The Old King and the New Bride Ch. 05

And the Oscar for Best Actor goes to...

Lucifer turns to look at Lilith, his expression still filled with pain. "Kerion came to see me after I broke the news."

Lilith nods. "As he should. He's a good friend of yours. Coming in your time of grieving is a good thing for him to do."

Lucifer nods and swallows. "He told me he and Michelle had sought you out. They requested your help to deal with Leyna."

Lilith's face falls, her ocean-blue eyes slowly widening with shock. True, I actually told him what had happened, but hearing him say Kerion ratted her out is far more painful and believable. A slow smile crosses my face and I watch Lilith's charade slowly implode.

Lucifer is still staring at her with pained eyes. "Why didn't you help her? She needed you. You could have saved her. You could have saved me."

Lilith's mouth drops open, and a soft, strangled sound escapes her throat. She knows her plan is falling to pieces, and I can almost see the gears in her head spinning as she tries to find a way to save her ass.

"Sire, I..." she trails off, desperately seeking an escape.

Although still sorrowful, Lucifer's expression shifts slightly to show his growing anger. "You sacrificed all of us. You put everything we have in jeopardy. And for what? Because she was human? Because you hated her?"

Lilith gives a nervous smile. "Lucifer, please. She's just a human. She wasn't that important. The world still turns and people still sin. Just because she died doesn't mean we have to stop everything and grieve. We can all still move on and heal ourselves. And each other."

Damn. This woman just doesn't give up.

The tears on my husbands face have dried and the dark marks have faded. His 'sorrow' has been replaced with anger, and he gives Lilith a wicked, malicious smile.

"Heal ourselves," he whispers. "Oh, I know exactly how to heal myself."

He rises from the bed, standing at his full height as he glares down at Lilith. He flicks his fingers at her, beckoning her to stand. She does, swallowing loudly, as she rises to face my pissed-off husband. Lucifer smiles kindly at her, reaching out to cup her face in his hands. He forces her to make eye contact with him, his kind smile turning more malicious by the second.

"That kind of action – sacrificing the queen and our world...Oh, Lilith. It's not good. Not good at all. It's treasonous." He purrs the words at her, stroking her hair in his hands. "There must be consequences for such deplorable actions."

Lilith is shaking in her skin, horrified that her betrayal has been revealed and that she's about to pay for it. Her lip trembles, and I almost hear see her mind nearly screaming for her to apologize and beg for mercy. But she won't. Her pride will never allow it.

"I have a surprise for you," Lucifer whispers. He turns his head towards me and nods, a warm, welcoming smile on his lips.

I smile and nod, straightening my dress and making sure everything is in place. Gently, I push one of the doors open and step out into the bedroom, smiling triumphantly at Lilith. Her eyes go wide, absolute shock and horror crossing her beautiful face. She'd been banking on Leyna actually finishing me off, but here I was, her greatest enemy, standing just feet from her with a devilish smile plastered to my face.

Ah, karma. How I love you.

"No." She mouths the word, but no sound comes out. Her fear and anger have overcome her ability to speak, leaving her furiously mute.

Lucifer's fingers force her gaze back to him. His kind, warm smile still graces his lips, but there's a fire in his eyes that could melt stone.

"There must be consequences for turning against your own world and your masters," he croons, obviously taking pleasure in exacting revenge on my behalf.

"Sire..." Lilith starts, making a last-ditch effort to save herself.

His smile never fades, and his fingers trail up her cheek, feeling her smoother, supple skin. "I think we'll start by taking back what you treasure most."

His fingers press into her cheeks, leaving small dents in her skin. Slowly, faint trails of silver-tinged strands of black threads seep out of her skin and wrap around his fingers. They caress Lucifer's skin before sinking into his hands. As they crawl into him, I watch Lilith's face slowly become gaunt and pale. Her skin begins to shrivel and crack, her lovely face turning into a mask of old age and disgust as her youth and beauty are slowly sucked away.

Take what you treasure most...

Of course! Her beauty. She's a succubus, after all. She needs her hotness to seduce and kill men. Without it, she's out of a job. But that's not all my husband planned of when he thought of this punishment. Taking away her infamous good looks serves another purpose: her ego and self-worth depend on her being beautiful enough to corrupt the Pope himself. Without her beauty, Lilith will be reduced to a life of mockery and self-loathing.

