She sat in the cushioned seat as he let go of her hand and came up behind her to his own seat.
She noticed there was no top to the carriage and she began to wonder just what kind of vehicle this was when she suddenly smacked herself mentally for not realizing it was a chariot.
***
The ride back was quite exhilarating, but quiet. Belial hadn’t said a word to her as they flew through the air, whizzing past various creatures and gliding over the regions below, seemingly he had his mind on something else. She decided she could live with his silence as she found other things to occupy her mind while in flight. The dragons were skilled and maneuvered casually; she watched as their wings created a canopy of shadow for the inhabitants below. She released a small smile of genuine pleasure as the wind whipped through her auburn hair, no doubt knotting the wavy strands. She closed her eyes and reveled in the open air for the duration of the ride until it was time to exit the chariot as it touched down upon the cold stone floor of a stately tower standing in the higher regions of the vast inferno.
The room was dim and ice was scattered across the floor, making it more frigid than it ought to be.
“Where are we?” Mara asked as Belial helped her from the chariot.
“Holding chamber,” he answered absently while unhooking the reins from the dragon’s collars.
“Is this…where you reside?” she asked hesitantly, steeling herself from the biting cold on her bare feet.
“Nay, as I said it’s a holding chamber. For my pets,” he replied gesturing to the dragons, who groaned. His tone was indifferent.
She waited patiently for him to finish, shifting her feet anxiously before asking, “Where are your chambers?”
“Above. Shall we?” he strolled to the chamber door. She quickly followed, silently willing to be out of this cold and hoping his chambers provided a little more heat than this.
When they emerged into the hall, she heard a faint scream and her head snapped alarmingly in its direction.
“Don’t mind that,” he instructed, “they are just one of the many forms of my entertainment.” He kept on walking down the corridor.
She glanced around, nothing special, just the same old stone walls that she had been surrounded with at her previous locations of residence. She sighed inwardly and listened to Belial’s boots click against the stone as he rounded a corner to the left. She followed and nearly ran into him, as he was standing stock still just around the bend. Her reflexes were quick enough to avoid hitting him and her breath caught in her throat. He turned vaguely in her direction to reassure himself of her presence, and then turned his attention to the door in front of him. His gloved hand reached for the handle, his name engraved along the length of the steel. The latch clicked with the push of his thumb and the wooden door opened on his command. As Mara stood on tip-toe to take a peek over his shoulder, expecting to see the inside of a chamber, she was disappointed that the only thing in front of her was a staircase, stone gray and leading straight up. And it was outside. There were no railings, just an ascending set of steps that seemed to vanish in thin air before the eyes could meet what they led to. Her mouth was hanging open as she looked up, bewildered.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to follow me this time. And please, try not to stumble,” Belial said sarcastically.
She followed the aristocratic blond up the flight of stairs. As they went up she noticed the stairs disappeared into the overhead clouds. She watched her leader as he too disappeared from her sight upon entering the billows of moisture. Knowing she was most likely very high up, she decided to not look down and stepped up the final stone block her vision would allow her to view. As she stepped through the cloud, her eyes grew wide.
Chapter Six
Belial ascended the steps to his domicile without as much as a look back at the girl. When he reached the top steps, he took two at a time to quickly get through the cloud without dampening his hair. He waited for her to join him beyond the mist, having a brief look over his attire, brow furrowing as he brushed a few stray pieces of lint off his cloak. Then nodding his approval, he tightened his gloves and clenched his fingers, listening to the leather squeak as his hand moved flexibly. He glanced up at his chambers, perched in mid-air. The windows stared back at him, welcoming his presence and he realized how good it was to finally be back home.
***
The sight she beheld was a marvel. Belial’s chambers sat in the sky like a dark palace. It didn’t sit as much as it actually hovered. There was nothing underneath it. It was just there, magically suspended at the top of the steps. Far too large to be a house, but not as big as a castle, it resembled a smallish chateau. Peaked black towers complimented its sides like giant bookends. What rested between them was not too shabby either. Mara counted sixteen windows adorning the front of the large mansion, all of which would’ve looked darkly beautiful had it not been for the bars that were custom made in sinful designs. Great, more bars, she thought. I get out of one prison only to be held in another. She decided to overlook the barred windows for now and concentrate on the rest of the house’s design. The house was dark in color all around, but that was not surprising considering its owner and location. It stood three stories tall with exquisitely carved gargoyles perched on each corner of the slanted roof, their expressions vivid from her position. Some wore a mischievous grin, others a look of somber recognition. Each were unique in their design but not in their stance. They all sat atop a perch, staring hungrily at any who dared walk this path to the foreboding entrance.
The polished front door was arched and made of reddish wood, a sharp contrast to the dull stone that made up most of the architecture, its only ornament a knocker in the shape of a skull. It took her a moment to realize that it was a human skull. Empty sockets peered eerily from it. The whole place seemed rather….gothic, at least on the outside. She couldn’t even fathom how the interior of the manor was decorated. She shuddered to even think about it. While she had actually been fond of gothic fashions and the like during her run as a mortal and would have enjoyed the design of this place under different circumstances, this entire area emanated a particularly malevolent air that was downright unnerving to her. Yes it was beautiful, but it felt dangerous and threatening, almost unsettling in a hypnotizing way. She looked the place from top to bottom and found that the house most certainly gave off the same vibes as the demon that resided here.
