The Third Throne: Angel of Darkness (41 page)

“What stopped you from fulfilling the deal?” Anjali kissed Lucifer’s chest to ease his sadness.  She couldn’t imagine being so devoid of hope that she would do something desperate like that.

“I stood over the goddess, about to honor the deal, when I looked into her face, and froze.  She was staring at me, eager to fulfill our bargain.  Her face was contorted with evil.  I saw my own depravity reflected in her eyes.  I knew she couldn’t give me what I wanted.  I wanted to find peace.  I wanted to be free from the darkness and be happy again.  She couldn’t give me that.  She would only bring despair and war.  I realized that I didn’t want to destroy Hell.  I wanted to find a way to rule Hell, while keeping the darkness at bay.  I knew then I had to find you.  You had stopped me from destroying the world once.  You had given me peace and happiness for the first time since I was in Heaven.  You had driven out the evil in my heart.  You were the only one who could help me.

“I ran from the Hall of Shadows and formulated my plan to find you and steal you from Gabriel.  I even planned to kill Gabriel if he tried to stand in my way.  I knew that if I couldn’t obtain you as soon as possible, I would succumb to the darkness completely,” Lucifer closed his eyes, waiting for her to slap him in the face, or light him on fire.

“I’m glad you were strong enough to make the right decision.  Here I am complaining about missing a prom and graduation when the fate of the world was at stake.  I have a feeling that the Mortal Realm would have suffered if someone else were in charge of Hell.  I’m sorry that Gabriel didn’t honor the agreement,” Anjali shuddered at the thought of a crazed god ruling Hell and possibly releasing all the prisoners.

Lucifer kissed her forehead and closed his eyes.  “I’m glad I found you in time.”

She paused when she remembered the small girl she saw in the Hall of Shadows before Fenris attacked.  “The false god that you made the deal with, is she the one you pointed out to me, the girl with long black hair who looked like she wanted to kill you?”

“Yes.  She is a Germanic god named Hel.  Her brother Fenris was the one who attacked us in the Hall of Shadows.  He was pissed that I broke our agreement.  Her family has been imprisoned for a very long time,” Lucifer ran his hands through her hair, grateful that Fenris hadn’t killed her.

“Well, that explains why, and I quote ‘the soulless piece of shit’ tried to kill you,” she put her chin on his chest and looked up at him.

Lucifer nodded.  He looked at the beautiful woman staring back at him and sighed.  He didn’t know what he had done to deserve her, but he was happy that fate had given her to him.

Anjali thought about all the terrible things she had survived since arriving in Hell.  She no longer felt like the naïve girl who had woken up at Lucifer’s feet.  Instead of tearing her down, as she feared he would do, he had helped her to become strong and confident.  He believed that she could rule by his side.

If she could survive the realms, Hades, a false god, and deranged servants, then she could certainly destroy the world when it was time.  She wasn’t afraid of her destiny anymore, nor was she afraid of ruling Hell.

She sat up and looked at the roaring fire in the fireplace.  “You said that I could decide Aganon’s fate.  I’ve made my choice,” she hesitated, knowing that she was about to start a fight.

“Let me guess, you don’t want him killed?” Lucifer wasn’t sure how he knew what she was going to say, but he knew nonetheless.

“No, I don’t.  He was in a trance, of that I’m sure.  He didn’t react at all to what he did.  Caleb would have danced on my corpse.  Aganon struck me with his sword and then walked away as if he was going to go grab some pizza.  I have no idea why he would do something like that.  I’ve never said or done anything nasty to him.  He was obviously working for someone else,” gauging Lucifer’s reaction; she suddenly had a feeling that he knew the reason for the attack.

“I agree.  He did not work alone, though I fear he might try to harm you again,” Lucifer took her face in his hands.

“You said that you gave me power over your servants.  That should be enough.  You didn’t kill Hades after he nearly took my head and he deserved it.  Let me deal with Aganon,” she smiled brightly.

Lucifer nodded his head and thought about all the ways Anjali would make the boy scream.  He grew hard at the thought, but didn’t want to scare her with his insatiable lust for her.

