At last, Wretch and Lucifer entered the city. On every street they walked, people would bow before Lucifer, and then hurry away as if frightened.

"They fear me, because I know them," Lucifer told Wretch as an elderly woman scurried away after throwing her a look of mingled jealousy, contempt, and terror. "They know that at any time, I could reveal their hearts to all their friends, and then they would become an object of disdain and hatred for the rest of their lives. They fear me, yet they love me at the same time. It's a pathetic position that they've gotten themselves into."

"Fools," Wretch sneered, leering at a young man who fell to his knees before them, then scuttled away.

As they walked further, they came up to a huge building, made entirely of what looked like frosted ruby. It sat atop a moderate sized-hill, with great half-circles for steps made from onyx leading up to the temple itself. On the steps, temple prostitutes with manacled hands hawked their wares to passers-by, and merchants sold animals to be sacrificed. Several ragged, ugly boys walked around nonchalantly, occasionally dipping their filthy hands into an unwary pedestrian's pocket, then strolling carefully away.

Halfway up, there was a fountain made of copper, which depicted a woman, bound and gagged, tied to an altar. Looming above her was a priest with a long cruel-looking knife. Both had blank staring eyes. One had to look to the mouths to know the intended feelings. The priest's mouth was tight, yet open as if he were starving. The woman's mouth smiled blissfully, as if she did not understand the fate which would befall her.

From the center of the great glittering temple, standing on the roof, rose an idol the size of a large castle. Wretch studied it, her mouth gaping open in awe. It was the image of Lucifer, smiling in his disarming yet sardonic way. The head was made of gold, the chest and arms of gleaming silver, his stomach and upper legs bronze, his calves of iron, and... Wretch had to peer intently to make out the material of the feet, for it was different than the calves.

"Is that... clay?" she asked Lucifer, turning to give him a questioning look.

He grinned. "Yes, it is. The finest porcelain in the kingdom. Mixed in with the finest of iron. To emphasize the strength of our land." Wretch turned her gaze back on the temple, awe widening her eyes. Lucifer laughed, and leaned in close to her ear. "You will see it soon enough, my darling," he whispered. "But first, your royal quarters." Wretch leaned over and kissed him. That sensation that only hours before which happened when their lips locked which had frightened her now drew her. That cold, lustful connection sped her heartbeat, and thrilled her with the sense of danger which she hadn't known before. She was flirting with disaster, but this gave the attraction a stronger gravity. Lucifer pulled back, and winked. "Later," he promised. "We have to arrive first. I want to introduce you to some friends of mine, too."

"I can't wait," Wretch whispered. Lucifer placed his arm around her, and they continued on.

The palace was even more magnificent than the temple. Wretch gasped at the sight of it. Three hundred intricately carved steps of ivory ascended up a hill to meet a gate made of alloyed silver and burnished gold in the shape of a great winged being, the folds of whose robes and the expansion of the wings serving as the door. Crystalline droplets were upon the face of this statue, forming flowing tears. Beneath this ornate door was a paver made from this same clear crystal, looking like the figure had wept itself a salt river. A guard stood on either side of the door, wearing armor of iron styled to look like muscles. The helmet was also of iron, bearing three feather-like spines on either side of the head, and a bar running down the length of the face to conceal the nose. In the hands of each of these guards was an ebony spearshaft, which at the end had attached a spearhead divided in two, with one sticking straight up, with one curling down like a sharp deadly beak. Even Wretch, in her state of delusion, shivered at the sight.

When they spotted their master, both guards bowed, and grabbed the tip of the wing to pull the door open. Wretch walked past them as quickly as possible. The crystal river continued down the length of the hall, pooling into an enormous circle in the center of a grand assembly hall. The crystal lined the sides and bottom of a lily pool the size of a lake. So absorbed with this lovely feature was Wretch that she didn't look at the ceiling. Save for one skylight shaped like a crescent moon, it was completely covered in climbing vines of various breeds. It struck her immediately how very dark everything was inside. Even the few torches hung on the support columns did little to abate it. With the skylight in place, it might have been easier to see if they hadn't been there, so that one could develop a sense of night vision.

