Scathe

by Chacelyn Pierce

  Andrea was able to think clearly after waking up in her bed alone. She accosted most of the Eden ordeal to a really long and intense vision. Too much wine, too many stories, it was bound to affect her. She must've left earlier in the night, popped the top on a bottle of wine—as evidence suggested—and crashed out. The following morning, her purse and notepad were on her kitchen table and her car in the driveway. Either a dab of angelic magic or Ortus might've been the reason for her returned belongings. She'd spent her last moments in his beautiful garden, hence the surreal Eden thoughts. Even as she wanted to believe the lie, she knew it was bull crap. The archangel had tried to gloss over the evening and make her believe that night hadn't happened. However, Michael held up to his promise and left her memories alone. He probably hoped she'd sum up her night with Luc as a drunken dream. There was no way that any of that wasn't real. Luc shared the most sensitive part of himself with her, and it had drawn her in completely.

  Amy tapped her manicure nails on the door jamb. "Do you want me to tell him you're out of the office again?"

  Andrea sighed; the problem wasn't going away until she faced it. "No, I'll talk to him." Amy nodded and turned to leave. She closed the office door behind her, allowing Andrea the privacy she needed.

  Andrea glanced at the blinking red "on hold" light on her office phone and dreaded the conversation to come. She lifted the receiver from the cradle and punched the button. "Ortus?"

  "You're avoiding my calls. Why?" His voice was cool, not as furious as she would've assumed.

  She had half a mind to tell him she didn't have to answer to him, but she bit the words back and tried to put on a nice facade. She wasn't ready to talk to him or Luc, and calling and harassing her not to publish what she saw wasn't going to keep it under wraps.

  "Ortus, I can't really be bothered right now. I'm on a deadline."

  Ortus huffed and spoke in a calm, clear voice a bit too harsh for the old butler. Not human, a demon, remember that. "Miss Matthews, I need you to tell me what happened after you and my master were no longer in the mansion. Specifics if you don't mind."

  Andrea couldn't help the warm flush rolling through her body. Details were out of the question. "Look Ortus, you can read the article when it goes out to print next week. If Luc didn't want me writing something down, he shouldn't have opened up whatever can of worms he doesn't want me to share."

  "I assure you my master had every confidence in what he was doing. He shared with you what he needed to in order to open your eyes. Your notepad was scarce of any pertinent information when I last saw it. Please, tell me what happened."

  "Ask him." Sure, she was being snotty, but Luc had a lot of nerve to have Ortus calling instead of himself. Even if he had been ashamed of what she'd seen. She guessed Luc wanted to know the specifics on what she was going to put out to the public. Perhaps he'd been afraid she'd tell about his scarring and the angel punishing him. She wasn't an outright bitch in her articles. Andrea had no intentions of exposing that personal side of him. "Luc should be able to give you a full account of that night."

  "I would ask him if he were here. He hasn't been seen since the night of your interview."

  Andrea leaned forward in her chair, her pen slipped from her fingers, and she blinked rapidly to help her brain process what Ortus had just said. Missing? How does the Devil go missing? Who was crazy enough to take him? The answer came in a flash, like the lightning bolt that preceded him and his angelic touch. She had a pretty good guess who probably kidnapped Luc. He stood about seven foot with wings of gold and a halo of curls around his head. Without wasting time and skimming over the juicy details, Andrea relayed the Eden scene in its near entirety.

  Ortus was so quiet, Andrea thought he might've hung up. "This news is very disturbing."

  "You're telling me, how does an angel kidnap the Devil? Is he in a jail cell in Heaven?" That sounded so ridiculous coming out of her mouth, but she went with it.

  "Not over the phone, can you come back to the mansion today?"

  She really wanted to say no. Andrea didn't need to get caught up in anymore Luc drama. She hadn't had time to fully recover from the last encounter yet. The angel told her to back off, and she feared what disregarding an angel's warning might do. Still, her inquisitiveness to the paranormal had always been a dangerous thing that led her into trouble. Plus, she and Luc had…something, and though she was cautious, she had some kind of feelings for him. Of course she would, since she'd shared her body with him. Physical connection most often accompanied emotional attachment, especially with her. While it was a far cry from some declaration of love, there were deep-rooted feelings in her soul which made it impossible to not care.

