Chapter Nineteen

The next morning I was awoken by movement under my arms. Huh? I opened my eyes and I was apparently hugging Lucifer in my sleep.

“Good morning,” Lucifer smiled, amused.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I moved away from him and stretched, “I usually run away from people in my sleep. I didn’t know I’d do that.”

“It’s quite alright, let’s get ready for school.”

I nodded and did so. After school Lucifer drug me and Mammon with him shopping. He said it was to keep Mammon and Satan from getting in trouble using Lucifer’s body. After some time we stopped at Hell’s Kitchen to eat.

“Order whatever you’d like, both of you,” Lucifer said, “It’s my treat.”

Mammon took the bait, while I know him too well, “That seems… awfully nice.”

“No need to be suspicious, Drizzm.”

“Yeah,” interrupted Mammon, “Let’s eat a lot!”

I gave Lucifer another suspicious look before ordering. While waiting for our food Mammon went to the bathroom and I took the opportunity to ask, “So, what’s this all about, really?”

“You are hard to trick,” Lucifer sighed.

“Look, if you feel the need to trick Mammon, then go ahead. But, please don’t try to trick me. I thought we’d be past that.”

He looked apologetic, “I need your help in the Human World.”

“The Human World?”

“I’ll explain when we’re done eating.”

“Okay. But, next time, just ask for my help. I told you I’d be here for you. I don’t desire payment for my help.”

“I’m learning.”

“Hopefully.”

He shot me a look as Mammon came back, at the same time our food arrived. We finished our food and once outside Lucifer addressed why he tricked us. Apparently, he tracked down the witch responsible for the curse and he needs our help to get her to reverse it. Why we needed Mammon? I dunno.

“Wait,” I asked, “How do we get to the Human World?”

“There’s many paths to the Human World,” Lucifer explained, “It used to be that demons could travel freely. But, thanks to a certain demon,” he looks directly at Mammon, “You now need special permission. Except for a few select demons, such as myself, can cross freely.”

“Well, that’s convenient.”

“Indeed. Now let’s go through the checkpoint,” he led us through, except, he didn’t, “Wait, why isn’t it working?”

“Maybe it’s ‘cause ya ain’t in ya own body,” Mammon postulated.

“Ugh, this is a problem.”

“No, it’s not,” Satan appeared, “I’m not fond of the idea of giving that speech either. So, I’ll come with. You need me anyways, right?”

“Let’s go then,” Lucifer nodded. Satan came up to us and for some reason they held hands during this process. But, I didn’t dwell on it long as light poured into my eyes. We were in what looked like a train station, but the sun was still bright. I blinked and squinted.

“Where are we,” I asked.

“Victoria Station in London,” Lucifer answered, “Are you alright?”

"Yeah, I’m just not used to the sun anymore.”

“Oh, hey, Drizzm,” Mammon called us over to a vendor, “They’ve got Harrison Porter merch here!”

“That’s neat,” I said, “You like Harrison Porter?”

“What? Do ya not?”

“I’m pretty neutral on it.”

“Look,” he got excited, “They’ve got chocolate lizard keychains! You can only find them here!”

“Then get one.”

“We should both get one, as a memory of today.”

“Do you mean that or do you just have no money?”

He tensed, “What? Do you?”

“Yes, actually,” I laughed. He was so excited that I felt bad not getting it. But first I turned to Lucifer and Satan, “Would you two like one as well?”

“Sure,” they both replied.

“Wait, this is supposed to be for us two. I don’t want to share keychains with them.”

“Mammon,” I scolded, “I know the pacts give us a closer bond. But, you do not get to hoard me. I know greed is your thing, but I am not your boyfriend. So, do you want one or not?”

“Yes,” he hung his head, “I’m sorry.”

I went up to the vendor and bought 4 of the keychains. Mammon’s mood immediately lifted when I handed him his. At least he doesn’t stay upset for long. When I gave the others theirs Lucifer handed me a pair of sunglasses.

“I’m tired of watching you squint,” he told me, “If it’s that bright, you should wear these.”

“Did you buy them,” I asked, wondering where he suddenly pulled those out.

“Do you really think I would steal?”

“That’s not what I meant,” I sighed, “Whatever, doesn’t matter. Thank you.”

Our train pulled in and we got into a private cabin. I don’t know how much that costs but apparently Lucifer has quite a lot of human world cash. Is there an exchange rate for Grimm? That has to be a thing right? Otherwise, how does Lucifer have enough British currency to rent a private cabin?

“Look, Drizzm,” Mammon exclaimed, pointing out of the window, “It’s sheep! I wonder if they taste good?”

I peeked out the window at the sheep on the hillside, “They look like wool sheep. Probably okay tasting, but bred for their wool quality.”

“You know a lot about sheep.”

