Ladies of the Night (Complete)

Part 1

Down the fiery depths the elevator plummeted yet again until it crashed onto the granite tile flooring inside Inferno Tower. This time only a single mortal woman wearing a dark green shirt, dark jeans, and a pair of small, rectangular glasses stepped out of the rusted contraption. 

The woman walked past the demon workers, ignoring the horrid tortures they bestowed on the wretched, screaming souls. She then walked through a long hallway filled with various paintings of different facial expressions of her husband. From top to bottom the walls were covered in a painting which featured a more ridiculous smile after the other. 

After an extensive walk through hall of over-the-top smiles, she stepped inside a large office space where a humanoid, purple-skinned, purple haired succubus sat behind a large desk and typed away at a computer. Her lavender eyes caught a glimpse of the very human woman approaching the front desk.

"Hello there, missus!" Lilith said with a cheery smile and wave. "Here to speak with the boss, are ya?"

"Actually I'm here to talk to you, Lilith," Carmen said, plopping a seat on top of the secretary's desk. "I was wondering if you had any big plans this Saturday. Any hot dates for the weekend?"

"Not really." The purple succubus sighed. "Just going to be me, a movie, and a tub of ice cream to keep me company again."

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry." Carmen said abjectly.

"Don't worry nothin' about it, love." Lilith assured. "It's not as bad as it sounds, though I would really like to get into the habit of going out again, maybe having some luck with a potential partner."

"Well let's try to turn that frown upside down. As you know that Lu's getting some buddies over for a poker night, and Rosie's going to have her friends hang out. So I figured why don't we have a girl's night out? Just the two of us!"

"A girl's night out?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun! We can hop some bars, catch a chick-flick, wave at some cute guys. Plus I feel you and I don't really hang out outside this office space here."

"That does sound like a lot of fun." The succubus conveyed. A small simper curled around her flawless face. "I can't remember the last time I hung out with some girlfriends. Are you sure about this, missus?"

"Oh you bet it's gonna be fun!" The queen ecstatically exclaimed. "It'll be good for you to take your mind off this break-up. And, please, call me Carmen. Friends don't slap some fancy titles onto each other."

Friend. Lilith knew the term but was never addressed as such. A lovely lady, a sexy beauty, and even her old nickname long ago, but never once called a friend. She hung out and chatted with her demon kin around the office but only referred to them as coworkers. She spent time with her boss but never established any friendship with him. Even the times she talked with the boss' wife she never once thought of her as a real friend. Something light bloomed inside her dark soul that crafted another fresh smile.

"Alright, love," She agreed. "You've got yourself a girl's night. What time should I be showing up?"

"Everyone's coming around five, so why don't you do the same?" Mrs. Gravely suggested.

"Capital! See you then, Carmen!" Lilith obliged with a wink.

Carmen Gravely mimicked the same gesture and waltzed back to the elevator. Lilith waved her a goodbye, eagerly waiting for the weekend to arrive. She knew when Saturday comes around she was going to have some fun with her friend.

Part 2

Preparations were being made inside the Gravely residential home. All the members of the Gravely family were busy readying themselves for their big night. Lu the devil poured himself a large bowl of salsa dip then placed it at the center of the dining table while Carmen fluffed her face with makeup in her bathroom. Rosemary was in the living room disconnecting her game console from the TV, placing them all inside a small box. She then bolted downstairs to the basement's entertainment room and hooked up her system to the larger flat screen that hung on the wall. Little Regan even had her own plans where she collected all her stuffed toys for her tea party. Everyone in the household knew one thing: tonight was going to be epic.

Lu laid out some playing cards on the table; a careful shuffle of the deck to make sure that he got the exact cards needed to win each game. He heard his mortal wife scamper down the stairs. The elegance of her beauty caught his sinister, red eyes. She didn't want to flaunt too much of her extravagant looks. A touch of makeup, her bob cut ironed and highlighted, a new pair of her classic spectacles, and a change into a flashier green top was enough for her to stand out.

"Hummana, hummana," The devil howled. "Don't you look divine!"

"Thanks." Carmen said. "I hope it isn't too much."

"For you, babe, too much is always right." He complimented. He then took his wife by her hand and planted a soft kiss on the back. He followed that treat with a longer kiss on her sweet cheek, to which Carmen giggled at the brush of his wet lips.

"By the way, it was nice of you to invite your brother to your poker game. You're sure the rest are okay with this?"

"Trust me, Carmen. When I say they're okay with it, they damn well are okay with it. Basically my word is law. Also I think it's cool you and Lilith are gonna hang out."

"I think so too. I'm going to treat her to the best night ever."

"You really are enthusiastic about this girl's night thing. Does this have anything to do with me stating that you don't know how to have any real fun?"

"I can have fun! Loads of fun. I'm the fun parent too! Right girls?"

"Nah ah," Regan rebutted. "Daddy was always the fun parent."

"Yeah," Rosemary teased while she carried her games and console controllers. "No offense, but you're more like the bossy one."

"That's not true!" Carmen whined. "Wasn't it fun when I took you all to the studio planning room?"

"We sat around listening to you, Mr. Marlow, and the staff members talking about different concepts and activities for the show for three hours," Her eldest daughter refuted. "And we ate stale donuts and drank room temperature hot chocolate."

"Well I'm gonna be all fun tonight," Carmen announced. "I'm gonna be so fun that you're all gonna be jealous of how much fun I'll be having."

The Gravely daughters and the devil all rolled their eyes over her outlandish rant. A knock at the front door took them by surprise. Mrs. Gravely scurried over and opened the door to find the archangel Mike standing outside.

"Hi Mike." She accosted and hugged. "Come on in."

"Hello Carmen!" Mike said. "Hi girls. Hey brother!

"Bro! You're early." Lu welcomed his older brother.

"Early is on time, and on time is late, as we say." The archangel responded.

CLINGK!

The sound of the haywire elevator crashing to a stop made everyone in the household to jump. Popping into the kitchen was a reptilian man with black, scaly skin serpent-like nostrils, and hollow, greedy green eyes. Small horns punctured through the hood of its unzipped hoodie, and chains that coiled around his arms like snakes.

A second demon appeared behind his ominous smiling comrade. This one looked like melted skeleton, the muscles and tendons peeled away exposing the skull beneath. This demon was much skinnier than his comrade. Practically skeletal underneath his black, leather jacket and biker jeans.

A third demon scrambled into the kitchen area with a large box of alcoholic beverages it hauled over its head. The small creature had the head and wings of a balding bat, large bulging red eyes, a rounded belly, and small curved taloned feet. The timid thing also wore a tattered loin cloth around his waist.

"Wazzup!" Balthazar, the hooded, razor-toothed demon, hollered.

"Heyya boss! Madam, kiddies!" Ghuul, the skeletal biker demon, greeted.

"We bring the beer, so let's have ourselves some cheer!" Scrugs, the short bat-like demon, sang.

"Hi fellas." Carmen happily welcomed her husband's cohorts. "Make yourselves at home."

"Hey, where's Mol?" Lu asked.

"He should be behind us." Ghuul responded.

The house rumbled from thunderous footsteps. A hulking shadow encroached into the kitchen followed by the full size of a giant, red demon that resembled much like a minotaur, complete with a bare chest, bulging red muscles, a monstrous short face, large hoofed feet, and wore moldy, grey pants. His red eyes scanned the archway, pondering how he was going to fit his massively large horns that were crowned above his brows inside. The giant demon tried to crouch down and slide through the open arch. His horns, however, busted through the white plasterboard, leaving a small pile of rubble onto the clean kitchen floor.

"Sorry. My bad." The giant Moloch mumbled.

"It's alright," Carmen nervously said. "We've been meaning to redo the kitchen anyway."

Rosie ran up from the basement and looked around the giant demon. "Where's-"

"Hi Rosie!" A familiar, innocent voice called her out. Crawling over his father's gigantic shoulders was a small demon boy with red skin, pointy ears, and a messy patch of spiky, black hair, and a long, pointed-tip, serpentine tail. He also wore clothing that were every human from his blue jeans to his red-orange hoodie. The boy disappeared in a small puff of smoke and reappeared in front of his human friend.

"Hey Dominic!" Rosie cried. The duo tapped their fists together in a secret handshake. "How did you all fit inside the elevator?"

"Are you kidding me, kiddo?" Lu called out. "We can fit a whole circus inside that contraption."

"We did fit a whole circus one time." Scrugs echoed.

With a wave of his hand, Mike repaired the archway in a flash. Ghuul glared at the archangel and scowled. "Hey, who invited the flyboy?"

"Flyboy?" Rosemary asked her demon friend.

The imp answered. "It's what we call angels down below."

"Well, since you've never met an angel," Rosie said. "Dom, this is, well, my Uncle Mike."

"Dominic, huh," The archangel politely greeted, reaching out his hand before the young demon. "Rosie's told me a lot about you."

"Really?" Dominic excitedly stuttered. "She has?"

Dominic reached out his small, three-fingered hand to the friendly angel. An aggressive growl stopped the boy from making full contact. Dominic pulled his hand away and looked over to his father, Moloch. His pointy ears drooped sadly when he saw his father's stern eyes glaring down at him. As an angel, Mike could sense the emotions emitted from both the father and the son. He sensed the fear inside the nice child as well as a growing hatred from the boy's father.

