“Tell Lucifer I’m here, assholes.” I threw my long platinum hair over my shoulder and stormed into the sitting room to wait for him, but he was already seated at his Baphomet throne with a cigar lit in his hand.
“Holland, what gives me the pleasure of your company?” I sensed the sarcasm in his voice.
“I’m done living in that shit hole box you call an apartment and spending endless days taking dirtbags to different areas of Hell. If I’m going to have to work in this god forsaken place forever, then I am going to live in this luxurious-esque place with you. We know you have the room, and I would be the perfect addition. You need a hot blonde by your side.”
He let out a deep and raspy laugh. “You are your father’s child.”
My heart jumped at the mention of my father. “I’m sorry, but what exactly does that mean? You know him?”
“Oh yes, I remember him oh so well.”
My eyes widened. “How do you know my father?
“Billy Ellenberger, the story of rags to riches with a little help from Satan, or at least rags in his own mind. He was already high up in the movie industry, but he wanted more, just like they all do. He believed if he wasn’t on top, he was at the bottom. Greed: one of the worst seven deadly sins. So, who do they come to?” He took a puff of his cigar. “None other than Satan himself.”
My insides grew cold. What did you do, Daddy, what the fuck did you do? I wished he was here now for me to ask him that question.
“Holland, every human being tangles with the devil at some point in their life. You don’t think your family got the status they have just by your father’s hard work of blood, sweat, and tears, do you?”
I stared at him unsure of what to say, so he continued.
“Before you were born, your father came to me with an offer, a deal you might say, just as you have. He promised me his first-born child if I could give him what he wanted most.”
“And what was that?”
“Money and power. He signed the deal in blood and got the money and the power, making him one of the largest production companies in Los Angeles. Then his little baby girl was born and now she sits in front of me all grown up with a smart mouth and thinking the world owes her.”
“So, I am here because my father sacrificed his unborn child to you and that child ended up being me?”
“He offered you to me, yes, but once you were of age you had free will to choose your path, and you chose to live the way your father did. I didn’t come to collect you the moment you were born like your father expected; instead I sat back and watched as you continued to fall off the tracks, becoming more and more filled with gluttony and greed as the years passed.”
“You made my father the monster he is, and now I am the one to suffer the consequences in this place for eternity while he continues to live on earth and reap the benefits.”
“That’s not entirely true. You could have turned a new leaf and made a change in your family’s legacy, but fame, fortune, sex, and drugs took over which ultimately lead to your death.”
“Why the hell is he not here then?” I was seething with anger knowing my father had a part in this.
“He will join you at some point, I can promise you that.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“That I am, but everyone has free will. I don’t force people to make the choices they do. I may help manipulate them and dangle the forbidden fruit in front of their face by offering things they can only acquire by turning to the dark side, but never do I force them into the decisions they make. They can choose between good and evil at any time. I simply present the things they want most and it is their job to decide if it’s worth their soul or if they want to live right by God and choose a different path. Your father came to me because his greed was too heavy. You chose to follow the same path as him and now, here you are demanding things even in the afterlife. Your daddy didn’t teach you right, but your mother sure did try.”
“My mother is a good woman. Don’t you dare bring her into it.”
“I am not arguing with that fact, but you didn’t go her direction; you went the way of your father and that is why Azriel sent you here.”
“I want out of here, now!”
“Your demands and prerequisites don’t mean a damn thing here. In case you have forgotten, Miss Ellenberger, I am Lucifer, the lord of Hell. If you do not do what is ordered of you, then I will send your skinny blonde ass to the Darklands...and trust me, you do not want to endure that torture.”
I shivered at the thought, remembering when Roman and I had walked past that awful place.
“Then let’s make a deal; everyone knows you love to make deals. Apparently, my father can attest to that.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “And just what kind of deal do you think you can offer me?”
“Find me a different job, one that we both agree on, and if I do well then I get to shack up here with you in your dark domain.”
He scratched his chin inquisitively, taking another drag of his cigar and then spoke. “You remind me of Lilith. Have you heard of her, Holland?”
I shook my head and rolled my eyes because quite frankly I didn’t care who she was.
“She is a demon of chaos and destruction to all who she encounters. A succubus who preys upon and seduces men as they sleep, wreaking havoc and destroying their lives. They say she was Adam’s first wife, but she wasn’t. She was sent to the Garden of Eden by me to persuade and seduce Adam, but in the end I tempted Eve myself and that was all it took to begin my mark on earth. So Lilith continued her perverse skills of sex and torment throughout the ages. There are many conflicting stories about her in every religion all throughout time, but only I know the truth.”
“So what’s your point? Why do I care about who she is?”
“You were sent here not only because of your father’s sins, but because of your less than holy lifestyle. Drugs, alcohol, and seducing men – married men.”
“Hey, I didn’t go around asking if they were married. Those men were the married ones, not me. They should be the ones to suffer for their sins.”
“You knew it was wrong, yet you didn’t stop it. You are just like Lilith.”
“I am nothing like her.”
“Holland, you preyed upon these men because you loved the attention they gave you. Lilith loved that too.”
“And what happened to Lilith?”
“She double-crossed me, wanting to rule as a god. No one double-crosses Satan. So, she was punished.”
I didn’t dare ask what her punishment was. Even though Lucifer was gorgeous beyond comprehension, he was the devil, and the devil was not known for giving mercy.
He stood up from his throne, striding over to me. “Now that we have our very intimate and long-standing connection out of the way, I shall think on this offer you have made me and will give you my decision before the night is over.” He stroked his hand down my face sending a shiver down my spine.
Whether it was because he made me nervous that I was standing there bargaining with Lucifer or because he was so incredibly handsome and expelled an overwhelming air of sexiness and evil throughout his entire presence, I didn’t know.
“Until then please dismiss yourself.”