Authors: Darcy Town
Dahlia grabbed at Belial’s hands.
“What is going on?”
Belial grinned at Lucifer.
“We have a party to prepare for.”
“So why does it feel like I am being kidnapped?”
“Because you are!”
Belial threw Dahlia over her shoulder.
“Just play along!”
She stuck her tongue out at Lucifer.
“Sucks to be you, your girlfriend is mine!”
Lucifer shook his head.
“Oh, I think not.
We do not play in this game.
Put her down.”
Belial hissed.
“This is
tradition
!”
“I find myself not caring about that.
I want to spend time with her.”
Belial sighed and made to drop Dahlia.
Lucifer relaxed.
Andy tackled Lucifer to the ground.
“Go, Belial!
Go
!”
Belial bolted.
Dahlia bounced on her shoulder and stared at the ground.
“I admire your ability to run in pumps.”
“Practice, lot’s of it.”
Belial reached the Grand Promenade.
“Damn it, where are they?”
Whitney dropped to her side, Celeste with her; a grinning Apple was between them, held by her wrists.
Celeste panted.
“What.
Are.
We.
Doing?”
Belial clacked her teeth.
“Tradition!
Follow me!”
She pointed towards Nix’s Borough.
“Night will cover us in our escape!”
Dahlia looked around.
“Escape from who?”
Belial scowled and yelled at the empty air around them, “Play along fuckers or I break your chicks!”
Berith and Helion popped into view.
Berith looked genuinely amused, Helion confused.
Berith pointed at Apple.
“I would appreciate it if you would let her go.”
Whitney shook her fist at him.
“Over my dead body!”
Celeste grinned.
“Yeah!”
Lucifer stormed out of the passages of the undead.
Andy grinned from ear to ear.
He held on to Lucifer and ran backwards, working to slow Lucifer to a crawl.
Lucifer snapped at Belial.
“Give her to me!
I am
not
playing this game.
Dahlia, force her release you.”
Dahlia stared at him from her upside-down vantage point.
“What is going on?”
Nix dropped from the sky with a bewildered, baby-less Tracy in her arms.
“Escape has arrived, darlings.”
She spread out her cape of complete darkness.
She smiled at her father; her blue eyes sparkled.
“Not even you can bring the light here, Daddy.”
Belial pushed Apple, Celeste, and Whitney into the shadow.
Belial dove in next with Dahlia as Lucifer lunged for her.
Nix closed her cape and disappeared.
Lucifer sighed.
“Fuck.”
He turned to Andy.
“Thank you
very
much.”
Andy grinned.
“It is tradition!”
Paimon and Furcas ran down the Promenade, Tokala and Nodin were over their shoulders.
Paimon skidded to a stop.
“We have the groom and best man.”
Lucifer glared at them.
“I
hate
these games.”
Paimon punched his shoulder.
“It is tradition!”
“Why must everyone say that!”
Furcas pointed his stumpy arm at Lucifer.
“You have Dahlia back.
You are supposed to act carefree again, not be a sour spoilsport!”
“Fine.”
Lucifer looked at Nodin, blood dribbled out of his mouth.
“He is not dead is he?”
“Of course not.”
Paimon smiled.
“He’s just unconscious.”
***
The girls appeared in a sumptuous room of black velvet walls embedded with diamonds.
Nix winked at the group and disappeared.
Belial put Dahlia on her feet and grinned.
She made sure everyone had arrived.
“Success!”
Tracy held her head.
“What is going on?”
Belial pointed at her.
“You are going to get drunk, that is all you need to know.”
She pushed Tracy into Apple’s arms.
“Start fitting her for a dress.”
Belial waited until they’d slipped into a side room.
She grinned.
“Celeste, you’re the maid of honor.”
“I am?”
Celeste looked around.
“For
what
?”
Belial glared.
“Tracy’s wedding, dumbass!
Nodin picked Tokala for his best man and since you two are shacking up, you’re his date.”
Celeste’s eyes went red.
“
Who
says we are shacking up?”
Belial smirked.
“Tokala, after we beat it out of him, so—,” she dodged a punch to the face.
“Chill!
We didn’t
really
beat him, very
much
I mean.
I didn’t participate in it!”
She flipped Celeste to the floor and sat on her.
“We need to get prettied up for Tracy’s wedding.”
Tracy escaped Apple.
“
My
wedding?
Now?
Why?”
Apple leapt on Tracy’s back.
“Don’t worry, this is Lilliam tradition.
You play by our rules now!”
She dragged Tracy away by her horns.
“Start drinking!”
Belial pointed to a cabinet.
Whitney opened it.
Bottles of wine waited for them.
