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The Devil May Care

Part 38

for DuskCypher

by Draconicon

His daughter's barb had hit just as she intended, and despite the pain that came from it, Darith Sertus still felt a hint of pride that his young one could still fight with the best of them in a verbal sparring match. He had thought that she'd been on the ropes, reeling from the reality of it all, but now, he knew that she had just been fending him off with minimal effort until she could get to a point where she could fire off a good parting shot. The fact that it stung was a measure of her own success and advances in life.

The pain lingered for a moment longer, and then it faded, as did his surprise and pride in her. He shook his head, turning from the closed passage that she had disappeared down, shaking his head as he walked back to his throne. Night in Hell had little meaning, as there was no sunlight and nothing else that measured the passing of the hours save for what a demon used to measure it for their own reasons. He himself had little need for it, but there was something to be said for having a house that darkened during the sleep hours and lit during the waking ones. It was a thing to show off, a thing to spark envy in others, and so he had adjusted the House of Sertus to take advantage of the lightning in the ground, weaving spells through the walls to allow for a greater than average set of day and light cycles.

He walked through the minimal lighting that was left now that they were approaching the midnight hours, sitting on his throne and closing his eyes. He tried not to let the memories come, but there had been little enough of late to feel pride over, and that meant that the memories of shame were quick to return.

"She is mine now..."

He could still hear Lucifer's voice, the want and desire and more in the fallen angel's tones that had demanded Selene in the first place. The deal had been made, the power given to Pride, but he had never been sure that the deal had been worth it. Every moment that he spent in Selene's presence since she had escaped from the deal, however, had informed him that even if he had been given ten times what he had been, it would have been worth less than dog-shit.

He growled deep in his throat, running his fingers through his mane to occupy them and ensure that they didn't start ripping holes out of the arms of his throne. They could easily be repaired, but the fact that it would need it at all would be a blow to his own pride. He was better than that. He was Darith Sertus, the ruler of all of Pride, and he...

Never again...

That was his promise to himself. He had seen what came of trusting anything but a demon. Yes, there were demons all across Hell that were even less trustworthy than Lucifer had been, but there were those that had far more faith in their fellow people, as well. Demons, and only demons, understood the trials that they went through, how the realms of Hell had to work together to make for a good life for all those involved. Anything that came from outside could only get a half-understanding of it. They had never lived there.

Dusk, for certain, would never work as a ruler. He brought too many different ideas, had too many hungers to him. Even in that moment, even for the few seconds that they had stood in front of each other, he had felt the Gluttony that burned in the other man's belly, the Lust that oozed from him like an infection. There was Pride there, too, but it was buried beneath his wants, his desires, his everything. There was nothing in that mortal that would make for a good ruler, just someone that would take the power and then put it to their own purposes. It would be Lucifer all over again, filtered through the raw hedonism that only a mortal could ever entirely pull together in such fullness.

I will not...I will not let that happen.

Not now, not when things were finally starting to turn around. The demons were able to strike out for the demons, and that meant that they needed to pick someone of their own ranks to rule their society. No more mortals, no more fallen angels, no more interactions with God. All they needed was the soul of Lucifer, of the devil himself, and it wouldn't matter. Dusk's claim to the throne would be dismissed in seconds, and then they would be back to where they should be in the first place.

Darith's fingers curled tightly as the memories cut through the plans and machinations that he had been working on, filling him with the memory of Selene and her scars. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to cut them out of his imagination, but they were there to stay. The pale fur of his daughter, her white hair parted, her back marked with red and black as her blood ran down her spine and down to her tail. She had been marked again and again, by whips and claws and teeth and who knew what other torture impliments that Lucifer had at his disposal. She had been tortured on a daily basis, no matter how useful she was, no matter her connections.

She had never been valued, and she blamed him for the whole thing happening in the first place. For all that he was a demon of Pride, he knew that she had every right to do that very thing.

But never again. That was his promise. Never, Fucking. Again.