“Speaking of Hades, how did your talk go?” Lucifer asked, imagining her punching Hades in the face.  He needed to stop thinking of her hurting people; otherwise, he was going to have to take her right there on the rug.

A knock at the door drew Lucifer’s ire.  He rose to kill whoever was stupid enough to disturb them. He waved his hand and dressed them both before opening the door.

Anjali heard murmuring, but wasn’t sure what was going on.

Lucifer sighed and closed the door.  “Mark is here.  There are problems that need my attention, of course,” Lucifer smirked as he watched her walk up to him.  Seeing her covered up excited him.  He wanted to remove her clothes and start all over again.  He definitely preferred spending more time with her on the rug than dealing with the Council’s bullshit.  Mark could wait for a while.

“Oh, Mark,” Anjali replied, acknowledging the name.  She realized her faux pas immediately.

“You know Mark?  How?” Lucifer glared at her, afraid he had been deceived by her after all.  There was no reason for her to know his pansy ass brother.

Anjali hesitated and shifted nervously. “You’ll kill him if I tell you,” she whispered.  She was suddenly afraid for herself and Mark.

“Wouldn’t be the first time I tried to kill him.  Tell me,” Lucifer braced himself for the worst.

“You tried to kill him?  Why would you do something like that?  He seems like a nice angel and he mentioned that he was friends with Gabriel.  No wonder he was scared when I saw him.  Who is he exactly and what did you do?” she wasn’t shocked by the revelation that Lucifer had tried to kill an angel, but knew there was more to it by the way he answered her so matter-of-factly.

Lucifer regretted his admission immediately.  He hated having to confess to her.  He knew there would come a point when she stopped forgiving him for his evil deeds.  “You tell me how you know him and I will tell you what happened,” Lucifer hoped that her confession was worse than his, so that he’d have a good reason not to explain what he did.

“He saw me in the Hall of Winds and told me that Gabriel was my real father and that he wanted to see me.  That’s it.  I know he was afraid that you would kill him for speaking to me.  Now I understand why.  You and Gabriel have already worked things out, so I see no point in being mad at Mark.  What did you do to him?” she glared at him.

“He is my liaison to the Council.  He tried to deliver a message from Gabriel and I burned him alive,” Lucifer said as succinctly as possible to avoid any arguments.  He had a feeling that she would take issue with his treatment of Mark.

“You did what?  You burned him alive all because Gabriel was sending you a message?” for the first time she looked at him with outrage.

Lucifer faltered.  “And I bit him,” he felt compelled to add that minor detail since it would come out eventually.  “I was afraid that Gabriel had pled his case to Father and that Father would order me to release you to Gabriel.  I couldn’t allow that.  I knew Gabriel would be in a vengeful mood when I stole you.  I did everything I could to avoid him and his message.  I never gave Mark the chance to speak.  I tortured him in the Realm of Fire, after kicking the shit out him.  I’m not proud of what I did, but I couldn’t let him take you.  The Council, which your father is a member of, came here and sentenced me for my crime.  They punished me by sending me to the Realm of Fire and then left,” Lucifer hoped to ease her anger by letting her know that he was already punished for his actions, but he was smart enough not to tell her that he didn’t mind standing in the fire.

“Did you apologize to Mark?  That was a horrible thing to do, even if it was because you didn’t want to face Gabriel’s wrath.  You punished an innocent angel all because you did something wrong.  How could you, oh, don’t answer that, I know how, but still, you need to apologize, especially if you have to deal with him on a daily basis,” she certainly needed to help Lucifer even more than she thought.  She needed to be his conscience.

“Actually, I think it’s best that you deal with him.  I have a feeling he would prefer your gentle approach to things.  I still want to take his wings off, which I won’t apologize for.  The Council decided that he broke the rules and it was his fault for interfering where he shouldn’t,” Lucifer knew his reasoning sounded childish, even though it had sounded amazing when he said it to the Council.

“Very well, I will deal with Mark going forward, but you are going to apologize to him.  Punch him in the arm and tell him you won’t skin him alive, or whatever you prefer,” she sighed and shook her head.  “I assume he’s waiting for you.”

