Falling Into Darkness

by L. M. Brown

  Lucifer shook his head. “I can remove the magic, so the stone is merely a decorative ornament once more.”

  “If you do that, I won’t be able to visit you,” Michael pointed out. “This is my key to the Underworld, to you.”

  “You can find another way,” Gabriel said. “Lucifer, remove the power.”

  Lucifer held the stone between his hands and whispered words Michael couldn’t hear. When he released the necklace he confirmed it was done.

  Gabriel requested that Lucifer go into an antechamber, then touched the necklace, speaking his name out loud. When nothing happened he summoned Lucifer back in.

  “Is there anything else?” Lucifer asked. “Or is that enough demands for the moment?”

  “We could change our minds,” Gabriel reminded him.

  “I have a request,” Michael said.

  “What is it?” Gabriel asked.

  “I want to take Lucifer to my beach one last time before he leaves. I want to watch the sunset with him.”

  “Michael, don’t push your luck,” Lucifer warned. “They could still cast you out of here.”

  Gabriel sighed. “You don’t understand us at all, do you?”

  “You mean you’ll agree to his request?” Lucifer asked.

  Gabriel glanced around the room at the other archangels. Some nodded, others shrugged, Raguel shook his head. “Go watch the sunset, both of you.”

  Michael smiled and took Lucifer’s hand. It wasn’t much, just a sunset on the beach, but it was more than he had thought they could ever have again, and he intended to make the most of it.

  * * * *

  “It’s just as I remember it,” Lucifer said as they wandered down the beach, hand in hand.

  “Is there no way for you to see this realm from the Underworld?” Michael asked.

  “No. Whenever you are here, you’re lost to me.”

  Michael squeezed Lucifer’s hand and guided him to his favorite spot on the beach, between his house and the sea.

  “Do you think the archangels are watching us right now?” Lucifer asked once they had settled down on the sand.

  “No, they trust me.” Michael wasn’t sure why they trusted him after everything he had done since the battle, but they did. “Why do you ask?”

  Lucifer used his free hand to stroke Michael’s cheek. “Because I remember the first time we sat here.”

  “Me too.”

  Lucifer grinned and lowered his hand, brushing his fingers along the seam of Michael’s robes. “How about it then?”

  Lucifer slipped his hand between the folds of Michael’s robes, aiming straight for his cock. Michael gasped and moaned as Lucifer took him in hand, stroking him firmly. He rested his forehead on Lucifer’s shoulder and let himself be carried away by the sensations his lover drew from him. No one had ever managed to make him feel even a fraction of the emotion Lucifer did.

  When he came, he gave a long moan of desire collapsing into Lucifer’s arms, shaking and gasping.

  “I’ve always loved your beach,” Lucifer said. “So calm and peaceful. Sometimes I think I could stay here forever.”

  “You could,” Michael replied. “If you return to the light, this could be our beach. You’d never have to leave me again.”

  “Don’t spoil this,” Lucifer whispered. “I don’t wish to argue, not tonight.”

  Michael nodded and faced the sea. He didn’t have to fulfill his mission tonight—in fact, he would have been reluctant to believe Lucifer if he had agreed so easily. He should simply enjoy the evening and the time they had together.

  Lucifer held him close and, in comfortable silence, they watched the sun sink below the horizon.

  When it was fully dark Michael touched his necklace. “Did you really remove the magic from the stone?”

  “Yes, of course. I don’t want any more unexpected visitors stumbling into my chambers. Besides, Gabriel would have known if I hadn’t.”

  “Have you had any thoughts about how I can enter the Underworld now the stone doesn’t work?”

  “You could take your place at my side,” Lucifer suggested.

  “Besides that,” Michael said.

  “One day,” Lucifer murmured.

  Michael shook his head and Lucifer sighed.

  “Perhaps something more conventional would suit,” Lucifer said. He pointed to the cliffs at the edge of the sea. “Come with me and let us see what we can do.”

