RULES OF THE CARD GAME THE CHARACTERS ARE PLAYING AVAILABLE HERE.
PREVIOUSLY: Channah and Húanglóng have agreed to resolve a disagreement between them by betting on a game of Perdition, the demonic version of tarot. The atmosphere is rowdy. The doors have been closed and the initial stakes have been pledged. Now, play begins. NOW:
Penny was still draped helplessly with her arms over Fang’s and Kadidia’s shoulders, her legs over their knees, her bottom hanging vulnerably in space, her midsection exposed, and her mouth filled with the bottle of tincture slowly oozing into Penny’s distressed face.
When Channah turned to look at her, she paused, absorbing the tableau, and grinned with genuine delight before she began: “Is everyone being as dutiful as little Penny in anteing up? A flagon or a bong, my wickeds. A flagon or a bong!” she reminded them, prompting the laggards to hurry and the rest—including Esmeray on behalf of Penny—to chorus: “Staked and baked!” Each laggard repeated the same phrase until everyone had imbibed as required
“We need a dealer!” Channah declared. “And since there’s only one eligible player, I should say we need our dealer. Penny my dear-heart, we need to know if you’re ready to deal. Before you answer—” she held up one finger warningly, “need I remind you that for all intents and purposes, you’re still in hell, my love, and hell expects you to play your part and play the game. And if you’re expecting heaven to help you, well…” she shrugged. “You know you’ve cut your ties to heaven a dozen times over now, don’t you?”
With a stricken look, Penny nodded as best she could.
“Are you sure you don’t need me to list them all off for you?” She asked, holding up her hand so she could count them off one finger at a time, provoking a ripple of laughter in the room. “Sodomy, contracting with the Queen of Hell, marrying the Queen of Hell—more sodomy, participating in a Profane Rite—”
“Enthusiastically participating in an Obscene Rite,” Kadidia interjected, laughing and giving her genitals another brutal squeeze.
“Exactly! Can you remember your place?” And when Penny nodded, Channah cried: “Excellent! Hands off the dealer!”
Kadidia, Fang, and Esmeray released Penny with various degrees of reluctance or casual disregard, barely giving her a chance to slide back onto the bench before falling to the ground.
Penny slumped in her seat, a desperate, lost, regretful look in her eye until Channah clapped her hands to get the girl’s attention and cautioned her: “Deal, worshipful wife of mine. Triumphs only.” And, warming to her taunt, she hissed: “Chattel of Hell.”
As if forcing herself though a barricade by sheer force of will, disturbingly at odds with the thousand-yard stare in her eyes, Penny picked up the cards, taking the Triumphs and shuffling them woodenly, even absent-mindedly, oblivious to the looks of the demons around her.
“That’s enough shuffling, zuckerbär,” Channah prompted gently, with glances at Kadidia and Fang, who shrugged. “One card to each player, face up, counterclockwise. Low card starts.”
Penny mechanically set down Justice—eight—before Kadidia, who was still tut-tutting with mild disappointment when Penny laid the Chariot—seven—in front of Judas, who shrugged and nodded, even as the Lovers—six—were dealt to Miriam, who predicted: “This can’t last.” The High Priest—five—appeared next, before Channah, who also opened her mouth but then shook her head without speaking. Rivqah received the Emperor—four—and Húanglóng the Empress—three—before players and lovers alike started shaking their heads doubtfully and predicting: “No. No way.” Fang was dealt the High Priestess. Two.
“No!” “Stop!” “Hang on!” the players erupted. And “Wait!” Channah shouted, half-rising and leaning forward across the table to pin Penny’s hand where it fell. Penny looked up sharply to meet her eyes.
“Impossible a hucow cheated right in front of us all!” Judas barked. “Five Hates she deals herself a high card.”
“Five it’s the Magician,” Rivqah countered, sounding surprised to hear the words coming out of her own mouth, as the two of them found their coins and whacked them on the table.
“Done!” Judas proclaimed delightedly. “I might even have taken less than even odds!”
“High card,” Húanglóng bet, slapping a string of 10 Hate Coins on the table.
“Magician,” Miriam shrugged, almost embarrassed, following his example.
Fang, Kadidia, and Channah all looked at one another, then Channah looked back at Penny’s face. “I saw only surprise in the dealer’s face,” she admitted. “Any takers for high card?”
After a moment of silence, Fang shrugged. “I’m not that superstitious yet. I’ll bet…” she considered, pulling some coins from her pocket and rattling them idly, then used her other hand to pull a single coin out. “One.” She set it on the table.
“One?!” Channah burst out, mockingly. “That’s it?!”
“Done!” Kadidia beat Channah to the punch, slapping down a coin of her own.
“Cheating cow!” Channah complained.
