by Rue Volley
“Why don’t you just ask?” Amusement colored her mother’s voice
“Mom, you’re not making this easier.” Sitting up she met her mother’s gaze and scowled.
“Have I ever?”
“No.” Heavenleigh shook her head and dove into the pool of chaos. “Angel Man said this has something to do with my Father.”
Absolute terror filled her mother’s milk-chocolate eyes. The pupils dilated until only the black could be seen. Her chest heaved, her body tensed and froze like she’d become a living statue
“Mom… you’re scaring me.” She leaned over to place a hand on her mother’s arm. The black gaze fixed on her.
“Does he know?” The words were hushed and strangled.
“Who?” Heavenleigh shook her head
“Your Father. Does he know about you, that you’re mine… ours?”
“I’m not sure.” She swallowed. “But he does know about a prophecy I’m tied too.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m the key to opening the gates of hell.”
“No!” her mother jumped from the couch. “This has to be a mistake! I left to escape all this madness, and now it follows me, comes after my child, and threatens to destroy the place we carved out with our blood, sweat and tears!” She stopped in the middle of the floor and glanced up at the ceiling. . “I fall and you still call me to duty! Why? Take it back!” She was like a petulant child screaming at the ceiling. “This is between us. Don’t punish Heavenleigh! It’s my fault, my mistake.” Her voice cracked. Gut-wrenching sobs garbled the rest of her tirade. With shaking shoulders, her mother collapsed onto her knees.
“Mom!” Sliding from the couch Heavenleigh crawled to her mother’s side, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders
“Your Father’s cursed. I knew it. They told me. Warned me nothing good would come out of our union. Did I listen? Of course not! I always loved him more than I should, and when I saw his human form… I was hypnotized. He looked at me like I was the only thing he could see. At first it was perfect. I was his queen. I never wanted for anything, and he showered me with love and attention.”
“Then what happened?”
“He changed, grew darker. I saw the things he did to a world full of innocent people. He fell off the pedestal I built the same way he fell from heaven after the great battle he caused.”
It felt like she was breathing under water as the puzzle pieces clicked together. “Lu-Lucifer?”
Her mother dropped her head. “Yes.”
“Holy shit,” she whispered. A million questions vied for attention in Heavenleigh’s head. Dizzy from them she released her mother and fell back, literally knocked onto her ass. I’m actually Satan’s spawn. Shit, should’ve known. She snickered. I’m losing it. Her body began to shake. Anger and outrage mixed together and reacted, spewing over like a science fair volcano
“How could you keep this from me all this time! Didn’t I deserve to know? What if he just popped up one day and I didn’t’ even know him?”
“That’d be the best thing for you. I wanted to keep you safe!”
“No.” She threw her hand up, halting her mother’s speech. “That’s bullshit! It was to protect you.” Her mother looked away. “Oh… wow. This is—you still love him don’t you!”
“Heavenleigh.” She shook her head
“Why even leave? Why not stay and be some unholy Osborne family?”
“Because you deserved the chance to choose! The hardest thing I ever did was walk away, pretend I didn’t care, and I regretted falling. But it was the right thing to do. If I’d let you be raised down there…” she shuddered. “I don’t even want to think of what you’d have become.”
“Wait… you just left him!” This is a whole new meaning to Sympathy for the devil
“I had to make sure he wouldn’t follow. There’s nothing he hates more than betrayal, so I found a fallen angel—.”
“Stop!” She covered her ears with her hands, wishing she could blot their entire conversation from her mind and her memory. Who was this woman?
“I’m not proud of what I did. But I’m your mother and I would and will always do whatever it takes to keep you healthy, safe, and sane. Do you know what it would’ve done to a child to be raised among fire and brimstone? With all those souls cooking on the fire, forced to replay their worst nightmares on a loop. He covets what’s his. You wouldn’t be topside like we are.” She shook her head. “No! I did what I had to.”