  Michael followed Lucifer along the beach until they stood at the rocky incline.

  “Place your left hand on the cliff side,” Lucifer said as he did the same with his right.

  The rocks were rough and sharp, but Michael was curious to know what Lucifer had in mind.

  Lucifer held out his free hand to Michael, who took it without question.

  He watched Lucifer close his eyes and mumble something under his breath.

  Michael felt the rocks move under his fingers and he tried to pull his hand away.

  “Don’t!” Lucifer ordered. “Leave it.”

  Michael didn’t question. He held his hand in place even as the rocks continued to shift. A vertical crack appeared halfway between their two hands, stretching from the ground to a point almost half a foot above their heads. The crevice widened as the rocks broke apart, leaving an opening in the cliff.

  “There, it’s done,” Lucifer said.

  Michael peered into the gap in the cliff, but the opening was too dark to see anything. Lucifer, however, had clearly thought ahead and, when he stepped into the darkness, a sconce on the wall lit the way. Since Lucifer still held his hand, Michael had no choice other than to follow him into the tunnel and down the stone stairs.

  Once he was inside, the rocks behind him moved again and closed, sealing the path.

  Michael gasped and turned back.

  “It’s all right,” Lucifer assured him. “The door will open whenever you need it.”

  Michael didn’t need to ask where they were going. The tunnel already felt like the Underworld.

  “Can anyone open the doorway?” Michael asked.

  “No, only you or I. No one else even needs to know it’s here. In fact, I’d rather they didn’t. I don’t allow angels to wander around the Underworld.” Lucifer glanced back at him. “Present company notwithstanding, of course.”

  Michael smiled and continued to follow Lucifer down the seemingly endless flight of steps. Finally they arrived in Lucifer’s familiar chambers.

  The tunnel closed behind them, leaving no trace it had ever been there.

  “To open it again, from here or the beach, all you need do is see the tunnel in your mind, and there it will be.”

  Michael stared at the wall and, sure enough, the tunnel appeared the moment he thought of it.

  “Surely you don’t want to leave so soon?” Lucifer asked. He stripped off his robes and climbed onto the bed. Michael’s arse clenched at the sight of Lucifer’s thick erection. No, he wasn’t going to leave yet.

  Chapter Seven

  In the following weeks, Michael and Lucifer settled into a routine. Michael continued with his regular angelic duties in the afternoons, before joining Lucifer in the Underworld for their evening meal. He stayed every night in Lucifer’s bed and returned to the realm of angels each morning.

  He ate breakfast with Gabriel and Raphael, who always appeared relieved to see him.

  Gabriel accepted Michael’s relationship with Lucifer and did his best to understand it. Raphael, however, struggled and his relationship with Michael became strained.

  Michael didn’t realize how far apart they had grown until the morning he joined Gabriel for breakfast and found Raphael wasn’t in his usual place.

  He tried not to let the absence bother him, but deep down he could tell things had changed between them, and, if he didn’t bring Lucifer back to the light, their friendship might be damaged forever.

  Michael enjoyed his time with Lucifer, but since they were confined to Lucifer’s quarters there was little th
ey could do besides talk, eat their evening meal, and have sex. Lucifer offered to show Michael around the Underworld, keeping the two of them invisible from the masses. Michael refused the offer. The thought of seeing the torture of humans who had strayed from the light made him ill.

  Despite the long debate about who should rule the Underworld, the new king hadn’t lasted as long as had been anticipated. His death at the hands of a rival who had not even been considered by the archangels and Lucifer came as quite a surprise. The new ruler of the Underworld was crowned and there was talk amongst the demons of renewing the war. The time had come for Lucifer to reveal himself again and Michael was pleased to see him do so without any need for persuasion.

  The latest king of the demons raged when he discovered he was Lucifer’s prisoner, but he was no match for a fallen angel. Lucifer had powers the rest of the demons lacked, and he had no hesitation in using them. The king took the throne and the glory that came with the position, while Lucifer retained the power.

