How could he have been so stupid as to let her see his true eyes? He made a childish mistake, one he was taught to avoid because mortals didn’t react the same way to the tampering of their minds. In the worst-case scenario, they could go nuts; in the best, they had headaches. For his own sake, he hoped Mina only got the minor side effects.

But be it as it may, he needed to call Lilith and report everything that happened … more importantly, his faux pas. Looking for his cellphone back in the living room, Vergil touched the speed dial and waited, hoping his mother would answer it but the ringing continued until the recorded message played. He dialed again, this time to one of his mother’s bodyguards.

“Where is the queen?” The hellish prince didn’t even let the demon say hello.

“Back at Hell, my lord.”   

“Perfect!” he growled before hanging up and returning to the bedroom lost in his thoughts.

A twinge of pain ran through his aroused member, reclaiming his attention and reminding him that his body needed release. Vergil combed his platinum white hair with long fingers and sighed as he looked at the woman sleeping on the bed. You may not like what you have forced me to do, my dove, but either way, you will never know.

He put on a silk bathrobe and flashed out of the penthouse, directly to one of his mother’s whore houses.

“My prince,” a demoness of flaming red hair addressed him immediately. “What can I do to help you?”

“Have you any virgin that won’t be missed in here?”

“I do have one, my liege. She finished her training only yesterday and has no family or friends in the city.” The redhead smiled knowingly to her lord and took him to a room at the far end of the second’s floor restricted area. “I will bring you the human girl in a few moments. Please, make yourself comfortable in the meantime.”

Comfortable? Who in his right mind would be comfortable with a flaming hard-on?

Dismissing his annoyance, he lay on the red, silky sheets and waited for the girl who would be releasing him of his pain and serve as a long-distance call to his fiery home. This night will surely be one to remember.

Torches of blue fire lit the throne room, casting an azure glow over black walls. Two rows of gray marble Corinthian columns guided you to a horrible, yet exquisite throne made of onyx, which had reliefs depicting the soul’s journey through the Underworld on every side. The ones on the left showed torture, maiming, and all the pain of Tartarus, while on the right were depicted the pleasures and joy of Elysium.

A fresco recounting Cronus’ downfall served as a gruesome background for the throne while the floor had flames painted on it, giving the illusion of walking over a black fire.

But not all in the room was gloomy and depressing. Three goddesses waited for the King of Shades’ arrival. The Moirae, or Fates, as the mortals called them, possessed information of great importance to their uncle and knew that a visit was required of them.

Heavy marble doors opened, letting a cold wind blew into the hall before Hades entered, followed closely by a small, white Cerberus. The creature had the size and features of a Doberman with the only difference of having three heads and vibrant red eyes.

“If it isn’t my three favorite nieces! Did you bring me more souls to dominate?”

“No. We came to warn you,” the Moirae said in unison.

“The Christian champion walks among the mortals again,” Lachesis announced.

“The Chosen One will love a man very deeply and that love will doom mortals and Olympians alike,” Clotho declared with a soft, sweet voice.

“Through love, the Prince of Darkness will control her, and a battle for the Underworld’s souls will begin.” Atropos pointed her delicate finger at Hades and her voice took a haunting tone. “But take heed, if the One God’s Chosen fights, your immortal life will be extinguished.”

Hades stiffened as his niece’s last words echoed inside of his mind. He was going to die, but how could a mere mortal achieve that feat? The Chosen One couldn’t have the power to strike him down … or was it possible this time the chosen wasn’t fully human? Either way, a price already hung on her head because if she lived, he would die. It was that simple.

“Will you be so kind to reveal to me the Chosen One’s identity, my beautiful nieces?”

“She married your demonic son this morning.” Again, the three goddesses spoke in unison, vanishing as the last syllable escaped their lips.

Left alone, Hades immediately summoned his second-in-command to his side, who appeared instantly sporting a sinister smirk on his lips and a midnight-colored scythe in one hand. Thanatos always knew to come prepared whenever he called.

“Come, my friend, we need to discuss the details of your next assignment.”