The imagery painted stunned Heavenleigh into silence. “Mom… did you live in hell?” Had that childlike voice really come from her?
“I don’t like to talk about that time in my life. Let’s just leave it at that.”
“You did. Phew… okay, this is.” Gesturing outward with her hand Heavenleigh made her way onto shaky legs. “Beyond me, I need a breather, time out… something.” Walking across the living room and into the kitchen she opened the fridge, passed up the wine, and reached for the German beer. Popping the stopper tab that kept in freshness she took a healthy swallow. The cool liquid slid down her throat, quenching her physical thirst, nothing more. The battle for knowledge still waited. When most of the bottle was finished she returned to find her mother who perched on the edge of the couch. As she walked over her mother glanced up, her eyes full of hope
“Mom,I understand why. I don’t like it.” She sighed. “But I get it.”
“Thank you.” She patted the seat beside her. “Now tell me about this prophecy.”
Taking a seat beside her mom, Heavenleigh swirled the liquid in the bottom of her green bottle, feeling like she was moving in a fog. The shadow of shock loomed over her. “Apparently you choose my name well. I’m the key to opening the gates of hell. The person with one foot in heaven and the other in hell, who’s able to travel to both.”
“I’ve never heard of this.” Her mother narrowed her eyes
“Oh you don’t remember because God decided he’d wipe the minds of all his children. He thought the knowledge was too dangerous, and he scattered the scroll with the prophecy to kingdom come.”
“Someone’s finding the scattered pieces aren’t they? Your father, it’s him.”
“Bingo.” Heavenleigh nodded
An awkward mixture of pain and happiness formed on her mother’s face
“What do we do?” She held her breath and waited for her mother to speak. Whether she wanted to admit it or not she’ d hung all her hopes on her mother
“First we need to figure out if he knows about you.” Her mother took a deep breath. The panic that had engulfed her seemed to wane. “ Then we’ll go from there.”
Grateful for her mother’s ability to take charge and play through the pain her panic subsided. “How do we figure that out? I mean, it’s not like we can go down and ask him. ”
Her mother shrugged. “I have connections.”
Looking at her mom with new eyes she shook her head. “Damn, you’re like the Angel mafia.”
“Just a mother protecting her baby.” She shrugged. Her attempt to downplay failed
“Oh geez, I’m sixty years old.”
“And you’ll always be my baby.”
Heavenleigh made a show of rolling her eyes and huffing, but the words and the reality of her mother’s sacrifice touched her more than she could ever express
“So we do reconnaissance, and then we plan?”
“It’s the best way to approach the situation. The last thing you want to do with Lucifer is go of half cocked.”
“What’s he like?” Heavenleigh whispered
“Persuasive, Sexy, fun, all the things a mother would warn her daughter about.” She laughed. It was a deep, throaty sound that shocked Heavenleigh. I’ve never heard my Mom sound like that
“Things were good?”
“I was happy, if that’s what you mean. Of course, back then I was very different from the women you’ve come to know. Self -centered and hell bent on finding pleasure. It was easy
to turn a blind eye to the things that went on. It never held a lure for me. Not like it does for the fallen who turn dark. He knew that, liked it even, and kept me away from it as much as possible.”
“Wait…” Heavenleigh held up a hand, palm out. “You’re telling me he has a soul? A conscience?”
“Absolutely. It’s seriously fucked up, but it exists. He’s a master at compartmentalizing and showing you the pieces of him you want to see.”
“Mom please tell me that’s not some clever way of saying he put it on you.” She wrinkled her nose
Her mother laughed. “No, but if you want to know—.”
“I don’t.” Heavenleigh shook her head
“It was like being married to a rock star. Everyone knew him, respected him. They came to him when they wanted something done. I didn’t want for anything, and I could come and go as I pleased top side as long as I wore his glyph.”
“His what?” Confused she squinted her eyes, and pursed her lips
“A personal signature that you could bestow on a person for protection, it allows you to locate them at any time, among other things.” Her mother said.
