The Third Throne: Angel of Death

by Tabitha Barret

  Derick’s soul rushed out of Anjali and slammed back into his body. His eyes turned black for a moment and he gasped for air. Gulping down precious oxygen, he felt an overwhelming force strengthening him. He knew it was Anjali and was comforted by the feeling. He knew he was forever changed. He was no longer bound to this world by God and Heaven. He was bound to her. His soul belonged to her for eternity.

  She gasped when her power raced out of Derick’s body and slammed back into her. Blinding light and sound consumed her, making her dizzy. She fell forward on her hands, holding onto the ground for support. Everything was louder and confusing. She could see the ground and the sky at the same time, but couldn’t tell which way she was really facing.

  Derick rolled to his side and panted from the pain. His reprieve from the onslaught of burning agony was gone. The pain of his injuries tore through him again, worse than before.

  Gabriel grabbed her shoulders to help orient her. “You must calm yourself and turn off what Derick is seeing and hearing. You must learn to block it out and only reach out to him when you need to. You are the Master; you have the ability to keep his thoughts and senses at bay and choose what you want to see. It will take some time, but you will learn to control it.”

  She did as Gabriel said and blanked out her mind. Sighing in relief, she knew she had to gain control of her senses, so that she could help Derick. She could hear him struggling next to her.

  Alazar put his hands on her face and helped her sit up. “Push everything else into the back of your mind and see through his eyes. Keep your eyes closed so that you can figure out what he’s looking at.”

  She did as Alazar suggested and saw the world through Derick’s perspective. He was struggling to keep his eyes open and focus on something. She noticed that he was looking at her dress. The beads were distinct and sharp in her mind. Breathing in and out, she steadied herself. The dizziness passed and she was able to sit up unassisted. She cleared her mind again and the dress disappeared. Keeping her eyes closed, she reached out to Derick’s pain and drew it into her body. It felt like her bones were crushed into powder, but she knew it was only an illusion. She opened her eyes and allowed Alazar to help her to her feet.

  She nodded her thanks to Alazar and gripped his arm for support.

  “We need to take him home so that he can heal,” she saw the immediate relief on Derick’s face as she took away the majority of his pain. “Gabriel, Tabbris said the Council is demanding that I return to the Throne Room so they can speak to me about the attack on Michael. I’m supposed to bring Alazar with me.”

  Gabriel stepped forward to support Anjali so Alazar could pick up Derick. He hated to see his daughter in so much pain, but he knew the decision to take Derick into her care was hers and hers alone. She was responsible for the boy now, which wouldn’t please the Council.

  “Tabbris was right; the Council will want to speak to you. Michael is outraged by your attack on him, though I have already laid the groundwork for a self-defense plea since he admitted he attacked you without provocation. First, they will deal with Maraquette and put her on trial, but after that, they will want you to answer for all that has happened. I must go and inform them about her attempted murder of Derick. I assume she was responsible for the death of Derick’s friend Douglas Stephens. They need to know all of her crimes before she is sentenced. Unfortunately, I have to inform the Council about Derick being made into a Nachtghul, though I will make sure the blame falls upon Maraquette. Return to Lucifer and explain what has happened. He will want to know about Maraquette’s fate. Though he allowed her to leave Hell, some part of him still cares about her. Prepare him in the event that she isn’t killed outright and is sentenced to the Hall of Shadows,” Gabriel bowed his head to his daughter.

  “Thank you father, for everything,” Anjali’s tears slipped past her defenses and she smiled at him.

  “Don’t thank me yet, my dear, we may both lose our heads for what we have done today,” he kissed her forehead and disappeared.

  “I hate putting Gabriel in this position. I hope they don’t hurt him. Moreover, I hope Lucifer doesn’t kill me before I have a chance to explain everything.” she grimaced, knowing she had to face Lucifer. Forget the Council; the devil was more of a concern to her. They could only toss her in a realm. He might kill her.

  She stood over Aganon, ready to drag him back to Hell with her.

  “My lady, I want to apologize before you take me to my Master and kill me. I never wanted to be a part of this conspiracy, but I didn’t have a choice,” Aganon croaked.

