Married To The Devil Bride

4.

Abaddon snorted. “Already? The way you were wrapped around each other last night, I didn’t think you two would be out of bed until next week.”

“You thought wrong.”

“What’d you do?”

“Nothing.” I rested my elbows on the edge of the table and shook my head. “It’s someone else who’s meddled this time.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s forgotten. No memory of any of it. Nothing at all.”

“Damn.” Abaddon raised his eyebrows and leaned into the back of his stool, then waved one of the cocktail waitresses over for an Old Fashioned. “In that case, can’t let you drink alone.”

The game was seven-card stud. I considered joining—until I saw who was dealing.

The Fourth wore Armani and a sleek black motorcycle helmet with a dark, reflective visor. He dealt the cards silently and dealt them well.

The only other poor soul at the table was a balding man with a broad forehead slick with sweat. I could have smelled the desperation on him from miles away. He was down to his last few chips. I didn’t need to see his hand to know that soon, he wouldn’t even have those anymore.

“So.” Abaddon pushed his orange twist into his glass and swirled it around in the whiskey. “Are we suspecting traitors or angels?”

“Must be angels.” I almost laughed. “Traitors are happy in Hell.”

“If there were angels here in the Inferno, they couldn’t have been here for long.” Abaddon sipped at his drink. “The Exalted burn here in Hell the same as we would in Heaven.”

“They didn’t need long. I’m just wondering how they got in.”

“It’s…unfortunate, yes,” Abaddon agreed. “I was so sure you got everything right this time around.”

“It could be worse. Remember last time?”

“Woodstock?” Abaddon raised his eyebrows and sighed. “Can’t believe it’s been so long.”

“Two perfect days of peace, love, rock ‘n’ roll…and her.” I smiled at the memory. I’d found her dancing barefoot in the mud to Richie Havens, wearing little more than a pair of bikini bottoms and the flowers in her hair. Lust at first sight. “Before it all went sideways, at least.”

“Two perfect days?” Abaddon thumped his glass against the edge of the table and laughed loudly. “The food and water were all laced with LSD, there were no toilets or showers… Even the humans wanted to call in their National Guard. And that was before the angels showed up. When was that, anyway—Summer of Love?”

“No. Sixty-nine.”

“She took her time coming back this go-around, didn’t she?”

“And yet, she’s always worth the wait.” I frowned as the memories of our last time together faded. “It should have been perfect this time.”

“And she doesn’t remember anything?”

“Nothing.” I shook my head. “Not even my name.”

“How perfectly…strange.” Three identical female voices, low and crisp, spoke in unison from behind Abaddon and me.

We turned to find three identical black women in showgirl costumes standing behind us. Their dark hair was coiled into thousands of sleek, tight ringlet curls beneath their feathered headdresses. Their deep brown skin was oiled to shimmer as brightly as the bejeweled burlesque corsets they wore.

One of the women rested her hand fondly on my arm. Another helped herself to Abaddon’s drink. The third draped a slender, muscular arm around the shoulders of the gambling human at the table.

“You know who you’re gambling against, don’t you?” she asked the human.

The man only sweated even harder and nervously nodded his head. “Down too much to lose now,” he grunted.

“Poor, doomed thing.” She clicked her tongue at him and patted the thinning wisps of hair on top of his head. “Good luck. Your life depends on it.”

“Enjoying yourself, Legion?” I asked the woman to my right.

“Very much,” all three said in unison. The one to my right smirked down at me. “We’re just surprised you aren’t enjoying yourself more, Luci.”

“Don’t call me that,” I grumbled.

“We thought you’d be on your honeymoon by now,” said the Legion nursing Don’s drink. “What a shame.”

“Losses all around today,” cooed the Legion observing the game over the human’s shoulder as he lost another grand. “A shame indeed.”

The human tore his necktie loose as he shoved his last few chips toward The Fourth for a final round. The only sound The Fourth made as he shuffled was the whisper of the cards as they streamed into place between his hands.

“So, she’s already told you to f**k off, huh?” All three Legions moved together. Their forms flickered as they came together and converged into one. “Maybe you could use some lady advice, Luce. We’re happy to give it.”

“Don’t call me that, either,” I grunted. Legion enjoyed nicknames—too much, in my opinion. Each was always somehow worse than the last.

“What’d you do to the poor girl?” Legion asked.

“He said he didn’t do anything,” said Abaddon.

Legion laughed as she perched on the edge of the table. “You tried to f**k her, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t realize she’d lost all memory of me,” I said with a shrug. “Thought I was enjoying a lovely morning in bed with my wife. If I had known, I would have handled it better.”

“You kept your cool, though?” Legion asked. “Didn’t lose your temper?”

“Mostly.” I shrugged. “As best I could.”

“And the treaty is still intact?”

I nodded. “She came here willingly last night. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be.”

“Then the cards are still in our favor.” Legion gave the human a sympathetic smile as he sweated out his next decision.

The Fourth had paired his door card on the fourth street, so the human had the option of betting double on the small limit or the larger one.

“I’m not so sure about that,” I said.

I had a feeling that no matter which way the human decided, he was going to make the wrong choice.

“Nonsense. She found you this time,” said Legion. “Played herself right into your lap, Lucifer.”

“That’s better.” I nodded in approval.

“You wooed her,” Abaddon added. “You won her from her useless human mate. You made her your bride and got her here of her own free will⁠—”

“All in one perfect night,” Legion finished. “How many times has that happened before?”

“None. But…” I gripped the edge of the table hard enough to crack the wood. “It doesn’t matter now. Someone’s undone it all.”

“So make her remember,” Legion said—as if it was truly that simple. “Take her Above, retrace your steps…”

“It’s dangerous Above,” I pointed out. “Las Vegas may be Sin City, but there are still angels among every group of sinners.”

“We’ll protect her, then. You know how human she is—whether she’s your wife or not. She’ll want to return to Earth eventually. If you keep her here now, if she ever escapes⁠—”

“She won’t dare come back willingly. Yes, Legion, I know. This is far from the first time any of us have been through this.” I pressed my thumb against the crack I’d made in the table’s wood and traced the line it made. “But if I can’t get her back down here willingly regardless?”

“The treaty is unbroken still,” Legion reminded me. “The Exalted can’t hurt her while she’s Above this time.”

“Not directly, anyway.” As Abaddon spoke, Legion glared daggers at him and he smirked. “What? It’s worth being said.”

“She’s safest if she can come and go as she pleases.” Legion finished Don’s drink and moved onto mine. “So, Your Majesty, awaken her memories, if you can. If you can’t, seduce her a second time. You’ve done it before. You can do it again.” She leaned down to whisper in my ear. “You’ve heard the saying about how if you love someone, you should set them free, haven’t you?”

“I said that,” I told her. “About the humans, right before the Exalted tossed me out of Heaven.”

“Then you know what we’re talking about,” said Legion.

I drummed my fingers against the table for a moment, then nodded.

“It’s the only way,” I agreed. “But we’re not taking any chances. Abaddon…”

“Your wish is my command, my king.”