Descending

by Sophia Florenza

  “Only the ones who didn't practice what they preached and were sending the wrong message to the masses,” Virgil explains.

  “Is Hitler at this Circle?” I ask.

  “Fuck yeah, he is!” Virgil answers excitedly.

  “So, Adolf is roasted for eternity? Poetic justice,” the irony of the situation not lost to me. These assholes don't deserve my pity!

  “Hitler is the main attraction for my demons in this Circle,” a familiar bitchy male voice says from the darkness. Ugh! Lucifer.

  “Good to know Lucifer,” I reply sarcastically to the dark. “Are you selling Pay-Per-View tickets to the millions of souls Hitler tragically killed?” I ask.

  “Sera,” Lucifer admonishes from the dark. “Of course not! I stream Hitler’s burning on Hellflix for free,” Lucifer’s tone sounding serious from the darkness. The trouble with Lucifer is that you don't know if he is truthful.

  “What can I help you with Lucifer?” I ask impatiently.

  “Nothing little girl. I just wanted to keep you and your little boy toys entertained while you are all descending,” he states casually and continues. “Gabriel, I also want to let you know that your wife and child will meet you at the Center of this Circle,” he says a little too nicely. Motherfucker! I’m going to make it my mission to find G’s little girl! Lucifer has been playing G since the beginning when G went to Earth to fight in The Fall.

  My other mates know about Lucifer's ploy, but I need to keep this whole situation a secret to G. Our bond is exceptionally flimsy now because G vowed that he would never touch me as a promise to Lamia. I guess you can say G took a blood oath, with supposed extremely painful repercussions if he doesn't honor the vow. Plus G can no longer hear my thoughts.

  “Are you going to let us easily pass through this Circle, Lucifer?” I ask.

  Not missing a beat, Lucifer replies, “Nah. I'm enjoying watching you six, making a mess out of everything. I hope Gabriel doesn't behead you Sera when you're done with your mission,” Lucifer says in a “tut, tut” voice. “Because I would if you tore me away from my soulmate and our child,” Lucifer finishes. Sensing the trap, I don't respond. Blow me.

  We all keep silent in the ensuing darkness. “UGH! You six are sooooo boring! Adios!” Lucifer says in a whiny little boy voice.

  We keep gliding down. My wings are starting to get tired, and the temperature is dropping. “Fuck it,” I say out loud to the darkness.

  'Cal,’ I think to my holy sword.

  ‘Yes, little one,’ the sword responds in my head.

  ‘Can you detect the bottom?’ I inquire.

  ‘Not right now. Maybe about twenty feet away, I will be able to warn you,’ Cal responds.

  ‘Great minds think alike Cal,’ I compliment.

  Now, swords don't have tongues, but I swear to god Cal clicked its tongue in my head before saying, ‘You know it!’

  “Guys, I'm folding in my wings and taking the plunge. Cal said it would warn me when I'm about twenty feet from the ground,” I inform the group.

  “Who the fuck is Cal?” I hear B’s sexy Scottish voice sounding confused in the darkness.

  “Cal is Sera's sword, Excalibur,” Virgil says in his scholarly tone.

  “Let me get this straight,” B demands. “Excalibur can talk to Sera?” B’s asks incredulously.

  “Why is this such a big deal?” I ask.

  “Excalibur is The Creator’s sword. The Creator bequeaths the sword to those they feel worthy. However, that sword only speaks to The Creator,” B explains.

  “B, I would love to get into a philosophical debate with you about this,” my voice sounding a little irritated because my body is starting to ache from my wings straining to keep me from free-falling. “But, Cal does speak in my head, and my wings are getting tired. See you on the ground.” And with that, I fold in my wings.

  I have previously mentioned that I hate the sensation of falling, right? Even though I can fly, I still detest that feeling of when my stomach jumps into my mouth. Someday I'll get used to it. For now, it helps that it's dark in here.

  And I feel the fall for about thirty seconds until my body becomes adjusted to the velocity. With my “third” eye, I can see my mates’ energy signatures surrounding me — even G’s. I was always able to detect that Archangel's energy. Weird.

  We fall for a long time. Not a word said, but I can feel the unease from my six mates and the dark fury from G. I had to kidnap G away from his demoness bitch wife and fake daughter. I’m so fucking crucifying Lucifer and that fake family of his the first chance I get! How DARE Lucifer try to play me like that!

  Lucifer made a vow, and the fucker broke the pledge because he lied to me about the daughter. But I need to keep my hand extremely close to the chest. I'm going to win the pot when the mission ends.

  'About twenty-feet, little one!’ Cal screams into my head. I yell a warning to the guys before I release my fiery wings. I hit the ground, hard like a sack of flour. My knees are buckling, causing me to land on my hands and knees.

  ‘Sorry little one,’ Cal says remorsefully in my head.

  ‘It’s okay, Cal,’ I tell the sword, letting it know that I am not angry at it. I feel and hear the guys landing with grunts around me.

  Standing up, I yell into the blackness, “Lucifer! Please turn on the lights!”

  “Only because you asked nicely,” Lucifer mocks from the darkness. He’s always a yell away?

  The lights turn on. I take a moment for my eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness. Looking around, I see that I am in an ice-covered forest with trees that are as big as the Redwoods in Northern California. But these trees are not red; they are blue. The trees are also weeping a blue fire that trickles down the bark-like sap. That’s interesting.

  “What is that?” I ask the group, pointing to one of the weeping trees.