Poor thing...oh, wait...nevermind.

As much as I hate to see people suffering and in pain, Lilith deserves this. She's fucked me over and insulted me – and God knows how many other people - more times than I can count. She practically gave me the middle finger when I asked for her help to save Hell. And she tried to move in on my husband when she thought I was dead. The bitch had this coming from day one. It's hard to feel pity for a woman like that.

Lilith, for her part, just stands there and takes it. I don't know if it's because she's accepted responsibility and chose to take her punishment honorably – highly unlikely – or if she's too scared of pissing of my husband even more to try and break away. I'm almost convinced that it's option two. That's more her style.

Moments later, Lucifer pulls his hands away from Lilith and steps away from her, a dark smile caressing his lips. Lilith crumples to the floor, her face and body now shriveled like a dried apple husk. Her eyes are large and hollow, her mouth thin and pale, her cheeks full of wrinkles and scabs. Her hair has lost its luster and hangs limply around her shoulders. The skin on her hands has receded to the point of showing her nail beds, her nails themselves chipped and yellowed. Her frame is now dangerously thin, the ruby gown pooling around her and hanging off her body. Her breasts are heavily veined and sagging. The once-smooth flesh of her arms and legs now hangs from her bony limbs in miles of folds and wrinkles.

She's hideous now – inside and out.

"There, now," Lucifer proclaims as he smiles down at her. "That's the first part."

Lilith lifts her head to stare at him, fear, horror and despair swirling in her faded-blue eyes. "Master?"

His smile never fades. "We still need to deal with your betrayal of my queen. You abandoned her – quite willingly, in fact – when she needed you most. Knowing you, Lil, you were probably begging for her death. You, from the very beginning, have never showed Michelle the respect she deserves. For that action, you will be stripped of you title as the succubus queen and will be placed into servitude for Michelle."

Lilith's eyes go wide. "Servitude!" She nearly spits the word, turning her hideous face to glare at me.

"Indeed. It's about damn time you learned your fucking place, little girl," Lucifer snaps right back.

Lilith looks at him again, confusion and panic marring her once-lovely face. "But who will be the whore queen?!"

Lucifer pauses for a moment, thinking. "Mireena. She's intelligent, strong and can handle anything the girls could throw at her." He pauses again, spearing Lilith with his glare. "She's also loyal and respects the queen. She's perfect for the job."

Lilith, her eyes nearly bursting out of her head, opens her mouth to protest. She stops, though, and pulls back, hanging her head and glaring at the floor. She knows that arguing with Lucifer any more will just get her into more trouble. She's already been sentenced to serve me, so her head must be ready to explode. Quietly, though very begrudgingly, she nods and accepts Lucifer's new plans for her.

Smiling, Lucifer turns and strides towards me. I smile gently at him, happy he's put Lilith in her place but still pained to see anyone put in that position. Lucifer stops just inches away from me, staring down at me with a seductive smile on his lips. The chill of his skin makes me shiver and I reach up to loop my arms around his neck. He reciprocates by wrapping his hands around my waist and pressing his lips to mine. We kiss slowly but passionately, gently nibbling each other's mouths and tongues.

"Tarioc," he whispers against my lips.

"Sire?"

I peer over Lucifer's shoulder to see Tarioc standing in the middle of the room, top hat perfectly balanced on his head and a warm smile on his face. How did her get here so fast? More importantly, how did her hear my husband whispering his name?

"Escort Lilith to the Mitroria and have her changed into her servant's clothes," Lucifer commands between kisses. "See to it that she's properly dressed and well informed of her new duties."

Tarioc smiles and bows. "Sire. My lady." He spins and walks over to Lilith, placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it painfully. "Let's go, Lili. Time for your first day at work."

Lilith doesn't move, though her eyes slide to me to give me one last withering glare. I stare back as Lucifer trails his lips down my neck, watching as the pool of shadow opens up around Tarioc and spreads to encompass Lilith's dress. The two of them slowly sink into the floor, finally disappearing with one last war smile from the coachman himself.

"Feel better?" Lucifer straightens and grins down at me.

"Much," I answer honestly.

"Good." He pauses for a moment, his smile fading into a look of curious concern. "You trust me?"