****

White walls and polished marble floors greeted the Fates as they appeared in their temple home in Olympus. Atropo immediately shooed away their korai as they entered the innermost chamber. The room was used to weave the destiny of every living being, but now it would conceal a secret of universal importance.

“Everything is going according to plan. Her death is now imminent.” Clotho’s eyes shone with pride.

“Manipulating Uncle was far too easy,” Lachesis confessed.

“I told you it would be.”

“It isn’t manipulation.” Atropos’ voice silenced her bickering sisters. “We are just doing our job. The Chosen One must live up to her destiny or the balance of the entire universe will be destroyed.”

“Based on the way you’re sleeping so soundly, I must have exhausted you.” He chuckled slightly before manifesting a knife with a white, smooth hilt and crawled back into bed. “You will never know what happened.”

Hovering over the girl with the sacrificial knife in hand, he smiled and plunged the blade deep over her heart. She opened her eyes, gasping in pain a few seconds before closing them again, this time forever. Blood gushed out of the wound like a fountain, but he paid no heed to the mess and went to an altar on a shadowy corner of the room. There he took a silver platter, turned the body over it so the blood would fill it, added a drop of his own, and replaced the plate on the altar.

“Adraak lich niet.” His murmur sent a ripple through the dark liquid before flames erupted from it.

“Why are you interrupting us, boy?” The angry voice of Lucifer, High King of Hell, echoed around the room, making the flames change to a golden color.

“I see Mother is with you. Then I need to report something to both of you.”

“This better be good, darling. You were supposed to be fucking your pretty wife,” Lilith spoke, and the demonic flames returned to their normal color.

“I had to wipe her memory because she saw my true eyes.” He heard his mother gasp, but continued before she could say something, “And she has the God Spark.”

Deafening silence stretched for a few minutes followed by a burst of evil laughter that made the flames dance again. 

“That’s the best news I’ve had in ages!” Merriment filled the Prince of Darkness’ voice frighteningly. “Now more than ever you must act as the Chosen One’s guardian because her power will bring us victories in the coming battles. It’s imperative that she doesn’t stray from our side, my son. Her destiny must be darkness.”

Now I’m his son? After two millennia of been called a Greek bastard? Vergil exhaled a frustrated breath. “She should at least learn how to defend herself if you’re going to use her in your war against the Heavens.”

“I’ll leave that on your hands. After all, aren’t you the one related to a war god?” The flames wavered a little before extinguishing completely, leaving the silver platter without a drop of blood in sight.

Great! Now I have more things to do! Should have kept my mouth shut.

After taking a bath, calling the Madame about cleaning the room, and leaving a few thousand on the nightstand, he flashed back to his hotel bedroom. Mina was fast asleep, so he quietly crawled in bed and lay at her side, spooning her. The sweet aroma of her skin invaded his senses, lulling him to a deep sleep that his body welcomed immensely after almost a century of not shutting his eyes. His only worry was that she wouldn’t wake up sane the next morning.

Mina awoke to find herself in the protective embrace of her new husband. She remembered their arrival at the hotel and her entrance to the bathroom but everything after that was a confusing mess. Only bits and pieces of their passion came to her mind. I wasn’t drunk! Why can’t I remember the whole thing?

Holding a hand to her forehead, she almost screamed in frustration but kept quiet lest she awaken the man at her side.

“Demon.” The whisper of her mother came crystal clear, followed by the warning of the strange man inside of the church. “Beware of them.”

Could they be referring to Vergil? But …

“My dove,” her angel murmured to her in his sleep.

Dove? He has called me like that before … “Relax, dove. I promise not to kill you.” But those words brought something more with them.

Bright red eyes looming over her while she had sex with their owner came to her confused mind. She stiffened at the pain that the stream of memories brought to her and the knowledge that her husband had already tried to erase those very memories away.

Goosebumps covered her body, and she buried her face in her shaking hands. I married a demon.

Suddenly feeling very cold, she slowly disentangled herself from his arms and crawled to the edge of the bed, intending to put some distance between them when a hand caught her by the wrist. She almost yelped in surprise but managed to bite back the scream.

Stay calm, stay calm. He mustn’t know you remember everything! If he wanted you to forget then you must act as if you don’t remember anything about his true identity.

