The Angel Side (22 page)

“Who might you belong to?” Lucifer asked, sliding his forefinger under Annahail’s chin, tilting it up toward him. Annahail’s bottom lip trembled as Lucifer’s thumb rubbed over her cleft.

“Grandma.”
Uphir whimpered
.

“Do you know who I am, little one?” Lucifer bent over
coming down to
eye level. A scared Annahail gave him a small nod as a tear rolled down her cheek.

“Then you know what happens when someone ignores me
,
but since you’re so young I won’t feed you to the pig
-
men if you answer my question. Whose bloodline do you share?”

Annahail held her tongue as she searched Nicor and
me
for signs of help.

“I see.
A strong one, huh
?
Well then, let’s see how strong you are while you watch your little brother get fed to the pigs.” Lucifer yanked Uphir up by his throat.

“I’m their father!” I shouted, stepping forward.

“And who might the mother be?” Lucifer turned to me with a gloating smirk, gripping Uphir’s throat tighter. Thinking of a female Demon who held similar traits as Alastor, I spit out the first name that came to mind.

“
Deumos
.”
I replied in haste.

Glancing over at Nicor shaking his head in disbelief, I realized my mistake. The mention of her name brought with it the memory of one of my least shining moments. Not only had I used the name of a Demon I killed, but her death had been what set me above the rest of the Demons, resulting in my being named Lucifer’s heir.

I had taken Deumos as one of my many concubines during my time in Hell. With her amazing threshold for pain, insatiable sexual appetite
,
and interest in mixing pain and pleasure, she soon became my favored concubine
.
S
he had become the only woman I shared a bed with. However, the same as Lilith, she assumed sex would bring her to power.

When I released my other whores, Deumos assumed she had wrapped me around her finger. Though she hadn’t been obvious, Deumos began dropping small hints about overthrowing Lucifer and taking the throne. Knowing all too well what she had been getting at, I invited her to a party where the only guests would be her, Lucifer
,
and
myself
. With the assumption I would kill Lucifer, she agreed to attend. After hours of various sexual activities, she thought the moment had arrived. Much to her
surprise, one last thrust of my hips brought with it the thrust of my dagger.

“Really?
That is funny since I remember you killing her during one of our many romps.” Lucifer sneered. Angry at myself for being so stupid, I released a frustrated sigh.

“Your lie and their silence
tells
me all too well who the mother is. Take them to the throne room.” Lucifer ordered as he threw Uphir to the ground.

“What are you going to do with us?” I asked as the tip of a spear poked
an
open wound on my back.

Lucifer
’s
cocky smirk as he ignored answering my question told me the end
was
near.
The guards led us down a side entrance into a tense and crowded throne room.

To
the
left, Lucifer’s legion’s stood with their weapons drawn but seemed as if ready to run at any moment. To the right, Lilith poised herself before her
rat pack
. In the rear, John and the Arch
e
s had their
array of
troops
.
With l
egs
thrown
across the arm of the throne, Etta sat glaring at Lucifer as he
confidently strolled
toward her.

I had to get Ra and my spirit out of Hell but with the Arch
e
s
and
Templars
on my tail, I decided to make a
pitstop
in
Purgatory to get some answers and buy some time. Gabriel had told Amy
,
other than me, Lilith
was the only
Wraith. Why Father allowed her to live but wanted me dead
was
beyond me
,
but if anyone
knew why
it would be her.

The price she asked for the information had been steep
:
my allegiance to her and her cause. At first I
refused it which brought our conversation to a stalemate. Seeing she would
n’
t budge, I swore my allegiance, or so she thought.
With reluctance, she agreed to talk to me
again
and
answer
all the questions I had.

After many failed attempts at her life,
Father
finally called off the bounty
and gave her Purgatory. With her last battle
almost
ending her, she agreed to stay in her territory under the condition any souls to pass
through
her gates were
all
hers. When Father refused
,
she had Lucifer assist with writing their treaty. Knowing Father and Lucifer never saw eye to eye, she allowed a clause permitt
ing
a soul to be released only if
Father, Lucifer
,
and Lilith agreed
unanimously.

