by Dahlia Lu
Lucifer stood up and offered his hand to her, leading her toward the large rectangular mirror against the wall.
“Your youth and beauty is the most important thing to you?” he asked.
When Hana looked at her reflection, she gasped. An astonished smile bloomed on her face. She came closer to the mirror to take a better look at her reflection. Her youth had returned and her skin had never been so perfect. She was even more beautiful than in her memories. She looked down at her pale and youthful hands, her full breasts, flawless legs, and burst into joyous laughter.
“Yes!” she admitted. “Yes!”
“A brief twenty years reversal is worth everything in your possession?”
“If you give me what you have given Kali, just a drop of your blood, it won’t just be twenty years. It’ll be for all time.” She turned to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ll be your servant, your mistress, even your slave. I will pledge my loyalty to you and do whatever it is that you command. I want to stay this way forever!”
When she leaned in to kiss him, he disappeared from her arms. She stood confused until he reappeared at his mahogany desk. He sat down and resumed what he was doing before she arrived.
“I must regretfully decline,” he repeated his decision.
Hana looked back at the mirror and all of the illusions were gone. She was staring at the face of a thirty-five year old woman again. The palms of hands tapped on the mirror as if she wanted to catch the image she was shown earlier.
“Why?” she asked hysterically. “Why won’t you accept my proposal? You did it for Kali, why not me? I can give you everything she promised and more!”
“There is nothing I want from you,” Lucifer said.
“Then why did you give such a gift to Kali?”
“I do not need to explain myself or any of my actions,” he said with growing impatience. Her heart quivered at the tone of his voice, and without what she came for, she left the study. The door closed and locked behind her.
She stood outside the door, trying to calm her rapid breathing. She didn’t know why she was so afraid of him or why she left the room without a fight. She had nothing to lose. Her body just moved by itself. If she had fought him to the end, she would have been able to keep some of her dignity. She felt utterly rejected and humiliated.
†††††
"Do not take my words so lightly.”
His voice startled her. Kali quickly hung up the phone and turned around to face him. Her face was flustered from being caught and her mind raced to find an explanation, but nothing seemed plausible. He already knew who she was calling.
"I suggest that you do not test my patience.”
"He deserved to know that I’m safe for the time being,” she quickly replied. "I tried to tell him not to do anything rash and risk angering you.”
"Are you afraid of what I might do to him?"
"There’s more than just his well-being at stake, but yes, I’m concerned,” she admitted.
"I assure you that everything will be as it is as long as you remain in my protection,” he bent down and inched closer until their lips almost met. His eyes stared into hers, as if he were searching her very soul. "You will listen to me just this once, if never again.”
She turned her head to side to create more distance between their lips. His hand lifted her chin and guided it to where he wanted it to be. He closed the gap between their lips and gently stroked her hair.
She jerked herself away from him. "You will not seduce me, Lucifer!"
"You never had faith in yourself,” he said. "Has it ever occurred to you that you are the one seducing me?”
"I'm not listening to this,” she used all of her strength to push him away, but her efforts were in vain. "Lucifer, let me go!"
"If it were within my powers to release you, I would have done so.” His other arm wrapped around her waist. "I deserve it, I suppose. I should have let you die the first moment we met. I should have never granted you another life so that you could have a chance to gain control over me. When I had come to realize this, it was too late to change. If I had ever made a miscalculation, I will admit to this one.”
She responded with a confused look. That confused look was filled with tears when she realized who he was talking about.
"Regardless of being willing or not, it was only fair that you would remain by my side in return. That won't change, and it will never change. I will continue to use force to keep it that way, because that is the least you owe me.”
"Have you been living with these thoughts, Lucifer?” Her little hands reached for his face. "I only stayed with you because you forced me to? Lucifer, how long have you been living with these thoughts?"
"Should I have thought any other way?"
His answer came at her like a sharp knife. She felt ashamed that she had boasted so proudly to Arvin about their love when, in truth, it must not have existed. She was never honest with her feelings. She thought he would naturally know through all of the years they had been together. She had been wrong. She had been very wrong.
"You can never force me, because I never feared you. I stayed by your side by my own free will, I had our child by my own free will, and I loved you by my own free will. Why couldn't you have felt it? My heart, my mind, my very soul were filled with nothing but thoughts of you. I lived for you; I would die for you! Why didn't you know how much I loved you? Lucifer, have you been alone all these time?” She elevated herself up to kiss him. It was the first time she had initiated a kiss, perhaps. She couldn't remember. Right now, nothing really mattered.
He kissed her back with such familiarity that she didn't notice being carried until her body was gently placed on the soft linens of the bed. When they broke the kiss, she could do nothing but stare into the depth of his lucid blue eyes. Her eyes traced the outline of his face almost obsessively, and she could think of nothing more perfect.
He was made perfectly.
