“I had no idea. I’ve seen all that this wasteland, as you call it, has to offer and I understand that it couldn’t have been easy for you to deal with. I’ve seen the Fallen and how cruel they have to be to carry out the punishments. I’ve seen the horrible crimes the souls have committed to deserve their punishments and trust me; sometimes it doesn’t seem like enough. Some of those people are really sick. Sometimes I don’t think fire is a harsh enough castigation for them,” Michelle thought about a number of the murderers she had seen and what truly despicable crimes they had committed. They had slaughtered innocent lives and felt no guilt for it.
Lucifer was shocked. She could see the crimes of men? What had she meant by that? Did she remember more than she was letting on, or was she speaking about her life as Michelle? He didn’t know much about her last life in the Mortal Realm. “What do you mean? Have the Fallen who guard the realms told you about the souls and what they have specifically done to deserve their penalty?”
“No. I can see their crimes in my head. I know the souls are here,” Michelle shrugged, not knowing how to explain it.
“How is that possible? When did this first happen?” Lucifer was shocked. He knew she was powerful, but she shouldn’t be able to do that as a mortal.
“I’ve always been able to do it. I don’t know why it happens. When I was alive, I dreamed of Hell almost every night, though now that I’m here, I know that I didn’t see everything. I never saw you or different parts of the castle. When I would fall asleep, I would end up here and have to navigate through the realms. I could see the souls around me and their sins played through my head, showing me their deeds. I never questioned why they were being punished. I knew. I could see their crimes when I was awake too. Walking through the mall was always uncomfortable since I could feel the sins pouring off the people around me. I thought I was crazy. I could see spirits of the dead, which was freaky,” it felt odd saying the words aloud after keeping them a secret for so many years. Of course, if she couldn’t tell the devil, who could she tell?
“You dreamed of Hell, yet you never saw me?” Lucifer couldn’t breath. He truthfully knew nothing about this girl. He wondered what else she could do. He became nervous and stood closer to the door.
“I never saw you. I didn’t think you existed. I wasn’t sure that my dreams were real, until I woke up at your feet. I have to say I was shocked when I saw you and figured out who you were. I never expected to end up in Hell. I was kind of banking on the insanity theory, but apparently, it was more like foreshadowing of my future. Now that I know that, I’m a little pissed. I shouldn’t have been able to dream about ponies and rainbows and then end up in Hell,” Michelle was sad to know she would never dream about rainbows again.
“Yet you heard me when I spoke to you? Who did you think was speaking to you? Was there anything else unusual about your life?” Lucifer was intentionally vague, hoping he hadn’t stepped into quicksand.
“I didn’t know who was talking to me. I tried to ignore it since I would have been locked away for hearing a disembodied voice. You were like a soundtrack playing over the scenery. Typically, I heard you while asleep. Aside from the nightmares, the sin reading, and the spirits, my life was pretty normal. Well, except that I never felt like I fit in. Most people ignored me, including my parents. I felt invisible,” she looked away from Lucifer, knowing she was weird. Tears pooled in her eyes. She would do anything to have her crappy life back.
“Can you read my sins?” Lucifer held his breath. If she could see all the crimes of his past, she would never be able to accept him.
Michelle shook her head. “No. I can’t read angels the same way. I mean, I get feelings sometimes, but it’s hard to do. I can sometimes tell when an angel is lying, but I can’t tell why. It’s a tingle or a gut feeling when something is off about what they are saying.”
Lucifer saw the tears in her eyes and relaxed. While she had some interesting gifts, there was nothing to be concerned about, aside from the sin reading. That could definitely land his ass in trouble.
He felt bad that he had made a big deal about it and made her cry. He laughed at himself for falling apart over a girl’s tears. He would normally relish them and rejoice in them, knowing he had struck a nerve. Instead, he wanted to hug her and take away her sadness. He was certainly turning into a ninny.
