The Third Throne: Angel of Darkness (16 page)

“I’d like to show you something else,” he said once he was satisfied that she could endure the Realm of Nightmares.

She nodded, desperate to leave the realm and clear her head. She needed some perspective to understand what was happening.  She was concerned that Hell was finally breaking her.

They walked back up the staircase and out of the castle.  They went to the right toward the Caves of Darkness, but turned onto a pathway that led to a tunnel beyond the caves.  She’d never ventured into the tunnel before.  Lucifer told her they were going to the Hall of Shadows.

They passed a number of guards stationed throughout the tunnel, and came to another cavern that was larger than the main area that held the realms.

Michelle looked around and saw every kind of creature chained to the ceiling, floor, and walls.  None of them looked pleased and all of them looked like they were ready to murder Lucifer.  They weren’t exactly being tortured, but they were suffering.  They weren’t locked behind bars, but were restrained with glowing blue manacles around their wrists and feet.  They were either hanging in chains a few inches above the ground or chained to the ground, unable to rise up more than a few inches off the floor.

They all glared at Lucifer as they walked around the cavern.  Most took notice of her, or rather her dress.  She had expected to see lust filled glances, but instead, most of the prisoners seemed afraid of her dress.  She seriously needed to find out the meaning behind her atrocious outfit.

“This is where the non-mortal prisoners are kept.  They aren’t souls, but actual creatures.  There are all types of beings in here, Rogue Angels, Veteres, false gods, monsters of myth and legend, and anyone that Father has deemed too dangerous to walk the Mortal Realm.  They are the enemies of mortals and angels alike,” Lucifer explained as he walked through the rows of prisoners.

“If they are dangerous, how do you keep them restrained?  It’s not like their minds are being kept busy, why don’t they just break loose?” she looked to Lucifer who seemed amused by her questions.

“The Celestial Bonds around their hands and feet drain the wearer’s strength and power and they are rendered helpless, except for fangs or claws.  They are no stronger than the average mortal.  The bonds are unbreakable and only a few Fallen have the power to unlock them, though they would lose that ability if they were to have the bonds placed on their own wrists.  The prisoners are easily contained by the chains around them,” Lucifer guided her through the hall and showed her things that she had only seen in movies.

“What do you do with them?” she asked as they walked past a group of furry prisoners.

“Let them rot,” he sneered.  “They are here because they either tried to rise up and take Father’s place or tried to destroy Heaven, Hell, or humanity, and in some cases, all three.  There are a number of offspring of the Veteres locked up here.  Among them are beings that tried to replace Father and offered themselves as alternative gods,” Lucifer pointed to a number of creatures who looked like mortals or angels but seemed stronger and deadlier.

“Like the Greek gods?” Michelle walked past something mean and furry that snapped its teeth at her.  She jumped away and Lucifer backhanded the monster, who yelped in pain.

“The Greek gods were mostly angels, but there were others who inserted themselves into the Greek and Roman ideology.  There are also Germanic, Hindu, and Japanese gods, creatures who derive power from worshipers.  Some have their own power.  They all tried to make the mortals denounce Father as their one true God and inserted themselves into different cultures, by different names.  There have been other gods and deities, but they can only survive as long as there are people to follow them.  Even though Christianity has been around for a few centuries, Father has existed for much longer.  He doesn’t need a name as long as people believe that someone created them and watches over them.  He’s had many names, but He’s always had believers,” Lucifer explained.

“You said that you helped clean up the mess that the Greek gods created.  What happened?” Michelle looked at the strange faces around her, trying to determine what kind of creatures they were.

“Over time, many of the Heavenly Angels became jealous of the mortals and tried to convince them that they were the true gods.  The mortals started praying to the angels, believing they were gods.  It is a sin to worship false gods, so ultimately those mortals ended up in Hell.  The problem is, the angels started to believe they were all-powerful and beyond Father’s rule.  They already had their own abilities to do tasks for Father, but they began to derive power from sacrifices and tributes and grew stronger.  They started to believe that they were more important than they really were.  They were denounced by Heaven and were declared Rogues.

