The women recognized Patricia at first glance, but not Lucifer, and that was because he had disguised himself.
"Who are these people?" He asked, pretending to not know who they were.
"And how would I know? I'm also seeing them for the first time," Patricia responded as she brought out her gun from her waist belt.
"Hi, Patricia! It's been a long time. What's up with you?" The three witches said it with a long, sarcastic grin.
"And who are you? What do you want?" She asked in a thick baritone voice as she cocked her gun.
"You don't know us? You should," they said, glancing frequently at Lucifer, who kept mute as they bantered words with Patricia.
"No, I don't, but if I'm right, then you must be witches, because only witches have the ability to fly in the sky, apart from birds.
"You are wrong, dear, because we aren't just witches; we are attendants of the great head witch. The one who controls the affairs of the underworld," they responded with a long, devilish laugh that irked Patricia.
"But I thought Lucifer was the king of the underworld? When then did the witch head become the head?" Lucifer asked with vexation. He hated the way they painted the witch's head as the head of the underworld when she wasn't.
"Lucifer has never been the true king of the underworld. Our leader has always been, and mind you, Lucifer has deserted us," one of them said, and before you could say Jack Robinson, Lucifer had fired sporadically at them, hitting them at various spots on their bodies, but most especially on their heads. They fell to the floor. Dead.
"Why did you do that to them?" Patricia asked with a flabbergasted grimace as she continued to stare from Lucifer to the corpses spread upon the road.
"Didn't you hear the blasphemous words they said? They said that Lucifer, the one I was named after, is not the head of the underworld, and mind you, they were going to hurt us if I didn't do it," he said without glancing at her. At least she found out he's not telling the truth.
"Okay, if you insist. Let's go now," she said, hopped into the car, and then drove off.
They hadn't driven long when Patricia suddenly remembered something. She paused the car for a while to remember what it was.
"What's the matter? Why did you stop in that manner?" Lucifer asked with worry in his voice.
"How were you able to penetrate them using just the pistol? From experience, I know the pistol can never have a strong effect on them, not to mention killing them," Patricia inquired, staring at him with awe.
"I also don't know. Perhaps I'm just lucky to have killed them without much ado," he lied without staring at Patricia, who was fiddling with the car's dashboard.
"Yeah! Maybe, or perhaps, you got the assistance of a mystical force," she chipped in, laughing hysterically.
"I don't think so. I think I was lucky to have killed them. Come on, let's get out of here before we get another attack," Lucifer said in an attempt to calm down the issue.
"Yeah! We might not be so lucky if that happens," she muttered, started the car, and then drove off.
"What? Are you kidding me right now, or do you want me to blast your brains off with the club in my hand?" The head of the witch roared like a wounded lion, so much so that her voice echoed in the air.
"That's the truth, ma. Their bodies were found by the roadside, a few kilometers from the forest of Zebulon. All three of them. They were shot in all parts of their bodies, but more on the head," her head attendant said with her head bowed.
"Do you have the video? You should since it happened in the daytime," the witch head muttered with anger in her voice.
"Your wish is my command, ma," the attendant said, and then sat on the floor. She began to twist her hand in various directions and was also chanting incoherent words in a loud, formidable voice.
Not long after, an image appeared in the air, showing what happened before the deaths of the attendants.
The head witch watched with rapt attention as she tried to control her anger.
"Who is that man beside the witch hunter?" She asked, using her hand to support her chin.
"His identity isn't known, and this is not the first time he's seen her."
"Really? But isn't she saying to live alone? Where then did he come from?"
"We have no idea as to that, but we suspect he's the one who killed the bird we sent the other time. Taking a deep investigation as to the deaths of the attendants, bullets from a pistol were what ended their lives, and we all know a pistol is the least weapon to kill a witch attendant as they are always fortified with triple the powers of ordinary witches."
"So what you are trying to say is that it wasn't the bullets from the gun that killed them, but with the aid of a strong power."
"Exactly, my queen. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Lucifer?"
Patricia and Lucifer got home feeling so exhausted and weary. It wasn't noon yet, but they felt like sleeping.
"Would you like something to eat?" Patricia asked awkwardly, rolling her eyeballs as she reached for the apron on top of a sofa in the sitting room.
"Yeah, but do you mind if I make it myself?" Lucifer asked, staring at Patricia with pleading eyes that glinted under the bright light of the sun.
"Of course, if you wish, but do make sure it's delicious," she joked and handed him the apron.
"Rest your heart and prepare your taste buds for a mouth-watering meal," Lucifer said, winking at Patricia, who remained unperturbed.
"Alright!" She said this and helped herself into one of the sofas after putting on the television.