“I’m only betting against my instinct because of my long experience with math,” Fang admitted. “Just to support the principle of it. Before concluding the dealer is spoiled. You bet more on a high card and I’ll take your action, though.”
“Never mind,” Channah shrugged, releasing Penny’s hand and sitting back down opposite her. And when Penny remained frozen, her hand still on Fang’s card, Channah amplified: “Go on. We all want to see it.”
Magician. One.
The room erupted: “Fraud!” “Cheating!” “Rotten dealer!”
Hong even paused in her attentions to Judas long enough to look back at the table and testify: “A moment ago the girl did not know how to shuffle. I’d—well, bet on it,” she admitted.
“And from what I know of her, I would be very surprised to learn otherwise,” Miriam agreed, collecting her winnings even as Rivqah—nodding in agreement with her—was collecting her own.
“Then why did you bet otherwise?!” Judas demanded as Rivqah shrugged tentatively. “More than fraud—conspiracy!”
“Maybe not that,” Húanglóng conceded, laughter confirming that the others were equally skeptical. “Yet. But at least a reasonable suspicion of chicanery by the dealer! Peel the dealer!”
“Peel the dealer!” several voices immediately repeated. “Peel the dealer! Peel the dealer!” half the crowd chanted.
Penny, entirely with reason, looked around the room nervously, shrinking back unconsciously until she bumped into Esmeray, who prevented her from jerking forward again by putting her hands on Penny’s shoulders and murmuring: “They just want to see your arms are bare when you deal,” she explained, tugging Penny’s sleeves down her arms.
“Yes, Qahramanah,” she agreed submissively, then suddenly screeched, clutching the front of her dress: “Wait! I forgot—”
“I’ll hold it up,” Esmeray assured her. “You pay attention and focus on the game. Don’t let them distract you. We do not want to lose any more than necessary. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Mistress.”
“Fully peeled, I think!” Tifaret demanded. “Just to be safe.”
As Penny’s arms came out of her sleeves, Fang and Kadidia caught her hands, holding them still to loosen and remove her wrist cuffs. While Esmeray gathered her dress just under her shoulders and tied it behind her back to stay in place, the two succubae ran their hands up and down her arms, from fingertips to shoulders and armpits. “Peeled and sealed,” Kadidia concluded, returning Penny’s hand and snickering: “How’s that?”
“Good,” Fang allowed, “But I’d say peeled, sealed, and ready to deal,” drawing a nod of respect from Kadidia as several of the demons snorted and groaned.
“Shuffle and deal, Meoto,” Kadidia prompted. “And keep your arms above the table!” Penny obeyed, quite aware that this time, as she leaned forward and picked up the cards, everyone in the room was watching her hands and the cards with more-than-casual interest.
After she had shuffled eight times, Kadidia barked: “Cut!”
Penny hesitated for a second, then murmured to herself “Counter-clockwise” as she set the deck before Fang, who lifted about three-quarters of the cards off the top and set them to one side. As soon as Penny was sure it was her job, she set the short stack on the tall one and, nodding, began to deal as Hong had taught her, three cards at a time; until the last round, when she had only 8 cards in her hand. Pausing, she counted and shook her head.
“What is it, slave?” Kadidia asked.
“There are only… eight cards left. I’m sorry, I must have made a mistake.”
“Not that I saw, darling,” Channah drawled. “And I was watching.” The other demons nodded.
“But there are 134 cards in the deck,” Penny frowned. “Divided by eight… there should be six remainder for the starter.” And then her eyes widened. “For me!”
“128,” several members corrected her.
“No, Mistresses and Masters,” Penny insisted. “22 plus 8 times 14 is 134—”
“The other 6 cards are around here somewhere, sweetie,” Channah explained. “We’ll find them before the next deal.”
“What?” Penny looked worried and confused. “I—I’m sorry, Mistress, I don’t understand—”
Channah held up her hands. “That’s what happens, sugar.”
“You should call her ‘peach,’” Judas suggested. And then, demonstrating with his hands: “Or peaches.”
“Oh, please!” the succubae simultaneously protested.
“And the other one ‘pineapple.’ Or maybe ‘lemon.’”
“Lemon’s too tart for Chastity,” Miriam opined. “She’s sweet too. More like pineapple.”
“But lemon sounds better,” Rivqah suggested.
“You could use ‘Fènglí,’” Fang suggested.
“Or the local term—what is it, ‘piña?’” Miriam asked.
“The local would actually be ‘matsajtli,’” Channah corrected.
“That’s surely worse than ‘pineapple,’” Húanglóng suggested reasonably. “I like the German. ‘Ananas.’”
“’An anus?’ Perfect!” Judas deliberately mispronounced it.
