The Third Throne: Angel of Darkness

by Tabitha Barret

  “Ah, pumpkin, Mistress, Lucifer invented the one night stand and you’re not the first one to fall for his deception. It’s tragic, yes, but I’m here to tell you that I’ve had to give this speech so many times I have it memorized. If I may, it goes a little like this:

  ‘Dear, insert name here, it seems that your services are no longer required by your master. No, dear, it was nothing that you did. I’m sure that you pleased him well enough. It’s his fault, truly it is. He’s terrible at relationships. They never work out. I know you did your best, insert name, a pat on her shoulder, but he is too self-involved. Now, if you will kindly follow me, I will take you to where you need to go. He thanks you for your time together, but it’s over. Oh, dry your tears, this sadness won’t last forever.’ Then I take them to the Caves of Darkness and I end their suffering for eternity,” Hades’ face contorted into pure evil. His eyes narrowed and took on the appearance of a wolf on the hunt.

  Michelle took a step back. She felt like his prey and that he was about to pounce on her.

  “End their suffering for eternity? How do you manage that?” she gulped and took another step back.

  “You haven’t been to the Caves of Darkness yet, have you? There’s a reason no one likes to go there. There are creatures in there, hungry creatures that feast on the souls who try to escape through the old tunnels. There is no going back to the Mortal Realm once a Bhakşaka gets hold them. There is no more reincarnation, only oblivion. The Bhakşakas feeds upon the soul and leaves behind the shell of a person that no longer feels anything beyond its basic instincts. The shells are called Shades, mindless creatures that stalk wayward souls and devour their flesh. It’s nice to know that you have options, either lose your soul and become a Shade or be eaten alive by them.

  “As I said, Lucifer loves his women, breaks up with them, and then kills them. Therefore, you have a choice. Wait for Lucifer to decide that he no longer needs you and ends you himself, or you can decide to make it all go away right now and save yourself all the pain and worry,” Hades was off the throne in the blink of an eye and circling her.

  “So you’re the hatchet man? Lucifer doesn’t even have the guts to tell me this himself?” Michelle remained perfectly still as Hades continued to circle her, waiting for his chance to escort her to her death.

  While she was upset about falling for Lucifer’s lies, her instincts told her not to believe Hades. A feeling of distrust grew inside of her. She immediately understood not to trust Hades, under any circumstance and stood her ground. She wasn’t going to let him convince her to end her life.

  She felt something was burning her hand. Looking down, she realized it was her ring. It was digging into her finger, something that had only started happening since she arrived in Hell. She put her hands behind her back and tried to wiggle the ring to ease the pressure.

  “Lucifer has more important things to do than dump all of his lovers. He’s a very busy man. I, on the other hand, make sure that the poor things don’t suffer more than needed. If Lucifer did it himself, it certainly would be a sight, not to the mention the cleanup. It’s best this way, more, efficient,” Hades loomed over her with a look of malice.

  “Yet you didn’t say that I was dumped, did you? You said that when Lucifer was done with them, he kicked them out. I have a feeling that he isn’t done with me yet,” she replied. She tried to sound smug to call his bluff,but inside she was still reeling from the possibility of being betrayed by Lucifer. She would rather speak directly to him and hear the words from his mouth. Hades looked entirely too eager to whisk her away to her oblivion.

  “No, but it will happen. It’s only a matter of time. I figured that after all you have suffered; you would prefer to be put out of your misery sooner rather than later. Trust me; you don’t want to be Lucifer’s lover. He’s not what they call, caring and compassionate. He will take what he will from you and leave you barren. I rescued you from drowning, now I’m trying to rescue you from being raked over the coals and having your heart plucked from your body. Well, not literally, in this case. Heartbreak is the worst torture one can endure. You’re too young to have gone through it yourself, so I thought I would ease you into it,” Hades stood with his chin up, looking down his nose at her.

  “You’re offering me the loaded gun to avoid all my future suffering?” she cocked her head. She remembered how shocked Hades had been the first time they met and how he had bowed to her. Something was rotten in Hell and it wasn’t the souls.