  Andrea agreed to come to the mansion later that night and hear what Ortus had to say about Luc's disappearance. Whatever it was, he didn't sound very hopeful. The guy seemed to live and breathe to serve Luc, and without him she could imagine Ortus was beside himself and circling the mansion like a jackrabbit on drugs. A demon without a master might not be a pleasant thing to behold. No matter the danger involved, Andrea knew she was going to the castle to face not only the corporal demons roaming Earth, but the demons set deep in her soul.

  ♦♦♦♦

  Surprisingly Ortus had himself together. Although, his eyes looked sharper, and the color was off slightly. Stress maybe. He stepped aside for her to enter the house and his normal extravagant pleasantries were brief tonight. She handed over her coat when he held out a gloved hand. She couldn't keep her eyes from glancing skyward and taking note of the beautiful artwork again. Nothing changed visually, but something had been off within the household. It seemed like the mansion was too silent, and a part of her couldn't help but feel like it lost a bit of its life without Luc.

  "I trust your day was beneficial?"

  Andrea shook her head. "It was going okay until your phone call, and then I spent the rest of the whole day worrying."

  "Apologies, but after asking around, I find our situation even grimmer than I first believed."

  "Our?" Andrea crossed her arms and tried not to squirm when Ortus's strange gaze locked on her gesture and narrowed. Tough, she didn't have to come and he could deal with Luc's crisis without her. Andrea didn't know how to help. She could be up against an archangel, the very angel that warned her away. There's only so much a human could do against celestial beings. Plus, it seemed like her presence made the situation worse. Andrea doubted Michael would buy her lack of knowledge a second time. Her twisted mind couldn't handle a brainwash or whatever the angel might have to do to make her forget.

  "Master Luc is in a situation he doesn't care to be in, and it is in our best interest to bring him back. I'm afraid he is imprisoned in Sheol, and it is not wise to leave him there for a long stretch of time."

  Andrea still couldn't figure out how she was supposed to save the Devil from not Heaven but Hell? Wasn't that truly where he belonged? His realm, where he could enter and leave when he pleased. She wanted to tell Ortus she couldn't help, that she wasn't equipped to deal with demon baggage, but Luc sacrificing himself to spare her caused her to pause on delivering her departing words.

  "How long will he have to sit down there if I don't help?" She fidgeted, not sure if she wanted to hear the time.

  "Eons," Ortus said, his lips thinning. "Lucifer on his throne is not good for anyone, and the angels fail to see this. Taking the fall for Eve's great sin will likely bond him to the realm. Miss Matthews, you are possibly the only one that can bring him back."

  "How?" She couldn't see how she was the reason, and Ortus hadn't really been very forthcoming.

  "You have to give him a reason to fight the Darkness."

  Andrea placed a hand on her chest when her heart rate rose to an unhealthy tempo. "No pressure huh, Ortus?"

  "Come, follow me."

  Andrea followed Ortus to a hidden alcove off the main hallway. An arched door opened to reveal a spiral staircase. She'd somehow missed it when Luc took her on the grand tour. And
rea could taste the stale air associated with the dark chambers of Lucifer's castle. Sulfur prickled her nose and she breathed in heavy condensation. There hadn't been much light to begin with, and it almost become none existent when they reach the bottom of the stairs. Not able to see the full room yet, Andrea noted something within casting an amber glow.

  Ortus turned to watch as Andrea reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped into the room. Her eyes fixed on the six-foot glowing orb of something behind him. Andrea took a wild guess at it being a portal, but she wasn't entirely sure where it went. A part of her really didn't want to know. A wild guess was that it was the rift to Sheol Luc told her about during their interview.

  "This is the rift; it will take you to him." Ortus looked down at his feet, causing her to sense there was more he wasn't saying.

  Andrea studied the deep void of onyx outlined in swirling hellfire. She was—on good faith—supposed to step through the blackness and Luc would be on the other side. What else was over there? She could feel the pull of evil, tempting her, lulling her with dark whispers in her mind to step into the crevice between realms.

  "This is the gateway Luc told me about?" She studied it, it seemed stable, not wavering or flickering out of sight. She didn't want to be stuck anywhere.

