25. Satan

Brianna's pissed. She keeps checking her phone as we wait for Lucifer. Every second he doesn't show, her ire grows. I should be thriving on the emotion, but instead I'm furious along with her. She wanted all of us together. Was that so much to ask that Lucifer share a meal with his brothers?

After the seventh check of her phone, I stood from the table. "Where are you-" Her voice is cut out as I leave the room.

I head straight for the throne room, where Lucifer is sitting on his throne with a line of souls before him. "You're spared another day without a punishment. Use it wisely," I tell the souls. "Don't think you can hide, though. You won't like it if I have to find you."

The souls disperse before Lucifer can stop them. "What the fuck, Wrath?"

"You have an obligation." I stand firm, in the position I expect of my demon soldiers.

"Yeah! I know! And you just told them all to leave." Lucifer rubs his eyes and sighs deeply. Poor thing. Not.

I stay quiet, giving him time to think. It takes too long. "Are you hungry?" I ask.

Lucifer scoffs and then looks up at me. "Am I fucking hungry? Are you serious right now?" I don't move a muscle, hoping he comes to his own conclusion. It takes forty-three seconds. "What time is it?" He grabs his tablet, checking the time. "Shit!" Pride flies, literally, past me towards the dining room and I follow behind.

He takes his seat between Levi and I, saying nothing to Brianna. She stares at him in contempt for a moment before breathing deep and giving me a small smile.

Her attention turns to Gluttony. "Now you can eat."

We all dig in, and groan at the same time. "Fuckkkkkk. This is so good, Honey." Beel is shoveling food into his mouth. All of us, even Luc, give her sounds of agreement.

"Seriously, Treasure. This is fucking delicious." Mammon kissing ass is a sight to behold. His smile is genuine and pure. There's no maliciousness or mischief. It's… different.

I take in Brianna, her face flushed from the compliments. Bruises dot her neck, Mammon's brand in the middle, though it looks like a matching bruise, right now. She eats happily, looking at one of us after every bite.

No one talks as we eat. Normally, this dining room is full of sounds and conversations. All of us are too enamored by Bree's cooking to speak. Beelzebub is the first to finish, no surprise there. "Did you have more, Honey?"

Her laugh is infectious. "Yes, in the kitchen." Gluttony takes his plate and leaves, heading towards the kitchen. Brianna still has food on her plate, but she pushes it away. "So. Where are we with the sin thing?"

Lucifer finishes chewing, using a handkerchief to wipe his mouth. His tablet appears on the table, and he unlocks it, looking for the information. He stills, looking around at all of us before stopping on Mammon. "Who was she with? Only you?"

"What's going on?" Bree's emotions start to go all over the place again.

"You've been cleansed. Again. The only sin you currently have is lust." Pride's voice is monotone as he tries to hide his wrath. I may not be able to feed off his sins, but I can still feel the emotions.

Bree places her elbows on the table and raises her hands to her eyes, rubbing them. She's absolutely defeated. "I was with a new friend before he found me, but it can't be her because I just met her yesterday." She sits back, talking directly to Lucifer. "We went to the park, but I talked to…" a quick look to Mammon, then back. "I only talked to children."

I need her emotions to change. Her voice grows more lifeless with every word. I don't like her like this. "It doesn't matter" I tell her. "We can just get you to commit more, until we learn who is doing it. Someone may need to stay with you at all times."

A smirk touches her lips, there for only a second. "Are you offering?"

And now. To piss her off. "No. I only leave Hell on two occasions. Halloween and Christmas."

She scoffs and a flicker of wrath fills her, and me. "You don't have to lie. Just say you don't want to be with me."

"I don't lie." She rolls her eyes. I told myself that the next person to roll their eyes at me would lose them. Can't do that to her… But I can punish the fuck out of her. "Why would I lie when the truth gets me what I want more often than not?"

A little more rage flows through her, overtaking her other emotions. "I can understand Halloween. But Christmas?"

"Duh, Mommy. He's Santa." I love that kid. Rellick looks at his mom with nothing but attitude. Here we go.

Brianna's at war with herself. Does she correct him on who I am? Does she discipline him for talking to her that way? Does she crush his hopes that Santa is real?