His question takes me aback. After all the shit we've been through, after all the hurdles we've cleared, he asks if I trust him? Of course I do. He's funny and gentle and loving and more than willing to protect me. Besides the fact that he's Lucifer, why wouldn't I trust him?

I nod. "Yes."

His smile returns "Good."

He pulls away and takes my hand in his, gently tugging me towards the door. I follow quietly, wondering what his sudden insecurity was all about and what he might have planned for me.

"Come with me," he whispers. "I have someone I want you to meet."

My gut lurches forward. "Who?"

His grin widens an inch. "You'll see."

He pulls me along, pausing only briefly to open the door to our room before resuming his quick pace. The door slams behind us as we make our way down the now-crowded hall. In the seconds before they see us, I catch hints of conversations passing between the demons.

"...yes, well she always was a brat. About time Lucifer..."

"...Leyna? No! To the queen?"

"I told you that bastard angel was trouble. Always trying to play with the master's toys...."

News of Michael's arrival – along with Leyna punishment– has already made their way to the populous. It's only been a few minutes! God damn, news travels fast here. Still, there's no conversation about Lilith, so it can't travel that fast.

A few demons look up and notice us, snapping to attention and nudging their friends to do the same. The hall, once filled with the sounds of gossip and laughter, is now deathly quiet as each demon bows to us. The silence is eerie, and I shiver slightly from being watched by so many eyes.

"Do they have to be silent?" I ask quietly.

"No. they simply do it out of respect and fear." Lucifer looks over his shoulder at me. "Why?"

I meet his gaze. "It's unnerving."

He never stops walking, but his mind seems to pause for a moment. His eyes slide back and forth between the rows of demons surrounding us. He lifts his head, eyes facing forward, and straightens his wings.

"As you were," he announces to the crowd.

There's a deafening silence in the hallway, followed by a burst of noise. The demons resume their chatter once we've passed by them. They're all clearly relieved that they can talk freely again, as am I. The noise stops that horrifying silence from taking over.

We make our way down the hall, moving faster than usual. I manage to peek up at my husband and see a slight sly grin on his face. He's excited about something, though I can't imagine what. I run through the rolodex of demons in my head and can't come up with any powerful enough that he'd want me to meet. Mentally, I shrug and follow him closely, anxious to meet this mystery person he's so eager to drag me to.

Near the end of the hallway, Lucifer takes a sharp left and pulls me down a pitch-black corridor. There's no candles, no sconces – nothing to light our way. But Lucifer seems to know exactly where he's going. He darts left and right, leading me through a black maze that I could never escape by myself. I grip his hand tighter, terrified of losing my grip and getting separated in this dark labyrinth.

"Lucifer," I gasp, frightened by the lack of light and sound.

"We're almost there," he whispers. I can hear the smile in his voice.

We make a final turn and pass through an enormous archway, spilling into the deepest, darkest part of Hell. We stand on a giant rock outcropping jutting out into the middle of the Fire Pits. The souls of countless sinners swirling around us at the flow along the flaming river Styx, screaming for a salvation that will never come. I stare down at them, pitying their fate but reminding myself that being here is their fault. There's nothing I can do to help them.

At the very edge of the ledge is a throne, made of twisted metal much like my own but far more sinister. The spikes are longer and sharper, the jewels encrusting the surface only black and red, the metal rusted and jagged-looking. Resting on one gilded armrest of the chair is a heavily muscled arm. The skin is the color of a starless sky and covered with thick veins that bulge and pulse. Long, talon-like claws stretch out from long fingers. They tap rhythmically on the metal chair, waiting for something.

Holy shit! Who the hell is this?

"My brother," Lucifer calls out as he takes a step forward.

Brother?

The talons freeze, the muscles in the arms tensing in anticipation.

"There is someone I want you to meet." Lucifer's smile has erupted into a wide, enthusiastic grin.

"Is that so?" A deep, booming voice rumbles toward us, full of malice and intrigue. "Who is it?"

"Our queen, brother." Lucifer responds happily.

The voice lets out a deep, excited sigh. The arm shifts as the body attached to it rises from the chair. The chair itself is too tall for us to see the owner of the voice, so I wait anxiously for our guest to show his face.

