Chapter 3

The Devil's Bride…

Charlie couldn't believe it. He had been tricked by Devine into attending the ritual. Not long after he left the store, Devine sent him another text:

You really can't miss it,

Mom will be there

She wants to see you.

Charlie had always had a soft spot for his mother, Lilian. And Devine knew well enough to take advantage of that. After the argument between Charlie and Luther, Charlie left the house and never saw his parents to date. He missed his mom, and all the while, couldn't care less about his dad. After the fight, Charlie's parents went to hell to serve alongside Lucifer on a special assignment from their time of ruling the Daivie for more than a thousand years. Charlie was supposed to be the one to go for this assignment, but he refused, leading to the argument with his father, and then his leaving the underworld.

Luther then temporarily put Hiva, his right-hand man and former servant, also known as "the elder," in charge of the Daivie since Charlie didn't want to rule. Hiva wasn't a descendant of Lucifer. He was once a human who became transformed into a devil by Luther under the night of a red moon, so asides from being an ordinary demon, he had no ancestral blood to rule the throne. Only a naturally born demon who carried the blood of Lucifer had the authority to rule over a demon kingdom.

So there Charlie stood, amid the other Daivienians, watching as the elder performed the ritual. He eyed his brother who stood amongst the crowd with a wide grin on his face. They were proclaiming the final incantations when Lucy, one of the strongest members of the clan, interrupted with a loud voice:

"I sense the presence of a mortal, I ignored it at first but now I feel it so strongly. And it's been here for a long time."

"Impossible," Hiva objected, "no mortal can go through the portal unless someone made access in the human world."

Everyone turned to look in Charlie's direction then, as he was the only demon who had come through the human world. Also, he was unfamiliar with the happenings of the Makkue ritual, having not attended one for over 500 years, so it was expected for him to have made such a silly mistake.

Charlie left the portal open as it didn't cross his mind that any fragile human would be dumb enough to enter a building that had been abandoned for years along a deserted street in the middle of the night, not to talk of a strange portal inside of it. Of course, he was wrong.

"Has it seen us?" Hiva asked Lucy

"Yes, I felt its eyes upon us. The ritual has been corrupted," she responded.

Hiva got angry upon hearing this.

"Find it," he ordered. "Its blood will make up for the disruption it has caused tonight."

Charlie felt bad for this human. Having lived on earth for a long time, he kind of developed a soft spot for the mortals, and now one was about to be sacrificed to Lucifer because of him.

He should not just be blaming himself though, he should also be blaming the idiot who tricked him into coming here.

***

Stacy didn't have the slightest idea of where she was. She had stepped into the portal which had closed behind her just as she entered, and now she didn't know how she could get out. Everywhere was filled with thick fog and she could barely see, she could barely make out her surroundings. What had she just gotten herself into?

She just kept on wandering for a while until she spotted a group of people in the distance, they were in some sort of strange gathering. The fog didn't let her see clearly, but from what she could make out, they didn't look like normal people to her, they had huge horns on their heads and wore thick robes, they also had huge black wings on their backs. Why did their costumes look so real? She got really frightened and hid behind a big rock. Am I dreaming? She asked herself, praying that she should be.

Just then, she noticed someone in particular who stood out from the rest of them. This was because he was the only one who looked familiar. She squinted her eyes further and recognized him. It was the man from the store! What is he doing here? Is he one of them?

He also wore the same costume, so he must be.

Maybe he knows a way out. I'll go to him when they finish and ask him, she thought to herself.

Before she knew what was happening, two of them left the gathering and flew towards where she was, grabbing her by the wrist, and taking her with them to the meeting point. She'd been very quiet, and she just got here. How in hell did they figure out her hiding place?

***

Charlie couldn't believe his eyes. There in chains in front of him and the other Daivienians stood the lady he had been drooling over at the store yesterday, about to be sacrificed to Lucifer.

"Foolish mortal," Hiva yelled angrily, "you will pay for what you have done with your life!"

Stacy was shocked by what she was seeing right in front of her. She was even more astounded by the fact that she just heard she was about to die. Even though life sucked in a way, she certainly hadn't planned on dying today. The two demons standing behind her then brought her down to her knees.

"No please," she begged, "I don't even know where I am! I have no idea what's going on!!!"

The situation was really tense, and Stacy was still yet to find out what all this was for, but now if nothing at all, there's one thing she's sure of; the horns and wings on these people weren't costumes.

She kept on begging as the were about to cover her head with a black cloth, all her pleas fell on deaf ears.

Charlie had to do something, he couldn't just stand there and watch her get killed. Just as Hiva drew out his sword to execute Stacy, Charlie yelled:

"STOOOOOOOP!"

"How dare you try to execute the bride of a pure descendant?" He raged.

Everyone turned to look at him in shock, including Stacy.

"My Lord. What is this you speak of?" Hiva asked.

"The woman kneeling before you is my bride, to whom I have proposed marriage."

"Impossible!"