The Dark God's Bride : Book 2

by Dahlia Lu

  “Consign her to me and I will call it even. I’ll forget half an eternity of pure torment. We’ll start on a clean slate. What do you say?”

  “Are you out of your mind?”

  “You have no idea…” Noctis said ruefully. “That woman… did something to me. I want her.”

  “Do not mistake passiveness for weakness, Summit. You will regret it.”

  “You? Passive?” Noctis throw his head back and laughed. “Since when?”

  “I have always been passive with you.”

  “Like when you threw me down an endless pit and sealed me in? I see what you mean.” Then he smiled. “If I’m willing to forgive that, don’t you think you should meet me halfway?”

  “No,” Lucifer said flatly. “Don’t ever mention it again.”

  “You’ve been asleep for what? Six thousand years? Maybe more? A lot has changed.”

  “Change is a part of life, Summit.”

  “You’ve taught me that. What about change of hearts, Lucifer? Is that also considered… natural? Do you expect a woman to wait for you that long and not be at least…” he lifted a brow and arrogantly waved a hand over his body, “tempted?”

  Noctis felt like his vendetta was already half finished just by look on the confused Lucifer’s face. His blue eyes were focusing inward, searching for the answer. It seemed that their relationship was not as solid as others had led him to believe.

  “I must confess, Lucifer. It started out as a ploy to get back at you, but somewhere along the line…”

  Lucifer lifted his eyes from his thoughts. The darks clouds formed in the sky above them, blocking out the twinkling stars.

  “…annoying feelings developed. This is very new to me and I’m not sure I like it very much. She tears my patience without an ounce of effort. She’s weak and frail and all too gullible. You are only as strong as your weakest link, or so they say. But despite all of that, I like having her around.” He relished the beast he was drawing out. He pressed a kiss on the ribbon tied to his wrist and then quickly added the final straw that would break the camel’s back, “Being male, I like other aspects of the relationship as well.”

  Noctis quickly dodged the expected black energy ball coming his way. It went passed him, taking with it a semi-circle six foot wide in diameter off the building’s ledge. A wolfish smirk expanded on his face. “That’s a declaration of war, Lucifer.”

  He released the energy he’d harnessed since Lucifer first appeared. The white flames ignited and exploded into a blanket of fire at his enemy. It engulfed Lucifer and the building he was standing on. When the screen of flame cleared up, Noctis discovered that Lucifer had summoned a barrier sphere around him. He didn’t even look slightly affected by it.

  The clouds began to rumble wrathfully. Dozens of lightning bolts descended from the sky. Noctis summoned his own barrier around himself. It filtered most of the damage, but he couldn’t escape electrocution. He absorbed the pain. Several different electrical currents were running through his body at the same time. Blue electrical charges were visible, appearing and disappearing on different part of his body.

  A crowd of spectators was gathering below. Gasps of intrigue quickly turned into screams of horror.

  He quickly shook off the confusion and leaped to another building to dodge another energy ball. When Lucifer decides to fight, he doesn’t mess around. Just how I like it, Noctis thought to himself. He attempted to freeze Lucifer were he stood. Lucifer shifted away. They chased one another from one building to another and between lightning bolts. A few seconds ahead, Noctis summoned his time trap.

  One step in and Lucifer sealed his own fate.

  “Stop!” A female voice screeched at him from below. “You’ve gotten it all wrong!”

  He let out an exasperated sigh before turning his attention to her. That moment of distraction cost him. A dark energy ball slammed him against the side of the building. It embedded him deep into the indented concrete. The building shook. Noctis struggled to get out of the mold the impact had created.

  His blue eyes flickered when he heard her scream.

  A chunk of the building was collapsing over her. His mortal closed her eyes shut and pushed her arms to the sky, as if her weak strength could hold up a ton of building. He shifted to her side and sheltered her from the falling debris. Like Atlas holding up the weight of the earth, Noctis was burdening the massive chunk of steel and concrete on his wide shoulders, preventing the massive slab from crushing her like an ant.