  Ortus glanced at the swirling mix of ether. "Yes. The Mouth of Sheol, the fissure into the domain that demons hate, yet love all the same. It is home, but it is a cursed place, it changes most of us for the worse. It is why bringing Luc back is so important."

  Like a cat with a string, she became ensnared, and her curiousness had taken the driver's seat. "What's it like there?"

  Ortus hesitated before speaking. "The northern region is crawling with demons and damned souls, his kingdom is a charred wasteland and isn't appealing to the eye. What it lacks in beauty, it more than makes up for in demonic power. You probably won't see any of that. I have a feeling the moment you step in, he will sense it and cast an illusion." Still, Ortus held something back, and she wasn't going to step through the portal until she had the whole truth from the old butler.

  "How do I find Luc?"

  Ortus situated himself next to the portal. "Don't worry, the Devil and Darkness will come to you. Miss Matthews, I shouldn't have asked you to do this. You're only a mortal. I assumed your connection to him might bring him back. You don't have to—"

  She held a hand up, cutting him off. "No, he got sent to the one place he hates because of me, and I didn't ask him to. I want to try and bring him back." She had to admire her own bravery, even though she trembled all over. The plan was foolish but no less heroic. Who wanted to willingly stroll into Sheol? It had to be the strength of Eve's soul spurring her on. Tethered to Lucifer, for there was no other explanation on how she would agree to something so stupid.

  Ortus opened his mouth but closed it, looking at her with worry.

  "Whole truths, Ortus, no surprises. What aren't you telling me?"

  Ortus tugged on his sleeve and rolled his shoulder as though it slightly pained him. "The longer he stays there, the more lost he will become. In Sheol he becomes the thing of nightmares, the creature everyone fears and expects him to be."

  "What do you mean?"

  "In Sheol, he becomes the one we call Satan: full of evil, torment, and a deep lust of power. He's untrustworthy and he will try to lure you with lust, trickery, or fear. You mustn't let him. He takes his true form, but you must remember, that is not who he is."

  Andrea bit her bottom lip. "Luc told me Satan was something else entirely when I asked if that was his name. He said Satan was a manifestation of people's beliefs."

  "His words are true. People believe Satan is the King of Sheol, grotesque, malevolent, and serpentine. There, in the pits of perdition, Lucifer is just that. Their beliefs are so strong he becomes what they imagine. On Earth, he is simply the fallen angel Lucifer, closer to a man than a demonic monster. He is not bound by the fiery chains of Sheol on Earth. He's free to be who he wishes.

  "Michael cast him in the inferno millenniums ago. After being released, Luc swore he never wanted to go back. He said it would break him, and his wrath might start the apocalypse. I tell you because I want you to know what you'll be facing."

  Andrea shifted, and for a brief moment, she wanted to change her mind. "What am I supposed to do now that he's Satan?"

  "The inferno is an intoxicating poison. Once it sinks its claws deep in a demon it is near impossible to break free. The realm is rich in power, and demons are drunk off it, but none more so than the Master himself. You'll have to bring him back from the Darkness, and it won't be easy. I can't tell you how. I have no answers, but I ask you not to give up."

  Andrea straighten her spine and glared at the portal, she silently gauged her options. If she failed, it went without saying that she'd be stuck in Sheol for all eternity. She hoped she was smart enough and wouldn't be deceived by Satan. According to everything written about him, he'd lie his way into condemning them both to Sheol. Andrea probably wouldn't stand a chance; deceit is what the Devil did best. However, something inside her—likely Eve's soul—wanted to try. With that small bout of courage, Andrea stepped through the vortex and welcomed whatever nightmare fate decided to throw her way.

  X

  "Go to Heaven for the climate, Sheol for the company."

  ― Mark Twain

  A female's throaty laugh cut through the chatter of collective voices. Andrea's head bobbed as if she'd dozed while sitting upright. She opened her heavy eyelids and jerked her hanging head up to see a myriad rainbow of clothes and masks. It seemed as if she'd fallen asleep at a masquerade ball. Once the haze lifted from her mind she remembered things weren't what they seemed. She'd warped to Sheol and probably in one of Satan's deceptions, even if it didn't feel like it. Adorned in a costume as well, a full mask covered her face and hindered her breathing. Andrea let her finger's travel along the cool ceramic and up to the plume of feathers creating the crown. She was tucked away in the corner of the crowded ballroom. Nervously, she took in the scene before feeling confident enough to stand up from the plush settee.