Lucifer giggled with excitement as he bounced towards the kitchen to make Patricia the mouthwatering dish he promised.
"It's almost paradise," he sang as he worked. His voice was so beautiful that Patricia had to put off the television to listen to him sing.
She missed her friends, her family, and most especially, a man, to assure her that all would be well. To cuddle her up in the middle of the night when the cold threatens to freeze her to death.
She stole a glance at Lucifer, who had gone shirtless in the kitchen, and she longed for him. The warmth of his body against her
He rolled his eyes towards her, and immediately she turned her face away from him because she didn't want him to know she was staring at him.
He smiled and then continued with what he was doing.
He returned a few minutes later with a huge tray in his hand, bearing a huge ceramic bowl. He placed it in front of Patricia, who had dozed off.
"Pat! Pat!" He called, tapping her gently on the shoulder.
She jerked awake, reaching for her gun in her pocket. Her eyes were red and full of life.
"It's me, Lucifer!" He said that and watched her drop her guard.
"I made something. Eat."
"Oh, thank you! I thought it was something else," she whispered as she sat in an upright manner. She took the spoon from the tray and dipped it into the huge bowl. She was about to put it in her mouth but hesitated a bit.
"I hope you haven't added poison to it." She chuckled.
"Yeah! Lots of poison and love to last you a lifetime," he added unconsciously.
"What?" Patricia asked with a flabbergasted grimace.
"You heard me right." He stared at her with affection, making her somewhat uncomfortable.
She lowered her gaze from him and began to eat at a fast pace, so that she soon choked on her meal.
Lucifer felt a strong urge to burst into laughter but managed to keep himself under check. He handed her a glass of water, which she heartily received.
There was turmoil in the underworld with the news that Lucifer was the one killing witches on Earth since he left.
The council of elders in Hades called an emergency meeting to discuss it.
"Do you really believe that the king could go about killing witches?" The oldest wolf amidst them spoke out after sitting for almost a quarter-hour to brood on the issue.
"Yes, and you know, I think it's a good thing he did," another chipped in with a devilish grin.
"Why would you say that? Aren't they of our kind?"
"Spare me that! Don't you see how the head of witches behaves toward our king? Or aren't you aware that the witches do not address him as king? Instead, they call him by his name, and the head witches, they call queen."
"Even though! But I still doubt that the king could do that. He always treated us all, vampires, witches, and wolves alike."
"Yeah! That's true! This might be a plan by the head witch to cause unrest in Hades, and it is our responsibility to counter that," the oldest man said again, and everyone nodded their heads in approval.
"You had better keep your sassy mouth shut, you slave to a ball-less pig," a voice rang in the air, echoing for miles to come. They turned to see who it was that had the guts to blaspheme against the king, Lucifer.
"How dare you utter such a thing from your maggot-infested mouth?" the right-hand man to Lucia spoke up with anger as he rose to his feet.
"You keep your mouth shut! I say what I wish to say, and there's absolutely nothing you spineless dogs can do about it. So you think your king isn't responsible for the deaths of over four witches in the last two days he hasn't been in the underworld?"
"You need to calm down, woman! You can't just say that without concrete evidence."
"Damn you and whatever evidence you are searching for. What more evidence do you want than this?" She roared and swung her hand in the air. The video of the deaths of the three witch attendants played in the air.
The council watched with keen interest, trying hard to see where Lucifer was in the video. They gave up after staring for almost a minute.
"But he isn't in the video. Why then did you say he killed them?"
"I can see you all are a bunch of morons. Do you expect him to appear on Earth in his immortal form? All my attendants are three times stronger than a normal witch, and it's totally impossible for them to be killed with a pistol."
"And why do you think so? Are you underestimating the English demon?"
"No, what I am saying is that they were killed with the aid of a potent power, and that power can only be found in Lucifer!"
The men were speechless as they continued to stare at her. Some nodded in agreement, while others disagreed, shaking their heads vehemently.
"That's totally impossible!"
"Well, whatever you say, I only came here to give you and your king a warning. If he doesn't come to apologize within the sparse of three days, I'd unleash my terror on every one of you in Hades."
"Is that a threat? The men asked in unison.
"No, it is a warning.
The duo had completed their meal and had their eyes glued to the television screen. A popular movie was airing, and Patricia was glad that she hadn't missed it.
She had heard rumors that the movie was a blockbuster but hadn't been opportune to watch it as it only aired at night.
Lucifer stood up to ease himself and was just at the toilet door when he saw a flash image. It came again, this time more intense than the first.
He turned in the direction he saw the flash, and immediately, an arrow came towards him, almost hitting him on the head.
He was astonished and was about to leave when another came towards him, aiming for his eyes.