Lucifer nodded and then chuckled at the way she took command.  He did appreciate her version of an apology.  He figured the best way to apologize to Mark would be to assign Anjali to handle the Council’s complaints. She would be more level-headed and might actually care what the Council had to say.  It would be far safer for Anjali to deal with Mark.

Mark watched Lucifer stride through the Hall of Mirrors while Anjali trailed behind him.  He kept a close eye on her to gauge her mood.  It was a good sign that she was smiling and not in tears.

“Mark, this is Lady Black.  Call her by her given name and I will remove your jaw.  You will deal with her henceforth,” Lucifer quickly walked past Mark.  He nearly gagged, but he managed to form the apology in his mind.  “Sorry about the wing, I shouldn’t have bitten or burned you,” Lucifer spoke loudly so that it would echo off the mirrors.  He quickly entered the rotunda and forgot about Mark.

Mark was at a loss as he watched Lucifer rush past him.  For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating.

“It’s his version of an apology.  Go with it.  It’s the best you’re going to get,” Anjali shrugged, taking in Mark’s bewildered expression.

Mark regained his composure and turned to look at Anjali.  He knew she had to be responsible for Lucifer’s apology and was grateful, though stunned.  Lucifer never apologized for anything.  He thought about Lucifer’s warning about calling Anjali by her given name.  He quickly committed her new name to memory.

He bowed as a sign of respect and watched her ascend the dais and sit in an impressive and intimidating chair.  While he was relieved that Lucifer had decided to honor the contract, he was not sure if Lady Black would be happy on the throne.  She looked too young and fragile to sit next to the two tyrants.

“My Lady, I am glad to see that you have accepted the throne.  I hope you are able to adjust to it.  I’m told that Tabbris always had a difficult time dealing with Lucifer and Hades.  I know you will fare better than him,” Mark tipped his head graciously and smiled at her.

“Thank you, Mark.  How can I help you?” Anjali watched the shiny angel with curiosity.  She tried to imagine Lucifer wearing a sparkling white suit like Mark.  She decided that she preferred his badass leather outfit.

“Lord Gabriel asked me to check on you.  He is concerned about you, but did not want to offend Lucifer by coming here himself,” Mark watched a smile appear on her face at the mention of her father.  She looked very different from when he last saw her.  She seemed more confident and happier, if that were possible.

“Yes, I’m doing fine, but I was hoping to tell him myself.  I am granting him access to the Hall of Mirrors, so that he can visit any time.  Also, since you are our liaison, you too may enter directly into the hall when needed or called upon.  If you need to see Lucifer or Hades, come here first and one of the servants will escort you.  Please don’t abuse this privilege; otherwise, Lucifer will be angry.  Even though he apologized for what happened, he isn’t actually sorry.  I think you know that,” Anjali said as she shifted in her seat.

“I appreciate that, my Lady,” Mark bowed and then stopped himself.  He was embarrassed when he realized he could see her undergarments under the scandalous dress, despite her legs being crossed.  Flustered, he looked away and adjusted his suit jacket.

Mark waited to speak until she adjusted her dress, which had ridden up her thighs.  He averted his eyes until she fixed the problem.  The dress left little to the imagination, though he vehemently ignored his imagination.

Anjali was embarrassed by her wardrobe issue, but she decided to ignore it.  She had agreed to the dress, so she was stuck with it and its problems.  Though it did confirm one thing for her, Mark was most likely gay, which would make things easier when it came to Lucifer’s jealousy.

Mark recovered and smiled at her.  “Thank you for the access to the hall and for accepting the responsibility of being my primary contact.  I hope that you and I can accomplish much and I look forward to working with you.  I know your role as the Bringer of the Apocalypse is a difficult one, so allow me to offer you my assistance when needed.  It seems that you still do not have your memories of Heaven.  We knew each other back then, though admittedly, not very well.  I am glad I have the opportunity to change that,” Mark noticed the differences between the girl he remembered and the woman sitting before him.

“I wish I could remember you and the other angels.  I can’t remember what it was like living in Heaven,” Anjali smiled politely.