“And on that note—Piña. You can call her Piña if you must address my slaves as fruit,” Channah resolved the issue, before glaring at Penny. “How long are you going to hold onto those cards and make us all keep staring at you?”
“I’m sorry, Mistress—did I drop six cards? Should I look under the tab—“
“DO NOT MOVE while those cards are in your hand!” Channah commanded sharply.
“The extra cards always disappear when you play with eight,” Esmeray explained behind her.
“Wha—” and as Penny started turning toward Esmeray everyone cried:
“NO! Keep your hands where they are!”
“I’m—I’m sorry—” Penny was flustered.
“Mind your qahramanah. Trust her. Her words are always your truth,” Channah reminded Penny. “And, yes, the extras disappear,” Channah concurred. “But we’ll find them in time for the next deal. Now finish this one, Princess! “
Knowing ‘Princess’ was rarely used to indicate Channah was pleased, Penny hastily finished dealing the last eight cards, waiting for the others to take their cards before she picked up her own.
“Show me,” Esmeray commanded, leaning forward. “Carefully!”
Penny caught a sharp look from Channah and cringed. “Mistress?” she whispered.
But Channah shook her head snappishly and looked back down at her cards. Before Penny could try to put her finger quite on what was happening, Esmeray leaned forward to whisper into Penny’s ear: “With eight players, most hands will go to Triumphs but—” her eyes fell on the Pharaoh of Spades Penny was carefully cradling to show only her and grunted with satisfaction. “As a human, you cry ‘I grovel before my Queen’ when you play it. When anyone plays it.”
“Why would I—?” Penny started asking out loud.
“Ssht!” she clapped her hand over Penny’s mouth again. “Do not talk out loud about what you’re playing, ninny!” Releasing her grip once Penny nodded, looking embarrassed, Esmeray continued: “It’s the tincture, silly girl.”
“It is?” she asked, amazed.
“You’re high. Intoxicated,” she clarified.
“I am?!” Penny asked, even more amazed, to the amusement of everybody who wasn’t human.
“You so are,” Rivqah laughed.
“The high may make you want to talk even more, Meoto,” Esmeray pointed out, which provoked further laughter.
“Surely not that!” Miriam grinned.
“Just what we need,” Channah smirked.
“I may not have thought the laudanum quite through before recommending it, Majesty,” Kadidia conceded wryly.
“So, guard your mouth particularly well,” Esmeray cautioned her.
“Yes, Domina.” Then she turned and leaned back her head, carefully leaving her hands where they were on the table, to whisper: “But why should I say—”
Using her hand to further muffle their exchange, Esmeray explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world: “Because the Pharaohs of Spades and Hearts are her cards. And you’re in her presence. And she’s your master.”
“Lillith and Cain stop chatting Meoto and play!” Channah exclaimed.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Esmeray answered sharply, snapping at Penny: “Play it, say it, and follow my lead for the rest of the trick,” she cautioned. “You too, Chas—imitate what I say!”
“Yes, qahramanah,” her jawari answered, Chas turning away from Húanglóng, staring curiously as Penny laid down the Pharaoh of Spades, Penny leading and all the humans at the table following with: “I grovel before my Queen!”
“As you ought, you primitive wretches!” Channah snarled, starting to pull a card from her hand, then shaking her head firmly, shoved back before playing the Ot of Spades.
As play proceeded, Esmeray explained: “All the face cards are associated with prominent demons. Kadid—” she began, before interrupting herself when Judas—of all people—played the Rajah of Spades to exclaim, at a much higher volume: “Hail Judas!”, echoed by the other humans. Quickly resuming, she explained “Kadidia is the Huángdì and—Hail Rivqah!” as Miriam played the Sultanah of spades. No one played the Huángdì, but everyone had at least one spade, giving Penny the first trick. Miriam, having lost the highest card, finished her wine and burped loudly, raising her cup above her head until her teammate George realized he was meant to fill it as she continued playing.
Penny, carefully holding her cards so only she and Esmeray could see them, tapped the Pharaoh of Swords; and when Esmeray nodded her consent, played it. More calmly, since there was less urgency and she didn’t have to keep an eye on the cards, Esmeray finished explaining: “Similarly, Fang is the Huángdì of hearts and Miriam the Sultanah.”
“Who is the Rajah?”
“The Succubus A-a-r-a-d-h-y-a. But since she isn’t here, you don’t dare use her name.”
“Whyever not?”
“Lest she hear you,” Esmeray answered, the simple statement chilling Penny so deeply she shivered. “And appear expecting someone summoning her to have had a good—by which I mean a terrible—reason for doing so.”
“That actually works?!” Penny squeaked. “Summoning them by calling their name?!”
