Chapter 2:

Lucifer was awaiting Abigail's return in the very same booth she had sought refuge in yesterday. Nursing a drink, he let his eyes wander over the people in his club. So far, there was no sign of the young vampire, nor any other Kindred. Satisfied with that, he allowed his mind to wander, of course he knew of the Kindred, he also knew just how much they changed from ancient times. Which was to say, they hadn't changed all that much.

Instead of ruling over a city of their own like they did before the great flood, they prefered to live in the shadows to hide in plain sight, and do everything they could to remain hidden. He idly wondered how much longer that would work before human technology advanced far enough to make it impossible for them to hide.

Knowing humans though, he had no doubt that once the existence of vampires became public knowledge, they would start a witch hunt. With groups popping up to defend the undead from unfair treatment, while others would actively seek to become vampires themselves, or of course to experiment on them. Already there were vampire hunters, so there was a chance their end was coming in due course. He'd give them another century, and that was being generous.

Until then though, this so called Masquerade would keep them hidden, unless of course some moron decided to break it in a spectacular manner. To be fair, some would still find a way to explain such an occurrence rationally. His dear detective came to mind, after all she had seen, one would think that she'd be more open to the idea of the supernatural, but she continued to surprise him with her steadfast refusal to acknowledge such things.

And speaking of surprises, his eyes made out the form of a young woman with curly brown hair, and sun kissed skin. Those two facts hardly marked her as special but the fact that she held unto a photo of Abigail Wright and shoved it in people's faces, and asking them over the sound of the loud music whether they had seen her or not most certainly was.

Just as he expected, it didn't take long for one of the patrons to point towards him and say something to the woman. Who naturally turned to look at him with fierce determination and marched towards him with purpose. He watched her approach with some amusement, having a feeling he already knew what this all was about.

The photo was slammed into the table and she leaned over him obviously desperate for answers. "Talk."

"Oh dear, you must have intimidated me so that I don't know what to say." He remarked mischievously before his face became more serious. "Perhaps you could first ask a question before expecting an answer?"

"My friend." She held the photo up for emphasis. "Disappeared, and everyone thinks she's dead. Everyone but me, so I looked for her and people say she was seen with you yesterday night."

"And what will you do if you find Miss Abigail Wright?" Lucifer questioned and leaned back, anything but intimidated by the air she tried to put on.

"Isn't it obvious? I'll bring her home." She said it like it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"My dear… for one, you could really stand to introduce yourself and sit down." He said after a short moment of contemplation.

She reluctantly followed his advice and sat down across from him, looking ready to bolt at a moment's notice. "Samantha Neill."

"Well, Samantha. Have you ever considered that perhaps she didn't return home because she had her reasons?" The devil asked her lowly and looked her in the eye.

"What reasons? Everyone is grieving for her when she is-"

"Oh, I can assure you she is not fine. Far from it actually." Lucifer revealed and contemplated for a moment what to say. "We talked yesterday… and I can guarantee you that if she could she would return home in a heartbeat."

"Why? Why can't she come home?" Samantha pressed on and leaned forward.

"If you are willing to wait she can tell you herself, if she wants to. We are scheduled to meet this fine evening." He told her with a shrug as if her choice was of no consequence to him.

"Why? What does she want from you?" The apparent friend of the fledgling asked and glared at him as if was responsible for her disappearance in the first place.

"She might choose to call upon my… services to escape the situation she found herself in." Lucifer replied hesitantly, uncomfortable with how close to an actual lie he was getting while he purposely dodged the question to an extent at the same time.

"And what are your 'services'?" Samantha asked him sardonically.

Lucifer leaned forward, a grin splitting his face. "Whatever your heart desires… I can provide." He promised her and his whole bearing and voice did indeed promise her every bit of debauchery and need she ever felt.

Samantha for her part managed to somewhat keep her wits and reach her own conclusion. "Oh my god… you're a hitman!"

Lucifer's grin left his face in a split second to be replaced by a look of pure confusion. "Excuse me? I am most certainly not a hitman!" He was about to defend himself further when he saw Abigail entering his club. He waved at her and turned back towards Samantha. "Let's ask the subject of our conversation ourselves, shall we?"

The human woman across from him turned to look at the approaching vampire and let out a breath of relief. Apparently satisfied that her friend appeared to be in good shape. The vampire herself though froze upon seeing her froze in shock. "Samantha?"

"Abby, where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you?" Her friend demanded to know and grabbed her friend's exposed shoulders as if to shake her only to pull back as if burnt. "You're ice cold… are you alright? Are you sick?"

Abby turned to look at Lucifer with a truly pitiful gaze and with a sigh he decided to take pity on her. "If you want to tell her the truth go on."

"But the Masquerade-"

"Nevermind the Masquerade." Lucifer interrupted her with a snort. "If anyone has a problem with that I'll deal with them, consider it a favour… free of charge."

"Why free of charge?" Abigail muttered and looked at him critically.

"Because I think their attempts to intimidate me should prove to be at least somewhat entertaining… now go on. Explain herself to her before she screams the club down." The Lord of Hell explained with an eyeroll.

