Dominic hands Hines the knife.
Hines inches the knife out into the blue flame.
The knife roasts in the flame, the tip turning bright orange as Hines withdraws it.
Gingerly he places the orange tip of the knife to the broken washer, soldering the washer back together.
He drops the knife, inserts the washer back under the screw, tightens it, and rearranges the strap.
“Try it now,” Hines says.
Dominic shoulders the flamethrower, the strap holding this time, which allows him to maneuver much better.
“You really know your way around the mechanisms of war,” he says. “If only you knew how to develop a personality…”
“I’m going to pretend like that was a compliment,” Hines replies. “It’s the closest you’ve ever gotten.”
“I’m gonna say something here that better not leave us, or I will track you down and pummel you,” Dominic says, pretending that I can’t hear them as well. “Maybe there are a few of you Halflings, or whatever you call yourselves, that are worthwhile and good for fighting against Lucifer’s horde. Apparently, you’ve got some skills.”
He pauses, sizes Hines up.
“You fought your ass off below,” Dominic continues. “I’m not easily impressed by anyone, let alone a mortal, but damn. You are beginning to remind me of your old man. Call me impressed.”
Hines beams.
“No more calling me Halfling then?” Hines asks. “Can I at least get you to say Nephilim?”
Dominic chuckles.
“No, you’re still a Halfling,” he says, “but a Halfling that I’d choose over most angels to be at my side in battle any day and any century.”
Dominic holds out a hand.
Hines takes it.
They shake warmly, then embrace in a firm hug.
I groan despite loving the moment.
Then, I gesture for them to come close and rejoin the rest of us.
The team regroups and strides down the trail that leads across the rock to a rickrack of granite.
It forms a natural staircase that leads down under an archway.
The archway is garlanded with skulls and dangling skeletons. It’s a horrific storyboard of death and desecration, as well as a footnote on all the torment that has repeated over and over through the ages.
Above the skeletal remains, words are engraved into the archway.
‘Demon Est Deus Inversus’ is scrawled in a script.
“The Devil is God reversed,” Hines says, translating the words. “Yeah, that’s lovely.”
Below the archway sits a raised, circular dais.
It’s the size of a basketball court, illuminated by a single, almost theatrical light that shafts out of the black sky.
The rear of the dais splits into two walkways, constructed of black metal that disappears into the gloom.
A single figure is visible on the dais…Noah!
He stands there stock-still as if manacled by invisible tethers, looking as if he can’t see anything in the dark.
I look at him and scream, “NOAH!”
I turn back and steal a hopeful look at Michael and Jessup.
“We did it,” I say. “Didn’t we? Goddamnit, we actually beat the Devil. We fucking did it!”
I smile with joy, allowing myself more hopefulness than I should.
Then, I lead Hines down to the dais.
Michael and Jessup remain behind with ashen faces and grim looks on their countenances.
I’m too caught up in hope to realize what that means.
My son is inches away.
I reach the dais and scoop up Noah in my arms.
He smells like the plastic cartridges of video games and junk food.
It’s him. It’s really him.
As I hold my son, I think I might never let him go again.
“I missed you,” Noah says.
“I’ve missed you more than anything,” I reply. “I love you so much.”
30
The Betrayal
Noah’s voice beckons me in.
I embrace him tighter.
“Is it you?! Is it really you?!” I say with trembling lips. “Tell me it’s you.”
“It’s me,” he answers. “Is it true what he said?”
“What who said?” I ask.
“Lucifer.”
My heart tenses.
“What did he tell you, Noah?”
“That you’re really my mother, that you’re important. Is it true?” he asks.
“I am your mother,” I confess. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you before, but if anyone knew they’d see you as a threat. I couldn’t let anything happen to you.”
“You still should have told me,” Noah says.
“I know,” I admit. “But I’ve found you now. Everything’s going to be okay. We’re getting out of here.”
“He says I’m special,” Noah adds. “Am I?”
“You are,” I reply, not knowing if he truly understands what that means. “And I’m sorry, Noah. I’m sorry for not telling you the whole truth. I just wanted you to be safe. God, I’m so sorry for everything.”
“It’s okay, I forgive you,” he replies. “You did what you said you would do, mother. You didn’t let me down, and you fought your way here.”
I nod, grateful he understands my intent.
“And now we’re going to finish what we came here to do and then go home and be safe,” I say. “I’m never going to leave your side again. I’ll always be there for you. Can you do that with me? Are you ready to leave?”
“I don’t want to stay,” he replies. “The one who took me is nothing like you. He doesn’t lie out of love. He lies because he’s ashamed of his true nature and place in the world. He resents what he is. He wants to be more. I don’t like him, mother.”
Noah has always been a truth seeker and one to question. I never expected him to be able to see through the lies, deceit, and treachery of the Silver-Tongued Deceiver at such a young age, though.
He truly is special, beyond being the light of my life.
He has a destiny, and I aim to see it fulfilled.
We hug and embrace like there’s no tomorrow.
I wish it were over now and we could just go home, but it’s not that simple. The only way out is through more bloodshed.
Hines and Dominic step closer, watching, smiling. Their eyes moisten as they fight back emotion.