  Talk of war died down, the king making the excuse that they needed to increase their numbers a great deal before taking to the battlefield again. Last time, even though they had outnumbered the angels, they had failed. Next time things would be different, but it would take time to prepare. The demons appeared satisfied and began recruiting in earnest.

  Michael and the rest of the archangels were doing the same. Each new soul to arrive in the realm of angels, a place commonly known as Heaven, was considered by the archangels, and, if they were deemed worthy, they earned their wings. Michael carefully chose the souls to take under his command, making sure those who followed him had compassion, open minds, and the capacity to love unconditionally.

  The archangels, Michael included, had agreed it shouldn’t be common knowledge that Michael and Lucifer were engaged in a relationship. Still, Michael believed in planning ahead, and if word should get out, he wanted to be sure the angels under his command would accept what he had done. There were no guarantees, of course, but Michael took every precaution he could.

  Guiding new angels took up much of Michael’s time, but he never forgot his primary mission.

  * * * *

  “You’re late,” Lucifer complained when Michael stepped into his chambers shortly before midnight.

  “It’s been a long day,” Michael replied, and he grabbed a slice of pie from the spread on the table.

  “I know.” Lucifer pointed at the wall behind him, revealing a view of the earth, and the castle where Michael had attended to witness the passing of a great lady, who had devoted her time to the welfare of those less fortunate. Her death had been agonizingly slow and Michael had stayed at her side throughout, before guiding her to the realm of angels and her new calling.

  “You’ve been watching me?” Michael asked.

  “There’s little else I can do here besides wait for you to warm my bed.”

  Michael could hear the boredom in Lucifer’s tone and he knew the fallen angel was beginning to feel the effects of his long confinement in the Underworld.

  “This is becoming hard for you, isn’t it?” Michael asked.

  Lucifer groped him through his robes. “Yes, it certainly is.”

  Michael chuckled and batted Lucifer’s hand away. “You know what I meant.”

  “Yes, I know.” Lucifer stepped back. “I don’t want to spend eternity in the Underworld. I wish to walk the earth again. I want to feel the sun on my face and the wind in my hair. Can you not speak to the archangels and ask them to relax their rules?”

  “I’ll ask, but I don’t hold out much hope they’ll agree.”

  “Ask anyway.”

  Michael nodded then proceeded to distract Lucifer the best way he knew how.

  * * * *

  It came as no surprise to Michael when his petition to the rest of the archangels failed. They voted unanimously to keep Lucifer confined to the Underworld, a decision Lucifer raged about for weeks.

  “They can’t keep me here,” he shouted. “They have no power over me.”

  “If you break the bargain, you could lose me,” Michael said.

  “You’d begrudge me a few hours on Earth?”

  “No, of course not, but if you break the rules, what’s to stop them forbidding us from seeing each other at all?”

  “You would come to me anyway,” Lucifer said. “You know you can’t stay away.”

  “Please don’t put me to the test,” Michael replied. “Let us enjoy what we have.”

  “You enjoy it,” Lucifer snarled. “You get the freedom to walk the earth whenever you wish. You can travel to any realm you want, even mine, while I’m stuck here, forgotten about and treated in a manner unbefitting my position.”

  “Lucifer, please be reasonable. You turned from the light and the archangels can’t allow you to wander the earth unchecked.”

  “Do you still count yourself among their number?” Lucifer asked in a tone of mild curiosity. “Only you refer to them in a way that doesn’t seem to include you any longer. Have you reconsidered my offer?”

  Michael hadn’t even realized he hadn’t included himself when he’d spoken. “We can’t allow you to leave here,” he amended.

  Lucifer continued to grumble until finally Michael had had enough of his complaining for one day.

  “I’m going home,” he declared. “I’ll come back in a day or two, when hopefully you’ll be a little more reasonable.”

  Michael didn’t give him a chance to argue. He headed to the wall and opened the tunnel. Then he climbed the steps up to his beach with a heavy heart. He held on to the hope he would be able to bring Lucifer back to the light, but at times like this doubts began to creep in, and he wondered whether he was being drawn into the darkness instead.

