A drink for the Devil

Prologue.

HEY!!!

Author note!! - TW/CW: This story contains alcohol, drugs, mental illnesses, alchohol/drug-induced s****l assault, demons/angels, abuse, and cussing/swearing.

(I DO NOT CONDONE/ENCOURAGE ANY OF THE ACTIONS MADE IN THIS BOOK)

Please do not continue reading if you are uncomfortable with these things/topics!

I am not responsible for if you chose to go past this point and you become uncomfortable, as I did give you a warning.

"So how's that going for you?" The man sat at the quiet bar, his finger circling the rim of the glass filled with amber liquid. His green gaze fixated on the bartender that was cleaning glasses and putting them back on the shelf to prepare for closing. The bartender sighed softly "Not too well if I'm to admit." The bartender replied, her voice laced with a subtle German accent that she hid well, one only being able to hear it if you listened with strained ears. Clink.

The man didn't have to listen very closely though, his sharp ears picked up on most things, down to the rustle of leaves outside of the club. Clink. He sat there quietly, continuing to circle the rim with his finger. "What if I could give you something better.. sweetheart..~?" The man spoke softly to the bartender, sharp green eyes watching as she paused before her dry chuckle hit his ears. "Give me something better?" Another dry chuckle. "I would take anything over what I have now, f**k, I'd even take an incubus from hell himself if I could get out of the relationship I have now." The bartender replied to the man ruefully, putting up another glass. Clink. "Maybe you should be careful what you say sweetheart.." The man murmured, interlacing his fingers quietly. Clink.

The ticking of the clock in the background just illuminated the silence with a golden frame. The ticking of the clock pounding into the bartenders head as the silence raged on. Tik. Tok. TIK. The clock stopped. The bartender looked up with a confused expression at the clock, seeing that the time had stopped. She frowned. "Stupid f*****g clock." She muttered under her breath. Clink.

The man let out a wry chuckle that made the bartender pause a moment. She looked at her watch, 23:50. 10 minutes before closing at midnight. "Well it is about time I start finishing cleaning up, so I'll see you tomorrow, Mr…?"

The bartender trailed off, not knowing the man's name. "Lucifer." The man grinned in the dark of the bar while replying before standing up, pushing the finished cup towards the bartender, turning around and going to the door with silent footsteps.

The bartender felt a shiver down her spine. "Right, see you tomorrow then Mr. Lucifer" The name sounded wrong on her tounge. Made it feel heavy. She picked up the man's cup, washing it out and drying it, putting it square back on the shelf before a freezing touch on her shoulder immediately alerted her, her body forcing her to spin around despite the dread she felt in her stomach. An empty bar. That's all that greeted her was simply an empty bar. The bartender felt a shiver go down her spine as she looked around at the dimly lit bar, not being able to shake the feeling that something was wrong. She took another once-over of the bar before turning back to the shelf, fixing the shelf up before going to the backroom, shrugging on her fluffy jacket and picking up the keys, tossing them to another employee that always had stock and closing and or opening shift.

"Make sure —" The other employee interrupted her with a chuckle. "I know what I'm doing Tiffany, done this a thousand times before" The employee gave the bartender a tired look. "Okay, just making sure."

The other employee let out a scoff and a chuckle, walking to the doors of the bar, opening them for Tiffany.

Tiffany walked out, the chill of the wind immediately biting into her face, the soft click of the doors shutting behind her filling her ears in the gravely silent street area before the rustling of tree leaves saying hello filled her ears instead. Tiffany put her hands into the pocket of her hoodie to protect her fingers from the shivering cold, wrapping her fingers around the icy blade she had for protection, you could never know anymore. She walked to her car, the occasional crunch of tiny rocks under her boots breaking the silence every so often. Occasionally the whisper of the wind would chill her to the bone, the icy cold going straight through her jacket. She finally got to her car, simply a small silver car.

Tiffany got into the driver's side, sliding into the cold leather seat. After a few times of attempting to start the old silver car, it roared to life, the headlights flickering on, illuminating the empty roads, a thin sheet of snow lighting up as her lights flickered on. Tiffany put her seatbelt on, safety first. The small voice repeated in Tiffany's head. Simply a voice. Talking to herself. Was she really though..? Tiffany sighed, turning on the wipers to get the snow off her windshields. A sharp yelp escaped from Tiffany's lips as a large black figure darted across the hood of the car. No. “Shit.. I forgot my medicine..” Tiffany rubbed her head to try and calm herself. Schizophrenia. A terrible thing.. Tiffany leaned over, fumbling through her glovebox to pull out the bright orange prescription bottle. She threw her head back to consume the small circle pills, swallowing them down with some cold water from the car. She sighed. "Damn" A velvety voice chuckled from the backseat, making Tiffany tense up immediately. Spinning around, Nothing. Really? Tiffany sighed again, shifting the car into drive before starting to drive, pulling out of the dimly lit bar parking lot, passing by a couple puking drunks, something that happened every night, no matter how hard they tried to stop people from getting that drunk, it was their choice to get so s**t-faced drunk that they couldn't remember their own name.

Tiffany had been there once. Never again. One dumb high-school party. One wrong drink. One shitty guy. Tiffany shook her head as she recalled the morning after, shaking it back to the deep of her mind. She didn't need to be thinking about that.

She pulled up at a small gas station, the bright light blaring into her head "Now open 24-7!!" Sure. She turned into one of the gas pumps, getting out and locking her car to go inside for the pay on her pump. Walking inside, she heard the small jingle of the soft bell echoing in her ears. "Welcome to Stop and go, hope you're having a good day today.” A tired cashier's voice droned from next to her. Fair. Nobody wanted to be working this late, though Tiffany didn't have a choice with the bar. 'You close at midnight’ is what the big boss had said. Can't go against him. Going against the owner of the bar with an argument was like talking to a brick wall. There was honestly no point in trying with the stubborn ass man. Tiffany wearily looked at items in the store, junk food, sodas, a couple bags of pecans, other nuts, trail mixes…. She scooped up a bag of peanuts, going to the counter. The cashier blinked blearily, rubbing his eyes. The distinct smell of alcohol and other things rose from the man. He took the bag, scanning them, telling Tiffany her price, Tiffany put the money on her pump afterwards and went back outside after shoving her bag of peanuts into her pocket.

Taking the nozzle off the small stand, Tiffany selected her gas type and started pumping it, leaning against the side of her car and glancing around the empty city. "God it's so creepy out at night” Tiffany mumbled to herself. Once she finished with her gas, she pulled the nozzle out, putting it back and shutting the gas lid, sliding back into the warmth of her car. "You know I'm here, stop ignoring me. You know how that makes me feel.” Tiffany inhaled and exhaled. Unfortunately one thing wasn't a hallucination. Cardinal. This damn demon that Tiffany had gotten attached to herself by stupidly not closing a circle properly from a ritual she had done with her friends a few years back. ”Yes, Hello Cardinal.” Tiffany grumbled. “Oh! So you finally respond to me, it was quite annoying when you ignored me earlier” Cardinal let out a cat-like purr, grinning in the deep shadows of the backseat. “Well when I just had a long day at work and you come out of f*****g nowhere!”

“Ooo, feisty, damn~” Cardinal purred from the backseat.

Tiffany rolled her eyes, pulling out of the gas station and onto the empty, silent road to drive home.