The Third Throne: Angel of Darkness (21 page)

“None of your business, servant.  Now run back to your Master and be sure to send him my regrets.  I don’t have time to stand before him and listen to his nonsense,” Hades huffed as he repaired the last leg of his throne and threw himself into it.

Jared refused to look at Aganon, despite being somewhat friendly with him or at least an ally when it came to hating Hades.  He knew immediately that something was very wrong.

Aganon bowed to Hades, making a good show of it.  He didn’t need to be reprimanded for failing to show respect to the loser.  “Of course, Lord Hades, I will tell my Master.”

He spun on his heel and quickly left the tower.  He braced himself for the shit storm that was about to take place.  After all the rumors and warnings, it seemed that the Destroyer had finally risen up and bitch slapped Hades.  He knew it was only a matter of time.

“I wish I could have seen Hades get his ass kicked,” he murmured to himself.  “Too bad Lucifer is going to kill her for it.”

Holy crap
, she thought to herself.  By the time Sebastian appeared in the Hall of Winds and handed off the Purgatory bound prisoner to Mark, Michelle was on her way back the castle, almost believing what Mark had told her.  He had explained it a million different ways.  The only thing he hadn’t done was show her the eight-by-ten color glossy photos.

“You must not tell anyone that I have spoken to you; otherwise, I will be in terrible trouble.  Please believe me.  Your father is desperate to see you.  Get to the entrance to the cave closest to the Hall of Shadows and he will try to find you.  They will kill me if they see me talking to you, please go.  Good luck,” Mark whispered.  He quickly walked away from Michelle and stood near Sebastian’s podium before he returned.

Michelle was both befuddled and annoyed.  If Mark was telling the truth, then the man she believed to be her father, wasn’t really her father.  She had wanted it to be true her whole life, but hearing that it might be true, made her feel guilty.  She felt vindicated for knowing that something was wrong with her family, but she did care about them and missed them.  She felt like her whole life was a lie.

Kept in the dark about a few things, was he kidding?  She was standing in Hell, having a conversation with an angel.  There were definitely a few pieces missing from her life story.  It gave her hope that she might finally find out the truth.  Suddenly the incidents in Hades’ tower and in the Realm of Fire didn’t seem so bizarre.  If her real father was an angel, then maybe she was different from everyone else.

She had to get to the caves and find out what was going on, regardless of the consequences.  With her luck, Hades would be there waiting with a blender and no ice.  He would love to get her in trouble with Lucifer, yet she had to do this.  If Mark were screwing with her, she would find a way to get even with him.

Entering the Throne Room, she saw Lucifer standing in front of his throne as Caleb rushed toward her.  He looked like he was about to tackle and subdue her, but stopped short when he saw Aganon trailing behind her.

“Where were you?” Lucifer called out to her.  He looked concerned, but angry.

Before she could answer, Aganon grabbed her arm and rushed her to the dais.  He knelt before Lucifer and forced her to her knees as well.

Caleb smugly took his place next to Lucifer’s throne.

She had no idea why Aganon was making her bow, but she had a feeling he was trying to help her.  It would have been proper etiquette for a servant to bow to their master, but she had no interest in being a servant, regardless of what Lucifer commanded.

She pulled her arm away from Aganon and stood up.  She boldly looked Lucifer directly in the eyes and ignored Aganon’s attempts to make her submissive.

Lucifer had lied when he said this was her home.  She had suffered the realms, defended herself from a groping Hades, and been lied to by God knows who.  Home was nothing like this.  She would never consider this home, nor would she pretend to like it here.  If her real father was anything like the angels she was surrounded by in Hell, then she wanted no part of him.

Lucifer growled as he stared at her intently.  “What happened?”

She wasn’t sure if he was mad about Hades’ tower, freezing the Realm of Fire, talking to Mark, or attempting to escape Hell, so she simply shrugged.

“Hades’ tower has been damaged.  I have a feeling you know what happened,” Lucifer appeared feral as he spoke.  The tender Lucifer, who had told her that he loved her, had been replaced by the axe wielding psycho version of the devil.

“Oh, that,” she replied with a sigh, grateful he didn’t know about her other indiscretions.  “Hades requested my presence,” she wasn’t ready to tell Lucifer what Hades had done.  She was still outraged by Hades’ behavior, but she didn’t want to relive it by detailing it to Lucifer.