Truthfully, I'm not sure I want to meet this 'brother' of my husband. The voice alone has me scared to death, so I can only imagine what his actual form looks like. I take a tentative step behind my husband, using his immortal angelic body as a shield for my fragile human one. Quick, sharp steps echo across the rock, alerting us of our guest's appearance. He steps around the chair and turns to face us, a wicked smile crossing his lips.

I nearly faint. This 'brother' of my husband is the actual physical embodiment of evil himself. Black-skinned, flame-eyed and all-around vicious-looking. His teeth are filed to razor points, making his smile a shark's grin. I'll admit he has a darkly handsome face, but it's much more sinister and malicious than my husband's. The flesh of his well-muscled body is covered in thick scars and striking designs of glowing gold. He wears a pair of plain black jeans and nothing else. His feet are covered in a sticky black substance that sizzles on the rock. The bright crimson of his eyes are offset by the darkness of his pupils, elongated and turned sideways like a goat's

Well, I'm dead.

Our dark guest strides toward us, the smile on his face widening. "Ah, so this is our Michelle," his voice, deep and resonating, shakes me to the core. "Prettier than I thought she'd be."

"You knew how she looked!" Lucifer snaps playfully.

"Have a little patience with me. I'd forgotten how blessed she was," he snarls, his eyes sliding down to my very exposed chest.

I take another step back, horrified that this is who Lucifer was so excited for me to meet. I don't like him staring at me. He's horrifying, certainly not the beautiful husband I'd come to love and cherish.

"Michelle." Lucifer notices my apprehension and reaches behind his back to grab my wrist. He pulls me around to stand in front of him, spinning me so that I'm facing his darker friend. His hands grip my shoulders and his lips brush against my ear. "Meet my other half."

I pause, becoming painfully confused. "Other...half?"

He nods. "I'm a man created of many ideas. My father made me an almost identical copy of himself, but with free will and a mind of my own. I possess the qualities of both a kind, intelligent angel - "

" - And a sadistic, playful demon," the other half finishes for him, giving me a wicked grin.

"A few centuries after dad kicked me out, the opposing sides of my personality split into two separate beings that shared one mind. The two of us-" he motions to himself and his darker half, "-are the physical incarnations of those sides. I'm the lighter angelic side; he's my darker, more malicious side."

The other half smiles proudly. "Think of me as all your husband's evil thoughts and pent-up rage given form."

I stare blankly at the darker half, still confused. So, technically I have one husband, but with two bodies? My mind stops turning for a moment, overheated from the amount of information passing through. Slowly, I manage to piece the puzzle together and my brain resumes its original movements.

"Michelle?" Lucifer croons in my ear.

"Okayyy..." I manage to breath again and respond too him. "So...what do I call him?"

Lucifer pauses for a moment. "That's a good question."

His darker half shrugs. "Just let her use it."

Lucifer snaps his head up to loom at him, curiosity in his eyes. "You're sure?"

"I don't really give a shit. With a rack like that, she can call me whatever she wants." He grins at me again.

I shoot Lucifer a confused look. "Call him what?"

"Since the two of us are opposite sides of one person, we can't both be 'Lucifer'. He's the darker half, so you might as well call him Satan." He shrugs slightly. "Normally, he hates that name – leaves a bad taste in his mouth. But apparently you've won him over."

Sadly, it fits him well...

"Oh." I turn to face Lucifer's darker half again. "Alright then...Satan. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." I try to be cordial despite his obvious harshness, hoping I can start off on his good side.

Satan smirks at me. "Sweet. Maybe a bit too much. But very well."

He strides over to me, stopping just inches from my body. He takes my hand in his, raising it to his lips. Contrary to Lucifer's icy touch, Satan's flesh is red hot, almost uncomfortably warm. They really are opposites.

Satan presses his lips to the back of my hand, his crimson eyes never leaving mine. "It is a joy to make your acquaintance as well, my queen."

Well, gotta give him points for trying.

I give the warmest smile I can muster and curtsey slightly. His smirk widens an inch and he releases my hand. He steps away just as Lucifer pulls me back into his embrace. He holds me tight, standing completely still. I look up to see him staring off into space, a look of pure concentration on his beautiful face.

"Lucifer?" I ask quietly, hoping to drag him out of his trance.

He remains silent for a moment, then inhales sharply. "I think it would be good for the two of you to become better acquainted."