by Nikki Prince
She turned to stare at Asmoday. Placing her hand on his thigh, she squeezed.
“I was changed into a human because they’re all afraid of what I can do as a demon. They’re afraid of me and the power that I hold.” She laughed.
Asmoday’s face lit up, and he clapped his hands. “Yes! Fuck, it’s about time you became enlightened to that fact. I saw it in you in the garden. I groomed you for this, for us!”
She heard Lili sobbing in the background, but she forged on. If in letting down the others she saved them, then that was all that mattered.
“I’m so sorry, Asmoday. You did, you tried telling me through the years that I was better than this and that I could have more. I should have heeded your call sooner. But I’m here now, and I am so ready for this.” His hands eased from her hair and she rose leisurely.
“Yes, yes you are.”
“I want a throne next to yours.”
“It’s done. You will be my queen and shall rule with me. We will even take over Luc’s dominion!”
“I can see you thought of everything, Asmoday.”
“Of course I have. This has been the plan all along. You just needed to heed my words and listen. I will forgive you for fucking that shit up for so long.”
“I know I’ve been a bad girl.”
With a sway of her hips, she walked to Asmoday and settled in his lap. She steadied herself so that the revulsion she was feeling didn’t show. Asmoday ran his hands up her legs and gripped her at the waist. Heated lust was unmistakable in his eyes and in his touch. Eva stayed on the path to getting them free.
“How will we do this?”
“I will make you a demon again; there is no way you can rule with me as a human.”
“You have that power, Asmoday?”
“Yes, I have the power to make you my demon queen.” He kissed her shoulder. Clay growled, and for show, she tossed him a look of contempt. She curled her fingers into Asmoday’s hair, stroking the locks.
“I grow tired of this human body. I would love to be what I was truly meant to be. Kamuel had it wrong. What does he know about who I am and what is best for me?”
“Exactly,” Asmoday hissed.
“I want to kill them when you’re ready,” she stated calmly though her stomach was churning.
“Kill who?”
“Lili, Clay and Samael, you know the three who hold me back in this world. Will you give that choice to me?” For effect she stood and moved to the others, circling them as she spoke. She rubbed her hand over Lili’s head as the other woman sobbed. Samael, though bound, tried to reach her to push her away, and she jumped out of his way with a laugh.
“How about I do you first, Samael? You’ve been a thorn in my side for far too long.”
“Fuck, girl! Own this shit!” Asmoday sidled next to her.
“I can, and I will. You just have to give me the tools and the means to do it.”
“Damn, when you get bloodthirsty you get motherfucking bloodthirsty. This is better than I’d even thought you’d be.”
“Fuck you, Eva, have you always been this fucking crazy?” Clay yelled out, and she ignored him. She couldn’t let her smokescreen break down. If she looked at him it would.
“Don’t do this!” Samael voiced loudly.
“Show me!” she demanded. “Show me what weapon you’d use on them to end their pitiful existences.”
“No, Eva! If you ever loved me you wouldn’t do this!” Lili screamed. None of them realized that this was the only way. She had to do this to correct all of the mistakes she’d made.
Asmoday tugged her close, and in his other hand he produced a crystalline dagger that sparkled with a strange purple hue. It was the demon lance she’d heard whispered about. It was as if it was alive. It pulsed and as she reached for it, it got brighter.
“She likes you,” Asmoday said. “She wants you to take ahold of her and to let her power free.”
“She?”
“Yes, she.” He raised the dagger. “It’s alive, don’t you know. It identifies who should wield it. It discerns whose life it will take and why.”
“What else can she do besides take a life? Can she give it as well?”
“Most definitely, Eva. Whatever is in the wielder’s heart, she will perform it. This same dagger can make you a demon again, give you back what was taken, and it will win us the war against Luc.”
“So I could use this to kill them. And then?”
“We could use it to kill them and as many others as we wish. Though I must warn you, in doing so we will set about an apocalypse like never before seen. It will pit angels and demons against each other.”
She had to ask because she was curious. “How did you happen to get this, Asmoday?”
“Luc entrusted me with it.”
Those words gave Eva pause. Why in the world would Luc give Asmoday this kind of power? The king of all demons didn’t see the craziness that was standing before her? If she could see it, why couldn’t he?
“He knew just who to give the job to—he picked the best demon out of the bunch.” She fed his ego; he loved that shit and would eat it up.
“Girl, words like that make me hard, and you know it. Stroking my ego is like giving me a fucking blow job.”
“Can I hold it, Asmoday?” She batted her lashes at him and tossed him a wink.
“What—the dagger or my cock? I have to say I am hoping you will want to hold on to both.”
“I want the dagger right now and your cock I will hold as much as you like later. Once this is all said and done we will have an eternity, won’t we?”
Asmoday let her go and walked a few feet away, as if he were in deep contemplation. “Are you sure you’re ready for such power?”
“Isn’t this what you wanted? The reason that you’ve done all that you have? This instance, this solitary flash in time when we are together and we both get what we want?”
“I’ve always wanted you, Eva. You just refused to see it.”
“I know I was blind and in denial. You’re what I want, you and that dagger. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I want that blade. I want the supremacy that all of this will give me. I want to be a demon again.”
