The Third Throne: Angel of Darkness

by Tabitha Barret

  “I’m still uncertain as to why Lucifer has ordered that she be put through all the realms. We were warned before her arrival that no one was to touch her or harm her. He swore he would end our miserable lives and never think twice about it. I know Cyrus was shocked when Caleb handed her over, motioning that he should throw her into the Realm of Thorns. Caleb was adamant that she be tortured. What changed Lucifer’s mind? You never did tell us the reasoning behind it when you countermanded his original order,” Azazel didn’t care one way or another; he was just covering his own backside. He didn’t want Lucifer to return from his walkabout to find that his precious mistress was being stripped of her skin only to turn around and do the same to him.

  “He didn’t know she was going to kill herself. You know the rules as well as I. Anyone who kills himself must suffer all the tortures of Hell as punishment for throwing away his life, since all life is a gift from God,” Hades ran through the rule quickly, waving his hand to emphasize the rote nature of it. Everyone knew it and lived by it.

  “Of course, I know the rule. I’m just surprised he allowed it after his speech, diagram, and example of what he would do to us. I simply wanted to clarify that we are to continue her torture,” Azazel sighed.

  “Yes, continue. If he wants her out, I will come and get her myself. If Lucifer does emerge in the near future, do me a favor and refrain from speaking of her tortures. He isn’t happy that he has to hurt her, but even she isn’t above the rules. Are we clear?” Hades needed to keep this one close to the vest. While he normally let Azazel in on his schemes, this one was too big to let go of just yet. Not even Katarina knew what he was planning.

  “Yes, my Lord. As you wish,” Azazel bowed and left Hades.

  ∞

  Michelle was busy playing twister with a few poisonous snakes as she pondered her fate. She hated snakes. She swore if she ever got out of the realm she would find a way to merge the Realm of Poison and the Realm of Fire and watch all the little critters fry. She had spent more and more time thinking about Lucifer. Her emotions swung from sadness, to anger, to outrage, back to sadness. The more she thought about Lucifer, the more she wanted Hades’ threat to be nothing but lies. While she had feared Lucifer when she first met him, she was strangely attracted to him.

  She kept going over and over what Hades had said. It just didn’t make sense to her. She knew he was lying, of that, she was certain, but she needed to know the truth. Did Lucifer care for her at all, or was she really just another face in a sea of millions?

  She had finally admitted to herself that she missed Lucifer. There was a part of her that longed for him. It felt like something was missing inside of her. She occupied her mind with fantasies of him making love to her, or of her slaughtering the other women who dared to touch him. The thoughts fluctuated depending on the level of pain she was in. Even though she had never killed anyone, she knew deep down that, if presented with the opportunity to kill some little twit that went near him, she would happily do it. She had never been a violent person before, but lately there was a feeling inside of her that was growing and taking on a life of its own.

  It was a scorching feeling that was getting closer and closer to the surface. She thought she was jealous over the Playboy Bunnies, but it was more than that. It was a sensation that caught her off guard at times. There was a storm brewing deep inside and all her agony from the realms fed into it, building into something physical. Ever since Hades had threatened her life, she felt stronger. She wasn’t willing to take crap from Hades anymore and entertain his desire to kill her. She felt like she could lash out at Hades if he ever tried to hurt her and inflict pain upon him, if needed.

  Michelle had always been a peaceful person. She had never threatened anyone with actual violence, nor did she ever think of defending herself before, but she knew deep down that if it came to blows with Hades, she would win, or at least knock him out and run like the wind. As concerned as she was about this new side of her that was developing, she took solace in the knowledge that she would fight for life and do anything to survive. She was not about to throw her life away, again, though she was still foggy about the first time. She still wasn’t convinced she had been in complete control.

  Hades had offered her a way out, a way to stop the despair and anguish of the realms, a means to escape the betrayal of Lucifer and the longing that she felt. He had offered her the easy way out, by ending her whole stinking life, yet she had refused him. She wasn’t exactly sure why she had said no, aside from her sudden dislike of Hades, but something was changing inside of her. She wasn’t through with her life yet. She wasn’t ready to throw it all away.

