A World of Sins

[Lucyfer]

Prologue

​

On a long and lonesome highway

East of Omaha

You can listen to the engines

Moaning out its one note song

You can think about the woman

Or the girl you knew the night before​

“Now this is a jam.” The passenger said, air-drumming the song in the silver truck as it peeled on down the road at over 80mph. It was still gaining speed. “We should come out this way more. I like this station.”


The driver didn’t glance over at him, but a smile remained on her lips. “Yeah, that’s what we should do,” the sarcasm was obvious. “Come here, to Ohio, and not some place like California or Florida.” Pedal to the metal as they came upon a black iron gate. “Hold on.”


The man reached up to grab the suicide handle, as he called it, and the truck’s nose pushed through the gate and broke it right open for them. The vehicle bounced a bit as it went over the rough terrain, heedless of tombstones on its path towards one of the mausoleums

Later in the evening

As you lie awake in bed

With the echoes of the amplifiers ringing in your head

You smoke the day’s last cigarette

Remembering what she said

What she said​

The truck came to a stop right outside those doors. “What, not gonna ram it, too?”


“No, it’d hurt her too much,” the driver said, reaching over and pulling the door open without bothering to turn the truck off. She hopped out, and the passenger followed suit. She went right to the back of the truck, where there metal boxes on the sides filled with hunting equipment. She hopped right into the back and began to pull out some things.


“I booked us a cruise to Bermuda.” The comment seemed to come out of nowhere, causing the driver to pause in sorting out tools.


“Vacation or job?”


He chuckled, “Why not both?”


She went back to grab a few of the items, then walked to where he waited, and took his hand down. He explained, “I did some research on the phenomena of the Bermuda Triangle when you were making a supply run. It seems to cause chaos only under specific circumstances, and I got us tickets for a cruise that’s going through it at such a time.”


The two made their way to the mausoleum doors, truck still purring with life. The woman passed the flashlight to the man and asked, “What are the circumstances?”


He held the flashlight and explained as she dug out her lock picking tools. “The fourth Lunar Eclipse in a Lunar Tetrad. It’s also called a Blood Moon by Christians who like to prophesize. It happens now and then, used to be rarer than it is now.”


“Funny how that happens a lot,” the words were muttered, and the man laughed. A click, and she pushed the door open.


“I know,” he agreed,“Feels like something big is coming, doesn’t it?”


The woman didn’t voice her concerns, but she agree with the brown-haired man. She didn’t want to, but she did.


They both went inside, and the woman shut the door after them. “Find the phylactery. We don’t know how close the lich is.”Locked, not that it mattered. What mattered was the oil, which she spread in a line across the doorway and then moved to the windows. She intended to walk along the walls, but first things first were the vulnerable points. “We’ll head on to the east coast after this.”


The man began to move about, first to the desk, which he began to shuffle through the items. “We don’t even know what it looks like,”he muttered, more to himself. “I’m convinced that’s not even a word.”


The woman ignored his complaints and continued with the oil. A gust of wind against the building soon caused both of them to look up, and then look at each other. The man moved quicker. The woman found her matchbox and quickly tried to light one. She threw it onto the oil, which lit immediately—white flame. “It can’t cross. It can’t.” She was speaking for her own sanity.


“It can put it out.”He reminded. They had to book it when they learned that nugget of information earlier.


She knew, and so she set aside oil and matches on the desk and began to join the search for the phylactery. “It should be a box made of skin,”she told him. She’d told him this before.“It will have writing on it, but the skin should be the giveaway.”


“Oh, yes, because ski—holy fuck.”The man’s hands jumped back from what they’d stumbled on. “That…is not leather.”The woman’s hazel eyes lifted from her own search to see what he’d found. She picked up the skin box, put it on the table, just as the sprinklers of the building were set off.


“I was expecting it would be dried, not—”


“Just destroy it!”Impatient. They were running out of time. The fire didn’t set the sprinklers off. The fire didn’t smoke.


He lifted the axe, and brought it down on the box just as the fire at the doorway was cleared. The door was thrown open by a gust, and in walked the man with the thin skin, and skeletal form. The door was blown to pieces by the gust, and flew at the two humans. The woman ducked, but the man was caught up in his task. The axe fell on the box, cut it in twain, but several pieces of wood plunged through him for it. He remained standing, rigid.


The lich in the doorway collapsed, body becoming dust as that which kept its body immortal was destroyed.