“I’m sorry you had to go through life believing you were insane, while those around you ignored you. It must have been painful for you. You seem so innocent and young,” he said as he debated if he should hug her or not.
“I dealt with it as best I could. I never told anyone, well one person, a friend, but no one else. I didn’t want them to think I was crazy,” she shrugged.
It was silly, but she was still afraid that people would judge her. She had a two-faced angel on her backside wanting her to play truth or annihilation, a devil that was seducing her, while having her thrown into a fire pit, and here she was, worried about what they would think of her. She needed to grow up.
“Well, you know you’re not crazy. You said that you didn’t see all of Hell in your dreams. I want to show you my world. Not the places you have seen, but the parts you haven’t. I have to confess that when I’m around you, I’m different. I’m not cold anymore. You remind me of how I used to be. I like being near you. It clears my head. I want you to understand me better and to do that I need to show you everything. This is your home now. I want you to feel like it’s your home,” Lucifer smiled and held out his hand to her.
Michelle was suddenly angry again. Home didn’t gnaw on your bones or make you cry until you had no tears left. She would be damned if she ever thought of this place as home. Lucifer had some screws missing if he thought they would sew Home Sweet Hell pillows together. She turned her head from him and tried to control her rage. She didn’t need Lucifer snapping and turning evil again. She would try to keep him happy, yet she would never give him her heart. Her body was debatable, especially given the alternative of the realms, but never her heart. CJ and her real home held her heart.
She followed him, but didn’t hold his hand. Lucifer sighed and lowered his arm. He looked disappointed, but didn’t say anything. He waved his hand and opened her door, keeping it open so she could follow him. She followed him up the stairs to the Throne Room.
Lucifer stopped in front of the dais and waited for her. He waved his hand and motioned to the thrones.
“You have seen these thrones before, yet you do not know why there are three. Correct?” Lucifer was desperately trying to hold himself together inside. He was both angry and sad by her slight of not taking his hand, but he reminded himself that this was all very difficult for her. She had obviously had an unusual life as a mortal and now she had to deal with his mood swings. He was happy she had followed him and was determined to win her over.
“Correct. I know the Skull Throne is yours and I’m assuming Hades is supposed to have one, but I don’t know which one. He seems to favor yours,” Michelle said as she looked that the other two thrones.
“You’ve seen Hades in my throne? When?” Lucifer’s mood quickly darkened. No one should be sitting in his throne, least of all Hades. He had lost that honor. He would have a few words with his second-in-command if it were true.
“He brought me here and sat down in it. He looked rather comfy. Honestly, I was a little pissed that he was in it,” she remembered how upset she was when Hades had parked his backside in the chair.
Lucifer paused. She had been upset that someone had occupied his throne? Perhaps there was hope for them. “Why were you upset?” his anger deflated as he anxiously waited for her explanation.
“It was like he was trying to be you, or usurp your title or something. I can’t explain it, I was just annoyed,” Michelle was embarrassed when she noticed that Lucifer had turned his full attention on her.
“Yes. I find it annoying too,” he found himself chuckling at her statement. He wished he had seen her reaction to Hades’ indiscretion. He w
anted to see her feisty and angry with Hades. Perhaps he just wanted her anger focused on someone else, but he liked the idea of her truly mad. She would look stunning.
Lucifer recovered himself and pointed to the throne on the left. “That one belongs to Hades, though he only sits there when we are entertaining our brothers from above. We like to have a unified front when they are around. They tend to stick their noses where they don’t belong. While I rule here and make the decisions, Hades carries out the orders and handles the day-to-day business. He is like a general, though we share power. It’s better to have a balance for when one of us is having a ‘let’s kill everyone’ day,” Lucifer chuckled.
She wasn’t sure he should be laughing about wanting to kill everyone, but she let it go.
“Is Hades’ throne made from a shield?” she asked, as she looked closer at the seat back.