“Why?” Lucifer’s voice went from a yell to a roar.  His eyes were as black as midnight and he was on the verge of going berserk.

Michelle hesitated, but stepped forward.  She knew she hadn’t done anything wrong, except maybe break a few things, and Hades’ spine.  She didn’t think Lucifer would hold that against her.  “He wanted to speak to me,” she decided to be vague.

“I want to know what happened,” Lucifer’s fists were clenched, as were his teeth.

“We had a disagreement, nothing more,” suddenly she couldn’t look at Lucifer.  She could still feel Hades’ clammy, grubby hands on her body and his horrible lips on hers.  She wanted to gag.  Instead, she started shaking.

“Who destroyed the tower?” Lucifer asked in a low deep voice.

“I did,” she whispered.  Fear rose up in her.  Suddenly, she was worried about the possible repercussions of attacking Hades since she was nothing more than a servant.  Lucifer might do something worse than throw her into a realm for assaulting his second-in-command.  He might even call for her death.  Not that she regretted her actions, but she probably should have come directly to Lucifer and tried for a mercy plea.

“Bring him to me,” Lucifer snarled at Aganon, who took off at a dead run.

Within a minute Hades was being hauled into the Throne Room, along with Jared and Azazel.

“Hades, what is the meaning of this?  My mistress claims that she destroyed the Hall of Misery.  What would cause her to do that?” Lucifer was on the edge.  Everyone in the room could clearly see it.

“My Lord, there was a misunderstanding that’s all.  Nothing happened.  No need to get all worked up over nothing,” Hades waved his hand as if the matter was beneath Lucifer’s attention.

“According to Aganon, it appeared as if a battle had taken place.  What was the disagreement about?” Lucifer sneered.

Michelle avoided looking at anyone and tried to make herself very small.  She was afraid that Lucifer would accuse her of wrongdoing and drag her to the realms, personally.

“It was a minor thing.  The room needed to be redone anyway,” Hades scoffed innocently trying to avoid the question.

Lucifer’s eyes locked on Hades and he lunged forward.  He grabbed him by the neck and they were both thrown to the floor by the force of the jump.  Hades tried to pry Lucifer’s hands from his throat, but it was no use.  Lucifer smashed Hades’ head into the marble floor repeatedly.  Lucifer sounded like a wild animal while Hades gasped for air.

“What did you do to her?” the words were barely audible through the growls.

“Couldn’t…help…myself,” Hades choked out.

“I will end your miserable life for this,” Lucifer got to his feet and threw Hades against the wall.  Hades bounced off and landed on his ass.

Lucifer turned and glared at Michelle.  “What did he do?”

Lucifer’s eyes were red, reflecting the fire from the torches.  He looked demonic.  Michelle didn’t know how to answer him.  She didn’t want Lucifer to kill Hades because of her.  Something felt wrong about killing Hades, though she wouldn’t mind watching him be torn apart in the Realm of Ghouls.

“I can’t explain what happened.  I threw him across the room without touching him and I blew the glass out of the windows without moving,” she decided to side step the Hades issue and confess to the part that might land her in trouble.  She didn’t know why she was taking one for the team, but felt like she had to.

That stopped Lucifer’s rage.  “What?  How?” he was calm within the span of a heartbeat.  He looked at her sympathetically.

“I don’t know.  I got mad at Hades and this force rose up and threw him across the room.  I don’t know what happened,” she lowered her face to the ground and braced herself, in case Lucifer hit her.

“You mean you didn’t throw anything at the windows and break them?  You didn’t physically throw Hades?  There was no fight?” Lucifer was confused by her answer.  It was the last thing he expected.

“There was no fight.  I got angry and things started happening. The windows splintered apart and the glass shot out of them.  Hades flew through the air into his throne.  The force was great enough that it decimated the throne.  I don’t know how it happened, I swear,” Michelle sniffled.  She lifted a shaky hand to wipe away her tears.

Lucifer turned to Hades for confirmation.

Hades merely nodded his head, though his eyes held fear in them.  Michelle understood Hades’ reluctance to speak.  Lucifer had been diffused, for the moment, and as it stood, Hades was no longer the focus of Lucifer’s rage.  She half-expected Hades to try to sneak out of the room.