Rosemary tugged on Dominic's shirt, to which she led him down to the basement. When they both walked by the intimidating Moloch, he lightly stroked his son's spiky hair. The archangel now sensed the care and compassion he had for his boy. Yet the hatred boiled back inside when the demon boy and the human girl disappeared into the basement, and he felt that hatred geared at him when Moloch stared icily at the archangel. He also felt uncomfortable with the eerily stares of his brother's other minions.

"We're not gonna have a problem tonight, are we?" Michael asked, trying to size up against the monstrous giant.

"Boss says it's cool, it's cool." Moloch growled. "For now."

"This is going to be a long night." Mike then whispered his brother.

"Come on, brother. They like you," Lu reassured. "They haven't tried to kill ya yet."

Part 3

Another knock drew Mrs. Gravely to the door. She opened it and was welcomed by four children, three girls and a boy, all around her daughter's age, standing outside with eager smiles. The first girl wore a pearly colored jacket and a fancy blue dress that matched her tiny, diamond-coated purse. She had excessively curly, raven hair, small gold piercings in her ears, and bright blue eyeliner over her green eyes. Mrs. Gravely knew her, of course most of the townsfolk would recognize her, as Krystal Lotsadeux, daughter of an extremely wealthy entrepreneur. Rosie and Krystal weren't friends for long, in fact Carmen remembered how much they despised one another when they first met. Yet through circumstance she was glad to see the two became the best of friends.

The second girl had dark brown skin and dark brown hair. She wore a light purple long-sleeve shirt and light blue jeans. A beaded necklace hung around her neck. Mrs. Gravely already recognized her as her coworker's adopted daughter, Kayleigh Marlow-Goto. She and Rosemary had been friends for a longtime ever since the Gravely family moved to Brimstone after Carmen accepted the T.V. host position. Her and her family often hung out with the Marlows to a point they too became family.

The third girl had long red, curly hair that touched to her shoulder blades, and her face was decorated with freckles. She wore a green, long sleeved, wool sweater. Mrs. Gravely knew was Ashley DeMarco, sometimes referred to as Ash, the daughter of a scientist friend of hers that lived in the neighborhood. She and Rosemary have been friends for while, much like Kayleigh and Joshua. They both enjoyed loud music and sometimes got into trouble at school, yet Carmen thought of her as a kind child and a good influence, often helping her busy father around their house.

The sole boy in the group Carmen recognized was Joshua Wordsworth, the son of the strict fundamentalist principal of Rosemary's school. Joshua wore a plain white, buttoned collar shirt and plain tan shorts. His short brown hair was combed over to make him look well nurtured. While she may have not been on good terms with Principal Wordsworth, she always thought of her son as a kind, gentle boy who was well mannered and more accepting than his mother, and she liked how he was good friends with her daughter regardless of his strictly Christian background.

"Hi Mrs. Gravely," Krystal said. "We're ready to party!"

"Hi Krystal. Hi Kayleigh. Hi Joshua. Hi Ashley." Carmen greeted the four children. "Come on in. Rosie's waiting for you down in the basement. Snacks have been set out for you on the table."

"Thanks Mrs. Gravely." Joshua said as he and his friends all entered the home.

"Thank you Mrs. Gravely." Kayleigh said too.

Ashley said not a word but instead gave Carmen a sweet smile and wave then raced her friends down to the basement.

CLINGK!

The elevator down the hall popped open again. Out stepped a purple-toned woman with a matching purple dress and purse. The woman casually waltzed into the dining area and greeted the family and supernatural entities. "Hello, loves," The devil's sexy secretary chirped. "Hope I'm not too late."

"No, no, no Lilith," Carmen assured. "You're just in time."

"Chipper!" she gladly chimed. Her perfectly polish teeth beamed under the light.

"Alright, boys," Carmen announced to Lu, his brother, and cohorts. "We're off to Dante's, so don't make too much of a mess of the house."

"Don't worry a thing, Carmen," Mike assured. "We'll hold the fort down."

"Kiss up." The hulking Moloch mumbled.

"Ain't that like a flyboy." Scrugs agreed.

Michael caught wind of those mocks, but brushed them off for his brother's sake. Lilith and Carmen said their goodbyes to everyone and they both walked out to the front door. Once gone Michael pulled out several brown cylinders encased in plastic wrappings and presented them to the demons.

"Who wants a stogie?" He proposed.

The demons simpered greedily from the archangel's offering. "Liking you already, flyboy." The demon Balthazar commented, gladly putting one of the cigars in his toothy maw.

But celebrations were cut short when they heard the door open once more and Carmen's voice shouted. "If I come home and the place smells like smoke, I'll skin you all alive!"

The six supernatural beings darted away their cigars, fearful of the thought of Carmen's wrath. They then sat down at around the dining table and started their poker game. Downstairs in the basement's entertainment area was in full bloom with the children getting their activities started. Rosie's game system was hooked up to the large, wall mounted, flat screen television with the start up screen of their favorite video game flashing. Bags of chips, soda bottles, and cooked frozen pizzas were littered about the tables for their enjoyment.

Dominic was feeling comfortable among Rosie's friends. Of course he had already met most of them prior when Rosie invited him to partake in various activities; yet the red-headed Ashley was a new face to him. She was only mentioned once by Rosemary, and he only met her online when they played video games. While he never heard her voice before, she spoke with them only through chat rooms.

Summoning up his confidence, he slowly approached the table where Ashley stood. Ashley stacked a paper plate up with some chips and pizza. She took one of the slices and placed it into her mouth. She smiled as she chewed away at the cheesy goodness, oblivious to the young demon that stood next to her.

"Hi, um, I don't think we've met," Dominic opened up. "My name is Dominic."

The girl said nothing. She did not answer, nor did she look at him. She continued dining on the hot cheesy pizza without glancing over to the young imp. She then took her plate of junk food and flopped onto the beanbag chair that was directed at the television.

Dominic curiously scratched his head. Did she not hear him, he wondered. Did she ignore him? Dominic's heart felt a little heavy after being brushed off, but he shrugged it off when he tasted one of the pizza slices.

Unbeknownst to the young party goers, little Regan crept down into the basement. She then started looking high and low for something lost. She looked over and under the sofa, then she looked by the bar section, and then she looked under the food tables.

"Regan, what are you doing down here?" Her sister asked, irked by her younger sister's presence. "You're suppose to be upstairs, not bothering us."

"I'm looking for Slinky," the kindergartner said. "We are suppose to have a tea party, but he disappeared."

"Eeek!" Krystal shrieked, jumping away from the area where the game system sat. Dominic ran over to investigate what could have scared the popular rich girl. To his surprise he found a large seven-foot, cream-colored python with small, soulless pink eyes coiled near the warming game system. The snake gave his fellow reptilian a friendly flicker of his forked tongue. Dominic replied back with the same notion then carefully picked up the slimy serpent. He often found it funny how most of his kin were afraid of these creatures but he found them all the more fascinating.

"Here he is." Dominic proudly exclaimed, placing he great snake into Regan's arms.

"Yay." Regan cheered. "Thank you, Dominic."

Regan carried Slinky back up to her room in the top floor of the house. Rosemary and her friends waved her goodbye then proceeded with their game night.

"Hey, where's the controllers?" Joshua asked.

"They should be by the Play-Box." Rosemary explained.

"But that's the spot where I find Slinky?" Dominic reported.

All children tried to recap where the controllers could have been. They knew the controllers were with the game, then Slinky was found by the game. When little Regan carried off the python, they remembered that it had a large bulge in his abdomen. Everything suddenly clicked in each of their heads.

"GET THE SNAKE!" They all screamed and scurried up the basement stairs to Regan's bedroom, hoping that the game controllers haven't been digested yet.

Part 4

Another busy night at the local bar, Dante's Inferno. It may not be the cleanest bar, stuff was always breaking or broken, and the food was so atrocious that the patrons often left with food poisoning; yet the beverages were always cold and the attendants served with a smile. It had it's regular crowds come in to watch the sports channel on its staticky T.V. and forget their stressful affairs; and families partaking in for the popular weekly activities such as family trivia or karaoke night. Yet this is just another Saturday, which means it was the perfect time for folks to come in and drink away.

This Saturday night was all the more special with the lovely Mrs. Gravely and the sexy Lilith celebrating their first girls night together. They sat up at the front in the bar at the head of its long, horseshoe shaped counter top table. Their feminist bartender poured the two their drinks, to which they swallowed down shot after shot.

"Cheers!" They praised and sipped down their third shot.

"Lu wasn't kidding," Lilith said. "when he said this bar was great. It kinda reminds me of that show from the 80s where one of the blokes got a better spin-off series."

"Yeah it may not look like much," Carmen said. "but it makes you feel at home. Hey, hunk over at two o'clock."

The two ladies peered off to the one of the back corners of the bar as they carefully eyed a very handsome man, who in returned raised his glass to them.