Asmoday’s eyes were wild, and he’d even started drooling. His craziness and his need to be master of all was going to be his downfall, and she was going to make sure of it. She just needed him to put that weapon of destruction in her hands. She waited with baited breath.
“Come on, Asmoday. Why are you hesitating? We’ve won. Give me the fucking blade so I can end this shit once and for all.” She held out her hand to him. “Well?”
Edging close, he tentatively held out the blade to her, and she knew she’d obtained his trust. When the blade was placed in her hand, she closed her eyes as its dark energies waxed and waned in a continuous stream. She had him now in a position that even he would not be able to get out of. There was no turning back.
“Who will you kill first?” She didn’t acknowledge his question yet. It was too soon. The darkness in her was fighting the light. The battle between the two parts of her wasn’t something that she could conquer easily.
There was pure unadulterated excitement in Asmoday’s voice as she turned her back to him and looked at her family. For a moment deep, soul-reaching blackness clutched at her soul, and she heard those whispers of temptation yet again. It was Asmoday of old and new, telling her that this was what she craved. Her hand shook as she fought that darkness.
“Yes … yes … yes!” Asmoday screeched behind her. “You can feel it. I can see your evilness. It’s all around you!”
She wondered if he were right. If he could see how evil she was, did that mean all of the good that she was had been swallowed up and was no more? Had she just been deluding herself? It was then that she heard another whisper in her mind. It was Salathiel.
Do you remember how brave you were when I forced you to leave the garden?
She closed her eyes and let those words flow thro
ugh her.
Yes, you stood at the garden so that we could never enter it again.
Right, yet there was still promise in that. There is always going to be evil that men and women do. It was prophesied, but you have the right of choice. What will that choice be, Eva? Good or bad?
Good, I will do good! she answered Salathiel back.
It was as if the scales fell from her eyes, and she could fully see all that would happen if she’d turned toward that darkness that ate at everyone’s soul.
Eva knelt quickly on the ground and held the blade to her own breast. Asmoday let out a horrible hissing sound as he ran to grab the blade. “Nooooo! You will not take away my victory! I will kill you first before I allow that.”
A struggle ensued, and they wrestled on the floor to the roar of the other shades that were in the room. Lili, Samael and Clay’s screams and shouts also joined the discord. The prick of the blade hit her chest, and she gasped as pain shot through her whole body. Her eyes locked with Asmoday’s as he plunged the blade into her heart. She sensed she was floating in a pain-filled haze then struggling to keep her eyes opened. Her head fell to the side as she gasped for breath, the blade still within her chest as her life’s blood pumped out around it and stained the ground. She was dropped to the ground, and Asmoday made a shrieking sound.
“This isn’t how it’s supposed to be!” he screamed, spittle flying from his mouth. She was losing the battle. Her eyes would close soon, and she’d be no more. She needed to see Clay one last time. Clay ran to her, and it was then she realized he was no longer bound by Asmoday’s chains and neither was Samael.
She looked just behind him and saw a plethora of angels who had all the demons of Asmoday’s legion at the sword.
“Eva, just hold on. You did it. You beat this. Please don’t leave me.”
“Don’t worry about me. Help Lili, help the others.”
He reached for the sword that protruded from her chest, and she grasped his hands weakly. “No, this is the only thing keeping me alive right now. You must kill Asmoday.” She was slipping away, a blessed peace filling her. “Take care of Lili for me and let her know I did love her.” The sounds of the chaos in the room disappeared into nothingness as she took her last breath.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Clay gave a roar of pain and was off his feet in an instant, his hands at Asmoday’s throat and his powers fully restored. Asmoday’s eyes began to bulge from his head as Clay squeezed.
“No! Stand back, Adam of old.” Turning to see who’d dared to tell him to stop, Clay saw Luc in all of his glory. He was still as beautiful as ever and just as regal. The blond-haired demon in his human likeness strode forward. The sea of demons and angels parted as Luc made his way to Clay and Asmoday.
“Free him. he is mine to deal with. Not yours. Take your angels and humans from this place. Now is not the time for war. I decide that. Not you, not Kamuel and most definitely not the dog of a demon you hold in your hands.” Luc’s voice was calm and even.
“See, Master? I told you Asmoday was up to no good!” Another demon called from the crowd.
“That you did, Vestis, and you will be rewarded accordingly for taking care of this snake in the grass.” Luc turned his gaze back to Clay.
“That is an order, Clay. I rule here and no one else.”
Clay dropped Asmoday and hurried back to Eva.
“The blade, Luc, what about the blade in her chest?” He tossed Luc a glance.
“What blade?” Luc said simply.
“The fucking blade in her chest.” He all but screamed at the Prince of true darkness.
“There’s no blade. Now run on home before I change my mind.”
What the hell was he talking about no blade? He stared at Eva’s breast. There was a mark where the blade had been, yet no blade. He clutched her to him.
“Let’s go, we need to get the women to safety.” He heard a loud screech of terror and pain and knew that Luc was sufficiently dealing with Asmoday.