  At least an ant could hold up four times its own weight.

  “Out!” he said between gritted teeth.

  His bride nodded, scrambled to her feet, and dashed away. Noctis shifted out of his position. The slab of concrete smashed onto the ground, sending debris flying into the air.

  “How did you get here?!” He bellowed at her after his piercing blue eyes scrutinized her body for physical injury. It appeared she was unharmed. “Don’t you know the meaning of staying put? You could have been–”

  His bride cringed at his harsh tone.

  “All you do is make things more difficult for me!” He grabbed her hands and pulled her toward him. “I’m taking you out of here.”

  She grabbed both his arms and looked up at him. “You’ve got it all wrong, Noctis!”

  “Later, mortal.”

  “No!” She protested. “Now! Don’t fight Lucifer!”

  “I have no time for you right now, mortal.”

  “Then make time!” she insisted. “Listen to me!”

  Noctis summoned a barrier shield around them both to block another of Lucifer’s attack. The force knocked the both of them back. He landed on his back with his bride on top of him. It would have been a disaster if it was the other way around.

  “You are distracting me!” He growled. “Go home!”

  He swiftly got back up to his feet and took to the sky. His bride got up to her feet and chased after him.

  “He saved you! He was trying to hide you. He hid you away from the people who wished to kill you!”

  “Get out of here, mortal!” Noctis grunted as he blocked another attack. He summoned the white flames to his hand and threw a punch at Lucifer. He missed.

  “Th-the angels!” She stammered. Her voice was getting shaky. He wanted to look but he couldn’t afford a second of distraction. Lucifer was alarmingly fast. “The angels thought that Lucifer had created a god. It was against their set of laws, so they wanted to put things to right. Th-they wanted to kill you.”

  “Lucifer did create a god.” Noctis summoned another blanket of white flame around Lucifer.

  “He didn’t! He’d only made you immortal, not a god. You did that on your own! Sensing danger, he protected you the only way he knows how. He sealed you away…”

  “Lies!” he hissed at her. A black energy ball broke through the screen of flame. The archangel rose, four pairs of black wings unfolded powerfully from his back.

  “Truth!” she retorted between labored breaths. “He didn’t betray you!”

  “Mortal,” he warned her. Then he darted his glare at Lucifer. “Deny it!”

  The archangel returned a blank stare.

  “Deny it, Lucifer!” Noctis bellowed. “Deny what this woman is saying!”

  “Noctis!” She screamed out for him.

  “Not now, mortal!”

  “Pass the judgment for yourself, Summit,” said the archangel. “I taught you how.”

  “I want you to tell me! I want to hear those words from your own mouth. I deserve the truth!”

  The silence was the truth. Silence was the ugly truth.

  Noctis closed his eyes and let it sink in. It was still floating around on top of his mind. All of these times he’d plotted his way to get his revenge on a man for a betrayal he did not commit. Granted it wasn’t the best course of action.

  The scorn may have dissipated, but the anger was still there.

  Half an eternity in darkness.

  “Noctis!” Her scream b
roke through his silence.

  “What now?” He impatiently bellowed at her. He turned to see what his bride was fussing about. His heart skipped a beat when saw the panicked look on her face.

  “H-help…”

  His bride was trying to claw her way out of the time trap, like a victim struggling in quicksand. Half of her body has already sunk in. The mortal must have accidently stepped into it while chasing after him. Her strength failed her.

  “No…” he breathed. He shifted to her and reached for her disappearing hand. Seconds too late, the time trap completely swallowed her small body. “Damn it!” he muttered furiously. “Damn it! Nothing but trouble!”

  He muttered a series of incoherent curses before he turned to the archangel and resumed the conversation that had been rudely interrupted. “I would prefer to stand and fight.”

  “You would not have survived Absolution. No being could.”

