He glanced down to see a red line on his blue jeans. Yup, the angel had drawn first blood. It was a minor cut though.
It began again. The archangel attacked furiously, looking to exploit what it happened was a weakened knee. Alex moved into a more defensive mode and either parried the strikes, or simply moved out of the way. And then, he saw another opportunity and pivoting, he tried to slice the angel’s head off.
But Michael slid back on his heels as if doing a much better version of the moonwalk from his namesake.
There was a wariness in the archangel’s eyes. But there was no fear. His face showed concentration, and for the first time, Alex began to feel a touch of doubt creep up. He’d thrown everything he had at the archangel, and it hadn’t been enough. In fact, Alex was the only one bleeding. It wasn’t a deep cut below his knee. Demon Hunters healed quickly. Alex should have recovered by now. Instead, the stinging sensation had given way to a dull ache. The bleeding hadn’t stopped either. Instead of a thin line of blood on his jeans, it was now a patch about the size of his palm.
The archangel came at him once more. His strikes were more accurate, there was more strength behind each blow. It took everything he had to keep blocking the silvery swords. And then it happened. Michael came low, aiming for Alex’s feet, but at the last second, his swords moved up. Alex turned his sword to his side to block, and as he did, Michael kicked him on the chest.
It was like being hit by a bazooka.
His body lifted off the ground and crashed into the fountain behind and smashed through the demon sculpture made of stone. Alex landed on the ground beside a decapitated demon. His sword lay twenty feet away to his right. His head ringing, his vision was blurry. His chest felt like it had caved in, and every breath sent waves of pain vibrating throughout his body.
Alex coughed blood as he tried to climb to his feet. But he didn’t have the strength and he stumbled before landing on his back on the cobbled ground. The ringing in his head grew louder. Alex pressed his hands against his ears, trying to stop the sound. A stupid thing to do as the noise was already in his head.
Despite the noise, somehow, Alex could hear footsteps. They were big thundering steps too. It was the archangel, and he was walking towards him. Every step he took, the ground beneath him seemed to shake.
Alex pressed his hands against the ground and climbed to his knees. He suddenly became aware of how cold his chest felt. It was as if Michael had kicked Lucifer out of his chest. Was that possible?
Michael stood over him now, a towering figure of light. He grabbed Alex by the neck and lifted him off the ground.
“You might be impressive for a Demon Hunter,” the angel growled. “But you’re still a worm.”
Michael released his grip around Alex’s neck. As his feet touched the ground, the archangel slammed his hand into Alex’s chest. What happened next felt like an out of body experience. As if Michael had struck him with such force, he’d managed to separate the soul from the body.
And now Alex’s soul floated above his body. What followed seemed to take place in slow motion. Alex watched his physical body lift off the ground. He watched as it flew across the square. He watched as it crashed into the demons and cleared a path, flattening the demons like a bulldozer, it smashed into the wall.
And now, he was back in his body. Alex lay on the ground, staring up at the sky. Was he dead? No. He’d died once before. This didn’t feel like death. For starters, it hurt too much. Every part of his body screamed in pain. It shot through the nerves and rose to his head. His brain felt like it was going to explode.
Alex turned on his side and felt around with his hands, looking for something to hold so that he could climb to his feet. More blood spluttered out as he coughed.
“You’re still alive?” Michael asked, the surprise clear in his voice. The archangel was standing over him once more. He raised a foot and pushed Alex onto his back. “How are you still alive?” he asked in disbelief. There was actual confusion in his green eyes. But soon, it changed to amusement. His lips spread into a smile. “Let’s see if you can survive with your head detached from your body,” he said, his swords now back in his hands.
“Get up,” Lucifer screamed.
“Don’t scream,” Alex winced. “That fucking hurts,” he groaned.
“Get the fuck up,” Lucifer ignored him by screaming even louder. “We’re going to die if you don’t!”
“Can’t you just bring us back to life again?”
“I don’t know how I did it the first time,” Lucifer growled. “I don’t know if I can do it again! Now, get the fuck up!”
