The Third Throne: Angel of Darkness (15 page)

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 wanted 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 chamber.

“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.

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.

“No.  It’s not that.  I can see everything they’ve done and it hurts.  It feels like something is trying to tear loose from inside of me. Between the pain and the images, I can’t get my bearings,” she gritted out.

She clawed at the floor and crumpled on her side.  Deep inside of her, it felt like a storm was raging, trying to break her into pieces to escape.  The storm was threatening to come out while the evil around her barraged her senses.  She witnessed their corruption.  The putrid taste of their lies coated her tongue.  Their cruel words echoed in her ears.  The smell of the blood spilt from their victims permeated her nose.  She felt each of the searing cuts and brutal blows they inflicted upon their enemies. She was drowning in all the evil surrounding her.  She felt like she was losing her mind.

“Listen to me and ignore the images.  Think of something good in your life, something positive.  It will pass, I promise,” Lucifer was kneeling next to her, purring in her ear.

She vaguely heard his pleas over the voices.  She tried to think about CJ and Uncle Bob, but the evil was stronger.  Guns, knives, swords, and whips flashed through her mind and then choking, stabbing, and beating took over.  The violence in her head was too much.  She grabbed her head and screamed, rocking back and forth, curled up on the ground.  She tried to focus on his voice as he attempted to guide her back to sanity.

He desperately tried to think of helpful things to say to her, encouraging things.  He told her what it was like to be in Heaven, how amazing the sunrise and sunset had looked from upon high.  He explained what it was like to fly and soar thought the sky, the wind rushing through his wings and hair.  The stories tumbled out of him as he thought about all the times he had experienced joy.  He even told her how happy he’d been while intimate with her.

The image of Lucifer naked and in his glory popped into her mind and helped to push aside the other images.  She took a few deep breaths and thought about how he made her feel.  Not only had she felt wanted, but she also felt cared for.  She remembered the look of contentment on his face when they were lying on the bed side by side.  She too had felt content.

The pain eased and the images slowed.  She thought about Lucifer and his soft skin and his hard body and was finally able to open her eyes.

Lucifer took her into his arms and rocked her.  His arms were warm and strong.  Somehow, she felt safer being close to him.

“Better?” he was sweating and shaking.

She nodded her head and he helped her to her feet.  “Why are you sweating?” she asked shakily, wiping his brow.

“I was scared for you.  Not everyone can withstand the suffering here.  I shouldn’t have brought you, but I wanted you to understand what I must endure every day,” he smiled hesitantly at her. 

He was afraid the darkness would overtake her and she would be lost to him.  He prayed that she was powerful enough to endure the worst criminals in Hell.  He admitted to himself that it was a test.  If she couldn’t survive the Realm of Nightmares, she would never be able to survive him or be able to remain by his side.

“I think I’m okay now.  I can handle it.  All the foulness is still around me, but I’m pretty sure I can keep it at bay.  It scares me, but I know they aren’t my feelings and thoughts.  It’s like being surrounded by a thick fog.  I just have to shut it out,” Michelle rubbed her arms, trying to warm and steady herself.

She still saw the images, but she forced herself to focus and control what she saw.  She was able to push everything away and choose one image at a time.  She wasn’t sure how she was able to accomplish all this, but was grateful that she hadn’t lost her mind.  She knew the evil could have easily driven her completely insane, but she managed to draw on an inner strength and remain in control.

Taking a deep breath, she looked around the room for the source of the prisoners’ pain, but she didn’t see or hear anything that would make them cry out.  She and Lucifer were the only non-prisoners in the enormous room.  None of the Fallen were present.  Nothing was on fire.  There were no whips or chains, no animals, no frost, and no water to drown in, only screaming souls in their cells.  Nothing was physically being done to them, and yet they continued to cry.

“No one is hurting them,” she was confused and somewhat grateful she wasn’t being tortured in one of those cells.

“Very observant,” he smiled at her, pleased that she had recovered from the onslaught.  “I am responsible for this realm.  The prisoners outside receive the same punishment as everyone else in the realm.  In here, the punishments are tailor-made based on the prisoner’s crimes.  It takes a strong mind and will to figure out exactly what will break these souls.  They have endured the regular realms, but those punishments weren’t strong enough to keep them from destroying everything they touched, life after life.  I get inside their minds, find their greatest weakness, and inflict perpetual agony, so that they cannot plot and scheme.  It is my job to make sure they understand the damage they did during their mortal lives and show them that Father no longer has faith in them.  I keep them busy so they can no longer cause trouble.  There was a time when they used to sit around and decay, having only their sick minds to occupy them.  Unfortunately, they led breakouts by tricking the Fallen who occasionally enter here,” Lucifer surveyed his domain like the Lord of the Manor.

Michelle knew this was where his talents lay.  His eyes glittered when he looked around the realm.  His shoulders were back and he was filled with pride.  He enjoyed his work.

“It’s all an illusion.  You make them think they are in pain,” Michelle wandered around and examined the souls.  She was curious about how he punished them.

“Yes, but I don’t just make them think they are in pain, I destroy their sense of self.  I turn their minds against them.  They become their own worst enemy,” Lucifer was purring.  This was where he belonged.

