Chapter 9

Azazel and Gaia have a talk with Lucifer.

“What?!” Gaia exclaimed in surprise. I ignored her and unwrapped my arms from around her, then strode over to Lucifer.

“So is this the w***e that I’ve been hearing about from so many of my guards?” He asked with a smirk when we stood face to face. “You can do better.”

“Hey!” Gaia exclaimed. Lucifer chuckled.

“Well, somewhat, yes. It depends. But I also had another...female with me.”

“Oh?” Lucifer’s eyes gleamed with mischievousness. Though he asked, I already knew he knew what, and who, I was talking about. But he wanted me to say it.

“Yes. An angel. Her name is Clariana.” I said, keeping the details light.

“I see. And she is the reason you are here today in my private quarters of hell.” It wasn’t a question, he already knew, but I nodded my head anyway.

“Well, where is she? She’ll be an interesting addition to the hellions. I haven’t seen an angel since...well, you know,” he said, looking around excitedly, but he still had that mischievous glint in his eye. I sighed. So he did know where she was.

“Where the hell is she?” I growled. My patience was wearing thin. He smiled innocently. “Well, obviously not in hell.”

I growled fiercely and threw a punch at the lord of hell. Well, I was the lord of wrath for a reason.

My fist bounced off an invisible wall, a millimeter away from his face. He didn’t even flinch. The only noticeable change in his face was the narrowing of his eyes.

“You would sacrifice your loyalty to me for a c**t of an angel?” Lucifer’s voice was as cold as his own quarters of Hell. (Only Lucifer’s quarters were cold. For some reason he liked it cold.Other areas of Hell were either lukewarm or warm. Not burning hot or frigidly cold.) “You would be sacrificing for nothing. She will never love you. You are disgusting to her. A demon who will be vanquished by God’s holy wrath when the time comes. You would sacrifice, and she will turn away from you. She will run into the arms of her betrothed and complete her holy vows to him. You would be left with nothing. Neither her nor me. So think wisely; me, or nothing?”

I glared into his eyes, but he was right.

“Just tell me where she is,” I said, defeated.

“I’m just trying to protect you. I’d rather not have my favorite son be burned unnecessarily. Why should I tell you? What would I gain from that?

I sighed. You had to make deals with the lord of Hell to get what you wanted from him. He would never give something away for free. I knew that; after all, I was raised by him. I was created by him.

“Why do you think I brought her here in the first place?” I asked, finally seeing how I could take advantage of the situation. I didn’t let him answer before I said, “she could be a new demon. The first actual original demon since the fall. You know, after you demanded individuality and freedom?”

Lucifer looked at me then, eyes narrowed in contemplation. I knew I had won, but i didn’t show it. If Lucifer found out what was going on in my head, he’d change his mind and never allow her to return.
He was looking for any weakness though, I knew. I knew how to play the game so I would win. He searched my face a little longer. I kept my expression blank. Any emotion now could give my thoughts away.

“Fine. You’re right. I have to build my numbers anyway possible. But...what does telling you where she is have anything to do with gaining her as a demon?”

I smiled my own mischievous grin. “If I knew the answer, then I’d be able to capture her again.”

“But you already know where she is, and yet I don’t see her with you.” Lucifer said sarcastically.

“So...she’s in heaven?” I asked.

“Nah, she’s right here with us!” Lucifer rolled his eyes.  “Of course she’s in heaven. Which leads to my next question. How do you think you’re going to capture her? I’ve been here since the dawn of time, and even I haven’t had access back up there since the fall.”

“S**t,” I muttered. I didn’t really think about that. I guess I had still been holding out hope that she would just be back on earth somewhere, because she was tired of hell and had found a way back.

“Yeah,” Lucifer said.

“Well, don’t you have any tricks up your sleeve?” I asked. He always did. Nothing was impossible for Lucifer. The only reason why he had never been back to heaven was probably because he didn’t want it bad enough. If he did, he would’ve already been in heaven, as an angel and God’s second-in-command again.

“I actually don’t care enough about your feelings for this angel to pull any tricks,” he said. Any last hope, confidence, and respect I had for my father was thrown out the window. I hadn’t won. I should’ve known. “Unless you were to give me something in return.”

And there it was, Lucifer’s ultimatum. He always did that. It wasn’t enough for him to get what he wanted. He had to take away something that someone else wanted. Their deepest desire.

“Anything,” I said automatically. I gulped. Then I furrowed my brows in confusion. The hell? When had I started caring about Clariana this deeply?

Lucifer smiled knowingly. “I always like when people tell me that. You will get her back. But the first time you make love to her, you will be commanded back to me. And if she seeks you out and finds you, you will be commanded to slaughter her. Both of these commands will be of which you cannot physically disobey.”

I smiled in satisfaction, but Gaia’s cry startled me.

“No!” she screamed. “Azazel, don’t accept!”

I whipped around, “shut up!” I growled. To Lucifer I said, then I just won’t make love to her.”

He chuckled as if we were a normal father and son talking about a normal school crush. “Then she will die in 666 hours time. Starting the hour she gets back. I know you are trying to win. But you won’t, Azazel. I created this game.”

I swallowed and took a shaky breath. Ib had to sacrifice for the good of Clariana.

“Then don’t bring her back.

Lucifer shook his head. “Too late. No take backs. Your wish is already granted.”

My jaw dropped. “You can’t do that!” I cried in horror.

“I can. And I just did. Now for your instructions. You will stand at the entrance to the portal of the First Fall. You will wait there, however many days it takes, and nurse her back to health when she falls through it. Then you will train her. You will make love to her before the 666 hours is up, assuming you want to keep her alive. And then you will be summoned to me. Any questions?”

I glared at him to try to hide the pain, but by the smirk on his face I knew he saw through my facade. He looked too damn satisfied with himself.

“Will I ever see her again? You know, after I am summoned away?”

Lucifer smiled. “When the forces of good, evil, and magickal unite, only then will you see your angel again.

I growled. “So never.” I said. Lucifer shrugged.

I was supposed to get emotionally and physically attached to her, and then just leave her and never return? I had screwed up. Big time. I had done this out of selfishness, and in the end I still didn’t get what I wanted.

“Any more questions?” Lucifer asked. “Yes,” Gaia said grudgingly. “Where does magick come from?”

Lucifer laughed. “What, next you will be asking me what the meaning of life is? But I’ll answer your question. It depends on what type of magic it is. Some magic comes from God. Some magic comes from me. And yes, some magic, spelled with a ‘k’ apparently, comes from your gods. Even mortals have inherent magic. I’ll let you figure out which comes from whom yourself. Now get out of my quarters.” And with a snap of his fingers, we were gone.

Author's Note

Finally chapter 9 is out. so there is no schedule for this, writing isnt my priority right now, school and work is. but I do have chapter 10-13 already written, it's just a matter of finding the time to type it all up to put on here. thank you for reading.