"That he is, and I spy a nice lass over there with a fine ass," Lilith said, giving a wink to the female seated next to the charming man. Surprised, Carmen's eyebrows raised, to which Lilith gave her the most logical response. "I'm not picky with whom I share my love with. That is if I can share my love with anyone."

"I can't believe that someone like you doesn't have a lasting relationship." Then Carmen said. "I mean look at you. You're smart, you're attractive, you got a great body, and I love how the light reflects off you- AH! Sorry! Did I just say that stuff out loud?"

Lilith playfully giggled. "Worry nothing, love. That's just me pheromones. It's a succubus thing. We emit pheromones to draw attention and attract all sorts of Joe Bloggs, no matter what sex or sexual preference. Once they've got someone under their spell, that someone do just about anything for us. Watch this."

The cunning succubus then spun to her right and faced a much older, sophisticated patron guzzling down his glass. "Hellooo there." She sing-songed for his attention. "Mind paying for our pints?"

"Sorry." The old patron grumbled. "Got my own."

"Ah come on now, love." The succubus flirted some more. "Surely a handsome bloke such as yourself wouldn't mind paying for a pair of lovely ladies. It would be the Bee's knees."

The old patron finally looked at Lilith then suddenly he felt caught in a hypnotic trance. His old maw gawked open stupidly with a dry thirst for the luscious purple lady. The flicking ceiling lights glistened around her smooth skin and her perfectly fit body. Her eyelashes blink rapidly to offer a tease of her licentious, lavender eyes like a wooing feather dancer. A succulent scent of sweet roses and minted lavenders intoxicated his hairy nostrils. Sweat began to drip from his face when he stared deep into her covered cleavage that hid the great treasures beneath. A fantasy formulated in this head of how this enchantress offered him all his deepest pleasures, though this only a small taste of what invisible force that secretly secreted from her skin.

"You know," he uttered, wiping away the drool off the corner his mouth. "It's on me."

Lilith thanked the old timer with a gracious grin and rewarded him with a blown kiss. The old patron nearly fell off his seat as if he felt her desirable lips crash against his cheek, much to the joy of his hallucination.

"See?" The succubus asked her awed friend.

"Wow." The mesmerized Mrs. Gravely muttered. "That's incredible."

"Doesn't stop there," She complied and then focused her sensual gaze at the lady bartender. "Excuse me, ma'am. We're all having a wondrous time, though it be more wondrous if you could pour some drinks for everybody, on the house. Just for this time around? Pretty please?"

The bartender stood there and stared back at the spellbinding secretary. The similar aroma that the old man felt now entranced by this mysterious and beautiful purple woman. A fantastical vision bloomed her in thoughts, where this same siren lured her into a pool of flower petals, tempting her for a taste of her lips. Without a word but only a bright blush and a sheepish smile, the bartender poured round after round for every customer in the bar. They all cheered like wild hounds being rewarded their favorite treat when free drinks were given away.

Carmen laughed and applauded. "Oh my god. This is incredible. Can all demons do that?"

"As I mentioned," Lilith explained. "Only a succubus has this kind of talent. That and as well as our male counterparts, the incubus."

"You are amazing! How can you not score a date with this ability?"

"Landing a date is not really a problem. It's just for me... I, well — Aw, that's just some personal business we don't need to go over. We're here to have fun, right?"

"Absolutely! It's our night, and we're having fun!"

"Then that case, I have an idea of how to make this night even more fun."

Lilith jumped from her seat and yanked Carmen by her wrist for the exit door. There the duo ran into a gruff biker, who parked his monstrous motorcycle up front. This muscle bound giant looked down at the ladies through his dark sunglasses.

"Hello there, mate," Lilith flirted with him. "May me and my girl friend take a spin on your bike? I promise we won't scratch it."

Without as second thought, or perhaps there was one but it was blinded by an imaginative mosaic of this succubus playing in a bubble bath, the biker obediently placed the keys into her soft, small hands. Lilith pounced onto the bike's leather seat and strapped on the biker's helmet. She pulled out the spare helmet that hung near the kickstand and tossed it over to Carmen.

"Hop on, Carmen!" She eccentrically ordered.

Stealing a motorcycle wasn't exactly what Carmen had in mind for a pleasant girls night, yet the temptation for a wild and fun time was too much to resist. She wanted to prove that her new husband that she can be fun, and she was damned sure to have it. Carmen strapped on her helmet and saddled herself behind the friendly demon. Her arms coiled tightly around Lilith's waist like noose around a dead man's neck. With the flick of the key and a press of a gear, the motorcycle popped a wheelie high towards the heavens, and the fun-seeking duo zoomed off into the sunset. Their howls and cheers were heard throughout the town as Dante's Inferno faded from view with Lilith's amnesiac stooges left wondering what had happened.

Part 5

"Read them and weep, boys." Lu mocked his companions as he laid down another winning hand onto the dining table. A pair of kings flopped down, which was paired up perfectly with a pair of aces and a third king. His demonic cohorts and older angelic brother cursed under their breaths after tossing their cards away. Lu scooped up his large pile of multicolored poker chips, cackling like a mad hyena as he categorized them by their color and amount. The hands of fate were aiding the devil in this fortuitous night—or his slimy hands were cheating his way to victory.

Scrugs, serving as the evening's dealer, reshuffled the cards in his scaly hands. He cut them, decked them, and impressed the guests with his stellar card tricks before he finally dealt two pair to each player. After each player received a new hand he set out three cards: a red seven of hearts, a red six of diamonds, and a black jack of spades. A careful peek at their cards helped them plan their next moves. Ghuul tossed out two white chips onto the table to start things off. Next Moloch tossed his chips in followed by the two heavenly brothers. Balthazar took one look at his hand and tossed them away into the discard pile, disgusted by what the bat-like creature gave him.

Balthazar then pulled out one of the cigars that the archangel gave the group and pointed it at the monstrous Moloch. With the press of his giant thumb, Moloch's fire magic lit it up. Balthazar proceeded to put the butt end of his cigar into his rotted mouth, inhaling the toxic tobacco content in, well aware that tar will never affect his lungs.

"So flyboy," He breathed with a puff of thick smoke spreading through the clean atmosphere. "I hear you got yourself a human girlfriend as well."

"Uh, yeah that's right." Mike cautiously replied.

"Heard she's Muslim too." Ghuul said after tossing in a couple more chips to the table.

Mike replied again. "Right."

"So tell me," The demon Balthazar interrogated. "Is it embarrassing when you two are going at it and she screams for your father?"

All the demons laughed, including the devil, at the lewd joke, yet Mike kept silent, wishing not to start any conflicts.

"Nah, nah, Balthazar," Ghuul interrupted. "She's more disappointed when she finds out that the scripture was right. There's no holy trinity below the belt."

The party laughs again, but Mike uncomfortably said. "Ha, ha, like every angel hasn't heard that joke before."

Despite the mockery from the demons, they continued to play on. Scrugs flipped over a card from the deck, a red ace of diamonds. From there the chips started to fly. Regan ran down the stairs to the kitchen to get herself and Slinky a little snack for their tea party. When she walked by her stepfather, he gave her a peek at his cards.

"Hey Lu," She innocently asked. "Is it a good thing to have all the cards the same color?"

"Regan!" Her stepfather gasped. "Naughty, naughty. Giving away my winning hand."

The demons hissed angrily, just about to discard their hands until Michael said. "Don't fall for it! He used to pull this stunt all the time. He's got nothing."

"Take the fun out of everything why don't ya?" His brother grimaced as he threw away his hand into the discard pile. Scrugs then drew the final card, a nine of spades. Upon that reveal Moloch shoved half his chips in like a snowplow pushing into a mountain of snow. The menacing minotaur demon then bellowed a most grueling laugh that sent chills around the dining area. Ghuul folded his hand but Mike called him out, shoving the same amount of chips the giant did before.

Moloch laughed again and set his cards out on the battle. A pair of sixes, one black of clubs and another red of hearts. "Three sixes." He grunted.

"Not bad," The archangel humbly stated. "but I think I got you beat."

Michael revealed his hand out for all to see. A pair of sevens that matched up with the sole seven on the table. The jaw of every demon in the household dropped at the sight of the angel's victorious set. Moloch, however, growled savagely, unimpressed by his opponent's victory.

"You. Me. Throwdown. Now!" He bellowed.

"For what?" The archangel demanded. "Winning?"

Lucifer stood up and tried to settle the tension. "Guys, you can't fight here!"

"Thanks Lu."

"That's why we're taking it outside!"

"Dammit Lu!"

Unlike Lu's poker party in the dining area, Rosemary's video game party was going much smoother. They felt lucky they could get Slinky to regurgitate the controllers before they've entered his digestive system. A quick, clean bleach bath later and they were ready to play. Dominic and Joshua were busy mowing down pixelated monsters in their ultra violent video game while Rosemary, Kayleigh, and Krystal rocked out to her metal band playlist that played over the speakers. 

Dominic was getting along perfectly with everyone and even learned some new things about his human friends, such as Joshua being lead soprano of his Sunday school choir and Krystal's mother owned several businesses in Brimstone. Yet the one person that was still a mystery to him was the quiet, red-headed Ashley DeMarco. He recalled that ever since she arrived she has never said one word to anybody. Other than the occasional wink, nod, shrug, or thumbs up she presented during some small talk, she said nothing the entire evening.