“I am sure you will remember someday, my Lady,” Mark said encouragingly.

“I want to thank you for helping me find Gabriel.  I know it was dangerous for you to help me and I appreciate what you did,” Anjali nodded to him and rose from her throne.

“I owe Lord Gabriel much.  He is my closest friend.  I would do no less than help him and his daughter.  If I may, why not go to him?  I think you know the place,” Mark smiled as he watched her ponder his meaning.

“That’s right, I can leave.  Holy shit, I can leave,” she paused when she realized that she had sworn in front of a Heavenly Angel.  “Sorry, Mark.  Yes, I want to meet Gabriel in the Mortal Realm,” Anjali was shaking at the thought of breaking out of Hell.  She had wanted to leave for so long she couldn’t believe she was still standing in in Hell.

She stepped off the dais and looked around, trying to figure out what to do.  She had never asked Lucifer how to get into the Mortal Realm.  She knew she could go through the Hall of Winds, but didn’t want to look like an idiot when she couldn’t figure out what to do.  She looked to Mark for help.

Mark chuckled at her reaction.  “Allow me to help you.  Picture in your mind the place where you want to go and hold that image,” Mark instructed.

“Please don’t tell me to click my heels and say, ‘there’s no place like home’,” she said dryly.

Mark chuckled.  “No, Dorothy, besides, you aren’t headed to Kansas.  Do you know where to go?”

“Yes, I do,” she nodded and she pictured the only place in the world she wanted to see.

“Keep the picture in your mind and walk toward it.  It will feel like you are pushing yourself through thick air.  It will be dark for a split second and then you will arrive at your destination.  It’s easier if you are already walking forward,” Mark extended his arm, implying that she should walk through the hall.

She was nervous, but followed Mark’s advice.  She walked to the end of the hall and thought about the location.  It was a strange way to travel, but it wasn’t unpleasant.  One minute she was standing in Hell, the next she was being blinded by the sunlight after living in darkness for so long.  Once her eyes adjusted, she was overjoyed by what she saw.  The view from the Preikestolen was even more amazing than she’d imagined.  Seeing it someday was the one thought that had given her hope throughout everything.  She knew that just being there would bring her peace.

She raised her face to the sunlight and relished the feeling of the warm rays on her skin.  The chilly breeze removed the stale scent of death and smoke from her nose.  She breathed in the salty air and giggled.  All that was missing was CJ.

“You made it,” said a familiar voice behind her.

“You left me a pretty good road map,” Anjali looked out over the water.

Despite the extreme elevation, she wasn’t afraid to walk to the edge.  The cliff was so high up, it felt like she could reach out and touch the clouds.  Far below the cliff was the river that cut through the land and divided the small green mountains on the other side, just like the photo Uncle Bob had given her.  The area was breathtaking and inspirational.

“This is my favorite place in the Mortal Realm.  I wish we could have journeyed here together.  There was so much that I wanted to tell you.  I’m so sorry that I never told who you were.  I always thought we would have more time,” Gabriel sighed.  He walked up and stood next to her.

“Uncle Bob once told me that this area was created by an Ice Age.  Why do I get the feeling that I was the one responsible for creating it?  Why would you come here to be reminded of my mistakes?” Anjali turned to look at him.

“It reminds me that beauty can come from chaos and destruction.  Without the Ice Age, this area would not be as unique and breathtaking.  It’s proof that something good will come from you releasing your power.  It gives me the strength to do what must be done to protect you.  Besides, I feel closer to you when I’m here,” Gabriel put his hand on her shoulder.  “How are you feeling?  You look well.”

“I’m okay.  I’m healed.  I’m just glad that we got the chance to see this together, even though it took a little longer than expected,” Anjali sighed.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t want to see me,” Gabriel sighed and let go of her shoulder to turn away from her.  After agreeing to Lucifer’s request to make her a blood servant, he feared she would hate him.

