Lucifer Reborn

by Dante King

  “A price I gladly paid,” Christina added with a chuckle. “Hey, there’s not a horde of those contracts laying around anywhere in here, is there? I wouldn’t mind getting my hands on my original agreement with Lucifer and making a few alterations to the text…”

  Xora and Mareth both laughed like this was the funniest joke they’d heard in a long time. But it got me thinking.

  “I’d assume whatever contract you signed no longer applies to you,” I mused, looking at Christina. “After all, you signed it when you were a human. You’re not a human any longer—you’re a demon.” I looked at Xora, pieces snapping together in my brain. “A demon can’t sign a demonic contract, can they? I mean, I know Lucifer can, but — he’s the Devil. Could another demon take possession of another demon’s soul? Their will?”

  Taking my dick out and pissing all over the floor probably would’ve offended her less. Xora’s already pale face went sheet white at the suggestion, her long locks twisting upward like snakes preparing to strike.

  “Shit, what did I say?” I asked. “I was just messing around. Arguing the law, you know?”

  “Such magic,” Xora said, soothing her hair down with a visible effort, “is absolutely illegal. Not to mention extremely dangerous. A demon binding the soul of another demon—or worse, a mortal binding the soul of a demon—would be expelled from the Infernal Academy at the very least. More likely, they’d have to have a personal talk with Lucifer…”

  Oh shit, I thought. She’s not talking about Oni, is she?

  I’d almost forgotten all about the big guy. Mareth had given him directions to the Infernal Academy after I’d nearly hit him with my car and bound him to me. Meaning he ought to be here by now. Now that I thought about it, I was a little surprised I hadn’t run into him at the front gates or something like that. I hoped he was alright, and that he’d made it to Hell okay. I made a mental note to check once I was done with the tour.

  In the meantime, I should have shut the fuck up. The looks both Xora and Mareth were giving me trended in that direction—only Christina looked interested in taking this discussion further. But I couldn’t just let it go at that; not when what Xora described sounded so much like my own power.

  “But I’ve bound Christina to me,” I said, putting an arm around the blonde’s waist as I spoke. Her tail caressed my wrist, then wrapped gently around it and tugged the hand holding her hips down to her ass. Cheeky girl, I thought proudly. “She didn’t used to be a demon before—I did that, when her and Mareth and I got freaky in my subspace. You were even joking about how she has to do what I say earlier. How is that any different than these binding rituals that are so illegal?”

  Xora had apparently stopped listening at the word ‘Mareth’. The rusalka’s jaw hit the floor, her hair tightening so hard around her breasts and neck it threatened to cut off her circulation.

  “You were involved in this, as well?” Xora asked, her cheeks going beet-red. Apparently the fact that Mareth was more than just my guide hadn’t been common knowledge. “With this student? With two students?”

  Mareth’s shocked look quickly turned into a grin. “Normally demons don’t kiss and tell,” she said, her long tongue lolling from her mouth. “But it’s worth it just to see that look on Xora’s face. Don’t give me that shit, rusalka. You offered to get wet with Luke less than an hour ago…”

  “I hadn’t realized I was treading where you’d already ventured,” Xora said roughly, giving the succubus a hard look. “And if you didn’t spread your legs for anything with a pulse that manages to make it into Hell, I might not have to worry about such things!”

  Shit. This could be bad. “Both of you calm down,” I growled, a tingly feeling spreading from my fingertips all the way up my arms. “There’s plenty of me to go around. Mareth and Christina can both attest to that.”

  The atmosphere thickened around us. Xora and Mareth trailed off, each staring at a point somewhere far beyond the back of my head. Their expressions glazed over, and for a moment I wondered what I’d done. Fuck, was that tingling my powers?

  Xora shook her head, the expression fading. “A human candidate with access to pyromancy and mesmerism,” the rusalka snorted. “And who can summon darkness tendrils, to boot. Will wonders never cease?”

  Mareth remained in whatever state I’d put her in for several more moments. The succubus blinked slowly, a vapid smile spreading across her face before she snapped out of it and realized what she was doing.