Alex tried to get up, but it was to no avail. Michael had his foot pressed down on his chest. He closed his eyes and rested his head back as Michael’s sword came down.
Oddly, he was somewhat content. He’d died before and knew he had a soul. But this time, he would not fall down to hell. No. His conscience was clear. It wasn’t his fault the relationship with his dad was sour. That would not pull him down to hell. If Alex died again, his clear conscience would take him to heaven. Where he could meet his mother. Alex didn’t know much about her. She’d died during childbirth. But he was certain she was in heaven.
His lips spread into a smile as he waited for the blade to chop his head off.
But the blade did not come. Instead, there was a clink.
Alex opened his eyes. A black sword with parallel lines of red across it hovered inches above his neck. Pressed against it was Michael’s silvery sword. The black sword looked familiar and Alex followed the blade to its hilt and the hand that held the grip. He wasn’t comforted by what he saw.
He knew why the sword looked familiar. It belonged to the demon, Scarlett. She’d tried to kill him with it once.
The demon was the devil’s right-hand woman. She was dressed in this fine day wearing a short leather skirt and a fitting white shirt. Even from his position on the ground, Alex could tell the top three buttons were undone, revealing her ample bosom. Their eyes met, and he grinned up at her.
Her black eyes were not amused. They shot daggers at him, reminding Alex that she might have saved his life right now, but this demon did not like him. Scarlett looked away from him and stared at the angel.
“Scarlett,” Michael acknowledged her. “What’s the meaning of this?”
“I could ask you the same,” Scarlett responded, her voice equal to the archangel’s.
“I’m here to dish out revenge on the demon scum that murdered an angel,” Michael replied. “That is my right as a superior being, to mete out justice upon the demon scum that inhabit this earth.”
Scarlett’s teeth gritted as her brows furrowed. As surprising as it may seem, this woman hated the archangel more than she hated Alex.
“If you have grievances against demons, you’re welcome to meet with me to discuss them. It is not protocol to attack demons instead,” Scarlett said.
Alex could see it took every ounce of her strength to hold back from attacking the angel. He wondered what a battle between these two would look like. Could Scarlett take on the archangel? She was tough as nails, but Michael seemed to be in a league of his own. A league of archangels.
Michael’s lips spread into a smile. It was more of a sneer. But somehow, he still managed to look damned handsome. Fucking angels, Alex cursed mentally.
“Meet with you?” Michael asked. “You think you’re my equal?”
“As the second in command, only behind Satani, yes, I am considered equal to the archangels, who are second in command to God,” Scarlett said. Her chest rose slowly as she took in a deep breath. The buttons on her white shirt were pressed to the point of exploding. Then, slowly, Scarlett breathed out again. A coping mechanism to manage her anger, Alex supposed. The demon was notorious for her temper. “But, on this occasion, Satani will meet with you.”
Michael nodded, apparently satisfied now that he could meet the top dog in hell. His sword remained pressed against Scarlett’s and he looked down at Al
ex. “He dared to attack me. His life belongs to me.”
“Fuck you,” Alex growled at the angel. It seemed he’d recovered some from having his chest kicked in. Though his sword lay on the other side of the square, Alex felt, with the element of surprise in his favour, he had a one in ten chance of reaching it before Michael killed him.
“Maths isn’t your strong subject, is it?” Lucifer grumbled. “Because those are terrible odds.”
“People win the lottery you know,” Alex said tiredly.
Scarlett stared down at him, positively furious. “Shut your mouth, you piece of shit,” she hissed.
“Bit harsh,” Alex muttered.
Scarlett was not in the mood to entertain a conversation with him. The demon was furious to the point where her body shook with anger. She was pretty much always angry, but Alex imagined she might have more cause to be so right now.
The demon had tried to kill him in the past, but now, for whatever reason, she was trying to save his life. Maybe that’s why she was angry. Instead of having the satisfaction of watching him die, Scarlett had to be diplomatic and save his ass. It wasn’t in her nature to be diplomatic, nor was it in her nature to be try and appease an angel when that angel was a complete asshole, trying to kill a Demon Hunter she despised.