“Why so tense?” a sultry but still sleepy voice questioned.

¡Mierda! He noticed!  “You surprised me, that’s all. I’m not accustomed to awakening at a man’s side.”

He released her for a few moments before pulling her by the waist and throwing her back in bed. This time she did yelp, causing him to laugh. He pinned her against his body and slowly caressed her curves.

Desire began running through her veins, but she forced her body to ignore it. “I’m hungry, Vergil.”

“Me too.”

“Not for that.” She sighed and further explained, “I’m hungry for food, Vergil.”

He eyed her for a couple of seconds and then freed her completely. “You’re no fun.” His eyes fell on her naked body, and the gleam shining there said ‘I’ll get you later.’

Tingly electricity ran down her back and heat flooded her core.

How could he do that? How could he turn her on with only a look? He is a demon, Mina, don’t you dare fall for his unnatural charm!

Steeling her heart, she stood up and glanced at her husband over her shoulder. “Someone has to teach the spoiled brat that he can’t have everything he wants.” Smiling triumphantly, she took a towel and headed into the bathroom, planning on having a long, relaxing bath.

Vergil smirked at the closing door before calling room service for a full breakfast with sausages, ham, eggs, toasts, coffee, and some other things. His beautiful dove wouldn’t be able to say she was hungry after such a meal, but maybe she would starve for other things. He hoped she would. After all, she had to compensate him for the night before, even if she didn’t remember what really happened. 

****

Mina exited the bathroom an hour later and her mouth watered as she smelled the delicious aromas flooding the place. She quickly put on a bathrobe before heading straight for the living room where Vergil awaited her seated on a round table surrounded by what could only be described as a buffet. Not even her Puerto Rican grandmother had made her a breakfast with so many dishes … and the old woman always filled her plate to the point of overflowing. Oh, how she missed her family back on the island! It had been years since she last visited. But with her research on the verge of a breakthrough, she needed to stay closer to home in case something came up.

“Weren’t you hungry?” Vergil asked as he watched her play with her food.

“Ah?” The brunette scrunched up her nose, barely registering his question. “This breakfast reminds me of my grandma. That’s all,” she finally answered with hooded eyes while filling her plate. During her bath, she had discovered that she was indeed starving.

“Where does she live? We could go for a visit if you like. It’s our honeymoon, after all, and I want to please you in every manner.”

Was that even true? She shouldn’t trust a creature like him who only knew how to lie and trick, but this was the opportunity of her life. If she played her cards well, she could get him to help her achieve her goal without him ever knowing a thing. But one thing is for sure, he will never be around my family. Never.

“No, it’s okay. We should spend our honeymoon in each other’s company. Isn’t that what couples in love do?”

“But we aren’t in love, at least not yet.”

Mina looked at him with questioning eyes as she took a bite of some bacon. “You hope we can fall in love?”

“Of course.” He reached for her hand and planted a kiss on her knuckles, his gaze never wavering from hers. “Life would be a living hell for both of us if not.”

Perhaps her demonic husband wasn’t so bad after all, or maybe she was already falling for his tricks. Either way, she ought to be careful around him.

The rest of the breakfast was spent in silence with fleeting glances that made her nervous, to say the least. When her cellphone rang with Nickelback’s “S.E.X.” singing loudly through the speakers she almost jumped out of her skin.

Vergil smiled at the music, making her turn into a rainbow of colors as she sprinted to the phone. “I have to take this,” she said, grabbing the cellphone and disappearing into their bedroom without any more explanations.

“Hello, Gabriel. Any news?” she asked, sitting on the bed and fisting the sheets.

“Dr. Argeneaux … I’m so sorry! Now it’s Dr. Larsa, right? Anyway, the results came in. The piece is authentic!”

“That means the others must exist as well. They should be in Egypt like the collector told us!” Mina jumped out of the bed and began pacing. “So much to do … Gabriel, arrange a meeting with that collector in Egypt. I need to investigate the place where that parchment was taken from.”

“And your honeymoon, Doctor?” Her assistant sounded surprised.

“To hell with it! This is more important, way more important.”