Circle Eight: The Hypocrites

The only footsteps I heard now where Virgil's soft ones and my harsh ones on Hell's earth. No more did I hear demon claws scraping behind us. In silence, my mind wandered. These demons didn't seem capable of practical reason. They didn't want to help us to begin with, therefore, why should they let us go so easily? My head was filled with imagined sounds of their pursuit of us. I began to wonder whether our procession of two would increase in number again. My fear led to instinct; the instinct to hide. I consulted Virgil who admitted to having the same fears that I did. He suggested trying to slip into the next pit.

Just as he made this suggestion, I saw their wings. Without time for thought, Virgil grabbed me and we slid down the wall. I felt that he cared more for me than himself. I imagined that he had a lot to answer to if anything were to happen to me under his care. I looked up into the faces of the demons and realized that they couldn't follow us; they were tethered to their ditch.

Once I felt safe, I looked upon the new punishment before my eyes. Each figure in this new ditch proceeded around in a circle. They were hooded in cloaks. Each cloak was black in color and made of lead. I listened to them moan and considered what strength such a task would take. These were the hypocrites. They moaned as they carried the weight of the cloak.

I began to talk to some of those who walked perpetually but was distracted by the sight of a crucified body on the ground. I even saw Virgil marvel at this sight. This shocked me, for Virgil wasn't one to do this. He was always encouraging me not to stare too long and move on quickly. Coming out of his trance, he asked one of the sinners for directions to our next destination. We quickly learned that the demons were leading us the wrong way. We had been lied to. I felt justified in my feelings about them now. The sinner set us back on the right path and we continued. This blow weighed down my shoulders as a lead cloak may have.