To Reign in Hell: A Novel (16 page)

“It was horrible at first. Yaweh, Raphael, Michael, and I were
with her nearly every minute after the Second Wave. She tried to destroy herself once. Lucifer stopped her.”

“So I’ve heard spoken, milord.”

They walked a little further.

“Milord?”

“Yes, Beelzebub?”

“It hath been said that thou and she were . . . close, on a time.”

Satan smiled. “That was long ago, Beelzebub. Before the Second Wave. We didn’t know what we were doing, then, if you know what I mean.”

“Aye, milord.”

Nearly exhausted, glistening with sweat, thinner, flushed and drawn, Lilith collapsed inside the cavern. Sounds filled the chamber, as of thousands of angels breathing in perfect unison. It was at the end of a tunnel, massive, yet twisted and convoluted, which burrowed down into the mountain.

There was not the least trace of light.

She lay on her back and tried not to close her eyes. She had come so far, so fast. It would be horrible to fall asleep here and be just that much too late. On the other hand, she thought, her face twisting into a mockery of a smile, it would almost be worse if none of this turned out to be necessary.

Lilith had paced herself during the run, so she was not completely exhausted—quite. She rolled over on her stomach, then fought her way to her hands and knees.

She held herself there until her breathing settled, then grasped a ledge in front of her that she’d felt before falling. She hauled herself painfully to her feet.

From inside her shirt, she removed a small stone that Asmodai had given her. As she brought it forth, a faint glow began within it. Faint as it was, it allowed her to see her surroundings. The chamber was even larger than she had imagined it. The ceiling was far beyond the range of her small light, but extended at least to many times her
height. The walls appeared dark grey and rocky and uneven. Yet the floor of the cavern was strangely smooth.

Her eyes were drawn toward the source of the sounds of breathing. She couldn’t quite make out anything, so she haltingly stumbled forward.

After ten paces, she saw the massive object before her—twice her own height in length, half of that in breadth. After another five, she realized that this was only his head.

Her hand began to shake harder, from reasons having nothing to do with exhaustion.

She whispered, almost soundlessly, “Belial.”

“Good day, Michael.”

“Wha—?”

Michael spun and saw Mephistopheles, hands on his hips and smiling, about four paces away.

“How long have you been behind me?”

“Most of the day. I would have spoken sooner, but you kept moving faster. I’d have thought you were trying to get away from me if you’d ever looked back.”

“I see,” said Michael. He’d been marching with his great sword resting on his shoulder. Now he gripped it with both hands and swung it as he advanced, stopping with the blade a hair’s breadth from the other’s chest. Someone with keener eyesight than Michael’s might have noticed Mephistopheles’s face going the least bit pale.

“Does this gesture mean something, Lord Michael?”

“Why have you been following me, dark one?”

“To catch you. It
is
necessary, you know.”

“You could have hailed me.”

“I did.”

“From farther back!”

“I dislike shouting.”

Michael bit his lips. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, we seem to be going in the same direction, and I prefer to
walk with company. If you’re of like mind, we can solve this problem for each other without discommoding ourselves.”

“My business is my own.”

“Of course. I assure you, I have not the least interest in why you pursue the Lord Satan.”

“How did you know?”

“Why, Lord Michael, you just told me yourself. But it doesn’t concern me. I’m here to visit Leviathan. We’re friends.”

“You have friends?”

“Tsk, Michael. Don’t be nasty. Would you mind pointing that somewhere else, by the way?”

“Yes.”

“Suit yourself. Shall we be going?”

“Why do you think I’ll go anywhere with you, dark one?”

“Because if you don’t, you’ll have to destroy me, which you can’t justify to yourself, or allow me to follow you, which you wouldn’t like at all.”

“I could have you walk in front of me.”

“That will be fine. Although, to think of it, Leviathan might be vexed with you.”

Michael spat and lowered his blade. “Walk to my left, and stay at least two paces off.”

“Certainly.” Mephistopheles began whistling tunelessly between his teeth.

“And don’t do that,” added Michael.

“Who’s there?”

“Hello, Harut. It’s me.”

“Well, Lord Satan. Glad you came. The lady, she’s been asking about you.”

“Where is she?”

“Swimming,” said Harut dryly.

Satan and Beelzebub approached the water’s edge. They stood there for several moments before, far out to sea, they saw a long, thin neck with a powerful head break the surface. It scanned the shoreline,
and her eyes came to rest upon them. They felt her gaze almost as a physical blow.

The head dived and, almost at once it seemed, reappeared directly in front of them.

“Satan,” she said, affection coming through her rich, thick voice.

He bowed deeply. “Greetings, lady. I’m told you wanted to see me; I’m here.”

Her great head nodded. “Who is this, though? This must be Beelzebub, whom Harut and . . . and others have spoken of.”

Beelzebub inclined his head until his nose touched the ground. “I do greet thee, lady,” he said. “In all I have heard of thee there is no ill.”

A sound that was probably chuckling came from her as she nodded slightly in acknowledgement.

“Well, what can I do for you, Leviathan?”

She closed her eyes, then opened them and spoke: “I want to know everything that led up to the loss of my friend, Ariel. Everything you know or guess. From the beginning. I ask this as a favor, relying on old friendships which, I know, are falling apart all around. But, please, tell me.”

“And tell me, too, if you would.”

They spun. Asmodai had spoken, and Lucifer was standing next to him.

Leviathan stared at the newcomers, and took in Beelzebub and Satan, who faced them in an attitude of alert anticipation, as if they were expecting an attack.

“Lucifer,” she said, “I withhold my greeting until I know why you are here. You are in my Regency now, and the Lord Satan is my guest. If you mean any ill toward him, you should leave.”

