by Jill Cooper
Drawing closer, I heard the growls of the hell beasts as they were prepped for tomorrow. Poked and prodded, most likely starved. It wouldn’t be an easy fight for any of the gladiators.
I ducked down behind a stone slab as someone approached. Some of the other gladiators marched down the steps toward the sleeping quarters. Holding my breath, I waited for them to finish heading inside. When Cathal came with his guards, I strolled up with confidence.
“Guards! A moment alone with my prisoner, if you will.”
With their helmets and armor, it was hard to see their reaction, but one turned to me. “M’lady Amara…”
“I’ll take the duties over from here. He’s my champion. You think I can’t handle a little thing like an angel?”
The guards nodded at one another and then acknowledged me. “We’ll wait here for you.”
I could agree with that. Avoiding Cathal’s eyes, I grabbed the rope tied around his neck and pulled him with as much force as I could muster down the stairs. Hurting him wasn’t an option, but the guards couldn’t know that.
Cathal’s feet shuffled together because they were bound as were his hands. The ropes would be easy enough to cut as soon as we got away from the guards. I pushed him around the corner of the Coliseum.
“Move it, angel!”
With a kick to his leg, I glanced behind to make sure the guards were still watching. Relieved to see they were, I pushed Cathal out of their sight where they could no longer spy upon us.
Cathal’s eyes bulged. “Amara…this is too risky.”
“Shut up. It has to be done. I’ll take whatever punishment Lucifer gives me.” I reached inside the hem of my dress and pulled out my sword. I tried not to think about what such a punishment might be because I might lose my nerve. Before that could happen, I cut the ropes around his feet and his hands.
Cathal’s mouth fell open and his look pierced me. I pocketed my sword. “This at least will give you a fighting chance. And this.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small dagger. “This will even the odds.”
I placed it in his open hand. “Keep it hidden inside your robe. Don’t let it out of your sight.”
Didn’t he believe that I could be kind? That at the very least I wanted him to have a fair shot?
“You are…” Cathal trembled with a breath, “not what I expected. You are so much more than you’re given credit for. To put everything on the line for me…”
“I won’t have you killed before the games begin. Lucifer wishes for it and I must make sure that doesn’t happen.”
It wasn’t all about Lucifer, though. It wasn’t even about myself; only Cathal. I didn’t want him dead before he had even a chance at survival.
“It won’t be Markus. He means too much to Lucifer to risk this early in the game,” I explained. “Vasper, he’s a good demon. Best one could hope for, to be honest. He won’t attack you, out of fairness. The minotaur, Fransisco? Possibly, but he’d give you warning. It’s their way.”
Cathal nodded and his lovely features were so solemn. It stirred something inside me I’d never felt before. “Thank you…would you marry this Vasper if you could? You speak highly of him.”
“I wouldn’t.” My eyebrows arched and the truth of my words thumped in my chest. “I don’t want to be married at all. I don’t want to be shackled to Lucifer’s inner circle. I have to go now before the guards become suspicious. Can you make your way inside?”
“As sure as if you delivered me yourself.” Cathal smiled and turned to walk away, but I wasn’t ready for him to go. I…liked being with him. Something was happening inside of me that I couldn’t fight. Couldn’t resist.
“Cathal…” I touched his cheek and brought it back over to me.
His eyes were warm as I gazed into them. I wanted to wade in them even longer, but soon the guards would check on him. I couldn’t stay.
“Not now, Amara.” Cathal’s voice softened with compassion. His face edged toward mine. I should’ve been horrified, but as his angel breath blew against my cheek, happiness shined in places it never should’ve.
“Be careful,” I whispered and my voice tremored. Why was I so afraid? For a brief moment, I thought Cathal might touch me. His hands had moved like he’d considered it, but instead, his lips brushed against mine.
All too soft. All too brief.
My mind raced with color, but instead of red and utter blackness, it was gold. A gold that swooped across a blue sky, and I saw Cathal’s blade twirling in the sunlight. The very same blade I took as a trophy from him.
