I stood in the driveway under a sky full of melancholy clouds to wave at Shawna as she drove away. It had felt good for me to see her; I'd forgotten my anguish for brief periods while she visited. But now? Now I found it hard to breathe, and tears threatened to fall as they swelled, making the world out of focus and watery. I sniffled, and, magically, a handkerchief appeared in front of me, held by a now-familiar well-groomed hand.

Lucifer. He'd been with me almost as much as Shawna in the last several days, though it wasn't clear if it was for my benefit or Shawna's. The two of them flirted incessantly, but when I overheard Shawna ask Lucifer out, he'd declined. She was very disappointed but accepted the rebuff in stride. That was how Shawna worked. I was unlikely to hear about him again; she was of the opinion only stupid men said no to her.

I dabbed my eyes, took a deep aching breath, and sighed. The ocean was fragrant; it had rained in the wee hours of the morning, and now the scent of wet sand and low tide permeated the air. Deirdre.

I sniffled again, wiped my nose, and, frustrated, shoved the cloth in my pocket. I was tired of being tired, tired of my heart throbbing in my chest, tired of how much energy it took to live my life. It was time to look to put some of it behind me. I didn't expect it all to go away, but I knew it would lessen as the months wore on.

"Let's grab George and Angel and go for a walk," I suggested before heading back into the cottage. Lucifer followed close.

"I think that sounds like an excellent idea," he proclaimed. "We can look for nice seashells! They always get washed up during a storm."

I glanced at him, puzzled. "Why would you, of all people, care about seashells?"

"Oh, my dear Olivia, you have no idea the value of such small things when it comes to torturing souls." His tone was solemn yet wistful.

I rolled my eyes. "I still don't know if you're teasing or serious." I was having a hard time imagining Lucifer as anything other than what he presented me; a thoughtful friend. Yet, I knew he exacted punishment for a living. It was a conundrum.

"Perhaps I will show you sometime."

I looked at him and involuntarily shivered. I couldn't tell if his low and weighty voice held a promise or a threat. Either way, Lucifer was different, and I knew, without doubt, while what he shared with me was a genuine part of himself, it wasn't the whole of who, or what, he was.

"I'm... not sure I want to see." I opened the door and scooped up George, who had run to greet me.

"You might, given the right circumstances."

I decided to ignore him and changed the subject. "Where's Angel? I haven't seen him for a few days."

As soon as I mentioned him, a bark echoed from the deck.

"I leave him at home when having him with me would be inconvenient. My assistant adores him, so he's in good hands."

I carried George through the house, but she jumped out of my arms as soon as we got outside, wanting to explore. Angel was gentle in his greeting, and soon, they trotted off together as if they'd been best pals forever.

"Huh. I haven't ever really thought about where you live or what your life is like when you're..."

"Torturing damned souls?" He chuckled, laughing at my avoidance of the topic.

I pursed my lips. "Working. When you're working." I scowled further, and we lapsed into an awkward silence. I deliberately tried to ignore my discomfort surrounding the thoughts of what he might do for his 'job.'

We walked, each wrapped up in our ruminations, along the waterline. The water was getting colder as the fall approached, and fewer and fewer people were on the beach as the tourists left and returned to their daily grinds.

"Oooo... look at this!" Lucifer exclaimed, catching my attention. He was pulling a whole conch shell of enormous size out of the sand, obviously deposited with the high tide with the help of the accompanying storm. "Perfect!" He washed it off in the surf and tucked it into the large front pocket of his hoodie. It bulged there for a moment before a snap of his fingers made it disappear.

"I don't understand why the seashells are important." I hoped he'd explain a bit.

His face turned serious as he gazed at me. "There is no greater torture than longing unfulfilled. Many long for the sea."

I shuddered, a cold chill running up my spine, and we again walked in silence for a time. I had no choice but to break it, however, to address a problem.

"So, I have a confession," I admitted, flushing in embarrassment.

He grinned, eyes narrowing. "Oh? Do tell. I do love confessions. I have heard quite a few during my tenure, and they never get old."

"Stop teasing me!" I couldn't hold back a half-grin of my own. "I'm serious. I know I agreed to this bargain, and I intend to see it through, but I have a problem. I can't snap my fingers. So, fire-snap travel..." I shrugged.