Lucifer nodded his head. “Yes. It’s an inside joke. Hades is the Former Angel of Endurance. I once told him that his skin must have been made of armor to survive as long as he has. He’s not one to make a lot of friends. The shield is a spoil of war. He incorporated it into his throne. When he’s in a good mood, you can ask him about it.”
“I think I’ll pass,” she didn’t think Hades would ever be in a good mood, unless she was dead.
“There should be a third person in power, as you can see, but the throne remains dormant now,” Lucifer’s anger grew again when he thought about why the throne was empty.
“Who used to sit there?” Michelle took a step back when she saw his ire rise. Lucifer’s emotions were like a yo-yo. It was no wonder why people feared him. He could explode at any second with little warning.
“Tabbris, the Former Angel of Pragmatism, volunteered alongside Hades and me. The others followed suit. Unfortunately, he couldn’t hack it. The coward couldn’t understand the methods needed to accomplish our task. He didn’t understand our vision and thought we were crazy. He couldn’t fathom the cruelty needed to punish, nor did he believe that the mortals could learn from their mistakes. He was ineffectual. He threw us out of balance and constantly warred with Hades and me. I think he volunteered just to be an ass kisser, but realized his mistake as soon as he got the job. It was more than he bargained for. Finally, he went to Father and begged to return home. He is now the Angel of Faith, but that’s bullshit since he didn’t have enough faith in what we were doing. He failed. Father let the worthless snake back in and gave him a position with the Celestial Warriors. He now leads them under Michael. Father should have made him the Angel of Weeping Cowards and been done with him,” Lucifer was offended by Tabbris’ inability to grasp what they were trying to accomplish in Hell.
“From what you told me, I think God would have forgiven him no matter what. Besides, not everyone is good at torturing people. Personally, I don’t think I could do it. I can’t imagine hurting someone unless they tried to hurt me first,” Michelle tried to put herself in Tabbris’ place. She knew she would run to whoever was in charge and beg them to release her from the job.
Lucifer chuckled. She was actually forgiving Tabbris’ actions and underestimating what she was capable of doing. Guilt overwhelmed him and pushed all his anger aside when he thought about what happened after Tabbris left.
“You would be surprised what people are capable of. At any rate, I tried to find his replacement, but that didn’t go very well. The throne collects dust now and stands as a reminder that it isn’t easy to reign in Hell,” Lucifer tried not to think about Tabbris’ replacements. He didn’t need to go down that slippery slope.
He turned and led Michelle through the castle and down into the main entrance.
The large vestibule was dark and foreboding. Aside from the large black marble staircase that led to the upper floors of the castle, there were two doorways in the main entrance. One doorway was located halfway down the hallway along the staircase, where a guard stood watch. Its door was made of wood and had no distinguishing marks on it. The other doorway located at the end of the room was large and intimidating. Its large black double doors were made of black metal and were covered with images of distorted people screaming and reaching out, trying to escape. It had a heavy metal bar barricading it. It was guarded by two angels.
Lucifer pointed to the door by the stairs. “That is the Records Room. It’s guarded by Halden and inside are all the scrolls of the prisoners. The scrolls contain an entire history for each soul here. The scrolls keep track of a soul’s crimes and good deeds and if they entered Heaven or Hell after each death,” he turned his head and pointed to the metal doors. “That is a very different room.”
Michelle acknowledged the Records Room, but couldn’t take her eyes off the other doorway. The first time she had entered the castle in her dreams, she had put her hand on the metal doors to see where they led to, but she was overwhelmed by pain. Her whole body shook from fear and she ran out of the castle, never to go near them again. She knew that true evil lurked behind those doors and never wanted to open them.
Lucifer stood in front of the metal doors. He was confused by her reaction to the doors. She looked terrified of them.
“I don’t want to go in there. I’ve never been in there and I don’t want to,” panic filled her at the thought of walking through those doors. She didn’t want to know what was behind them.
“Do not be afraid. I will not allow anything in that room to harm you. If you are to truly understand me, you must see what goes on inside,” Lucifer held out his hand to her.