  “Something like that. You killed yourself once my dear, Mistress; I figured it was something you might want to do again. You are definitely one of the sadder lots I’ve seen in recent years, so young, so naïve. It’s painful to watch. I wanted to give you an out. So many beg for the end of their suffering here, yet they continue to suffer. I’m offering you the golden ticket, a chance that not many receive. Don’t throw it away without first considering it. Do you really want to spend an eternity here, being stabbed, bitten, skewered, flambéed, frozen, and ripped apart? It’s no way to live, I assure you. I’m only offering this to you once, now or never. You are Lucifer’s servant, so there is no reincarnation for you, no more lives as a mortal. You will stay here forever and you will become miserable, bitter, and angry. You will become a shadow of the person you once were. Nothing will stop the agony. You will never feel happiness again. You are damned here and you will slowly lose your mind until you are rabid. This is the end of the line precious…Mistress,” Hades was a hair’s breath away from her, his dark blue eyes boring into hers. He was taunting her, wanting her to envision all the misery she would endure.

  “I think I’ll take my chances. It’s true, I killed myself once, but it wasn’t something I wanted to do. Given a choice now, I certainly wouldn’t do it again. While I appreciate that you want to help me and end my horrible existence, I think I will pass on your offer. I want to see Lucifer,” she looked straight into his eyes and gained strength with every word. He was deceiving her. She could feel it down to her bones.

  “Pity really, too stupid for your own good. You will suffer unlike any other who has inhabited this place. Mark my words; you will regret this decision tenfold, and don’t you dare come groveling back to me to ease you into death when you understand the mistake you have made. This day will haunt you for a long time to come. Remember that it was I who was trying to be merciful. You will not find mercy again. I promise you that,” Hades was seething as they stared at each other, unmoving, neither one backing down.

  “I’ll remember that it was you who offered to kill me. I’ll make a note of that,” Michelle smiled cruelly.

  Before Hades could respond, the sound of footsteps on the bridge broke his gaze and he quickly looked up.

  “Sounds like my three o’clock is here. Now it’s time for your spa treatment, my dear Mistress.” Hades looked past Michelle to watch someone enter. She could hear multiple footsteps coming across the bridge, but she couldn’t see who they were. “Caleb, bring Lucifer’s mistress to her room so that she can rest,” Hades quickly dismissed her and walked to the entrance.

  Caleb appeared from the far right behind the dais, bowed to Hades, who wasn’t looking at him, and grabbed Michelle by the arm.

  She pulled her arm from him, and glared at him. “I remember how to walk,” she growled at Caleb.

  Caleb ignored her outburst, latched onto her arm again, and dragged her back to the spiral staircase.

  Michelle was being pulled through the doorway when she caught a glimpse of a man who was walking into the Throne Room, accompanied by Aganon. She was surprised. The man looked nothing like the other Fallen Angels. He was breathtaking and immaculate in his appearance. The only word that came to mind was, angelic. He wore a white suit and tie. He could have easily been a model with his boyish good looks. He squinted at her, trying to get a better look at her before she was whisked away.

  She heard Hades greeting the angel with his usual charm just as she was pulled down the stairs. She heard the name
Adrian before the door closed behind her.

  Caleb spoke for the first time as they descended the stairs past her room. “Lord Hades has issued a command. I must heed him. I’m sure you know by now the consequences for failing to obey orders.”

  Michelle realized it must have been a long time since she’d entered the realms if Caleb had a usable tongue. She was a little surprised to hear his accent.

  “Yeah, little weasels get their tongues removed with rusty screwdrivers,” she snapped and tried to pry her arm away from his unyielding hand.

  “Pray you never learn for yourself,” he glared at her as they made their way to the bottom of the stairs.

  “Let me guess, I’m not going to my room to rest,” she said dryly, nearly tumbling down the staircase.

  “You catch on quick, Mistress,” he dragged her out of the castle and straight to the Realm of Poison.

  “The next time Lucifer kicks the crap out of you, I want to watch,” she snarled at him.

  He sneered at her then turned to the angel in charge of the Realm of Poison. “Nolan, please make our guest comfortable,” Caleb handed her over to a tall blonde angel and ran back to the castle.

