The Third Throne: Angel of Darkness

by Tabitha Barret

  He leaned back and sighed. “Your power is volatile and dangerous and I fear the consequences if you were to lose control. Hades was lucky that your power didn’t kill him. I have seen with my own eyes the utter destruction you can cause. For that reason, I don’t want you to transcend from this form yet. It adds a layer of protection. When you were in the Mortal Realm, you had Gabriel’s power and protection to keep you steady, but even he couldn’t keep you contained. Now that you are away from Gabriel, there is even less keeping your powers in check. You must accept that you aren’t ready to wield them yet,” Lucifer frowned at her. He hoped that she understood his concerns.

  “I know I’m not ready to use my power and I will do what is necessary to keep it contained. I learned that the hard way when I tried to stop the storm. I was scared when I couldn’t reign it back in. If you think I should stay in this form, then I agree. I can’t remember who I used to be in Heaven, but I know that I was a complete mess and caused a lot of damage. I would rather be who I am now, until I learn more control,” she tried to remember Heaven and living with Gabriel, but she couldn’t remember anything about her former life.

  “Once you have gained more confidence and strength, we will complete the ritual, and you will become what you once were,” Lucifer hoped that day would never come. He didn’t want to see the world burn, which was odd given his previous attempts to destroy the world.

  She nodded her head, afraid to make her next request. “I agreed to stay, but I don’t want to be your servant. You said that you considered me your equal. I don’t want to be like Caleb and Aganon. I’m afraid that you would one day command me to use my power against the world,” she was afraid to look at him. She didn’t want to see his rage again.

  Lucifer played with her dress, knowing what he needed to say next would upset her. “I told you when you arrived that you were my servant. That wasn’t exactly true. When mortals take their own lives, they become servants of Hell. They must suffer all the realms as punishment for throwing away their lives. After they have suffered considerably, we are allowed to offer them a choice; servitude or back to the realms for a very long time. You were never given that choice, so you are not actually my servant,” he hung his head and braced for the possibility of losing a limb.

  “You lied about that too. I’m not surprised. While I’m glad that I’m not your servant, you need to stop lying to me,” she pursed her lips and put her hand on her hip.

  Lucifer laughed at the adorable face she was making, grateful that he still had flesh on his face. “I promise that I will do my best not to lie to you, though I know that I will fail often. There are times when I can’t help myself. It is a part of who I have become. I’m sorry for all the lies, but the truth is, if you were to become my servant, I would be able to help you control your abilities. I want very much for that to happen. As you saw in the Throne Room, your power is unpredictable. I’m not saying that you must go back into the realms, I’m merely asking you to take me as your Master, so that I can help you.”

  Upon hearing Lucifer’s desire to have her as his servant, something inside of her snapped. Waiting on him as a servant was one thing, but hearing that he could help control her power made her angry. He wasn’t meant to control her power. “I can’t allow that. Even though I don’t want to lose control of my power, I won’t have control taken from me. I don’t want to be at any else’s mercy,” Anjali quickly jumped off the bed. The thought of being controlled by someone else made her twitch. She wouldn’t give up her will to anyone.

  Lucifer leapt off the bed and tried to calm her. “I understand your hesitation. Father made you an immortal instead of an angel so that you wouldn’t bend to His will or the will of anyone else. You alone must make the choice to end the world, but I’m afraid that you could lose your way and end up destroying everything on a whim. I don’t want that to happen. I want to help you and do what I can for you,” Lucifer ran his hand up Anjali’s neck and rubbed his thumb across her soft lips. He understood her reluctance to become his servant, even if she didn’t. She was meant to rule others, not be ruled.

  “I don’t want to lose my way. I don’t want to start another Ice Age or Dark Age, but I need to find a way to be strong. I can’t have someone else calling the shots. Something inside tells me that I have to do this on my own,” she played with the muscles on his chest, trying to calm down, hoping that she hadn’t offended him.

  “I understand, but you must be careful. As your Master, I would protect you. Know that, as difficult as it may be, you can be killed. If you die, Father will replace you. I shudder to think what would happen then. It has taken a long time for you to gain enough wisdom to reach this point. It would be an eternity for another to attempt to take your place,” Lucifer’s hand grazed her cleavage as he indulged in the feeling of her delicious skin.

  “Hades almost took my head. I don’t ever want to get that close to dying again, but I still can’t accept a Master,” she leaned forward, pressed her chest into Lucifer’s, and rose higher on her tiptoes to throw her arms around his shoulders and hold him. She pressed her face into his warm neck.

  “I understand your hesitation, but I’m still afraid for you. I never thought Hades would go to such extremes. We’ve had our differences, but we have always managed not to kill one another. I will make sure that he never harms you again. I almost died when I saw the blade at your throat. I felt all of my happiness drain away and the only thing I saw was Hades’ blood on my hands. All my hope was crushed when I saw him pull the blade against you. I have tried to kill Hades before for different reasons, but this was the only time that I would have been completely justified in doing so. Are you going to seek retribution, beyond hitting him with lightning, breaking his body, and freezing him alive in the Realm of Frost?” Lucifer ran his hands up Anjali’s back. He needed to have her in his arms, where she was safe.