“Yeah, I spin yarn and knit.”

“What are you, an old lady?”

“Says the guy who lives in the Devildom where you don’t even have rice cookers?”

"Don’t you just make it in a pot?”

“Yeah but we have devices made to cook rice, or other things, to be perfect every time. You can also make rice in advance and it won’t get cold or soggy.”

“Wow, that’s incredible! All this talk about food is making me hungry. Isn’t there a dining car? I’m gonna go there and take pictures to send to Beel. He’s gonna be so jealous,” he happily left the car.

“I’m glad I paid for the private cabin,” Lucifer sighed, “He’s such an embarrassment.”

I chuckled and stretched, lounging absurdly low in the chair. Needless to say the lack of sleep has been getting to me.

“Why are you sitting like that,” Satan questioned.

“That’s how tired I feel,” I nonchalantly answered.

“That cannot be comfortable.”

“Meh, not the worst.”

“So, Lucifer,” Satan turned to him, “How do you plan to convince her to switch us back?”

A woman’s scream kept Lucifer from answering and PA system announced that there was a man matching Mammon’s description is suspected of murder.

“Oh, goddam it,” I sighed, sliding down and off the chair before standing up, “Why’d you bring him again, Lucifer?”

He sighed, “I don’t know.”

We went to the dining car and sure enough, there was a woman on the ground, stabbed in the back. Why is there no security on this train? There were also two men and another woman. They accused Mammon because the woman said his name and he confirmed it. They became more hysterical until Lucifer hypnotized them to get them to go back to their cabin.

We went back to ours to formulate a plan. I feel like seeing a dead body should have affected me, but instead of becoming upset, I became focused. As we sat a ghost appeared, sending Mammon into oblivion. It was Grisella’s ghost. She made a deal with us.

If we solve her murder, then she’ll lift the curse, restoring Lucifer and Satan to their respective bodies.

“In that case,” Lucifer suggested, “We torture the information out. That would be fastest.”

The other two agreed, but I apparently had to be the responsible one, “Yeah, no. That’s a terrible way to go about it. That’s like, a last resort. It’s not even that difficult of a mystery, I bet.”

“Oh, really,” Satan was intrigued.

“Just watch how someone with intelligence does it,” I turned to Grisella, “Do you mind telling me everything you remember?”

“Sure,” she agreed, her voice like wind, “I was doing a seance for the brother and sister, Lucas and Sophia, with my would-be apprentice, Noah. He’s the one in the flashy garb. It was going well until that white haired idiot opened the door. I turned to him and that’s when I was stabbed.”

“Okay, thank you. Mammon, what did you see?”

“It was dark,” he stared, thinking, “there was only a single candle on their table and they had all the other lights out. Grisella was closest to me, then the guy in flashy clothes, then the other two on the far side.”

“Thank you. Yeah, this is a stupid easy riddle. Grisella, why didn’t you make Noah your apprentice?”

“Because I foresaw myself dying today. He begged me but I didn’t want to die so soon after making him my apprentice.”

“This was recent?”

“A few months ago.”

“Noah for sure did it. You denying him that opportunity he so desperately wanted caused him to be your death. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

“Yes, it is unfortunate.”

Satan and Mammon went to get the siblings, while Lucifer went to grab Noah. I walked with Grisella to the dining car she died in.

“Drizzm,” Grisella was serious, “I have a warning for you.” “Oh,” I asked.

“You’ll soon lose every bit of trust Lucifer has in you.”

My hear sank, but I sorta expected I’d do something eventually, “May I ask a follow-up question?”

“Normally, I charge, but I’ll let it slide.”

“Will I die then as well?”

She was silent for a long time, “No, but your future is hard to see after that.”

“I see. Well, I’ll just have to work as hard as I can to regain that trust. Thank you, Grisella. I hope you find peace after today.”

She didn’t answer as we reconvened with the others. Noah was acting like a dickhead.

“So, did you finally decide on something?”

I glared at him, “Shut the fuck up, murderer.”

The siblings gasped, “Noah?!”

“How dare you accuse me, “he shouted, “You have no proof!”

“Explain to me how someone two feet away can stab another person in the back when facing each other,” I demanded, eyebrow raised.

He tensed, almost shaking with anger.

“No,” I continued, “Mammon couldn’t do that. But, you, the person who was literally behind her absolutely can. And there’s motive. She rejected you as an apprentice. So, as humans do, especially men like you, you murdered her.”

“Is that true, Noah,” Sophia asked meekly.

“Yes! Fine, it’s true! I killed her,” he threw his hands up in exacerbation, “She never should have refused me!”

“She didn’t want to,” I explained, “She just foresaw she wouldn’t live past today and didn’t want to leave her apprentice high and dry. And this is how you repay her.”