  CJ had once told her that she was the toughest person he knew. She was finally starting to believe it. She needed to survive this battle. She had to find out why all of this was happening to her. She didn’t believe it was all random. Why would she dream of a place that was real? Why would Lucifer haunt her and beg her to join him only to turn around and toss her to the curb? There had to be more. She needed to find out why Hades was in such a rush to end her life. For that reason alone, she would opt to stick around for a while longer, if only to punch him.

  She was pondering the best way to remove Hades’ head, if the occasion should arise, when a hand pulled her away from a snake that was about to strike her.

  Chapter 8

  It felt like forever since Lucifer had last made a tour of the realms, or even made it out of his private domain. Hades had been his sole visitor aside from his servants. He walked around and oversaw all of his Fallen. Naturally, there were a number of corrections to be made. Some of the prisoners were in the wrong realms and a few of his Fallen had gotten out of hand since his “vacation.” He cracked the whip and quickly got everyone back in line.

  He did a walkthrough of the Realm of Nightmares and sent Azazel on his way. The man had no creativity whatsoever. He was excellent at following orders, but inventing tortures was not his strong suit.

  Lucifer did everything he could to keep his mind busy and off a certain female who was constantly driving him crazy. He focused on his work, but every woman he saw made him compare her to his mistress. None of them was as pretty. None of them had the same color hair or eyes. He felt nothing for them. The numbness had returned and he was closer to his usual serial killer persona, but he felt like something was missing. Something felt off no matter how familiar the task. He knew the problem was his heart. It was filled with emotion, causing him to yearn for her, and he couldn’t rid himself of the pain.

  “You are looking better, my Lord,” Hades matched his pace and walked with him through the castle.

  “Yes. I’m feeling angry and sadistic. I would rip the spine out of anyone who challenged me and use it to clean my teeth,” Lucifer glared at Hades, hoping that Hades didn’t see right through him. He needed everyone to believe that it was business as usual. Even Hades, who had his own grand delusions of being on top, needed to believe that he was in complete control.

  “Wonderful. Since you are back to your murderous self, the big three are here demanding an audience. They refuse to leave until you deal with the Mark issue. Since you’re in a killing mood, now would be the best time. Heaven forbid you cry in front of them. You would never hear the end of it. No matter what, I suggest you keep Michael at bay and do not engage him in a direct fight. The last time the you two of you fought, we had to rebuild the Throne Room. I still say you won that fight, even if you did fight dirty. I saw the elbow he threw. He wasn’t innocent either,” Hades snickered.

  “Very well. I am ready to face the Council. If Michael thinks that he can do a better job than me, then he is more than welcome to try. He is the last angel in Heaven who would willingly fall. I’ll make sure to shove that in his face,” Lucifer growled.

  He needed to get this over with quickly. He wanted to hold off his fight with the Council, but he knew it was inevitable. He was feeling shaky, like an addict who needed a fix, but he had to power through it and then toss eve
ryone out on their asses so that he could be with the girl.

  “I’ve got your back. Know that Mark is with them. He’s recovered, but he’s very twitchy. Whatever you do, don’t kick the shit out of him again. Michael won’t hesitate to attack you,” Hades tried his best to make Lucifer understand the importance of leaving Mark out his disagreement with the Council.

  Lucifer nodded as they entered the Throne Room. He took note of the angels standing in front of the dais. He knew them all very well, though it had been a long time since he’d seen some of them. He was grateful that Gabriel was not present. It would have been foolish of him to come, given that he was the reason for this whole mess.

  There were other members of the Council but Michael, Raphael, and Adrian were the Heads of the Council and the ones called upon to hold court on matters of importance. No one questioned their rulings, with the exception of Father. Lucifer doubted that Father would come to his aid if he fared poorly in the inquisition.