Whitney’s eyes got large.
“Whoa.”
Dahlia grinned.
“Sweet.”
Belial looked down at Celeste.
“Will you be nice?”
Celeste nodded.
“Why the kidnapping?”
Belial shrugged and let off her.
“Tradition.
Get drunk.
I’m going to start with Whitney.
Come here, corpse.”
Whitney glared at Belial and snapped the cork off a bottle.
She took a swig and passed the bottle to Dahlia.
The fairy wine hit her.
“Whoa.
That’s not fucking around.”
She looked at Dahlia.
“Nice, nice, nice.”
She floated above the floor.
Belial grabbed Whitney’s ankle and pulled her back down to the ground.
“I’ve never dressed a misty one before, this will be interesting.”
She tied Whitney to a chair and went through her clothing options.
Dahlia took a pull off the wine bottle and handed it to Celeste.
“So you and Tokala?”
Celeste shrugged.
“Yeah.”
Dahlia nodded.
“Rumor has it he is a prince.”
Celeste smirked.
“True.”
“Nice work.”
“He pursued
me
!”
Dahlia held her hands up.
“I was not judging.
It is still nice work.”
Celeste found wine glasses and poured them one glass each.
“Well, not as nice as nabbing an angel or whatever.”
Whitney grinned as Belial fitted a dress to her.
She reached for a wine glass.
“It has its perks.”
Belial made a face.
“No sexy talk involving my brother, just don’t go there.”
Tracy bolted from the next room, topless.
“Wait, am I getting married
tonight
?”
Belial nodded.
“Well yeah, what did you think?”
Tracy looked at her half-finished bottle of wine.
“But, we’re getting drunk?”
Apple tackled Tracy.
Her speech came out slurred, “
Feisty
bride to be!”
Belial grinned.
“She should be.
That’s Paimon’s special bridal booze she’s drinking.”
Whitney made a face.
“I do not want any of his special stuff.”
Belial’s grin widened.
“Too late.”
Apple pulled the bottle of wine out of Tracy’s hands and held up a black dress.
“This is why we wear dark clothing to weddings, hides spills.”
She took a swig and threw the bottle to Belial.
Belial eyed it.
Apple pointed at her.
“You are drinking too!”
Belial set it down.
“I don’t have a suitor.”
The other girls rolled their eyes.
Belial looked at them.
“What?”
Dahlia turned to her.
“Yes you do, and you are pounding that shit right now.
Chug!”
Belial sighed.
“Fine.
My sewing will be shit, but your dresses are going to get torn off of you anyways.”
Celeste gaped.
“Say that again?”
***
The male Fallen and their Lilliam prisoners packed into Furcas’ house.
Paimon tied Tokala and Nodin to the staircase banister.
Regaining consciousness, the two had time to be sober, terrified, and dressed to the nines.
Nodin looked plaintively at Paimon.
“Can’t we get drunk too?”
Paimon shook his head and attempted to brush his shaggy hair; the brush went an inch and stopped in a snarl.
He left the brush in his hair.
“No, we all have to be sober.”
“But—”
Paimon slapped his arm.
“It’s funnier for
us
this way.”
Tokala leaned on his brother.
“Admit it.
You’ve laughed at other weddings.”
Nodin scowled.
“I did not think it would be my own, ever.
She has
horns
for fucks sake!
Sharp
ones!
I need time to mentally prepare myself for this!”
Furcas took the brush from Paimon and kicked him in the back of the legs so that he dropped to his knees.
He started at the ends of Paimon’s hair, ignoring his complaints.
“You’ll survive.”
Andy jumped down the staircase.
“Maybe.”
Helion examined his shirt and suit jacket.
“These don’t have wing holes.”
Furcas stared at the jacket.
“I do not have time to adjust the suit, just go topless, you’ve been fine so far.”
Paimon held up a black bowtie.
“But wear one of these.”
Furcas snorted.
“He’ll look like a Chippendale’s dancer.”
Paimon smirked.
Helion stared at the tie.
“What is that?”
Lucifer bounded down the stairs.
“This is ridiculous, I can find them now, let me go.”
Andy darted to the door.
“You try, and I will chase you down.
Come on, Lucifer.
This will make your kids happy.
Dahlia will like it; this is her official introduction into our life.”
Lucifer set his jaw.
He did not speak, Andy did not move from the door.
They stared at each other unblinking.
Lucifer uncrossed his arms.
“Fine.
Where is
my
suit?”
Furcas pointed to the closet.
He stared at Paimon’s hair and wrinkled his nose.
“When did you last do anything to it?”
Paimon shrugged.
“I got rained on in Portland, does that count?”