  * * * *

  Michael found himself spending more and more time on Earth, searching for the purest of souls. He tried not to neglect Lucifer too much, but sometimes it couldn’t be helped. He expected Lucifer to make more of a fuss whenever he arrived late to his chambers, but he was surprisingly tolerant. Too tolerant, Michael mused, his suspicions rising by the day.

  He discovered the reason for Lucifer’s calm demeanor quite by chance.

  The human whose soul he had gone to Earth to guide had a great number of friends, which wasn’t unusual in the least, but one of those acquaintances had a soul almost as pure as the man whose life was drawing to a close. Curious as to who this youth was, Michael traveled back to Earth as soon as he had settled the new soul in the realm of angels. He didn’t expect to see Lucifer sitting on a bench in the middle of the town square.

  The young soul forgotten, Michael approached Lucifer and waited for him to realize he had been seen. Lucifer’s reaction, as soon as he saw Michael, made it clear he hadn’t expected to be caught.

  “Do you want to explain what you’re doing here?” Michael asked.

  Lucifer smiled and raised a tankard. “Enjoying a drink of ale. Would you care to join me?”

  Michael folded his arms across his chest. “How long have you been coming to Earth?”

  “The earth is my domain as much as it is yours,” Lucifer replied.

  “You promised to remain in the Underworld.”

  “Who was the young man you were ogling earlier?” Lucifer asked.

  “You’ve been spying on me again?”

  Lucifer tossed his tankard aside, spilling the contents onto the grass. “Answer the question, Michael. Who is he?”

  Michael picked up the discarded mug and set it on the arm of the bench. “A waste of perfectly good ale, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Who is he?” Lucifer repeated. “He must be important if he not only distracts you from your duties but draws you back here so soon, when you would usually be eagerly running to my bed by this time. Is he fucking you?”

  Michael glared at Lucifer. “I’m not going to dignify that question with an answer. I suggest you go back to the Underworld and calm down.”

  “Calm down?” Lucifer shouted. “Yo
u’re letting some pathetic human fuck you, when you could be with me.”

  Michael’s temper rose and he loomed over Lucifer. “You dare to accuse me of infidelity?”

  Lucifer leaped up from the bench. “Is he fucking you? Or is it the other way round? Are you fucking him because I won’t let you fuck me? Is that it?”

  Michael slapped Lucifer in the face, recoiling immediately at the horror of what he had done. He had never struck another in hot blood before. Lucifer appeared equally shocked. He raised his hand to his cheek as he stared slack-jawed at Michael.

  He couldn’t deal with this right now. All thoughts of the pure soul he had come back to Earth for were forgotten. He had to get out of here. Without a word, Michael fled to his beach in the realm of angels and collapsed onto the sand. He stared at his shaking hand as though he didn’t recognize it.

  What have I done?

  Lucifer had broken the rules and accused Michael of being unfaithful, but that didn’t excuse Michael’s behavior. His mind was in turmoil as he attempted to come to terms with his actions.

  Michael didn’t leave the beach all night. He watched the waves roll in beneath the starry sky and, when the sun rose behind him, he felt slightly less conflicted and knew what he had to do.

  * * * *

  Michael found Gabriel working away in his garden, tending his exotic array of plants.

  “Gabriel, can I talk to you?”

  Gabriel looked up and his smile of greeting disappeared instantly. “What’s wrong, Michael?”

  Michael followed Gabriel into the gazebo and took a seat opposite him. “I need your advice.”

  “Of course. You know I’ll try to help you any way I can. What’s happened?”

  “It’s Lucifer,” Michael replied. “We had an argument last night.”

  “What about?”

  Michael flushed. “It doesn’t matter what we fought about, what bothers me is how I acted. I struck him.”

  Gabriel whistled softly. “You lost your temper?”

  Michael nodded. “I didn’t mean to.”