“Like a tattoo?” Heavenleigh guessed.
“Sort of, but on the inside.”
“I don’t think I want to know anymore.” Her stomach churned and she grimaced. Leaning forward she set her empty beer on the floor, and balanced her elbows on her knees.
“Your mind is like a garbage bin. It’s not sexual.” Her mother snorted. “It’s etched on a bone or an organ. Mine was on my heart.”
She looked up. “Was?”
“I burned it off with hell fire when I left.” Her mother shifted her weight on the couch, and spun the clunky, silver ring she wore on her middle finger
Heavenleigh hissed. “That sounds painful.”
“It was, but I had to be sure. Nothing else would rid me of his brand.” A tinge of sadness crept into her mother’s voice
“Were you planning on going back?” Please say no
“He’s not a forgiving man.” She shook her head
That’s not answering the question. “I bet he would for you.”
“I don’t even know if he really cared.” Her mom gave a mock laugh. “Look at me getting lost on my way back from memory lane. Thinking about things best left in the dark recesses of my mind.”
“I think it’s about time you talk about it Mom. It’s okay.”
Flustered, her mother smoothed down her hair. “Hmm. Give me twenty-four hours and we’ll talk again.”
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay? You said you were going to contact someone…” Or something.
“I’ll be fine, honey. This isn’t the first time we’ve talked and it won’t be the last.”
The hidden depths her mother held amazed her. I don’t even know what to say.”
“How about we grab more alcohol and sit out on the back patio instead?”
“Perfect.” That I can handle
* * *
The sound of keys in the door drew Yophiel’s head away from the television screen he hadn’t truly been watching. His instinct was to stand. Instead he forced his body to stay seated. Heavenleigh would come to him when she was ready. He needed to let her set the pace. It was how she responded best. She walked into view and he drank in her shell shocked expression. “You okay?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever truly known my mother until tonight, and even then… just scratched the surface.” The curls flew through the air as she shook her head. “I don’t even know what I am. I mean… Lucifer? Really?” Hugging her body, she pinned him with her watery gaze.
He pushed into a standing position and took her into his arms. “He was a great warrior once. It doesn’t surprise me that kind of blood runs through your veins. Everything that came after that honor was choice. It’s not encoded in your genetics. I can see what you’re thinking and you could never be him.”
“How can you know that?” her voice shook
“Because I know you.” He fixed his cobalt blue gaze on her hazel ones. “The purity it takes to accept my grace should tell you how brightly your soul shines. The demon blood doesn’t matter and neither does your linage. What it truly means is you’re made up of the holiest of holy’s.” He ran his fingers through her soft hair and bent down to brush her lips with his. Goose flesh developed on his arms. Their connection hummed to life. Passion glazed her eyes, replacing the sadness. “You know what?” he whispered.
“What?”
“You’re about to get a little more angel in you.”
“I wouldn’t call it little.” She laughed. “Oh Angel Man, you are a fast learner.” Winding her arms around his neck she leaned back, pressing her lower body into his. His dick went from half mast to full sail. She purred in the back of her throat
“I am learning from the best.” He nipped at her bottom lip, soothing the area with his tongue. Her breath hitched
“Don’t you forget it…talk later?” She tilted her head to the side in question and he nodded
“Tonight I want to break in the hot tub.” The thought of her slick body gliding over his made him moan. He flicked his tongue out to lick the shell of her ear before he sucked her sensitive lobe into his mouth
She gasped. “Look at you letting your freak flag fly. Mama likes.”