He slammed his fist down on the arm of his throne, and the blow traveled right through it to the floor. The stone surface cratered under him, leaving lines running through the rock and down the steps to the main floor below. Darith stared at the marks, shaking his head, and slowly forced himself to get up, gathering the royal red cloak around him as he did.

Dusk would be dealt with in due time. He had many different demons running through the realms of Hell, spreading the other options that they needed to know. There were demons that would be happy to step forward and take the dark throne, demons that would be a better fit.

And really, the message said, why should a demon allow a mortal to bind them? Hadn't there been enough of that in the old times, when the mortals still had the spells of Solomon and the others? Hadn't they learned the truth of mortal desires when they knew the secrets of being summoned and used and forced into things? Lucifer hadn't protected them from that, and nor had the mortals been kind to them during the summonings. All that the mortals knew was desire, and even then, their understanding was far from perfect. Why would they allow someone like that to take the throne in Hell, establishing a reign that they could never escape?

That was the message. Fear and pride twisted together, something that every single demon would be able to understand, something that all of them would remember from some time past, or would know someone that did. The population of the realms would learn to listen, would see the truth of his ideals.

Mortals are weak. Angels are not to be trusted. Nothing in the world understands us like our fellow demons. We are the embodiments of Vice, of Sin. We know the darkness, and we are not afraid of it. We, of all those that live, should be the ones that determine our destiny...and all others.

That would be the next message, when he was sure that the other one had taken sufficient root and was mulling around in the minds of the other demons. They would feel fear, and then they would feel pride, and then they would feel the desire for power. After all, they were strong in Hell, but they could be stronger still with souls, with the power of the dead mortals on their side, given and traded and used for the empowerment of their goods and weapons...

Darith had it all planned out, but with Dusk actually in Hell, that meant that he needed to adjust the pace of his plans. The plans themselves were all but perfect, but he might need to work faster...depending on what his agents found. The feline that he had sent to the plane would be busy for some time, he was sure, sniffing through the shames that were doubtlessly hidden there, but he had others that he could tap, other little lines of information that might have something for him.

The lion slashed the air with a single glowing claw, and it ripped and formed a hole in reality. He stared through at a dog, a pit bull that he had taken to calling 'Bitch' after the way that it referred to itself. It was a creature of shame and submission, without any pride, but he could give it the credit of knowing what it was and not looking above its station.

"What have you found, Bitch?" he asked, his voice cool, calm, monotone. Yes, that was proper, to show that he was not affected by the distractions of the world. "Is there anything worthwhile in your service?"

"Mmmph, there's much fun here, sir. Master Dusk gives me everything...makes me feel good..."

"Be quiet about your lusts and hunger. I do not care for it."

"Sorry sir, I will, sir."

"Now, what do you know of him? What do you know from being in his service?"

"Oh, much, much," the dog said, nodding its head rapidly, grinning like the fool that it was. "I know how much he likes, how much he prefers men, how much he loves to be with us all the time. Every hour, every day if he can. Lust burns hot in him, and he feels so good."

Darith resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He had expected such a focus of a demon of Lust, but the barrage was hardly something that he enjoyed. He would have preferred to have something more direct than that, but at the very least, he had confirmation that there was more lust to the mortal than many of the other Sins. A simple enough thing and common enough among those that walked on the surface of the earth, but a worthwhile reminder to the other demons that there was much to be concerned about when it came to those that didn't have the Sins in balance.

And neither did Lucifer, for all that he could use all of them...

He stewed in that anger for a moment, then dismissed it. It was not a useful feeling, and he would be better off, more full of Pride, if he wasn't distracted by it.

"Is there anything besides his appetites for you that you can tell me?" Darith asked, crossing his leg over the other, resting his hands on the arms of his throne again. "Or are you merely to regale me of what has happened to you in his 'care'?"

"Oh, um...um..."

"Are you so useless, Bitch, that I must reclaim the souls that you were paid with?"

"No, no!"

"Then tell me something that I may use, Bitch. Or I will rip them from your flesh."

The souls had been an investment, something that was meant to show that the lion had power and resources that others did not. However, the souls were not to be spent carelessly, and if his agent did not give him what he needed, then he would take back his investment, whether they had been spent already or not. He tapped his fingers as the pit bull desperately wracked his mind.