  No one paid her any attention as they danced and chatted with merriment. How in the hell did she transport to a party? She remembered stepping through the rift. She expected a torrid wasteland riddled with lava and nightmarish creatures dwelling in darkness. Andrea felt like she'd been plucked out of thin air and dolled up for a lie.

  She surveyed the decorated ballroom and its entertained occupants. High pillars of white ascended from the dark floor to the soaring ceiling. Against the stark alabaster, crimson rose garlands snaked around each one as though it belonged in an expensive wedding ceremony. The right wall offered varies forms of refreshments, and a few people clustered around the lengthy table to indulge themselves of the samplers and champagne.

  The left wall housed an eight-man orchestra, each member wearing a harlequin Venetian mask of various colors. They were playing a smooth classical number that had members of the dance floor pirouetting. Andrea nervously ran her hands down her body, noting the sequined texture of the scarlet dress adorning her body. With a quick glance across the room, as far as she could tell, she was the only one wearing such a shocking red. She matched the beautiful flowers, but she wasn't going to be a part of this charade. Andrea hooked a thumb under the chin of her mask to lift it off but a blonde woman in a peach Marie Antoinette styled dress and a matching eye mask appeared at her side and steadied a hand on her wrist.

  "No, no, no, dear, the mask stays on. It's the rule. We haven't had this much fun in ages," her exuberant voice carried and a few other masked people toasted in her direction as if to agree. The beautiful woman toasted back the small cup in her hands with a flirty smile. She sipped the drink and eyed Andrea over the rim. "You aren't what I expected, but like me, you've changed a lot over the ages."

  "Who are you?"

  She cackled. "Oh, forgive me, I'm so rude! I am Lilith, the Queen of the Succubi, and Adam's first wife." She gave a
fleeting smile and sipped again before speaking. "Not to say I'm surprised you fell for him. I mean, I practically hunched down like a cat in heat every time Sammael came into Eden. The angels are the best bedmates and the easiest to corrupt. Plus, Adam was a dreadful bedmate. I know if you could remember, you'd agree." She winked and scanned the party. The glow of the golden lights caused her skin to resemble smooth buttermilk. "Your beloved is here somewhere, likely brooding on his throne. He knows you've arrived, but wants you to seek him out. Then you two can become well acquainted. A little advice, he likes you to bite it."

  "Bite what?" Andrea asked, a bit overwhelmed by the talkative beauty beside her.

  Lilith scoffed and broke her search off to glare at Andrea. "Don't be daft dear. We are demons, and sex is a rough and tantalizing thing. I'll not have you wondering about like an unexperienced schoolgirl."

  "There won't be any sex. I'm looking for Lucifer."

  Lilith pouted her lips in mocking sadness and patted Andrea's cheek in a condescending manner. "You poor, poor thing. There is no Lucifer, only Satan. Insatiable that one is. Best be quick on your toes. He gets bored in bed easily and trust me, you don't want him bored, or he'll toss you aside for the cronies. Come, let's go see him. He gets impatient."

  Lilith grabbed Andrea's arm and jerked her through the horde of masked patrons. The succubus led her toward the far wall yards away. She could make out the top of a massive throne over the gathering. Partiers she bumped along the way turned to stare at her in curiosity. They all parted for her and Lilith. Whispers rose, and the ones wearing half masked smiled wicked grins that stretched their thin lips over pointy fangs. Demons. The cleared pathway revealed the black polished marble under their feet. Andrea's glance caught the mirrored reflections of the crowds on the floor and immediately wished she hadn't noticed them.

  Their true demonic form shined against the obsidian.

  Gone were the colorful costumes and masks. She could see distorted creatures from a child's nightmare. Nude and gangly, some horned, others with fangs, wings, and talons. The demons' true reflections were a lot harder to swallow than the illusion of the outlandish masquerade ball. The controlled panic inside starting to rise and her heartbeat picked up tempo. What had she been thinking? She had no experience in dealing with this kind of crap, which was ironic seeing as how she searched for these supernatural phenomenons when it came to her career.