"Explain what? What Masquerade?" Samantha demanded to know and looked furiously from her friend to Lucifer and back.

"Samantha perhaps you should sit down, trust me it's better that way." Abby pleaded with her friend and after a few moments of furiously glaring at her friend the tanned woman conceded to her wishes and actually sat down. "It's unbelievable but… vampires are real."

"What?" Samantha hissed and almost jumped up again. "You disappear for weeks and now you return with such an utterly ridiculous-"

"Quiet." Abigail whispered and Samantha fell silent as if struck. "This is one of my abilities I can… command others. I know this hard to believe but-"

"Oh stop this!" Lucifer complained and threw up his hands in exasperation. "Just let her feel your pulse, or rather the lack there of that should convince her, or the fact that you no longer breathe… or just cut yourself and let her watch as you heal!" The young fledgling glared at him for a moment and opened her mouth to reply, but he interrupted her by pulling a swiss knife from one of his pockets.

With a huff she folded the blade out and pushed it right through her left hand. "I was suggesting a small cut, and you decide to fillet your hand?" He asked her incredulously and could do little more than to shake his head in exasperation.

Samantha for her part was far more shocked by what her friend had done and jumped up to grab the hand Abigail had now just extracted the blade from. Before the disbelieving eyes of the human woman, the wound, which had hardly bled at all, began to mend itself until not even the faintest mark remained.

She tried to speak, but no sound would come. "Oh, right you can talk again." Abby said hastily once she realised what the problem was.

"H-how? I thought those were just… stories?"

"Unfortunately not." Abby muttered bitterly and curled her newly healed hand into a fist. "You remember how I went with that hot stud the night I disappeared? Yeah, it wasn't just sex that he had in mind, and I wasn't given a choice about this whole turning thing."

"Oh god, oh god, oh god." Samantha whispered softly again and again. "What are we supposed to do now? No, it doesn't matter." She decided after a moment and turned to look at her vampire-ized friend. "You know your parents would still accept you, right?"

"It's not that… if I reveal my nature to humans… the other vampires will want to kill me and those that I've shown the truth… its part of the Masquerade."

"Yes, it is." Lucifer remarked idly and smiled when the two woman whirled to stare at him as if only now remembering that he was present. "Now though I am curious. What is your answer my dear Abigail?"

"Can you do it?" The vampire instead answered with a question of her own and the grin on his face only widened.

"Do what? Tell me what it is you desire, and I will say whether or not it's possible."

"I want to be human again. I want to be as I was before I was turned." Abby replied heatedly and balled her fists. "I never wanted this and if there is a chance to escape this madness… I'll take it."

"Oh, so you want to be mortal again?" Lucifer asked mischievously and chuckled. "I could easily return you to your frail mortal state but are you prepared to pay the price?"

Ignoring the Samantha who was demanding to know what they were talking about Abigail leaned forward. "What would you ask of me?"

"Your first born son."

"What?" The vampire managed to choke out, eyes bulging at that prosperous prospect.

"I'm joking!" He assured her with another chuckle and rolled his eyes. "What need would I have of your offspring? And before you get any ideas, let me assure you I would most certainly not feel flattered if you were to name your spawn after me." Leaning forward, he held his gaze with his own and stared into her eyes intently. The vampire across from him froze under the intense gaze and even Samantha next to her dared not to move.

A moment later, Abigail gasped for air, breathing heavily and put a hand over her chest. Her eyes slowly widening in realization when she felt the soft beating of her own heart in her chest. "Y-you-"

"Made you human again? Yes, now as for the price." Lucifer announced darkly and stood up to loom over her. "I returned your life to you, and this demands something from you as well. My price is this… don't waste it."

"Excuse me?" Abby asked, softly shivering in fear.

"I gave you a second chance, don't squander it." He told her softly and allowed a smile to return to his face. "Now go, I'm certain your family will be anxious to meet you."

"But the Vampires-"

"I'll make sure that you aren't bothered by them. You asked to be returned in the state as you were before you were turned, that includes no vampires howling for your blood." He assured her and made to walk away, only to be stopped when the former fledgling jumped up and hugged him.

"Thank you." She mumbled into his chest before letting go and turning to her friend. "Let's go home."

Lucifer watched them leave the club with a satisfied grin on his face as he slowly took his mobile phone out of his pocket and dialed a number he knew very well.

"Abrams speaking." The man on the other end of the line said crisply in a way of greeting.

"Hello, Isaac. There is something I need you to do for me."

Predictably, Isaac Abrams was not expecting him to be on the other end. The sharp intake of air was proof of that alone. "Lucifer? What do you want?"

"Abigail Wright, and all her friends are off limits to every supernatural being. Spread the word that if anyone tries to act against them, they'll have to deal with me." Lucifer told him softly and broke the connection without waiting for an answer. Imagining the incensed look on the other man's face was enough to make him chuckle.

It was a good night to be the Devil.

Author Notes:

Nomad-117: Yay, I finished a story! Sure, it was just a short one, but it's something I guess.