“Michael, Raphael, Hades, myself, and others were tasked to find the Rogues and eliminate them and the threat they presented.  We waged war against them for a few years until we finally claimed victory.  Many were put to death, others reside here, yet others were forgiven and allowed back home.  Mental breakdown my ass, they knew what they were doing.  I may have my Rogue moments, but I still love Father.  It’s true that I’ve had my infractions, but I have never threatened Father directly or started a war against Him,” Lucifer let out a breath. There were days when he was glad to be in Hell and away from those traitors who were allowed back into Heaven.

“What about Hades?  You said he moonlighted as a god, yet he was a part of the task force to hunt everyone down.  How did he manage that?” she knew he was slick, but the angel had serious talents when it came to saving his own backside.

“Hades had what you would call immunity.  He turned spy for me and kept me abreast of the situation, long before Heaven even knew what was happening.  The Rogues didn’t particularly like him, but they needed him.  The Fallen and Heavenly Angels don’t really get along.  They considered him a necessary evil to balance out what they considered their pantheon.  Someone needed to be the figurehead for the afterlife.  A number of mortals retained their memories of Heaven and Hell due to a separate Rogue plot and the gods used that to their advantage.  Many of the mortals remembered Hades, so it was easy for them to incorporate him into their new order.  It also helped that one of the Overseers in Heaven looks similar to Hades.  Unfortunately, Hades almost lost his life in the battle.  The Rogues didn’t like that he had deceived them from the beginning,” Lucifer shook his head.  His brother had an uncanny knack of getting himself into trouble.

“You said people have tried to destroy Heaven and Hell before, how is that possible?” Michelle was curious about the inner workings of Heaven and Hell.  It was the ultimate question and she was finally going to learn what most people desired to know.

“It’s possible to destroy both, and plenty have tried.  They are physical places with angels running the operations.  Take out the angels, the structures, and the systems keeping the souls in place and the souls will be free.  Anarchy would rule.  Others don’t want to destroy Heaven and Hell, but want to rule them, like that little girl over there and her friends.  Thankfully, all of their attempts have been stopped,” Lucifer pointed to a small gaunt girl with long black hair down to her waist and eyes that knew hatred.  She looked like she could barely hold herself upright.

Michelle wondered how powerful she was if she had tried to rule Hell.  “How did she do that?” Michelle asked as she avoided the girl’s piercing gaze.

She never heard the answer as pain radiated through her face and body.  She tried to open her eyes and get her bearings.  She saw a flash of black fur mere inches from her face.  Over the ringing in her ears, she heard Lucifer yelling.  While she couldn’t make out the words, she understood the tone.  He was furious.  She carefully lifted her head off the floor and desperately tried to make sense of what she was seeing.  An enormous animal was wrapping its giant claw tipped paws around Lucifer’s shoulders, as its fangs snapped at Lucifer’s throat.  At least five of the Fallen appeared from every direction, punching and pulling at the monster.

The animal was as large and as thick as a sofa; its head was as high as Lucifer’s stomach.  It was covered in black fur, tipped with silver-gray points.  Its yellow eyes were soulless and angry.  She couldn’t tell from behind exactly what kind of animal it was, but it was strong and lethal.  She assumed it was the same creature that Lucifer had punched earlier, due to its size, and need for retribution.

Michelle felt a sharp burning sensation in her left cheek and saw blood on her hand when she pulled it away from her face.  The grizzly bear, dog, lion thing had clawed her face, but had missed her eye.  Her attention was drawn to the hissing and growling sounds all around her.  The blood had gained the interest of the prisoners.  While it seemed there weren’t any vampires around, there were a number of eyes locked on her face.  She nervously got to her feet and looked around for the exit, in case more creatures broke free.

“For fuck’s sake, someone get control of Fenris’ mouth,” Lucifer bellowed.  The monster’s fangs were millimeters from grazing the artery in his neck.