Then a odd odor tickled his slit nostrils. He sniffed the air and caught wind of a musty, metallic smell. He's familiar with this type of smell from the pits of the Inferno. Blood. Human blood.

"Is someone here hurt?" Dominic asked everybody in the basement, to which they all answered with a no.

He then heard the sound of a toilet being flushed from the bathroom down the corner, which was where the bloody smell was coming from. He dropped his controller and ran over to the bathroom door only to be met by Ashley, who exited the bathroom and wiped her cleaned hands on her shirt.

"Hey, are you hurt?" The young demon asked. "I smelled blood and thought someone was hurt. Are you okay?"

Ashley blankly stared at him, confused by what the young demon had to say. Dominic's ears lowered again in disappointment. He knew that he was never going to get an answer but he, and everyone else in the basement, did receive another response.

"Hey guys," Kayleigh shouted from the basement's window. "Something's going on outside."

All the kids ran up the stairs and onto the wood deck to bear witness a reenactment of an old battle between the forces of light and dark. Lu, Scrugs, Balthazar, and Ghuul were all stand out on the large deck and watched as the archangel Michael and the towering demon Moloch stared each other down in the backyard. Even Regan stood by the adults and watched the spectacle with Slinky coiled around her small shoulders.

"I'm not gonna fight him, Lu." Mike argued to his brother and company. "What's even the point of this.

"You better fight him, bro." Lu said. "Otherwise he will kill you."

"This is ridiculous! I won that hand. You think —"

A surprise attack from Moloch's giant fist into the right cheek silenced the angel. Another fist flew through Mike's other cheek, then finally being knocked down his feet with a swift upper cut. Moloch unleashed a carnivorous roar so loud the alarms of every car in the block squawked. The kids started chanting for the fight to continue joined in with the supernatural adults.

Moloch turned to the small cheering crowd and grinned. So confident that he was victorious this time that he never saw the archangel's electrified fist collide into his own cheek. The crowd flinched from the painful sucker punch but kept chanting and cheering. Moloch looked back to his opponent. Mike's eyes scorched bright as the sun and his golden wings were pulsing from his back. He then slugged two more jabs into the demon's stomach and then headbutted his enormous head.

Mike sprung into the air like locust and somersaulted over the giant demon. His large, energized wings snatched themselves around Moloch's large horns. The hot energy coiled around like chains around the ivory horns that were nearly as big as the demon himself. With the aid of his wings the archangel threw the demon into the wooden fence like a rag doll. The demon continued to fly until he crashed through into the neighbor's pool. Cool chlorine water spilled out all over the wiped Moloch.

The crowd gasped then cheered wildly for Mike's miraculous display. Though much to his chagrin even the holy archangel couldn't help himself but wave to his applauding fans. Moloch picked himself off the ground but felt something off inside his mouth. His tongue poked around the innards of his jaws until he found the distorted source. The demon spat out one of his sharp teeth into his gargantuan hand. He looked back at the angel and chuckled, impressed that anyone, little an angel, was able to do that.

"That all you got?" He then growled.

Michael smirked at the hellish brute. He then readied his fists for another assault and quipped. "Why don't you come and find out?"

And that the demon did. One booming roar later and he charged like a raging bull. Mike launched into the air with a thunderous fist prepped for battle. From there a battle of godly champions echoed into the coming night.

Part 6

The outskirts of Brimstone echoed with the roars of a wild motorcycle riding through the night. Carmen and Lilith zoomed all around the winding road of a towering cliff side, still screaming and cheering along the way. The wind breezed through their hair as they road through the cool night air. Their crazed smiles never ceased after they left Dante's. At the top the motorcycle putted to a creasing halt, finally out of gas. Both Carmen and Lilith jumped off the dead motorcycle, still thrilled about their wild ride.

"You have officially made this," Carmen said estatically. "the best girls night I've had in a while."

"Likewise, Carmen." Lilith gratefully said.

The women tossed their helmets off to the gravel road. Lilith paused. Her lavender eyes enchanted by the luminous light of the pale moon. Her feet guided her hypnotically to the edge of the cliff like she fell for the moon's siren call. She swatted a seat onto the soft green grass, eyes still fixated towards the full sphere that hung in the starlight sky.

"Amazing." Lilith whispered. "I never realized that the moon was that big. It's truly beautiful."

Carmen quietly lingered over to her demon friend and planted a seat next to her. Her eyes were fixed to the succubus. She was shocked to see how such a beautiful creature could be so captivated by something as simple as the moon. But perhaps Lilith deemed this grand sight a true spectacle outside her natural home. Her home, a world full of darkness, shadows, and flames. Never to be graced by the gift the moon gives. Lilith's beaming adoration was enough for a smile to curl on Carmen's face, happy that she was able to give a friend something she, or her species, would never have in a lifetime.

"Hey, I thought we could share this." Lilith then pulled out a large glass bottle from her purse, shaking the liquid contents inside. "I fenced it from the boss' secret hiding area."

"You mean his sock drawer?" Mrs. Gravely chuckled. "That's the same place he always uses whenever he tries to hide something that he doesn't want anyone to find."

Lilith's thumb popped off the bottle's cork. She quickly sucked down a small amount of booze and handed it off to her human companion. "Here, have a sip of this. Careful, it's a little strong."

Carmen shrugged and gladly the bottle. The booze was odd. It was odorless and transparent. Shrugging once more she took a sip of the contents. To her a little strong was exaggerated. The powerful booze burned down her throat like she swallowed fresh lava. She almost coughed it out but managed to keep it down before she handed it back to the succubus.

"Strong, huh?" She choked.

"Well what do you expect when this stuff was brewed straight from Hell? Just keep drinking, it'll water down."

"Okay, despite some strong alcohol, I'm honestly having a lot of fun with you. Everybody I know says I'm no fun. Heh, that's kinda true. I mean I took my daughters to a board meeting thinking that would be fun."

"Rubbish! You're loads of fun, love. To be honest, I've sort felt a bit envious of you. You've got a fancy house, a hot talk show job, a darling husband, and a couple of twee girls. There's some folks that sell their souls for that life."

"Thanks. But I can't tell you're saying that to be supportive, or kissing my ass because I'm your boss' wife."

"Maybe it's both." Lilith teased, and they both laughed. The two continued staring at the glowing moon. "I think this is the part where friends start sharing secrets."

"That time, huh?" Carmen muttered.

"Let's make this a drinking game. We'll take turns asking deep questions and then we'll take another sip."

"Okay, I'll start." Carmen thought hard about a question then finally asked. "How long have you been working for Lu?"

"Not too long for the likes of me, but it can be considered a very long time for the likes of you? Age and time escapes those who have an extensive life. But I didn't start out as a secretary. No, life for me wasn't all tea and sugar. There was a time where succubi and incubi where viewed upon as second class citizens. You can't imagine being told that all we were only good, or all you'll ever be good for was for shagging. Makes it rougher still being told that as a child."

"Oh my, that's terrible."

"Fret not, love. That was the old days. Now that Lucifer is king, our lives have been smashing."

Lilith sipped from the bottle and passed it again to Mrs. Gravely. Upon noticing what was on her queen's left hand she asked her question. "I see you still keep your first husband's ring on. Would you like to share something about him, or is that subject still too touchy?

Carmen fell silent. The subject was sensitive to her but she never minded. "Doug was... just amazing. We were married for almost nine years. Nine happy, wonderful years. He was part time music teacher at Rosie's school, and part time band instructor at the high school. He loved music, no matter what genre."

Carmen's second sip didn't burn as much as last time but the hellfire-tasting booze was still strong enough to maker her flinch. Lilith then asked. "Do you still love him?"

"Absolutely," Carmen proudly said. "Now and always. As much as I love Lu, now and always."

"Wish I had someone who could love me the same."

"You will. I'm sure there's someone for you out there. I mean look at you. In the right light, you are looking so hot right NAH! Not again!"

"Sorry. It's the pheromones."

Carmen then chuckled. "Point is you will find someone. It may take time but you will. So, my question. That pheromone thing you did earlier at Dante's. Have you ever used it on Lu before?"

The bottle was passed to Lilith now. One big sip later and she admitted. "Actually he seems to be the only thing that's immune to my charm. I've tried asking for a raise that way before but he wouldn't cave. Alright, my turn for a question. Even before you've met all us, did you ever believe? Did you ever think there was a heaven or hell, or even God, before all this?"

The bottle ended back to Carmen. She downed another sip, this time the burning sensation felt more eased. "Well, I admit that I've never considered myself religious or associated with any religion, but I guess I was sorta spiritual in some way. Part of me wanted to believe that there was someone watching over us, but part of me kinda saw reality and thought if He was real why let so many suffer, you know?"

"Yeah I hear ya. I come from a realm where God's merely lost hope. Nobody's ever seen him, except for the boss and Legion of course."

"Well, if you did meet God, what would you ask of Him?"

"A chance to love someone without hurting them..." The succubus sadly uttered. "A chance to bare children too."