The deafening sounds of laughter and splashing came from the lake. Wretch looked closer. Within it were what had to be a hundred women, dressed only in manacles connecting their wrists and grisly black brands on their shoulders, were absorbed in water fights. Wretch looked hard at the tattoo on the nearest girl's shoulder. In the dim light, she could just barely make out the number 6004.

Wretch started to ask Lucifer what the numbers meant, but he had left her side. Looking around, she found him quite a long way away, standing on a platform which jutted into the pool. He held up a pale hand, and all of the women fell silent.

"Ladies," he called. He didn't have to speak very loud. Maybe it was the acoustics of the hall, but his voice seemed to be magnified to make it seem like he was standing right beside you. Lucifer snapped his fingers, and suddenly, Wretch found herself being picked up by the elbows by two large burly guards. She looked over in shock, and saw that they were more of the type who had been chasing her earlier that day. One had a wolf's tail and bear paws for feet, with the head of a giant snake, and the other had an insect's head with pig hooves for hands. She had almost opened her mouth to scream, when she was deposited beside Lucifer. He waved a hand, and they stepped back. "I would like to introduce you to your new sister." His strong hand grabbed Wretch behind the neck, and pulled her to her feet. "This is Wretch."

Wretch studied the faces of the women before her. All were staring at her, and all had looks of intense loathing upon their faces. Many sniggered, pointing to various parts of her body, then whispered to their neighbors, who nodded, and laughed in return. Wretch's face burned with humiliation as she endured the remote scrutiny. She looked down and examined her own body. She wasn't as shapely as some of the women, and her skin was scratched, burned, and dirty. She had several dark bruises developing. Her hands weren't as pale, her ribs not as pronounced, her legs not as long... she went on and on, condemning each of her features in her mind. She looked around the beautiful room, feeling ashamed to be here. She wasn't beautiful enough. She wasn't as experienced in knowing Lucifer's desires as these women, and not as experienced in fulfilling them. Not for the first time that day, she felt herself identifying with the name Lucifer had given her. She looked at the water. What an ugly face she saw. She went through the list of her rather lovely facial features. Meanwhile, the women were laughing behind their hands, and making coarse jokes and insults in loud whispers that easily carried to everyone present.

"Well, Wretch," Lucifer said, making Wretch turn her gaze back on him, "it's time for your initiation into the palace."

He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. All the women cheered as a guard walked forward. With a jolt, Wretch realized that she recognized him. He had run after her bearing chains earlier that day. Now, he approached her with eyes burning with satisfaction. He opened the manacles, and held them up for everyone to see. The insides of the cuffs were lined with spikes. Wretch paled, and tried to escape, but Lucifer caught her, and forced her hands outward. Wretch's eyes bulged as the creature approached, and she struggled in vain against her captor. Lucifer didn't even seem to notice. One of his feet hooked her ankle, and bound her in place, completely helpless to defend herself. The creature came very slowly, seeming to savor every second. Very slowly, he put the open cuffs under her wrists, rested the top gently on the her skin, the spikes irritating her skin, and making her twitch all the more violently for escape. He paused. All of the women who had been shouting, laughing, and jeering seconds ago, fell silent in anticipation. The creature held one fist above, one below. They lingered for a second, then they slammed together.

For a moment, all was blackness. Then, everything came shooting back to her at once. The din of the women assaulted her ears. But all that was almost completely masked by her own scream. Loud high, wailing, desperate, and in such tortured pain and horror. Lucifer nodded, and the fists slammed together a second time, over her other wrist. The spikes ripped through her flesh once more. Another scream burst forth. Lucifer released her, and Wretch almost fell into the pool. She vomited from the pain, continuing to weep and scream in her agony.

