Mina felt the dark presence of her husband gone and tried to free her hands but found it impossible. Every time she wiggled her wrists, the noose tightened more instead of getting loose, so she quickly gave up her endeavor.

“Vergil, what are you doing?” she asked nervously, dreading the confirmation of what her mind was already screaming at her. “Why can’t I sense you in the room?”

Silence answered her.

“Vergil!”

Silence again.

“You tied me to the bed and left?” Anger took hold of her when she could no longer deny the truth. “I bet you can hear me, Vergil Larsa! Return this instant and free me!” She waited a couple of minutes for an answer but she neither heard nor felt anything. “I’m going to kill you, cabrón! Mark my words!”

Her fucking husband was a bastard! The worst she had ever seen. First, he seduced her, then tied her up, and afterward vanished without putting out the fire he started! I’m going to flay him alive when he returns. 

“I’m already marking your words, my love,” Vergil whispered, a devilish smirk playing on his lips as he walked through the crowded market street searching for his old friend.

He felt his presence right where he was now standing while he had been trying to locate Mina and was almost certain it was him the one who clouded his senses so he couldn’t find her. “Where are you, Thanny? Stop sulking in the shadows and come out to face me.”

A vendor looked at him weirdly and then lowered his eyes, murmuring something about crazy tourists, but Vergil ignored him.

“Thanny, Thanny, I know you hate that nickname. Come out and I’ll stop using it.” But when the silence stretched, he growled, “Don’t make me force you.”

The demon prince stood scowling in front of a shop that displayed a beautiful, black Egyptian dress with pink and blue flowers embroidered all over the translucent fabric, and his eyes fixed on the garment. Mina would look gorgeous in that one, just like the princess she is supposed to be. He smiled, forgetting for a moment his elusive friend, and asked the salesman to buy the dress along with some jewelry that would complement it to perfection.

When his shopping was done, he went to the alleyway he used to arrive and gave a hard look to his surroundings. “Remember you left me no choice.” Sighing, he closed his eyes. “Thanatos, God of Death and Reaper of Souls, come forth for I, one of your brethren, summons you.”

In an instant, the alley became abnormally darker, and a violet mystic energy began swirling a few meters in front of Vergil. From all the mist and crackling noises, a black-hooded figure appeared. The wave of a pale hand cleared everything out, and the hooded figure became a tall man in a black tux and amethyst-colored eyes that gazed at the demon without any emotion.

“Why go through all the trouble of summoning me, fallen prince?”

“We need to talk.” Vergil’s tone grew serious, and he made Mina’s gift disappear to protect it from a possible altercation. “Why did my father send you after me?”

“You have something he wants out of his way.”

“Why?” His dove’s image came to his mind, making his eyes turn red. “She is simply a mortal and her soul does not belong to him! She is Azrael’s job. Her soul belongs to the Christian Pantheon, not to the Greek one!”

“I will tell you the reason because a forewarned prey makes the hunt much more satisfying,” Thanatos said, and for the first time, his violet eyes shone with emotion. “The Moirae came and told the King of Shades your wife was going to kill him in an upcoming battle against Lucifer. That’s the reason he wants her dead.”

“You will not have her soul, Thanatos.” A warning growl and blueish sparks of electricity enveloped the prince’s body. “She is mine! No one will touch a hair on her head and live to tell about it; not you, nor the Harpy you sent after her … not even Hades himself!”

“Then you will have to fight the entire Underworld, maybe even your own father, if you want to keep her alive.”

“So be it. You above everyone else should remember what kind of power I hold. Weren’t you the one who taught me how to control my abilities? Or did you forget who was responsible for the scar over your left eye that you conceal with your powers, Thanny?” A smile came to Vergil’s lips when the death god flinched momentarily before coolness returned to his features.

“You have been forewarned, my student.” The alleyway darkened once more, and Thanatos’ body began disappearing inside of the swirling mist. “Be careful. I don’t jest when I’m on the clock,” he said before vanishing in thin air.

“You have never joked in your life, you old bastard,” the demon murmured as he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “Ariashka, come forth. Human form, now.”

Deep blue eyes gazed at him for a second before lowering to the ground. “What can I do for you, my prince?” Her long, blonde mane hid her face from his scrutiny but she couldn’t do anything for her trembling hands.

“First, I have a mission for you. Return to Hell and inform my parents that Hades is looking for the Chosen One to kill her.” He went on about the other details Thanatos gave him and asked her to return to him with any new orders they may give him.

“But I should be spying Mina’s—”

She cried out when he yanked her hair and forced her to look at his demonic face. “Have I given you permission to speak?” His eyes glowed a fierce red, and faint, blueish veins appeared over his pitch-black skin. “Remember, you already have a punishment coming for daring to threaten me on my wedding day. Don’t add more to the list. Now go, I don’t want to see you anymore,” he yelled, and threw the demoness to the ground where she quickly vanished.

With Ariashka gone, Vergil breathed deeply before returning to his human form, walking out of the market street and taking a cab back to the hotel. He needed time to relax and call Marcus to cheer him up before another woman unleashed the worst in him again. 

****

The richly decorated hotel bar was almost empty, and the soft glowing orange lights over mahogany walls gave the place a darkened background that suited his tastes to perfection. One elegantly dressed waitress came with his drink and placed it in front of him, smiling seductively before leaving with a disappointed look when he kept talking on his cellphone without even glancing her way.