  “No. While I may not like the reasons why he attacked me, I do understand them. I have a feeling if I did anything else to him, he would seek retribution against me. Instead of battling him, I have to find a way to deal with him. You don’t need us trying to kill each other every other day,” she shrugged away the image of shoving Hades’ face into a pit of vipers, knowing that she would have to make peace with him.

  “See. This is the exact reason why you should sit next to me and rule Hell. You already understand the game. As much as I hate Hades, I have to deal with him. He’s an asshole, but he’s good at his job. Just don’t tell him that. I would never hear the end of it. I believe you will find a way to balance out the thrones, while keeping Hades in his place. I’m going to make sure that Hades understands your importance to me. For those reasons, I’m granting you a gift,” Lucifer grabbed her face and kissed her passionately. He pushed his power into her body, knowing that he trusted her to do the right thing.

  Warmth permeated her body and a sharp sensation burned through her all the way to the dark storm inside of her. A strange feeling sparked inside of her, but it didn’t collide with her darkness. Instead, the feeling grew and spread out, filling her body with a different kind of power.

  “What did you do?” she wasn’t afraid of this new power. It didn’t feel evil, but more like a benign current humming through her veins. She suddenly felt more connected to her surroundings.

  “As rulers of Hell, Hades and I can grant power to the Fallen, or allow them to use an ability that they already have. We limit most of their powers, lest we deal with their temper tantrums. I am granting you the ability to take care of yourself. You will have this power as long as we are still in charge of Hell. You can create things at will, or make things disappear. You will be able to command Hell Fire, which will burn only what you command it to. You will have command over all the souls in Hell. This power is different from your own, it comes from me, and so it will be able easier to control than your own power. Think about what you desire, and it will be yours. You can use this gift as you see fit,” Lucifer loved this woman enough to give her
this honor. He wanted her to know that he trusted her.

  “So you’re giving me the ability to rule Hell, even though I haven’t accepted the title and responsibilities?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. She was going to have to teach him about boundaries and unwanted gifts.

  “Yes,” he shrugged matter-of-factly.

  “Can I give it back?” she grimaced.

  “No. Now, I think you should rest. You’ve had a long day and I have a few things I need to do,” Lucifer quickly ushered over to her bed so that she wouldn’t ask him to remove his power from her. He meant what he said. He wanted her safe. Granting her power over his domain was one way of doing that.

  “You just don’t want me to see you bitch slapping the Fallen for disobeying your orders,” she snickered as she was forced to hop up on the bed.

  Lucifer chuckled darkly. “I hope you never have to see that.”

  “If I’m going to stay with you, you can’t keep me locked away,” she took his hand and kissed his palm.

  “One step at a time. You have to remember that this is all new to me too. I’ve never had someone by my side that I care so much about. It will take time to let go of my selfish ways,” he ran his hand down her cheek and sighed. “As much as I hate to leave you, I must do so. If I stay, there is little chance of you resting, especially when your dress has been ripped in all the best places. Take this opportunity to use the power bestowed upon you to fix your dress. Picture what you want to do in your mind and bend the power to your will,” Lucifer watched with anticipation to see if she could conjure an outfit. Temptation needed to be out of his reach, if was going to force himself out the door to punish the Fallen.

  Anjali nodded nervously. She knew it was a test. She did as Lucifer told her and pictured what she wanted in her mind. She felt around for the power he had pushed into her. Closing her eyes, she focused on bending the new power to her will.

  She opened her eyes when she felt something brush against her skin. Looking down, she saw that the familiar black dress was repaired and back in place. She laughed when she saw what she had done.

  Lucifer was beaming with pride at her accomplishment. He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I will return to wake you. Now, rest and know that I will protect you while you sleep.”

  Anjali kissed Lucifer and watched him walk out of the room, sad to see him leave.

  ∞

  Putting his glass down on the table, he turned when he heard footsteps. Wishing that he had something larger than his dagger, he turned to see whom he needed to kill.

  A flash of bright red stayed his hand. Unfortunately, the bitch was back, which meant that a lynch mob might be along shortly.

  He was going to need another brandy to deal with her, depending on her reason for darkening the doorstep of his own personal hell.

  “I thought I told you if I ever saw you again, I would turn you over to Michael personally. Believe it or not, he hates you more than he hates me, which is saying a lot. Of course, I didn’t fall off the grid, at least, not in that way. I still do my job,” he was pissed at her intrusion. She was undoubtedly here to cause him more problems.

  The crazed redhead entered his hovel and teetered over to him in her expensive high-heeled shoes. “Yes, I saw your last job, gruesome, even for you. You’ve gotten worse since our last tryst,” she battled her pale green cat-shaped eyes at him and pushed her plentiful breasts toward him. While it had been a while since he’d been with a woman, he would rather cut off his own balls and save the time and effort of having her do it.

  “Really? I thought I was doing better,” he waved his arm as he threw himself into his black leather reclining chair.

  “They are having trouble identifying the body, darling. I’m pretty sure I saw them using a strainer and a magnifying glass,” she was working her tight button-down yellow sundress, which accented all her luscious and dangerous curves. He could never understand her affinity for bright colors given that the inside of her was blacker than coal and just as unyielding.

