Cheers

Smell of stale beer, tobacco and burned cooking oil coming from the kitchen.

Single malt, no ice, make it a double Kevin.
[Kevin] Haven't ordered that for some time Mark.
Yeah, is Mary still working?
[Kevin] Yeah, what can I get you?
Steak, rare, baked potato bacon on top.
[Kevin] One cholesterol shock, coming right up.

So, Lix is with Dantalion and Dantalion wants me as a cleaner. Jenavive and Gregory Staughton, who the flying fuck are these people? Need to find out about Jenavive and Gregory.

Thanks, Kevin give us the hot sauce as well and fill us up again.
[Kevin] You got it mate.

Once more from the top, good old Dante has the ability to grand me passage
to Hell as a guest. Lix is his little errant boy. And I have to kill
the little monkey? Why? Any old demon can fart and the kid is as dead as
stone. Historically there was only one case that rendered the need for a
human cleaner. Have we come full circle? That does not make sense, the
signs are not there. Not that I had a look out for this sort of thing,
but one cannot miss the signs.

[Lucifer] No, you cannot miss them.

I spit out whiskey on the bar. I've lost count so this could be the 20th
glass of whiskey, but still, wasting whiskey like this is a sin. Kevin
looks pissed at first then a sudden glance from Lucifer and Kevin sits
down.

I could say it's pleasure ...
[Lucifer] Attitude, does not fit you. A glass of the 56 Château Mouton Rothschild.

Kevin looks stumped. He just stands there and blinks.

[Lucifer] Second shelf, third one from the right. Thank you.

Lits a cigarette, takes a sip.

[Lucifer] Nice little wine, the specific year is not that great mind you, but I have a sweet spot for people who get what they want. I assume you've already seen your old friends?

I would not call them friends, what is it that you want Lucy?

The whole place stands still, like someone pressed the pause button on the VCR. The well dressed, well groomed man turned to the familiar angel with wings of fire.

[Lucifer] Have you forgotten to whom you are speaking to?
No, this human form does not sit well after some glasses of whiskey. Will this excuse help you sleep soundly tonight, Lucifer?
[Lucifer] Stubbornness was one of your weaknesses Cimeries.

The whole bar disappears, I am sitting on a table in the middle of an endless void. I feel rejuvenated, happy even. He sits opposite me sipping wine.

[Lucifer] I am a man of reason Cimeries. The last time we conversed was after your trial and for matters unpleasant. Do not take my patience and understanding as defeat.

Fair enough, I expect you to return the favour though.
[Lucifer] Agreed.

I was already offered a get-in card by the bell boy, is the owner then offering me repatriation?
[Lucifer] No. What I am offering is entry to The Byblos.

There is nothing in that library I haven't read.
[Lucifer] The whole of the Byblos.

I mean no disrespect Lucifer, you are in no position to provide that sort of passage.
[Lucifer] What is, or what is not, my position is not concerned here. What is, however, important is what I am offering to you.

And the Devil never lies, right?
[Lucifer] You are becoming a monkey but that is to be expected, time is a merciless enemy.

Indulge my curiosity, if you will, but isn't it written that entrance to the other half of The Byblos can only be granted by Him or someone in His command?
[Lucifer] You are right, who is to say that I am not in his command.
I must be going nuts. Did I hear you correctly? You are in His command?
[Lucifer] There is nothing wrong with your hearing, it's your ability to reason I am starting to question.

Fine, let's reason together. For you to utter such a statement might mean that you have been acting all along knowing that you are but His pawn. In this case we are all leaving the biggest hypocrisy in the cosmos.
[Lucifer] Plausible.
On the other hand, you are playing with Him letting Him think that he holds all the cards and that you are working with Him only to turn the tables at the last minute and show us how the student has outwitted the teacher.
[Lucifer] Plausible.
You are lying, getting me into The Byblos is something you can arrange, somehow. Letting me die there is something you merely will allow, leaving Dante with his pants down and your dick in proximity of his arsehole.
[Lucifer] Enticing.

That small smile, that grin makes my heart pump faster. A small pulsation sends every hair on my body in a short, sharp and uncontrollable waving motion. The way that each of his expressions unveil the sinister nature of his being is what made me believe in Hell, believe in what we did and the role that we played. Believed that Lucifer was the only one that could bring all the demons together again and march against the silver city. But I am letting my emotions get the best of me, something that Lucifer will definitely pick up on and tare me to shreds with. I compose my self and reply

So that's a no then.
[Lucifer] This conversation is amusing, but, I've finished my glass of wine and I have other endeavours that require my attention. Cimeries, you have till next week to decide.

A week for my goodbyes is it?
[Lucifer] Cimeries, our decisions shape who we are. Our actions show what we are. The agreement between decision and action defines ones heaven ... or hell.

Goodbye Lucifer.

[Kevin] Mark, MARK.
Ha, what?
[Kevin] Wake up mate, we are closing up.
Yeah, right. How long was I out?
[Kevin] Hour or so.
Whose glass is this?
[Kevin] What glass?
This one here, the wine glass.
[Kevin] You do not expect me to know each glass being used in the bar, do you. Shit, I've been in this business for a long time, but not that long. Someone left it on the bar after last calls. Relax, go home, get some sleep.

Yeah, relax. Get some sleep.


Concentrate, left leg first, right leg second, repeat. Been walking for twenty minutes now, don't feel cold anymore, don't feel anything anymore. Ah, getting the right key for the right door usually takes some time. Got it. As soon as my head touched the pillow, an uncontrollable explosion rooted in my breadbasket redecorates my room in a carroty colour. The taste in my mouth and the smell in the room are one and the same. I've made my bed, now I have to lay in it.