“Lilith. And yours?”
“You know my name.”
“But that's not your name anymore, is it?” she challenged.
I stared at her. Once again, she smiled. That smile was becoming quite irritating.
To prove her wrong, I tried to say my name aloud, but the words would not form on my lips. I looked at the band of letters gracing my left arm, which spelled out my name in angelic script. All that remained was an impressive scar where the letters had been burnt off. The other emblem I had been marked with, the astrological sign of Ophiuchus, was in a similar state on my left wrist.
“Your name is Satan now,” she said, pulling my attention away from my hand. “There are more items I need than just the three I sought in Heaven.”
“What do you mean? You told me all that was left was the scepter.”
“I know. I did that intentionally. I couldn't have you knowing everything.”
“Why not?”
“Because I needed to see if I could trust you.”
“And can you?”
She pondered for a moment. “Possibly.”
I rolled my eyes. “So, what else do you need?”
“Thirteen stone spheres. Each archangel on the council was assigned one.”
I stared at her. “You are lying. I would know about this.”
“Really? After everything that happened, you think you can believe Him? You know He withheld things from you.”
“You do not have to remind me. Why should it be my concern?”
“Because the spheres are needed to obtain immense power, and the only way you will have leverage over the blessed is if you recover yours.”
“How? Where is it?”
She grew silent.
“Lilith! Tell me what to do,” I demanded.
“You will have to figure that out for yourself.” She moved to walk away.
Reaching out, I grabbed her right hand, my fingers latching onto the glove. Effortlessly, Lilith eased her arm back, pulling free from the garment and evading my grasp. Then, she was gone.
Perhaps I should have put up more of a fight. She seemed to know more than I did about my current situation. In fact, she seemed to know more than I did about everything. My anger boiled at the thought. When had I ever been this needy and dependent? It was time to change.
Since I had learned to deal with the Hellfire, I decided to explore my surroundings and find my fallen comrades, but at the cave’s entrance, I ran into an invisible barrier. Obviously, this was one of His attempts to imprison me. Lilith had passed through without a problem.
The thought of Lilith spurred me to think about my ability to burn her. Holding her glove in my hand, I channeled the Hellfire from within, directing my anger at the barrier as I placed my free hand on it. It glowed as the fire began to combat with the invisible wall. But it would not budge.
I dropped my hand to my side, giving myself a moment to summon more strength from within. The red blaze rose inside me again, and I knew this time, I would succeed.
Once more, I placed my free hand on the barrier, adding more force as the barricade fought my advances. Yet it could not resist the Hellfire. I was more powerful.
When the barrier dropped, I was not prepared for the sight. Sprawled out in front of me was an entire wasteland of rock and fire. The temperature remained freezing, and the fallen lay everywhere. Their moans, screams, and shouts of torment were a cacophony of pain and terror.
I stood there looking on at them and could not find an ounce of sympathy. They were not consumed by the Hellfire like I was, they were just disoriented and scared. I walked out into the wasteland among them, and the noise gradually ceased. When I stopped in the middle of their vast multitude, I raised my arms wide.
“This is our new kingdom.” I paused to let that sink in. “Believe me when I say, I am just as appalled by it as you are, yet we must accept the consequences of our actions and make them work to our advantage. You may see this new domain as a shortcoming, but I see it as a new beginning with endless possibilities. However, I will never be able to lead without capable and faithful comrades at my side. What I see before me does not bode well in this regard. Mere moments ago, you were all fierce warriors fighting for something you believed in. Now, you all lie helpless at my feet. What kingdom will I be able to turn this Hell into if you all do not try to stand? My courage and strength sustained me as I tolerated unimaginable pain to emerge as your resolute leader. Will you now rise for me, so we can rally and fight back against these obstacles the blessed have doled upon us?”
Initially, my encouragements produced no action. One figure, however, slowly rose among the rest. He had been a faithful companion in Heaven and remained behind to fight even after everyone else fled. His name would not form on my lips as none of our given names could be spoken aloud anymore. That did not matter because I had been renamed, and so too would my fallen angels.
Lucifer, I thought. His name would be Lucifer. A bearer of light in all this darkness as his courage to stand proved his loyalty to me.
I stared at my lone companion, nodding my head in approval.
Apparently, my earlier words slowly sunk in. Others began to rise. I raised my arms wide once more, turning in a circle as they chanted and cheered in exhilaration. These were the fallen heroes I remembered well.
In all the excitement, a small black figure appeared above us, drawing my attention as it gracefully descended through the air to land upon my left arm. I was surprised by the raven’s presence since He had created all these creatures. To have one navigate its way into our domain was a sign.
The raven looked into my eyes. We had work to do, but this meant freedom.
11
Satan
Hell, In the Beginning, Centuries Later
It took time. Several long years passed, but I finally managed to turn this place into something. Throughout the ages, people called it many names. Pandemonium. Inferno. The Underworld. To me, it was always Hell.
