As promised the man in question showed up at noon, 11:58 to be exact. It’s always good to see a young, punctual Satanist, it reminds me of the old days. I could see that Steven was true to his word, as the young guy was pretty appealing to the eye. He had golden blonde hair, a nice, square jaw line and a perfect set of white teeth. His sapphire eyes gleamed in the light and I could tell that he’s built like an trained atheist even under his formal suit.

He glanced at me and Becca, snickered a little and then presumably ignored us - probably because he thought that we were not worth his time - and gave Steven a very low bow.

“It is an honour to be chosen to work with the former Leader of the Order, and his… “guests“. Why my Lord chooses to associate with people like this I cannot comprehend... ” he said, his voice booming with arrogance, “Is there no way for me to convince you of returning? Surely we are better able to suit your needs than those peons.”

“We shall discuss that another time.”

“I understand, my Lord.”

“Good, and you understand the instructions that I have given you?” Steven said, sounding more solemn than usual.

“I do, my Lord.”

“Then go and prepare yourself, the circle is in the other room, everything has already been prepared. Wait there for my arrival when you are done.”

“Of course, my Lord.”

The man walked purposefully out of the room, stopping before Becca and I for a brief moment just to send us a look of disgust. Yup, this guy was perfect. After a while I heard the showers running and knew that he was cleansing himself for the coming ritual.

“The guy’s kind of a douche, isn’t he?” Becca said, apparently less than pleased with the way he presented himself.

“That is one way of putting it, Madam.” replied Steven, “The younger generation tend to have a habit of being full of themselves the second they taste but a drop of power. They do not last long.”

“But he’s exactly I have in mind, Steven.”

“And may I ask what you have planned for the young lad, sir?”

“Yeah boss,” interjected an excited Becca, “what kind of freaky Demon are you planning to summon?”

“Lilith.” I said calmly, “That is who I wish to call.”

Steven raised an eyebrow and Becca gave me an uncertain look. They were a little shaken by the fact that I would invite someone like her to my house.

“Sir, are you sure that it is wise to leave such a serious summoning to someone so inexperienced? She will undoubtedly break free of the circle.”

I guess they had a pretty good reason to be sceptical about summoning Lilith. Her being the very first woman ever created, the one before Eve, and subsequently the very first succubus. She has major power and influence, even among the denizens of Hell, and calling her would be akin to summoning one of the Demon generals. Some would say that she is even more deadly, and I‘d whole heartedly agree. If anyone but the most masterful and well trained attempt to call upon her, things generally ended up badly for the summoner.

“That’s what I plan on, Steven,” I said, “I have to have her around, and as you know, keeping a Demon of any calibre bound is too taxing for the summoner.”

“Of course, sir.”

I could see that Becca still didn’t understand what was going on, so just for her sake I explained the process of summoning in a little more detail. I told her that in order to summon a demon, a lot of energy must be given to the process of simply opening the gateway between words, and getting the required demon to appear so the gate can only be opened for a short period of time. The stronger the demon, the more energy required. However, since the gateway can only be opened for a short amount of time the Demon would lose it’s connection to Hell and thus lose the energy necessary to stay here. That’s why we have a sacrifice. Once the demon has materialized, the sacrifice - in Lilith’s case that would be the virgin blood - in the summoning circle would fuel the rest of the energy required for her to maintain her physical manifestation into the Human world.

The summoner, however, does have the choice to bind the summoned demon to his or her will, and then use his or her life energy to fuel the physical form, thus freeing the demon from the summoning circle. But in doing so their life is made dramatically shorter, thus trying it with even moderately ranked demons is more or less suicide. This is why most summoners choose to employ the lowest caste of demons, such as imps, as familiars if they do so at all.

There is, however, a couple other ways for a demon to maintain their physical form outside of summoning circles. One is to form a contract with the summoner, but that option severely restricts the freedom of the demon, since it can only what is necessary to fulfil its obligation with the host. The other option is to simply have the host die on them, which is usually done by the demon‘s hands. That way the demon can feed off the soul of the deceased summoner, and if they are powerful enough they can maintain their physical forms almost indefinitely. This is one of the reasons why high levelled summonings are rarely preformed, as failed ones usually result in the deaths of everyone involved and probably everyone within the vicinity as well.

Most demons usually get tired of the slaughter and return to the their duties in Hell, but if a demon wanted to they could theoretically stay on Earth forever if they wished. There is one downside to the demons who do, as their powers eventually dwindle into nothing over even relatively short amounts of time, like a few months or so. Not very many choose to stay for long, and this is also why the streets are not over run with rampant demons.

When I finished recounting all of the information Becca looked at me and said, “How come you can still go all demonic and shit? I’m pretty sure you’ve been around for longer than a few months.”

“Ah, glad to see you listening so well,” I answered, my tone suggesting that she drop the subject “the reason why is… rather complicated. Just know that I still have a portion of my former might left, and that will never go away.”