Lilith took the bottle from Carmen's hand and drank a large portion of its contents. A small tear leaked from her eye to which she immediately wiped away with her wrist. Carmen looked at her friend, saddened by her shocking revelation. She gently placed her hand on Lilith's shoulder, comforting her in her sorrow.

Lilith immediately perked back into her peppy attitude. "Well there I go being a Debby Downer again. The night's still young and we gotta spice things up a bit; and I know just the place."

"Where?" Carmen asked.

"Down the Inferno there's a club called the Babylon. Mephistopheles used to own the joint."

"Mephistopheles owned it?" The sound of that name sent shivers down Mrs. Gravely's spine.

"Used to. Not anymore. Place is a bigger hit now with the boss owning it. Let's go!"

"How are we gonna get there? The house is miles away?"

"Oh there's always more than one way to get to Hell."

Lilith pulled out her cellphone and started texting rapidly. After her text was sent, a fiery portal opened behind them on the gravel road. Out hopped a yellow, banged up taxi car that huffed and puffed on arrived before coming to a shrieking halt. In the driver's seat was a skeleton cabby wearing a black beret and had a missing lower jaw. The living skeleton looked over to the girls with molten charcoal he had in his eye sockets. A quick nod from him was the only greeting he could give. Lilith pulled Carmen by her wrist once again and the two inside the rusted vehicle.

"Hello, Charon!" Lilith welcomed. "One trip to Babylon, if you please."

Suddenly the cab powered off. The cabby dropped his keys into the vehicle's next seat, not wishing to drive at all. The sliding window that separated the three slid open and the cabby laid out his bony hand.

Lilith rolled her eyes and moaned. "Ah, always wanting for tips first."

Reaching back into her purse she pulled out a twenty dollar bill and gave it the cabby, enough to cover both of them. The cabby snatched the bill, slapped the keys back into the ignition, and pressed his bony foot onto the gas petal. The cab's engine popped alive and it rolled back into the fiery portal.

One short trip later and, much to Carmen's astonishment, they were already outside a large building, deep in the depths of the Inferno at the heart of its capital city, Dis. The building was moldy and very crooked, it looked as though four building blocks were poorly stacked on top of each other, and flashy neon lights lit up the darken abyss surrounding it. Loud techno music boomed inside its walls that the whole building shook from each electric beat.

Lilith thanked their cabby and hurried herself and her friend out the cab. They ran up the creaky stairs and entered the eerily, flashing clubhouse. Inside appeared and felt adversely from the outside. The interior was very clean, polished, and its lighting flashed different hues of lively colors. At its core was a crowd out quite literally colorful people. The numerous human looking succubi and incubi and their colorful skin tones blended perfectly with the all the flashing lights as they danced wildly to the demonic D.J.'s vibes.

Mrs. Gravely stared in awe at the partying crowd until Lilith coaxed her again to join the fun. She knew she hadn't done anything like this since she was in college but she couldn't resist dancing along with the demon folk. She felt younger and livelier thanks to her fun-loving friend, and the two continued to dance on through their best night ever.

Part 7

Rosemary, Dominic, Joshua, Krystal, Kayleigh, and Ashley all raced back to the basement to resume their party. They couldn't stop talking about what an awesome fight they just witnessed. An archangel battling against a giant demon. Two veterans of an ancient war that ravaged across many realms reengaged not to hold domain of this world, or determine the fate of souls, but rather to gain respect for one another. To feel the thrill of battle once more course through their veins. A thrilling battle of immortal combat it was. Their attacks shook the very neighborhood they lived in. It was like watching a superhero battle from their favorite comic book movies up close, or video game characters from a fighting game come to life, or the tale of David and Goliath... on superpowered steroids.

The group was divided on who they believed won. While there was no real victor but there was no real loser either. One half boasted that Mike, the archangel, was the winner with the other half defended that Moloch, Dominic's monstrous father, held his ground. Regardless, they all agreed that that fight, and all six of them just hanging out together, made this the best night ever.

"That was, like, totally awesome!" Krystal cheered.

"Very awesome!" Dominic joined in.

"That was a battle of biblical proportions," Joshua proclaimed. "just don't tell my mom I said that."

Rosie said, "Alright, let's get back to our game night. Dom, why don't you see if you can take on Ash in Major Rager."

"I think I'll pass," Dominic sadly said. "How about Ash goes against Kayleigh? I'll sit out."

Dominic walked to the snack table and helped himself to what was left of the pizza slices. Confused, everyone but Rosemary and Ashley placed themselves at the from of the large flatscreen TV. The two friends looked worried for the demon boy, who isolated himself from the others. They then approached the table where Dominic was filling his plate full of cold snacks.

"Hey," Rosemary said. "what's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Dominic fibbed, paying no attention to the two humans who tried comforting him.

"Is it something that Ash said?" She asked again.

"Well, that's just it," Dominic retorted. "she hasn't said anything to me. I don't think she likes me all."

Both Rosemary and Ashley gasped at Dominic's comment. Rosie defended, "What? That's crazy. Of course she likes you."

"But when I first talked to her earlier she ignored me. And then when I smelled blood, she just stared at me when I asked if she was hurt. Help me out here? You obviously speak girl."

Rosemary looked onto Ash and replied, "Okay."

Dominic watched closely to see if Rosemary could get her friend to communicate. She lifted her hands before her face and gave Ashley a mixture of hand signals. Ashley said nothing but relayed similar hand motions. Back and forth the girls signaled one another, much to Dominic's surprise.

"What's going on here?" The baffled imp asked.

"Speaking girl, obviously," Rosemary answered. "this is called sign language."

"Sign language? Like for—oh!" Dominic held his forked tongue. He felt lucky that his skin was red otherwise everyone would have seen how embarrassed he was. "I didn't know."

Ashley signed to Dominic while Rosemary translated. "It's cool. Don't worry about it. I went deaf when I was two years old due to a genetic condition called autosomal recessive Alport syndrome. It affects my kidneys by damaging the tiny blood vessels, leading to kidney disease and kidney failure. It can also affect my hearing, though no one is sure how the two are connected. It's only recently that my kidneys started acting up. A usual sign of this is blood in my urine."

"So the blood I smelled was..." Dominic awkwardly said.

"Yeah, that's kinda gross that you detected that." Ash signed. "Sadly, there's no cure for it, and sooner or later my kidneys will completely fail and I'll need a transplant."

"I'm sorry."

Ashley shook her head and signed again. "Please don't be. I know I might be in some pain as I grow older but I'm going to live my life to the fullest. There's medications I take to help treat the symptoms, which is a good start. That's why I want to be a biophysicist like my dad when I grow up, so I can find cures for all kinds of diseases. And you don't need to have Rosie translate for you all the time. I can read lips too. Just treat me like any other kid and we're good. Besides, I think it's so cool you're a demon from Hell."

"Really?" Dominic gleefully said, "Thanks!"

"Hey Dominic," Joshua called from the sofa. "we got an extra controller if you want to join."

Dominic waved to Ash and Rosie before teleporting himself to a cozy spot next to Joshua and Kayleigh. He gladly took the spare game controller from Joshua and joined in on the first-person shooter action. Rosemary smiled at the sight of all her friends, mortal and demonic, getting along so well. Before she could join them she looked at Ashley, who gave her a mischievous smirk.

"What?" Rosie hesitantly requested.

Ashley signed, "Your boyfriend's pretty cute."

Rosemary laughed and signed back, "He's not my boyfriend. But he is cute."

Part 8

Back outside on the wooden porch were the adult, supernatural entities sitting out in the cool night air. Mike laid on his back across the porch holding a piece of frozen meat over his blackened left eye. His heavenly wings were retracted back within his body. The short bat-demon Scrugs dragged a large cooler onto the deck with the devil pulling out some of the cold beers stored inside.

"I can't believe that you got me into this," Mike moaned. He felt like he fought a Triceratops.

"Gotta admit, you held up pretty well," Lu boasted, tossing out some cold beers to his chums. "No one's ever been able to last that long against Mol before."

The gigantic demon was seated next to the sore angel. A piece of frozen meat was also placed over his right eye. The demon merely looked at his boss and gave him a thumbs up, signaling a beer from him.

"Yeah," One of the other demons, Ghuul, chuckled, "not bad for a flyboy, huh?"

"No." Moloch grumbled, his grim lips curled upward. "Not bad for an archangel." The brute then nudged his enormous fist into Mike's shoulder, giving the exhausted angel a friendly tap.

"I'll drink to that." Another demon, Balthazar, agreed. "You're welcome to hang with us anytime."

The demon gifted Mike a beer, to which the angel mumbled, "I fought thousands of demons single handed before, and now I'm accepted as one of them. Greatest accomplishment of my life."

They all laughed at the comment, sipping down the cold refreshments. Their laughter was interrupted by a techno beat of familiar melody. Lu pulled out his cellphone and answered through a video chat. On screen was his wife and secretary in a dark, crowded room. The background rattled with loud music and it was hard to see the pair with the multicolored lights flashing about. But from what he could make out from the video chat was that the pair looked drunk.