My first course of action after that fateful day was to appoint additional leaders so I would not have the burden of dealing with the insignificant woes of every inhabitant in Hell. The leaders I selected were my allies in Heaven and some of the fiercest warriors. They were cunning, devious, and brave. They became known as The Six, my closest companions who executed my bidding. I marked them and myself with a skull tattoo, wanting a visual symbol to convey our rank but also instill fear. I had skull rings forged to authorize the distinction of leadership, since bestowing rings to signify roles was common practice in Heaven.
Once The Six were appointed, I split Hell into nine sections. The architecture of our realm made the execution of this easy. There were nine enormous caverns, each with its own maze of connecting caves that could be transformed into living quarters. I assigned a cavern to each of The Six, with mine at the top. Cavern two became Pride, led by Lucifer. Cavern three was Envy, led by Leviathan. Cavern four, Gluttony, belonged to Beelzebub. Mammon led cavern five, Greed. Asmodeus took charge of Lust in cavern six. Laze became Belphegor’s domain in cavern seven.
I named our cities after the deadly sins since the blessed in Heaven could not fathom the evil down here, and I wanted to celebrate what made us different from them. Although I accepted the anger that lived inside of me, I was by no means going to let it define who I was. Rather than name my own cavern after it, I instead called it Elysium, home to me and my brethren of fallen angels. This title spurned its divine connotations, which pleased me immensely.
The five rivers of Hell resided in cavern eight. This place was uninhabitable due to the rivers’ potency tempting unsuspecting creatures into their watery depths. Belphegor discovered this the hard way. Unable to resist the allure, he waded into the River of Lamentation and was immediately consumed by shrieking wails that pierced the cavern and echoed off the stone walls. With some difficulty, the others managed to fish him out. The only lingering effects the river had on him appeared to be his diminished senses and gull
ibility.
At first, I had no idea what to do with the ninth cavern, but as spirits spontaneously began to arrive, I had no choice but to use it for them. There, at least, they were as far from me as possible. I named the cavern Misery because it was a cave of condemnation, where they lived out their sentences of torment.
Naturally, spirits wanted to escape Misery because not only was their existence defined by torture, but what existed beyond caverns eight and nine was far more appealing. The Six and I had transformed our caverns into a metropolis. Many fallen angels would visit Misery to tease spirits about what lay beyond their doom, some of them brazen enough to attempt an escape. But anyone who tried had to traverse the Rivers of Hell, which never ended in success.
Spirits who fulfilled their sentences were somewhat liberated, able to move up to one of our cities. They were not permitted to choose which, but instead had their destinations assigned by Murmur, a fallen angel I had appointed because of his clear talent at asking the right questions and making spirits confess to the sins they had committed. Any spirits whose sin was anger remained in Misery for eternity. There was no place for them in Elysium. Besides, I highly doubted any of them had an anger lurking inside like mine.
As soon as Murmur decided where to send a spirit, Mulciber would escort that spirit to the appropriate city to ensure they did not wander or fall prey to the treacherous rivers. Mulciber possessed an enormous strength unlike any other fallen angel, which allowed him to deal with spirits, especially riotous ones. However, he was not immune to the rivers and required the help of Abbadona, another fallen angel. She was particularly special because she used to be a Seraphim. I was unsure what had turned her to my side during the war, but I knew she now regretted her insurrection. Since she had embraced evil, even for a short time, she could never return to Heaven, yet her change of heart gave her the ability to face the rivers. They had no effect on her, and because of this, she lived permanently in cavern eight, keeping watch for any spirits who tried to escape.
In addition to these three fallen angels, there were a handful of others I had appointed in numerous jobs throughout Hell, or who I called upon for favors because it was impossible for me and The Six to do everything.
Once spirits were relocated, they were expected to work and contribute to their city. They were no longer tormented, but if they went against the order of things, punishment or even a return to Misery was sanctioned.
We soon discovered the caverns were not separate from each other. Caves to the right connected them together. On the left, more caves led to a vast expanse of nothingness I termed The Pit.
The Pit opened at the top to my throne room in Elysium, which was connected to my private quarters. These access points between cities were beneficial to The Six and me, for they allowed us to traverse regions. They posed a problem, however, for the liberated spirits. I did not want them to freely travel between cities, so I needed security at each access point. I appointed feral creatures known as hellhounds to stand guard. These hounds lurked in the depths of Hell and fed on spirits’ pain and discomfort. They were the perfect deterrent.
With order established, The Six came to love the names I had given their cities and as such, claimed their specific sins with dignity. They each fashioned jewelry and marked themselves with tattoos to portray their distinctions. I did the same. What we were really trying to do was reclaim parts of our past to bring stability and sanity to our new lives. The Six had never received any type of honor in Heaven, so they were thrilled about their leadership in Hell. They created our so-called “deadly sin rings” as a way to commemorate their distinction. The rings celebrated the sins with animals, each in the shape of a certain creature.
Lucifer chose the black jaguar. He believed this animal represented strength, stealth, and valor—the perfect choice to symbolize pride.