  “Yet you’re stupid enough to enter my domain without an invitation. Brave or suicidal, I’m not sure, but we can easily find out,” he knew deranged was the answer, but thought better of saying it aloud until he knew what she was up to.

  “I want to make a deal with you, my dearest Alazar,” he knew from her sassy tone and the glimmer in her eye that she wouldn’t give up easily. She was insane on her best day.

  His skin crawled at the thought of helping her. He hated it when she tried to bring him into her schemes. There was nothing more in this world that he wanted than to be left alone. He had made that very clear on multiple occasions, yet she kept coming back like a plague. No, plagues he liked, he respected their power to kill on a large scale. She was a flesh-eating rat worthy of the Realm of Teeth.

  “I take it you need someone killed, Maraquette,” it was usually one of the two reasons she dared to seek him out. He took a shot and assumed she wasn’t there for a good time, despite the fact that her dress was thin enough to reveal all that she had to offer and that she wasn’t wearing any panties.

  “Well, that is your specialty, almighty Angel of Death, unless you’ve changed professions without telling me. I somehow don’t think you’ve turned into the Angel of Interior Design. This place is ghastly, even for you,” she flicked away a spider that was crawling down the web in front of her.

  “And you’re the same vengeful bitch that has kicked me in the balls on more than one occasion. Why should I let you live?” he knew the reason he kept her alive and he tried to think of that reason as he watched her wet her red lips. Even though he detested her, she was amazing in bed, if you could get past the pain.

  “You’ve deserved every single kick to the ass, Alazar. Don’t play innocent, you suck at it, dear brother,” she flipped her long shimmering red hair and let the fragile strap of her dress slide off her shoulder reminding him of what was at stake.

  “Flattery, an interesting tactic. Oh, and don’t bother letting the rest of the dress fall, I’m well aware of what’s under it and I’m not interested. I have better things to do than your dirty work, so shove off and go bother someone who gives a shit, and is hard up,” Alazar was done playing. She was about to bear her teeth or her breasts, and either of them would land him up to his neck in misery.

  “You know, for someone who wanted out of Hell so badly, you certainly picked a cheery spot to vacation in. One might think you were pining for your old zip code. The lack of sunlight alone screams volumes. Sitting in that chair with the candlelight playing across your face, you almost remind me of Lucifer in his throne, minus the long hair and deranged look. I know very well that you have been camped out in this abysmal dungeon for a long time. You’re hiding from her, yet you sit in a carbon copy of the very place that your Master should be taking possession of you. You’re a therapist’s wet dream,” she paused as she ran her finger through the dust on the edge of the wall. “We both know it’s only a matter of time until she finds you,” she smirked at him and watched him squirm.

  “Why do you care so much about my current situation?” Alazar growled. He didn’t like where the conversation was headed. For all he knew Maraquette was crazy enough to bring his biggest nightmare right to his front door. He leaned forward, and gave her a look of warning. Depending on the next words out of her mouth, he was very willing to end this game, permanently.

  “I don’t care about you, but you do know who I care about. You and I have the same dilemma; we both want the girl dead. Well, technically, we both want her to suffer and then die, excruciatingly, but either way, we want her dead,” Maraquette carefully sashayed across the broken floor of the dungeon making sure she had his full attention.

  “I’m listening,” Alazar liked this unexpected turn, as long as she wasn’t trying to deceive him. He needed to be convinced that she wasn’t trying to seduce him into a guillotine.

  “I suggest an alliance. I will do the heavy lifting and kill the little bitch, and the
n we both get what we want. You will be free and Lucifer will be mine again. I just need you to do what you do best,” Maraquette dropped the other strap and let the top of her sundress fall, revealing her perfectly rounded breasts.

  Alazar hardly noticed her body as he thought about killing the one person in the entire world that haunted him.

  “Do we get code names? How about I call you, Selfish Bitch Who Will Stab Me in the Back and Watch Me Bleed for Laughs? Wait, is that too long? How about SBWWSMBWMBL? Perhaps Dances with Missing Head would be more apt?” as much as Alazar wanted to form an alliance, he knew Maraquette was not the best of choices, but he was running out of time.

  “Laugh all you want Alazar, but your Master is coming for you. Lucifer has her and it’s only a matter of time until she hunts you down, shackles your ass, and forces you to do her will. I don’t think you’ll be so smug when that happens, and it will happen, unless we do something about it. You can’t escape being a Predznak,” Maraquette stepped forward and leaned back, causing her breasts to be perfectly displayed, even in the dim light.

  Alazar watched Maraquette cup her breasts with her hands and move them enticingly. Alazar was hard as he watched her, but he wasn’t hard because of her beauty, he was hard at the thought of finally being free. His Master would be dead and he could stop hiding. He would no longer have to look over his should every second of every day.

  “That will never happen. I refuse to bow to anyone. I will never submit to a Master,” Alazar was out of his chair and standing over her, staring her down.

  “I will kill her for you and in return, you will kill someone for me,” the words rushed out of Maraquette quickly as she averted her eyes from his icy gaze.