“Why don’t you show me how much?” Grabbing her waist he lifted her into his arms and she wrapped her long legs around him, covering his mouth with hers. Her tongue slipped between his lips, teasing him with caresses and evasion. Growling he grabbed the back of her head and pushed her forward claiming her with a fiery kiss that set them both ablaze. Stumbling through the living room and the kitchen he reached the screen door to the patio and opened it with his powers. He set her down on the edge of the cherry wood square. The heat during the day waned at night leaving them with cool temperatures. His hands, removed her clothing swiftly. This moment was always special for him. It was like open a present you’d wanted for a very long time
Gripping the edge she lifted her hips and he took down her panties and skirt in one go. Bared to him beneath the star dotted sky she was an ethereal being made of moon beams. Her honey-colored skin glowed and her hair tumbled down to curl around her dime sized chocolate nipples. The long, lean, lines of her body were broken by the concave shape of her belly, generous curve of her hips, and the neatly trimmed patch of hair that covered the heart of her. His mouth watered and he kneeled in front of her, grasped her upper thighs and spread them apart. Shadows lingered in her eyes. It was time to chase them away
“Put your legs over my shoulders baby. I’m feeling downright starved tonight.” He removed his clothing with a thought
Her eyes flickered, a deep amber-red as she complied. The smooth silk of her skin became a caress as it moved into position. He dove in without warning. His stiff tongue pierced her moist entrance. Her legs tightened around him. The heels of her feet dug into his back
“Oh Angel Man, right there!”
Relentless, he drove as deep as he could over and over, savoring the taste as it flooded his mouth. His taste buds were engulfed in pleasure. Using his supernatural disposition for good, he increased the speed. Her body shook, her legs clamped down around his ears and her ass lifted off the hot tub. She yielded a warm river he slurped down like melting ice-cream. He continued to lick her slit as she came down from her high
When her eyes refocused she freed him from the welcome prison of her limbs
“I need you inside me now.” Her voice dropped an octave
The husky sound skittered down his spine and sank into his flesh, warming him. Because there were no words to describe the way she made him feel he lifted her into his arms and walked down into the tub. The foaming water relaxed away the tension that’d mounted during the day. He sat down on the shelf in the corner and she reached down between them, encircling his dick. “Heavenleigh.” The sensations she evoked in him were still so new, and wondrous. It never failed to turn him i
nto what she referred to as a sticky puddle of man goo.
“Come inside me where you belong, Angle Man.” Her eyes were full to the brim with an emotion he’d never truly understood until her, love. The unconditional variety that you’d move mountains and risk all for. Bringing his hands up to her hips he held onto her as she sank down. The velvet grip of her walls combined with the seal from the water was almost too much. He bucked his hips. “You like that baby?” She whispered as he helped her rise, almost completely off before she sank back down.
“Yes.” Gritting his teeth as they made love he watched as her eyes cleared and glazed over
“Faster, I want to fly.” He angled her body and thrust up, slamming her down onto him. His eyes lost focus. Tension built up at the base of his spine
“Yes! Yes!” Her head thrashed and the curls tickled his chest. Her tight passage seized and put him in a vise grip
“I’m going to come!” He opened his mouth, roaring as her body shuddered and he let go. She brought her head down to rest on his shoulders, and he wrapped his arms and his wings around her, forming a cocoon of sorts
“You always know just what I need.” The water felt good on his wings and he knew she loved this. Lying heart beat to heart beat while he shielded them from the world
“Now I’m ready to tell you what Mom said.”
* * *
Layla drew a circle in the center of the room, enclosing herself in the center of the hardwood floor of her bedroom. An old fashioned hand mirror made from brimstone that had intricate patterns carved onto every surface lay in the center beside two black candles and a silver, black handled knife. Kneeling in front of the candle she picked up the knife, brought it to her wrist, and pressed down. It cut through her skin like butter. She hissed. Hell blade’s didn’t just cut they seared, scorched, and spread an icy cool chill through your veins. Immersed in an internal sub-zero storm she let the blood drip into the candle as an offering and a direct link. Peering into the mirror she imagined him. Ancient language filled the space around her. A gentle breeze blew her hair away from her face, and then out behind her as it picked up speed. The loud whistle of wind filled her ears