Lucifer stopped and looked at me with wide eyes before howling with laughter. "Oh, that is rich! You had the audacity to agree to a bargain to which you are committed, only you knew you lacked a critical skill to follow through? Olivia, you do have balls, I will give you that."

I pushed at him playfully. "Don't make fun of me! I thought, along with the actual fire traveling skill, the snapping thing might come included with it. Please tell me it does."

He sobered. "I am sorry, Olivia, but it does not. You have to have snapping skills for the travel to work. So, we best get started with a lesson."

He, very patiently, taught me how to snap my fingers and, sooner than I expected, I could do it. During our walk back to the cottage, I practiced learning to do it with both hands, at his recommendation.

We went inside my cottage, and he continued the lesson. "Now, we should work on the fire part. That's also a skill you will need to learn."

"Well, at least that's not something I should already expect to be able to do!"

"True." He nodded. "Now, watch what I do." He snapped and, as his middle finger and thumb rubbed, sparks like the lighting of a match or lighter emerged. A flame came to life, and a portal opened behind him.

At the desk was a beautiful woman. No, not just beautiful, but indescribable, more than stunning. Even though women didn't attract me sexually, she had me spellbound.

Lucifer stepped into my line of sight and caught my gaze, breaking the spell. "Yeah, she would be my sister, Lilith."

"She's your sister?" I exclaimed, peeking around him to see her again. As soon as I glimpsed her, it was as if I couldn't move, couldn't breathe; she was that striking. She looked up, smiled, and gave me a brief wave. I was so dumbstruck, I couldn't return it.

She had light brown hair that hung in ringlets nearly to her waist, expressive brown eyes, and lips parted in greeting to me. I stood in awe.

She spoke to me in a voice I could only describe as melodic. "You must be Olivia. Lucifer has told me quite a bit about you." I desired nothing in the world more than for her to come and touch me. I'd have given my soul for a mere handshake.

Lucifer stepped into my line of sight once more, and I blinked, released. "Um. Wow. Yeah—" I stammered.

"My sister has had many names in many cultures, one of them being Medusa. And now you understand how men were 'turned to stone.''" He snapped his fingers again, closing the portal, then handed me a small box. "Wear this, and you'll be immune to her... charms."

The idea disappointed me, but I knew it was only for the best, so I opened the box. In it, I found a necklace with a tiny and tasteful gold snake pendant. He helped me put it on, and immediately what remained of the spell faded.

"You might see her when you come to the office. She has directions to allow you to enter whenever you arrive."

I nodded. "But I won't ever get there until I learn the fire-snap skill."

"Right you are." He snapped again, and the flame flared briefly before the portal was opening. This time, Lilith was an ordinary, though still not an average, woman at a desk.

I smiled and waved.

He snapped again, and the portal closed. "When you snap your fingers, you must think of the process. How would you create a flame?"

I looked at my hand and imagined a smooth, silver, flip-top Zippo, not one of the cheap but handy, disposable Bic lighters. I pressed my thumb and middle finger together and visualized creating the flame and snapped.

Nothing.

I tried many times, getting more and more frustrated until Lucifer grabbed my hand to get me to stop. "It is obvious whatever imagery you are using is not working. Let us find another way to start a fire." He let go before I protested to him touching me again.

"I was thinking about using a Zippo," I explained. "The only other way I know to create fire is with a match."

"Well then, think of the process of lighting a match. What would you do?"

"I would scrape the head of the match along the striker strip and then watch it ignite."

"Good. Use that."

I did as instructed, and, to my surprise, a spark jumped. But it didn't ignite. I tried several more times with the same results.

"Good! You have made progress, but there is still something missing. Think about it and feel yourself strike the match."

I closed my eyes and did so, flicking my wrist as I did. The portal opened with the now-familiar sound. My eyes opened wide, and I was looking into the office of the Devil.

"Excellent! Well done, Olivia. I have not had a student pick up quite as fast as you."

"Really?" I was quite pleased with myself and tried not to blush from his praise.

"Really," Lucifer reaffirmed. "Now, practice."

I opened the portal, the gateway to my fate, several more times. On the last try, Lucifer stepped through. "Do it again and follow me." The portal closed, and I was left alone.

But now, I had the hang of it. I flicked my wrist as I snapped my fingers, created the portal, and stepped through into Hell.