She was surprised that he wasn’t commanding her to go in. When she had first arrived, he had stripped her of her name, and wanted to strip her of her clothes. He had commanded her as he would a servant, yet now he was asking her to join him. She could see the difference in him. He no longer looked like the tyrant sitting on his throne, mocking her. Instead, he waited patiently for her to decide what she wanted to do.
Nodding her head, she placed her hand in his and stepped forward. Her skin crawled as she approached the door, but she believed he wouldn’t let anything in the room harm her.
“Dane and Ioden, as well as others, keep watch over this room. Behind these doors is the Realm of Nightmares, where the worst prisoners in Hell reside. Once they enter these doors, they never leave. Nightmare prisoners are condemned to Hell for eternity, never to return to the Mortal Realm. They have been given every opportunity to live good lives in the Mortal Realm, but each time, they chose evil. The realms outside of the castle can no longer contain them, so they are sent here. It’s the last place in the world you want to end up,” Lucifer sighed.
Michelle finally understood why she didn’t like the doors. Behind them was the greatest concentration of evil Hell had to offer.
Lucifer pulled up the metal bar, and together they pushed through the doors. They were overwhelmed by the deafening sound of souls crying out. They descended an endless spiral stone staircase that descended deeper and deeper under the castle. At first, there wasn’t much to see, until a flickering light below cast shadows along what looked like hand carved cave walls. A few more flights down and Michelle was able to see the source of the moaning.
Looking out over the edge of the staircase, she saw a giant multilevel labyrinth that had been carved out of the original rock formations below the castle. Rows and rows of people were screaming inside small catacomb-like holes dug into the walls. Walking further down the stairs, she could see a series of hallways and staircases that connected the system. The sheer size and amount of cells was inconceivable. Someone could easily get lost in the towering three-dimensional maze and never see the surface again.
Once they finally reached the bottom, they entered a narrow, dimly lit tunnel, devoid of prisoners. Lucifer grabbed one of the torches from the wall and motioned for her to follow. At the end of the tunnel, she stepped out into a large room filled with cells carved into every available corner. This section looked more decayed and worn than the upper levels, which suggested it was the original section of the torture c
hamber.
“Welcome to the Realm of Nightmares, or as I like to refer to it, the VIP Room where the Vicious and Infamous Prisoners are kept,” Lucifer smiled with pride as he looked at her, waiting for her reaction.
Chapter 10
Quickly looking around the terrifying room, she noticed the cells were only large enough to hold one person tightly squeezed inside of it. Some prisoners were forced to stay balled up, unable to stretch out; others were stretched flat and unable to sit up, while others still were forced to remain standing. The strangest thing was the lack of bars on the cells. The souls could step out of the cell with nothing to hold them back, yet they all remained inside of their holes.
Michelle felt dizzy as she looked at the souls. Unfortunately, she could see every terrible thing the prisoners had done during their lives. She could see the wars they had started, the murders they’d committed, and the violence they had spread. It was overwhelming being able to see so much evil.
She could feel the evil seeping into her body. She became angry for no reason and had a hard time focusing on one person. The images of their crimes were flashing through her brain at light speed. She was disoriented and had to grab Lucifer’s shirt to keep from falling into the cell walls. Lucifer held her arm, but she quickly pulled away. Her body felt like it was splitting apart. She doubled over and fell to her knees, gasping for air as a sharp pain grew inside of her.
“Mistress, are you all right? Just breathe. I know it’s overwhelming. The Fallen despise coming here. The depravity takes a toll on all who enter this domain. Let go of the anger and hatred you feel. It isn’t real. It isn’t yours. Don’t let it take hold of you. You can lose your way down here. Listen to the sound of my voice and come back to me,” Lucifer was pleading with her, afraid she would succumb to the dark thoughts that had invaded her mind.
The Third Throne: Angel of Darkness Page 15