The woman rose from her ducked position and first glanced towards the doorway. The clothing of the lich was in a pile. “You did—”and the rest of the sentence caught in her throat as her dark eyes caught sight of the man. There was a stake of wood through an eye, and others penetrated his arms and chest. He was trembling, clearly still alive, and in pain.“Wyatt, I—hold on, just—hold on!”

 

[Lucyfer]

The memory of that night, just two weeks ago, remained with Artemis Feros who now donned tourist attire of a white tank top, denim shorts, and white flip-flops. Her strawberry blonde hair was put back, sunglasses covered her hazel eyes, and she stood in a security line with a cell phone to her ear.


“Hello, Johnny,” she greeted the man on the other end, “Did you get my note?”


“Did I get your note?” he repeated the question in an angry voice, “Girl, I told you to stay here, you ain’t in no shape to be out there.”


“Yeah, but Wyatt got me tickets for a cruise. I couldn’t just not go,” particularly given the timing. “He’d want me here, you know.”


“No he wouldn’t!” Johnny protested immediately, “He’d want you here, fixing that piece of metal you left with me.”


“Hey, don’t insult her like that. Anyway, it’s good you called, see, I’m going to have to get weapons on a cruise ship and I need you to vouch for me.” Ah, the fun of being a Hunter. Pretending to be FBI, or CSI, or whatever she needed to be in order to get weapons on a cruise. She had already made up the lie for the case she was investigation. “Can you do that for me?”


Johnny knew he wasn’t going to win this. If she was already there, he wasn’t going to win. “Just be careful,” he said in an exhale, “You shouldn’t be there alone, Arty. Any one of us woulda come with you.”


‘Yeah. I know.’ That was why she hadn’t asked, of course. After what happened to Wyatt, she didn’t want to put anyone else at risk. She was even considering ending her career after this Bermuda case. She’d go to the hospital, and wait, like a normal person, at Wyatt’s side. She’d wait for him to die, since she had little faith that he was ever going to come out of the coma he was in.


She could have summoned a demon, and the thought came to her to go to a vampire—anything, to bring Wyatt back. It was those thoughts which had forced her to leave for the cruise. If she sat in that room, and talked to him, she would have done something like that. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll see ya in a little while. Oh, I’m Autumn Holliday.” Just so he knew which role she was playing while on the ship.


With that, she hung up her phone, and she continued through the line. She was eventually stopped and pulled aside because of what was in her luggage. She spun a lie about a rape case and how the cruise line was under investigation in sex trafficking. Johnny backed her up when he was called, and she was allowed on the ship with her luggage full of weapons and strange items.


The cruise people were very accommodating. They promised to take her luggage to her room for her, so that she could enjoy the early festivities on top of the boat. She let them, too.


The top of the boat was already teeming with activity—people swimming in the pool, Katy Perry blasting, and a tiki bar open. It was only 10am at the latest, so there weren’t many people at the bar. ‘Perfect.’


And so she walked on over there, and took a seat on one of stools. One leg crossed over the other and she gave the bartender a grin. It was a woman with long, wavy black hair, and a too-tight black top.


Already, Arty imagined she was going to enjoy her stay from the grin the woman gave her. It wasn’t flirtatious, but it spoke of kindred spirits. Arty pushed her sunglasses up so she could look the woman in the eyes. “So, when do they play the good music?” She crossed her arms over the counter, making it clear she was wearing one of those bracelets that gave her access to all the booze she wanted. Wyatt had made sure this trip was going to be quite VIP, after all.


“When the children go to sleep,” she answered, “What can I get for you, darling?” Her accent had a southern twang.


“The girliest possible thing you can create. Make it pink and fruity.” She just wanted to be amused.


“You got it.” And soon enough, before Arty stood an atrocity to all things, in its pink and bubbly glory. There was even pink sugar on the rim. “We’re going to be friends,” Artemis deduced, as she snickered over the drink and then brought it to her lips. She leaned against the counter and turned around to watch some of the people already playing volleyball, not at all hiding her interest in the already-topless men.


‘Business and pleasure, right, Wyatt?’ She sipped at her drink and tried not to let the teeny-bop music bother her too much.


~***~


The arrival of Sylas Devonshire to the Bermuda cruise had been much less traumatic. It had all started quite simply, actually.


“You are our 9th caller! You’re getting two tickets for a trip to Bermuda!”