Esmeray snickered. “Rarely. Not unless you’re chanting a spell or making an offering worthy of them. Which is exactly why it’s dangerous to summon one accidentally. If they’re close by, and bored or needing a distraction, they might appear. And because they consider you have summoned them without the proper respect, they are not well-disposed.” While Penny was digesting that she added: “Oh! Húanglóng is not your Lord, but as a King of Hell he deserves respect. When a Queen or King of another court is present, you say, ‘The dread Queen. (Or King.).’ But only a Queen or King!”
Penny lost the second trick to Fang, who played a Triumph. She started the third trick with a diamond. The moment she placed it on the table, Channah’s eyes flicked from it up to Penny’s, something brewing there—or rather, continuing to brew, that had begun when she saw her cards. When it came to her turn, she played the Pharaoh of Diamonds, only to lose the trick to Rivqah, who played a Triumph. When Rivqah led the following trick with a Coin, Channah shook her head; and—catching everyone’s attention—hissed with displeasure when she played a low-ranking Triumph, The Chariot.. She was more upset to play it, than to lose it to a higher Triumph played by Miriam. Channah’s only reaction to that was to drink her deep draught with poor humor. Her reaction was one of relief when Miriam led with a wand—only to look startled when a Triumph was played; and uneasy as she laid down the Huángdì of Wands. Next she lost the Sice of Swords, hissing with fury as she was forced to play (and lose) the Pharaoh of Wands, followed by one of the higher cards in the deck, Death. Penny was drawn back to Channah’s face, again and again; and she nervously felt certain Channah was aware of it, imagining that would displease her. But Channah never looked back at her. And Penny couldn’t help checking in with her expression, feeling uneasy and jumpy about whatever darkness was brewing there. When Húanglóng led with the Cater of Spades, Channah’s face darkened noticeably. And just as Channah pulled and played the Trey of Spades, Penny gasped, turned pink, and then grunted as quietly as she could in an expression that could have been a reaction to the game but seemed a bit too emphatic for such a low and unremarkable card this late in the round.
Channah lost the Trey of Spades, the Devil, the Pharaoh of Hearts and The High Priestess in rapid order. A bad run for what seemed on the surface to be a reasonably strong hand. As she played the Pharaoh of Hearts, Fang became curious about Penny’s combination of discomfort and embarrassment. Reaching over one hand, she flipped her skirt up, snorting sardonically to find the hard sole and heel of Channah’s mule grinding mercilessly into Penny’s crotch.
“Don’t tell us she’s tempting the fates?” Rivqah asked.
Fang laughed. “The opposite. Poor Penny’s probably wishing right now she could hide her little clit back in its cage where it belongs.” And at the expression that flitted involuntarily over Penny’s face, seeming to confirm the suggestion, the entire table erupted in even louder laughter.
Using her thumb to wipe a tear from Penny’s eye and feed it to her, Kadidia growled: “She’s such a sensitive little princess.”
“She! Is!” Channah agreed, grunting with the effort of a particularly brutal pair of shoves that made Penny moue and scoot back.
“Huh-unh!” the entire table complained.
And when Channah relented for a moment from her assault, Esmeray quickly shoved Penny’s hips forward, Channah beginning to crunch it viciously again once Penny was back in her place.
Esmeray, leaning awkwardly over Penny’s shoulders to play the next card from her hand when the girl didn’t seem to notice it was her turn, trying with limited success to avoid too much bodily contact, felt compelled to complain: “Mistresses and Masters, the dealer’s ability to play is being interfered with!”
And with a disgusted sigh revealing her frustration at the game, but without disputing Esmeray’s claim, Channah stopped crushing on Penny, leaving her foot where it was and forgetting about it as her attention returned to the game.
When the points were counted, Penny had squeaked past Fang to win the first deal. She looked slightly dazed as her teammates cheered and even the humans on other teams complemented them and seemed to take some kind of pride in it.
RULES OF THE CARD GAME THE CHARACTERS ARE PLAYING AVAILABLE HERE. [INSERT LINK]
RM: https://theremainderman.com/stories/07-38a-mans-ruin-succubaean-rules-for-playing-perdition/
DA: https://www.deviantart.com/theremainderman-com/art/07-38A-Man-s-Ruin-Succubaean-Perdition-Rules-1239280264
Literature Section “07-38D R1 (Dealer Penny) WTF—Let the Dirty Games and Tricks Begin”—more material available at TheRemainderman.com—Part 38 of Chapter Seven, “Channah’s Slavegirls: Pawns of the Court of Lust”—3138 words—Accompanying Images: 2222-2223, 2241-2263—Published 2025-09-29—©2025 The Remainderman. This is a work of fiction, not a book of suggestions. It’s filled with fantasies, stupid choices, evil, harm, danger, death, mythical creatures, idiots, and criminals. Don’t try, believe, or imitate them or any of it.
