Jessica stared with disbelief at the charred circle that was left on the carpet. The air in the room was heavy with the smell of sulfur and smoke as her brain struggled to comprehend what had just happened. Was her drink spiked with something? Could this have just been some crazy hallucination?

Her gaze traveled down to her arm. Fresh blood still ran from her wrist to her elbow but any sign of a wound was already nonexistent. How was that possible? She vividly recalled the phantom pains of Lucifer's strong dagger like nails that dug into her wrist that burned with a hellish fury.

The screech of the fire alarm caused Jessica to jump out of her skin. Water began to pour from the fire prevention system as a chorus of screams and shouts filled the club. In a panic, she stumbled to her feet and ran out of the door into the main dance hall. The crowd of dancers was being herded toward the exits like cattle while several bouncers tried to maintain what little control they had over the situation.

"Jess!" Nikki cried out as she grabbed her arm. "Where have you been? We have to get out!"

"Oh God, Nikki!" Jessica forced her friend into a tight embrace. "I fucked up. I think I fucked up big..."

"What are you talking about?" She asked in confusion as her eyes slowly went wide. "Did you do this? Did you set the club on fire?"

"No! There was this guy, the DJ, he brought me into a private room-" Jessica began to say before she was cut off.

"Tell me about your hook-up later. Jess, we have to get out of here!"

"It was Lucifer, Nikki. You have to believe me. I made a deal with the devil and he left in a burst of flames that set the alarm off..." Jessica's voice trailed off as she cried into Nikki's shoulder as her makeup began to trail down her cheek.

"Did you have something to drink?" Nikki asked as she began to forcefully pull Jessica toward the exit. "That piece of shit probably spiked your drink," She said through gritted teeth.

"Nikki!" A strong masculine voice called out from behind.

She cast a glance over her shoulder to see one of the club bouncers approaching. "Not right now. I've got a bit of a situation here, Tony," Nikki called out as she tried to hurry for the door.

"Don't matter. The boss man is pissed and is asking for you to meet him in the back," Tony said. He had already blocked their exit with his oversized form. His speed had seemed unnatural for a man as large as him.

"Tell Slade he can fuck off," Nikki snapped. "I've got more important things to deal with right now."

"Nikki, what's going on?" Jessica whispered into her ear with growing concern.

"With a pretty face like hers he'll see her too," Tony said with a malicious grin. "If not the boys will enjoy her company."

"Keep your dirty dicks away from her!" Nikki yelled with anger as she threw a blind rage-fueled punch.

Tony easily blocked the blow as his hand completely enveloped Nikki's. With his free hand, he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the ground as she kicked and fought to escape. "You fucked up Nikki," he frowned.

A second bouncer soon arrived, Lars, reached a thick arm around Jessica and pulled her into a tight embrace. "This one came out of the private room. She tried burning the club down," Lars growled.

"No, I didn't! It was the DJ!" Jessica pleaded as she struggled against his strong as steel grip. "Let me go!"

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With renewed fury, Nikki began to wildly thrash about. "Get off of her! I'll go but don't lay a hand on her!"

"Nah, I think she's kinda cute," Lars whispered into Jessica's ear with a sinister smile.

Jessica tightly gripped Lar's forearm as panic welled up. In a futile attempt she struggled against his hold on her. Then her hand began to glow red hot. The pungent smell of burnt hair and skin quickly overcame the group as Lar's yelped in pain. Jessica stared at the man gripping the fresh third degree burn on his arm and she turned to slap Tony across the face with an open palm.

"Agh! You bitch!" Tony growled in pain as he dropped Nikki to clutch his face.

The red glow of Jessica's hand began to quickly fade as she stared in shock at what had just occurred. Her mind was racing as she tried to comprehend how this was possible. Could this be what Lucifer meant by having his power?

"I have so many questions but we gotta go!" Nikki said as she grabbed Jessica by her other arm and dragged her toward an exit.

The duo ran out of the club and into the cool night air and darted down the sidewalk. They bobbed and weaved between the fleeing crowd and cut down several alleyways in a desperate attempt to lose the club bouncers in the event they were followed.

After a series of random turns, the duo found themselves alone in a dark alley. Nikki pressed her back against the cool touch of a brick wall. She kept her eyes closed for several moments with her head tilted back. Her breasts rose and fell from her heavy breathing as she tried to catch her breath. Finally, she tilted her head forward and stared Jessica in the eyes.

"What the fuck was that!?" Nikki yelled in a hushed tone. She wildly gestured toward the direction of the Venus nightclub, "The fire, your hand..." She pointed at Jessica's hand with an accusing finger, "Your hand!?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" Jessica snapped back as she propped herself against the adjacent wall. "Are you wrapped up in some sort of sex ring or something?"

"Nevermind, my business. You gave a man third degree burns on his arm and another on his face but somehow your hand looks like you still moisturized this morning."

"No. No!" Jessica said as she pointed an accusing finger at Nikki. "The only reason all this happened in the first place was because you brought me to that stupid nightclub. What the hell is going on in there that you're not telling me?"

Nikki stared off into the distance as a few raindrops began to fall from the sky. "I work at the club as an escort..." She said slightly embarrassed as a hint of red flushed her cheeks.

"I thought you were working at the coffee shop? Jessica softened her tone.

"I got fired... Things were getting tight and I had bills to pay. Slade down at the club offered me work and I kind of became his personal girl."

"Why didn't you say something to me? I would have helped you out."

"You had already had your first doctor visit. I knew how devastated you were and I couldn't bring myself to burden you with my problems," Nikki admitted.

"Nikki..." Jessica said as she reached to hold her friend's hands. "I've known you ever since middle school. We've been best friends ever since you kicked my bully in the nuts. I'd do anything for you."

Nikki glanced up and couldn't resist as she let a smirk broke through. "That was pretty funny to watch him squirm on the ground."

"So those goons from the Venus club?" Jessica asked, "I don't think you can go back."

"Slade's going to take this personally," Nikki shrugged, "I guess lay low for a while and hope they don't find me, but it'll be fine. It was a shit job anyway. Let's talk about your situation though. What happened in that private room?"

"Well," Jessica said as she took a deep breath, "Right before the beat dropped I lost you. Then I slipped and I was about to fall that DJ saved me, or at least I thought it was the DJ. I knew something was off about him but the way his words slipped off his tongue... I couldn't resist. It felt like he was guiding my choices and I was just there for the ride. Then he made me a drink and started talking about me getting revenge against Brian and stuff."

"You said back at the club it was Lucifer?" Nikki asked with a contemplative look. "Do you think he was reading your mind or something?"

"I don't think so. Thinking back on it he was pretty vague as if he was searching for what to follow up on next. He ended up convincing me to make this deal with him. I get some of his power for a day and after that, he comes to collect my soul..."

"Ugh," Nikki ran her fingers through her pink hair. "Why would you take an offer like that? Nothing about any of that sounds good!"

"I was in a pretty low place," she admitted. "The way he talked made it all sound so good. I didn't know what else to do."

"So we have less than a day to figure out how to save your soul..." Nikki trailed off in thought.

A portly man waddled into view. One hand cradled his swollen stomach while the other pinched a cigarette. He wore a grease stained apron that hung loosely from his neck as the strings were far too short to tie around his large form. "Couldn't help but overhear your plight." A wide grin slowly began to spread across his face.

"I can help you take down Lucifer."