  One by one, he stared down his brothers. Michael, the Angel of Peace, with his sparkling white tunic and Celestial Sword, was Father’s enforcer. It always amused him that Michael brought about peace through death and violence. He was grateful that he didn’t drag along his Celestial Warriors for effect. Even he couldn’t stand against all of them. He hated Michael because they were too much alike. Both of them were irrational and stubborn, though Lucifer was certainly more ruthless and prone to psychotic outbursts. That alone gave him an advantage over the solider and his rules. Lucifer didn’t have rules aside from survival at any cost.

  Adrian, the Angel of Fairness, was a pansy and not worth Lucifer’s time. Looking at his foppish modern white suit, he desperately tried to forget that they had been very close in Heaven. It was embarrassing. Lucifer was neither fair nor kind. They no longer had anything in common. At least Adrian would keep Michael in check since it was rare for him to rule in favor of violence and death.

  Raphael, the Angel of Justice, stood proudly in the middle of them with his shoulders squared in his formal white suit. The Angel of Justice was a fickle angel who saw justice in his own way and could certainly cause a problem. If Raphael called for Lucifer’s head, it might very well come off. He needed to control the three of them and get them out of his Hell quickly.

  Lucifer strode past them and sat upon his throne, mocking all of them. He ruled Hell, and he needed to remind them of that fact. Hades took up his throne to Lucifer’s right and both of them stood united against Heaven.

  Aganon and Caleb were standing on either side of his throne, and looked imposing with their hands clasped in front of them. Vincent and Dorian were standing on the floor on either side of the dais, while Hades’ servant Jared stood next to Hades’ throne on his right. As always, it was about putting on a good show and reminding their guests that they were in the lion’s den.

  Lucifer noticed Mark cowering next to Adrian. He looked despondent and afraid of his own shadow. Lucifer felt a slight pang of regret about torturing Mark, but he pushed the feeling aside and focused on his own possible torture.

  “Greetings, brothers. What brings you to my abode?” Lucifer tried to look bored and uninterested. He wanted them to know that their problems meant little to him.

  Michael aggressively stepped forward before the others could open their mouths. “We are charging you with the crimes of assaulting and torturing a Heavenly Angel without just cause. We are here for your head this time, Lucifer,” Michael put his hand on the golden hilt of his Celestial Sword with the intention of drawing it. The blue flames remained dormant while holstered, but Lucifer knew if he saw the flames spring to life, he would certainly die.

  “Michael enough, I told you we are here to speak to Lucifer, not kill him. Stand down,” Raphael lightly touched Michael’s arm and motioned for him to step back. He spoke in a calm and pleasant voice. It was rare that Raphael lost his temper. He was typically very even keeled and patient, unless he was pushed too far.

  Michael glared at Raphael’s hand, but stepped back. He didn’t go willingly, but he had little recourse. If Gabriel was the voice of Father, Raphael was the voice of the Council. Few spoke out against him.

  “Good to see you still outrank him. Someone needs to keep the murderer in check,” Lucifer sat back and crossed his legs. He was going to enjoy this. He had faith in his skills as a liar and a cheat to win this battle. All he had to do was set Michael off and they would rule it a mistrial. Simple enough.

  “Lucifer, we are not here to play games. You deliberately attacked Mark without provocation and beat him severely. That act alone would be punishable by serving time imprisoned in the Hall of Shadows, but you went further and tortured Mark in the Realm of Fire. You allowed him to be burned alive while you and your Fallen looked on. That is an act punishable by death. We have decided to allow you to defend your actions and explain what happened in an attempt to save your own life. What say you?” Raphael ignored Michael’s silent protest in reference to the “we” decided to allow you to explain your actions. Michael had been adamant that they strike Lucifer down without an explanation. He was overruled.

  “I kicked the shit out of him and burned him alive. What more is there to say?” Lucifer was cocky as he spoke. He knew he was supposed to beg for mercy and fabricate some story about being innocence, but he wasn’t in the mood. He was confident that he would survive this round if he presented the facts.

