“What might that be?” she asked, crossing her arms. She didn’t want any part of Hades’ schemes.
“I am in need of a new servant. My last one didn’t work out very well. Jared is good enough, but I need someone else, someone who can do more for me. So much more,” Hades no longer appeared to be indifferent. Now he looked hungry. Lust poured through his eyes as they lock onto her body.
Michelle gulped and tried not to throw up. Lucifer, she liked, or at least like kissing. Hades held no appeal. He was attractive enough, but his personality made him toxic to be around. She thought that Lucifer was the worst person to be in a relationship with, yet a relationship with Hades would be catastrophic. He had offered to kill her, which immediately put him in the terrible boyfriend category.
“Don’t you have a girlfriend?” she was wildly guessing, but Hades was like a political leader and was bound to have a few concubines lying around.
“Katarina, yes, she is what you would consider a girlfriend, but we are too much alike, which makes it difficult at times. I’m in need of someone more, yielding. My little Hellcat is fun in bed, but she makes a lousy servant. She has a vindictive streak that could cost me my life. Besides, I need someone who will bow to me. She only submits when she needs me,” Hades was examining her from the tip of her toes to the top her head.
“Isn’t it a little incestuous to sleep with another angel? Don’t you consider yourselves brothers and sisters?” she didn’t like where the conversation was headed and tried to distract him, though she knew it wouldn’t work for long.
“What, you prefer we shack up with mortals? Please, mortals are a fun romp, but they don’t last forever, and then you end up torturing them. Anyway, we are brothers and sisters because we all have the same creator; the same could be said for mortals. God created man, and thus you are related too. Takes on a whole new meaning, huh?” Hades smiled slyly at her and moved closer.
“Good point. You know, I really should be getting back. I’ve got tortures waiting for me, the snakes and rats are probably hungry by now,” she muttered as she took a few steps back, but Hades lunged forward and grabbed her arm from around the chair.
“I don’t think so. The tortures can wait and Lucifer will be busy sorting out prisoners. It always takes a while to untangle a soul breakout. He won’t be back anytime soon. We have all the time in the world,” Hades said, sidestepping the chair and moving to stand in front of her.
Michelle was repulsed by his advances and she was certain that he had sniffed her hair.
“I want to leave,” she turned her head away from Hades and pulled back on her arm. His grip was strong, but he didn’t harm her, yet didn’t let her go.
“I want you to stay. Hear me out first,” he pulled her around to the front of the chair and pushed her into the seat.
Michelle fell back into the chair and watched Hades resume his pacing. He finally stopped and leaned forward, placing a hand on either armrest, effectively caging her in.
Hades made a point of whispering to her. “Here’s the deal, cupcake…Mistress. I will make sure that you no longer have to suffer in the realms. I will free you of Lucifer’s tyranny and all you have to do is whatever I want,” his gaze slid down her exposed cleavage and he growled low in his throat.
She almost punched him when he licked his lips.
She understood the last part of the deal well enough. She was disgusted by his suggestive look and didn’t want him touching her. She would rather take her chances with Lucifer than be sexually assaulted by Hades.
“No,” she said firmly and turned her head from him. He was breathing on her, making her skin crawl.
Hades grabbed her jaw and pulled it back so she was forced to look at him. “I am giving you the opportunity of a lifetime. I will lavish you with presents; I will give you what your heart desires most and you won’t have to be in pain anymore. Why would you give that up?” Hades’ face was an inch from hers.
She was pinned against the unyielding chair back, unable to move.
“I’ve heard that one before. Lucifer told me lie upon lie to get me to kill myself so that I would join him. He promised me the world. That didn’t work out so well. I’m not about to believe you, not to mention that I don’t like you,” she growled back at him.
Hades was going out of his mind. He had originally intended to drag Lucifer’s mistress into his tower and reveal all of Lucifer’s lies and deceptions so that she would feel completely alone. He was then going to push her over the edge into madness by chaining her in the Realm of Nightmares until she was crazed from the evil surrounding her. No one could withstand the evil contained there for long, not even Lucifer. She would be lost to him forever and Lucifer would have no choice but to destroy her.