The kiss broke off and my hands caressing his face fell away. Cathal made his way into the arena and I stared after him. He was an angel and I was demon.
Yet my body yearned for him. It yearned in ways it never had before.
We were sworn enemies, but I trembled, watching him walk away. I wrapped my arms around myself, cold for the first time in a century because Cathal took his light away.
And I wanted to bask in it.
10: Cathal
I’d kissed her. Hadn’t meant to. I’d meant to fight the growing desire. Amara was the devil’s daughter and there wasn’t a more forbidden fruit.
She’d put everything on the line for me. How was I supposed to resist that kind of honest purity? Amara might disagree, but what I saw struggling to break free of her was pure. Did Lucifer sense this inner battle? I couldn’t be sure, but how could he not?
Her life was in danger and it was all I could worry about as I strolled into the arena sleeping quarters. It was one long room filled with bunk beds. Even by hell’s standards, the mattresses looked comfortable. The sheets had a satin sheen about them, even in the dank quarter
The demons sat to attention as I entered. Their eyes followed me with hate as I moved toward the second row of bunks. One of them was against the wall and that would at least give me a little cover. I sat on the bottom bunk. The mattress was soft. Like it had been stuffed with angel wings.
“How’d you do it? Get Amara to throw you into the arena?” There was a certain drawl to his words that spoke of Markus’s prestige in hell. He strolled toward me with confident steps. He wasn’t the biggest of the hulking beasts, but he was the most refined. He walked with his shoulders back and his head held high. Markus saw himself as royalty—the rightful suitor for Amara.
But it was my lips that had been against hers, not his, and our kiss hadn’t been one sided. Amara craved me as much as I craved her. And that was a problem. I shouldn’t have acted on those feeling. I couldn’t again, but if that proved to be the only thing that reached Amara…
Another demon, larger than the others, intercepted Markus. “Let it play out tomorrow on the battlefield. You stood in front of Lucifer as we all did, no harm should come to the angel before the games.” His words were calm and just. This must’ve been Vasper. He might not be an ally, but it’s the closest I had to one.
Markus huffed and pointed his finger. “You’re lucky that my word to Lucifer is my bond.” He turned and his red cape fluttered up like the wings of a bird. “You will not win, angel. Even if you did, Amara needs a demon to please her. A demon like myself.” Climbing onto the top bunk, Markus laughed as the other roared with applause and the stomped their feet.
“Down here, Lucifer is king, but none of you have free will. None of you, except for maybe Markus, chose to be thrown into this battle. Are you all willing to die for a chance to win Amara’s hand?”
“For the power of the inner chamber?” The minotaur snuffed smoke from his nose. “That is worth the risk.”
But none of them cared about her? Or what she wanted. With a shake of my head, I pulled myself into a cross-legged position.
“What’s the white tipped freak doing?”
“He’s praying,” Vasper said. His chosen bed creaked as he sat down.
Laughter greeted his answer. The mockery burned my cheeks with humiliation, but it didn’t change what I did. I needed guidance and these demons needed to realize w
ho they were dealing with. I was one of heaven’s chosen few and it was my responsibility to do what I could to sway them—or kill them.
“I’m praying for all of you. That when I kill you in the arena tomorrow, when you arrive to receive judgment, that God will have mercy on you.”
The laughter continued and I breathed in deep, allowing peace to wash over me. People didn’t know; they hadn’t seen the graces of heaven and its tranquil beauty. It’s stillness. No matter how long I was gone, it would always be a home I missed. My soul craved it and mediation brought me closer to it.
“Your God has abandoned you here!” Markus stood and swung his arms, slamming his fists against the wall.
His words couldn’t stir me and wouldn’t break my calm. “He’s here with me. I am comforted. When I’m weak, he is strong. In the darkness, the light only shines brighter.”
