To Tempt the Devil

Series: Brimstone

Disclaimers: All characters except Cassie belong to TPTB. I'll figure out who they are when and if they ever put Brimstone back on television.

Category: Romance, as unlikely as that sounds.

Rating: Part 1: PG-13  Future parts may go to R. I'll have to see where the story leads me.

Plot: What would happen if the Devil fell in love?

By Wesa.

Stone screamed as the tattoo burned away, leaving him gasping, then looked around, expecting to see the familiar smiling face of his boss/nemesis, who always seemed to pop up at the conclusion of a successful case. Finding no evidence of him, even disguised as a cop or a mailman, he shrugged and started the long walk back to his dingy apartment. On the way, he passed a park and paused to watch the couples strolling, laughing, and cuddling. He missed his wife terribly; even though he now knew where Rosalyn lived, he loved her far too much to expose her to the danger she would certainly face if his antagonists knew about her. So he watched for a while, smiling sadly, then turned and was about to continue toward home when something caught his eye.

There, about thirty feet away, a woman looked at a man with the same expression Rosalyn had worn just before he had asked her to marry him. Normally that would have been good, but Stone recognized the man she was looking at, and he was smiling, a very bad sign. Stone had been to Hell, and he didn't want anyone to go there who didn't have to. He moved across the intervening space, determined to save the poor innocent from certain damnation.

The woman saw him coming, and drew her companion's attention to Stone's imminent arrival. "Luke, what have you done to this poor man? He looks upset."

"Ezekiel!" Lucifer exclaimed. "Done so soon? Is Mr. Law back where he belongs?"

"He's gone. What are you doing to her?" Stone asked, indicating the brunette who looked up at him, her indigo eyes twinkling in amusement.

Lucifer started to protest his innocence, but the lady laid her hand gently on his wrist, saying, "Hi, Ezekiel. I'm Cassie." She offered him her hand politely.

Stone shook her hand, a little surprised at how warm and alive her skin felt; he had suspected that she might be the next of the escapees he would have to face down, but no. This woman was emphatically not dead. "Cassie," he acknowledged, "it's a pleasure to meet you. Now, what was this old Devil telling you that put such a lovely smile on your face? You don't think you can believe anything he tells you, do you?"

She chuckled. "On the contrary, I'm aware that he has brought lying to a high art," she replied. "He knows better than anyone I've ever met that the best way to tell a lie is to tell the exact truth in such a way that it will never be believed." Lucifer seemed a little alarmed by her response, but she continued, slipping her hand into his, "I believe almost everything he tells me. At least, I believe that he thinks it's the truth. But, Ezekiel, you seem tired. You'd better get some rest. Are you walking? Would you like a ride home? I have a car just over there." Lucifer glared at him in warning, so, even though he knew he might be tormented for it later, Stone accepted.

They walked together through the park, and the silence between Stone and Lucifer was anything but companionable. Cassie was aware of the tension, if not the reason for it, and seemed grateful to reach her car, digging her keys out of the pocket of her jeans and opening the passenger door for Lucifer, who hesitated. Cassie frowned at him and hissed, "Get your cute little ass in there, Luke. We'll drop Ezekiel off, and then I think you and I need to talk about this, whatever this is."

He raised his eyebrows at her and made as if to comment, but Cassie had already started around the funny little purple car, drawing a startled Stone along with her. He watched as she unlocked the driver's door and popped open the little third door to the back seat. "Maybe I should just walk," he suggested.

"No way," she retorted, gently propelling him into the back seat. "Fasten your seat belts," she told them both as she took her place behind the wheel.

"Cassie," Lucifer began to protest.

"Luke, the car doesn't start until the occupants are safely belted in," Cassie told him.

"Cassie!" he gasped. "A lie?"

"Not at all, Luke," she replied. "If you're not wearing your seat belt, I won't start the car."

A smile spread slowly across the Devil's face, and he leaned close to whisper into her ear. Cassie smiled in return and reached across him to catch hold of the seatbelt and fasten it for him, murmuring, "Promises, promises, y'ol' silver-tongued smoothie."

Stone frowned in concern. Cassie almost seemed to know whom she entertained, yet she appeared not to care who he was, and still she deflected his efforts to tempt her with little if any concern. Who was this woman? Was she a threat to him, to his wife? Had she already succumbed to certain damnation? If so, could she yet be redeemed?

"So, Ezekiel," Cassie said as she started the odd little car, put it in gear, and signaled that she intended to pull out into traffic, "where do you live? Guess I'll have to know, if I'm going to get you home."

"Take a right at the corner," Stone replied, then followed up with the actual address of the residential hotel where he was staying. "So how did you meet ... uh, Luke?" he asked with the intention of finding out for sure whether she really knew who he was. "Don't call him by name often, do you?" she responded rhetorically. "We met at a coffee shop not far from here. I'd had car trouble, and he fixed it for me. Bet you didn't know he was mechanically inclined."

"I wouldn't put it past him to be able to fix anything," Stone replied, "but I am surprised that he put himself out to help you. He doesn't really like most people."

She grinned. "I think he had ulterior motives," she told him, chuckling softly and reaching over to link her fingers with Lucifer's. "As for not liking people, I think he's just a little jealous, a little insecure. Needs love. Luke, I need my hand back," she said, gently extricating her fingers from his grasp.

Lucifer smiled at Stone over the back of the seat, and for once there seemed no malice in the expression. "Cassie thinks she can redeem me from my evil ways," he laughed softly.

"I wouldn't presume, Lucifer," Cassie retorted. "I'm curious, though. Why do you keep coming back to see me, if it's not because you're hungry for love?"

Stone gaped at her in astonishment. "You do know who he is, then," he said. "How can you encourage him?"

"I like him," she replied easily. "There aren't very many men out there who are handsome and smart and witty and fun to be with, who aren't also more interested in sex than in the woman they're with."

"Excuse me?" Lucifer protested. "What makes you think I'm not interested in sex?"

Cassie chuckled happily. "Well, the fact that you haven't so much as kissed me is kind of a clue," she told him. "Then there's the bestiality aspect: how could an archangel want to have sex with a human?"

Stone laughed out loud at the expression on Lucifer's face; he couldn't help it. The Devil shot him a look that promised retribution, but his response was directed to the woman. "It has happened before," he murmured.  "How did you know I'm an archangel?" For a moment she seemed lost for a response, then, while she had stopped the car at a traffic light, she spread her hands helplessly and said, "Basic religious training, I guess. Is it somewhere in Job?"

"Yeah, I think so," Stone told her. "My building is just around the corner, Cassie." He hesitated. "Are you sure you want me to leave you alone with him?"

She glanced at him over her shoulder. "I'm okay," she assured him. "You watch out, though, Ezekiel. Something tells me that whatever the job is you're doing for him, it's just as important to the rest of us as it is to him, and maybe even more important to you. Be careful."

She pulled over to the curb in front of his building, and opened her door so that he could open his and get out. "Thanks for the ride," he said. "Hey, what kind of a car is this anyway?"

"Saturn. Never saw one before?"

"I - I was away for a while," Stone explained.

She nodded as if she understood. "See you around, Ezekiel."

"Nice meeting you." He closed the door and stood back, watching the odd three-doored car dart out into traffic as if the driver either thought she was immortal or just enjoyed living life on the edge. He wondered if that was why the woman was teasing, even taunting Lucifer himself. Almost unaware of his own words, he said a little prayer under his breath for the safety and the soul of the girl who dared to tempt the Devil.

End of part one.