Unfortunately for Father, the cunning rat had Lucifer put a loophole in the clause for the exchange of the last piece of her soul as his insurance policy that she would not attack his gates should she ever exercise the loophole.
With the release of my soul, all had become fair game.

Releasing me released Lilith of any obligations the treaty imposed on her. Free to do as she please
d,
Lilith put her millennium old plan into action.
She had helped Lucifer get me to the spirit world with the intention of me dethroning him
.
Relying
on me being a Wraith such as herself, I would align my new kingdom with hers. With two women in power, it would only be a matter of time before Heaven bent to our will.

In preparation, she had given mercy to half of the Purgatory population to build up her armies in hopes the battle in Hell would replenish her masses. Under the impression I would fight by her side, Lilith left to start the attack on Hell
,
while I stayed back and got my game plan together.

I arrived
in
Hell with perfect timing. As I had hoped for, the Arch
e
s had gone to Hell, expecting me to go straight for Ra. Lilith made her move for the throne with the assumption
we were allies.
With all the players in one place, I would be able to put a stop to the constant war over my soul.

Being a Wraith had its benefits. Among the tricks Lilith taught me
was
the ability to make myself invisible to human and celestial eyes. Demons and Angels were engaged in heavy battle making it
that much easier
to remain invisible. In
the
center of the fray, I projected
a
solid push of
black
energy, knocking everyone back and bringing the battle between worlds to a screaming halt. Some may have died from my blow, but in the moment, I didn’t care.

Cavalier, I took to the throne as the smoke, gray haze dissipated. Those who had survived my
defiant
outburst had been affected with dizziness and confusion.
Unsure
what to do and too terrified to attack or run, the groups segregated to opposite ends
taking their dead with them
, waiting for me to speak.

“Bring Lucifer to me.” I commanded after making the crowd sweat it out a bit. Confused, the Demon’s mumbled back and forth about who would go retrieve their master.

“Bring him to me!” I pointed, singling out a Demon who seemed more frightened than the rest.

W
ithout question he took off running toward Lucifer’s quarters. In all my lives, I’d always lack
ed
power and control. As Abihail, I took orders from Father and Ra. As Etta, I followed
the orders of
my dad and
my
shrinks. Having witnessed the reactions my orders caused as a Wraith, a twinge of intoxication came over me. I thought about seeing how deep my power reached by making everyone do jumping jacks or something just as silly but better judgment
prevailed
. I had to keep my wits about me and not be tempted by the euphoria
the
power induced.

To my right, the grinding of a stone door sliding open cut through the silence. Watching Lucifer strut toward the throne with a
cocky
grin made my blood boil. I’d already seen his wheels turning on how to turn today’s events to his advantage
,
but my sitting
on the
throne caught him off guard.

“The throne looks good on you, Sister. Maybe I should have a matching set made for us.” Lucifer said with a sly smile, standing before me.

“Why would I share when I can kill you and take it
all for myself
?” I replied
,
blowing imaginary dust from my fingernails the way he had
done last time we spoke
.

“Easier said than done
,
as you can see.”
Lucifer waved his arm to the sea of Demons behind
him
.

I hadn’t be
en the least bit intimidated. Hi
s Demon
s
would be no match for what I
was
able to
inflict upon them.

“Where are they?” I asked, sneering.

“I have many things in my possession. You’ll need to be more specific.” Lucifer rebuffed.

“Really?
We’re going to play this game?” I shouted, lunging
of
f
the throne. My abrupt anger sent a short, misty, burst at him.

“You don’t scare me, Sister. I know you won’t hurt me. You will only end up hurting yourself.” With an air of arrogance, Lucifer fanned the fog
away
from him.