I take away the opportunity from her. "That's right, kid." A cheesy smile graces Rellick's mouth while my Lady's flattens into a frown and her eyes narrow. "But kids who speak to their parents that way, get taken off the nice list."

The kid's eyes grow wide, and his mouth opens in an ‘o'. "I'm sorry, Mommy!"

She nods her head in response to him; however, when she opens her mouth to speak, I cut her off. "I get letters from children, too. Normally younger ones who can't spell." With every word, her wrath swelled in her chest and the wink I just directed at her has her clenching her fists tight. "I bring them the gifts they ask for." Again she tries to speak and I don't allow it. "And obviously, I like Halloween. Teenagers are ruthless during Halloween which sets off adults, and many humans dress like me. Feels like worship."

Every attempt she makes to get a word in, I speak over her. I'm waiting for the moment when she blows. I can feel it coming. Her skin is beginning to turn red from the heat of her rage, the flush starting at the tips of her ears and ending under the neckline of her dress into her generous cleavage. Just a few more words…

My mouth is barely open to talk again when she slams her hand on the table. "God dammit! Let me speak! It's me who has to commit the sins! Can't you just shut your fucking mouth for five seconds? Jesus!"

"And… there's two," Lucifer mumbles. I sit back in my chair, letting her wrath fuel my power reserve. Damn! That's addictive!

She looks between aggravated Lucifer and my blissed-out face that I know is giving off the smuggest smile. "You did it on purpose you arrogant jackass!"

"Of course, I did, baby girl. Genuine reactions are always the best." Her hands grind into fists and a low growl leaves her throat. If anything, she seems more pissed knowing that I intended to make her mad. Nothing better than continuing the process. "Want to blow off some steam, Milady?" I know what I have in mind for that, and she did say ‘next time'.

Mammon, Belphegor, and Beelzebub all look to each other, seeming to have a conversation with their eyes. That doesn't happen. Ever. What are they up to?

Of the three, Gluttony is the easiest to crack so I focus on him. He can feel my focus on him, so he immediately changes the subject. "Hey, Rellick! Why don't we see if we can find some ice cream? Or candy! If your mom's okay with that?"

"Sure, sweet boy." Her three mates, who she has no idea the extent of her relationships to them, take Rellick to the kitchen. Something's off.

Lucifer stands too. "Off to finish my punishments." He leaves with no words to Bree. Her anger rises again. Fuck, that's intoxicating.

Leviathan stares at her but she ignores him until he stands to leave as well. "Thank you for dinner, Brianna. It was wonderful. As was your company." He sighs in defeat and leaves when she offers no acknowledgement.

He should've paid attention to her when it mattered.

The only person left at the table other than Brianna and I is Asmodeus. His focus is on me, eyes pleading to let him come with us. I already told him that the first time I had her was to myself. Every time after that I wouldn't care. Lust is the Sin I'm closest to. His athleticism makes him the best to spar with and rage and lust usually go hand in hand in Hell. I give him a quick shake of my head which causes his eyes to widen.

I don't care for the fact that when Asmodeus doesn't get his way, his lupine face allows him to make ‘puppy dog eyes'. He goes from intimidating to precious in a matter of seconds. It doesn't work on me because I have restraint, but it works easily on others. I swear, half the time I treat him like my brother, and the other half you would think he's my pet or property.

We have a stare down until his shoulders drop and he lifts from the seat, blowing Bree a kiss that I'm sure would make her blush if her skin wasn't already a delicious red from her wrath.

"Let's go," I say, grabbing her by the elbow to lift her before throwing her over my shoulder.

She starts to hit my back with her tiny fists and kick her legs. "Put me down, Devil!" A quick but powerful slap to her ass makes her freeze. "Did you just spank me?" Her voice is low with surprise and anger. I can feel her emotions start to war with each other.

"Yes. Now shut-up unless you want another one with more force." I leave the tower and fly to the arena. Brianna was quiet the whole way.

At the arena, I have a seat specifically for me. It's the best place in the stadium to see the entirety of what's happening while having my own privacy. I pull my wings in and sit in my wide black throne, pulling Bree onto my lap. "Such a good girl," I mumble against her skin. She relaxed a bit before tensing again, remembering that she's meant to be mad at me.