***
Belial was at his front door in a heartbeat, magisterially stepping onto the porch.
“Aperio,” he voiced as the doors swung open revealing a deserted entryway and parlor beyond.
Surprisingly, there was no musty smell to accompany the desolation. It smelt rather clean, in fact and he stepped through the doorway almost cautiously, eyes darting from side to side as if he expected something to jump out of the dark corner at any moment. When he was certain there were no surprises waiting, he breathed a quiet sigh of relief and straightened up. He began unfastening his cloak not wanting to spend another minute in its heavy material, as he moved out of the way so to give the girl room to enter. Before she laid a foot down on the marble flooring, he noticed the dirt clinging to their bottoms and found it a good time to lay down the first rule.
“Always wipe your feet before entering this chamber,” he said softly but firmly, leaning so close to her that she could feel his cool breath upon her nose before stepping back and removing the cloak from his shoulders.
He saw her gaze lock onto his movements out of the corner of his eye and he turned his back on her, moving into the parlor to drape his cloak over a large armchair with sweeping grace. He quickly returned to the main entry where she stood, her body still plastered to the spot in the floor that he left her in. He took in the fact that she had done as she was told, which was just as well, he was not in much of a mood to deal with defiance presently. It also suggested the makings of a good student as far as he was concerned, but he pushed that thought away for the time being until he could dwe
ll on it completely. Besides, he had several other things currently beating on his mind and was still in need of a nap, lest his mood increase in irritation. He’d simply show her to her room, get her something to eat, contact Lucifer to inform him she was here, and then go to sleep. He could go over the house rules with her later, since there were not many and they were of no big importance if not to make his guests feel comfortable in his home while still knowing who the boss was. That was his interpretation anyway. Each guest required their unique set of rules and he had not the strength to make up her list until he had some rest from his journey. Just smile and try to be pleasant for now, he told himself as he asked her to follow him upstairs.
***
The place was huge. Cathedral ceilings covered the entry and the adjoining room, paintings hung along the corridor wall, displaying a variety of images. Some of them were morbidly beautiful. Others were just plain offensive to Mara, though she kept that opinion to herself. None were for a light heart, though. They all possessed a sense of dread or destruction, depicting chaos as a worthy image. There was not much light in the house so she couldn’t tell what color the walls were, although she suspected they were of some dark hue to match its darkened master. From the limited number of things she could see, it all looked like it would cost a fortune, from the gigantic chandelier above her head to the marble flooring at her feet. She didn’t know whether Belial had paid to have this place constructed or if he had done it himself with magic. She had heard tales of his great sorcery and she could only hope she would be witness to a spell of his, if only to glimpse a legend at work, just not on the receiving end.
His sadistic cruelty had also been a hot gossip topic, along with his infamous conquests and cunningness. But it was said that if you were under his good graces he would not subject you to any impulsive, brutal whims that he conjured. She’d be sure to remember that. She watched him remove his cloak to reveal a black frock coat finely trimmed in gold satin, tailored to perfection underneath. It was loose enough for him to move freely yet contoured to show off his shape, from broad shoulders to his slender waist, both of which received Mara’s secret approval. Now if only I could get a gander at the rest of him, she thought.
She had come to the conclusion that she might as well accept the thoughts she was having regarding Belial, since no harm could come from her simply thinking it. And although all remotely sexual thoughts were disregarded completely in Heaven, she had once been a mortal. Hence she had tasted a mortal mind in the past, full of temptations and desires. This was the place that accepted those minds. A place that did not shun the immoral thoughts like her true home did. Perhaps that’s what happened in the transition. Michael had informed her that she would go through changes so that she could be accepted down in the infernal regions for her mission. Perhaps, the re-issue of her former mind was one of those changes. It was the only thing that seemed to make sense to her, and Belial seemed to be the only thing bringing that old way of thinking to the surface.
***
He retreated to the adjoining room to hang the cloak and then motioned for her to follow him as he climbed the stairs. Perhaps he’s going to give me a tour, she thought as she tagged along, more intrigued about the large chamber than she would have liked to admit. She was beginning to find the place to be more interesting than she had previously imagined. Her host was far from dull himself, at least physically, since he had not spoken very much since removing her from the prison. As he climbed the stairs she couldn’t help but admire the view he provided, with his tall figure and tight ass hidden beneath those black slacks. The way he was moving didn’t help deter her staring either, as he practically strutted up the staircase. When she reached the top she pulled her gaze away from him and placed it on her surroundings so he wouldn’t get too suspicious. Large statues stood guard down the corridor on the upstairs floor. Their features were that of mortals and they were frozen in angelic poses. As she walked by, their eyes opened and watched her pass as their expressions morphed into evil grins. She tried to not pay any attention, but wanted to put as much distance between them and herself as possible. She looked and saw Belial standing at a door to her right.
“This is to be your room for the night. I hope it’s to your liking,” he said with a smile.