  “That is Hellfire,” B tells me. “Hellfire is one of the few things that can kill us Archangels,” B explains. I turn to B in shock.

  “What happens when an Archangel dies?” I ask.

  “We become nothing again. We don’t have souls, and therefore we will not go to Heaven or Hell. We stop existing.” B finishes. Bummer.

  I walk up to the tree, and as I am getting closer, I notice the stench is getting worse. And then I hear it. Agonizing screams and thumping coming from inside the tree. “This is how the souls are being roasted alive? Inside a tree trunk? That’s fucked up!” I say as I turn around and walk back to the group.

  “Welcome to Hell, Miss Dante,” I hear Lucifer say from the air.

  “Don’t you have anything better to do, Lucifer?” I ask the air testily.

  “Nope,” is the childlike reply. I roll my eyes. Blocking everything out, I start searching for FMC, my Hellhound, the imprisoned Archangel, and the door's energy signatures. When I locate the energy signatures, I face my body towards the direction, but I know how messed up these Circles are. Lucifer loves playing his little tricks with us.

  “Virgil, we need a string and a weight again,” I tell my mate. He smiles and takes off his pack. He goes into a front pocket and immediately pulls out a string and a small weight already attached.

  “I invented this two Circles ago. Didn’t get a chance to show you yet,” Virgil tells me while handing me his little contraption. I give him a small peck on the cheek as thanks, and I unravel the string.

  When the weight is close to the bottom, Virgil gets down on his hands and knees. He points towards the direction of the energy signatures. G starts stomping off in that direction, obviously wanting to get to his family as quickly as possible. I look at my other four mates, and I sadly shake my head. This is going to suck!

  I can hear the four others around me sighing. I take it as a sign of agreement.

  We start walking through the trees, and B starts speaking in my head. ‘Talk to Gabriel Sera,’ B softly goads.

  ‘And what should I say B? Sorry for kidnapping you from your demonic family? He would never believe me!’
I ask frantically.

  ‘Tell him something. Anything, Sera. You need that bond.’ Raph says in my head.

  ‘Fine!’ I yell back to them, and I stomp after G.

  G is a couple of yards away, so it takes me a little to catch up to him while walking on the ice. “G!” I yell to his back. G starts walking faster away from me. Seriously?!

  Releasing my wings and taking off into the air, I fly over G’s head, and I land right in front of him. Just like Supergirl! Wish I had on a cape.

  G walks around me like I am a barrier to be ignored, and without warning, I tackle the stubborn asshole to the ground. Ignore me now!

  We are grappling for a dominant position, and I am trying to straddle G to pin him down to the ground. G is struggling to buck me off him so he can get up and get away from me. Not knowing why I suddenly capture G’s face between my hands and I kiss him hard on the lips. I feel a small piece of myself reconnecting to him as I am kissing him.

  For some unknown reason, G stops struggling and actually wraps his arms around me, and is now kissing me in return! Now it’s G, who has taken on the role of aggressor. And he is parting my lips with his tongue. When our tongues touch, it’s like pure electricity that ignites me. I feel my bond with G getting a little bit stronger, and the turmoil I’ve been feeling in my soul is starting to calm down.

  G calmly breaks our kiss and whispers, “Lamia,” wistfully. Fucking Awesome! With my inhuman strength, I push hard against G, causing his body to fly away from me, but like a cat, he lands on his feet. I stand up, and G also stands facing me with apparent confusion about my sudden coldness. I would love to remove that demoness from his heart, but I can’t tell him about his family. Not yet, because I know he won’t believe me. Back to the task at hand.

  Taking a deep breath and clearing my throat, I softly speak, “G, I am sorry that I forcefully took you away from your family. But you were getting too preoccupied, and I was afraid that you would refuse to leave. I NEED you to help me finish my mission. If I fail, there will not be a Lamia or a Sariel to return to. Understand?”

  G frowns for a second, taking in my speech. “Don’t ever do that again, Sera,” he demands. “All you had to do was tell me that the door appeared, and I would have said my goodbyes. Instead, a Hellhound suddenly appears while I’m making love to my wife and grabs me. Now, I think it would be best if we stayed away from each other from now on. I have a wife that I truly love and a daughter that I have not seen for centuries,” G finishes curtly before turning and walking away.

  He's saying that he loves Lamia is like a knife to my chest. But I put on a brave face because I have to see this thing through.

  I don’t need to look behind me to know that my other mates are standing there. And I know that they saw and heard everything that was said.

  I turn back to them and smirk. “I felt the bond getting stronger when we kissed. G has no clue that our soul bond is stronger than whatever spell Lamia has on him.” I’m feeling hopeful that I can overcome the obstacle of Lamia.

  Then another thought hits me. “G vowed to Lamia that he would never touch me again. What happens if someone breaks a vow?” I ask no one in particular.

  “They would be in absolute agony for a minute, reminding them of the vow. Each time the vow breaks, the longer and more torturous the agony becomes,” Red informs me.

  “I wonder why G didn’t feel anything when he did touch me just now?” I ask out loud.

  “You’re an anomaly Sera,” B says sincerely.

  “That’s comforting,” I reply.

  ALSO BY SOPHIA FLORENZA

  THE DIVINE-LESS SERIES

  Book One: Descend (Available on Amazon in all formats)

  Book Three: Still Descending (Coming Soon, April 2020)

  LOST TO TIME SERIES

  Book One: Lost to Time

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