Page 1 of Witch's Rebirth
Prologue
LILITH
No one threw parties like Lucifer.
His cavernous home in Hell was filled to the brim with demons and hell-creatures of all imaginable shapes and sizes. Sultry succubi, barely wearing anything at all, slithered through the crowd, rubbing up on as many bodies as possible in hopes of getting lucky that night.
In contrast, the handsome incubi played coy. Dressed from head to toe in flattering dark suits, perfectly groomed with drinks in hand and charming smiles. Whoever fell for their seductive charms would have to work to take an incubus to bed. But it would be well worth the effort.
The few human souls stared with their mouths agape at everything going on, from the orgies happening openly on the floor to simply Hell's many horned and winged residents.
At first glance, I couldn't tell if it was awe or fear they stared with. Contrary to popular belief, many humans didn't end up in hell for being awful people. Certainly some did but those were never invited to the parties. The ones invited were hand-picked by Lucifer himself. Their reactions entertained us all, and they often learned very valuable lessons for how the world truly worked.
"Drink?"
I held out a goblet of wine to a young blonde woman. She flinched at the sound of my voice and her eyes darted over me quickly, as if searching for my horns, talons or wings. I was one of the few "normal" looking partygoers and this seemed to put her at ease slightly.
"What is it?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as if I was trying to poison her.
"Just wine." I gave her a friendly smile. "This is a vintage from Greece. Lucifer has impeccable taste. It's why the Greeks revere him as their own god, Dionysus."
She shuddered at the Lord of Hell's name and gave me a disgusted look. "Of course the devil would parade as a false idol and glorify a drink to lower inhibitions. I'm surrounded by seduction and sin!"
"Better get used to it," I said in a bored tone, helping myself to the beverage. "The only way out of here is to return to earth as a succubus, then you can work your way up the hierarchy from there. Honestly, there seems to be a shortage of high-ranking demonesses lately. Old Lucifer could always used more."
"I don't belong here!" she whispered in a panic. "I was chaste! I was loyal to His word! Something must have gone wrong!"
"They never get it wrong," I told her, almost apologetically. "You're here for a reason and I bet if you think real hard, you know exactly why. If your actions were pure, that means your thoughts weren’t." I flashed her another smile. "But you can't bethatbad, otherwise you'd never see the party. So relax and talk to a cute demon man. Not him, though." I pointed out Raum, talking animatedly to a small group who laughed uproariously at whatever he was saying. "He's mine."
Her mouth flew open but I cut her off quickly. "Oh, not those two either, also mine."
I pointed out Ash and Sal, standing rapt at attention next to Lucifer, who seemed to be explaining something to them. Sal nodded sharply, muscles coiled and flexed as if ready for a fight. Ash's sharp eyes never left Lucifer's face, his mouth tight and unsmiling.
I had to find out what was happening but first I couldn't stop beaming with pride. All three of my men looked handsome as fuck tonight. Just the way they carried themselves showed their rank and stature among demonkind. If that wasn't enough, they wore crisp, tailored slacks, shirts, and shoes polished to a high shine. All in black, of course.
Raum unbuttoned his shirt to the middle of his sculpted chest, showing off his taut muscles and the light dusting of dark hair between his pecs. Sal rolled up his sleeves past his elbows, the corded veins and muscles in his forearms on display. Only Ash wore his suit as it was properly meant to be, but down here his beautiful black wings were on full display. I always missed seeing them and hated that he had to hide them on earth.
I gave him those wings with my healing magic after the fall tore his original ones apart. He wore them proudly whenever he could, which made me swell up with immeasurable love and pride.
The human girl stared at me unashamedly after pointing out who was off-limits to her.
"Whoareyou?" she demanded.
"You probably know me as Lilith."
I shot her a wink and walked off toward my fallen angel across the room before she had a chance to respond. The crowd parted for me subtly as I walked by, which made me stand a little taller and sway my hips a little wider.
While I wasn't officially a member of demon society, everyone knew who I was. And they knew who my lovers were. Every resident of Hell was given basic respect, but my accomplishments throughout my lifetimes had earned me just a touch more.
What I loved most about these hellions was they took in all kinds of creatures under their wings, horns, and hooves. Lucifer truly made this a safe place for the devious, damned, and ostracized. For a select few, the ones who preyed upon innocents like women and children with no remorse, this place was truly Hell in the classic sense of the word. But no one talked about the best parts like the parties, because we didn't want the angels to stop sending us their rejects. We took pride in taking in those who had been cast away.
"Lilith, my dearest." A large clawed hand took hold of my upper arm, stopping me in my tracks. I turned to look at the face of who dared to touch me without permission.
"Beelzebub." I gave Ash's fellow fallen angel and Lucifer's co-ruler a tight smile. Despite his position of high reverence, this particular Prince of Hell always gave me the creeps.
His face was classically handsome with pale blue eyes, a strong jaw, straight nose and perfectly straight teeth. He could've been Ash's older brother or cousin. But while Lucifer and Ash healed to near perfection from the injuries of their falls, Beelzebub didn't seem as lucky.
A long red scar ran from under his chin and disappeared under the opening of his shirt on his chest. Long, curving horns sprouted from the top of his forehead. They were honestly majestic and beautiful, at least three feet long and gently sloping backwards like an ibex. His hands were vaguely humanlike in shape, but covered in shimmering reptilian scales and topped with long black claws.