"Um, um, he doesn't want this."

"...What do you mean?"

"He doesn't want the dark throne."

"...Interesting. And you can testify to this?"

"I could, yeah, yeah, sir."

"Hmmm..."

"Sir?"

"Nothing. But remember that, and do not allow yourself to forget."

That was something that was doubtlessly a lie on the part of the feline. No matter how much the mortal might have been consumed by the other, lesser vices, he had no reason to believe that Dusk would be willing to overlook the potential of being the dark ruler of Hell, the Second Satan, the one that ruled the Sins and commanded the demons. Nobody that had a hint of power and that level of ambition and Gluttony would be able to turn down that possibility. However, if he had Bitch testify as to what Dusk had said...

Yes, that would be offensive to the pride of many demons. Hearing that they had put out so much effort for someone that never intended to follow through? And hearing it from someone in Dusk's own employ, rather than something from Darith and his wife, who would be seen as biased against the feline in general?

You might have been careful with us, keeping your neutrality, but you should have watched what you said to your servants, Mr. Von Doom.

"Is...is that enough, sir?" Bitch asked.

"Yes. For now, that is sufficient."

"Then..."

"You may keep the souls. I will be in touch."

He swiped his hand through the air, and the portal disappeared, the rent in reality repaired. He leaned back on the throne, tapping his fingers together. This was a most interesting possibility, and he feasted on it, focusing on his feeling of success, and used it to hold back the rage that would have come from the other memories.

Dusk cocked his head to the side as the portal closed, waiting for Bitch to turn back to him. The pit bull immediately went to all fours, lowering himself to the ground and almost beating his head against the stone floor of the bedchamber.

"Fucking shitty cat. You assholes really get cocky, don't you? Fucking hell, why did you make me -"

"Shut up. It's done now, and you did it perfectly."

"I swear I can still taste his ass on my tongue from kissing it that long."

"Keep it up, and you'll be kissing mine again."

For all that he had broken Bitch down, the pit bull still had a mouth on him. He got turned on by being under felines, that much was clear, but that didn't mean that he didn't complain about it. It was probably something to get Dusk or one of the other felines in the entourage or brothels to fuck him that much harder.

Dusk sighed, rubbing his forehead. "It will be interesting to see what he does with something so useless. I doubt that there's anything he can get out of that, but it'll be a lesson for me and him."

For Darith, to learn that there was someone that was almost as smart as him in the building at that moment, and for himself, to learn what a Pride demon might be able to pull out of so little. Dusk had learned that there were others out there that were as smart as he was, that were as ruthless as he could be, and he needed to learn those lessons if he wanted to keep what he had. There was little point in pretending that he was the best when he had yet to prove it in front of all the demons of Hell.

As he leaned back on his bed, one leg up over the other, there was a knock at the door. He arched an eyebrow at the sound.

"Did you invite other playmates, Bitch?" Dusk asked.

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"Hmmm."

"What, you think I'm gonna show off what kind of fuck-toy you turn me into? Fucking no thanks."

The door opened of its own accord, and standing on the other side was, of all people, Lilith. The white-haired, older lioness smiled as she stepped in, bearing a weight on her shoulder that looked almost familiar. However, he didn't recognize it until the rabbit was dropped on the edge of the bed and bounced a few times. He arched an eyebrow at Balthus being so beaten and battered - metaphorically speaking, in this case - and then turned back to the well-dressed lioness. She had shifted her clothing, this time standing in something that was almost like lingerie, something that cupped her hips and lifted her ass, and she had several stains along her body.

"...I must admit, I never expected to see someone in Pride sporting so many marks of Lust."

"Oh, dear, darling, you simply must adjust that way of thinking. Pride is stiff and prick-ish, but that is only one side of it. After all, what is Pride but the ability to feel wonderful about what you are?"