Vergil stretched his long legs under the round table while laughing halfheartedly at Marcus’ recent joke and gave a sip to his Angostura rum. How he wished the mortal boy knew what he really was, it would make everything so much easier.

“Is something wrong, boss?” The worried voice of Marcus came from the phone.

“It’s complicated.”

“We run the Italian mob, everything is complicated to us.” Silence stretched for few seconds before his friend continued without any trace of humor in his voice, “We are like brothers, Vergil. I will be in Egypt by tomorrow if you need me, but you have to tell me what is happening.”

“Mina’s in danger,” he confessed, gulping down half of his drink and then staring at the remaining dark liquid. “The bastard who gave me his genes is after her.”

“Wait, then he is alive? But why is he targeting her?”

“Her archaeological investigation might uncover something he did to a lot of people and his head could roll.” Not the entire truth, but neither was it a complete lie.

“Then the boys and I will be there by tomorrow to bring you back home.”

“No, Marcus. I need you in New York to keep things running smoothly and take care of Mother for me.” Vergil felt moved by his friend’s reaction, but he couldn’t afford to lose him any more than he could lose his little dove. “Mina came here looking for some papyruses and we have to find them before we can go. Don’t worry, we will be okay.”

“But—”

“Stay put.” The demon’s voice turned severe, and he emptied his glass. “It’s an order, Marcus Di’nardo.”

“Okay, boss,” the boy gave in with a sigh. “I’ll take care of everything here while we await your return. But you have to promise me you will come back home with my sister-in-law, brother.”

“I promise.” He smiled and ended the call, already feeling calmer. “Worrying about two humans this much … you’re getting soft, Vergil. You’re getting soft.” He left three Benjamin Franklins under the empty glass and went directly to the barman, asking for a bottle of Angostura Legacy.

“We have three left in the cellar,” the dark-skinned man said with a small smile. “Would you like it to be delivered to your room, sir?”

“Yes. Suite 1666. Please.” He winked and leaned closer to the man. “But I will give you fifty thousand under the table if you can deliver it before I arrive.”

The man swallowed a bit and inclined his head. “Of course, kind sir. I will deliver the bottle myself right now.”

Vergil nodded and left, taking the long way around the inner gardens to walk back to his room. He wanted to enjoy Mina’s cries for help when she got to see the man coming and leaving the rum without ever seeing her tied up on the bed. It would be a moment to remember for ages to come. He smiled and kept walking, spinning the suite’s key around his index finger.

Mina heard the door opening and shook the sleepiness out of her body, trying to sense if it was Vergil finally returning, but she didn’t feel a dark aura weighing her down, so she supposed it was some employee sent to clean.

“Hello, is anybody there?” she called, trying to sweeten her voice instead of sounding desperate. “Could you untie me, please? I know how I must look, but I beg you to help me!”

She heard the shuffle of feet, the soft tap of a crystal put on a table, and then the person in question left without even glancing at the bed.

“Nooo! Come back! I need your help,” the young woman pleaded, thrashing around and leaving angry welts in her wrists.

“Look what you have done to your pretty skin.” The dark aura of Vergil appeared in the room, signaling his arrival. “Keep still and I’ll free you.”

“¡Cabrón, hijo de puta, te voy a matar!”

“Yo también te amo, palomita.”

Mina was momentarily surprised by his perfect Spanish, but her fury returned full force as she remembered the hours spent waiting for the pretty king of the world to show up. “You tied me up then left!” she screamed.

“That was payback for getting lost.” He smirked while straddling her hips and taking his sweet time untying her wrists. “And … it will teach you to stay by my side when we go out,” the demon murmured, nuzzling the soft skin over her veins and licking the small amount of blood that had surfaced.

She gasped, and butterflies fluttered inside of her stomach, making her want those lips over hers. Instead, she forced those feelings aside and focused on her anger. “Stop!” She pulled her arms away from his grasp and ripped her blindfold off before unsuccessfully trying to shake him off her. When it was obvious he was much stronger than her, she yelled at him to remove himself from her.

The prince kissed her briefly and got up, staring at her hungrily despite the daggers her eyes sent his way. Not three seconds after fleeing the bed, his pretty wife bit her lower lip, pressed her knees together, and ran to the bathroom, locking herself inside it. Spanish insults reached his mind while she relieved herself, and he laughed as loud as he could just to spite her.

When her cellphone rang on the table next to the window, he teleported there to see who was calling but found an e-mail instead.

I’m already in Egypt. Meet me tomorrow for lunch at the address I’m sending you and I will show you everything you wanted to see. Elijah St. Claire.

He clicked on the GPS link. The screen quickly showed him a very elegant restaurant in the outskirts of Giza.

The bathroom door opened, and Mina froze when she saw Vergil with her phone in his hand. The ringtone that sounded told her an e-mail had arrived and she could already imagine who sent it.

“Who the fuck is Elijah St. Claire and why the hell are you meeting with him in a fucking restaurant?” her husband yelled at her as his eyes turned bright red like the fires of Hell.

*************
A/N: For those who don't know much about the United States, their 100 dollar bill shows the face of Benjamin Franklin. So when Vergil left 3 Benjamins on the table he was leaving a $300 tip to the waitress.

About the things Vergil and Mina told each other in Spanish... ask me if you want to know 😈😈😈

☆¡Cabrón, hijo de puta, te voy a matar!= I'm going to kill you, son of a bitch!

☆Yo también te amo, palomita= I love you too, little dove