  “Damn, dude,” the succubus growled, rubbing her face. “It took me weeks to learn how to do that. You haven’t even taken a single class yet…”

  That’s a good sign, I thought, staring down at my fingers. They still tingled faintly, as if I’d reached into some inner well of magic and a few drops of it lingered on my skin. Neat.

  “I guess I’m full of surprises,” I said, shaking my head. “What’s next on the docket, girls? Three more to go, yeah?”

  Xora nodded. “Oh yes. You’re going to like this one, Luke.”

  I grinned. I had a pretty good idea what that meant. Wrath, Envy, Greed...Lust must be next! Considering how hot the demon girls just walking around campus were, I could only imagine what the ones who specialized in provoking lust in mortals would be like.

  Chapter 16

  For a few moments after we reached the next room, I thought the Lust School was exactly where we were. The next hall we entered was set up like a gymnasium: specifically, a yoga studio. Demon girls in leotards and ankle warmers laid across thick mats, contorting their bodies in positions that would have caused severe joint damage to an ordinary human who tried to mimic them. I began salivating at the sight, distracted by all the firm female flesh on display.

  Which was why it took me a minute to realize how high up we were.

  Gradually, I came to see that the deep green hue surrounding us wasn’t wallpaper—it was the sky. A sulfurous sky full of billowing yellow clouds, carrying with them the caustic scent of brimstone. Moreover, Christina, Mareth, Xora, and I stood very close to the edge of this hall.

  “Oh shit,” I grunted, stepping away. I’d lost my balance, stumbling against Christina. She gave a little start and followed my gaze, her own eyes widening at the sight of all that open space.

  Xora and Mareth, on the other hand, seemed used to it. They surveyed the women on their mats for only a moment, much more interested in whatever was happening far above our heads. Xora I understood, but I couldn’t believe Mareth didn’t linger on those skin tight spandex uniforms for longer, devouring demonic curves along with me.

  I kept on staring. As I looked, I noticed that the demons weren’t moving. They were all still, save for the instructor at the head of the class. She was a hippie-looking demon woman with a white mohawk, a thick pair of coke-bottle glasses, and leathery robes that looked like they’d been stolen off an extra from the old Land of the Lost TV show.

  “Release the energy,” the woman intoned solemnly, treating the class as if they weren’t all still as statues. “Allow your nightmare forms to flow through the air, expanding naturally in whatever way feels correct to you. Should you need to recharge, the sky is thick with clouds…”

  Huh? What were these demons doing, anyway? Clearly this wasn’t Lust: my first impression had been wrong. These girls were hot, but whatever they learned here wasn’t carnal in nature—

  I glanced up into the sky, looking for some sign of the class’ purpose.

  And found myself staring into the most terrifying thing I’d ever seen.

  Above our heads, monsters churned in the deep green sky. Living nightmares streaked through the sky, like all my childhood fears made flesh. They slobbered all over each other with their thick jaws, drooling and gibbering in ear-splitting tones as they unleashed pandemonium through the sky.

  I dropped to the floor, reaching for my powers. “Holy shit, look out!” I screamed, grabbing Christina and tugging her down along with me. Cthulhu, the Boogeyman, the creepy clown from that movie I
saw when I was nine years old—they had nothing on these freaks. Sweat poured down my back at just the sight of them, filling me with an ancient, primal fear that left my limbs quivering.

  “Luke, what’s wrong?” Christina cocked her head, watching the display with a great deal more composure than I’d shown. “What is it?”

  What? Did she not see them somehow? “Those things,” I growled, mastering myself with an effort. “Those...those monsters…”

  Mareth dropped to her hands and knees besides us, her schoolgirl’s skirt riding almost all the way up her ass. Under most circumstances I’d have used that as an opportunity for a spank, but these weren’t most circumstances.

  “Oh geez! We should have warned you,” the succubus said, helping me to my feet. “There’s nothing to be afraid of, Luke. They’re not really demons—just night terrors.”

