Married to a Demon

Chapter 21 : Return of the Flame

-Lisa, Lilith said, putting a hand on her shoulder. You should go home with Miriam.

Go home? How could she?

Livid, silent, she stared at the rubble of her high school. When they arrived, Rwine and the demoness had put everything under a magical blanket, to hide the chaos from the humans. Chaos... That was the right word. Even though there were survivors, they all nearly lost their minds when demons, zombies and skeletons arrived to the rescue to provide emergency care.

Many had died. She couldn't say how many. Even if she didn't know them, even if they didn't appreciate her... So many deaths... All because of Lucifer... A whole school eradicated by his cruelty...

Because no, she didn't think it was her fault. She was not like in the shojos that Satan read in packs of twenty. It was necessary to be realistic. Lucifer was responsible, because of his hatred towards his brother.

Lisa will be the fists.

Her husband had been kidnapped.

-What can we do for the wounded? she asked in a calmer voice than expected.

If she didn't say anything about it, Lilith approved of her attitude.

-We will heal them and erase their memory. For all the survivors. However... we don't know yet how many dead there are. It's a good thing that most of them have already started to go to school.

-A chance, yes...

-My Queen, intervened Rwine, coming closer. If you want, we can bring back the dead as zombies. By dint of being around them, we have mastered this magic.

A gust of wind raised a cloud of dust and ash. Lisa wrinkled her nose.

-Catholicism is well entrenched in popular thought here. Few will want it. At worst, bring them back and give them a choice: live as a zombie or die as a human.

-We should still be able to reach their consciousness, no need to bring them back.

-We have an hour at the most before they fade, Lilith added, looking around. We have a lot of work to do. Lisa, I want you to come home now. You look pale.

No one spoke of Satan. She had told them what she had seen. For the moment, no one wanted to mention his abduction.

Once in the car on the way back with Miriam, a little shaken despite her casual attitude, Lisa didn't say a word. Not even when they arrived, and she sat in the living room, looking at the horizon.

It was an hour after her arrival that her hands tightened on the armrests of her chair. Rising to her feet, followed like a shadow by her friend, she rushed into Father's room. He woke up suddenly when she arrived, his eyes rolling in terror in his sockets.

-Daddy, this is important, she said, moving to his bedside. You know where Lucifer is, don't you?

-No... No... he stammered, avoiding her gaze.

She had no time for lies. Grabbing her father by his pajama shirt, she didn't try to force him to look at her. No. Rather, she stood a hair's breadth from his face, telling him:

-My husband is in danger. And if he dies, there's nothing to stop Lucifer from coming back to play his little torture games. So, either you tell me where he is, or you'll find yourself in his clutches for sure. What do you think, Dad?

This last word was pronounced with such rage, such derision that he finally looked at her. It was as if he really discovered her. The last time he had seen her was in court for her emancipation. His daughter had lost none of her steely character.

-I don't know... All I know is... He said... We're not in our world anymore...

Good start. They were in the demons' house. No chance that it was the angels, since they would all be killing him, without exception.

-Anything else?

-No... If... it smelled like rotten eggs... like... I don't know...

A smell of rotten eggs? What kind of a phony indication was that? No, wait... According to his first semester geology class, this was consistent with a volcano! Sulfur! A volcano... Or a dragon?

We were about to go on a volcano.

-I don't know any more, moaned her father, closing his eyes. Lisa...

-Good. Cerberus! she bellowed.

Ah, the demon Chihuahua was already there. She had hardly noticed him, but since she came back from school he was stuck at her feet. Sitting on her foot, pressing his whole side against her shin, he stared at her with a desperate look.

-We'll get your master.

Immediately, his little ears perked up. He took off from her and started barking while spinning around. He had understood, apparently.

-Do you know how many active volcanoes there are in the infernal dimension? asked Miriam from the doorway.

Leaning against the doorframe, she frowned.

-It is impossible to...

-If Satan dies, your dimensions will go to war. Then yes, it is possible, she said. I'm going to get him.

Miriam nodded, before saying:

-I don't have the capacity to go there.

-Oh oh oh!

Lilith's laughter came shortly before her buxom breasts in the doorway, pushing the angel aside. For once, she wasn't in a kimono. It was closer to a Tomb Raider costume pornographic version, but the mini shorts and the tight tank top suited her perfectly.

-I know all the active volcanoes in my dimension. But only an awakened dragon smells of sulfur, so Lucifer will certainly not be around. Come, my kittens! We're going to hell!