Lucky Number

The satisfying clinks of poker chips filled my ears. I smirked and sat back as they were shifted towards me.

"Damn it, a fifteen year old girl beats us." grumbled an old man as he pushed his poker chips to me.

"No complaining, Elliot." I chuckled as the last bit of chips piled up. I went to pull them over, when someone grabbed my hand. Shocked, I looked up. My muddy blue eyes met two dark red ones. The eyes belonged to a tall boy, about eighteen. His hair was an incredible flaming red, and he wore a well tailored black suit. The boy smirked.

"I must say," he began with an English accent. "A young lass, winning poker? Surely you must have a trick up your sleeve."

I glared at him. "I do not." I countered. "I am that good, that's all."

The boy still smirked. His pale skin practically glowed menacingly in the moonlight. The alley was dark and damp, so how could a rich snob like this find us?

"Are you sure?" Just as he asked that, he yanked my arm up, pushing my sleeve down. Cards flittered down to the makeshift table, landing on my pile of chips. Of all the damn things this guy could do! The four guys I was playing against stood up, growling.

"She cheated us?" one said. "A cheat! A cheating liar!" Elliot burst.

"Now would be a good time to run, darling." the boy chuckled. Without a moment's hesitation I jumped out of my foldable chair and took off down the alley.

My long black hair whipped around behind me as I ran. The guys followed me.

"God damn little bastard!" I swore, looking behind me.

"Couldn't just mind his own business, could he?" I looked back, and ran into him.

"Follow me." he said calmly, walking into a store. I stood there, dumbfounded, until I heard the shouts of the guys. I ran into the store, slamming the door behind me. All noises to the outside world stopped, as if I had stepped through some portal. I looked around. I had walked into a dark store, with shelves holding crystals and jars. Inside the jars were an assortment of...things. Eyes, and kidneys, bones and teeth. I shuddered, wondering if it was a good idea to follow the strange boy.

The entire store was bathed in an ominous red light. I stepped through the shelves, peering cautiously at the jars.

"What is your name?" asked the boy. I looked up and narrowed my eyes.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Tell me."

I rolled my eyes. "It's Autumn." I saw the boy walking through the aisles, looking at the crystals.

"Autumn, the season of September, the rock of sapphire. Ah, yes." He picked up a bluish purple rock and tossed it to me. "Keep it. You'll need it." he said. I shrugged and shoved the stone in my pocket. "What's your name?" I asked.

"If you must know, it's Luci."

I snickered. "Luci?"

"Yes. This way, child." My eye twitched as he called me child, but I followed him to the back. I kept my head down as we passed the shelves, when something grabbed my shoulder. I jumped and slapped it off.

"Hey, careful with that!" Luci turned around and held back whatever had touched me. I looked and saw it was a skeleton.

"Where the hell am I?" I asked, backing away.

"You almost got it right." Luci replied, walking away. What? What does that mean? I followed him into another dark room with red curtains. There was a brass table in the middle, with two black chairs. In the middle of the table was a deck of cards.

"Care to play?" Luci asked, motioning for me to take a seat. Seeing as how I had no choice, I sat down and glared at Luci. He chuckled and sat in front of me.

"The game is quite simple. You draw three cards. If the value of the cards are higher than your opponents, you win that draw. If the cards are a tie, both players must draw another card to gain the upper hand. The game shall continue until the deck has run out. We're betting against our most prized possession here."

I nodded, unclasping the necklace that I wore and setting it down on the table. "Seems simple enough. A child's game, almost." Luci smirked and said nothing. "Go first." he said, nodding his head towards the deck. I reached for the first three cards when Luci interrupted me, saying "No cheating, Sapphire."

I froze and glared at him. "My name is Autumn." I took the first three cards and grinned. A five, seven, and king. "22." I said. Luci drew his three cards.

"21." He grinned and handed me the cards. I set them in a pile next to me. The game went on like that, us drawing cards and calling numbers, when it happened.

I drew another three cards. Three sixes. I showed him the cards. "18." I grinned, as his hand was a 12. But Luci only smirked. "I win." he said. I blinked.

"What? My hand is higher than yours." But Luci stood up, fixing his tie. "No, no, you don't understand." He smirked, showing sharp fangs. I shot up and backed away.

"You drew my lucky number. Six, six, six. Therefore I win, and I take you." I froze. "Take me? What the hell are you talking about?"

Luci suddenly grew, taller and taller. His skin turned into a boiling red, and his red hair turned into two horns. His face grew sharp and pointed, and his lower body turned into that of a horse's. I suddenly realized who was in front of me. Luci...Lucifer. Three sixes. I had gambled against Lucifer himself. "W-What do you want from me?" I whispered.

"Not that necklace, that's for sure." Lucifer's voice was deep and scratchy, almost like thousands of screams had been mashed together. "You see, there's this friend of mine's, who needs new people. These people kill. So, I'm giving you to him. Your life is now his." I shook my head.

"No, this isn't fair. You never told me, you cheat!"

"And isn't that exactly what you did back in the alley?" Lucifer cackled. "You are no longer Autumn. You are now Saphyre, his newest slave."

I felt a burning sensation in my pocket. I looked and saw my leg was smoking. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the sapphire stone. It burned in my hand, and I dropped it, but it only fell near my feet. I was suddenly engulfed in flames. "No, no!"

I screamed as the fire painfully ate away at my skin, burning me. I fell to my knees in screams, begging for it to stop. My tears sizzled away as they fell from my face, I couldn't see nothing but red. "Make it stop! Make it stop!"

Lucifer only laughed, his horrible laugh sounding in my ears. "Make it stop!" I screamed, clutching my face. "Make it stop!" I suddenly blacked out, hearing my screams echo painfully as I burned.

I stared up at the little boy, who was grinning at me. He was only eight, but he knew how to catch on. "Three sixes, I win!" he said, showing me the cards. I smirked, standing up. "No, you have it all wrong." I said. "I win." The boy frowned.

"What? No fair! My number is higher than yours!"

I pulled out my gun. "You drew my lucky number, six...six...six." I aimed the barrel at the boy's head. His screams were silenced by the bang, and he fell with a thud to the floor of his room. I put away my gun and looked at the mirror hanging on the wall. My once pale face was now burnt a bloody red on my left side, and my eyes were no longer blue, but instead a deep black. My long black hair was forever gone, and it was a sapphire color, with streaks of red, and to my shoulders. I had taken the appearance at my master's orders. I killed at my master's orders. I hated my master.

"Billy?" I heard a woman's voice say from behind the door. I quickly turned around and ran to the window. I jumped out just as I heard the woman scream the boy's name. I ran down the streets and into the darkness. I was in my old neighborhood, but I was no longer Autumn. I am Saphyre.

And I don't want to come and kill you.

But if you draw my lucky number.

I'm sorry in advance.