Lucifer bowed. “I mean no ill toward my friend Satan, and I hope I may continue to call him that. I understand why he may think otherwise, but I pledge that this is not the case. I, too, have a story to tell that may have some bearing. I ask only that you listen.”

“And I,” said Asmodai, “ask that you don’t.”

“What?” said the others as one voice.

He turned toward Lucifer. “You aren’t thinking. We don’t have time for this; they’ll be here soon.”

“Who will?” said Leviathan, raising her head higher and looking past them.

“I don’t know exactly, but—well, I think I’d better tell you this much of the story. If we have time.”

Asmodai began speaking, closing his eyes often to remember details. For as much as he was going to tell now, it was important that he got it right.

She screamed it, finally. For ten minutes that had felt like an eternity, she had been saying it in gradually louder tones. Finally, she threw her head back and screamed at the top of her lungs.

“BELIAL! AWAKE!”

By some ancient property of the chamber, no doubt left from the Third Wave, her voice seemed to come back to her from the walls. She thought that nothing would happen, but then the great beast stirred. A tremor seemed to move down the length of its body—or as much of its body as she could see.

After a moment, one great eye opened. She had the sudden feeling that she could walk into the pupil and be lost.

He saw her, suddenly. His voice came as a low, rumbling sound, as if from out of the ground: “Who?”

Lilith felt ridiculous. “I’m Lilith,” she said.

“Who?” he repeated.

“I’m a friend of the Lord Satan, who needs your help, and the Lord Lucifer, who sent me.”

His eye closed again, then opened.

“What?” came the great voice.

“They need your help. Please.”

“Where?”

“The Western Regency,” she said. “And hurry, please! They are in danger.”

She would never, in all of her existence, have believed that he could move so quickly. Suddenly he was up, two massive legs supporting him. He looked down at her for a moment, then his great head
lowered. At first she thought that he was going to destroy her. Then she thought he was bowing.

But his head came down next to her until it touched the ground.

“Get on,” he said.

Trembling, she did.

Zaphkiel reported, “I saw five angels by the water, lord. I don’t think they saw me.”

“Describe the terrain.”

“There is a path,” said Zaphkiel, “that begins about two leagues from here. It is narrow at first; then, after half a league, it expands to a width such that ten may walk abreast. Then, after another league it opens up into a cleft that is perhaps three leagues deep and two wide. There, all is flat, and there I saw Leviathan, Beelzebub, and three others, all speaking together. If we emerge there, they will see us at once.”

“Are there any other features to the cleft?”

“There is a narrow path on the other side, wide enough for three, that goes for two leagues and opens out onto a large plain. This plain is hidden from the cleft itself.”

Abdiel contemplated. “Not wide enough,” he said.

Abdiel motioned Zaphkiel back, then turned to the angels behind him and motioned them to gather round. As they did so, he desperately tried to figure out what to do.

“All right,” he said at last, “you ten in front. If you see the Lord Satan, point him out to,” he motioned again, “you ten. You’ll have the chain.” There were clinking sounds as the chain was passed. “Get him manacled. The rest of you, ah, make sure no one interferes. If the Lord Satan isn’t there,” he added, “don’t do anything. I’ll explain.”

Without giving them time to think about his plan, he held his sword up, and brought it sweeping down. Somewhat to his surprise, the two hundred Thrones ran past him, yelling at the top of their lungs.

“Odd,” he told himself. “I wouldn’t do that.”

As the last of them passed, he fell in and brought up the rear.

“Kyriel?”

“Hummm?”

“Does the Lord Yaweh seem—different?”

“Different how?”

“I’m not sure. But he seems to have changed, somehow.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“He seems to be more, well, active. I’m not sure that’s the right word.”

“Nervous?”

“Maybe that’s it.”

“The way he keeps pacing back and forth?”

“Yeah.”

“Or grabbing those papers and looking through them?”

“Yeah.”

“Or demanding to see Raphael, and talking to her for two minutes, then forgetting about her and starting something else?”

“That’s right.”

“I hadn’t noticed.”

“Huh.”

Then, “You know, Kyriel?”

“Vaguely.”

“Shut up. You know, I’m getting worried.”

“Me too.”

“I’m starting to think about what you said, way back, about running off somewhere.”

“What about it?”

“Well, if someone showed up, like Lord Asmodai, well, I wouldn’t let him attack Lord Yaweh, but I wouldn’t feel good about attacking him, either.”

“Well . . . neither would I.”

“So what do we do about it?”

“Things can’t last like this.”

“I guess not. But what if they do?”

“Hmmmm. Ask me again in a few days.”

“I will.”

Too many sensations. Her eyes flickered from the mountains, rivers, and plains below her—those tiny figures were angels?—to Belial’s mighty wings at her sides. The motions, like walking into a heavy wind, but more, and the feeling of Belial churning beneath her, almost like a lover. His hard, cool scales against her hands; biting wind against her cheeks.

The sound of the air in her ears; Belial’s musky odor. Fear and exhilaration. Joy, and—

Below her, a new sight. She wondered if she had come too late.

“What’s that?”

Asmodai, interrupted by Lucifer’s exclamation, stopped and looked. He didn’t see anything, but he began to hear something like shouts in the distance.

Leviathan raised her head. “Angels,” she said. “More than a hundred. They’re heading this way and waving sticks. Metal sticks, I think. Odd.”

Satan turned, his hand going to the emerald at his breast. Beelzebub rose and stood next to him. Asmodai stood with his hands behind his back, inside his cloak, fumbling at something. Lucifer drew the wand from his side.

The Thrones came into view around a rocky structure several hundred paces away. They kept appearing for quite a while, yelling and waving their swords over their heads.

“More like two hundred,” observed Lucifer.