Chapter 28
Although the cold weather outside persisted, the Hotel remained a warm haven. The occupants enjoyed the heat from Trevor and Blitzo's latest invention, the Hellfire Oven.
Of course, that was for those that actually wanted to be inside.
Outside, Trevor and Vaggie were throwing snowballs at each other. It started when Vaggie said how she never played with snow in her past life, and never got the chance in Hell. Trevor then got the idea to throw a snowball at her, which escalated into a snowball fight.
Trevor looked around. Vaggie was nowhere in sight. He figured that she was hiding so she could gather up snowballs. He slipped to all fours and crawled between the snow piles made from plowing. He could hear her gathering up snow on the other side of a pile.
He snuck a peak behind it. Vaggie was looking over the edge of the pile to see where he was. Using the distraction, Trevor opened his mouth slightly and breathed a small stream of fire that melted her snowballs.
He ducked back behind the pile and heard Vaggie's gasp of surprise. Smiling at his victory, he jumped on top of the snow pile and threw a snowball at her. She yelled in shock.
"Agh, hey! No fair!" she complained.
"All's fair in warfare," Trevor whispered mysteriously, before dropping a bigger snowball on her and disappearing behind another snow pile.
He then felt a pang in his gut. An instinct that someone was watching him.
He looked across the street to the building opposite the Hotel. One of the upper floor windows was darkened, but Trevor could see a flash of light from a pair of binoculars.
Trevor, in a moment of brilliance, spat a ball of relatively cool hellfire into his hand and began to shape it. When it was perfectly formed, he chucked it at the window. A loud scream was heard as the fire burned.
"What the hell?" Vaggie exclaimed.
"Spy," Trevor explained. "Someone's watching us."
"Let's go back inside."
Lucifer's Palace
"They're on to us," the agent said. "They ran inside as soon as he burned Jag."
"Very well," the King of Hell replied. "You are dismissed."
The agent and his associates left the room at a polite pace. Lucifer crushed the hell iron paperweight in his hands.
"My Lord," Deag Grav said, "there is a demon who wishes to speak to you."
"What's his name?" Lucifer asked.
"Hugo Rodriquez."
Lucifer was caught off-guard by the name. He recognized the last name from Vagatha Rodriquez, the whore who broke up with his daughter.
"Let him in."
The demon who came in was clearly very similar in appearance to Vaggie, down to the height. Lucifer could sense the sin of this man.
"What brings you here, Mr. Rodriquez?" Lucifer asked.
"I heard of your little issue with Williams," the short demon replied. "His girlfriend is my daughter, and I want her back. I'm willing to help you in any way I can."
The former archangel smiled. Now it all made sense. Why Vaggie went out with Charlie in the past, why Trevor was so protective of her, and why the two were so close.
"I'm happy to have you assist," Lucifer answered. "Actually, do you sing?"
"I've done some singing in my time. May I ask why, my Lord?"
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. The Deag peeked inside.
"There's someone else to meet you," he said.
"Thank you, Grav," Lucifer sighed, before turning back to Hugo. "I'll tell you when it's time. Now, if you'll excuse me..."
The demon bowed and left the room. Lucifer took a moment to compose himself, before turning to the door.
"Come in."
The door opened slowly, revealing a black hallway. Three pairs of blood red eyes appeared, and a black fog poured out from the doorway. Three long saurian necks carried the eyes to Lucifer.
"Hello, demon," they said in growling voices that Lucifer recognized.
He was taken back to the day he took Hell. He stood over the body of the giant dragon, each of it's hundreds of heads burned until they were unrecognizable. On the balcony where Lucifer would soon stand, a ghastly figure in black robes stood, sober and upset at the death of his beloved pet.
"No," Lucifer gasped. "I killed you, two thousand years ago."
"My body was killed," the eyes said. "My soul was made immortal by the Lord Hades, the one you slaughtered in your unholy conquest."
"He is no Lord. I am the only Lord here!"
"By illicit means did you take his throne. You conquered and killed, not just him, but his Lady and his children. You have no heart, no soul, and soon, no strength."
"I am immortal! I can only be killed by God himself, and he is gone!"
"That may be so, but don't count on it, Satan." The misty necks circled Lucifer like snakes. "Soon, you will lose your hold on this pathetic husk you call a body, and I will take my Master's kingdom back."
"You will take nothing! I killed your Master! I slaughtered his family! I am the King of Hell!"
"These are chthonic lands, this is a chthonic palace,"
The eyes rose to the ceiling.
"and we will have our revenge."
In a fraction of a second, the fog and it's eyes retreated back through the doorway. Lucifer was left there, standing in confusion and anger.
"My Lord?" The Deag peeked again through the door. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, Grav," Lucifer said, calming himself. "Tell me, have you ever heard of Don Juan?"