Unfortunately, she had walked into his tower looking like beguiling siren. Curse Lucifer for changing her appearance! She no longer looked like a soul drained of life. She was now radiant with her porcelain skin and ruby lips. Her eyes glimmered and entranced him. Her hair had a life of its own. She looked like an immortal and had all the perks. Apparently, she hadn’t even noticed.
Hades’ plan changed on the spot. He had to have her for himself. He needed to make her his. Lucifer didn’t deserve her. He would end up destroying her. He suddenly understood Lucifer’s obsession with the girl. Now he was going to claim her for himself. He didn’t care what he had to do or what lies he had to say, he was going to make her his servant.
“Then I will make you want me,” Hades was determined. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Electricity jolted through him and he was filled with desire at the mere contact.
Michelle felt ice shards consume her as Hades mashed his cold lips against hers. She tried to push him away, but it was like pushing against a cement wall. She was disturbed and felt violated. She tried kicking at his legs, but he didn’t notice.
Hades slid his hand down her neck, along her collarbone, and between her breasts. He knew she was squirming away from his touch, but he didn’t care. He moved his hand to cover her soft mounds. He was instantly hard and desperate for her. She was supple and warm. His thoughts scattered to the winds and he envisioned taking her on his throne.
Pure rage poured through her as Hades took advantage of her. Black hatred and fury filled every corner of her body and mind. She wanted to tear off his head and wear it as a hat. When he tried to thrust his tongue into her mouth, a sharp sensation welled up inside of her. The sensation became a tangible thing and she pushed it out of her body. A force smashed into Hades, sending him flying into his throne. He crashed through it and landed on the floor. The windows of the tower splintered apart and the glass blew out of the windows, causing a loud thundering crash.
Michelle stood up and glared at Hades. Her new-found power crackled and snapped around her. A strong breeze moved around her causing her hair to float up and hover around her head. The dark feeling inside of her crawled to the surface.
She watched Hades slowly get to his feet. He was staring at her in shock.
“I said no,” her voice didn’t sound like her own.
“You need to calm yourself. I won’t touch you again, I swear. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have forced myself on you. Please, just calm down. Let’s talk about this,” Hades held out his palm to her to stop her, afraid she would do worse than throw him across the room.
She took a deep breath and tried to push back the anger. She was picturing Hades lying dead on the floor. She knew she had to control herself. She may not like the guy, but she didn’t want to deal with the consequences of killing him. She slowed her breathing and let go of her rage over being violated. The storm inside of her stayed just below the surface, but it didn’t die down completely. Her mind was in a whirl as she clenched her fists. She needed to find Lucifer and rid herself of Hades’ touch.
“If you ever touch me again, I will tear you apart and leave nothing behind. Are we clear? I have no intention of speaking about this again,” she turned and stormed out of th
e tower before Hades could answer her.
As she entered the rotunda, she nearly collided with Caleb. “Out of my way, you little freak,” she stared him down and thought she saw him flinch.
He regained his composure, sneered at her, and viciously snatched her arm. His hand felt like a vise grip and she recoiled in pain.
“No,” he whispered in her ear and pulled her through the rotunda and down the stairs. He applied pressure to her arm, threatening to snap it, until they reached the Realm of Fire.
Hades let out a breath and collapsed to his knees. He realized he was shaking and covered in wood splinters and glass chips. He knew he had come close to dying. He had definitely used up some of his good luck getting out of that encounter. The second he saw her eyes turn black and the wind stir, he knew he was in deep shit. He needed to watch himself around her from now on. He didn’t know which was worse, almost dying or still wanting her despite his run-in with death.
Jared and Azazel came running into the hall looking for the source of the explosion. They were calling to Hades for an explanation for the mess and the broken windows.