  “Most new students find the spectacle amusing,” Xora added, watching the nightmares dance. “I’m going to go ahead and assume you won’t be interested in anything beyond the basic requirements in the Sloth school, then?”

  Sloth school. That made a certain kind of sense. Those gorgeous women on the mats were certainly down for the count. The spirits flying around the air, making spooky faces and recharging themselves on clouds, must be some kind of nightmare forms they practiced making. Now that I knew what they were, most of their terror had fled.

  It was the whole ‘forgotten childhood fears’ thing that threw me off my game. I resolved to not let that happen again.

  “You assume correctly,” I said, wiping my forehead as I regained my feet. The only way out is through, I told myself, shaking off the last of my fear. Learning how to turn into a nightmare would be a surefire way to never be afraid of them again — as long as I had the guts to try. “Damn fine job,” I said in a louder voice, speaking to the instructor. “You really got me good!”

  The instructor acknowledged my complement with a nod. “Return to your bodies now, students,” she intoned, picking up a large stick laying on the floor next to her and using it to ring a small silver bell. “You’ve done enough haunting for one class. Sink back into your physical bodies, and return to the classroom once more…”

  Slowly, the whirling vortex of nightmare demons did just that. First one, then a group sank to the level of the classroom, diving into a demon laying inert on the mat. As each one disappeared into a demonic body, the person on the mat gave a start and shot into a sitting position, like someone snapped out of a nightmare.

  The last two spun around each other longer than the others, clearly stronger. One waggled a long tongue at me, trying again to send me to my knees in horror. This time I wasn’t having it. I met the horror’s glare with one of my own, and the creature sank with disappointment into the body of a blue-skinned demon girl in a sweatshirt and jeans. When she rolled over, grinning at me, I saw the logo of the Infernal Academy on her back. A seven-pointed star stood out on the fabric, an arcane symbol at the tip of each representing one of the schools based around the deadly sins. The spokes of the star knotted together in the center, forming the backdrop to a demonic goat’s head with long, curling horns.

  “Very good, class,” the instructor said, sounding like she meant it. “You’re really getting the hang of navigating in nightmare form. Next week, we’ll make our first attempts at entering the dreams of mortals.”

  “This class is much better than the last one,” Xora said, nudging me. “This, as you’ve no doubt figured out, is the Sloth school: devoted to haunting the dreams of mortals and contacting them beyond the veil of night. Very fun stuff—it was always my favorite class to attend, personally.”

  “Gee, I have no idea why,” I said sarcastically. The class filed out, though the blue-skinned demon girl lingered a moment, her eyes on me.

  “Sorry to startle you,” she said, her voice surprisingly nice for someone who cut such a horrifying nightmare.

  I shook my head. “No worries. All part of the learning process, right?”

  She gave me a final, interested look, then followed the rest of the class out.

  “Did you have night terrors when you were a kid or something?” Mareth asked, once we were alone. “You had a really strong reaction to that display—even for a mortal.”

  I was about to tell her that was the exact truth. Before I could stop myself—after all, confessing my deepest fears to any demon was probably a very bad idea in this place—Xora cleared her throat, cutting me off. “It’s not his fault,” she said, pointing after the blue-skinned demon. “That particular student is extremely skilled. A prodigy, in fact.”

  Mareth’s face lit up. “Oh, I’ve heard about that! Some really powerful nightmare demons can pull nearby humans into their created worlds. They call it a Vortex, and it’s apparently a real trip! Kind of like your subspace, Luke!” She giggled, no doubt recollecting both her and Christina kneeling across my bed, their asses and pussies in the air.

  “I’ll have to be careful around that one, then,” I muttered, shaking my head. “How about you, Christina? You think this might be one of your specialties?”

  Christina gave the roiling sky above us a final look, then sniffed loudly. “Nah, I don’t think so. This place stinks. Besides, I’d rather get up in somebody’s face than try and slip into their dreams. I saw that movie, and shit got weird for Leo. I’m still not sure what that ending was trying to say…”

  With a laugh, I pulled her into a hug. “Nah—definitely simpler to keep things in the here and now. I’m sure it’s a very powerful ability, though, in the right hands.”