Leviathan decided upon the dog. More specifically, a three-headed dog, since he had found such a creature lurking down here in Hell and adopted it as his pet. Little did he know the beast was envious of itself, each head jealous of the others.
Beelzebub chose the boar. He said this animal represented gluttony best.
Mammon picked the frog, and quite frankly, I had no idea why. He was a peculiar creature though, so I rarely questioned him. I supposed frogs were a good symbol for greed, as the animals could be covetous.
Asmodeus selected the bull, feeling these passionate creatures represented his sin of lust.
Belphegor went with the goat, saying simply these animals were lazy. There was no further explanation. It was not in his nature to enlighten others. I suspected goats matched his stubbornness more than anything else.
I did not know which animal to pick to symbolize my deadly sin. The Six suggested a bear since it seemed fitting for anger. I agreed, and they had a ring fashioned for me.
I continued to wear the ring that was given to me in Heaven too, which designated I was a member of the council. It was silver with filigree embossing, and a black onyx stone was placed on top where the band of metal joined together. My cross necklace had crumbled into metallic dust when I fell, branding my skin just below my collarbones. The other objects that belonged to me, such as my sword and chest, remained in Heaven, and I imagined those were destroyed as well.
I did not care. None of those things were any use to me now.
Just like His markings.
To hide the scar from the astrological symbol on my left wrist, tattooed flames covered both of my arms. These flames signified the Hellfire that was my curse and greatest superpower. To cover the scar from the band of letters spelling my name in angelic script, I had tattooed my upper left arm with a series of skulls to indicate my rule over The Six and Hell in general. As a reminder of my fall and what my wings used to be, I had tattooed a series of feathers on each of my shoulders. Once all of these were done, I filled the gap on my upper right arm with a bear to stay in keeping with my deadly sin.
All of these markings and material objects did not only capture our personalities but helped to provide a sense of structure and reaffirm who was in charge—something even The Six needed to be reminded of every so often. Yet I never wanted to be like Him, ruling oppressively without allowing anyone to express their freewill. There was a fine line I had to ride to maintain a balanced chaos.
I was proud of myself, for I had done what I had set out to do: create a kingdom of my own that the blessed would fear.
With the foundation laid, it was time to frolic in our freedom. We had endured a lot. Pain, punishment, and hardship. But now, from here until eternity, we would raise Hell and show those blessed bastards just how evil we could be.
12
Jordan
New York City, Present Day
Rolling over in bed, I peeked at the clock on the bedside table.
Wow, ten a.m. already? The sisters never let me sleep this late.
My eyes closed once more, and I snuggled closer to the blanket. I was just drifting back to sleep when I remembered the events of last night and sprang up in an instant.
The unfamiliar room filled my vision. I blinked a few times until my eyes adjusted to the morning light, then sat in bed pondering my situation. I felt lost and utterly alone. Nothing was as it should be, and I still didn’t know if I believed Gabriel.
The rational part of my mind knew there was no way he could be an angel, yet a tiny voice inside my head told me to believe him. He certainly seemed like someone I could trust. The fact I hadn’t been killed in my sleep was a good indication. His story still remained unreal though.
Then again, who else would have been chasing me?
Shaking my head, I expelled all these thoughts. There would be no way to find out if any of this was true unless I actively sought the information. So, I got out of bed, though my hunger was driving me too, and headed for the door.
I left the guest room and walked down the hall. The apartment was silent, and Gabriel was nowhere to be seen. I came to a stop in the living room and
sighed. So much for my grand idea to seek out more information.
I was approaching the kitchen, ready to locate some food, when Gabriel appeared.
“Good morning.”
I flinched at his surprise entrance and turned away from the fridge to face him.
“Sorry to startle you. I was in my office,” he said, pointing down a hallway to his right. “You must be hungry. I sent for some food since I have nothing of interest. Unless you want eggs again?” He approached the kitchen table, where a plate sat covered with a metal lid alongside a glass of orange juice and fancy silverware.
“Whatever works. I’m not picky.”
“Great,” he responded, removing the metal top.
Underneath was a stack of pancakes with butter, maple syrup, and bacon. At Gabriel’s eager expression, I sat down at the table, placing the formal cloth napkin on my lap and eyeing the delicious breakfast.
“Gabriel, I appreciate you doing this, but where did this come from?”
“Tony brought it up about ten minutes ago. I figured you’d be hungry when you woke up.”
“Who’s Tony?”
He paused. “He’s my friend. We help each other out sometimes. His daughter is a caterer, and he asked her to set aside one of her breakfast dishes for you.”
“I see.”
I couldn’t resist the pancakes, so I stopped asking questions and dug in. Gabriel was a strange guy, and no amount of explanation was going to change that. In fact, his explanations just made him more mysterious. As I devoured the food in front of me, I could sense he wanted to tell me something.
Swallowing my last mouthful, I washed it down with some juice before asking, “What is it?”
He remained standing in front of me with his hands behind his back. “I’m not sure how to break the news to you, but there is something you need to see.” He stepped forward and placed a newspaper on the table, motioned for me to read it.
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