Of all the ways to define Pride before, he had to admit that wasn't one of them. He did, however, smile. There was an easy feeling around Lilith, something that her daughter and her husband seemed to lack. They both had this intensity to them that made it difficult to really relax, but with the more mature lioness, it was almost like being around the guys in Lust. She had this happiness, this freedom to her, that just put him at ease in a way that was both enticing and a little bit dangerous. He made sure to keep hold of that latter feeling, not wanting to slide too far down that particular road.

"I suppose that would make sense. Do you take pride in being something of a whore, then?"

"Whores get paid. I was a slut."

"...Yet again, you surprise me."

"Something else to be proud of, eh?"

She chuckled, running a finger down the wall and calling a new shape from it. She demanded a chair, and she got it. Bitch was quick to move out of the way, going to the door and standing beside it. He arched an eyebrow, asking wordlessly if he should go, and more, whether he should come back with others.

Rather than answer, Dusk snapped his fingers. Black warmth overwhelmed the pit bull, wrapping around him until he had completely disappeared. The spell to send him back to the Hellspire had been quick and easy, and it meant that there was no way for Darith to easily get hold of the pit bull to question his answers. All the better for his side of the plan, and it meant that he could keep Bitch out of the way until it came time to reward him for his acting. For all that he had been a pain about doing it, he had undergone his task quite well.

They were soon alone save for the unconscious Balthus laying face-down on the bed. Dusk rested his hand on the rabbit's ass, rubbing it slowly as the lioness got comfortable.

"Do you regularly go out and rut demons of Lust to unconsciousness?" he asked.

"Oh, not as much as I used to. Darling, I used to roam alllll over Hell in my younger days, before I got married. Even after that, it was still better than it is now. Back when Darith and I had an understanding. A better way of seeing the world back then, before Lucifer started to muck it all up."

"What kind of understanding?"

"Oh, open relationships, that kind of thing," she said, waving her hand. "He liked the idea of me being so good that everyone wanted me, and he wanted me to keep that reputation. That meant that when I showed him the slightest bit of genuine affection, everyone knew where my wants really lay. He got his pride, and I got my pleasure."

"...Odd, but I suppose that works for you."

"It works, baby, and then some."

"I imagine you did most of the 'working' when you were single."

"Oh, honey, you have no idea. Do you think that I was one of those lionesses that focused on fighting and preening? Oh, no, no, no...I wouldn't have done anything like that. I knew what I wanted, and I knew what I needed to be to get it. Hot. Sexy. Mmm, a little air-headed." She chuckled. "Selene didn't inherit all of that, but she got enough of a fun-loving side from me to keep from turning into her father."

"Selene? Fun-loving?"

"Get her drunk, hon, and you'll see someone that puts a Lust demon to shame real fast."

Every time that she spoke, it was like something in his head short-circuited. It was so very different from someone of her age stereotypically acted, and he kept wondering if he was hearing things wrong. He shook his head, trying to focus on the conversation.

"So, other than returning my property, anything that you wished to discuss?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. Two things, specifically. One about my husband, and one about you...and my daughter."

"You have to know by now that I have no intentions on her."

"Oh, goodness, do you think I care about something like that right now? Besides, I know that you would never come near pussy. Why do you think I walked in here like this?"

"Because you're an exhibitionist?" he wagered.

"Well, of course that. You can't have a body like mine without wanting to show it off all the time, but that's different. No, no, I know what you really want, Dusk, and that is more than sufficient for me to be sure that she'll be safer with you - for now- than she ever was with Lucifer.

"No, no, I want to talk with you about my husband first."

Dusk nodded. Knowing that the bed was giving all sorts of wrong ideas, he reached out himself with the powers of Pride and Envy. For all that he had yet to claim any real authority here in Hell, he didn't want someone looking down on him, nor did he want someone looming over him. He reached into the stone floor and pulled.

Out came a great throne that stood taller than the lioness's chair by over a foot, streaked through with the same lightning that covered the grounds and building. Unlike in the other surfaces, however, the lightning in his throne moved, arcing from place to place beneath the stone, refusing to stay in one spot. He stretched the arms up and forward, making them look like grasping hands, the lightning ready to fire from the fingers at a moment's notice.

Then he sat down, shaking his head. He got comfortable, and gestured for her to continue.