"The cuffs have, at this point, driven their spikes through your flesh and stuck into your bone," Lucifer informed her as the pain continued to coarse mercilessly through her body. "It has missed all of your vital veins and arteries and holds closed all else severed, so you shall not bleed to death. It is only the tips of the spikes, so your bone will not be fractured. The tips are, however, stuck quite fast in the bone, so removal of these cuffs is impossible." The women shouted mockeries at Wretch in the moment where Lucifer paused. "If it were possible to remove them," Lucifer continued, pacing above her, "and you were foolish enough to do so, be assured, you would remove your only tourniquet against bleeding to death. You depend on these bonds for your life. Just as you will depend on me." Lucifer leaned down, and dragged her back from the edge of the water, up on a slightly raised platform from which rose some sort of tethering post. He beckoned his hand, and a guard came forward. With a clinking of chains, Wretch's chain between the manacles was fastened to the post. "Bring the iron!" Lucifer called.

Wretch just barely managed to raise her head, and what she saw made her faint. Lucifer slipped on a pair of brass knuckles, and slapped her hard across the face. Wretch came to, her vision swimming. There were two guards- no, one- approaching, holding something which glowed red. Vapors in the surrounding air shimmered with the heat.

"No, please!" Wretch wailed to Lucifer, who stood over her right shoulder with his arms folded. One look at his face showed her that she would obtain no mercy. She was the entertainment for the day. The women laughed to hear her begging for reprieve.

There was a sickening sizzle, and Wretch's scream resounded in the hall once more. All she heard in response was laugher, and applause and cheering. Her skin was burning, no, melting under the heat. Steam poured from her new wound as all the liquids in her skin evaporated all at once. The skin was so badly damaged that it couldn't even blister in response. The brand had stuck slightly, so the creature bearing it jerked it away hard to free it. The parting of company with the brand sent a new wave of agony ripping through her body.

"I present to you," Lucifer shouted, "Number 6667!" Wretch was released from the tethering pole. Before she'd even had a chance to slump to the ground, Lucifer grabbed her just below the brand, and wrenched her arm into the air for all to see. Wretch hung suspended from her new master's hold. Once he was satisfied that all had seen enough, Lucifer threw her aside to land with her wrists underneath her. "This is one who once walked in union with our Enemy!" he shouted. "One with whom He shared His Love! One with whom He promised to become wed! One who once was called His lover, and His bride!" The women booed Wretch, and everyone close enough spat on her, and those too far away threw rocks from the bottom of the pond. "Now," Lucifer continued, and the women stopped to hear his words, "she has chosen me to be her husband instead. She wishes to be joined to me, rather than the One who gave her His protection," this last word was said with an almost acidic sneer. "she has already given herself to me, and held nothing back. She is with child now, and she shall give birth to my son. What shall we name him?"

"Sin!" a concubine shouted, and the rest of them roared their approval. Soon, choruses of "Sin! Sin! Sin!" filled the room.

"In her lust, she has conceived! And she will give birth to Sin! He shall always be a part of her, and he shall always rule over her. She will not be able to resist him. He will have his way with her every moment he desires! May this be the fate of the most beloved of the Enemy, who dared take my glory from me!"

The concubines shouted in malicious delight, and began to chant again. This time, "SPILL HIS BLOOD! RIP HIS FLESH! KILL HIS LOVE!"

"We shall kill His love, ladies," Lucifer shouted with a grin, "but not yet." Then he turned, and looked scathingly down at Wretch. "This is one who desired to give herself to me, body and allegiance," he said softly, yet all present still heard him. "She thought perhaps to join herself to me as my wife. Well, she shall have her wedding night. She shall spend this night in the guard house!" Screams of laughter greeted this news. When Wretch realized what this meant, she began to beg Lucifer for mercy once again, she cowered at his feet, and begged him to spare her. With a look of contempt, he kicked her hard in the face, and sent her sprawling backward. The women laughed once more.

With tears unparalleled by even Lily during these proceedings, One looked on. He watched these things happen, longing to tear all who would dare harm or mock His love limb from limb in order that justice would be served, but He didn't.

He felt every moment of Lily's pain and despair, added to His own grief. "Lily," He whispered, shining tears dampening his robe, "why don't you call Me that I may deliver you?"