They had their arms wrapped around each out and a table littered with empty shot glasses. Their eyes were glazed, they wobbled unbalanced on the table, their smiles were crooked and matched their disordered behavior.

"Heyee!" Mrs. Gravely blurted cheerfully, her words slurred together. "Howzzit goin'?"

"Hi, sweetie," Lu awkwardly greeted them. "Having fun?"

"You're damn right imma havin' fun," Carmen snapped back. "Imma havin' loads a fun. Are you jelly? You jelly of ma fun now?"

Soon Lilith babbled, "I thinx hes jelly."

"Yeah, hes jelly. Hes jelly of ma fun! Imma so fun you canta have ma fun. Imma da mostses funnests person in the wurld."

"That's great, sweets," the devil hesitantly said, "I'm glad you two are having fun. I see you're at Babylon. What do you think?"

"Tis place is crazee. I loves tis place. Get this, I toldda tem da I was married ta you, and day gave me free drinks. I gos free drinks cause Imma fun. Whosa not having fun naw? Free drinks for da queen, baby!"

Lilith then started giggling uncontrollably, "I jis realized somthin'."

"Wa-what's that?" Carmen asked.

"Hish face..." the succubus laughed, "really dosh look lika goat."

"OHMIGOD, HE DOES!"

The two laughed wildly like a pair of drunken hyenas. Lu's face redden with his companions and older brother gawked at them. "Again, happy to hear you're having fun." Lu uttered, "Why don't you bring the party home, and we can have more fun then? Maybe put you to bed while we're at it."

"Yah, maybe yer right," Mrs. Gravely slurred again. "Itsa gettin' late. Imma walk home right now."

"Ah no, no, donta do that." Lilith blurted out. Lu watched as his secretary swung her arms around her queen, her violet cheeks pressed against Carmen's. "Itsa too fur. You canta walk and drunk atta same time. Why, why donta stay my place? Itsa not fur. I-I want C-Carmen to stay wif-da me! Prity, prity please?"

"Yeah! I like that!" Mrs. Gravely hollered at her phone. "Imma go to Lilth's and Imma go sleep with Lilth. I mean, Imma sleep ovter at Lilth's. Prity, prity please?"

Lu sighed and said, "I guess there's no harm in that."

"Ah yeah! Partying wid Lilth tonight!" She screams over the crowd. "I see ya tomorrow. Love ya!"

Mrs. Gravely gave one last drunken wink before the call disconnected. There was an awkward silence among the immortal beings.

"They sound like they're having fun." Mike muttered.

"A little too much fun." Ghuul added.

Lu sternly asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what they say," Balthazar then answered. "Never mix alcohol with a succubus. Heck, just ask the big red guy. He's married to one."

"Yup." Moloch grumbled. They all sat there all night, quietly drinking their beers. Though a thought occurred to them and they stood there wondering the worst could possibly happen.

                                                                  ***

In the inner city limits of Dis, away from the slums and shady business, at the highest floor of a tall, rusted apartment building was a dark penthouse. The door's lock wiggled around, someone was trying to enter. The door flew open and Carmen and Lilith invaded the living quarters.

They laughed as they stumbled inside the dark living quarters, wine bottles glued to their hands. Lilith flipped on switch that illuminated her home. For one who makes on average a secretary's salary, her penthouse was very large and roomy. It was complete with a set of leather skinned couches with bushels of magazines littered about, the floors groomed with soft, white carpets, a large kitchen area that dwarfed a five star restaurants', and a large television set perfectly in the center of the living area. The stainless, snow white walls were decorated with lively paintings and statues of half nude men and women, which some of them had Lilith as their model.

"Ho-ee crap. Dish... dish very nis place you got." Carmen slurred, dazzled by the interior.

"Tanks," Lilith belched, still helping her friend stay on her feet while struggling to stay on her own. "Surry itsa mess. I don't gets lots o' visitors."

The two tried walking around Lilith's apartment with each careful step; yet the two friends toppled right into a wall, their bodies pressed against each other. They laughed louder than madman while they held each other up. Their dazed eyes met one another now locked in a starstruck gaze.

"Yuva made this," Mrs. Gravely hiccuped, shaking her bottle about in the air, "da bestest night eva. Imma rememba dis fureva."

"Thatsa best friends fur, right?" Lilith said. At this point they weren't sure which one was drunker.

Carmen tapped her bottle against Lilith's, toasting, "To best friends!"

"And to being friends fureva!" Lilith cheered.

With one large gulp their bottles were half empty. Carmen stared aimlessly into Lilith's luscious eyes. "Yur really, really bootiful, ya know," She slurred sublimely. She stared some more. A euphoric illusion blinded her reality. No longer was there a the elegant face or the tender smile of her friend, but the graceful glow of a gorgeous violent toned angel engulfed in a swirling sea of lavender pedals that fell from the ceiling like snowflakes. Her lavender eyes gleamed a tainting temptation that could not be controlled. Neither of them realized it but the spell of the pheromones was cast again, and they beckoned for Mrs. Gravely.

It was too much. The booze, the pheromones, the clouded judgments, the overpowering lust, a succubus' greatest ally. Carmen let the bottle slip through her fingers. Gravity carried it all the way to the floor, crashing it open and splashing its contents all over. Her eyes fell shut and her lips pressed onto Lilith's, an action she wouldn't ever do. Her hands graced around Lilith's soft cheeks with a gentle brushes.

Lilith delightfully purred when she tasted her queen's lips for the first time. She has kissed many men and women lifetimes ago, but her flavor satisfied her the most. A voice in her jumbled head screamed for her to stop. It warned her that this was her boss' wife and the potential danger that would come from her arousal, something that often haunted her with each lover she was with.

Lilith lightly pushed Carmen back. "Naughty, naughty," The succubus bluntly teased, "You don't want to do that."

Carmen ignored her and kissed her again. The kiss lasted longer. Her taste was too much for Lilith to resist but she urged again, "Imma serious. You really don't wanna do that."

As much as Lilith tried to push back she couldn't ignore her instincts. Her sweet lavender eyes rolled over into a black abyss much like a shark's eyes. Her perfectly glossed teeth serrated into a very toothy maw. The joyous sensation drove out an erotic creature of the night that thirst for more love.

"Okay," The succubus hissed. Her voice, once gentle as a song, now a rally of sinister echoes. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Lilith lunged forward and pressed Carmen against the wall. She saddled her hands around Carmen's wrists, holding them firmly onto the bare wall. Their lips touched again, both emitting soft, muffled moans as they kissed more and more. Carmen no longer had any control. She allowed the succubus complete dominance in their erotic moment. She couldn't stop, she couldn't breathe. Her breath, fading. She felt she was drowning. She was gasping.

Lilith released her queen's mouth and opened wide. Carmen's mouth opened too as she gasped for some air but felt it fading. She felt she was drowning. Escaping her mouth was a ghastly, white mist that flowed out like ghostly river. As the mist exited her body Carmen felt fainter than before, her body weakened from the succubus' touch. Yet it did not cease their sensual moment as they continued kissing again. Their hands caressed around each other's bodies, feeling every ounce of they could.

Their seductive exploration took them further down the apartment and into Lilith's room. The lust-craved succubus pushed the dazed Mrs. Gravely onto her bed and she slammed her door behind them. From there that night, on girls night, a deadly predator, deadlier than the most wretched of scavengers, was released.

Part 9

The hellfires were lit. The temperatures rose. This was a sign that it was morning in the Inferno. But a night of distorted passion turned into a deadly pleasure.

Safely in her bed rested the devil's secretary Lilith. She laid cozily naked underneath her cotton sheets, dreaming an alluring dream where she made love for the first time, in a long time, to someone who adored her too. She cared not who it was, not for their gender or the identity, but the luscious sensation they gave each other helped her sleep like a peaceful baby.

She slowly woke from her elegant dream only to be hit hard by reality. Her memory was disorganized. She remember hanging out with someone, then they drank like thirsty fishes, then blank. As Lilith rose up a tidal wave of migraines rocked inside her head. Her brain felt like a pendulum inside an old grandfather clock. All that booze truly messed with her head. She tried rubbing her temples but it didn't ease the aches.

Failing to cure her throbbing head, Lilith plopped back to her pillows. She figured that a few more hours of sleep would heal her ailment. Her lavender eyes peered over to the side where, to her surprise, there was someone else in her bed with her. It was indeed another women. She rested peacefully on her left side, undisturbed by the forces around her. Her brown hair was a mess and her skin was pale as snow. Lilith could only see her bare shoulders, so it was unclear if this stranger was nude too. She cautiously lifted up the thin covers for a peek and quickly dropped them back down. Her face stretched timidly. Her right hand slapped over her mouth to silence a scream. Goosebumps crawled all over her purple skin. The sight of the woman's bare bottom was enough to deduce she too was as naked as Lilith was.

Lilith roughly rubbed her temples some more, hoping to recall some memory of last night. More fuzzy images came back to her. The woman, she knew her. They kissed then made love. Not demon but human. Then she remembered that the woman wore something that made her stand out: a pair of rectangular lens glasses over her kind, brown eyes.