“Gabriel, you are one of the few people who have ever mattered in my life.  I love you.  That hasn’t changed.  I’m not about to turn my back on you now that I know the truth,” Anjali turned Gabriel around and hugged him.  “I know that you gave your consent to Lucifer to save me.  I don’t want to be his blood servant, but I’m not ready for my life to be over yet.  I know that you’ve made a lot of difficult decisions to protect me.  Even though I may not agree with all of them, I don’t fault you for doing what you felt you had to do.  You did what was necessary to keep me safe.  Thank you for always taking care of me.”

Gabriel felt whole again as he hugged his daughter.  He knew that he needed to let her experience life on her own, but swore he would be there if she ever needed him.

“Thank you for your understanding.  Is Lucifer treating you well?  He promised me he would keep you safe.  Do you know when he will perform the ritual so that you can transcend this mortal form and truly become an immortal?  You will need your memories if you are to fulfill your destiny,” Gabriel asked, hoping that his trust in Lucifer wasn’t misplaced.

“Yes, father, Lucifer is kind to me.  I care about him and I know he loves me.  I don’t know when he will perform the ritual.  He said that this form adds an extra layer of protection.  I think I want to keep that in place, at least for now.  I think it’s safer until I can learn more about who I am and how to control myself,” she said, looking out over the cliff.  As gorgeous as the landscape was, she didn’t want to create more towering cliffs with her power.

“It will be dangerous without your memories.  I beg you not to let it go on for too long,” he tried very hard not to tell her what to do.  It was time for her to make her own decisions.  “I’m glad he is kind to you.  Promise me that if he ever harms you, you will make him will regret it.”

“Yes, father, I promise.  I’ve already put Hades in his place twice,” she nodded her head.  She fidgeted with her dress, not wanting to discuss the possibility of hurting Lucifer.  “Thank you for my necklace, I thought I lost it.  It’s the only possession that I have from my old life.  I’ve been meaning to ask, how are my parents, Henry and Elise?  I know my death was rough on you, I’m sure they are having a hard time with it.”

“My darling, time passes very differently in Hell, especially for the prisoners in the realms.  You have been gone for over two and a half years,” Gabriel saw the shock on her face as she processed the implication.

“Geez, that’s a long time.  Well, I’m glad that they’ve had time to deal with everything.  I guess going home is out of the question,” she hung her head, knowing she couldn’t go back to that life, even if she wanted to.  She wanted to ask about CJ, but given Gabriel’s reaction last time, she thought better of it.

“I would suggest that you avoid going home, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be a part of the world.  You have an enormous task ahead of you.  I am here to guide you as your father, but I am not meant to tell you what to do.  Our paths are very different, but you will have help.  Father didn’t leave you without those to assist you,” Gabriel hated bringing up the subject, but he knew Lucifer would never tell her.  Aside from Lucifer not wanting her to unleash her full power, he just plain hated the Predznak.

“What do you mean?  Why do I need help?” she was confused by Gabriel’s statement.

“Father created powerful angels called, the Predznak.  They are Harbingers, or Heralds, that will warn the mortals of your coming.  Many consider them the Angels of the Apocalypse, or the Angels of Temptation, and they will help you destroy the world.  You have the power to lay waste to all you see.  A Predznak’s power is different from yours.  They are the physical embodiment of some of the worst kinds of sins.  They use their power to tempt the mortals and gauge their reaction to the sins.  Too many mortals live bland existences.  They are neither good nor evil, and ended up in Purgatory.  The Predznak use their power to force the mortals to choose a side, good or bad, saint, or sinner.  During an Apocalypse, there is no Purgatory; the mortals must choose the path of good or evil.  You will guide the Predznak and determine how far humanity has fallen from grace, so that you will know when it is time to bring about the end of days.  You were created to be their Master and command them.  You need to keep them from falling too far into darkness and in return, they will strengthen your power and do your will.  Right now, they can only tempt a few mortals at a time, but when they join with you, they will have the ability to tempt on an epic scale.  All of the mortals will be forced to choose Heaven or Hell once the collective power of the Predznak is unleashed, while you tear apart the world around them.

“Where are the Predznak now?” as if destroying the world wasn’t bad enough.  How was she supposed to be the Master to a bunch of angels that were the embodiment of sin?  She knew nothing about commanding people.