Yup, there was a lot of anger in Scarlett’s eyes.
But there was also a pleading look. She wanted him to keep his mouth shut and let her do the talking. Alex, who had been on the verge of kicking away both swords that still rested over his chest and neck area away and jumping to his feet, decided to hold back on that for now and see how this played out.
He gave Scarlett the slightest nod of the head to indicate he wasn’t going to cause any more trouble for the moment. She looked away from him and met Michael’s eyes once more.
“This pathetic Demon Hunter will be dealt with by Satani personally,” she said to Michael. “In fact, for his punishment, he will be sent to hell.”
Chapter 7
The angels left Ignis Estate. Again, despite hating the fuckers, Alex couldn’t help but watch in amazement as they spread out their magnificent wings and shot up into the sky. Some of the angels had more powerful glows and they left trails of light from the ground upwards. Michael’s glow was easily noticeable. It was like a halo of light shooting into the sky.
When they were gone, the demons that had been forced to stand in the square and watch as their own were tortured and murdered began to move. Most left the square quickly and quietly. The roads leading out of the square were blocked by the mass of moving bodies. Some came into the square and gathered the remains of their loved ones.
There was little noise. The demons did not mourn loudly.
Alex was joined by Karen and Veronica. They helped him to his feet and wrapped their arms around him to keep him steady on his feet. Alex told them he was fine, and it was true to an extent. He didn’t feel like he was dying anymore. But the girls kept their bodies close, and he was grateful for that.
“Fucking hate the angels,” Scarlett growled, now that said angels were a safe distance away. “One day, I’m going to stick Michael’s head on a fucking spike and display it from the gates of my castle.”
“You have a castle?” Alex asked.
“In hell, yes,” Scarlett replied. Then she frowned. “You’re in trouble, Alex.”
Alex grinned. “Aren’t I always?”
Scarlett smiled. “You’re in big trouble. Satani wants to see you.”
Alex stopped smiling. There was nothing pleasant about Scarlett’s smile. This demon was evil by nature and that smile made her look suitably evil too. And sexy. Like a dominatrix. One that really enjoyed punishing, and didn’t do it just for the money. Apparently, Alex seemed to know a lot about dominatrices.
“What the fuck…” Alex muttered. “Why do I seem to know the difference between actual dominatrices and those only doing it for money?”
Lucifer chuckled. “Some of my knowledge is passing on to you,” he said. “Your body is different. It’s like none I’ve ever inhabited before. It’s great!”
“That means I’ll get more power and stuff, right?”
“Yup,” Lucifer said. “Who knows, I might even get my full potential back. Just like in the olden days. Ah, the shit I could do, if you could see. I was insane, bro. I was like a fucking beast.”
It all sounded great to Alex, except, it still didn’t answer why he seemed to know so much about dominatrices. Alex decided he didn’t want to ask or press the issue. The answer would probably be horrifying.
“I’ve been around, dude,” Lucifer said. “When you’ve been around as long as I have, you try stuff. I visited a few dominatrices. Scarlett definitely has that nailed down. But in the end, I preferred being dominant. So much more fun. Imagine bending that bitch over and spanking her red ass even redder.”
Alex worked hard to focus out Lucifer’s voice. It wasn’t an easy thing to do when said voice was literally in his head. But he managed to do it by staring hard at Scarlett and focusing on her face.
Her arms folded across her chest, Scarlett wore a frown on her face. “Did you hear anything I said?”
“You were talking?” Alex asked, then cursed silently. He needed to engage his thought filter. If Scarlett was annoyed before, now she was pissed.
“Satani’s going to throw you into hell,” she growled. And then she grabbed him by the collar of his t-shirt and pulled.
Alex did not budge.
Scarlett pulled harder. His shirt tore off, but his feet remained stuck to the ground. Scarlett’s naturally red skin darkened in anger. She was furious. She held his torn shirt in one hand. In the other, she still held her sword.