Michelle was finally able to sort through some of the images, and understand what she was seeing.  She wasn’t just seeing their past crimes, but also the method of torture.  She could see what Lucifer was doing to them, or what Lucifer made them believe was happening to them.

A man who had stolen from countless people tried to keep his money, while thieves surrounded him on all sides.  He lived in fear of losing everything and never had a moment’s rest.  A murderer was made to feel helpless by being stalked and then felt every agonizing blow as he was killed by his victims.  Other punishments were more severe.  A dictator who had once been rich and powerful was reduced to poverty and starved to death, just as his people had.  He was forced to live under the rules he had decreed.

Michelle quickly understood Lucifer’s evil side.  Being surrounded by these monsters and getting inside their heads would take an enormous toll on anyone, especially without help from God.  Lucifer and the Fallen were on their own in Hell and had no way of escaping the depravity that surrounded them.

“This place is impressive.  It took me a second, but I can see what you’re doing,” she said as she looked at the different sections of prisoners.

“You can see the illusions?  See the torture?” Lucifer was both impressed and nervous.  He had never met an outsider who could see the tortures so quickly.  It usually took time for a Fallen to be able to sort through the memories of the souls.  Azazel was the only one who could do it for short periods of time.  Most of the others weren’t equipped for the complexity of the task.  She surprised him yet again, and it excited him.

“Yes.  However, I think you could do more.  No disrespect, but some of the illusions could go further, really drive the nail deeper,” she wasn’t sure where this need to punish was coming from, but she had little choice but to embrace it.  She had an overwhelming urge to help Lucifer make sure these people truly understood why they were in Hell.

“Really?  How so?” Lucifer was intrigued by the girl.  She could see the sins of man, understand their torture, and wanted to help.  She certainly was suited to him in ways he couldn’t have imagined.

Beautiful and smart
, he sighed as he gazed at her.

“Well, the leader over there, he, like so many before him, craves power.  He wants people to worship him and do everything he asks without question.  He has a god complex.  You have him suffering at the hands of his former people.  He’s being stoned and beaten.  It’s a physical torture.  I think he needs something worse.  Make it so that no one will listen to him.  No matter whom he turns to, they will laugh at him and mock him.  He will never convince anyone to follow his plans.  Make him fail in every attempt to garner support.  He needs to believe that he will never have a single person support him.  He will feel worthless.  That will kill his god complex and hurt him more than the beatings,” Michelle could hear the words flowing from her mouth, though she had no idea where they were coming from.  It was as if she knew exactly how to punish the man.  She suddenly wanted retribution for the crimes he had committed.

“I like it,” Lucifer was in awe.  He was turned on by this side of her.  She sounded deadly when she spoke of torture.  He knew he shouldn’t be excited by her dark side, but he didn’t care.  He wanted this girl in every way possible.

Lucifer pointed to the man in question and he did exactly as she suggested.  The man became quiet as the scene in his mind changed.  At first, he was frustrated, then he became angry, and finally he wept and tore at his skin as he tried in vain to convince the masses of his ideas.

“You’re a natural at this,” he smiled and moved her further into the room.

One by one, they looked through the prisoners and spoke about what was happening.  It had been a long time since he was able to discuss his work with another.  Anyone who had helped him in the past would inevitably lose their minds to the darkness.  His mistress was different from them.  She didn’t enjoy the violence of hurting the prisoners, but merely took delight in making sure that the souls suffered and got what they deserved, based on their crimes.  He felt pride when he looked at her.

It became easier for her to process the minds of the different prisoners.  She was surprised to see Lucifer giving her a look of approval.  She liked that he was pleased with her ideas.  She had never imagined doing anything like this before, but felt confident because of Lucifer’s encouragements.  It felt right being around him and working with him.  Together they moved around the cells and pitched ideas back and forth.

“You have a way with the mental aspect of the job.  You really know how to get inside their heads and use their past crimes to figure out what motivated them to act out and become evil.  You understand the reasons why they did these terrible things and you attack them on that level. There are few who have that talent. I’m pleased you are catching on this fast.  The other Fallen hate dealing with these prisoners.  They have trouble getting to the core of the person and finding out what truly scares them.  Sometimes it isn’t simply pain; it’s the loss of something or the knowledge that they will never have something.  There were times when I was worn out by the process and resorted to physical measures, as you have seen,” Lucifer watched every move that her body made as she walked around examining the prisoners.  He took in every suggestion she made and committed them to memory.

“I can understand why,” she replied.

“You did a good job,” Lucifer was beaming at his mistress and knew in his heart that things would somehow work out between them.

Michelle suddenly felt shy.  It was strange having him look at her as if she was important.  It was a new feeling for her.  She had always been smart in school, but was never praised.  Her parents took it for granted that she was good in school and never made a big deal about it.

Michelle paused.  Why was she helping Lucifer?  What did it say about her that she was helping the devil?  Even worse, she was enjoying it.  She wasn’t sure if it was the attention she was getting or that it felt right.  She had no idea why she wanted to torture the souls and make sure their punishment fit their crime, but she did.  She felt it all the way to her toes.  Maybe the evil was invading her senses, just as Lucifer had warned.  She worried that she would become lost, just like the others who had tried to help him.