late night visitor, but he did not drop his guard. Something was clearly wrong. He reached for a bedside lamp.
Belphegor, initially not visible under his hoard of covers, stirred with a growl. A single eye, obscured by a curtain of bangs, peered out from his pile of bedding.
It took a moment for Belphegor to shake off the rest of the blankets, prop himself up on an elbow, and find his voice. "Huh? What's wrong...?"
In that time, Beelzebub had already gotten up to come get you. You didn't realize your knees were shaking. The thumping of your heart against your chest cavity was distracting enough.
"I saw a ghost," you choked out as Beelzebub draped a still-warm sheet around your shoulders. With a gentle hand on your back, he guided you to a clear space at the foot of Belphegor's bed.
"That shouldn't be possible," Beelzebub said. He shot a glance at the door, making sure it was shut, then positioned himself in front of you so you'd stop staring at the doorway. "We got rid of all the ghosts here centuries ago."
Belphegor agreed. "Any that are left should be sealed up. Or maybe trapped deep in the crypt, but definitely not just wandering around."
There was a pause as he looked you up and down. You were still slightly damp from your bath and you smelled like fresh soap. Your pajamas were soft and clean.
"Doesn't look like you were exploring the crypt," he noted, rubbing his eyes.
Belphegor asked if you weren't half asleep, seeing things in the dark. You shook your head. Beelzebub said maybe you were so hungry you were hallucinating. He offered to get you half a bag of leftover chips from under his bed. You declined.
"I'm going to go look," Beelzebub decided. The sheet around you was pulled tighter and he tied it snug across your chest like a security blanket before he strode back to his bed, slid his DDD into a pocket, and rolled his shoulders. "If there's one ghost, there could be more. We need to warn Lucifer if there's an infestation."
"Yeah, go Beel. You've got this." Belphegor cheered the most deadpan, exhausted cheer that anybody ever chanted.
You thought of stopping him, but these were two full grown demons. They could send any ghost flying with a mildly annoyed look. You merely bid Beelzebub "Good luck" as he walked into the hallway, as casually as though he was running on a bathroom break. The door clicked shut behind him.
A heavy weight, Belphegor, made your shoulder dip. You tilted to the side as he grabbed your arm and pressed his forehead against your shoulder. "You'll stay here with me, won't you? We can wait for Beel to come back together."
"Yeah, okay," you told him a second before Belphegor pulled you down and nuzzled a cheek against your head.
"Great. I was just about to... go..."
He interrupted himself with a big yawn that blew a big gust of hot air against your neck.
"Mmh. I was just about to go back to bed," he continued. "You can stay with us tonight whether he finds the ghost or not."
Regardless of what you wanted, Belphegor seemed convinced you would be staying. He was halfway through making you his personal pillow and incorporating you into his mound of blankets when the door swung open again and Beelzebub announced, "I found the ghost."
You crawled out of Belphegor's grasp, which wasn't too difficult as he was already half asleep. Beelzebub dragged a figure into the room, one draped in a white robe with a porcelain smooth face that peeled at the edges.
Drops of red liquid fell to the ground. A very tipsy Asmodeus sauntered into the twin's room with a wine glass of Demonus sloshing in his free hand. He was wearing some kind of sleep bonnet with an attached satin veil that fluttered with every minor movement. His beauty mask had begun sliding off, crinkling and rolling up at the edges.
Belphegor asked, "The ghost was Asmo?"
"I found him coming back from the kitchen. I don't know what he was doing before that," Beelzebub explained.
"Eehh? Are you guys having a sleepover?" Asmodeus almost dropped his glass as he weaseled out of Beelzebub's grip and stumbled over to the bed. He dropped to his knees on the carpet beside you and laid his head on the edge of the mattress. You smelled alcohol on his breath. "Without me? Boooo. Booo, you guys are so mean to your big brother."
Asmodeus looked much less scary in the light. His bright white sleepwear was dazzling, like there were diamonds weaved into the fabric, and there was more color to his face than you saw before. A red flush going from one cheek to another.
You pushed his sweeping veil aside to pick at the corner of his mask.
"I seriously thought you were a ghost!" you exclaimed as you peeled it off in one satisfying revenge pull.
Beelzebub came over to yank the Demonus out of Asmodeus' hand before it stained the floor any more. You crumpled up the face mask and threw it in the general direction of a trash can. Beelzebub disposed of the rest of the alcohol by drinking it and setting the glass down on his nightstand.
"That's silly," Asmodeus giggled. He rubbed his smooth face against Belphegor's smooth sheets.
"Where is there a ghost this pretty? You're so silly," he giggled. "That's why you're my favorite. Beel! Belphie! Try harder!"
Belphegor turned his back to his brothers, not wanting to see whatever Asmodeus was drunkenly doing to his bed. "Great, this is resolved. I'm going back to sleep now. Beel, turn off the lights."
"Me too, I'm sooo tired," Asmodeus sighed. He gripped the sheets and the leg of your pajamas and began dozing off, half on the floor and half slumped over the bed.
Beelzebub frowned. He was tired, too. But it wouldn't do to leave a mess in the bedroom. The two of you stared at each other in mutual silence until the heavy sounds of snoring soon began from Belphegor. You slowly slid off the bed, careful not to wake anyone again.
Beelzebub scooped Asmodeus up and laid him down next to Belphegor. His lips were moving, as though talking, but Asmodeus didn't make any audible sounds and obediently cuddled up against his log-like little brother.
You intended to tip-toe towards the door and finally return to your own room, but Beelzebub offered an invitation to stay. And by that, he swept you up off the ground and plopped you on his bed just like he had done for Asmodeus. You tensed up in surprise, as anyone would do upon being suddenly picked up. The light clicked off.
"I don't feel like escorting you back to your room," Beelzebub said as he slid onto the bed next to you. He pulled you away from the edge and into his arms.
"It's not that far. It's downstairs. I live here too, I can go myself," you told him even though you leaned into his embrace and cushioned your head against his arm.
"And risk running into another ghost? Don't be reckless," he teased. Asmodeus' Demonus lingered on his breath.