Scarlett dropped his shirt whilst her fingers tightened around the handle of her sword. Her eyes narrowed. Normally, Scarlett would have leapt at him by now, possibly tackled him to the ground and beaten him up. But now, whilst the anger was there, so was hesitancy. Her eyes seemed to calculate, taking him in whole and considering.
“You’re lucky Satani needs you alive,” she growled.
“She’s afraid,” Lucifer boasted.
It seemed that way. At least, if not afraid, she wasn’t her cocky self.
“Come with me,” she growled.
“Or what?” Alex responded.
He wasn’t in the mood to see Satani. Alex had broken so many rules. The fact that the devil wanted to meet with him wasn’t a good sign.
He’d killed a fellow Demon Hunter, which was punishable by death. He’d killed a powerful demon, one Satani had explicitly told him to stay away from. He’d attacked angels before and again now, getting into a scrap with a pissy archangel. He’d even sent Satan back down to hell. Alex wasn’t sure if the last one would count in Satani’s good books. She’d locked her brother up in the first place. He just sent him back down to where he came from. She should be pleased, but the devil didn’t strike him as the thankful type.
“He’s giving you false confidence, Alex,” Scarlett muttered. “Don’t be an idiot and think you’re stronger than you are.”
It wasn’t the first time Scarlett had hinted at knowing of Lucifer’s existence. But that was all she’d done. Hint at it.
“Who?” he asked. “What do you think you know?”
Scarlett met his eyes firmly. “Lucifer,” she said. “It isn’t the first time he’s been back. It won’t be the last. You know what that means? It means he’s died many times before. Lucifer comes back, but the human bodies he inhabits, they don’t. Don’t die for him,” she said.
It was a sobering thought. Scarlett was right. Lucifer had said as much himself. He’d been back plenty of times before, and each time, he’d died.
“This is different,” Lucifer said. “Your body is different, Alex. I’ve never felt this good before, this powerful.”
Alex could feel that power radiating occasionally. But it wasn’t consistent. He was stronger sometimes and sometimes he lacked concentration. But each time, Lucifer see
med to be growing in power.
“What’s the end game?” Alex asked Lucifer. “What do you hope to achieve?”
“To free all of humanity from God and the devil,” Lucifer said.
Alex let out a mirthless laugh. Lucifer wasn’t asking for much, was he? But it was a noble cause, and one Alex could get on. Much more than he could the one Satani had asked of him. He wasn’t a Demon Hunter anymore. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t meet with Satani and see what the devil wanted of him.
He nodded at Scarlett. “Fine,” he said. “I’ll meet the devil.”
Chapter 8
Scarlett didn’t have her fancy limousine with her this time. She’d driven to Ignis Estate by herself. Alex supposed getting to Ignis Estate had been a priority and the white LaFerrari parked by the side of the road was much faster than the limousine. How else could demons travel? They didn’t have wings like angels did.
The white door of the LaFerrari rose up. As Scarlett slid in, her short skirt hiked up, exposing her thighs and the curves of her ass cheeks. Karen and Veronica both followed him to the car, and by that time Melissa had made it there too.
“You’re really going with her?” Karen asked. “You can’t go to Satani. She could kill you.”
“I can handle the devil,” Alex said. “I dealt with her much scarier brother, didn’t I?”
Both Melissa and Veronica reacted differently to that piece of information. Melissa’s eyes widened as her mouth hung open.
Veronica’s eyes narrowed. “Her brother? Satan?” she asked.
Alex nodded, grinning.
Karen groaned and shoved him in the chest. “Stop telling people. If word gets out, it could be trouble. You’re supposed to keep things like this quiet. It’s not something to brag about!”
Alex figured Karen might have a point. He’d already pissed off an archangel, and Satani wasn’t going to shower him with gifts. Satan it seemed, had supporters, so, chances were, they’d probably be coming after him too.
The Devil's Apprentice: Book 2: Descent to Hell Page 5