Michelle watched the powerful creature swat away two of the Fallen, sending them into the grasp of prisoners that looked even more dangerous, if that were possible.  The two of them screamed as they were bitten and clawed at by prisoners who appeared mortal, but were far from it.

Lucifer was busy wrestling Fenris while more of the Fallen ran to help.  Lucifer was knocked down and pinned to the ground.  He tried to maintain control of the sharp talons hell-bent on slashing his chest.  The teeth end of the creature was embedded in the thigh of an unfortunate Fallen that she recognized from the Realm of Skulls.  She really didn’t feel too badly for him, but knew she had to do something to help Lucifer.  He was the main focus of the wolf’s attack.  Yes, she could finally make out the features of what Lucifer had deemed the “soulless piece of shit.”  It was an enormous pissed off wolf.

Despite the Fallen whipping and beating Fenris, the giant furry monster ignored the assault and refused to let go of Lucifer.  Bloody Fallen were amassing around the scene as more angels rushed in to try to contain the monster.  Fenris snapped its muzzle as a warning to an angel trying to put his hands around its giant snout to close off its teeth.

Fenris was putting all of his effort into attacking Lucifer, while defending itself from the others.  If killing Lucifer was its objective, then she had an idea, a stupid and idiotic idea, but one that might save Lucifer.

Michelle slowly approached the fray as another Fallen screamed out in pain and was tossed aside.  She carefully crept to the back of the creature, while the Fallen kept the front of the wolf busy.  Based on the name, Fenris, she assumed that the thing was male and from the back view, it was definitely a he.  She wished for steel-toed boots or pointy heels, she was left with only one option.  She pulled her bare foot back and kicked the monster right in the balls with everything she had.

The response was immediate and swift.  The wolf let out a yelping howl, whipped its head around, and growled loudly enough for the ground to quake.  She now had Fenris’ full attention as she quickly backed away.

The wolf pinned her with its predatory stare as he put her on the Entré list.  Her solitary warning was an ear-piercing howl before it broke free of everyone’s grip and bounded straight at her.

“NO!” Lucifer shouted as he watched the merciless wolf rushing toward his sole source of peace.

The only thought in Michelle’s mind was, “run.”  She heard thick nails scraping against the cave floor as the growling and snarling got closer.  She cursed herself for the stupidity of her plan, but she wasn’t about to witness Lucifer be torn apart.  She was grateful for the lack of shoes as her feet gained traction on the floor.  She heard snapping just behind her neck so she quickly threw herself into a group of creatures that looked like supermodels and less likely to kill her than the rows of sharp teeth on her ass.

The women ignored her as they attempted to grab at the wolf.  They propositioned the wolf and shouted out their sexual fantasies involving the furry killing machine.  Michelle ducked through the women and scrambled back to the safe zone of the pathway.  She assumed the unnaturally beautiful women were succubae or hard-up based on the graphic things they said to Fenris.  Apparently, they had no restrictions when it came to animals.

The wolf was deterred for only a moment before it swatted away the grabby women and locked his sights on Michelle.  She jumped back when Fenris leapt over the women and landed at her feet.  He bared his razor sharp incisors and growled at her.  The growl was fierce enough to cause the prisoners around her to cower and avert their eyes from the intimidating mass of fur before her.  He lunged forward, intent on biting her leg, but she jumped back fast enough so that all he caught was her dress.  He shook his head violently, not realizing he had missed her flesh.  She would never complain about the layered dress again.

She watched Fenris shred her skirt and was grateful she still had a leg.  Lucifer and the Fallen raced toward the monster, but they wouldn’t get to her in time before Fenris turned her into a chew toy.  She knew she only had one chance to stall the wolf.

Pushing aside the fear threatening to turn her into a babbling child, she searched for the courage to confront the monster, even if it only gave her a few more seconds to live.

As soon as Fenris’ head stilled, she balled up her fist and punched him square in the eye, as hard as she could.  She used all  the anger and frustration that had been trapped inside of her and let loose on the wolf.  To her surprise, he yelped in pain and winced at the blow. She saw that her ring had made contact with his eye and that it was bleeding.