She was the wife of the Papa; perhaps the most prestigious role in the church, considering she was a hell of a lot more intimidating than Nihil could ever hope to be. If she didn’t want to deal with somebody, she didn’t have to. Brash, threatening, and fiery, she was a woman who knew how to keep her peace… perhaps a little too well.

Being their superior, it was very hard to form any kind of meaningful connections with other Sisters. They were afraid if they slipped up once, they’d be out of the Ministry on their ass, if not worse. Granted, that probably was something that she would do, but it still stung whenever Nihil had done something stupid and she had absolutely nobody on the planet who would even think to listen to her and, Satan forbid, respond. She needed someone who could take her Hellfire; someone accustomed to the flames.

Hellfire. Perfect.

There was no rule saying that she couldn’t have a ghoul of her own. She was the first Sister Imperator—the trailblazer, she could make her own rules. So, she snatched a ritual book from the primitive library they had begun to build within the church and went down to the chancel. The pentagram was almost overly simple, laid out in a pretty pattern and circle with some kind of herb mixture she found in a readily labeled bottle stolen from her husband’s spare room, and then—a very lovely grand finale—she set it on fire.

The sound was like sparks flying and metal clashing; the sound of the gates to Hell opening and a demon being released. There was no real way to guarantee what kind you were getting, although people were looking into it. All they knew was that they could get one, and she specifically knew that she was excited to see the beast that came out of the flaming fray.

It must have been an hour passed by the time the flames had gone down, revealing a figure in the very center of the charred herbs and sticks. She considered it, and without hesitation, approached the edge. It was curled up, on its human-like legs with its arms wrapped around itself. Shivering, shuddering despite the hot air… the poor little thing was used to the inferno, not the pleasant weather of seaside Italy. It lifted its head, uncanny, marble-like eyes staring up at her.

A grin spread over her face, her knees bending just slightly to get a better look at the creature. Reaching out, she spoke. “Hello, beautiful.”