A battle is going on below us between two demons. Milady watches with enthusiasm for a moment before asking, "what's going on? What is this?"

"This is my Arena. Occupants of Hell can come here to challenge anyone in Hell for something." That's a quick summary anyway.

She sits forward, focusing on the duel below while inadvertently rubbing her ass against my dick. "What are they fighting for?"

I make my own tablet appear to see the reasoning. Lucifer has a tablet to organize the dead and I have one to organize war in Hell. Battles that aren't for a punishment or position have to fill out a form to block out time as fighting out of the arena is forbidden. "This fight is over a succubus. They're fighting for her exclusivity."

Brianna spins aggressively to face me. "And she's okay with that?" I shrug my shoulders. Her name is on the form as the reason for fighting but nowhere else. "Can you ask her?"

"She's a succubus." She's probably in the middle of fucking someone. They need sperm to survive. I could call her here, but I won't know what state she's in.

Milady must have misinterpreted what I meant because her arms crossed over her chest. "So, because she has to have sex to live, others are allowed to fight over her? What if she doesn't want either of them? Because some asshats fought over her, she has no choice?" She turns back to face the arena field. "No, fuck that. Call her here." Brianna gets herself comfortable in my lap as I summon Daemera to my space.

She appears before us in a red lace dress over her pure white skin. Black hair flowing in braids behind her as she looks around her before focusing on Bree. Daemera gives a seductive smirk and cocks her hip, bringing attention to her curves. "Well, hello gorgeous."

Bree sits up straight. "Ask her," she commands me. I don"t even open my mouth because I know what"s about to happen. "Are you aware that the fight currently going on down there is about you?" Daemera stands up straight at her words, becoming serious. "They"re fighting over who gets you exclusively. Did you know that?" The succubus shakes her head, and her shoulders drop. "Do you want either of them exclusively?"

She looks around the room, probably searching for an escape. "Answer the question," I command.

"No. I don"t want either of them." Her voice is muffled, like she doesn"t want to be loud.

"Well, that"s that then." Brianna stands and fixes her dress before turning to me. "Stop the fight."

She"s absolutely beautiful when she takes charge. Not that I"ll allow it for long. "No." I move to stand in front of her, effectively taking her out of the conversation and focusing on Daemera. "I"m giving you an option. You can go down there and stop the fight yourself. Or…" I make a white metal pitchfork appear in my hand and hold it out to her. "You can join and show them that they had no right to fight over you."

She stares at the pitchfork for a minute before meeting my eyes, her smile dark on her red lips. "What are the rules?"

"All is fair. You may use your powers as they will be using theirs. The winner is the last person standing after a count of thirty."

Daemera takes the pitchfork from my hand. "Send me in."

I spend most of my time in my arena, but it's rare that I actually make changes to battles that are happening. I watch, making sure everything is fair for all parties. It's why my arena has a bit of everything on the field. There should be no reason a participant is more powerful than the other unless it's a battle for a spot in the ranks. If you can't be someone stronger than you, then you don't deserve the rank.

I use my power to open the barrier for the arena. The demons pause in their fight. My voice projects across the stadium. "There's been a new participant in this match." Crys of outrage ring out from the demons on the field. "You started a battle for exclusivity with a succubus. She's decided to enter the fight and I have granted it." My space has stairs that lead directly to the arena field. I step to the side, giving the demoness the stage. "Daemera. State your terms."

"If I win, neither of them will have access to me ever again. Thy won't even be allowed to be in the same building as me." She stands strong before the crowd. I admire her valor. If she wins, she has a place high among my ranks. Asmodeus won't care that one of his demons has entered a different ring of Hell.

"If you lose?" one of the demons below asks.

The demoness smiles maliciously. "I won't."

Infusing my power into my hand, I hold it out to Daemera. She shakes it and I seal the pact of battle. If she wins, the demons on the field won't be able to be near her or they will burn. A bright white light emanating from our hands seals the deal. She walks down to the field, standing between the fighting demons with her pitchfork in hand. Closing the barrier, I yell out, "Let the battle resume!"

The crowd cheers, and I turn back to Brianna. She rolled her eyes, she topped from the bottom, she demanded things rather than asked. I give her my own malevolent smile.

It's her turn for punishment.