I believe and trust in them now more than ever.
A battery of hidden lights flashes on, blinding us. The source is a vast array of lit torches.
The darkness peels back like a theater curtain to reveal an army of demons slithering out of the unadulterated darkness to greet us.
This has been the plan all along. We were meant to arrive in this dark place. Lucifer’s plan has come to fruition.
The demon soldiers’ breath steams in the dark air. Their muscles tense, looking like they’re ready for the fight of the century.
There could be thousands upon thousands of them, there could be a million for all I can tell.
They could number in the tens of millions. The horde stretches back far beyond where I can see.
They quickly swarm around us and disarm every member of our team.
We should fight back, but we don’t have a choice. If we attack now, we’ll be overwhelmed.
We aren’t facing them from across the battlefield. They’ve pulled us into a trap through my need to reunite with Noah.
I’ve led my team right into the heart of the enemy.
They have us surrounded from all directions.
Have I failed again? Am I no better than Lucifer thinks of me?
This is all a trick. I don’t understand what the Morning Star is up to, but I know this is his handiwork.
In the midst of the demons, I can see Vic Jacobs and Moloch.
Beyond these abominations looms Hell-proper, connected to the abyss by one of the two walkways.
A monolithic se
ries of stacked cages rise and descend. They are without beginning or end. It’s the universe’s largest spiritual supermax prison.
Countless faces of lost souls can be seen in a narcotic haze of dust and sulfuric smoke. I recognize some of them.
Among their number are genocidal maniacs from throughout the centuries. Others are unrecognizable, likely evil humans who carried out Lucifer’s dirty work in the dark and never became known to the world by name or face. Many of them are here because my team and I sent them down over the centuries.
A membranous mass of bodies infused with a confusion of numerous languages and garbled voices fill the air.
The multitude of lost souls in Hell stares out at us.
The demon army parts down the middle like the Red Sea, allowing a larger-than-life and shadowed figure to stroll forward and approach.
Lucifer appears in the guise of a stylish and beautiful young man adorned in white robes.
This is his true form, the manifestation I remember before he rebelled.
He breaks the silence with a warm grin like that of a sphinx. Then, he begins to softly clap.
No one else dares to make a noise.
It’s as if we’re in the middle of a holy service and everyone is in awe or fear or both as the Master of Ceremonies makes his entrance in grand fashion.
“Bravo, Samya, bravo,” Lucifer says in his soothing, melodic, and resonant voice that rings out over the mass of demons and lost souls, as well as we few angels.
It’s as if his words are being amplified.
“I admire you even more now,” Lucifer says to me. “I knew you could do it. You have no idea how proud I am of you.”
It’s a lie, though. His form of pride is corrupt and full of menace. It’s not selfless and full of love. His pride is nothing more than vanity.
I share a horrified look with Michael and Jessup.
Dominic and Hines turn pale as they gaze upon the Morning Star.
Noah buries his face in my shoulder.
“We did it?” I ask. “We actually won? You’re going to honor your agreement?”
Lucifer chortles. His menacing eyes begin to brighten like stars.
“Nobody has ever made it across the lake, defeating the human warriors under my spell. No. One. Ever. How do you think that makes me feel about you?” he asks.
“Like you wish I…we…were on your side,” I reply. “But we’re not.”
“I’d say I’m surprised,” Lucifer counters, “but the truth is that I’m not. I expected this of you. I knew you could conquer. I knew I was right to choose you.”
“Choose me?” I ask. “You haven’t the right. My allegiance will never be to a sick fuck like you.”
Lucifer glides closer but stays on his side of the divide.
“You laid waste to my very best warriors. I should thank you. You’ve shown me who is not worthy. And I have decided,” he says and pauses. “You, Samya, will lead my army. You will be at my right hand as I take what belongs to me. You were born for this. Death suits you.”
“Are we free to go or not?” I ask, ignoring his false praise. “Because if it’s a ‘no,’ then we’re not done laying waste to your army.”
Lucifer grins.
His demonic army chuckles at the sight of his powerful and beaming smirk.
They worship him, and they have faith that he alone is going to win once it’s all said and done.
They falsely believe that he can save those beyond saving.
“Who said anything about going anywhere?” Lucifer asks. “Why would you want to leave when all you’ve ever needed is right here? All the power the world has to offer is yours to command, at my behest of course. You will be second only to me.”
What a crock of shit, I think
“You said if we fought that I’d get my son and we’d be allowed to go,” I counter.
“You trusted me when I said that?” Lucifer asks, teasingly and in a mocking tone. “Hello. I’m the Great Deceiver. And it would appear that someone needs to be reminded that I and I alone am the fucking Lord down here. The God you worship isn’t interested. He’s busy resting on His laurels. While I fight and suffer and work tirelessly to bring about a better existence, to create a better world. I will be the God that all creatures, living and dead, truly deserve. I will save the ones He turns His back on. I am their salvation. I am their Redeemer.”
“We had a deal,” I say, putting his foolish grandiosity out of my mind. “I’m not here to fight a Second Holy War. And I’m certainly not interested in leading your armies. So go fuck yourself.”
Lucifer shakes his head.
