"I'm sure you remember how much fun you had with Father's little pet, Job?"

Lucifer cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. He was intrigued, she knew. "Of course I remember. One more example of how carrying out Father's orders earned me the hatred of humans."

Her heart squeezed at the pain on his face. "Well, I have something similar in mind, but," she held a hand up before he could explode. "But, instead of destroying a life, I want you to woo a human into falling in love with you."

Lucifer laughed, "Are you mad, little sister? Humans fall in love with me everyday. There's no challenge in that!"

"Oh, but this isn't just any human, my arrogant brother. She's a nun —"

"A nun?" he interrupted her with a scoff, "those are the easiest! They're so lonely they romanticize everything."

"This is no ordinary nun, Luci. She isn't cloistered, for one. She runs a soup kitchen and homeless shelter, so she's in contact with the public."

"Ah, a goody two shoes, huh?"

Kharma couldn't help but laugh at his use of this term. "Yeah, she's definitely that, but so much more. She's the most pure of heart human I've encountered since Mary."

That got his attention. "Well... this just got a lot more interesting."

"Did you really think I'd make this easy for you?  Believe me, you have your work cut out for you, brother."

"Tell me more about this nun, then."

"Her name is Jane and her shelter is in East Harlem. She's beautiful and petite, but it's her spirit that attracted me. She puts off the brightest light and sweetest aroma I've ever seen. And..." she paused before dropping the most important bit of information, "she can see through my disguises."

Lucifer's eyes widened briefly. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"I mean exactly what I said, she sees my angelic appearance even when I'm wearing a human disguise. It happened during my third meeting with her."

"And she didn't run screaming?"

"No, she barely flinched."

"How is that possible?" Lucifer was incredulous, and better yet — intrigued.

"I asked exactly that and she said it was because her belief wasn't just in God, it was in all of God's works. Which means angels, demons, and... you."

She watched as her brother's face went through several emotions. His inner desire to connect — with Father, his siblings, even humans — was warring with his practiced aloofness. "So, she'll know who I am?"

"Yes. Maybe not at first, but she will. And, Luci?"

He raised his eyebrow in response.

"That's a requirement to the bet. She has to fall in love with you, the Archangel Lucifer. You're going to have be honest with her and let her into your mind. If she's going to fall for you she has to know you."

"What if I say no?"

"I'll make sure all of creation knows you backed down from a challenge."

He growled, but shrugged his shoulders blithely.

Then she put the last nail in the coffin. "But worse than that, you'll have to carry the knowledge that you were so scared of a human that you backed down from a bet that you knew you couldn't win. You'll have eternity to stew on that."

They stared hard at each other until even the Cherubs got uncomfortable.

Finally, Lucifer sighed. "Oh, alright, I'll do it. But that means I get to issue a challenge to you. Something equally as trying. And if you fail, you have to help me in my plans."

Kharma swallowed hard. She'd known he would throw the gauntlet down, but didn't think he'd pull her into his plans if she lost. The truth was that her long game was for Luci to win, because she was betting on the fact that he would fall for Jane. Him loving, and being loved, by a human as pure and pious as Jane would surely change his mind about destroying the world, and her.

"Okay, brother, I'll play the game. What do you have in mind for me?"

Lucifer began pacing as he thought. Kharma watched him intently. She knew he'd be cooking up something equally hard and distasteful. The longer he took the more worried she got.

When he finally spoke, she almost felt relief. It was short-lived.

"So, you want me to see if I can corrupt Sister Jane. Well, I want you to do the opposite..." he paused and smirked at her. "You know who Matthew Roman is?"

"Of course. He's the leader of the One World One Mind religion."

"That's the one. He's who I've picked to be the embodiment of the Anti-Christ. He's wonderfully corrupt and cynical and not atheist at all. No, he believes in Father, he just hates him and everything he represents." Lucifer rubbed his hands together at the memory of Matt's depravity.

"And what exactly do you want me to do with him?"

"The bet is for you to make him into a believer and a follower of Father."

"Oh, is that all?" She snorted.

He smiled in response. "So should we put a time limit on this wager?"

Kharma thought for a few minutes, warring between wanting to speed things along for Lucifer and giving herself enough time to accomplish her nearly impossible task.

"Let's say six months. We'll meet back here and compare progress. If neither has completed our task, we can decide on a new time limit."

They stood regarding one another for several seconds, both minds already starting to formulate a plan to accomplish their particular goal. Kharma was the one to break the silence when she stepped forward and cupped Luci's cheek.

"I wish you the best, brother. But I need you to know something... I marked Jane."

"You did what?" Lucifer's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"You'll understand why when you meet her. She's like a beacon calling every sort of demon and angel, or any other kind of supernatural being. My mark was meant to protect her from them, but keep in mind, because of it, you'll not be able to lie to her or manipulate her in any way."

Her brother, the Father of Lies, sighed and shook his head. "I'll hand it to you, sis. You sure know how to keep things interesting."