The Sin Hunter: Double or Nothing

A Word About Leashes

Lucifer's forehead had become increasingly red since the series of phone calls he had made to contact his contracted children, inviting them to a private meeting of the Hierarchy of Hell. It felt as if his forehead had become increasingly sore with every call until a migraine had built up slowly, pooling in his head. Lucifer sighed, closing his eyes and shifting around in his seat when his left ear popped, and would not un pop. The King of Hell became insurmountably irritated, reaching a hand into his pouch beneath his cloak and shuffling his hand through the slippery, slimy substance. It was a strange experience every time he did this, but Lucifer enjoyed the strange feeling.

Extracting a sludge-like powder from the pouch, Lucifer gently rubbed the substance over his temples, pushing with his fingers against his forehead. In that moment, one would be swayed into the belief that the King of Hell had pressed his whole hand right through his skull, entering the brain in a coating of gelatinous sludge. Lucifer flicked his wrist around the interior of his warm, gooey inner mind, finally reaching an orb that thrashed and violently threw itself against his mind. Through his eyes, guided by his hand in the murky, cosmic sludge, the orb was a deep green, ugly and putrid with smoke. Lucifer felt his jaw set in vengeful delight, squeezing the orb tight in his grasp.

"There you are," he muttered, slowly pulling the orb out of his head and into the air. With an audible pop and a fizz of carbonation, Lucifer removed his hand from his mind while the cosmic sludge from his pouch dissolved and vanished, leaving cool, well-kept skin and a set of sparkling, invigorated eyes. As the orb left his mind, Lucifer could feel his cold vanishing and his ears popping, revealing themselves to sound once more. With a grin on his face and a skip in his stride, Lucifer leapt from his throne, mounting the steps to a window in the Dining Hall and promptly throwing the orb out of the mansion, down the hill where it tumbled and shattered against the rocks of the cliff face.

Dusting off his gloves, the King of Hell yawned, stretching wide gray wings from his back. The wings were neither angelic or demonic in appearance, which puzzled most when they witnessed the wings. There were no trumpets blaring nor Sinners screaming when they unfolded. They were simply a pair of wings utilized for fast and necessary travel by Lucifer during busy mornings and rapid calls. The wings retracted into his suit coat when Lucifer returned to his seat, cleared ears and a fresh nose before him. As Lucifer breathed a deep sigh, the doors into his manor rang through the walls, announcing the arrival of the first sibling.

And in a flash, Lucifer's mood transitioned into irritated, crumbling patience. From the corner stood a very tall, scaly, and alluringly amethyst Asmodeus, the swirling folds of a deep, sea green beach dress cloaking her steps into the Dining Hall. Lucifer felt the edges of his fingertips driving into the fluff of his throne in hesitation. Asmodeus was an alluring, feminine figure, to whom no doubt could be formed, for all including Lucifer and his contracted children. However, by force of will and might of unwavering dignity, the King of Hell willed himself to remain strong, shifting his weight to his left arm with hands folded in anticipation.

"Good afternoon, Asmodeus. My thanks for attending this meeting." The Lady of Lust took her seat at the opposing end of the table, hands crossed over her cellular device. "I appreciate the efforts to host it, Lukey. I won't sugarcoat it," the foxy demoness mentioned with a hand of trimmed, glistening nail extensions, "time off of work is expensive." Lucifer rubbed his eyes, reliving the deja vu he had already sworn to escape. Taking a glass of water, down to the bottom, Lucifer wiped his lips before continuing. "I understand that, child, I do. This will not take long, provided your other siblings show up." Asmodeus leaned forward, draping her tails across her neck in a scarf-like fashion.

"Humph. I hope so." Lucifer smiled, realizing how dedicated and prepared of a parent he had made himself to be when attending the affairs of his grown, matured children. The lady of Lust rolled over, planting her firm and exposed to the ceiling on her back. "Do you ever wonder what it would be like living on a leash?" Lucifer leveled his gaze with the fur and hair dragging across his table. It curled his lip in disgust. "I'm unfamiliar with the brands and categories you use on yourself, child." Asmodeus flopped over onto her stomach, letting her tail swish back and forth in the air with her arms draped in front of her face. "No no, not like those leashes. Those ones I enjoy. I'm talking about the ones the Overlords use. Y'know, keeping a soul forever in slavery?"

Lucifer stopped his reading of the daily headline, turning his tablet off and setting the leather bound cover on the table. Although fairly tall for his appropriate age, Lucifer was still outclassed in height by the dominant stature of his second youngest child. Planting his scepter on the table and resting his gloves on the pommel, Lucifer knelt forward, eyes slanted in amused silence. "Asmodeus, my little one. You should never worry about those things. They're simply a power I gave to the Overlords to prove they are not entirely useless to the economy." Lucifer turned and strode across the long table, sidestepping a silver candlestick and a golden tray. "There was a time when I myself was on a leash, once."

The lady of Lust sat forward, curling into a criss crossed seated position with wide, curious eyes. "Wait, you were?" Lucifer chuckled softly behind his back. With a simple memory, he had made Asmodeus feel like a little girl once again. "Of course," he continued, dismounting the table and returning to his throne. "I used that leash to strangle its owner and demonstrate to the Overlord community what happens if they lasso a fish too large to catch." Asmodeus felt her lashes curling in excited gasps of glee, and her tail thumping against the table was evidence enough. "Oh," she whispered. Lucifer took his seat at the head of the table once more, resting his scepter beside and his hands on the fluffy armrests.

Lucifer cracked his neck before laughing. "Ah, but that was decades ago. This old man isn't quite so young anymore, and I've got a child now. I have duties beyond my own world." Asmodeus returned to her seat, ear pricking beneath a large teal sun hat. "Mmm, maybe. I mentioned that because I have an associate who's worried she's on a leash." Lucifer lifted the brim of his hat at the response. "Oh? Which one?" Asmodeus clasped her hands, shaking a head of beautifully dark indigo hair. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of the matter myself." The King of Hell nodded respectfully, leaning back when the doors of the manor rang once again, signaling more footsteps than before.