  Nolan nodded, grabbed her wrist, and in she went. She landed on a pile of scorpions and prayed for a meerkat to eat the nasty little things.

  Chapter 7

  “How are you feeling today, my Lord?” Hades asked, entering Lucifer’s bedroom.

  Few were allowed into Lucifer’s private domain, though most would run screaming if they did enter. The angel had a serious penchant for mounting things on his walls as trophies. Even his headboard was made from the bones of his enemies. It was hardly The Plaza, but when one spent an eternity in darkness away from the light of God, it tended to cause a person to become a little batty. The only thing that Hades enjoyed about the room was the ceiling that had all the constellations accurately painted on it. He missed the heavens and he missed the stars.

  Lucifer sat on the floor, staring at the large fireplace in his room, catatonic. He looked wrecked. In all his years, Hades had never seen his brother in such disarray. He had a thick beard, his shirt was ripped in multiple places, and his hair was knotted and mangled. Yet, the most disturbing thing was Lucifer’s eyes. They were haunted and distant. The reflection of the flames in his eyes showed the chaos inside of Lucifer’s mind. On a positive note, his hair and eyes were darker and closer to normal. Normal for the raging insane Lucifer, not the Heavenly goody two shoes Lucifer.

  Hades had tried to speak to him multiple times since his self-imposed hiatus, but it was not only difficult to witness his brother in such a state, it was nearly impossible to listen to him. He could kill the little bitch for what she had done to him.

  “That good, huh?” Hades threw himself into the black leather chair next to the fireplace facing Lucifer.

  Lucifer didn’t acknowledge Hades in the least. Seemed he had forgotten how to blink as well. He sat with his knees against his chest and his arms wrapped around them. He looked like he was trying to count the number of flames in the fireplace.

  “Well the good news, if you can call it that, is that Mark is walking and talking again, and at the same time no less. Adrian said that he is nearly recovered and expected back shortly, which is good, since I hate Adrian. He asks more questions than Mark ever did. It makes me long for the good ole days when the Heavenly Angels were so disgusted by our actions that they wouldn’t dare enter beyond the Hall of Winds. I guess Mark has grown accustomed to it after all this time. The boy finally grew up. According to Adrian, Michael has been barking mad and sends requests for your head hourly. I told Adrian to pass along the message that you were tied up, and would see him once we found the scissors. Seriously, though, Michael will not be pleasant to deal with. I warned you of the consequences,” Hades watched a tear ran down Lucifer’s cheek.

  Wonderful, seems we’re still sobbing in our soup, Hades sighed to himself.

  Lucifer had been moaning and weeping over what he had done to Mark.

  “Really now, I don’t understand why you are so upset. If you are going to feed someone his teeth, then you should own what you did, and not feel sorry about it. It’s a waste of time, in my opinion,” Hades shrugged, which only made Lucifer whimper.

  He decided to change tactics.

  “I just had a conversation with the little bitch. She is enjoying her time here. She has found all sorts of ways to occupy herself. She still hates you, I’m afraid,” Hades braced himself for the reply.

  “Please, I’ve asked you not to call her that. She has done nothing wrong. I am to blame,” Lucifer muttered.

  Well, at least he had stopped weeping hysterically whenever disparaging remarks were made about his mistress. The first time Hades called her a bitch, Lucifer wallowed for an hour and begged Hades not to say such reproachful things. Hades couldn’t handle the begging and sobbing. Typically, he enjoyed it from his prisoners and servants, but from the Prince of Darkness it was disturbing.

  “My apologies, my Lord. I hate to see you like this. I’m worried about you, and not just because we have work to do, as always, but because you are important here. Who would run this place if you weren’t around?” Hades was trying to break Lucifer from this curse. Lucifer hated the thought of anyone running Hell but him.

  “You would do fine in my absence,” Lucifer waved a hand in Hades’ direction.

  “Did you just compliment me? I think I have a headache. For the love of all that is holy, beat me, yell at me, or spit on me, but don’t compliment me. It’s disturbing,” Hades held the bridge of his nose and tried to think of a way out of this disaster.