Sylas had been ecstatic about the free trip, but he hadn’t been sure who to bring along. He didn’t have any friends outside of his work, so he had to be careful to call someone who wouldn’t turn this trip into work. Jackey Winson eventually came to mind, and so the two planned to head out on the cruise together. He handed off the ticket to Jackey with plans to find him on the boat. They had to share a room, after all. That was the only annoying part of this plan.


‘Have to find girls with their own rooms.’ Sylas intended to enjoy his vacation to the fullest. It was why he’d also splurged on a nice haircut for his brown hair, and made sure he was clean shaven. He wasn’t sure if the cruise would offer such services.


Sylas left behind his hunter gear in the care of his family. He took his black Challenger on up to the East Coast in good time, and soon found himself in the line for the boat, going through security and all that. He felt relieved to be without his hunting gear. That would have made getting on this cruise difficult—not impossible. All hunters had their ways, a long line of connections. His went back to Johnny, like the vast majority of American hunters, but he had some contacts out in the UK as well as Italy, China, Japan, Brazil, and other places.


Once he was on the ship, he took a look around with a contented smile on his lips. His brown eyes looked approvingly over the boat and its early revelers. He couldn’t help but laugh at the swimming pool on a boat, “God bless America,” he chuckled at the luxury.


Sylas stepped out of the way of others getting on board, and slipped his leather jacket off, leaving him in a white t-shirt and black jeans. He wasn’t going to need the jacket soon, but he just couldn’t part with it. Habit.


He draped the jacket over a shoulder as he looked down at all the people heading up onto the boat, and decided to lean on the metal railing and watch. He dug out his phone from his jeans and dialed up Jackey, planning to find out if that man was already on the boat or not. If so, he’d have to go and find him. If not, he’d just wait for him to pass on by. ‘Come on, man, pick up.’

 

[Sasuri]

Being the only child meant Jacky’s life had become pretty dammed boring. He was a child with demon blood in him and has had far too many near death encounters in his life that if someone asked his is demons and angels real he would say fuck yes along with many other freaky creatures of the night. It was typical that his friend Sylas invited him on a cruise and to the Bermuda no less. Of course the boy never once mentioned to his good friend that his body was corrupted with demon blood and he had supernatural abilities all of his own.


Jacky arrived on his own accord to the cruise ship. He had two bags and was dressed in his usual attire of long grey jeans black singlet and steel capped boots. The dusty blonde haired male got of his motorbike and it was placed in storage for the trip. He walked up with his bag slung over his shoulder and his black hoodie tied around his waist as he watched many beautiful woman walking aboard too. ‘Looks like Christmas is coming early this yeah’ he thought to himself as he wandered to his cabin which was locked. ‘of course a shared dammed key’ thought then groaned right as his phone rang loudly playing its regular song ( Enter Sandman By metallica). Answering the phone he placed his bag and leaned on the cabin door tapping his foot on the ground.


“Any chance I could get room service?” he said instantly to his friend then let out a light chuckle as two beautiful woman walked past in there short shorts?, well whatever the girls called them and bikini tops. “So??? Room service dude?” he asked again.


------------------------------


Leiah was one to work alone, the brunette had a way of keeping herself entertained with her work after. She was raised in the so called family business and in some sick twisted way she liked it. After the stories of the fourth Lunar Eclipse in a Lunar Tetrad was making the huntress go on a somewhat relaxing holiday hunt. She had never been one for cruises and fun one night stands on boats it was strictly business. After packing her bag and catching rumors of a second possible hunter being on the ship taking a cover of a rape case and possible trafficking. Getting her gear on was simple.


Dressed in a white dress and black sandals she boarded the ship with a very helpful crewmen who was carrying her bags to her personal suite. “Over there is all the pools miss” the man said leading the way as Leiah rolled her eye’s stating such an obvious fact just seemed tacky. Going to her suite he opened the door and placed her bags down. “Miss would you like me to direct you to the other female officer aboard the ship?” the man asked. Running a hand through her hair he shook her head "No no I will find her myself" Leiah answered and shooed the man away as she set herself up then went for a wander around the ship.

 

[Lucyfer]

“So, are you here alone?” The bartender asked.


Artemis knew she’d be answering that question a lot, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t going to hurt the first few times. She wasn’t used to it. She didn’t want to be used to it. “Yeah,” pink, girly drink was tasty, at least. “I’m here more on business than pleasure, though,” it wasn’t a lie. She swiveled back around, “I don’t suppose you know much about the rumors of this cruise line hosting a sex trafficking business?”


By the way her face lost all its color, she did not. “I—I just started here today, I didn't hear anything about...that.”


