Before Lilith and Maisy could lead Rachel out, the doors to the shrine flew open again, revealing a beautiful demoness who led a human woman behind her in chains. The demon had obsidian-colored skin, antennae, compound insectoid eyes, an extra pair of arms, insect-like wings, and a wicked stinger growing just above her ass. The human had chin-length red hair, green eyes, and freckled fair skin. Maisy frowned at the sight.
The insectoid demoness skipped over to Maisy and clasped her hands in hers. "Why, if it isn't Princess Miasma Morningstar!" she gasped with a grin. "Long time no see! How long's it been since you left for Earth? Two years? Three? Oh, who cares? It's just good to have you back!" She then kissed Maisy on each cheek, causing Maisy to stiffen uncomfortably. The newcomer then noticed Rachel. Her smile tightened. "I suppose that used to be the human you found on your journey?"
"That's correct," Maisy said frostily. "We'll be married in a few days."
The fly-like demon turned to greet Rachel, an insincere grin on her face. "Hello! I'm Lady Cruciata Carrionfly. I have the honor of being the daughter of Archduke Beelzebub Carrionfly, Archduke of the Eighth Circle of Hell, Lord of pollution and vermin, Chief of Justice, Grandmaster of the Order of the Fly, Overseer of Gluttony and Idolatry, and Grand Chamberlain to King Lucifer."
"Beelzebub's pretty influential at court," Maisy explained. "He and Dad have been friends since the revolt against Heaven. He even helped name me! How else do you think I got a name like Miasma? Besides ruling an entire circle of Hell, he's the grand chamberlain. That means he's responsible for signing charters and certain royal documents, assisting at the trial of nobles, and recording the oaths of homage to the Devil, among other duties. He's also the head of our judiciary and leader of our order of knighthood, the Order of the Fly."
"Yeah, we Carrionflys are basically Hell's second family," Cruciata smirked. "In fact, I was Princess Miasma's primary suitor before she left to slum it with the humans on Earth."
"Believe me, I wasn't interested!" Maisy groaned. "That courtship was something our dads cooked up!"
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying it lasted," laughed Cruciata. "You're quite a gorgeous little heartbreaker, Miasma." She turned back to Rachel. "You are such a lucky girl. What's your name, by the way?"
"The high priest named me Tenebra, but I still like to go by my human name," said Rachel. "You can call me Rachel. Rachel Church."
"Church?" Cruciata snickered. "A pretty ironic name, don't you think? Hey, could you be related to Rev. Joshua Church, the fiery pastor whose sermons have been attracting so much attention lately?"
"He's my father," Rachel answered. "We... don't get along. He blew his evangelical top when he learned that I had a girlfriend. I'm just glad he never learned that Maisy's a demon."
"Maisy?" Cruciata giggled. "Is THAT what Miasma's been calling herself on Earth?!"
"I just so happen to prefer the name Maisy to Miasma," Maisy said icily. "So, who's your unfortunate captive?"
"She says her name's Chloe," said Cruciata. "She's hardly a great lady of the infernal court, but she'll do."
Maisy frowned. "You know how I feel about bride-stealing, Cruciata! It's barbaric!" She turned to Chloe. "Just give the word, and I'll arrange for your freedom."
"No... that won't be necessary," Chloe said with a weak smile. "I have nothing to go back to on Earth. I was a teenage runaway living on the streets to get away from my homophobic mother. Cruciata may be scary, but I think she may be my best shot at a non-shitty life."
"Okay, just so long as you're playing along," Maisy nodded.
"Then let's begin, Chloe," Cruciata said with a grin. "Let's make you into someone worthy of me."
The priests and priestesses began the same ritual that had been performed on Rachel. The high priest walked to the other end of the burning pool with Lady Cruciata. "We are ready!" he thundered. "Come to me human, leave your humanity behind and enter the waters, shed your human flesh and become a demon, come into darkness!"
Chloe gingerly stepped into the burning water, flinching as the flames burned away her clothes and left her nude. Nonetheless, she continued into the pool. Rachel watched the pool for a few minutes, recalling her own recent journey through it. She wondered what Chloe would come out looking like.
After a few minutes, Chloe rose from the pool, her body clearly at least two feet taller than before. Her hair had become a mass of peacock tail-feathers, spilling forth from her scalp in a brilliant explosion of plumage. Her skin was a vivid blue, but most of it was covered in a thick layer of downy green feathers. Only her face, the palms of her hands, and the soles of her feet were uncovered. One deviation from the peacock theme was a lovely set of gazelle horns growing from Chloe's forehead. More in line with the theme, a magnificent peacock tail unfolded like a Chinese fan behind Chloe, fighting for attention with her enlarged breasts. Cruciata's eyes were glued to those breasts, staring lustfully at bright blue nipples poking out from under iridescent green feathers. The new demon then unfurled the peacock wings growing from her back and gave them an experimental flap, rising about three feet in the air. As Chloe fluttered out of the pool, the onlookers could see that her feet had morphed into bird feet with razor-sharp talons.
"Let's get out of here," Maisy grumbled as the priests bestowed the name Pava on Chloe. "You'll stay away from Lady Cruciata if you know what's good for you, Rachel. That bitch is nothing but trouble, and I can tell she's insanely jealous of you."
Lilith glanced over Rachel's naked body. "We should probably take you to the royal wardrobe before you meet my husband. We may be a liberated society, but it's still considered bad manners to meet royalty while completely nude. I hope you like demonic fashion. Follow me." The queen of Hell then slithered toward the door on her serpentine tail, Maisy and Rachel following close behind.