Most importantly, Eva was so still it worried him. His words were no sooner from his mouth than they were crossing the Nether over into the heavenly realm. Kamuel led them to a room of all white, and Clay laid her on the bed. Several angels surrounded Eva, cleansing her of blood and filth and when they moved away she was covered in a robe of purest white.
A hand was placed on his shoulder. “We’ll do all that we can to make sure she lives, Clay. She sacrificed her life for all of yours. That counts for something in this realm. The blade was her way out, and she took the right path. She didn’t commit the highest sin by killing herself. Asmoday took on that evil burden. Let her rest. She needs to heal.”
With a sob of relief Clay left her in the very capable hands of the angels of healing. He needed to check on Samael and Lili.
****
Eva awakened with a gasp. Everything was so white. Why was everything so white? She was dead, wasn’t she?
“Ah, you have awakened. It’s been quite a journey,” a soft voice spoke. Turning her head, Eva was faced with Kamuel.
“Am I in limbo, Kamuel? How long have I been out?”
“Yes, I suppose you could call this limbo. You’ve been out for a good month.”
“Are Clay, Lili and Samael safe?”
“They’re doing rather well. Though they’ve been a bit worried about you sleeping for so long. It’s been hard to keep them out of here.”
“Sleep? You mean I’m not dead?”
Kamuel let out a snort of laughter. “Dead? By no means are you dead. You’re perfectly healthy. You’ve paid your debt. Are you ready to see them?”
“Oh yes, yes I am. I just hope they can forgive me.”
“Clay has been by your side through all of this. I just tossed him out of here a little while ago. He’s waiting in the wings. Do you need help sitting up?” She shook her head in the negative as she gingerly sat up in bed, propping herself on the pillow.
As she adjusted herself the door opened and Clay sprinted into the room. He pulled her close, and she snuggled into his warmth.
“Eva, it’s so good to see that you’re awake.”
“Clay, I thought never to hold you again.” He kissed the top of her head.
“You can’t get rid of me.”
“I wanted to say that I’m sorry for everything.”
“I wanted to say that I’m sorry as well and to say thank you. You freed us.”
“My actions of the past hurt us all. You and the others were right. I’m just glad to have made amends.”
“Lili wants to come in.”
“She’s here?”
“Yes, they’ve allowed her to stay while you were healing. Do you want to see her and Samael?”
She swallowed back the tears and nodded frantically. The door opened once more, and both Lili and Samael entered. Lili rushed to her side as Clay took a step away.
She was enveloped into Lili’s arms, and both of them began to sob. “I’m sorry, Lili, more sorry than you’ll ever know.”
“Sister dear, you don’t have to apologize. I know that your words ring true as your actions proved. I love you. I forgive it all, and I want you in my life.” Tears streamed down her cheeks hotly, and she let out a sob, overcome with emotion at Lili’s words.
“Thank you. I love you. I’ve always loved you. I just allowed temptation to get in the way.”
“I love you too. Samael and I’ve forgiven you. So don’t fret about that anymore.” She leaned in close and kissed her cheek, but before she pulled back she whispered softly into Eva’s ear. “Fight for your demon like I fought for mine.”
Lili got up and Samael came over and kissed her forehead. He didn’t speak, but words weren’t needed. She already had confirmation from Lili that he’d forgiven her. The two left the room, leaving her with Clay.
“I need to say something, Clay.”
“You don’t need to apologize anymore.” He shook his head.
“Not an apology. Sit next to me and listen.”
He sat on the bed next to her. She held out her hand, and he took it within his own.
“I love you. I should have said it long ago. But I was too stubborn. I love you, and it’s okay if you don’t love me too.”
“Stop right there, Eva.” His words gave her pause. What had she done now? He kissed the back of her hand and just let silence fill the room. She could hear her heartbeat.
“I love you too. I have since time began for us. I should have made sure that you could feel it. I failed to do that, but I promise that isn’t how it will be for us from now on.”
“From now on?” Once again she was mimicking words, and she sounded like a parrot.
“Yes, from now on. Kamuel has said that you are allowed a clean slate. You’ve paid your debt. He also said you have your choice of being a demon again or human.”
“But if I chose to be a human that means I’ll die.”
“Yes, that’s what it means, but we have also been given our own curse in a way.”
“What do you mean our own curse? Clay, you’re talking in riddles.”
“Well just as you cursed Lili with reincarnation, if you choose to stay human we have been granted the same. You will be human, and we will have each other for an eternity. But this time I’ll know you and you’d know me.”
“I’d have the same choice if I stayed demon, right?”
“Yes basically, if that is the choice that you want to make.”
“I just want to be with you and either choice gets me that.”
“Right.”
“Well I’m ready to make that choice. I want to be human again. This is my second chance at living the blessing I was given, and I want to do that. I don’t want or need any powers. What I want I have already. You, Lili and Samael are all I require.”
“Fantastic!” He kissed her hungrily then pulled away.
“Thank you, Clay, for keeping at me and believing that I’d make the right choice when it came to what to do.”
“Anything for you, baby.
He kissed her again, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, drinking in that kiss and his love. She’d won. She’d beat the demon of temptation at his own game. She now had the spoils of her victory, and life was good.