“Right...”

I turned my attention to Steven again and said, “You know the instructions to summoning Lilith?”

“I do, sir.” I could tell that he was still less than excited about the idea.

“Tell them to the blonde idiot“ I said, hearing the sound of the showers stop and some less-than-subtle footsteps enter the other room, “It sounds like he‘s done.”

“Uh, boss,” Becca said, “Should I be there for the whole summoning thing? I mean, wouldn’t I just be in their way doing bugger all?”

“You might as well,” I said with a shrug, “call it a learning experience. And it‘s your blood they‘re using.”

“If you say so, boss, if you say so.”

Steven lead Becca into the room with the circle, and I made myself scare. I found a nice spot where I was pretty sure that I would be out of view from anyone in the room unless they tried to look very hard, and I doubt that would happen given Lilith’s nature. I made myself comfortable and watched the ritual take place.

Steven explained the instructions to Blondie, and I saw Becca reluctantly open a small wound on her hand and leak some blood into the middle of the circle while Blondie snickered at her. I wouldn’t regret a thing that’ll happen to him. Becca and Steven backed to a corner of the room and allowed the young man to do his work. Even from afar I could see that the guy was excited, he wanted to show off to the former head of his organization that he was tough, that he knew what he was doing like a seasoned pro.

Like I said, what an idiot.

Blondie started to chant in the language of Hell, trying his best to not stumble on the words, and made useless gestures into the air. In essence, all a ritual needed was the sacrifice to sustain the demon, a plain old circle to hold the demon, and the words necessary to locate the demon. That and a whole lot of concentration and belief; everything else was decoration, but over the years the Humans have made the process longer and longer, adding in bits of runic glyphs on the circles and intricate hand gestures. I guess it helps the focus the mind, but to me it just seemed like a lot of needlessly expended energy for a whole lot of nothing.

Well, even though Steven realize the uselessness of the extra fluff, his summoning circle was fully equipped with the usual mystic symbols and scented candles and what not. Ah well, I didn’t care much, as long as it gets things done in the end. It's not like I'm doing the work.

After a few minutes of chanting I felt the coils of demonic energy lash out from beneath the circle as the gates of Hell pried open and an all too familiar presence filled the space. There was a loud screech that sounded like a thousand nails digging into a chalk board, followed by the stench of sulphur and finally a lascivious howl coming from a voice that could melt spines with pleasure. Ah Lilith, she sure knew how to make an entrance.

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She appeared in the form of a beautiful girl with raven black hair that extended down past her shoulders. She looked just young enough to make the average man think twice about approaching her, yet enticing enough to make even the most religious of saints buckle down to the temptation of forbidden lust. Her lean, slender face can make the most well known sex icons look like the elephant man, yet it’s also mixed with a healthy dose of an innocent charm. Even so, there was no mistaking the flare in those inhumanly gorgeous black eyes.

She was wearing a tight black leather jacket that was zipped up just enough to cover her breasts, but low enough to show ample cleavage. Although her breasts were not large in any sense of the word, they were just the right size to fit that innocent appeal she had going, and coupled with the matching black leather skirt that was so short it could have passed as a very wide belt, she was neigh irresistible. She had curves in all the right places, but they were never too overbearing, and she stood in just the right angle to flash any onlookers a glimpse of her black-lased underwear, or at least the loose pieces of string that passed as underwear.

Although Lilith could alter her physical appearance in anyway she chose, she usually went for a look that most resonated with the summoner. I guess this particular blonde idiot had a thing for the innocent, under-aged type; how very stereotypical. The term “jail-bait” would apply to the appearance she chose today, although I would suspect that every man in the world would be locked up for life if they ever saw her walking down the street. This was a new look for her, that’s for sure, and I guess it is the most appropriate image given this generation‘s notion on the taboos of sex. She appealed to both the summoner and the worlds ideals all in one; she certainly hasn’t lost her touch, it seems.

I could see that her appearance had done a number on Blondie, as he could hardly stand up straight anymore, although another part of his anatomy was more erect. Even the veteran Steven seemed to have been hit by her spell, although he still maintain his composure. Becca, on the other hand, seemed more anxious than anything else.    

“Oh my, what a handsome man you are.” Lilith said, approaching the edge of the circle and bending over, showing Blondie a nice glance of what he could have, “I was getting oh so bored, Mr. Summoner, no one ever calls on little old me anymore. And you even brought friends! My, how lucky of me… shall we play?”.

Blondie only stared on. I don’t even think he could answer Lilith even if he wanted to with all the blood leaving his brain to fuel his nether regions. Her charm was too much for his untrained mind, and I suspect that he was less than prepared for a Demon like her.

“A quiet one, I see.” Lilith teased, running a finger down the length of the circle’s barrier, “I love the quiet ones, they’re always the loudest when I’m done.”

Still no response from Blondie, his eyes were glued on the spot a few inches below Lilith’s face. She noticed and immediately went on the offensive.

