Anjali blinked her eyes and focused on the word temptation. She had died, but not for the reasons that Alazar suggested. It hadn’t been a temptation to take her own life, but a decision. Alazar was making assumptions and speaking his opinions, not the truth. So much for the King of Deception being Sacha; Alazar was the one deceiving people. He wasn’t interested in the truth. He just wanted to win. He focused only on her superficial actions, not the lure of Lucifer’s voice, and certainly not her actual thoughts.
A choice had been made that day. She had accepted death and gone to Lucifer willingly to save him from his loneliness. Though she hadn’t specifically known it was Lucifer speaking in her mind, she hadn’t died a mindless slave, bent to his will. Instead, she had felt compassion for him. She had wanted to comfort the voice because she felt sorry for him and wanted to help him.
“No, my final thought was, ‘He sounds so lonely,’” she sneered as her eyes snapped back into focus. She wrenched his hand from her face, grabbed his arms, and kneed Alazar in the balls. She watched him comically crumple to the ground.
Alazar was stunned by the pain in his groin. She had dared to knee him? What was wrong with this woman? More so, what was wrong with him? How was he not able to control her? She should have been mindless to his questions and commands; instead, she had broken free of his power and had kicked him for the trouble.
Anjali leaned down over Alazar and grabbed his face. “I was under Lucifer’s compulsion, you ass hat. My death had nothing to do with you or running away from my destiny. Look closer and you will see the truth. Your power is being clouded by the darkness inside of you and you are making assumptions. You can’t see what’s really there because you don’t want to. Lucifer broke the rules because Gabriel denied fulfilling the deal to send me to Hell for too long. Lucifer found me and spoke to me in my dreams. He lied to me, gave me false promises, and finally threatened me. Lucifer filled my head with pain until I couldn’t think straight. I have no memory of picking up the razor or cutting myself, but I went to him because I thought he sounded lonely. Sick, right? I didn’t give up on my life. I liked my life, pathetic as it may have been, but I went to him willingly, even though I didn’t consciously know who he was,” she paced in circles, trying to control her anger.
He couldn’t believe what she was saying. Had Lucifer truly tricked her? Had he gone against the Council and claimed her against Gabriel’s orders? It couldn’t be possible.
He carefully got to his feet, grabbed her arm, and pulled her close. Opening his mind fully, he seized control of her eyes and searched for the truth. Had his darkness clouded his abilities, as she had said?
He went further into her mind. She was right, her last thoughts weren’t of friends and family, nor were they about the Predznak, and being the Destroyer. What he did find was the phrase, “join me”. Son of a bitch, she was telling the truth. Lucifer’s voice echoed through his mind. Lucifer had put the thought in her head to join him. He tempted her by lying about how wonderful it would be to come to him; otherwise, she would suffer for denying him. He could still see Lucifer’s influence like a fingerprint on her soul. Yet, she hadn’t fallen for his lies; she had gone to him because she felt compassion for him. His loneliness called to her and she chose to go to him.
Alazar couldn’t believe it. He went deeper until he heard all that Lucifer had said to her.
“He begged. He begged you to join him. I didn’t think he had it in him. He bared his cold, uncaring heart to you. You heard the longing in his voice and you went to him. My dear, that takes strength. You cared for him enough to go to him. You wanted to help him. You longed to ease his pain,” Alazar was floored. His Master had died to be with Lucifer. That certainly changed things.
She nodded her head slowly and watched the uncertainty fill Alazar’s face. “Now you see.”
“You didn’t give in to the temptation of death to ease your burdens in this world; you decided to sacrifice yourself for someone else’s happiness. Damn it,” Alazar was fuming. It seemed that she was stronger than he anticipated. His advantage was gone, but he could still win the battle.
She rolled her eyes. “What, you thought you could control me? Good luck with that,” if Hades couldn’t get her to do what he wanted, Alazar didn’t stand a chance.