This time, the cackling was quieter, but a bright-red inner rage grew in Markus. If I could beat him, I could defeat the others with my words of will. United they were strong, but separate them, and cracks in their resolution would appear. Words and the gift of light were my greatest strength.
Here in hell, my powers were muted and without my sword and golden rope, I wasn’t much stronger than a human.
I needed rest, but sleep would be an invitation to disaster. Instead, my mind drifted into a trance-like state. Colors swirled in gold and blue. Aware of my surroundings, every noise grew more refined. A bonk here. A cough there. Feeling the winds of heaven, I calmed. I saw Amara’s face in the clouds.
It gave me the strength I would need to get through the night.
***
I could only manage to stay awake for so long. Eventually, even an angel needs rest and when it happened, I dreamt of Amara.
We were still in hell, my mind unable to break through its barrier of flame. When I was with Amara, her beauty softened the harshest of scenery. Even the red didn’t seem as overbearing as we walked by the river of lava she called home.
Dressed in a simple white dress, she was breathtaking. I slipped a purple flower behind her ear and it was the perfect complement to her smile. Holding her hand again, I kissed it and Amara’s face darkened.
“Don’t do that. He does that. Father.”
“Then what would you have me do?”
Amara shrugged and sadness deepened in her eyes. “I’m not sure even I know the answer to that question.”
I stroked her cheek. Amara turned her nose down and her face flushed. “Do I embarrass you, Amara?”
Her eyes burned with passion. “My feelings for you embarrass me. How full they are. How intense. I wish we could run away and be together. I wish we didn’t have to stay here.”
“We don’t. Once I win the games…” I pulled her in close. My hands stroked her folded wings.
She closed her eyes and her lips quivered. A parting breath rushed between them. “No one’s touched my wings like that before.”
“Let me show you what it’s like. Real love. Real devotion.” My lips hovered above hers. To be so close to her, was to feel the heat radiating from her. She was close to inheriting the flame. Amara had to be saved soon or there would be no turning back.
“I wish we could.” Her sweeping eyelashes blinked. “Cathal…”
Her words broke off; a loud clinking noise somewhere in the distance interrupted my dream. It tore it apart, frame by frame until I was snorting awake. Back in total darkness, my senses heightened. Something was happening. Something was wrong.
Footsteps and then a battered face lined with bruises poked its way into my bunk.
Moving fast but at half speed for an angel, I grabbed the knife I’d hidden under my pillow and slashed my attacker’s face. I struck him, but not fatally as I rolled the other way onto the floor. I happened upon another demon and was seized from behind. He pinned my arms behind my back in time for his bleeding cohort to come at me.
He held his injured cheek so I lifted my legs up and kicked him. The momentum sent me and my captor into a bunk and jostle awake some more fellow gladiators. I’d be lucky to get out of here alive, that was for certain.
But, an angel never gave up. I twisted my arm free and planted my knife into his throat. His howl of pain bought me a chance to pull the knife out and get away, lunging for my original demon attacker. Both of them lay bleeding, but other woken demons didn’t take to me very kindly.
“I didn’t have a choice….” I threw my knife down on the ground in a sign of good faith. I couldn’t take eleven more demons on at once. Surrendering and pleading my case was my only option. “They attacked me. I have no desire to die or kill you now. Let’s face each other in the arena as men. As warriors.”
Surely, they could appreciate that.
Markus leaped off his top bunk, a menacing scowl on his face. His arms were bulky and fraught in red and black tattoos. From the way he swung them and coiled his hands into fists, it was clear he wasn’t used to opposition. “Men? You dare compare us to his creation?”
His lip snarled and he occupied all my personal space. So close, I could see the pores on his nose and the hate he held for me swirling in his eyes. There was nothing I could do other than hold out a calming hand. “I misspoke.”
“You’ve spent too long herding souls.” Markus tilted his head to the side. “You’re an elite. You should reclaim your glory and join Lucifer’s side. We’d welcome you.” He laughed. “For a price.”