  Alazar groaned. He hated Aganon, but he couldn’t keep quiet. “Before you kill him; you should know that Aganon took the brunt of the fall, which is why Derick is still alive. He was under orders from Maraquette to jump from the tower, but he was able to lessen the fall.”

  “Thank you for doing your best to help him, Aganon. I’m feeling slightly magnanimous since he’s safe. I will let Lucifer deal with you,” she sighed.

  Aganon didn’t look pleased by her words. Lucifer had been looking for an excuse to finish him after his attempted murder of her.

  Seeing Alazar’s dagger on the ground, she picked it up and gingerly placed it in the back of Alazar’s pants. “Here, you might need this.”

  He smirked, happy to have it back.

  She waved her hand and extinguished the Hell Fire in the bushes and trees. Reaching down, she grabbed Aganon’s shirt collar, prepared to return to Hell.

  Alazar looked to Anjali and saw the fear on her face. He nodded his head and winked at her. “Let’s go home.”

  They disappeared and reappeared inside the Hall of Mirrors a moment later.

  “I’ll put Derick in your room to rest. I know you want to take his pain from him, but you have to have your wits about you to deal with Lucifer and the Council. You have to let go of him until the Council is done yelling at us,” Alazar hated seeing Derick in pain, but his Master needed to survive for all their sakes.

  She nodded reluctantly. “When you’re done, meet me in the Throne Room. I’m sure you remember where it is,” she smirked.

  Dragging a moaning Aganon, she made her way to the rotunda.

  “Sadly, I do,” Alazar murmured, and headed toward the room he wished he’d burned before leaving, Serena’s torture chamber bedroom. He reminded himself that Serena was dead, for the hundredth time.

  Alazar walked through the door to the left of Anjali’s throne and up the stairs to the worst place in Hell. Kicking open the door, he nearly fell over. The stark dungeon had been transformed into an honest to God bedroom. There were bookshelves along the walls, a couch, and a love seat. There was even a rug. A fireplace mantel adorned the wall and made the Hell Fire roaring inside of it seem appealing and pleasant. There was a dressing table and mirror on the other side of the bed. It upset him to see that the bed frame was still the same. That dreaded thing was the reason he never had headboards or footboards. At least it had a comforter and pillows on it rather than his spilled blood. Maybe he could negotiate for a new bed frame.

  Alazar took a moment to look around the room. His Master was nothing like the crazed blonde, which was evident by the room, if nothing else.

  Suppressing his gag reflex, he walked over to the bed and gently put Derick down. At least the kid would never know suffering while in this bed.

  Looking down at Derick, he decided to ditch the kid’s mortal clothes. Lucifer would eat him alive if he resembled the other souls. He waved his hand and put him in black leather pants, a dark blue shirt, and boots, hoping to make the kid look a little more badass.

  “Alazar, will she be okay? What will Lucifer and the Council do to her?” Derick gasped. He opened his eyes and focused on Alazar. The pain was better, though he still couldn’t move much.

  “Let me worry about them, you worry about getting better. She’s going to need you,” Alazar nodded and left the room. It was time to face his worst enemy and kill him.

  ∞

  Anja
li stepped out of the Hall of Mirrors and was immediately thrown against the wall of the rotunda.

  Blinking quickly to get her bearings, she saw that Lucifer was caging her in, pressing his body against hers.

  “You foolish girl, where have you been?” he whispered harshly into her ear.

  “My lord,” Anjali quickly acknowledged her Master amicably, fearing he was not in control.

  Aganon was moaning by her feet, though Lucifer didn’t seem to notice he was there.

  “The Council is here and demanding that we convene with them. Answer me, where have you been?” his black eyes were wild as he spoke. She was afraid to tell him what had happened for fear he would lash out at her again.

  “You need to calm yourself. I will tell you what you want to know, but we can’t be seen by the Council until you know everything,” she whispered. She didn’t need Lucifer blindsided by her actions in front of the Council.

  Lucifer looked around quickly, understanding her fear of the Council. He seemed surprised to see Aganon lying on the floor. Turning to Dorian, who was standing behind him, he motioned for Dorian to take custody of Aganon.