“That sounds like a challenge,” Alazar smiled slyly and unleashed his full power. If he couldn’t control her, then he could still kill her.
Alazar grabbed her jaw and pushed his power deep into her eyes. Her eyes opened wide and she became still.
This is going to be fun, he snickered to himself. Finally, he would be free.
Anjali felt the temperature of the room drop until ice particles formed from her breath. The world around her fell away and went silent. The only sound she could hear was her heartbeat. At first, it was strong and steady, but the tempo slowly changed until it sounded like waves crashing on a beach. A brilliant blue filled her vision and she saw the ocean waves rippling and dancing in front of her. She could practically feel the sand between her toes. It was a peaceful sight. All of her worries were gone and she breathed a sigh of relief. She no longer had to worry about destroying the world and killing everyone. Staying here in this serene place would be wonderful. There would no longer be blood on her hands and the fate of the world would be someone else’s problem. She could just drift away with the tide and be free.
She knew this feeling. It was simple and easy to understand. If you let go of all your worries, you will find happiness. She sighed, wanting to be happy.
Happy? The thought floated to the surface of her bewildered mind. There was no such thing in her life. She was a servant of Lucifer, of Hell. Angels were meant to bow to her command and do the will of God through her. Something was wrong. She wasn’t destined to be happy, nor was she at the beach. She was in a cold, dark place without oceans and sand. Romania. She was in Romania with Alazar. The son of a bitch was using his power on her.
The storm that dwelled inside of her, just below the surface, welled up as it recognized the feeling of death. It yearned to reach out and touch Alazar’s power. It felt familiar, but not because she had experienced death before. It was familiar because it was a part of her, a missing piece. Her power reared up and clawed at her insides. It fought to reach Death and welcome him home. The only thing holding it back was her ring. She used her thumb and carefully wiggled the ring off her finger until she heard the small sound of metal hitting stone. Plink.
“Enough!” she screamed and let her power rush to the surface.
Alazar was perplexed by her scream. He thought he was winning. She had seen the ocean and had become complacent in her thoughts. What was happening? No one ever broke free of his control, unless they resisted the temptation, which was rare. He never let them escape. He never backed down from his temptation of a person, until they were dead. Something felt dishonest about that as he watched Anjali break free of the vision.
It’s wrong to push people beyond their breaking point, he thought, just before he felt the air stir around him.
Alazar’s hand burned as he held on to Anjali’s jaw. He tried to release her face, but he couldn’t move. The burning climbed higher until it consumed his arm and raced through his body. He knew he was in trouble when her blue eyes turned black and glowed with power. Her hair floated up at the ends and the wind swirled around them. The wind wasn’t coming from the windows. It was coming from her.
He gulped when he felt her power rise. It was unlike anything he’d ever encountered. It was raw and fierce, but he didn’t fear it. He instinctively knew that her power was beyond dangerous, but it wouldn’t hurt him. Instead, it would make him stronger. Her power was like a beacon and he was helpless to resist.
Anjali grabbed Alazar’s wrist and wrenched his hand from her face. She twisted his wrist until he dropped to his knee from the pain. She stood over him and contemplated him. Alazar had been intimidating with his intense blue eyes and devil-may-care attitude, but she wasn’t meant t
o put up with his shit. She was the one in charge, not him.
“How dare you use your power against me!” her voice was deep and resonated through the tower.
While Alazar wasn’t afraid of the power that swirled around him, he was afraid of that voice. He immediately dropped his eyes to the floor and bowed his head in subjugation. Even though he hadn’t accepted her as his Master, he wasn’t stupid enough to challenge her now.
“I’m sorry; it was wrong of me to tempt you,” Alazar’s apology flew from his mouth before he could stop it. He nearly said “Master” at the end of it, but managed to bite his lip before he said it.