“Fix this and tell no one,” he waved to the broken throne as he swore them to silence.
Caleb snickered as the approached the Realm of Fire. He pushed past Malcolm, the Overseer of the realm. He wanted to personally throw the Mistress into the flames and watch her tumble to the ground.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked Caleb, annoying that she was going back into the fire.
“I’m under orders. Besides, servants aren’t special here. We all burn in the fire at some point,” he pushed her into the realm as Malcolm grabbed him, asking him what he was doing.
Michelle crashed to the ground and lay there. Instead of recoiling from the fire, she welcomed the flames that enveloped her body. Her mind was in turmoil when she thought about Hades groping her. She wanted to remove the skin that he had defiled. She let the flames burn through her, scorching her flesh, cleansing her. She needed to be rid of his touch. She ignored the searing pain and allowed the frustration and rage inside of her to match the heat of the blaze. She was engulfed in anger and building up to a good fury. She hated him. She hated this place. She loathed Caleb. There was nothing more in this world that she wanted than to be rid of Hell and its inhabitants. She was done. She didn’t die so that she could be taken advantage of. She didn’t die to be at the mercy of two psychopaths and their pet monkey. She was indignant because she had died for nothing. The lies that Lucifer had told her played through her mind. He would ease her pain; he would understand her like no other. Join him and she would be free. Bullshit! She was nothing more than a plaything. Apparently, she failed to read the fine print that said she would have to be a slave to Hell and be taken advantage of at every turn.
The storm inside her became a substantial force as she felt the conflagration within her break loose. It took her a moment to notice that her skin was no longer burning though the flames were still around her. She was confused when she saw that the flames were higher and warmer somehow. All of the souls who had been close to her were crawling away from her in fear. They were afraid of her. She was startled by what was happening but she was too enraged to care.
She stood up and raised her arms, letting all the anger, despair, frustration, and aggravation flood to the surface. She screamed and raged at the world. She was finished with being tortured. She wanted vengeance and retribution. She had done nothing during her life worth the degradation and humiliation she had endured since arriving in this land of damnation. She clenched her fists and a burst of energy tore through her. She opened her eyes and paused. The flames that permeated the entire realm were gone, replaced by wavy crystal sculptures. She couldn’t believe it. She looked more closely at the shiny blue crystals and realized that the flames had turned to ice. She was surrounded by a ring of ice that was bent away from her.
She reached out to touch one and it cracked and shattered beneath her finger, crashing to the ground. Throughout the entire realm, the icicle flames splintered and collapsed to the ground. The ominous sounds of ice exploding and tinkling were followed by a deafening silence. The prisoners were stunned and looked around for an explanation.
Michelle looked up at Malcolm, who was speechless. He surveyed the damage in disbelief. As confused as Michelle was, she used the strange phenomenon to her advantage. She lifted her chin and smirked at Malcolm as if to say, see what I can do. He merely nodded, dumbfounded. She walked over the souls who were cowering in the ice remains and stepped out of the realm. She fanned out her dress and regally walked past Malcolm straight for the Hall of Winds.
∞
Mark was summoned to Hell by Sebastian regarding the transfer of a prisoner who should have been placed in Purgatory, a fairly common occurrence. It was the opportunity he needed to find the girl and deliver Gabriel’s message. He tried to dispel his fear as he entered the gates, but could not stop himself from shaking.
He twitched while phantom pains raced along his wing where Lucifer’s teeth had torn through it. He had never been so humiliated in his life. He hated that he now feared his job. He had been violated and it made him overly sensitive to all the screaming and moaning. He felt ill and desperately wanted to leave and never return. The only thing that kept his feet glued to the spot was the thought of Lucifer winning. He would not let Lucifer have the upper hand. He would not allow it. He needed to be brave, face the demon, and spit in his eye, though metaphorically speaking, of course, as he was not brave enough to actually spit on him.
“Glad to see you finally made it, brother,” Sebastian glared at Mark, showing that his patience was gone, as always.
