Sorry for keeping you waiting for so long. I wasn't even sure if I should actually post this chapter as it contained so much violence, Finally I cut it in half, but it is still very violent as it features Dromos death. So if you dislike graphic and bloody content I'd recommend you to skip it completely. The following chapter will be lighter in tone as it will take place on Earth.
XII. It is the destiny of the weak to be devoured by the strong. – Otto Prince von Bismarck
Lucifer had no clue why he followed his crapulous companion on the straight, stone paved road towards the uptown part of the city but it felt pressing to do so, and he could always rely on his guts. The expensively dressed demon led the way, stumbling and swaying due to the amounts of brew, his shirt hanging out and his velvety jacket slightly splotched. Lucifer had to steady him more than once, a habit from LUX, no doubt; the street's cobblestones were a bit slippery, too, and didn't help.
Garm followed in the distance, almost unnoticed by bystanders, as his lord had required with a sign from his right. The hellhound's black hair bristled more than once when picked up a trail. But then this place had a considerable surplus of Lilim, and their scent was almost the same, being children of Lilith.
The hot, ashy air swirled over the street, but the grime almost didn't settle on it, the buildings or the stone. One of the reasons Lucifer had picked it as the spot to build his capital. The air flow from the eye above provided a light and steady current and kept the awful soot at bay.
After what he would have considered half of a human hour of walk they reached the residence of his yet nameless acquaintance.
It was a well-kept place, the front door large with shiny locks. So Lilim! The entrance hall was simple, but two stitched tapestries with Earthly hunting scenes from the 18th century were hanging at opposite walls. He stepped closer to inspect one of them. Not humanmade, but very similar to the real deal, even the clothing accurate. The Devil made a mental note to find the atelier which had done it. He could redecorate and keep dozens of demons busy for a while.
In the hall a table with a silver statue of beasts fighting was the main eyecatcher and at the far corners of the entrance stood dark, richly crafted wooden chairs with cabriole legs and shell features. 'Very Queen Anne', Lucifer thought. Light furniture for a slender demon. Almost female.
The Morningstar followed his host silently when the later reached his bedchamber and simply fell like a cut tree, not caring to undress.
"You may rest here. Or take the next room. As you wish!"
Then he garbled something Lucifer couldn't decipher properly - even with his supreme hearing.
The Devil looked around.
He encountered little more furniture than in the Detective´s bedroom, but it was exquisite: a low poster bed, a chest at its footrest, a high boy dresser and a vanity with its chair. All made of rich brown wood. The whole lot Queen Anne again. Everything crafted after a hell loop, no doubt about it. There were soft cushions, a thick plaid. Comforters even!
Demons did not crave for softness or beauty. It wasn't in their nature.
His nose picked up the scent of five more demons nearby. Lucifer whispered for Garm and the hound almost instantly appeared by his side. There was no weapon within his reach, the stool pigeon already grinning on the bed, knife in hand and definitely not drunk.
"Dromos was right. You have gotten soft and easy to deceive."
"It that so? Do you really think I would have stumbled into an ambush without knowing?"
Instinctively Lucifer rearranged his sleeve's length, trying to look relaxed while assessing the situation.
"You might have lured me to your place but only because I needed a better lead. No demon is friendly or helpful. It's not your default setting." The incisors he showed reflected the poor light just as the dagger in the hand of his opponent. "It is remarkable how much time and resources Dromos has employed to get me near him. He couldn't have just come to the throne and spared us so much trouble, could he?"
The dagger missed his face by a hands width, but he didn't move at all.
Merely grinning the Devil demanded: "As you obviously aren't the owner of this place: Where is my host?" He turned around to face to the doorway as he heard heavy footsteps on the granite floor. "Dromos, don't be rude and bow to your king!"
Dromos stepped into the room, seconded by four robust Lilim.
"Or what? May I remind you that we do not owe you any subserviency!"
The muscular and impressive demon wasn't in the priest's body anymore, the flesh surely rotting in a simple grave, slowly digested by maggots and carrion insects. He looked despicable nonetheless with his deep set, tiny yellowish eyeballs, far too small for the body they belonged to. Lucifer pondered how they would look in a martini glass after being pulled out of their sockets. Clearly not as pretty as pickled onions served in a Gibson.
He raised his chaps in disdain and pushed his hands into his pockets.
"Oh Dromos! You have clearly shown that you can't be left without supervision! So here I am – as your Dad-sent nanny! Your mother would have rejected breastfeeding you if she knew how whiny you became when you had gotten on Earth looking for a skirt to cling on!"
As expected Dromos rushed toward Lucifer's spot, couldn't stop and crashed into the wall while the Devil just moved one step aside - like a beginner aikidoka. No effort was required to deal with him.
"Playing bullfight, Dromos? You know how that ends, don't you? Balls for dinner, that is."
The demon shook his head, squinted and ran against its target while the brethren hissed, waiting for the outcome. They licked their lips in anticipation of bloodshed and were not disappointed.
The King of Hell had stretched his right to receive Dromos' front and impact. The Lilim managed to scratch the torso enough to make it spill blood and get a hold of pieces of skin, but stumbled and collided into the vanity's mirror, pushed by the sheer force of his adversary. Glass blasted everywhere, covering the carpet, the comforter with the slim demon on top, and about any wooden surface in the room. Lucifer's boots crunched as he fought back, digging his claws into the usurper's visage, pulling skin of nose and cheeks, and exposing the zygomaticus as well as the risorius. Dromos howled in pain but didn't back off. A true warrior, he fought, dagger in hand, but the Devil had foreseen his move and unarmed him swiftly, the forged metal thrown against a bedpost, slicing it and burying the likewise segmented head of the bed's inhabitant below the heavy curtains. The lithe demon wasn't even able to emit a sound.
When Lucifer newly caught the head of the Lilim, already removing the trigonum caroticum of his adversary with one claw, he ordered, partially severing the neck with the other:
"That's enough, Dromos! Surrender or succumb!"
Heavily panting the addressed creature of Hell tried to escape his torturer by driving the elbows into the abdomen of his antagonist but the Devil's physique was harder than the wall the Lilim had encountered before. With great effort Dromos rolled backward, muscles and tendons of the lower head exposed, while his blood streamed freely over the rug, mixing with the dripping from the ruined bed.
Lucifer let loose and watched with composure how the partially skinned Lilim lay on the back staring at him. The breathing rustled but Dromos was still very much alive and as long as that was the demon posed a lethal threat to every human and especially to any close to him. Lucifer also had four more witnesses waiting for him to act and respond accordingly.
Rearranging his attire he moved towards his audience. He faced the first Lilim.
"Give me your blade! You don't want Dromos to cease from existence just by being scoffed up."
The demon hesitated and the Devil was obliged to slit the throat swiftly with his index claw before he stretched his right out to the next one.
"The blade! Now!"
The dark Lilim who had been standing by the wooden door gave him both knifes wordlessly, lowering the gaze as well as therefore acknowledging its Lord's position. The demon knelt immediately while the others remained still in the distance.
Dromos watched motionless as the Lord of Hell stood over him.
"You might not deserve this, but your sister would not approve if I didn't give you the death of a warrior."
The Devil severed the head before the Lilim drowned in its own blood.
One Lilim in the hallway cried out and suddenly several dozen of Lilim warriors appeared in the building, a trampling avalanche destroying everything on their way to the bedroom.
"Well, I take it you are not Heaven sent." The Devil sighed deeply. "You are also not likely to comply." He grabbed the Hell-forged blade while the hound positioned itself at his side. "Very well then."
With that all Hell broke loose.