She remembered again her boss' wife, Carmen Gravely. She and Lilith had some fun during their girls night, and then blank. Yet there was something she remembered in her dreams. A lusting predator possessed her body and made advances toward the stranger. They torn their clothes off and fondled each other's bodies. But she also recollected the woman gasping for air and a ghostly mist flowed out her mouth. Lilith wondered to herself where Carmen could have been in all of this. Unless...

Lilith timorously stared at her passed out bed mate. She reached over and painstakingly tipped the woman to her back. Her heart pounded faster than a drum as the body slowly to view. Her jaw dropped to the horror, her naked bed mate was her boss' stiff wife. While she wasn't wearing her glasses it was definitely her.

Carmen Gravely laid motionless. Her skin much paler than before. Her lips tinted blue as the darkest oceans. A small, sliver strand of grey poked through her bushy, brown hair. By all accounts she appeared to be dead. Lilith's dream turned out to be a nightmare.

"Oh my god, Carmen! Wake up!" Lilith frantically screamed. "Wake up!" She shook Carmen about, hoping to wake her dead sleep. She did not move nor made a sound. A still, quiet corpse.

"Bloody hell! What have I done?" Lilith panicked. "I've gone and killed the missus! Why does this always happen to me? I'll, eh, I'll just have explain it to the boss. He'll understand the situation. B-but he'll probably feed me to the hellhounds for this. I gotta fix this somehow! I'm need a saw, some plastic rap, a big suitcase, and-"

Loud moans silenced the frightened seductress. Lilith looked back to the body and witnessed a miraculous resurrection. Mrs. Gravely tossed around under the covers until she slowly lifted herself up. Her head felt much worse. Her brain knocked around her skull like a cue ball smacking against other pool balls. The liquid contents in her stomach splashed and bubbled around like a witches cauldron, making her terribly ill than before.

"Carmen!" A joyous Lilith screamed. She hugged her friend tightly until Carmen started gagging. "Oh for once thank god you're alive! Not sure how you're alive. Almost like this whole scenario was part of some lonely pervert's fantasy, but who cares? You're alive! I'm so glad you're alive!"

Carmen nauseously groaned, "I don't feel alive right now."

Sure enough the liquid contents boiled their way toward the upper exit. Carmen clapped her mouth shut and bolted for the bathroom next door, unaware she was still undressed. Lilith flinched as she listened to Carmen upchuck three times into her toilet. The queasy sounds almost made her sick too.

"Oh god." She heard Carmen moan. "Oh god? OH GOD!"

Mrs. Gravely then jumped out of the bathroom and back into Lilith's bedroom. She used a bath towel to cover up her parts. Her face frozen in horror upon seeing her friend covered in her sheets, realizing that she too had nothing on. The real horror came when she pictured what may have occurred. "No!" She gulped. "No, no, no, no, no! We-? Did we? Tell me we-! Oh my god, no! No, no, no. This isn't happening right now."

"Now, now," Lilith eased, "just take it easy. Plant a seat and we'll talk about what happened, love."

"Don't you love me!" Carmen fired back.

"Can't help it. You're just too sexy."

"What the hell did you do to me? Why's my skin so pale?" Carmen looked between her eyes and finally noticed the small couple of grey hair follicles. "Is that a grey strand of my hair? ANSWERS DAMMIT!"

"Well," Lilith nervously related, "emitting pheromones is just one part of my nature. The other part is that... um... when we succubi — and incubi for that matter — get in the mood, we tend to... well... suck out the partner's life force. Or their soul if you will."

"WHAT?!?" Carmen irately squealed.

"Don't worry, it's naturally harmless. We don't consume much, and the partner feels really good after a while. It's like taking drugs without the nasty little side effects. Sadly, I'm a special case. I have a rare condition where I consume too much of one's life force... and then my partner... dies."

Carmen dropped to the floor. She felt ill all over again. Though she wasn't sure if it was from all the alcohol she consumed the prior night, the fact that she was naked and may have gotten too cozy with her demon friend, or deranged combination of both.

"How did this happen?" She bawled, repeatedly smacking her hand against her forehead. "How did I let this happen?"

The succubus then said, "It's not entirely your fault, dear. I'm to blame too — sort of. Well it all started when-"

"Shut up!" Carmen snapped again. "Don't talk right now! How could you do this to me? To Lu? To us?"

"W-we were both really drunk last night, and I had me pheromones going kooky. We weren't thinking straight, pun unintended. You kissed me, I kissed you, my succubus instinct's kicked in, and... things happened. That's all. There's no real harm done."

"No harm done?" Mrs. Gravely growled, her brown eyes blazed furiously like the Inferno's hellfire. "Are you insane? You and your demon kind probably think this is acceptable, but that's not how it works back on earth."

Carmen then picked herself back up. She harshly pitched the towel into Lilith's face, exposing herself once more. Her eyes squinted while she scanned for her missing glasses. It didn't take longer than a second for her to quickly spot them resting on top of an alarm clock. Carmen snatched them up and threw them on, now noticing that the lens were cracked and one of the temples were bent. Lilith pulled off and sorrowfully watched as her frustrated friend clothed herself at a speedy pace. Once dressed Carmen marched her way to the door just before Lilith tearfully pleaded, "Please, Carmen, don't leave. We can still talk this out as friends."

Carmen turned back and shouted, "Friends? Friends don't seduce each other. Friends don't sleep with their boss' spouses, whether drunk or not. And friends certainly don't try to kill each other, intentional or not! If you seriously think this is how friends behave, then I don't want any part of it!"

And there Carmen left. The front door slammed viciously shut behind her. A sharp pain punctured through Lilith's heart. She knew that normally she did most of the heart breaking, but now, for the first time, someone broke her heart. The poor succubus covered her face, quietly crying over the loss of her one friend.

Part 10

A demonic portal opened outside the Gravely house on Milton Avenue. Out of the portal rolled the ragged cab car as it dropped off its latest passenger, an enraged Mrs. Gravely. Mrs. Gravely kicked open the door and hobbled out of the rusty vehicle. Its jawless, skeleton cabby held out his bony hand before the queen of Hell.

"Oh, you want a tip?" Carmen viciously snapped, "Here's a tip: don't go drinking with someone who can take complete advantage of you, and ultimately try to kill you without being conscience about it!"

Charon the cabby remained silent. Four of his carpels rolled and creaked back toward his hand, leaving only one out in the form of an insulting gesture. Noxious fumes from its tailpipe popped out while the cab rolled in reverse, back into the portal from whence it came. The portal sealed shut when the cab disappeared inside.

Carmen marched towards her house, invisible steams spewed out her ears with each sullen stomp. She opened the front door and proceeded to the kitchen, where Lu, Rosemary, and Regan were having their breakfast. They were alone as the rest of the guests had already left home late at night.

"So, how was your night with Lilith?" Lu blithely asked.

"Terrible!" She fired back. Her eyes flared with rage, "I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to hear or see Lilith ever again. All I want is to left alone. Where the hell is the damn orange juice?"

Carmen took a case off the counter, pulling out a fresh pair of new glasses while tossing her broken ones aside. She then opened the refrigerator. Her eyes scanned everything until she finally spotted the two cartons of orange juice in the back. Carmen proceeded to rip open one carton, dousing her mouth and throat with every ounce of that Vitamin C goodness.

Lu and the girls stared awkwardly as Mrs. Gravely quickly finished one carton and moved onto the next. "Girls, I think you should run along upstairs." Lu ordered. "It's time for grownup talk."

Rosemary and Regan obeyed, racing out of the kitchen and off to their rooms. Once clear Lu pulled his wife from the fridge.

"Baby, come on, talk to me." The devil flattered. His eyes then caught a glimpse of a small silver streak through her lovely, brown hair. "Are those grey hairs I see?"

Carmen snarled. She reached over and opened one of the drawers. She pulled out a pair of scissors and sliced off the silver strand. "Not anymore!" She barked.

"Darling, what's bothering you? You know you can talk to me about anything. Did you and Lilith have a fight?"

"You could say that." Carmen tried to repress the events that took place. She knew what Lilith did was wrong, even if under the influence of alcohol affected her nature. Worse yet she knew what she herself did was wrong, and she was afraid to admit the truth to the devil. She could always come clean to her first husband in the past, but she feared how her new husband would react to this heartbreaking news.

Her bottled feelings could no longer be contained. Carmen embraced her husband and wept, "Oh Lu, I'm afraid I've done something terrible last night."

"Did you two accidentally murder someone?" Lu asked, "Because you know, we have people that can cover it up."

"No, no, just listen to me," She pleaded, "Lu, baby, I am so, so sorry. None of this is my fault. I never meant to hurt you in any way. Last night... Lilith and I had too much to drink... and then her pheromones possessed me or something. Then the next morning I woke up naked in her bed. She was there, naked too. Dear god, I'm a horrible wife. I think she and I had sex together."

Lu's jaw then dropped. At first he didn't want to believe it but the signs were there. Pale skin, some grey hair, the constant consumption of orange juice. She had fondled with a succubus. Then came a reaction that Mrs. Gravely never could have expected. "Oh my father, that is the best thing I ever heard." Lu laughed aloud. "You and her. And you then you girls — ahahahaha! No way! Oh, that's so awesome! And you're not dead? Holy crap, that's even better!

