“You don’t have any other lovers?” Snakebite asked.
“I did, but I no longer have any interest in pursuing them. I’m sure we’ll be friends, but that’s all.”
“I confess that I love you. Something about you appeals to me on a deep level: much deeper than lust, or seeing who can win a fight. You’re truly a friend, and not just a casual roll in the hay.”
“You realize that this whole thing may be a result of the influence of The Light on me?”
“Yes, but I’m not afraid. The Light brought you into my life, and I’m glad it did.”
“Oh, kiss me, you handsome man.”
And they did; tenderness and compassion filled each kiss.
A while later, Poisonous found her friend and lover’s arms wrapped her. A gentle kiss landed on his lips. His eyes fluttered open, and seeing her, Snakebite smiled.
“Hi, Poisonous.”
“Hi, Snakey, honey. You have worn me out. I say we go to that rooftop bar on K Street, and relax and enjoy ourselves.”
“Capital idea. Let’s.”
A few minutes later, she and Snakebite sat at a comfortable lounge chair, she sipping on a strong and spicy Bloody Mary with extra hot sauce, of course, while he sipped on a spicy concoction of Jalapeno vodka, ginger beer and fresh lime juice.
“You know, Poisonous: it’s nice just to relax and have a pleasant conversation with a wonderful woman.”
Misty eyed, she responded, “I find it wonderful that someone like you makes me happy, for the first time in a long time.”
“Here’s a proposition,” Snakebite said. Why don’t we take a vacation from evil, and just hang out with each other; I’m not encouraging you to do evil, so what do you say?”
“Snakey, honey; you took the thought right out of my brain.”
Poisonous and Snakebite walked into his apartment. Her shoes flew off her feet, and some comfortable clothing replaced the formal dress. Snakebite settled quietly into the living room and luxuriated in the comfort of his couch,
“Would you like another drink? He asked.
“Yes. Could you make me another Bloody Mary?”
“I’d be more than glad to. One Bloody Mary coming up.”
Snakebite came back and set her drink before her, then sat himself down.
“You know,” she said, “there is a meeting of demons at a church of false religion tomorrow at seven thirty p.m.; would you like to attend?”
“Oh, yes. It’s time I got a good dose of evil thoughts, before the Light takes over me.”
“We’ll do it then.”
* * *
Tuesday, September 23rd
Poisonous had relaxed and had a pleasant conversation, after having caused more relationships to break up. Looking at his watch, he noticed it was seven o’clock in the evening. She looked at him adoringly, and said, “You are such an amazing reptile.”
Smiling he answered, “Why thank you. You are a very lovely lust nymph yourself.” Then his expression turned serious.
“What’s the matter? I didn’t say something wrong did I?”
He laughed. “No, dear friend of mine. However, we have a few minutes before we leave, and we need to get a few things taken care of.”
“Really? What? Do I look alright?” She had made sure her natural self looked as evil as ever.
“You look just fine; but you have been exposed to the Light, and demons can smell emotions miles away. I need to inject you with some venom, which hopefully will obliterate the smell of the Light. Deception and Lies are my specialty. I should be able to do this with no problem. I can’t guarantee that the Light will be completely gone, however.”
“That’s okay, please do it. Just do me one favor…”
“Sure. What’s that?”
“Turn into a snake like you did the other day when we had battle.”
“As you wish.”
As she watched, he transformed into a large, poisonous snake, and crawl towards her. She shook with anticipation as he got nearer. Then, he arose from the floor, and stood up as he made a circle with his lower body. Fangs bared, he bit her directly in the neck. As she shuddered from he sheer pleasure of the experience, more evil filled her heart, for which she was thankful.
“We need to do one more thing. As you know, demons also smell emotions and feelings, so we need to hypnotize each other to forget how we feel…”
Her eyes glassed over. “Must we?”
“Yes, Poisonous, you know better than I that we must. Any positive emotion such as love they’ll notice right away, so we must temporarily erase our minds of how we feel about each other.”
Sighing, she said, “Yes. I agree. Do what you must.”
“Now listen carefully, because this is a bit tricky: you will need to tell me that we are only acquaintances. When we leave the gathering, you will tell me to return to the way I was. When you’re done, you must tell me to do the same.”
“Okay. But I’ll miss you.”
“And I’ll miss you too, but hopefully nobody, not even we two, will know that.”
“Alright.” Looking straight at Snakebite, with eyes glowing red, she said, “Snakebite, we are only acquaintances. We are going to the gathering of demons, and when we leave, I will tell you to revert to the way you were. Then you’ll do the same for me. Now tell me what I just told you.”
He did, and the both left for the gathering on Sixteenth Street.
* * *
The darkness that hung in the air around Lucifer grew darker, tainted with the profound wrath emanating from his inner being. His anger grew along with his temperature,