  “That’s a lie. I’ve seen you survive being shot by Michael.”

  “That was because Michael purposely shot me where he knew I could easily recover from. Eleven arrows and not one was anywhere near my core. Michael never misses. I never forgave him for it. Enough about that boring past,” Lucifer said dismissively. “Where is Kali?”

  Perfect rows of teeth showing, he said, “She’s exactly where I’d left her; in my bed.”

  “Do not taunt me any further, Summit. I am not so blind that I could not see what has transpired. That mortal meant something to you.”

  “Regrettably so,” Noctis admitted.

  “I will only ask one more time. Where is Kali?”

  “Your Kali didn’t want to see you, so she went into hiding. I didn’t do anything to her. That mortal didn’t let me.”

  “Kali’s scent was on her.”

  “The mortal is your Kali’s charge. I mistook her for your Kali and abducted her. I’ve been paying for that mistake ever since. I have a feeling I will be paying a hell of a lot more in the future.”

  “That is the way it works.”

  Noctis chuckled. “I’m not going to kill you, but I’m not going to thank you either. Were you ever going to free me?”

  “Yes.”

  “When?”

  “The passage of time is irrelevant to beings like us.”

  “I could not agree less. Not when every second feels like an eternity on its own. Now, please excuse me while I go into the trap especially designed for you.”

  Like a mirage, the archangel disappeared.

  Noctis sighed, troubled, as he stepped into his own time trap. There will be long days ahead, he thought to himself.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “What the hell is this place…?”

  There was a network of very narrow bridges suspending in midair. Bridges, bridges, everywhere was bridges! They ran horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. It was more complicated than any mazes she’d ever seen. Every so often, the bridges broke apart and reconnected with another. Constantly shifting. Constantly changing.

  Nothing seemed to be following the laws of physics.

  Amara had attempted to teleport out of it several times, but it seemed her magic did not work in here. Even simple spells didn’t work. If this is a place designed to trap Lucifer, she knew she’d never get out.

  After walking futilely for an hour, she decided to sit and rest her tired feet. He said there was an exit and she doubts she’ll ever find it. She’d probably die of hunger or exhaustion a few days down the line. Starve to death… it was such a horrible way to die.

  It’s all his fault! He should have just listened to me!

  Who was she kidding? He wouldn’t listen to her if she were the last living person on earth. Why should he listen to someone he considered inferior in every way, anyway?

  “Bastard…” she lowered her head to her forearm. “Jerk… bully…”

  Would he come for me?

  It felt discouraging to even attempt answering that. She’ll be stuck in here forever. She’ll die alone. What was the point of having so many friends if she was going to die alone? And the worst part was that no one would even know what happened to her. No funeral. No eulogy. Nothing.

  The more she thought about it, she angrier she was with him. “That freaking jerk!”

  After anger came sadness. After sadness came despair. They all came and went quickly in the hours that passed by. Amara curled herself into a fetal position and buried her face in her forearm.

  Come and find me, she prayed. Come and find me. I’m frightened by myself.

  Another hour passed. She didn’t know when she fell asleep, but when she opened her eyes again, her head was resting on his shoulder. She sleepily looked up at him. Noctis was staring down at her with his admirable blue eyes.

  “You really are trouble, mortal.”

  “What are you doing here?” She asked after a long yawn. Her heart was crying for joy, but she didn’t display any of it on her face. “Did you lose?”

  “I don’t lose.”

  “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

  “Sleep a little more,” he said. His manner was uncharacteristically gentle.

  “No,” she shook her head. “I just want to get out of here. You do know where the exit is, right?”

  “I do,” he confirmed, his eyes surveying the atmosphere. “After all, I designed this place.”

  “Then what are you waiting for?” She pushed herself to her feet. “Let’s go.”

  He gave her a very lazy stare and then slowly got up. He began to lead the way through a series of connections. After a while, she grew suspicious. It could have been her imagination, but she had a feeling they were traveling in circle. She took off the fashion ring on her finger and dropped it on the ground to test the truth in it.