"Show-off." She smiled. "Perhaps you'll fit in here better than you think."

"Perhaps, and perhaps I'll take off and never see it again after today."

"You would be better off going all the way back to the mortal world and leaving the devil's power behind if you wanted that, dear." She shook her head. "Then you would never have to deal with my husband and his most exasperating stupidity ever again."

"He's that bad?"

"He's stuck-up, these days, tortured by...I suppose you mortals would call them inner demons, but really, he's a melancholy drag of a man. Not nearly the sort of lion that I married all those years ago. At least back then, he had some personal ambition, but now? Ugh."

"What's happened?"

"Oh, you know that sort of Pride where you think that you're the best person in the room, the people like you are the second best, and just about everyone else is scum?"

"Species-ist?"

"Right in one, darling, right in one." She rubbed her forehead, sighing. "I certainly understand the ego - goodness knows that we all have one, and we Pride demons are worse than most - but that is just getting too far. We need mortals, and we need the connection to the other realms to prosper. The way that he sees things..."

"Selene has warned me to some extent what to expect."

"Oh? And has she told you that we're more or less a split family?"

"...She's implied it."

"Well, honey, let me confirm it. We are as broken as my ass was when I was still single."

"...That's an image. I hope that you gave as good as you got."

"I did, but focus on the important things, honey."

As Lilith laid out the situation, he had to admit that he was surprised at the sheer breadth and knowledge that someone that seemed so ditzy had of the politics in Hell. The whole of the seven realms was consumed with a growing schism between two camps. One was called the Demon Supremacists, and the other called the Mortalists. He cocked his head to the side at the sound of the latter.

"It feels more like they want someone dead."

"Well, in some ways, yes. They want to keep the souls flowing, to have the world above connected to us properly, sometimes sending purge squads up-"

"That would be a hard one to sell."

"Well, it's a dream, but it also focuses on having someone like you on the throne of Hell. Not someone like Lucifer, not one of us, but someone that would, theoretically, live with the Sins rather than be owned by them."

Dusk nodded. For all that the demons embodied the different vices, lived the different Sins, they were also bound by them. The nature of the Sin that they were born into meant that they were forced to live with that as their governing philosophy. And while that did change - Lilith was living proof of that, showing that she could live as a proud slut rather than just a prude that shut out the rest of her life - they were still bound within strict limitations if they wanted to keep their power. He tapped his finger against his chin, imagining how it would go with a mortal, instead.

Hypothetically speaking, that was why Selene had forced him to incorporate his own soul again, absorbing and subsuming Lucifer's soul into it. It had a balance of the different Sins in it, something that allowed a mortal to take in that sort of power and ensure that it didn't completely obliterate them the way that it did those that tried it in the past. Without that, then the power of the devil was something that would inevitably devolve into one Sin or another, favoring one realm over another.

And if Lucifer had been that angry in the past, then that would explain why he had such a connection to the Wrath demons, and why he had pushed so hard at Pride. As a former archangel, that would mean that he had been flipped, corrupted, and his own Virtue had been twisted to its corresponding Vice. That would explain a lot, actually, as to why he had been able to fit in down here as long as he had...

"Are you hearing me, honey?"

"Yes, I'm hearing you. It sounds like you have some...preference...towards a mortal ruler yourself."

"I'm willing to take a chance on it, yes."

"And why with me?"

"Well, that is part of our second conversation, but to finish the first..." She leaned forward. "My husband has connections that Brutus Diel could only dream of. He has his fingers in the pockets of the Greed Oligarchs, and he has already made overtures to the Brothelic Houses. So far, your alliances seem to be holding firm, but the more that he pushes about the different possibilities of demon self-rule, the more that you will have to watch out for. He's very, very good at slipping into places you don't expect."

"...Wrong hole experiences?"

"Darling, there is no such thing as the wrong hole with me. It's more which is right right then." She chuckled. "But keep an eye out, darling. My daughter's ambitions are far stronger than mine, and I have decided to back her play this time around."

"Because of her?"

"Because of her."