But he was not perfect. He was not perfect in the sense that he could only feel limited emotions, but what he did feel was many times more intense. She did not know everything he could and could not feel, but that didn’t matter now.
She felt her senses become numb with his scent, as if she were injected with the most poisonous of venom. A warm wave followed, euphoric and not of this world. It had become an addiction she was not willing to let go.
†††††
Maybe he should have said something before he just disappeared. He didn't know what gave him such a feeling of urgency to be running here, to this specific location. He supposed that was the feeling of being summoned, but why, and by whom?
He could sense the presence of those just like him all around. There were many of them, more than his senses could locate. They were hiding, but it was quite unnecessary. They knew he knew.
"Why have you summoned me?” he demanded in a tone that so closely resembled his father‘s that the presences receded away from him. Only one in particular was very close to him.
"Come out, I know you’re there!"
When Trent turned around, he was there. He stood several meter away under a black cloak, quiet and reserved.
"I know you.” It was Trent's first impression. He took a moment to think it through. "Or at least, I think I do.”
"I am Arvin,” he introduced himself, and took a step forward. "And you do know me, at least biologically.”
"What do you want from me?"
"I supposed you want to get straight to the point. Very well, then," Arvin nodded, "I have something that you want, and you have something that I want.”
"What do you have that I could possibly want?"
With a snap of his fingers, two of his henchmen appeared. They had his mother in custody, at least her flesh.
"She can be your mother again,” Arvin said. "For Lucifer, it would be an easy task. That will be entirely up to you.”
"What it is that you want in return?"
"I want your other half.”
&nb
sp; Trent placed a hand over his chest. "My other half? Why?"
"If we demons have a soul, that would be the closest thing to it.”
This confused him even more. "Why do you want my brother? It can't be done, it is impossible!"
"Said Lucifer. He could be wrong, you know.”
"I would rather trust Lucifer,” he turned away.
"I refuse," he muttered to himself, "I don't care what you decide, I refuse!"
Arvin grinned.
"We may not get along and we have to share this body, but you are still my brother! I cannot allow it! She will learn of this and she will hate me. You are as much her son as I. Brother! Brother!" He was forced to close his eyes. When he opened them again, he turned back to Arvin.
"You are the stronger of the two,” Arvin complimented the instinct. "You are Lucifer's child in spirit.”
"Will separating us cause him harm?"
"Your brother will live, if that is what you mean. Death is not an option for us, with or without an instinct.”
"My father has told me such a task would be impossible. How will you go about it?"
"Not if the instinct is willing to leave its host. Most of the time, that itself is the impossible task.”
"If I am willing, what are you planning to do with me?"
"I hope you understand the complications of leaving your host, being young as you are. Nevertheless, I believe you are strong enough to survive it.”
"Who will be my new host?"
"That is a good question. I have thought about it for over thirteen years. Do you know how a true demon is born? Of course, you do not know. The fruit of a union was extremely rare to conceive, and even more unlikely to ever hatch.”
"Hatch?"
"Not live birth like your brother. I suppose that is because he has a human for a mother. Then it came to me, out of the many eggs that never hatched, perhaps one can be your host. I searched high and low, until I found one.” He revealed a large, clear egg from under his cloak. "Is she not perfect?"
"She?"
"You mustn't worry about the gender of your new host. An instinct is neither gender, molded to the image of the host. I found her, so then came the hard part. I needed a plan to persuade you to willingly leave your body.”
"You did all of this just for me. Why?"
"I have lost faith in Lucifer. He has abandoned his own kind for that woman. If I still have faith in anything, it is you. Once you enter a new host, your memories will be wiped. I will reshape you to who Lucifer once was.”
"Why? Why won’t you just let us be? Why not claim the throne of Hell for yourself? Even if you did lose most of your powers, your rank among the demon-"
"You will never begin to comprehend!" Arvin snapped at him. His temper quickly subsided. “No, you will understand. You, of the same blood and spirit as Lucifer, will be able to understand. I am sure of it.”
"Understand what?"
"Lucifer robbed us of the only thing that justified our existence. He knew that! Without it, our eternal existence would be, as humans would say, Hell.”
"What it is that is so important?"
"Humans have chased after it all their lives, the meaning of life, the reason for their existence. That is one thing that we have in common. What does that have to do with anything, you ask? We followed him to the depths of Hell for the sole purpose of serving him. For us, he was the center of our world. If you ask why our kind despised your mother, the answer is quite simple. She robbed us of our master, my brother, and most importantly, a purpose for our eternal life. We have nothing to live for, but we are forced to endure this torture of so-called ‘Hell’ by the humans forever! Do you think that is fair?"
Arvin circled Trent. "From the look on your face, I can see that you are beginning to understand. You too, have a purpose to serve. The urges are often too strong for one as young as you to resist. That is why I know you would be willing.”
"Tell me what I must do.”
