The Sin Hunter: Double or Nothing

Concern Sets In

The Warming Room of the Soladite Sanctum glowed with the embers of a roaring fire, casting eerie shadows across the bookshelves and furniture in the study. Lights flickered in the windows when the silken cloak of Lucifer Morningstar XI gave entrance to the audience of ancient scrolls, religious texts and priceless documents lost to time. The King of Hell removed the wide top hat on his head, tilting the pearl brim toward his gaze. On the lip of the white top hat, a beautiful nest of flowers and striped pink peacock feathers adorned the edges of a large, arrowhead point of pink on the milky white surface.

Lucifer sighed, hanging the hat on the edge of the chair by the fireplace, moving toward the window overlooking all of Hell. As he moved past, Lucifer brushed his hand outward, lifting a small lamp into the air with a burning flame. With slow, gentle grace, like a petal leaving home for the first time, Lucifer lifted his palm into the air, guiding the lantern high into the shelves where it bloomed, embers drifting into starlight in the glow of the dim library. Lucifer mounted the steps in his circular staircase which spiraled and curled into the second floor while small, yet vibrant flashes of insects flickered in the air.

Illuminating the way through the Sanctum, Lucifer twirled in his step, swirling as if in a dance with his beautiful wife, Lilith. Her lovingly warm arms swam in motion with his stride, carrying him across the library in a slow, lighthearted sway. Lucifer smiled, his eyes envisioning the night they had been supposed to be married. It was a crystal clear night in Envy, by good virtue of his father and his uncle, both demonic warriors of the Old World and an arrangement by Satan had been made to ensure that everything would be perfect.

Lilith was, amazingly, not Lucifer's wife's true name. Rather, her true name was Amelia. However, in keeping with traditions regarding the old religious world, she was more than willing to adopt the name of the ancient founder of Hell and proceed with the arrangement. Lucifer swept past a bookshelf, recounting the words he had spoken to Seraphis the night before the curtains drew, revealing the groom in black and red. In Royalty of Hell, more acceptable colors of black and deep red were to be worn with honor and respect. Lucifer rubbed his palms, swallowing so consistently he could not function his throat properly.

Seraphis stepped up beside the To-Be King of Hell, planting a claw on his childhood friend's shoulder. "Hey big guy! How's the palm rubbing?" Lucifer turned, startled by the surprise before laughing, clasping a hand on his friend's arm. "Good Lord Above, don't do that again..." he muttered with a contented exhale. Seraphis chuckled, his pincers clicking in delight. "Glad to see you didn't get cold feet. How're you feeling?" Lucifer turned to face his oldest friend, planting both hands on the Scipioric Prince's sharpened pauldrons. "I'm..." Lucifer paused, sucking in a deep breath, "I'm worried I'll let Lilith down." Seraphis unwound a bit, shaking his head.

On the opposite end of the airy wedding hall, Lilith paced back and forth, her deceptive black veil fraying and unfurling over her face while her mother and father tried to calm their daughter down. "But I don't know!" Lilith cried out, resisting the urge to chew away her fingernails. "It's so painful trying to figure out what to do, what to say, what if he's not even there??" "Easy, honey, easy," her father consoled, laying his arms around her shoulders like a weighted blanket. Lilith's heaving shoulders rested as the soon to be Queen of Hell sighed, relaxing while her trembling hands crept over her father's.

Lilith turned away from the curtain, patting her sides with two elegantly decorated hands. "This is too much. I never thought we'd make it this far." But Lilith's mother stepped forward, offering her own perspective with a warm smile and calm demeanor. "Lily, honey, this is wonderful. Don't spend your time dreading the next step forward, spend your life laughing and smiling that it's happening now." Lilith blinked slowly, nodding as she processed the words of wisdom. And on the former, Lucifer paced back and forth while calm, soothing violin music floated through the wind on a journey of unity and peace.

"Agh, I just don't know, Phis! I've been preparing myself for months for this, and the day is finally here and I can't bring myself to even speak to my fiancé!" Seraphis laughed, clicking his claws together while his charred black tail swished back and forth behind him. "Ha! And since when did big man Lukey become a crybaby over a little romance? It's your game, man! You're the referee now!" Lucifer shrugged, fixing his black top hat one final time as the music drew to a silence, the whispers of an audience beyond the veil. Lucifer felt his shoulders sagging as he exhaled, fixing his top hat with Seraphis by his side. "Let's do this thing," he whispered.

Lucifer swirled through the air, his Angelic wings lifting him from the floor in suspended, beating motion, slowly spinning in place while Lucifer recited the wedding dance from heart. But when his eyes opened again, Lucifer was amazed to find that his dear Water Lily was there in his arms, her arms wrapped around his neck and her eyes sparkling in the light from the fireflies surrounding the open library. Lucifer was startled at first, and how wings nearly folded back into his suit, but the King of Hell persisted, continuing the dance while speaking to Lilith and her enchanting red robes. "Is our pure little cherub asleep?" he asked.

Lilith nodded, her lips reflecting a weary, contented relief. "Yes," she whispered. Lucifer smiled, continuing to dance in the air while his feet swished and swirled in a fluent pattern. "I remember this dance," Lilith continued, occasionally peering down to the floor beneath them, "it was such a wonderful night. Though I was a nervous wreck getting down the aisle." Lucifer smiled and laughed softly, gently laying his forehead against hers. "I was just as bad. For the life within me, I couldn't decide what to do." Lilith nodded, breathing slowly and softly so close to her husband. Their arms brought the pair closer together while Lucifer's wings kept them airborne.

"Lucifer...I worry about Hell. This place isn't as lively as it once was, and the dreams we shared to protect these poor people have slowly become nightmares." Lucifer nodded, closing his eyes again. "I know, Lilith. And for the first time in my life, I don't know what to do about anything." The two drifted away, their arms sliding into one another's while the King of Hell's magic kept them afloat. Lucifer moved his arm to gesture around the library. "Look around you," he implored, waving a hand to the shelves of knowledge and documenting, "Hell is collapsing. And I fear that someday we will not be there to help our daughter discover her potential and save the world."

Lilith brought herself closer, her eyes twinkling in the reflection of Lucifer's deep golden pearls. "Don't say that. Please. We have time and we have the resources to prepare for the worst. Your ancestors and mine have encountered these problems before. We can most certainly do it again." Lucifer nodded, and as the pair descended to the floor once again, and the fireflies began to dissipate, leaving the lights to flicker back to life, Lucifer felt his feet grace the floor again. He placed a hand on Lilith's cheek, and felt the visionary tears pooling in her eyes. "Do not cry, my darling," Lucifer sighed with his trembling stomach and a steady hand, wiping away the tears beginning to bud in the soil of his wife's garden.

His hand slid down along her face and brushed away her worries with the rest of the world. "We will figure this out. We have to. For our daughter, for the Sin Hunter, for everyone." Lilith and Lucifer both embraced, their lips connecting in silent, emotional harmony while the crackling of the fireplace whispered stories in the quiet of the library.