The Third Throne: Angel of Darkness (38 page)

Gabriel was skeptical.  The devil wore two faces and you never knew which one you were speaking to, until it was too late.  “You will use her to destroy the world as you have tried before.  I should have never entrusted her to you,” Gabriel might believe him for the moment, but Lucifer’s mood changed like the wind.  He was unpredictable.

“I don’t want to destroy the world, Gabriel.  I tricked her because I was close to doing so…too close.  I was planning to destroy Hell.  I sought her out to stop me.  I knew the light inside of her would prevent me from carrying out my plans, just as it did the last time.  You know that I tried to unleash her power all those millennia ago, but you don’t know why I stopped and refused to continue in my quest.  Her power crashed through me like a tidal wave that day.  The evil was swept away and I saw what I had done.  Everything around us was burning and I was afraid.  Gabriel, for the first time, I was afraid. I was afraid of what Father would do to me if I destroyed the world that He had created.  You have to believe me, Gabriel.  My greatest fear is that Father won’t forgive me for my wrong-doings.  I’m the only one in the world who would never use her power to create an Apocalypse.  Father would never forgive me,” Lucifer pleaded with Gabriel to understand.

Gabriel thought about how Lucifer and the Fallen regained their angelic state in Father’s presence.  He knew that Anjali held Father’s light inside of her, but he didn’t know the kind of effect it could have on angels.  Did she really have the ability to strip away some of the darkness that stained the souls of his fallen brothers?  The proof, it would seem, was standing in front of him.  Lucifer had made no move against him.  He could have knocked the sword from his hands, but he didn’t.  He merely stood in front of him, waiting for him to process everything that he was hearing and seeing.

He thought about his beautiful daughter.  He’d always been happy and carefree around her.  She made him smile as no other could and he took pride in her.  He didn’t want to believe it was the light inside of her that made him happy, but rather his joy of being a father, yet he realized that he’d been the one rampaging since she’d left him.  He was out of his mind with anger.  He never once carried the burden of darkness, until he lost her, yet here he was with a sword poised over his brother’s throat.  He was the one who had slaughtered a servant.  Dear Lord above, he was slowly turning into Lucifer.

Gabriel gradually lowered his sword, waiting for Lucifer to make his move, but he didn’t.  He still didn’t trust Lucifer, but he mentally conceded it was possible that Anjali had a positive effect on the devil.

“What happened here?”  Gabriel motioned to the destroyed room.  He holstered his sword and extinguished the flame.  He was becoming more convinced by the second that something was different about Lucifer.

Lucifer sighed and slid down the wall and propped his knees up.  He was relieved that Gabriel believed him.  “Hades tried to take her head.  I fought Hades and tried to prevent him from killing her, but she won the battle all by herself.  She took off her ring and unleashed her power.  She blew the tower apart, and she healed herself in the process.  Hades barely survived it, but she didn’t kill anyone.  She had a hard time reigning in her power back, but I helped her.”

“He did what?  Where is she?” Gabriel shouted, grabbing for his sword again.

“Relax.  She is safe.  She’s strong, Gabriel.  You would have been proud.  She’s punching Hades in the Hall of Torment as we speak,” Lucifer was grateful that his woman could take care of herself.

“How did you allow this to happen?  I can’t believe you let Hades attack her.  Why would he do such a thing?  Why was the Council not informed?  Why was I not informed?  I want Hades’ head for this!” Gabriel snarled.

Lucifer stood up and put his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder.  “Calm down, the situation was handled.  Hades has been punished accordingly.  That is one of the benefits of ruling this domain; I don’t have to wait for the Council to discuss what punishment to dole out.  Hades was chiseled out of the Realm of Frost and dragged by his throat to the Hall of Torment.  Trust me; he won’t try to kill her again.  If I had to inform the Council every time Hades and I tried to kill each other, the Council would have to establish a secondary Council just to deal with us.  I understand that she is your daughter, but she is under my care, and we handle our own problems here,” Lucifer replied matter-of-factly.