“Problems, brother? I am not that late,” Mark bowed out of courtesy to Sebastian and tucked his sparkling white wings into his back. Not only did he hate getting soot on them, but he also didn’t want Sebastian to see that his wing was now malformed. It had not recovered properly after the attack. Raphael told him that it had scarred because Lucifer was allowed to inflict punishment upon disobedient angels within his realm. He tended to leave permanent marks when he hurt angels and non-mortals as a reminder of their crimes. Hades had confessed to having scars on his body, a fact that was supposed to make Mark feel better, though it did not. He was ashamed of his misshapen wing. It was a sign of weakness, which was not a problem in Heaven, though it did not help, but weakness in Hell could get you killed.
“If you only knew. Now let’s get this over with before the next emergency comes along, which undoubtedly will be in the next five minutes,” Sebastian always had an edge of boredom in his voice that could quickly turn to anger if things didn’t go smoothly. Things never went smoothly.
“Very well. You mentioned that there was a soul who slipped through the cracks and landed here instead of Purgatory. Just bring him along and I will deal with him. I will make sure that Lyrik is given the prisoner’s proper scroll, and have him correct the error about descending into Hell. The prisoner will be listed as Purgatory and then he is Lyrik’s problem,” Mark tried to make the transition easy for Sebastian, but knew the effort was wasted.
“Yes, if only things were so easy in the real world. Do you know what a nuisance it is to pull someone out of a realm and explain to them that they have been sent to Hell because of a paperwork error? This guy is going to be pissed that he has been freezing in the Realm of Frost for the past three months, when he should have been sitting in a room with absolutely nothing to do until the next life comes around. Do you have any idea how indignant these prisoners are when they find out they have been tortured for something they didn’t do? They demand compensation and retribution. They should be lucky that we found the error at all. Do you think it’s rude that I soothe him by giving him a nice warm hat?” Sebastian smirked at his idea of being nice.
Mark knew that counting backwards from ten was the best way to keep his tongue in check when he was around the Fallen. He had never experienced the darkness or the loneliness that twisted his bro
thers into monsters, so he took their humor with a grain of salt.
“I will smooth things over with him brother, you need not bother. As I said, I will handle things. Just have someone bring him here and I will make the transition as painless as I can,” Mark tried for patience, but came across a little smug, he realized. He did not mean to imply he could do the job better; he was merely trying to make a quick exit with the prisoner, while trying to figure out how to get Gabriel into Hell.
“Very well, brother, I shall wave my magic wand, make the prisoner appear, and let you be the hero. Wait here. I shall return as quickly as possible, so that you may save the day,” Sebastian rolled his eyes, gave a waving bow to his brother, and walked backward out of the Hall of Winds through the archway that led to the Realm of Frost.
Mark knew Sebastian would intentionally keep him waiting forever. This time he was grateful for the time allotted him. The other angels in the hall were busy processing the souls and ignored him.
He stood at the entrance to the hall not sure how to find the girl. He thought about sneaking into the Throne Room in the hopes of seeing her there. He could always make up a reason to speak to Lucifer or Hades, if he ran into them. He paced for a few moments trying to think of the best way to enact his plan. He decided to be brave and take the pathway that led directly to the castle, though he would have to pass Xavier in the process. His white suit was easy to spot among the washed out mortal clothing, so he would have to move fast.
He took a deep breath to settle himself and commanded his feet to move in the direction of the archway halfway down the hall.
Mark stopped mid step. A small girl dressed in black came bounding through an archway further down the hall. He squinted, hoping to see the blue eyes that he was searching for. He rejoiced when he saw long raven hair coupled with the blue eyes.
He noticed she was fuming with anger and appeared murderous. He was surprised to see the change in her demeanor. It seemed that Hell was indeed having a negative effect on her. He decided to treat her with caution. He didn’t need to end up bleeding again.
The Third Throne: Angel of Darkness Page 19