He nodded. That meant that there would be no convincing her that his cause was the right one. This was an entirely emotional decision on the part of the lioness, which meant that she could change her mind at any time if she felt that her daughter wasn't being treated right. He needed to remember that and focus on keeping the illusion that they were always on the same side strong. Selene would probably help with that; the efforts of the Queen of Pride on their side could hardly be discounted.

"I will remember that."

"Mmm, see that you do. You have a handsome face. It would be a pity to scar it."

"You would have to work hard to do that."

"Darling, do you think I do anything less with everything in my life?"

Considering the way that she had brought an unconscious Lust demon in as part of her introduction, he had little doubt of that. He looked down at Balthus again, shaking his head a few times.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"See that you do, sweet one. And treat my girl good. She deserves so much more, now that she's free from Lucifer. Frankly, I don't know why she's settling for you, but that's her choice."

"...Thanks, I think."

"Mmm, you are a good boy. And that makes you ever so nasty."

The demoness chuckled, patting him on the head before getting to her feet. As she left the bedroom, he wondered just how he had gotten this entangled with someone that was so very different to what the stereotypical demon was, but he wasn't going to question it too much. The fact that he had an ally against someone that was trying to take over Hell - either for himself or for someone else - meant that he had to keep his eyes peeled, and he needed every ally that he could get if he wanted to avoid becoming a dictator for his own safety.

As he leaned back on the bed, Balthus groaned and slowly lifted his head from the sheets. The sandy-furred rabbit rolled onto his back, twitching his fingers and curling his toes. His balls looked utterly shriveled, as if they had been drained by a machine rather than someone else. He cocked his head to the side.

"What happened to you?"

"Oooooh..."

"She was that good?"

"The Pride of the Party always was..."

"She had a name? Impressive."

"She was that good."

"Not as good as me?"

"Mmmm...the only one that ever came close. And she never lost her touch, it seems."

And never quite forgot the pleasures of being out of her own relationship, either. If she had gone that hard with Balthus despite being married to that other lion, that meant that she had her own temptations, and her power of Pride probably demanded that she indulge in what she needed, what she prided herself on. Definitely something that he could work with, something that he could play off if he really had to.

Even though it had completely exhausted his demon, he at least got some information out of the whole thing. That was worth Balthus probably not being useful tomorrow.

He reached down, idly touching the rabbit's cock, and he wasn't surprised to find that it didn't respond to a simple touch. He chuckled, shaking his head as Balthus groaned under his breath, turning his head to the side, huffing and puffing.

"That sensitive still, hmm?"

"Mmmph. You have no idea."

"Just what did she do to you?"

"Sucking, vaginal, anal, titjobs, footjobs. Basically, you name it, and she did it, boss."

That was impressive. He had expected her to keep it relatively vanilla, just repetitive. It seemed that she had done quite a bit more than one would have expected.

"I'm assuming that you aren't good for anything tonight?"

"Only if you want me to lie down and take it. Sorry."

"Outfucked by a Pride demon."

"Pride of the Party, Master. She's been everywhere, done everything, and everyone."

Guess that's why she has more of an open mind, he thought, shaking his head at the closed door. She had gone all over Hell, rather than staying here at home. Possibly as a messenger for her husband once she had gotten married, but definitely as a free spirit before that. She had enjoyed the touch and taste of all the different realms, and that meant that her Pride came from something different than her own sense of self-perfection. It came from something more helpful, something that lifted others up rather than dragged them down.

She would definitely be someone to watch out for, though. Lord Sertus would probably be the one that would judge him wanting for what he was doing, but she would be the one to carry out a punishment if he ever veered from the path that he had taken thus far. If Selene showed the slightest bit of disagreement with him, then he could probably bid farewell to Lilith's support. Even a quiet approval from her would help his chances in keeping his head and Lucifer's power to no end, and any loud support...

Well, he needed everything that he could get.

The End

Summary: Darith has some regrets of the past, and Dusk has some plans to sow.

Tags: M/F, nudity, lingerie, lion, lioness, pit bull, slavery, Hell, teasing, politics, worldbuilding, series, magic, negotiating,