Chapter 17: Secrets of the Demons
Grant sat nervously on the steps of the church. He had begged her to come, but that may be out of the question if that demon was keeping her captive. If she couldn’t make it out herself, he would have to go to her. He just had to try.
He bolted to his feet when he saw her approaching. "You came!" He hurried to her side and grabbed her shoulders. It was obvious that he hadn’t shaved in days. "You escaped! Did he do anything to you?"
"I told you over the phone that I was safe,” Kali assured him. "He would never do anything to harm me.”
"I can't possibly believe that.”
"You must believe it!" she pleaded. "Please stop this craziness. Tell the newspapers that it was all a hoax. There are no such things as demons! Please, Grant, you don't know what you're doing.”
"How can I not reveal to the world that such evil exists?” He shook his head. "No, you mustn't worry about that. I will help you, Fey, you know I will. Whatever he did to you can be undone. You weren't always this way, you said so yourself.”
"You're right, I wasn't always this way, but I can live with it.”
"You shouldn't have to!" He held her hand and led her into the church. "I know people who can help. They’ll help you, Fey.”
"No," She pulled her hand back before they entered the double doors. "I can’t enter this place. I don't need help, not anymore.”
"Trust me, Fey. It’s for your own good.” He grabbed her hand once again and pulled her inside. "You must trust me. I want to help you.”
"Let go of me,” she insisted, her attention distracted by her surroundings. "I shouldn't be here.”
"I know these people, they can help you.”
"I don't want to hurt you, so please let go of me.”
"Fey…”
She yanked her wrist from him and ran toward the doors. They were closed now, and locked from the outside. She turned back to face him.
"You don’t understand," she said, "you have to open these doors for me at once.”
He walked toward her and gently held her face in his hands. "Don't you want to be yourself again? The person you once were? I don't know what he did to you, but I ask you as a friend, please have faith in me.”
She peeked behind him and saw a circle of priests surrounding them. She swiftly turned around to force the doors open.
"Forgive me,” Grant said as he placed a chloroform-filled cloth over her nose and mouth. She lost consciousness in his arms.
She came back to consciousness so quickly that it shocked them. They had thought they had more time. She found herself chained from the neck to the ankles. There was an elderly priest chanting a strange language to her. From the corner of her eye, she could see Grant standing on top the stairs, his hand covering his face.
"Grant, tell them to let me go!" she demanded, her angry voice sending a sharp vibration throughout the room.
He purposefully ignored her.
The priest picked up a knife from his apprentice's tray and removed it from its sheath. She watched closely as he made an incision on her right wrist. He dipped his finger into the line of blood and drew a symbol on her forehead. As soon as he removed the knife, her wound healed instantly.
"Release me,” she made the same demand of the priest, who refused to look her in the eye. Something else distracted her. There was a familiar whirling noise just above the ceiling. She could hear very clearly an army of footsteps approaching. If her ears didn't deceive her, they were carrying heavy firearms. They stormed into the room and spared no time with introductions.
"Subject located. Initiating retrieval.”
When she woke again, she was in a laboratory. In addition to the chains, she was hooked up to a series of wires inside a crystal blue tank. She felt much drowsier than the last time. If she could remember correctly, they had shot her with multiple dart guns.
She could see the men in white coats on the other side of the tank, conversing in muffled tones. If she had been human, she wouldn't have been able to
hear what they said.
"...in addition to rapid regenerative ability, breathing is unnecessary. Functional respiration was probably installed for camouflage purposes to blend into our society. She was unresponsive to most drugs, and even if they proved effective, they wore off in a matter of minutes, hours at most. Her ability to adapt to her environment is phenomenal. "
"She is the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.”
"It could have been that her cells adapt her appearance for survival advantages. We do not know for sure. We need to do more tests.”
"Is she the same as the other specimen?"
"She shares 98.4% of her DNA with the other specimen in our research, but that is still a vast difference. We cannot confirm that they are even the same species, although their abilities are quite similar. It is quite possible that what we have studied all these years are subspecies of her kind.”
"What about her organs?"
"We haven't gotten that far, yet.”
"Prepare a dissection.”
"But, sir, she is far too precious of a specimen for an evasive surgery. For all we know, she may be the fountain of youth scientists have long searched for!"
"From what we understand, there are many like her. We need to know how to kill one. Perform the other necessary tests and then dismember her. I want to know all of their weaknesses. That's an order.”
The drowsy feelings came in waves. She caught a series of glimpses as her eyes blinked and she began to pass out. They were cautious about continually feeding her body with drugs as they probed her with foreign tools. Substituted for her fear of death, which she was no longer subject to, was an overwhelming rage. She felt an incomprehensible and uncontrollable lust for blood she had never felt before. She imagined how satisfying if would feel to rip these insignificant insects from limb to limb.
†††††
When he returned to consciousness, he found himself completely alone. It was a hollow feeling to which he was unaccustomed. He folded his right hand into fist and angrily pounded it against the ground.