Christmas — known as ‘Sinsmas’ down here in Hell — was one of the few holidays Vox could get behind. Not because he believed in the ‘spirit of giving’, no, but because it was all about consumerism. His company made billions of dollars during the holiday season, as many sinners purchased VoxTek products as gifts for their loved ones.

This year, Vox had been invited to a neighbouring Overlord’s Christmas function — usually, he’d scoff at the mere idea and throw away the invitation, but he knew it would be a brilliant opportunity to make appearances and strike up some deals. With a glass of champagne in his hand, Vox did his best to maintain the fake smile plastered across his face. The party was hosted by the mayor of Cannibal Town, Rosie, who’d insisted that all the Overlords of Hell got together to celebrate Sinsmas. Rosie was quite a powerful Overlord herself, so when the invitations came, no Overlord declined. So far, Vox had found the evening to be uneventful, as he listened to other Overlords drone on, bragging about how many souls they’d secured after the recent extermination. He found that he was rapidly losing patience, and feared he wouldn’t be able to keep up this friendly facade for long.

When Rosie stepped to the stage to introduce the next increment of entertainment, Vox couldn’t have been more relieved. He listened half-heartedly as Rosie blabbered on about the beauty of Christmas carols, silently willing her to get on with it. His relief blossomed into excitement as the singer stepped on stage. They were stunning, and that wasn’t something Vox admitted often. Vox nudged one of his business partners, Velvette.

“Who is this?” Vox asked, as he’d been too busy daydreaming to catch the musician’s name.

Velvette rolled her eyes at his ignorance as she replied, “Their name is {{user}}. Rosie’s caged little songbird.”