She looked inside. It was pitch black. She looked at Belial, who looked confused for a moment then asked incredulously, “You can’t see in the dark, can you?”
She shook her head, and he nodded his understanding.
“Fiat Lux,” was his next command. This time it was her turn to look confused.
“Ah, I keep forgetting you are younger born. I am accustomed to using Latin to voice my commands. I will make sure to enable everything here to understand English commands as well so that you do not have to rely on myself to get things you want,” he stepped inside the room as he said this. “Let there be light,” he continued. At once, several torches burst to life on the walls.
The room illuminated and Mara took in her new residence. It was spacious, with enough room to comfortably house a bed, desk with chair, vanity, two lounge chairs, a fireplace and a private bathroom. The walls were white, the floors carpeted a royal blue matching the bedspread, which upon closer inspection she found to be velvet. A sheer blue canopy hung down from the ceiling and draped the bedsides with glittering accents. She didn’t want to be rude to her host, so she stopped her inspection and found him leaning on the doorframe. He had removed his leather gloves and was now conducting his own inspection… of his fingernails. He caught her staring at him and he dropped his hand, clearing his throat. She was about to say something when he cut her off.
“I regretfully say that I will have to retreat from your company this evening. I have much business to take care of. Besides I’ve been aching for a nap all day,” he said stifling a yawn.
“I will inform you that there are no live-in servants here as I prefer to have my privacy, so if there is anything you desire you will have to get it yourself if I am unavailable. I will, however, offer you something to eat before I retire. Tell me, is there anything you’d like?”
“No, sir. I’m not hungry, I actually don’t eat much,” she replied, trying to be polite. She walked around the side of the bed while trying not to limp, the pads of her feet subjected to numerous stings as the wood slivers inched farther in with each step.
“Yes, I can see that,” he said under his breath, gazing critically at her slender figure. His eyes narrowed slightly as he noticed the pain in her step that she was attempting to conceal. “What’s wrong with your gait?” Not sounding truly concerned about her well-being, the question was more of an accusation in her ears.
“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head and trying to wave it off. She’d simply pick out the splinters herself when she was alone.
Belial cocked his head to the side a bit in a scolding manner. “You’re trying to lie to the wrong being, my dear Mara. Do tell me what is wrong.”
His look conveyed a sense of persistent authority and although he was tired, Mara could see that his fatigue would not cause him to back down should she decide to test his power of intuition.
“It’s just splinters,” she answered, sitting on the bed and lifting a dirtied foot for her own inspection.
If the situation had truly been left alone in his hands, Belial would have shrugged this incident off as another bothersome problem that belonged to someone else and left her to tend her own wounds. However, his assignment came on higher orders and though he was slightly miffed at his belittling job, he knew it must be completed efficiently lest he receive a grueling punishment from Lucifer for disobeying direct orders. Watch over her, indeed, he thought snottily as he twitched his jaw in annoyance. He walked over to where she was sitting on the bed and grabbed her bare foot in his cold hand, examining the tiny fragments of wood lodged just beneath her first layer of flesh. He didn’t bother to kneel down or sit as he simply lifted her foot quickly up in the air in a bit of an uncomfortable posi
tion, causing her to lean back on her elbows as he did so.
“They’re not that deep,” he remarked with a furrowed brow, pushing the top half of her foot back by her toes with his thumb. “Hold still.”
She held still and waited anxiously as Belial’s lengthy fingers picked out the larger pieces that protruded from the reddened and now calloused area. Once those were removed he concentrated on the several small specks of rotted wood that were scattered across the delicate pads. Refusing to use magic for something so simple, Belial resigned himself to a bit of physical labor to remove the splinters by hand.
Dropping her foot from his grasp, he said, “Turn over on your stomach.”
She eyed him suspiciously but complied when he gestured impatiently with his hand. After she rolled over, he sat himself down next to her with a wet rag in his hand and instructed with measured politeness, “Now give me your foot.”
She bent her knee, sending her foot upwards and he caught it quickly, smooth hand sliding under the top of her foot to cradle it. Moments later, he began cleaning off the bottom to leave it spotless for his inspection. She turned her head back to look at him and saw him turn his back towards her as he said,
“Now, don’t scream. I’m afraid my headache has quite taken over my demeanor and would not permit me any joy if you did.” He offered a small smile before adding with a slightly playful tone, “As much as I would normally love to hear that beautiful music echo through your luscious lips.”
Slightly worried at his implication, she quickly lost that feeling after looking into his eyes and reading his expression as one of teasing humor. Mara watched him turn back to her foot, nestled securely in his palm, and decided to just turn around before she could see something her eyes would not soon let her forget. She didn’t want to take too many chances while she was here, so she shut her eyes tightly and prepared herself for some sort of strange torturous method of removing splinters that was used down in the infernal regions. And she was glad she prepared herself. It felt as if someone was carving into her foot with a dull knife. The pain dug into her right foot and it was several minutes before Belial moved on to her left one. By then, the pain had dulled her senses somewhat and she didn’t feel it as much. It was more a distant ache and she kept her eyes firmly closed as if that was going to somehow banish the unwanted sensation completely.
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