Libya - Present Day
Slumped against the stone wall in the corner of Samedi's altar room, with cold, rusty metal shackles digging into his bloodstained wrists, Angel moaned softly. He was pretending to be unconscious, both to stay out of harm's way and to focus on listening to the devious pair arguing across the room. It wasn't a difficult act, as he occasionally faded in and out due to the beating Rygen had given him.
"Master," Rygen, in his human form, spoke slowly, "I must admit that I've come to admire how vile you are, and I have enjoyed the kills and the taste of human flesh."
This feigned submission went against all his nature, but he had time to consider the plan. The idea of binding the princess, maybe even mating with her, had shifted from anticipation to outright fear. She was Lucifer's daughter, after all.
"But I beg you to take my warning seriously. No one has ever tried to bind a free-roaming demon summoned by an incomplete spell. You risk destroying her and yourself, and even if you did not, you could end up calling upon the wrath of Lucifer himself."
At the altar, his back turned away from the hellhound, Samedi's arrogance radiated as he combined different powders in a bowl alongside fresh human blood. "You underestimate my powers, pet. I have summoned many a demon before, just as I called you. She may be more than a normal demon, but she will submit to my will just the same."
"She is the offspring of an angel and a human-turned-demon, Master. As far as I know, she is the only one of her kind in Hell. Tread very lightly."
Sensing he was making no progress, Rygen tried a different tactic. "Though she is the daughter of Lucifer, her lineage offered no protection from the scorn of the many overlords and sins in Hell. Yet they never dared cross her or challenge her. She has power, and everyone knows it, even if she has chosen not to use it."
He paused, looking ashamed to admit his next words. "Had I known it was her the night I arrived in your shed, I'd have asked for death instead."
Lifting his chin, having heard enough, Angel quipped sarcastically, "And yet, you were so easily baited in the swamp, whelp!"
Rygen reacted sharply to Angel's mockery. "Fuck you," he hissed. "I had no choice. Now shut up, or I'll prolong your suffering when I eat you."
"I'm not afraid of you," Angel snapped back, though he definitely was.
"Enough!" Turning from his work, Samedi growled. "Both of you." He looked squarely at Angel, fingering his necklace for him to see. "One more word out of you, and I'll sear that mouth of yours shut."
Angel glared back at him, silent, well aware that his threat was sincere.
"Ha!" Rygen laughed. "Who's the whelp, now?"
"You are both childish." Resuming his work on the spell while grinding components with methodical precision, Samedi continued, "And you do not need to concern yourself with the spell. I learned of the failed summoning that the boy used to call up the princess. I know what went wrong."
"What!?" Whipping his head up, surprised, Angel immediately cringed.
With a chilly smile, Samedi turned to face Angel and reached for his necklace.
"Yes." Rygen cackled. "Burn him!"
But he stopped short. The cold smile dropped, and his hand dropped as well. "No. Your surprise is warranted. I'll tell you what I learned. Perhaps it will quell my pet's worries, as well."
Rygen frowned. "You should burn his mouth closed, anyway."
Ignoring him and keeping his eyes on Angel, Samedi explained, "When I discovered the source of the summoning, I had an ally of mine go and visit the child who'd attempted the spell."
He saw Angel's fear and waved his hand dismissively. "Do not worry. The boy is fine. There was no need to kill him. I only needed information."
Angel slumped his shoulders, relieved.
Reaching for a jar, he unscrewed the cap and poured a generous amount of green sludge into the bowl. Capping it, he set the jar next to him and began to stir anew. "He used all the right items: a talisman, blood, a circle, and Lucifer's sigil," Samedi recollected with a bit of respect in his voice. "His mistake was calling out the wrong name."
"Wrong name?"
Nodding while continuing his preparations, Samedi answered, "See, the boy slipped and called for Satan Morningstar. The problem is that there is no Satan Morningstar. It's Lucifer Morningstar. Had he spoken those words correctly, he would have had the devil itself in his presence, and the world may not be the same as it is now. As it is, the summoning somehow still managed to pull the princess out of Hell and drop her onto Earth, free of her bond."
Despite his pain and fear of the situation, Angel's chin lifted in curiosity, "How?"
"I do not know." Stirring the mixture with growing intensity, Samedi admitted. "And it's one question there may be no answer to. At least not in this world."
Angel's mind did what it always did, looking at every possibility. "You wonder if something else brought her here, don't you?"
Samedi was silent as he lifted the bowl off the altar. Picking up a paintbrush, he moved toward the entrance. He ignored Angel's question in his response: "Now, I've been a cordial host in explaining how the princess got here, but I have a spell to prepare." His broken smile returned as he knelt to the floor and began designing the circle. The brush made wet, scraping sounds against the stone.
"When she comes through this door, she will see you and rush for you." He made running motions with his fingers. "But the moment she steps into my summoning circle, she will become trapped. It will hold her long enough for me to bind her. The boy messed up, but I won't. I will be the first to complete the ritual correctly, and the princess will belong to me."
"She will sense the circle," Angel scoffed.
"No." His thin smile chilled Angel. "She won't. I will see to that." He continued the markings and added a final decree: "And once she's bound, I will have her kill your sister in front of you to prove to you she is mine. Then, Rygen will feast on you at his leisure."
Rygen's lips raised, baring his fangs, glistening in the low light. "And I'm ready to savor my meal until the sun rises."
Shrinking against the wall, Angel felt all hope wash away. For the first time since that fateful night of the mission—when he witnessed his world crumble around him and lost faith in God—he looked up to the heavens and prayed.