“Why did he do it?” Gabriel pulled away from Lucifer’s hold, still angry that someone had tried to assassinate his daughter.

“Because I was selfish.  Instead of accepting her as a powerful being, I made the mistake of allowing everyone to believe that she was my servant.  Servants are disposable, as you are well aware,” he motioned to Creeper’s body.  “If I had done what I had agreed to in that damned contract, then Hades would have never lashed out at her.  You will be happy to know that I have rectified the problem.  I fulfilled the contract, partially.  She doesn’t have her memories and has not transcended, but she has taken her place at my left side.  I have opened up the Hall of Mirrors, just as you requested.  She is third in line, as promised, though I still need her to be loyal to me.  She needs to act the same as Hades.  Hades practically runs the place himself; I’m more of a figurehead, the final word during disputes, but publicly
he serves me, and so must she.  We must have a unified front and must appear strong against our enemies.  This has worked to our advantage many times over, you have to admit that,” Lucifer looked at his brother, hoping that he would be forgiven for his mistakes.

“I understand the unified front, as long as she isn’t your footman, like Caleb,” Gabriel glared.

He knew what it was like to team up with the evil side of his family when they had a mutual enemy.  Lucifer and the Fallen had fought their share of battles against usurpers and false gods, and even their own blood.  He could envision her unified under Lucifer.  They certainly would inspire fear in all those who wished to destroy Heaven or Hell.

“Caleb is dead.  He betrayed me. You can inform the Council of that.  The bastard was serving Hades and subjecting Anjali to the realms,” Lucifer grimaced.

Gabriel nodded his head.  While he wished he had known of Hades’ betrayal, he was grateful, on some level, that Lucifer was able to take swift actions to ensure that his daughter was safe.

“Why haven’t you given her control of her memories?” Gabriel was not happy about this decision.  Her memories would help prevent Anjali from trying to annihilate the mortals because of minor sins.  It had taken so long for her to learn about sin and how to control her reaction to it.

“Give me time, Gabriel, that’s all I ask for.  I don’t want her burdened with all of her memories.  The love and the loss she has endured throughout so many lifetimes would crush her.  She needs time to adjust to this new life.  It is a lot for her to take in.  If she remembered all the damage she has done, lives she has taken, and how much guilt she has suffered, it would ruin her,” Lucifer sighed.  He didn’t need her losing her mind by grieving over things that could not be changed.

“Very well, let her adjust, but there will come a time when she will need her memories so that she can determine when an Apocalypse should be unleashed.  I do not look forward to that day, but it must be done.  Promise me that you will unlock her memories.  I put her into your care and I expect you to be responsible for her.  Hell is your domain so you can grant or limit the power of those under your rule, but do not abuse this power or we will have words again,” Gabriel looked Lucifer directly in the eyes to emphasize his point.

“I promise.  You should know that, while the Eye of Sirrush helps to hold back her power, even it can’t contain it completely.  I thought between my rule and the ring, her powers would be safely locked away.  I was wrong.  I must admit that I never intended for her to assume her role as the Destroyer, let alone find the Predznak.  As much as I hate humanity and want to go home, I don’t want the world to burn.  I want to keep her in mortal form, so that she can never bring about the end,” Lucifer needed Gabriel to understand his intentions.

“It is not for you to decide when she will end the world.  That is between her and Father.  You have no right to interfere.  I understand wanting to contain her power, I too fear it greatly, but I must have faith that she will use it wisely.  I have made the mistake of keeping her from her destiny for too long.  You know that there have been serious repercussions.  It is time to right the wrongs that I have created by coddling her.  I expect you to help her transition into her new role.  Leave her in mortal form and without her memories, for now, but she will have to seek out the Predznak.  You can’t stop her from doing that, even if you hate them.  I’m afraid that they will come for her once they know she is here, which will not end well.  It is best for her to seek them out one by one.  If she faces them as a whole, they may not listen.  They might kill her,” Gabriel hung his head, knowing that he had caused so many problems for his daughter to deal with.