  “I suggest taking him to the Hall of Mercy, my lord. He’s been a very bad servant,” Anjali whispered when she saw Dorian.

  Lucifer nodded. “No one speaks to him until I have time to interrogate him,” Lucifer growled to Dorian. “Oh, and release Hades.”

  Dorian nodded and hoisted a groaning Aganon over his shoulder and removed him from the rotunda.

  Lucifer made sure they were alone and pulled her across the rotunda to the Annex. She knew he was pissed if he was willing to hide her away in Murderer’s Alley.

  “I see you that finally decided to take your rage out on Aganon. Good for you. Now tell me what the fuck you thought you were doing when you stole Alazar from Michael. The Council has been breathing down my neck since you knocked Michael from the sky,” Lucifer yelled, but stopped abruptly and leaned forward. “Wait, before you answer that, tell me how you did it, and how badly you hurt him. He’s hiding the full extent of his injuries. I want all the details, and then we’ll get back to what you have been up to,” Lucifer hissed. He had pictured the entire epic battle. He was excited just thinking about his love fighting Michael to the brink of death.

  Anjali sighed, knowing it would be difficult to make Lucifer focus, so she ignored his questions. “Where is Hades?” she wasn’t sure where Dorian was releasing him from, but she had a good guess.

  “He is rotting away in the Hall of Torment. He lost his mind and punched me in the face without reason. I was on my way to retrieve him personally, to buy more time, when I saw you leaving the Hall of Mirrors,” Lucifer almost laughed at Hades’ bout of stupidity, but refrained.

  “I doubt it was without reason, my lord. It’s smart of him to lay low there and convenient if he needed an alibi,” she shrugged. She wished she had a good alibi.

  Lucifer looked into Anjali’s eyes and smiled. His personal Heaven was close enough to feel the warmth radiating from her. Reaching out, he rubbed his deadened hand against her cheek. The numbness drifted away, allowing him to feel how soft her skin was. He moved his hand lower to her neck, but paused when he felt the remnants of a deep cut.

  “Forget Michael, tell me what happened,” he growled. The thought of someone hurting her outweighed his delight in hearing about Michael’s sound thrashing.

  Anjali stared at Lucifer trying to decide how best to begin. Deciding that honesty was the best course of action, she detailed everything. She told him about following Michael, creating the storm to stop him from killing Alazar, and about Maraquette’s plot to kill her. She wanted to leave out the part about making Derick her Nachtghul, but knew it was best to get everything out in the open.

  The second she told Lucifer about Derick, he lost his mind.

  “How do you know about Nachtghuls?” Lucifer was livid. Of all the unthinkable things that she had done while awhile from him, this was the worst.

  “Alazar told me about it and Gabriel helped me do it,” she replied. She had hoped he would be more upset about Maraquette trying to kill her than about her making Derick her servant, but honestly, she knew better.

  “Alazar just handed you a Nachtghul? How generous of him. I know things have been tense between us for the last few days, but you don’t need a servant. Besides, the Council will be furious. Not only have you bound a known Rogue to you, while openly attacking Michael, but now you have gone against the Council’s rules against creating Nachtghuls. I fear what they will do to you. Moreover, do you realize that you have painted a target on your back? Anyone who wants to harm you will strike at you through that boy. You have made yourself vulnerable to our enemies,” Lucifer ranted and threw his arms around in a rage.

  “I need someone on my side, watching my back. It would have helped when Aganon stabbed me. It certainly helped when Maraquette tried to take my head with an axe and Radek saved me. I know you don’t care about Radek’s death, but I do,” Anjali yelled back.

  Lucifer clenched his fists when he thought about Maraquette swinging an axe at Anjali. “I am grateful that Radek did his duty and saved your life, but I will protect you. You do not need a servant,” Lucifer sighed.

  “Radek protected me because we were friends,” Anjali snapped, fighting back the tears for her lost friend.

  Lucifer cracked his shoulder and calmed down. “I forget how sentimental you are,” he composed himself and looked her in the eye. “Do you need a servant, or do you need that boy?” Lucifer whispered, regretting that he didn’t kill the whelp when he had the chance.