Instead of yelling, Lucifer took her into his arms and hugged her.  He tightened his arms around her and put his lips against her hair.  “Are you all right?” he whispered through her hair.

Michelle was so shocked by his mood swing that she didn’t understand the question at first.  Was she okay after being attacked or was she okay with the fact that raw power had somehow ripped free from her body?  No, to the first question, and yes, to the second.  “I think so.”

Lucifer pulled back to look at her.  He released her and grabbed her hand to look at her ring.  He let out a breath and smiled at her.  “I will deal with Hades regarding this matter.  I promise you, whatever went on between the two of you will never happen again.  From this point on, you will stay by my side.  You will walk with me as I make my rounds.  I will personally see to your safety,” he took her chin in his hand and looked deeply into her eyes.

Michelle relaxed considerably and nodded.  For some reason she took comfort from his promise.  She knew that she and Hades were far from ending their feud, but she was relieved that Lucifer had stepped forward to offer his protection.

Malcolm entered the Throne Room and called out to Lucifer.  “My Lord, if I may.  I need a word with you.”

“Not now, Malcolm.  First, I need to deal with Hades.  I will address you later.  Leave,” Lucifer ignored him.  He was too focused on his mistress to care about anything else.             

Malcolm hesitated, but bowed when he saw that Hades was bleeding.  He turned and left the tower. 

“Go back to your room while I punish Hades.  I will be with you soon,” Lucifer kissed her forehead and smiled.

She was surprised that he would kiss her in front of an audience, but after everything she had been through, she didn’t care.

“What will you do to him?” she asked in a small voice, avoiding Hades’ gaze.

“Considering that you kicked his ass, I will let him lick his wounds in the Hall of Torment for a while.  It is a special section of the castle reserved for angels who need to be reminded that their actions have consequences.  Don’t worry about him.  He will survive this round, though he will wish he hadn’t,” Lucifer waved to Aganon, who took Hades into custody.

“I’m sorry that I destroyed his room,” she said quietly.

Lucifer smirked and kissed the back of her hand.  He walked over to Hades, who was being held by Aganon in a kneeling position.

“Do you have anything to say in your defense, that won’t get you killed?” Lucifer asked, daring Hades to say something stupid.

Hades bowed his head and submitted.  “No, my Lord.  I accept the punishment for my disagreement with your mistress,” he kept his eyes on the ground and braced himself.

Michelle thought it was odd that Hades would accept a punishment without a fight, until it dawned on her that the reason for the argument hadn’t been explained.  Hades was smart enough to take the mild punishment for the “miscommunication” between them in the hopes that Lucifer wouldn’t pursue the matter.  Hades would surely suffer a worse fate for what had actually happened, if Lucifer’s original reaction was anything to go by.

Hades rose to his feet.  Aganon took hold of his upper arm and led him out of the room.  Hades seemed defeated, which was strange to witness.

She heard Lucifer questioning Azazel and Jared as she turned to walk to the servant staircase.  Though she should have been mad at Lucifer for sending her to her room, there was nowhere else she wanted to be.

Caleb refused to look at her.  She flipped him off, which wasn’t very ladylike, but she had just blown up Hades’ hall, frozen fire, found out that she was the daughter of an Archangel, and had avoided a punishment for kicking the crap out the second-in-command of Hell.  She felt out of sorts and weary, but confident enough not to take his shit.

Deep down, she believed that Hades was behind her trips to the realms since Lucifer had done nothing but offer her comfort and protection.  She wasn’t ready to discuss the matter with Lucifer just yet; otherwise, Hades might very well lose his head.  She needed to regroup before she dealt with Hades.  She also didn’t want to find out that Lucifer was double-crossing her and pretending to love her while sadistically punishing her.  She just wanted to curl up on her bed and cry, which she did, until she fell asleep for the first time since entering Hell.

∞

Lucifer entered the Throne Room calmly, having worked out his aggression on Hades.  As promised, Hades had survived, but would need time to recover.  He paced in front of the dais, considering the problem at hand.  How had his mistress caused such destruction in the tower?  It wasn’t possible, or at least it wasn’t supposed to be possible.  He wondered what had gone on between the two of them to cause such an outburst.  He had never seen her angry or violent without cause.  He wished he had been there to witness the fight, though it was probably for the best that he hadn’t been; otherwise, his second-in-command would be dead instead of nursing a few broken bones.