Lucifer hated the thought of allowing her to seek out the mass murdering psychopaths, but it was meant to be. “I will find a way to let her fulfill her destiny.  I swear it,” Lucifer nodded to Gabriel.

Gabriel nodded and relaxed.  He knew he needed Lucifer as an ally if he was going to help his daughter.

Lucifer was relieved to see Gabriel stand down; though a small part of him couldn’t help but set the record straight.  “You do know that your love for her has always been your weakness and it finally brought about her downfall.  Deny it if you wish, but we both know you were planning to push back her arrival for another thousand years.  I was not ready to take that chance.  I needed her and I broke our agreement, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you would have broken it first,” Lucifer stared down Gabriel, knowing it was the truth.

Gabriel was sick over the thought of leading Lucifer to Anjali.

Gabriel closed his eyes and hefted out a breath.  “You’re right.  I have spoiled her every chance I had.  I hope you can see why.  You are also correct in assuming that I would have pushed back the date again. Though I had made every preparation upon her birth as Michelle to hand her over in this lifetime, I had planned to take her and a friend away during the summer and hide her far away from you.  I felt that she still wasn’t ready.  My head knew that she needed to experience Hell and all its evils, but my heart couldn’t let go of her,” Gabriel tried to keep the tears from forming.  He didn’t want Lucifer to see him crying.

“You were wrong, she is ready.  She just needed the confidence to believe in herself,” Lucifer chuckled.  “She will do well here, of that I can assure you.  I will do my best to protect her, guide her, and teach her, that is my vow to you,” he held out his hand to Gabriel.

Gabriel considered the gesture for a moment, but finally grabbed Lucifer’s hand and shook it.

“Tell me, how badly did she hurt Hades?” Gabriel smirked.  He wanted assurances that Hades would think twice about taking on the Destroyer again.

Lucifer chuckled and offered his brother a seat on the repaired section of the dais.  “Allow me to tell you every gory detail.”

∞

Anjali wasn’t sure how long her truce with Hades would last, but she hoped that being nice to him, for once, had an effect on him.  If it didn’t, she would change tactics and feed him his colon.

Climbing the stairs to the rotunda, she found Aganon standing at the top of the stairs, waiting for her.

“My Master requests that you meet with him in your room, my Lady.”  Aganon bowed and extended his arm toward the Hall of Mirrors.

She nodded to him and turned into the Hall of Mirrors as he trailed behind her.  She stopped in front of her new throne to inspect it.  She thought the fire and ice crystals were a bit overstated, but Lucifer liked them.  She didn’t want to upset him, so she didn’t tell him that she was intimidated by the size and grandeur of it.

Her thoughts were cut off as an intense pain radiated through her back and into her chest.  She screamed out in pain.  The room tilted and she gasped for air.  Her legs gave out and she fell to her knees.  The reflection in the mirror showed two things, Aganon standing behind her with a vacant look in his eyes and a blue flame protruding through her chest, near her heart.  The flame disappeared from her chest when she fell forward to the ground.  She would never call Tabbris paranoid again for installing the mirrors.

The room wavered before her eyes.  The floor was wet and cold.  Lying on the black marble floor reminded her how unyielding the tile in her bathroom had been.  She closed her eyes, wanting to embrace the blackness.

Lucifer and Gabriel looked up when they heard a faint scream echoing from the rotunda.

Gabriel shrugged off the scream as a natural sound in Hell.  The express on Lucifer’s face informed him that he was wrong to ignore the scream.

“Anjali!” Lucifer scrambled to his feet, pushing past Gabriel.  He bolted through the doorway and rushed across the newly constructed walkway toward the Hall of Mirrors.  He didn’t bother to turn to see if Gabriel was following him.

Aganon turned and watched his Master and Gabriel enter the rotunda.

“What happened?” Lucifer growled as he grabbed Aganon’s arm.

Aganon was confused by the question.  He wasn’t sure what was happening.  All he could remember was the blood.  “I heard her scream.”

Aganon gasped in pain when Lucifer crushed his upper arm.