“Tsk, tsk,” he says.
His mane of golden hair begins to glow with beauty and awe.
“You’re forgetting something very important that I also said when we made our so-called deal,” he warns. “You’re forgetting that you only get to leave with your son if no one in your party has turned against you.”
He lets that set in for a moment.
“No one!” he snaps. “Are you certain that hasn’t happened, Samya?”
My brow knots, my eyes shoot to Hines.
Then, I glare at Michael.
I stare down Dominic.
Then, I look last to Jessup. His face flushes red from shame.
“Some wise sage once said that you never do see the things hiding right under your fucking nose, right in plain sight,” Lucifer says with a hiss. “Maybe that’s why you never suspected any of them. No?”
Recognition washes over me. This has been a long time coming.
“No,” I whisper, barely able to speak under the weight of betrayal that I never expected. “You had no right.”
31
Treachery
Michael and Jessup move away from the others without a word.
“You!” I shout at them. “You two did this. You fucking did this. How could you?!?”
Michael glares over.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says.
Slowly, Michael marches away from the dais, lifts up off the ground and glides down, and then takes his place a few feet away from Lucifer.
Once again, he’s become a general of a powerful army. Only this time, he’s the one making the decisions.
“I’ve been suffering unending pain for centuries,” Michael spits at me. “You’ve barely even begun to know what that’s like.”
Jessup stays behind for a beat as if he might face off with me.
I meet his eyes with dread.
He waits for me to acknowledge what he’s done before taking his place with the Devil.
“I should have seen it coming, but how? How could you?” I ask Jessup. “I need to know.”
“Because you forgot, Samya. You forgot about the one who soothed your pain and bandaged your wounds when we fell and our wings were singed,” Jessup answers. “All I ever wanted to was to be with you and give you love. But you betray your own kind. You’re the traitor, not me. Why should angels kneel down before men? We are quite literally the first creation of God. We should be exalted. Not the humans. We should reign!”
“Saying that doesn’t make any of it right or true,” I reply. “There’s more to life than getting what you want. You have no right to claim that you know better than God. We were wrong to think we knew better the first time, and you’re wrong now!”
Lucifer snickers in the background. He’s loving this.
This is one of his greatest pleasures, to see others tear into each other, to see us fall for his machinations and become like him.
Pride, selfishness, and fear has done more harm than any weapons of war ever could.
The Prince of Darkness truly is as clever and powerful as his namesake, but I hate him all the more for it.
“Love doesn’t have to be right all the time, Samya,” Jessup says. “Sometimes, it’s just about want and desire. Nothing more than that. I don’t see that as so wrong. I’ve earned it. We all have. We’ve paid far greater a price than the
ones we protect. It’s time for us to bathe in glory and return to the Plains of Heaven. If they won’t take us in, we’ll take it from them.”
“My guess is you’ll have all eternity to think about just how stupid, ignorant, and idiotic that sounds,” I say. “We’re more than our desires. And Heaven won the First Holy War. Don’t forget!”
“With Micheal leading the charge,” Jessup counters.
“Until he disobeyed,” I argue. “Then we were left with this mess.”
Jessup lunges forward and smacks me hard across the face, bloodying my lower lip.
I snarl at him.
I should end him now.
“Get out of my fucking face,” I demand.
Jessup turns and slides down next to Michael and Lucifer.
The Great Deceiver licks his lips with pleasure as if he’s just devoured the most divine meal in history.
This is his feast, and his cup brims over.
“Damn, your little pseudo family is falling apart at the seams,” Lucifer says. “I am truly enjoying this. I can’t even begin to express how much pleasure I’m feeling right now.”
He cackles.
“I’m even tempted to stretch it out and linger in the moment. It’s as if I’m caught in the middle of an orgasmic climax that should never end,” he says with a smirk. “Don’t feel bad, Samya. Mikey here and the lovely and seductive Jessup were already under my grasp long ago. You were just too busy seeing the good in others to take notice. You were so blinded by false hope and misplaced faith in an absent God that you missed it. It’s pathetic really. It’s a shame such ferocity and ability to bring havoc and death is wasted on a petulant follower of the old ways. Killing suits you. Your faith, however, is misplaced. Matter of fucking fact, Michael sold you out right after the First Holy War, moments after he became ensnared in the abyss. Did you really think I’d allow someone like him to wander about down here without an insurance policy?”
Lucifer guffaws and begins strutting in victory.
“Your beloved archangel is my ‘man’ on the street, as it were,” he says. “He’s my set-up artist, and he’s pretty damn good at it, or so it would seem. The Order wonders endlessly why I haven’t made my move. Why hasn’t the Devil overrun the earth? Because I’m more than the labels they throw at me. I will be their Lord too. Whether they like it or not. I’ve been waiting for this. I’ve been waiting for the blood of an archangel inside a human, a Nephilim, who can grant me passage to Heaven. And an archangel who’s actually worthy of leading the army I’ve amassed. You’re the first to give me faith. You’re the one I want, Samya. Whaddya say? Conquer the Plains of Heaven with me?”
DEATH SUITS HER_A Supernatural Reverse Harem Romance Adventure Page 17