“You think you know me. You think you have everything figured out. The sins of the mortals have changed you. You have become weak. You have allowed the power of your temptation to corrupt you. This was not your intended purpose. You were not meant to kill people for sport. You were meant to give them a choice. You have failed in your mission. Condemn me all you want for not being there for you, but it is merely an excuse. You were too weak to hold on. You failed because of your lack of faith. It became too hard and you caved, using me as your scapegoat,” she released his wrist and raised her arms to the sky.
The wind increased and thunder rumbled in the sky overhead. Rain and hail fell from the sky, pelting the rooftop of the tower.
Alazar felt the tower shift slightly. He wasn’t sure if the rain was causing the tower to shudder or if it was an earthquake. He had never witnessed the Destroyer’s true force, but he knew what she was capable of doing. He would be lucky to escape the tower before they all plunged to the ground, or worse, before she set him on fire.
“Lady Black, this is unnecessary. I have apologized and I won’t do it again. I think it’s time to rein the fireworks back in,” Alazar yelled above the roar of the wind that circled them, creating a small tornado.
The first sign that something was seriously wrong was that Anjali was completely ignoring him. She remained with her arms raised, staring at the ceiling. The second sign was that he couldn’t disappear from the room. He was stuck; or rather, she was holding him there. He was worried when he felt the intensity of the storm increase exponentially. Perhaps Gabriel had been right about the Destroyer being unable to control her power. If so, he was in deep shit.
“Lady Black, you have to stop the storm. You’re going to bring the tower down and we will fall, which will hurt like hell. Your friend over there is going to be crushed when we land,” Alazar yelled as he tried to stand. The force of the wind pushed him down.
Anjali ignored him. The roof groaned, threatening to rip free from the tower. He needed to do something fast.
He noticed something shiny on the floor when the lightning arcing all around the tower, lit up the room. It looked like a ring, an odd item to have in an empty castle. Only then did he remember the sound of metal hitting the floor when he’d been in control of her mind. The ring had come off just before her power was unleashed. The blasted thing must help bind her power.
He leaned down and pushed against the harsh current, stretching to reach the ring that was moving away from him. It was caught in a downdraft and would soon be lost to the rising tempest. Just before it blew away, he snatched it from the air. The gem in the ring glimmered when the room brightened from the light show. He saw that he was holding the Eye of Sirrush. It was indeed the key to tempering her power.
Alazar lunged forward and grabbed her face. He pulled her chin down until her eyes were level with his, and tried to get her attention, as he often did to Solren. The second her eyes locked onto his, everything changed.
His mind splintered and he saw all of the deaths that had resulted from his temptations of the mortals. He saw each face at the very moment that they had chosen their fate, Heaven or Hell. In the beginning, he had given them a choice. He had shown them what awaited them in Heaven and Hell. Over time, he stopped giving them a choice. Instead, he told them how much fun it would be to kill another person or themselves. The reasons were simple and the reward would be great. He targeted the strong of will. He pushed and pushed until they cracked. Every mortal had a breaking point where sin was no longer a temptation and a choice, but an inevitability. He didn’t speak to them of right and wrong. He didn’t show them the reward of Heaven, only the false pleasure they would receive by giving in to the temptation. Guilt filled him. He was nothing more than a murderer. There was no higher purpose in what he was doing. He had allowed his anger and frustration to cloud his mind and judgment, and innocent people had lost their lives because of him.
With each death, each temptation, he had given up on humanity and no longer believed that the mortals were capable of loving Father and living has He intended. It was true; he had lost his faith, not just in the mortals, but also in his Master. He had allowed all of his doubts to cloud his mind and shake his own faith. He should have believed Father when He said that his Master would come for him. His faith was supposed to keep him from straying and following a dark path. His faith had failed him and he had turned against his true destiny and his Master.
His emotions raced to the surface, having been locked away by the darkness. He cried for all the horrible things he had done. He mourned the loss of life that had come from his deeds. He felt shame for the first time since leaving Heaven. Yet, he felt joy when he thought about Heaven and Father. He remembered happiness during his days in Heaven. Remorse and anguish flooded him when he thought about the Predznak. He had been cruel to them. He could see that finally. Now that his Master was standing before him, his anger dissipated. He believed her explanation of not knowing of his existence and knew that she would have come for him, had things been different.