"Babe, I take back everything I said about you not being fun. You are incredible. I love you so much. Oh please, honey-muffin, you gotta share all the juicy details with me. I can't wait to tell the guys-"

Carmen could only respond in the only way possible: a swift punch below his belt. "D'oh!" The devil squeaked, dropping to the kitchen floor. "My holy trinity!"

"I just opened my heart to you," She roared angrily. Her furious eyes lit up like a furnace. "I just told you I accidentally had sex with your secretary last night, and your response is to laugh about it?"

"Come on, it's not that big a deal." Lu gasped, slowly picking himself off the floor. "I mean sure it sucks that you slept with someone else but it's not like it was ever intentional, was it? Everybody's had at least one crazy one night stand with somebody before, right?"

Carmen's fist drove right into his groin again. "Yow!" The devil gasped. "Noah's ark!"

"What is wrong with you demons?" Mrs. Gravely yelled. "Where in the universe does it make this alright? Lilith's stupid pheromones seduced me, and then she apparently almost killed me by sucking out my soul. How does anyone think this is okay?"

Tired of her husband's insensitivity, she planted a seat at the table and moped. Lu dragged his weakened body over to the table she sat at. He wheezed when he slowly picked himself up and then he embraced his wife again.

"You're right," he choked, still gasping for air, "Look, I get it, you're peeved. I understand. I would be too in your shoes. But I can't be mad at you. Like you said, it wasn't your fault. To be fair, it wasn't Lilith's fault either. She's a succubus. Kinda nature versus nature, you know? But ask yourself, was last night really all that bad?

"I mean before the sex thing, you two were actually enjoying yourselves for once. You were having fun, you were hitting shots, living life to the fullest as they say. Believe it or not, you may have made one lucky girl feel pretty special last night.

"I've known Lilith for a long time, and I can't tell you how many times she's spent being alone. She may be an open clam in public, but trust me, she constantly isolates herself from anyone who tries to get close to her. Sure she's been on plenty of dates but she always stopped it before they could develop a serious relationship. The greatest surgeon's in the world couldn't piece together all the hearts she broke.

"She's just so afraid of hurting those closest to her. Come to think, it must really suck knowing that someone who she could potentially fall in love with winds up dead because of that condition of hers. Having to spend night and day alone, without someone to love or be loved by could put a dapper on one's social skills. Believe me, I've been down that road before. But for Lilith, it's much worse.

"She has accidentally killed some lovers before, and the poor thing's been devastated by it. Worse, this condition of hers can't be fixed. She'll never find anyone to love her the same, and she'll never have children of her own too. I mean, after all, all of life's creations are meant to socialize and find that one thing that makes them whole, in one way or another. No one's really meant live in absolute solitude, certainly not her."

Carmen's face sank when she heard that sad story about her former friend. "She's got other friends, right?" She asked Lu.

The devil replied, "She hangs with us, but I don't recall her mentioning any other friends. And I don't think she ever hung out with anyone outside the tower."

"What about family?"

"None that I'm aware of. She's an island, that one."

Carmen heart grew heavy like it was chained to weights. A feeling of pity and empathy swept through her the more she learned about Lu's secretary.

"I think there are some things that can be overlooked," The devil continued, "I mean, I would really hate to break out a new secretary. Besides, Lilith's always been something special to me. Hasn't she been the same to you too? Plus, you actually survived a one night stand with her. That alone is an amazing feat. You probably gave her a chance that perhaps there's someone out there who is just as resilient to her condition; maybe then she'll find someone wonderful, just as I found you and your daughters."

Carmen sighed. While she believed last night's actions were inexcusable, but she knew, in an odd viewpoint, Lu was right. The events that took place were out of their control. From what she could remember Carmen came onto her, not the other way around.

Since they first met Lilith has always offered a helping hand to the family. She gave fashion advice, she was always the supporting type, and when they needed a babysitter Lilith was always ready to volunteer. She had done so much for the family she was already part of it without even knowing.

"I'm need to get back down and talk to her." Carmen said, now eased about the situation. She smiled and gave her husband an everlasting kiss on his lips. The taste of the devil's lips felt wonderful to the touch. She then walked down the hall to the old crooked elevator that transported the guests to the dark realm.

"At least tell me this," Lu called out. "Who's better? Me or her?"

"Easy." She teased, her wisecracking attitude now returned. "Doug was."

"The first guy?"

"He gave me children."

"Fair point."

Part 11

The mystic and chaotic elevator plummeted back down towards the burning depths like a falling meteorite. It made its final stop with a loud crash inside the lobby area of Inferno Tower. The doors creaked open and Mrs. Gravely stepped out, unscathed from the fiery decent. The lobby area was empty, no demon in sight nor a soul being tormented. It was as quiet as a tomb. Carmen Gravely slowly walked through the long hallway filled with various paintings of different facial expressions of her husband until she finally approached the large office space on the other end.

There Mrs. Gravely saw Lilith, sitting at her desk alone while she filed some paper work into various folders. Depression was written all over her face as she kept her sad eyes closed, oblivious of her queen approaching her desk. When she finally opened them she stared at Carmen, who stood right in of her desk, dressed with some fresh clothes, new pair of glasses, and now carrying a carton of orange juice in her hands.

"Oh, hello there, missus," Lilith sadly sighed. Her innocent lavender eyes tried to avert away from the queen's attention.

"Hi Lilith," Carmen said shyly, "Can we talk?"

"How did you know where to find me?" Asked the sullen succubus.

"Well for some reason I know that whenever you're sad you'll come here and do extra work to take your mind off things; and I also know that your favorite ice cream flavor is peanut brittle; and I also know that your favorite movie is Breakfast at Tiffany's. I'm sorry, how do I know these things?"

"It's a side effect," Lilith explained, "You learn some things about the significant other through... well... interaction. Just like I know that you truly loved your first husband, and that you love the boss just the same too; and I also know that you like pineapples on your pizza. I find that very odd about you."

"I see," Carmen noted just before gulping down some more orange juice, "Though that doesn't explain why I'm so thirsty for orange juice."

"That's another side effect. Your body's lacking Vitamin C. Keep drinking, it'll help."

The two said nothing afterward. They stayed within the silent tower, unsure about the next thing to say.

"Carmen," Lilith finally spoke, "I am sincerely sorry about what happened last night. You were right to be angry. I never meant for any of this to happen. I didn't have any control over my natural state. But you've treated me like no else had before. All that night you've treated me like a real friend. You've made me feel... special; I guess that's a good word for it. The way you looked at me and even the way kissed me, I just couldn't help it.

"It just felt so good to be cared deeply by someone you know. I just wanted to feel some love again. To be loved by someone who shares the same passions as I do. Is it my crime just for being born a succubus that I'm cursed with such a dreaded condition? To live only for the purpose as a sex slave only to turn out that I harm those I try to get close with? I ask God why I'm damned like this for all time, and yet there's never an answer."

The poor succubus could no longer hold it in. Her hands covered her face as she wept into them. Carmen's heart sank when she saw her cry. She walked around to Lilith's chair and passionately wrapped an arm around her friend, embracing the demon's head to her body.

"Lilith," She softly spoke, "There's more than one way to be loved by someone. You don't need to find a partner in order to have enjoy the pleasures of love. Love is a universal thing. Friends can love each other too, just without the sexual stuff.

"I'm sorry too for getting angry at you. I didn't understand what you have to go through. I can't be easy, that much I know. But you don't have to shut everyone out because of this condition. You can still make friends by just being your-totally-incredible-self.

Lilith wiped away the tears from her eyes and looked up. A small sliver of a smile was starting to bloom on her beautiful face.

"You really are an amazing person. I mean that." Carmen continued, "The fact that can persuade people with your pheromones, the fact you can ride a Harley, and you're really great with the girls. Anyone would be grateful to have you as a friend. I know I am."

"Does this mean..." Lilith peeped as one single tear leaked out her eye, "we're still... friends?"

"Just friends? How about best friends? And if you're up for another girls night out, I'm down. Let's just remember not to drink so heavily."

"What about the boss?"

"Yeah I had to tell him. Don't worry, he'll keep quiet about it, or risk losing his holy trinity, if you know what I mean."

Lilith chuckled from the comment. Her arms hugged around her friend with Carmen returning the same gesture. Smiles grew on both their faces. A friendship now mended together.

"So, in all honesty," Lilith spoke out again, "How was I last night?"

"Don't ruin this." Carmen growled, trying keep their friendship from fracturing again.

"Sorry, love."

Their hug still continued. They would then plan for their next night out and joy another wonderful time as friends. They would laugh and cheer until the night was done.

Yet there was one secret, one of creation's greatest secrets, that Carmen Gravely will never admit it. A secret she alone will forever hold on to. That moment of their first girls night may have been blurred from Carmen's memories but one thing would always be clear. A fact that she will deny herself again and again yet will remain truth. Of all those she fondled with — a couple boyfriends from the past, her first husband who helped her conceive her two daughters, and even the devil that she thought was a wild ride — fondling with a succubus... wow.