“Then you might even be allowed to keep Amara’s hand if you win.” The minotaur chuckled and steam huffed out his nose.
The demons laughed like such a thing was impossible—for me to win the games. It was impossible, all right. I was angel and my heart was as pure as the brightest light. I could never turn my back on heaven no matter how strong my desire for Amara was.
“Funny, but this doesn’t make right what’s happened here,” Markus said. “They might have been weak, but they were our brothers. I will have my vengeance!”
Vasper stepped in between us and held his hands out. I was glad to see there was at least one demon with a conscience. I wasn’t even sure such a thing was possible, but his eyes were calm. “Brother, let’s not sully the games or Amara’s choices by fighting here and now. She wants us to compete in the arena. Let’s wait for morning and then you can use your anger to fuel you in battle.”
I licked my lips and waited for Markus to react, but it didn’t take long. He swallowed a long breath. “Angel gets a reprieve only because I don’t want to anger my future wife too much before the wedding night.” He stepped away and his footprints left ash in its wake. The demon fire that burned in his belly was strong. Angels, we spent our whole existence resisting the urge to do harm, and this man—he embraced it like a lover’ kiss.
If I could go without making him angrier than necessary, my task would be easier, but they were all my enemy except, perhaps, Vasper. “Thank you.” I nodded toward him with respect.
Vasper returned it with no malice in his eyes, but he didn’t speak. He only returned to his bed. I, unfortunately, didn’t get to return to mine.
Two guards entered the room and they beat their golden pointed staffs upon the ground. “We’re here for the angel!”
My night was about to get longer.
***
The guards didn’t allow me to rest.
They dragged me into the arena and pushed me face down into the dirt. My hands had been bounded behind my back so tight with thorns, they sunk beneath my skin. Each move or yank driving them farther in and blood seeped from my wounds. Groaning, I rolled over as a guard kicked my torso and another bent over and yanked my head back by my hair.
“Vermin. You’re the one who should’ve been killed.” The demon bared his teeth and snapped his jaw at me.
“Enough, for now, T’omas. Leave us.”
The voice made me shiver. It was Lucifer’s voice and as I rolled over in the dirt, I saw the hem of his robe. It glistened with red streaks and as his boots made their way ove
r, flame flickered against the red fabric.
He was what nightmares were made of. Terrifying. It was every angels’ worst fear, to face Lucifer on his terms, even if it was our sworn bound duty.
I scurried back on my knees and struggled for air. He’d kill me now and he’d put to an end my quest for Amara’s freedom. Her heart. She’d be bound to hell forever and that made my heart dry up into ash.
He was as tall as he was terrifying. With a quiet disdain, he approached me. He was so calm, it unnerved me. His anger was completely in check, but I saw how it simmered like a raging storm right beneath the surface. How it begged to be free, rattling behind the handsome cage of his masked appearance.
“Please.” Lucifer flicked his finger. “I won’t hurt you, Cathal. I only wish a few words.”
There wasn’t a hint of anger in his tone, but he had to be. So what kind of game was he playing?
“I’m sorry I was unable to keep you safe tonight. Sometimes demons just don’t listen. Even to their own master.” Lucifer crouched low beside me to gaze into my eyes. A red tornado swirled behind his pubils and flicked with golden sparks. Nothing about him was right or natural. A monolith of power, I trembled in the absence of God.
Such a feat it must’ve been to cast Lucifer out of heaven and into the pit of hell. To keep him trapped here? I’d never know that sort of majesty.
Bowing my head, I tried to think of what to say, but nothing sprung to mind. Lucifer touched my chin and brought it back up. His eyes sparkled with curiosity. “A few bruises and gashes, you think you’ll be fit to fight tomorrow morning?”
I nodded. “I… Yes, sir.” What else could I say?
Lucifer laughed. “An angel that knows his place? What a treat you are. I’ll let you get some rest so tomorrow you’ll be in fighting form, Cathal, but first I must know…who unbound your wrists? Who gave you that dagger you used to kill my demons?”