Alazar felt whole for the first time since falling from Heaven to the Mortal Realm. He could breathe again. The numbness inside of him burned away and was replaced by warmth and happiness. He was finally at peace. As much as he hated to admit it, his Master eased his pain and his sorrow. Her power soothed him like nothing else he had ever experienced. They truly were meant to be together.
He carefully felt around for her right hand and pushed the ring back onto her finger. The winds stopped, and the rain ceased. The air was suddenly calm and the pressure in the room was gone.
Alazar breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that her power was once again bound. He watched her lower her hands, grateful that her eyes were back to normal.
The world came back into focus as Anjali fought through her killing haze.
“I’m glad you were able to stop the storm,” Alazar sighed as he relaxed.
He reached out to touch her, hoping to feel her power again. He craved the emotions that she had unlocked and wanted to be welcomed home.
“The storm wouldn’t have started if you hadn’t tried to kill me,” she sneered.
She smacked his hand away and she stalked closer to him. She wanted to slap him.
Alazar faltered when he heard the rage in her voice. He quickly stepped back, confused by her behavior. “Admittedly, it was wrong of me to try to kill you, but I apologized. I swore I wouldn’t do it again. Nothing was damaged and no one died. Why are you acting like this?”
Anjali was seething. “You think an apology will suffice after what you just did? You don’t seem to understand the severity of your actions.”
The pleasure and clarity that he had experienced while enveloped in the Destroyer’s power subsided and the numbness invaded his body again. He was angry that it had been a short respite from his own personal hell. An unbidden thought snaked through his mind. He had upset his Master and she immediately shut him out. She held all the control. His apology had fallen upon deaf ears. This was a bleak vision of their future together, if he joined with her. Everything he feared was playing out before his eyes. Her power had been enticing, but one screw up and he was left cold and punished for his actions, like a servant.
The Master giveth and the Master taketh away, he grumbled to himself. He was stupid to believe that happiness and peace didn’t come with a p
rice; servitude.
“I knew this could never work,” he snickered at his foolishness.
“You openly attacked me with your power, first to control me, and then to kill me, or rather, make me kill myself. What did you think would happen? Should I just forget that you tried to kill me? You should be punished for what you did. Just ask Hades what I did to him when he tried to kill me. You crossed the line Alazar, yet you don’t seem upset by that,” her eyes tightened in anger. She thought about showing him what having a Master truly meant.
The thought made her stop. Yes, she was mad, but mad enough to punish him? She had forgiven Lucifer, Hades, and Aganon for trying to kill her, yet she couldn’t forgive Alazar. Why not? Because he was meant to serve her. He didn’t have the right to question her or fight her. The realization scared her. This wasn’t the kind of Master she wanted to be.
Alazar shifted uncomfortably, knowing that she was right. He had crossed a line when he tried to control her. He had been cruel to her, but his primary problem remained. He didn’t want to be under her control, even though it had felt amazing. He couldn’t handle the repercussions. He could see and feel her outrage. She looked like she wanted to punch him. He decided he couldn’t do it. He needed to get away from her, even if it meant being condemned to a lifetime of agony.
He looked over at Pete, who was standing inside the room blankly looking out the window. The wind had pulled him off the ledge and into the room, but he was still awaiting Alazar’s orders.
“If you expect me to bow and grovel at your feet for your forgiveness, you’re going to be waiting a long time. If you can’t forgive me, then there’s nothing more to say. I’m not big on remorse or regret, but I will make you regret it,” Alazar pointedly looked at Pete.
Anjali slowly moved closer to Pete realizing that Alazar was determined to win. “Your problem is with me. Let the boy go. He means nothing to you,” Anjali replied calmly. She tried not to let Alazar see her concern for Pete.
The Third Throne: Angel of Death Page 23