“Don’t worry,” Artemis calmed, “Just don’t leave the boat alone. Always go with someone you can trust. That’s where these things happen, when the boat docks for a bit at one of the islands. Or just don’t leave the boat,” though she imagined the bartender wanted to leave the boat now and then, why else sign on for this kind of job? Going to the Bermuda islands was bound to be fun. “I’m going to get it all worked out anyway, so you’ll be fine.”


Artemis really hoped this wasn’t a real thing and she’d just made it up. Sometimes, her lies ended up being too close to the truth.


A call came, and she picked it up, the ringtone basic, “’Ello Johnny, what now?”


“There’s another on board,” he told her, and she sat up straighter. “Are you drinking?”


‘Every. Time.’ She hadn’t even had enough to feel anything.


“Stop that.”


“Yes, dad.” Might as well be, she supposed. He had practically raised her. “Anyway, who?”


“Leiah Clark.”


“Of the Clark family?”


“Yup.”


“Cool. No idea who she is.” She knew the family, of course. “Can you send a picture so I’ll recognize her?”


“Yeah, I can do that.”


“Thanks. Cheers,” and she hung up, and went immediately back to her drink. She explained to the bartender, “There’s another agent on board I wasn’t expecting.” So this was about to get interesting.


Her phone buzzed again, and she flicked it open to see the image of a brunette woman there. She shut it again and made a note to look around for her later. "So, what's your name?" She asked the bartender. There was no name tag.


~***~


Sylas laughed at the immediate response to his phone call. So Jacky was already on the boat then? Sylas was pleased to hear that and he pushed away from the side of the boat. “Dunno, are you gonna tip me?” Though Sylas was already walking away from the side of the boat and towards the stairs that would lead him down to the rooms. “Yeah, I'll be down in a sec.” And he hung up on Jacky.


He had only been to the room to set his stuff in it and claim one of the beds. He was thankful there were two. That would have just been too awkward to deal with if there was just one bed.


He came down the hallway soon enough and saw the blond man standing there, one bag resting on the floor. He gave him a smirk, before he took one of the two keys off of his elastic wristband and tossed it to him. “Good to see you weren’t late.” He put his own key in and opened the door for the both of them. Sylas stepped into the room first and over to the side he’d already claimed. “I’m taking this one,” he kicked the left bed with his foot.


“So, what do you think?” He wasn’t asking about the room, but the trip and the idea in general, now that they were here, “Things are looking pretty good already. I saw they already have one of the tiki bars open up near a volleyball court and pool.” He hadn’t explored much of the things below deck. From what he understood, there was a fancier ballroom somewhere, a chapel, more food services, and then a whole array of services from clothing sellers to manicure places.


Sylas was going to have to find some place to win money, though. He didn’t have all that much to his name. The hunter’s life didn’t pay as well as it should. He could have money wired to him, but his family would never do that if they knew it was just for a vacation trip.

 

[Sasuri]

Leiah walked up on deck and took in the view of topless men, young woman in bikinis and much more. It was funny they had not even let port yet and they already were having a ball. The brunette shook her head. She couldn't help but wonder why one earth people would want to go on a cruise willingly. It was something she expected her grandparents to do. Lounge around all day or swim.


Seeing the Tiki bar Leiah walked up quietly she was shorter than most standard women but not by much. She walked up to the bar seeing the woman she was near 99 percent sure was the right one.


The woman she looked at held a pink drink. Ach how gross. "your the other agent I was told would be on this cruise good to see I am not alone on this investigation" she said after it was clear the woman working the bar was finished talking. It was not as formal as she thought she was going to be but fuck it. She hated introductions almost as much as she hated vampires.


-----


Jackey caught his key and chuckled "well I wouldn't tip you for speed mate" he said laughing as he entered the room seeing that his friend was already set up. Dumping his stuff on his bed he sat down and chuckled once again. "I think it is very nice and you need a girlfriend" he said laughing again.


"But anyway here this is for you" he said tossing a set of keys to him. "when we get back there is something I built for you" he said smiling. "it is almost as cool as my ride" he stated leaning back on the bed looking up at the ceiling yawning. "as uncool as this is going to sound I am going to sleep for a while it was a long as hell drive here"

 

[Lucyfer]

The woman had been close enough to overhear the conversation, it seemed. Leiah, as Johnny said. “Would have been nice to know before now,” there was a touch of hostility to Arty’s tone. She didn’t know if this had been set up by Johnny, feigning ignorance, to get her to work with a partner or not.