“Do you like what you see…?” she said, zipping down her jacket a few inches lower, “Shall I show you more?”

Blondie nodded.

“But this circle is oh so stuffy, Mr. Summoner, I can’t possibly move around and give you everything...” she said, putting on a sad little face, pouting her small, delicious lips, “If only I could come out, I could show you so much more… Won’t you let me out?”

Lilith held her hands out towards the edge of the circle’s barrier, gesturing Blondie to reach out and grab her. If the idiot does then their physical connection will form a break in the circle’s protection, thus rendering it useless, and judging by his brainless expression he wasn’t going to say no. He slowly edged towards the succubus, his movements awkward as if some part of his unconscious was telling him that it was a bad idea, but eventually his baser urges gave in and he grabbed onto Lilith’s outstretched hand. He second he did a psychic wave of energy exploded outwards as the consequence of the breaking of the circle’s barrier was made obvious, knocking down both Becca and Steven from their feet. Blondie didn’t even seem to notice, his entire concentration was on Lilith.

The succubus stepped out of the broken barrier and grabbed Blondie by the hair. She smiled and pressed her lips onto his, and from past experiences I could tell that she was doing a lot more than simply kissing the guy. She was sucking the life and soul right out of him; his skin shrivelled and blotches of grey began to appear, ruining his once youthful complexion. His hair lost it’s golden lustre, the colour turning a dull grey and finally white before falling out completely. When Lilith was done his organs would have failed, his heart would give out and in a few short seconds he would die, yet when she finally dropped the man I could only stare in disbelief at the big smile plastered on his dry, lifeless lips. He enjoyed it to the very end; they all did. I guess there were worse ways to go.

Lilith turned her attention away from the corpse to Becca and Steven, her expression showing that she wasn’t quite satisfied with herself yet. Once she focused all of her charm and appeal on a person it was next to impossible to take their gaze off of her; Becca and Steven were no exception. They could only wait in fear - or more likely lust - as they watched Lilith’s slow approach.

“Oh, my,” Lilith said, licking her fingers, “I guess I was wrong, he didn’t make a sound in the end. Maybe you two will  be different? Come now, don‘t be shy.”

Right, time to stop her from killing off my workers, hopefully she’ll understand. I stepped out of my hiding place and casually waked into the room, my arms outstretched as if I was expecting a hug from an old friend.

“Lily!” I exclaimed, moving myself between her and my workers, “It’s so good to see you’re doing well! Looking sexy as always; I did miss you, you know!”

Lilith glared at me with eyes that could kill, quite literally - if a human looked at her at that moment they would have died from a ruptured heart. Guess she’s not as thrilled to see me.

“Barbas!” she shrieked, her lustful expression turning into cold, empty hatred, “You dare show yourself?! After half a millennia?”

“Has it really been that long?” I said, still keeping a smile on my face, “I mean, what’s a few hundred years between friends?”

She rushed towards me with inhuman speed and slammed by body into the wall with enough force to dent the concrete. I felt a few ribs break, and before I could force my human guise to heal she grabbed my shirt and slammed me into the wall again.

“Friends? Do you think that is what we are?” she yelled as she punched me in the gut, “Do you know who had to clean up the mess you created after you left Hell? Who do you think had to baby sit your Legion of idiots when their leader left?”

“Uh… hopefully not you?” I managed to say.

She kneed me in the groin in answer.

“Ok, ok!” I wheezed, “Maybe I screwed up a little, but you know that I didn’t have a choice!”

“Oh, you had a choice. You could have stayed and faced the consequences of your own moronic actions… taken revenge on the people who would go against your choices,” she hissed, “and I would have stayed with you through it all. But you deserted – and even forgiven! How do you like it, Barbas, living the rest of eternity on Earth scamming a bunch of Humans out of their money?”

“I chose my actions, and regret nothing.”

Lilith let out a burst of laughter so loud that it shook the whole building before saying, “Of course, Barbas, you chose and now every Legion in Hell are out to claim your corpse for it! Tell me,  friend, why shouldn’t I drag your sorry hide back to where you belong.”

“For old times sake?” I said with a half smile, “I mean, I did give you a snack…”

“I see that you haven’t lost that humour!” Lilith said, laughed louder than before,  “Do you truly value your freedom so little? But worry not, Barbas, I’m in such a good mood I won‘t break every bone in that body of yours and I drag you back to Hell with me; it’s been so long since I’ve had my fill of this world of sin, and I plan on enjoying myself thoroughly before I leave. If the mood holds I might even listen to what you have to say, for ‘old times sake‘ as it is.”

Lilith dropped me to the ground and strolled out of the office; I felt sorry for any guy interesting enough to catch her eye. Oh well, as long as he gets her off me for a while. I just hope it wasn’t a mistake summoning her here.

“Uh, boss,” Becca said, helping me up, “that your ex-girlfriend or something? She seems nice.”

“Yeah, an absolute Angel…”