  Hades nearly fell off his throne when he heard Lucifer’s statement. Even Lucifer’s servants had trouble keeping the shock off their faces. Had he truly lost his mind? Hades braced himself as he prepared to be crowned the new Prince of Darkness, though his stomach churned at the idea. He might brag that he wanted the position, but nothing could be farther from the truth. He liked being second-in-command. He was able to do so much more when he wasn’t fearful he would be held accountable when the Council found out about Hell’s indiscretions. He liked being the taskmaster and not the one the Council would kill if something went awry.

  “Pardon me, did you just admit to the crimes at hand?” Adrian asked, confused.

  Raphael and Adrian looked at each other, clearly stunned by Lucifer’s admission of guilt.

  “I told you he was insane,” Michael growled and stepped forward again, hand on his sword.

  “Yes, I did,” Lucifer slowly smiled. Seeing the threat of Michael and his sword, made the darkness inside of him rise to the surface and all his merciful thoughts vanished. He missed this feeling. He leaned forward and allowed his eyes to reflect the darkness inside of him. “Michael, put one foot on my dais and I will remove it for you. Yes, I assaulted Mark. So what? Have you bothered to ask him why I assaulted him? Why he deserved my wrath? Did he tell you why he was here in the first place?” he needed to remind Michael, who was in charge in Hell, and that he refused to call anyone Lord, aside from Father.

  Lucifer turned his full attention to Mark, who refused to raise his eyes up from the floor. All his guilt evaporated in a second when he thought about what Mark had said, while gasping for air. “Gabriel” and “girl” were the words that had sealed Mark’s fate.

  “He was sent here to deliver a message,” Adrian was visibly rattled as he looked from the frightened angel next to him, to the sneering angel in front of him.

  “Tell them the message Mark,” Lucifer was leaning so far out of his throne he was practically standing. He needed to hear the message again if he was going to prove his case.

  Raphael held his hand up. “I was led to believe he never had the chance to deliver the message. How do you even know what it was about?” Raphael was suddenly intrigued by the problem at hand.

  “Oh, he said enough of it. Go on Mark; tell them what you said to me,” Lucifer was snarling and barely controlled. He knew that Hades was desperately trying to get his attention to reign him back in, but he ignored him.

  “All I said was, ‘Gabriel,’ and ‘girl’ before he crushed my throat and set me on fire,” Mark’s voice was quiet and shook at li
ttle at the end. He desperately wanted to leave.

  Lucifer smiled at his brothers as he sat back into his throne. “See, he admitted it. He was here under orders from Gabriel in regard to my mistress. Mark had no right to deliver Gabriel’s message. He broke the rules, and I merely punished him for it.”

  “Wait, he was here on behalf of Lord Gabriel? I was lead to believe he was here on official business,” Raphael was surprised by the turn of events.

  “No. It was personal. I have no interest in anything Gabriel has to say to me about the girl. The contract was signed, and the agreement is binding. She belongs to me. I’m sure he would love to argue that she was taken before the set time and date, but I will remind you that I have been more than patient about the timing of the agreement. I have allowed Gabriel to prolong the exchange on several occasions. I was more than gracious to take into consideration his guidance on the matter. The fact is, I was done waiting. I was afraid he would yet again move the date and I took what was rightfully mine. Is it not a rule that Heaven cannot interfere with a contract made between a Fallen and anyone stupid enough to make a deal with them? The contact was made with the full knowledge and consent of this very council. You practically threw her down here and now you are going to sanction a direct violation of the rules by allowing Mark to go unpunished for knowingly speaking on behalf of Gabriel regarding my property? Let’s just call us even since Mark has already suffered for his sins,” Lucifer openly gloated about his victory as he watched the faces of his brothers’ fall into dismay. It seemed that he would live to see another day.

  Raphael and Adrian spoke among themselves while Michael pace and huffed, knowing that he’d lost.