Arty heard it in her tone and let out a sigh. “Sorry,” she wasn’t angry with Leiah. “Do you need me?” She didn’t know if Leiah wanted to discuss the situation in private, or if she had other information that needed to be shared. In fact, she didn’t even know if Leiah and she were pursuing the same case. For all Arty knew, there was a demon on board.


‘That’s what we need.’ Well, Arty at least knew how to deal with demons.


~***~


Sylas rolled his eyes at Jackey’s suggestion. He’d told him a hundred times a steady girlfriend wasn’t feasible, not with his line of work. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t like it. No, Sylas just didn’t want another person he knew to be in the line of danger. He couldn’t count how many times his mother, or his father, were used as bait for the other. They always came out all right, but Sylas didn’t want to put anyone in that position.


Another set of keys was tossed, and Sylas caught it. He looked it over, “Eh?” And then to Jackey, but the man was leaning back against wall. Sylas shook his head, “Whatever you say. I’ll let you sleep.” ‘Loser.’ Sylas flipped the keys against his palm, and then tucked them away in a pocket before he exited the room and walked out.


The sound of a horn, and then movement, followed his departure, and Sylas all but ran for the surface to check out the scenery as the boat left the dock. He smiled a bit at the joy all around him, as people waved good bye to loved ones on the shore. He couldn’t help but join the throng and just wave at the people getting further away in general.


‘And somewhere, whatever these keys go to.’ Jackey was far too kind. He’d have to actually thank him when he saw what it was.

 

[Sasuri]

Leiah looked at the red haired woman and nodded "sure wouldn't hurt to share notes" she said smiling gently as she looked at the woman running the bar and shrugged as she turned to walk of then paused realizing that she hadn't suggested the obvious. Looking back she called out "let's re locate to a more quiet place shall we?" she asked smiling softly then walked ahead.


She had no time for games she needed to know if this other hunter was also on the ship for the same reason or if she was one actually on a holiday using her skills to get herself a free upgrade on the ship. Either way she had to check.


______


As lazy as Jackie was he lay on his bed and had a nice long nap, though the horn of the ship woke him up for a split second before he dozed of to sleep. In his dream he was facing the usual figure. One fully enguled in a black aura and it levitated. "ah Jackie it appears your back with that hunter again" the figure said as Jackie just stared for a moment. It the dream it felt as real as when he was on the ship talking to his friend, which is why he was a little creeped out.


'I thought we agreed no more hunter friends' the figure said as Jackie chuckled.


"you know that is not your choice plus you have no control" Jackie smirked as the figure spoke again


'that is true but we are bound together... I am in your blood after all'


Jackie shook his head "I know I know now shut up and let me sleep already" he said as the figure faded away and the dreams of nothing took over.

 

[Lucyfer]

Artemis let out a long-suffering sigh and pushed the pink drink up. “Oh, you can take that with you,” the bartender said. At Artemis’s look, she added, “Where are you going to steal it to, your room?”


“Touche,” Artemis laughed a bit and took the pink drink with her to follow after Leiah to a more private location, as she said. She kept pace with her, looking over the boat as they walked along it and checking out the others who were here, wondering if she and Leiah would be the only ones.


‘It would be interesting. I suppose not impossible, if Wyatt figured this out.’


The depreciating thought was immediately criticized in her mind. She wasn’t quite ready to make jokes about her comatose partner. She did decide to introduce, “I already know who you are Leiah, but just in case, I’m Artemis. I’m going by Autumn, though.”


~***~


Only a few moments after Artemis had left the bar, Sylas sauntered up to it, “Rum and coke, please!” He said, flashing his own wristband to show his status.


“Coming right up,” the bartender said and he leaned against the counter and looked over at the game of volleyball that was going on nearby.


The drink was set besides him, and he took a sip of it, then a second, then glanced at her, “Watch it, please,” as if someone was going to roofie his drink. He chuckled as the thought as he slipped his jacket onto the barstool, and then his shirt. He ran forward to join the game, taking a knee near where the ball was about to fall on one side of the net, and bumped it up.


Another member on his side of the net jumped up to spike it down against the girls they were playing against, “Not fair!” One cried out, but the man on his side gave him a high-five.


“Sure it is,” he grinned, “You play this professionally, Tina.” He said, then offered his hand to Sylas. “Good one, mate. Your name?”


“Sylas,” he offered, taking the hand in a firm grip, “You?”


“Argon. Wanna play?”


“Hell yeah,” he had nothing else to do with Jackey sleeping.