  “I never should have brought her here,” Lucifer whispered as he continued to stare at the flames.

  Past crying and ranting and on to remorse, soon he would be back to his wonderfully brooding self. He needed Lucifer to pull himself together and then make sure this never happened again. Hades had quickly understood the problem and was working on a solution.

  “That’s right; you shouldn’t have brought her here. She can’t stand the sight of you. She cries in her room every night because she is afraid of you. I don’t know what will become of her,” Hades put on his best concerned face and waited for Lucifer to continue his pity party.

  “She has every right to hate me. I stole her, Hades; do you understand what that means? I took her away from her life. I have done nothing but lie to her. I’m nothing but a selfish bastard. I thought I knew what I was doing. I thought I had everything under control. Everything was so well planned. Once I got her here, I foolishly believed that everything would be perfect. I didn’t fully understand the consequences. I only cared about my obsession to find her,” Lucifer roughly wiped a tear from his chin.

  “Would it have changed anything, had you known the consequences? It didn’t seem to matter when you threw Mark into the flames. I told you of the consequences, yet the boy still ended up with third degree burns,” Hades replied quickly.

  He had a Hell to oversee and babysitting Lucifer, more than usual, was causing his control to slide. Lucifer was not the best manager in the world. He typically spent more time indulging himself in his own ventures than actually running Hell, but he was there when Hades really needed him.

  “No. I would still have done anything I could to get her. I guess I would have prepared myself better, had I known. Mark brought his fate upon himself by sticking his nose where it didn’t belong. I do regret hurting him as badly as I did. A punch to the face probably would have sufficed. He was never one for pain,” Lucifer sighed. He ran a hand through his dark hair and continued to sulk.

  “If all you were going to do was punch him, I would have gladly done it for you,” Hades rolled his eyes at the mess Lucifer had created. He looked to Lucifer’s bed and remembered how the girl said that she hadn’t slept with Lucifer. “How do you prepare yourself for the effects of lust, exactly?” Hades had seen Lucifer take complete strangers into his bed. Why had he not claimed his mistress y
et?

  “I don’t know. I’ve had countless women, yet none of them affects me the way she does. Neither Maraquette nor Serena ever came close to making me feel the way she does,” Lucifer said shaking his head.

  “They were insane. Give her time and she will become like them, then you won’t have to worry about her anymore. Of course, you could simply forget about her. This girl aside, you are going to have to get your rank ass off the floor and rejoin the rest of us. You can’t stay locked away in here forever. I have been making excuses for you. I said you needed a little vacation,” Hades smirked.

  “I have tried to forget her, but I can’t. I thank you brother for taking care of things in my absence. I guess it is time to get off this floor,” Lucifer chuckled as he slowly stood up.

  “Did you just thank me? I think you need to wait at least another week or two until you get your ‘bad’ on again. The others will eat you alive if they hear you say thank you for anything or see the dried tear stains on your shirt. Maybe we should burn that shirt. You know you can’t lose control of your domain. It would be your ruin,” Hades clasped his hand on Lucifer’s shoulder and nodded to him.

  “I know. You’re right. That’s why I have stayed locked away. You don’t know what it has been like for me Hades. You have no idea. I can feel again,” Lucifer sat down on the bed, and hung his head.

  “I do remember what it’s like to feel and it sucks that you have to go through it. It’s so much easier to live here and do our jobs when all of our feelings are locked down tight. It’s easier to hate when you can’t feel remorse,” Hades shuddered at the memory. He hated having his feelings brought back to the surface. He actually regretted all of his scheming and plotting, which was a waste of time.

  Lucifer sighed and held back a sob. “What am I going to do Hades? I can’t be around her, yet that is exactly what I want to do. I can feel her presence even now. She calls to me. I think about her all the time. I wonder what she is doing. I want to know what she is thinking. I’ve gone mad, and not the usual kind of madness. Murdering no longer appeals to me. All I want is to feel her skin against me rather than choke the life out of someone. I don’t know how to snap out of it,” Lucifer rose and paced about the room.