He was shocked and gave up, collapsing into a chair. He was willing to give himself over to Scotland Yard and the siblings decided that they would keep a close eye on him so he faces the punishment he deserved. So, we left them to go back to our cabin.

“Thank you,” Grisella lifted the curse before fading away.

The two tried to pretend it didn’t work, immediately catching Mammon hook, line, and sinker.

I laughed, “Yay! You two are back to normal!”

“Huh,” Mammon was slack-jawed, “They’re pretending?”

“Yeah,” Satan glowed, “That was great Drizzm! It was right out of my murder mystery novels! There can only be one true answer!”

He giggled like a school kid. I smiled.

“I didn’t even need to bring up the angle of the knife. And that guy’s gonna be regretting being a dick every day he rots in jail.”

“Wow.”

“What? Fuck that guy.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I just get surprised when you act like that.”

We chatted the rest of the way to the station. Lucifer announced that since we were here, we should spend the rest of the day here. I put on my sunglasses as we left the station. Mammon tried to get us to go gambling, as he tends to do. But, since the rest of us didn’t, we went to see a play. As resistant as he is to do non-gambling activities, he always gets the most invested.

Afterwards we visited a bookstore, with me and Satan wandering around together, “Satan! Look at this one! The cover’s so goofy.”

“Oh, that’s actually a super rare misprint! In mint condition too,” he was so excited and I’m sure you could hear us from anywhere in the store.

We were passing by shops in a center when I spotted an art store. A big one. I stopped for a second, about to go in, but didn’t want to bother the others so I continued following after them.

“Would you like to go in,” Lucifer inquired, of course he’s the one to notice.

“No, it’s okay,” I assured, “I don’t need to buy art supplies and start a new hoard.”

“You really look like you want to go in.”

“It’s okay, really. We’re doing enough. I’m happy just following you guys.”

“Alright,” he accepted the challenge, “Satan, Mammon, we’re going in here.”

When the other two noticed it was an art store I was interested in they dragged me in.

“You said, you were happy to follow us,” Lucifer teased.

“Yeah, yeah. Rude,” I joked, already getting distracted. I grabbed some sketchbooks, pencils, ink for my fountain pens, a nice fountain pen with ink to gift to Simeon, and notebooks. I also grabbed a couple impulsive purchases, as one does. We walked out with a smile on my face, carrying a very full bag.

“Aren’t you glad we went in,” Lucifer had a fun glint in his eyes, “Next time, just go in. We’ll shop with you.”

“Yeah,” Mammon intervened, “Even if I don’t understand anything ya say in there. Ya smile’s worth it.”

“That’s awfully honest of you, Mammon.”

“Whaddya mean,” he blushed, “Next time, I won’t say anythin’.”

“But it’s such a good look. Honestly is a pretty attractive trait, for real, for real.”

“Oh, no, he’s memeing again.”

“I can really meme on ya, if ya’d like. Make y’all real confused, real fast.”

We continued joking before they decided that they wanted to go to a pub. Thankfully I was in my late 20’s so I was of legal age. That would have been awkward.

“Human World alcohol is the best,” Mammon drank a big gulp of his beer.

“It’s the novelty I’m sure,” I replied, taking a drink of my stout.

“I’m surprised you get such a dark beer,” Satan commented, drinking a different type of beer. I dunno, I don’t drink beer outside of places like this.

“Yeah, I’m actually not a big fan of this kind of alcohol. But, a stout is most tolerable, and occasionally enjoyable.”

“What alcohol do you like, then?”

“I love apple flavored alcohols, especially apple whiskey or hard ciders. Mead infused with fruits is really good too. Maybe one day I can take you to my favorite place to drink.”

“That would be nice. But, whiskey? That’s surprising.”

“I actually don’t keep it around because I’m not responsible when I drink it. It just tastes too good. Mmm.”

“You’re starting to sound like Beel.”

“Yeah, probably best to keep it away from me,” I laughed as we continued drinking.

“Hey, Drizzm,” Mammon grabbed me, “Let’s go dance!”

“Yes,” Lucifer agreed, “Let’s dance, Drizzm.”

Satan also joined us and I took turns dancing with each brother.

“Do you miss the Human World now that we’re here,” Lucifer asked me while dancing with me.

“No,” I laughed, the alcohol making me feel warm and loose, “I love being with you guys. If anything, I’d just want a repeat of today.”

“Today?”

“Yeah, everything after the Grisella stuff has probably been the most fun I’ve had with you all since I’ve gotten to the Devildom.”

“That’s good to hear,” he was suddenly yanked away as the song ended. Mammon took turns very seriously lol.

After more fun and shenanigans we made our way back to the Devildom. Lucifer asked Satan to give the speech in his place.

Satan was surprised at first but then agreed, stating, “It’ll be the best speech they’ve ever had.”

Yeah, okay buddy.