  “It’s caused a lot of mayhem,” Mareth said with a secretive smile. “Both here and on Earth.”

  We left the tower of Sloth behind, Xora leading the three of us through a beaded curtain hidden against a section of the sky. The sudden change in pressure made my ears pop—within a few steps, we’d gone from feeling high in the air to being deep underground. The air was cool and damp, smelling faintly of incense and earth.

  “I’m sure you’ve been waiting for this one,” Xora said with a sharp look at Christina and me. “We save our Lord’s primary sin for last in these parts, and since there’s only two left, you can tell by simple process of elimination where you are. Follow me.”

  Christina and I shared a look. She mouthed the word lust, a wicked look spreading across her face. Clearly she was just as excited as I was.

  Chapter 17

  We descended lower through a stone tunnel, carved deep into the Earth. Torches lit the walls, giving enough light to continue walking without casting enough illumination to see our destination. The steps beneath us were slick with dew, arcane symbols carved into them with greater frequency the further down we got.

  “This place feels old,” I said, steadying myself on the wall. “Like I’m going to see some ancient oracle or some shit…”

  “Lust is a very old sin,” Xora said without turning around. She led the way, a few steps ahead of the rest of us. “Some would say it’s the very first sin mortals committed—that Adam and Eve’s lust for knowledge is what corrupted them and led to the fall of Man.”

  That sounded pretty ironclad to me. “You don’t agree?”

  Xora looked over her shoulder at me, her dark eyes glittering in the torchlight like jewels. “You humans always think it’s about you,” she said, licking her lips. “A greater sin preceded yours, you know.”

  “The Fall,” Mareth murmured, her hands clasped before her almost in prayer.

  “When Lucifer was cast out of heaven?” Christina asked.

  Xora nodded. “One day, however, he shall return,” the rusalka said with a fierce expression. “And the combined might of every demon within Hell shall be at his back.”

  “That’ll have to be soon, then, right?” I asked, guiding myself down the side of the rock wall. “Given that he’s dying and all…”

  A sob from my side caught my attention. Mareth covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes shut tight and brimming with tears.


  “I’m sorry,” the succubus said, shaking her head like she knew exactly how awkward she looked. “I’m not trying to cause a scene. It’s just so sad…”

  Xora came around and embraced her. Their two shadows merged into one in the torchlight, stretching across the bare rock.

  “We try not to think about it,” the rusalka explained, holding Mareth tight as the succubus recovered herself. “Most of Hell does the same—it’s too much to bear, too unprecedented. To lose Lucifer, the morning star, after thousands of years of darkness and sin, is almost too much for a demon to comprehend.”

  “Everyone treats it like a game,” Mareth murmured, wiping her eyes. “Like the trials to become the next Archlord is just something fun we’re doing for our Lord, and he’s going to reveal at the end it was all some big joke. But it’s serious. The Prince of Darkness is dying, and there’s nothing we can do about it!”

  Wasn’t there? “Does anyone know what’s causing it?” I asked, trying not to sound too curious about the whole thing. That wasn’t a good look when both Mareth and Xora were so sad. “A guy like him, it can’t just be old age or something like that, right? Maybe there’s a way to stop it?”

  Xora shook her head. “No one knows. I’m not even certain our Lord knows himself. But as sure as the fires of Hell burn, Luke, he is dying. Lucifer is dying.”

  A moan split the darkness, shocking us into silence.

  Xora recovered first. “Until then,” she said, slowly replacing her sad look with a mischievous smile, “there will be lots of fucking in the meantime. Observe…”

  The sounds of moaning grew louder as we reached the bottom of the stairs. There was no second-guessing what those noises meant this close to the school: all of us had heard those cries before, had provoked them in others or made them ourselves. They were the sounds of ecstasy: of hard, primal fucking.

  “Look at this,” Christina gasped, stopping at a series of carvings in the wall. At first there were only a few, but as we got closer to the hall they appeared with greater frequency. “These figures. Are they…?”