  “I need him,” she whispered. “I let go of someone once, and I can’t do it again. It doesn’t change us. I am bound to you and I swore that I wouldn’t leave you. You have made things difficult for me because of your darkness, but as Hades says, I will find the strength to forgive you. Derick cares about me all the time, not just a few days out of every few months. Hell is lonely, my lord,” she looked at the ground as she admitted her weakness.

  “I can’t always be there for you. I know that. The boy mentioned that you were lonely. I didn’t believe him until Radek sided with him,” he sighed. He stood in front of her and rubbed her cheek with the tips of his fingers.

  “You tried to kill Derick, didn’t you?” she asked. She wasn’t angry, surprisingly. She expected nothing less from the devil.

  “I wanted to. I was jealous, admittedly. He stood before me and proclaimed his love for you. That took courage. Of course, I had hoped he would succumb to his injuries. For the record, I did leave him breathing. You can thank Radek for that, as well. He saved the boy’s life,” Lucifer replied. He put his face against the top of her head and breathed in her scent. Anger would not help him when the Council demanded Anjali’s head.

  “Don’t be jealous. I serve you and Hell, even if I want to smack you sometimes,” she chuckled when she felt Lucifer laugh against her hair.

  Lucifer straightened up and looked at her. “I’m sorry for hurting you. It was not my intention,” Lucifer gave her his best pout for good measure, hoping to be forgiven.

  “I know. I’m sorry that I stayed away from you for so long. It was wrong of me. I know I promised not to do it and I’m aware that everyone has suffered because of it. I’m here now,” she ran her hands through Lucifer’s hair and smiled at him. She remembered Derick’s statement about her crazy boyfriend apologizing for hurting her, only to do it again. She knew she needed to address the issue with Lucifer later, once she survived the Council.

  Lucifer laughed. “As much as I would love to take you into my bed, I don’t think the Council will wait that long. If we don’t stop, I won’t have enough darkness left to confront them and I may feel guilty enough to hand you over to face their punishment,” Lucifer hated removing her hands from his body, but he needed to be ruthless enough to save her from the Council.

  “Of course, my lord,” Anjali stepped away and put her hands behind her back to show that she would
behave.

  Alazar appeared over Lucifer’s shoulder, but didn’t look at her. She was surprised by his presence since she had told him to meet her in the Throne Room. He must have overheard them speaking.

  “Hello, brother. Long time no see,” Alazar gripped Lucifer by the shoulder, pulled him around, and stabbed him through the stomach with his dagger.

  Lucifer gasped and fell backward, stumbling to the ground.

  “Alazar, no!” Anjali screamed and pushed Alazar back before he could strike again, the dagger was still in his hand, eager for another strike.

  “You don’t know what he did!” Alazar shouted. He lunged forward again, trying to get past Anjali.

  “He’s done all manner of things. You’ll have to be more specific,” she yelled. She caught Alazar by the shirt and threw him against the wall.

  “Tell her what you did to Zacharael!” Alazar screamed. He was crazed, his eyes focused solely on Lucifer; spit was flying from his mouth.

  Lucifer looked down at his bleeding stomach, stunned by the pain and the sudden attack. The dagger had gone almost to his spine. It had been a long time since he’d been stabbed.

  Lucifer attempted to focus on Alazar, but couldn’t hear him over the buzzing in his ears. The lack of darkness in him was making the pain worse. Normally he laughed off his injuries because he was always in pain, but with Anjali by his side everything was more intense: pleasure and agony.

  Anjali tried to hold Alazar back by pinning his shoulders to the wall. “I know he hurt all of you Alazar, and I swear I won’t allow him to do it again. Control yourself!”

  Alazar threw Anjali off balance and spun around her to avoid her outstretched arms. He didn’t care that Anjali was Lucifer’s blood servant. He had faith that she was powerful enough to survive his death. He raised his dagger and prepared to plunge it into Lucifer’s neck.

  “Alazar, I command you to stop!” she yelled, focusing on the bond between them. She hated ordering him to obey, but she knew he wouldn’t stop. He was beyond rational thought.

  Alazar’s body convulsed and jerked to a halt. He fell to his knee and bowed his head, though his face expressed his ire.