  An hour passed. Then another. She found her ring twice.

  “We’re lost, aren’t we?” She finally asked him.

  “No,” he said tersely.

  “We’ve been traveling in circles. I left my ring as a marker an hour ago, and look…” she pointed to the ring on ground. “That’s the second time we walked past it. Why don’t you just admit that we’re lost?”

  “Rest for a bit,” he said, gesturing her to sit.

  Her legs were tired, so she complied. “Men just can’t admit that they’re lost.”

  He seated himself next to her and rested an arm on his knee.

  “So, who won?” she asked curiously.

  “Does it matter?”

  “I supposed not.”

  “It’d been put to rest… for now.”

  “How did you end up in here?”

  “What do you mean how, mortal? I walked in.”

  “To get me?” she asked, her voice hopeful.

  “To send you out,” he said flatly.

  “But we’re lost.”

  “We are not lost.”

  “We are too! We’ve been walking in circles!”

  “Do you want to go home that badly?”

  “Yes! This place is so… damning.”

  “Hmm,” he said. “I suppose it is.”

  “If we’re not lost then let’s go.”

  He slowly got up to his feet again, his motion almost lethargic. He lifted an arm and cast a spell. A hollow stone gate rose from the ground. At its completion, a burst of energy sent her toward him. A blue, liquid texture formed inside the gate. Through it, she can see a short passage leading to the city on the other side.

  “You could have done that the whole time…” she realized. Fury rolled to the back of her neck. “You did that on purpose! You made me walked for hours! You don’t get tired but I do! I can’t stand you! I can’t stand…!”

  He cupped her elbow and bent his head. His kiss muffled her protest. Her body betrayed her almost immediately. He was such a detestable guy, but he was one hell of a kisser. She’d forgotten why she was upset at him. That or it just didn’t seem to matter anymore. She hated the control he has over her.

  You’re such a liar, Amara.

/>   She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him close. She liked the feeling when his hands grasped her waist and pull her even closer. He deepened the kiss with a palpable possessiveness that made her sigh against his mouth. Magnets, she thought. We’re magnetized to each other.

  It felt wrong, almost unnatural, when he broke the kiss halfway.

  Her pride didn’t allow her to tell him that. She took his hand and led him toward the gate. “You are being so slow today. Come on, it’s time to go home.”

  Amara walked into the gate and went through it easily. She didn’t even feel a thing. She looked back when she felt him giving her hand a tight squeeze and then letting go of it.

  “Come on,” she waved to him.

  He was still standing on the other side of the gate, staring at the hand that was holding hers only moments ago. He looked up with a saddened look in his eyes. Immediately, she realized something was wrong.

  “You can’t go through it, can you?” she whispered.

  He tried to step through the gate, but it knocked him back and kept him in. He shook his head. “No.”

  “Oh come on! It’s your own trap!”

  “I designed this place to trap Lucifer, mortal. If I can escape, then he also can.”

  “You don’t mean…”

  “Home sweet home.”

  “There has to be a way.”

  “If so I haven’t thought of it yet.”

  She firmed her trembling lips. “So what? This is goodbye?”

  He gave her tight nod. “Yes, mortal. You are rid of me. Rejoice.”

  She didn’t feel rejoiced. She felt the exact opposite. She swallowed the chunks of emotions got caught in her throat. She didn’t like him very much, but she didn’t want never to see him again. She stared back at him with misty eyes.

  “You deserve it, you know,” she said, attempting to sound tough, but it sounded broken. “You deserve to be alone.”

  “Ah, but mortal, I have enough memories of you to last my stay here. I have a feeling they will not give me peace.”

  She curled her lips into a small smile that quickly turned into a deep frown.

  “05-08-23-34, that’s the combination to the safe. Remember those numbers.”

  “I don’t want the goddamn money!”