Page 26 of Greed

I could almost feel the ruby burning a hole in my leather where it sat as I marched up the long path to Luci’s palace. I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face since Juker returned with the small stone in hand. Jukur didn’t look like he even broke a sweat and returned faster than I could’ve placed a bet on his return time. When I asked which part of the castle he stole the ruby from, a curl lifted at the corner of his mouth, his eyes glittering with mischief as he said Lucifer’s throne. I’d laughed at that, it might have been a smaller ruby, but it was worth a million large ones for being taken from that location.

I nodded to the guards manning Luci’s gates and was tempted to pull out the gem and laugh in their faces, but instead, I said nothing. That ability to go unseen in Hell was worth its weight in gold, and I wasn’t about to share that with anyone.

The grand doors to the massive palace opened before I reached them, and my step faltered as I took in Luci’s appearance. He was dressed like he should be playing the part of a retro porn star. A long black fur coat was draped over his shoulder while wearing no shirt and skin-tight pants. His look was topped off with large sunglasses, a cigar in his hand, and a bottle of Hell Fire Whiskey in his other. All he needed was a mustache and a fedora on his head to complete the look. I had to work hard to contain my shock and plastered a smile on my face.“Luci, it’s good to see you.” I nodded my head, but I refused to bow, kneel or not meet his gaze. If he wanted to kill me for it, then so be it, but to date he hadn’t cared or maybe he didn’t notice.

My eyes grew wide as Luci reached out and wrapped his arms around me in a hug. I had no idea what to say or do but reciprocated the act with a tentative squeeze. I couldn’t even remember the last time Luci and I had shared a hug.

I looked over my shoulder and contemplated if I could make it out of the gate and Hell before he caught me. If he was hugging me there was a good chance he was planning on killing me.

“It’s good to see you, Riker. You are looking well.”

I raised my eyebrow at him. “Had you heard otherwise?” My suspicion was peaking, especially with the rumors that Michael had been lurking around.

Luci laughed a bark of a sound as he gripped my shoulder. “Of course not. It’s just good to see you, brother.”

My mouth lifted at the corner in a forced grin, again not sure what had gotten into Luci. He was many things, but a gracious and entertaining host was not on that list.

“Tell me everything. What have you been up to,” Luci wrapped his arm around my shoulders, guiding me inside his palace. I had the strongest urge to try and run for fear that whatever was affecting him like this was inside the palace.

“The casino is doing well, and I assume you are still receiving your share of the profits?”

Luci waved a hand like that was boring. “Yes, I am, but I don’t care about that.”

I gave him a look that obviously said I didn’t believe him because he continued to speak. “Okay, fine. I mean, I care a little, or I wouldn’t have killed your last manager who forgot to pay me, but it’s not really that important.”

“You ripped his head off and pulled his spine out of his body,” I said, remembering all too well having to find and train a new manager. It was no easy feat after that happened. Everyone had been too terrified to apply.

“In hindsight, it may have been a tad excessive.”

“Right, well, my businesses on Earth are prospering, and our sinful influence is spreading faster than the plagues you created.”

Loud club music echoed along the great hall, but the only words I could pick out were, “I like to move it” over the laughter and cheers. Someone swung by the mouth of the throne room ahead, but I kept my eyes on Luci’s face, not sure I wanted to know what was going on.

We walked into the large space to the throne room, and unable to hide my shock, my mouth fell open. The room was set up like a frat party and a kink club that decided to have a baby with a family game night that was married to a carnival.

There was a plush bed in the center of the room with an assortment of ropes, chains, and demons swinging around from the ceiling. A bar stretched across one side of the room with demons ready to make drinks while others danced on the top of the dark purple surface.

Luci snapped his fingers, and a drink appeared in my hand and a bottle of whiskey in his. “Cheers,” he said and clinked my glass. Taking a weary sip, I dared to take another step into the massive room and stared at the table piled high with every board game known to mankind, while a life-sized chess board was not far away.

A demon yelled as it rolled by in a giant ball like a huge rodent, and I suddenly thought something had been slipped into my drink. Arcade games were dinging with lights flashing, a pool table, with demons around it, placed bets as the balls clattered. Black sand from the shore of River Styx had been brought in and was currently being used by two naked female demons as they played a game of volleyball, and the roar of a tiger had me looking toward the throne to see it chained and laying at the base of the large glittering structure. It was gnawing on the remnants of something or someone, and I was suddenly even more impressed with Jukur.

What the actual fuck?

I looked at Luci, his body shimmying completely out of rhythm to the music as he smiled wide. I knew he was waiting for me to respond. There were moments in life that you really wished you could erase. This was one of those moments for me.

Where was the dictator, the man that would rip your head off for looking at him the wrong way? Where was the Master of the Underworld, who planned chaos and death, happily sucking souls up as readily as the Hell Fire Whiskey in his hand? Where was the blood on the floor and the stench of death as Luci sat in his throne barking out orders to torture more souls? What the hell happened to the man always expressing his displeasure over the number of souls coming to Hell over going to Heaven, and the sound of demons screaming as unspeakable things were done to their bodies. And where the fuck was the Hell Fire pit in the middle of the room that Luci liked to toss those in that pissed him off, so he could watch their flesh burn from their screaming bodies.

“So, what do you think?”

I swallowed hard and looked away from his keen stare. “Wow,” I said.

It was all I could come up with before I reached over and snatched the bottle of whiskey from his hand. I subtly sniffed the contents and took a tiny sip convinced it must be laced with something as Luci stepped further into the room, his arms spread wide.

“I know it’s amazing. I was thinking of adding an amusement park outside. I really want a rollercoaster that stretches all of Hell, can you imagine?”

“No, no I can’t, but that would be something,” I said and handed back the bottle.

“You can keep it. I have cases.” Luci snapped his fingers, and a demon rushed over with two fresh bottles in her clawed hands.