During my brother’s fall from grace, we discovered being twins connected our souls and bodies. If Lucifer
got
hurt the wound would also manifest on me and vice versa.
If I died he would die as well
,
but I didn’t care. If destroying him meant I had to give up my existence, it
would be
a small price to pay to end all the suffering and causalities of our war.
Having learned how to control the strength and direction of my smoky tendrils, I shot a tether around Lucifer’s torso and squeezed.

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” I sniped, constricting my tether
tighter.

“Enough. Release the traitor.” Lucifer gasped.

A guard shoved Ra from the horde of Demons hard enough to cause
him
to fall to his knees. Irritated by the guard’s blatant
disrespect, I decided to make an example of him and set the precedence I
was not to be
toy
ed
with. With a slight push of my hand, the guard flew into the wall, turning to dust on impact.

“Anyone else?”
I called out
,
scanning the faces of the assembly. “Good.” I continued
,
seeing no contestants.
Releasing my hold on Lucifer, I resumed my seat on the throne.

“Gabriel, take Ra home.” I ordered.

“Not so fast, Sister. I only brought him forward. I didn’t say you could have him. We have the matter of payment to discuss.” Lucifer
sneered
.

“Payment?
You expect me to pay you for what is rightfully
mine
?”

“Absolutely.
But I tell you what, since you’re my sister, I’ll make you a deal.” Lucifer waved his hand, motioning for a group of guards to step forward with spear tips resting on my mother
Persephone
and Nicor. Three sentries moved from the front revealing three small children clinging to Persephone.

When my mother had first come to me, she had told
me
tidbits about her life in Hell and the existence of my children. In spite of being our mother, Lucifer took Persephone as his favored concubine. Nicor had been my celestial father’s best friend in Heaven. Before my father had been killed during the Great Divide, Nicor swore to him he would look
after
her and my brother and
me
. Hearing of her arrival in Hell, Nicor took on a protective role over my mother which soon budded
in
to a romance between them.

Finding out about the affair
,
Lucifer moved Persephone into his quarters in an attempt to bring their relationship to an end. But Lucifer’s plan had backfired on him. The separation fueled their love for each other, and
the added benefit of living in Lucifer’s quarters
had been that
my mom
was privy
to all of his secrets and plots. Once hearing of his scheme to take me as his wife and mother of his children, she tracked down the location of his precious Seers.

No being had the ability to predict the future
,
but the Seers had a great
track record by using their remarkable mathematical skills, history records, and personal knowledge of just about
every spirit in existence. Having been correct at predicting outcomes more often than not, they were an invaluable source of information.

Risking death,
Persephone
went to the Seers
in
the hope of learning intimate details about me and the odds of Lucifer’s plan coming to fruition
,
only to be told my fate rested on three tiny shoulders.

I came to Hell with a clear concise plan
,
but I hadn’t taken into account Lucifer might
figure out I had kids who posed a threat to him and his rule living right beneath his nose. I had yet to meet my children
,
but my mother’s stories had
unveiled
a strong maternal connection to each of them inside of me, despite the events surrounding their conception. Whatever my brother had concocted, I knew I would have to protect them
above
all else.

“Come here
,
children.” Lucifer called to them.

Annahail gripped her brother’s hands as she cautiously took a few steps forward then rushed to Ra’s side. Nudging the three behind him, Ra stood ready to defend them if Lucifer advanced.

A pang of fear swelled with
in
me as I realized Ra must have been introduced to my illegitimate children. With the issues we were facing just being a couple and unsure he would accept Demon half
-
breeds, I never mentioned my kids being alive and well for fear of losing Ra. I had every intention of telling him
during one of our counseling sessions
,
but a fight erupted before I had a chance
.

“Here is what I propose. Submit to me. Take my side as my wife and bare my heirs. In exchange, I’ll give you your soul. Alastor’s bastards can live as protected slaves. Your whore of a mother and her boy toy will be banished to the Wastelands. The Arch
e
s can leave here with Rahovart intact. I’ll even help them take Lilith and her
mice
to the Tribunals
for breaking the treaty
.” Lucifer strolled up the steps. Cupping my cheek
,
he kissed me.