22
Amanda landed on her face, sending a puff of ashes whirling into the air. Coughing, she pulled herself up, trying to brush the black particles off her white dress, but that only smeared them out more. At first, she thought she’d arrived in the garden outside the castle, but only dark mountain peaks and scorched forests loomed in the distance. The glaring sun poured heat over her skin and face.
Her grip tightened on the scepter. She would whack it so hard over Lucifer’s head. She looked around and found the fallen angel perched on a boulder, back turned against her.
Lucifer didn’t fit the image. The wings sprawling out of her slender back weren’t blackened and or leathery – they were pearly white and blindingly bright. The skin on her neck wasn’t red or scaled, just strikingly pale against the void-black hair. She wasn’t scary or horrible, or even unpleasant in the slightest. She just looked sad and lonely.
“Excuse me?” Amanda said, suddenly conflicted.
The angel slid off the rock and turned to face her. The skin around her bright turquoise eyes rippled as she smiled. But it was a smile empty of joy and filled with sadness, like she’d lost everything of value to her.
“Amanda,” Lucifer said, her voice soft and melodious. “I apologize for ripping you out of that castle so roughly.”
Standing next to Michael, Amanda had felt guilty and immoral. Next to Uriel, she had felt ugly and insufficient. Abaddon made her feel neurotic and impatient. Lucifer, on the other hand, inspired empathy and compassion – Amanda just wanted to put her arms around her and make her feel better. A struggle of heart versus mind erupted within her. She knew Lucifer was evil, she knew…
“Why did you kidnap me?”
“Kidnap?” Lucifer said, pointing. “Look at the sun.”
Slowly, Amanda turned her head. There wasn’t supposed to be a sun in Hell, but still, the sky shifted in a palette of blazing orange, cerise, and crimson. At first, she just saw the pulsating, blinding orb, but then the sun blinked – an eyelid closing rapidly before opening again. Amanda gasped.
“Look closer.”
Amanda strained her eyes. Silhouettes appeared on the other side, dark obsidian walls whirled by. An entire spinning world appeared within the sun’s eye. Then, abruptly, the rotations stopped. A dark castle, with sharp spires and mighty bastions, rose out of the murky shadows. It was Houska Castle, and above it, from the churning clouds, five dark shapes with massive wings descended. Their eyes, like dying stars, shimmered in the night. With piercing shrieks, they opened their mouths, as if to devour the world, and then dove for the castle, ripping fire out of the air.
The ground shook, and towers came crashing down in violent sprays of shattered rock and flames. The demonic archers on the walls aimed their bows into the sky but were torn to shreds by a fallen angel landing in their midst. He sliced his claws in a deadly flurry, his face a grim mask of hatred and twisted amusement. Ribbons of flesh and black blood rained over the castle.
The edges of the sun’s eye became blurry as if some kind of liquid seeped in. Then a big grubby finger fluttered by, wiping the excess fluid away. With a thud, the entire image shook, and then the world started spinning again.
“I had to get you out of there,” Lucifer said, grabbing Amanda’s attention once more.
“Why?”
“Because you are important to me – I care about you.”
Amanda narrowed her eyes, but couldn’t find any signs of deceit in the angel’s face. Still, she knew the image was false.
“Then why’d you make me kill Sarah?” Amanda said bluntly.
Lucifer tilted her head to the side, the smile paling a little. “Would it make you feel any better if I took all the blame?”
“I… uh, that’s not what I asked!”
Lucifer took a few steps forward, hooking a lock of black hair behind her ear. “But that’s what you meant, right?”
The fallen angel was right. Deep down, Amanda just wanted to ease her own guilt. She did want to blame Lucifer for Sarah’s death because then she wouldn’t have to take responsibility for her own lingering feelings of resentment.
“Why?” Amanda whispered. It was as much a question for herself as it was for Lucifer.
“What if I had nothing to do with her death?” Lucifer held out one hand as if offering her an apple. “What if you lost control and killed her in rage because she was mean to you?” The angel held out her other hand in the same way as the first. “Or was Sarah tarnishing the sanctity of love with her one night stands and her long string of short-term boyfriends?”
Amanda looked at her feet. She’d always felt insulted by Sarah’s frivolous approach to relationships. But that wasn’t enough reason to kill her.
She shook her head. “You did something to me…”
“I only showed you what was already in your heart. And we both know she deserved it.”
Amanda covered her face, hot tears burning down her cheeks.
“She didn’t…”
Lucifer snorted. “Did you know why Sarah was like this? Why she stepped on hearts and wore love like a cheap garment?”
“She didn’t deserve it!”
“Perhaps not,” Lucifer said, shrugging. “But in every Babylon, there is a whore. And her death is part of Revelation. You may feel bad now, but you’ve helped me a great deal.”
Amanda wiped her eyes and just gaped. The harsh words sounded so wrong rolling over the angel’s tongue. She almost found a twisted pleasure in hearing them. It was like a trained opera singer growling death metal lyrics. It gave her a sort of uplifting feeling, despite the topic – beautiful and ugly, embracing in a macabre dance. She wasn’t sure if she should throw up or praise the contrast.
“Do you still have the thorn?” Lucifer said.
“Yes.”
“Can I have it back?”
Amanda nodded and pulled it out of her dress. The little black spike gleamed in the strange sunset. Lucifer held out her hand. Amanda swallowed and placed it in her palm. Then she pressed it down hard, piercing the skin of the angel. A tiny drop of blood welled up around it.
Amanda had expected a beam of light or a burst of flames, but Lucifer just smiled.
“I must admit, I did not expect that.” Lucifer pulled the thorn out, holding it up to her eyes. “How very opportunistic!” Her gaze returned to Amanda. “I was about to leave you here. Marc would’ve been none the wiser. Just his poor bride who perished in the flames of the castle. But now... perhaps there's still use for you.”
Amanda glared at the angel. “How?”
“My name was once Belial,” Lucifer said, pocketing the thorn. “An archangel of the Lord.”
“It should still banish you then!”
“Of course… but we’re already in Hell.” Lucifer spread her wings wide. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have an apocalypse to take care of.”
With a whoosh of hot air, the angel shot into the sky, flying straight into the eye of the sun.