35. Diablos
Chapter thirty-five
Diablos
Imade my choice. Never in my life had I been so sure of anything. The choice was made, and I faced it with my head held high.
Earlier, I lied to Dagon.
When I went upstairs, I hadn't texted Thaddeos. I spoke with King. I sent him a no-nonsense message demanding he tell me everything he knew. My gut told me he was holding something back.
King responded with a truth bomb that stunned me. Not only the content but the fact he hadn't shared it sooner.
The objects weren't merely celestial, they were also infernal.
The creator of these seven objects was Lucifer. Lucifer before the fall.
I didn’t know the full story, and King likely would never share the rest. What he revealed was that with Lucifer's fall, the objects' energies split. Suspended between realms, they belonged neither to Heaven nor Hell, and angels on Earth, like King, were tasked with protecting them.
Once someone was bound to an object, they became either its vigilant protector or pledged their soul, aligning it with Heaven or Hell. By doing this, a side was chosen, and the object no longer lingered in the in-between.
I didn’t need time to think about it.
My answer was clear the instant I understood the truth.
The bow and arrow in my hands had an intricate design. The bow was golden, edged with flecks of blood-red. The arrow was pure white, marked by golden streaks. Their colors echoed Lucifer's duality, before and after the fall.
The moment my fingers closed around them, a tidal wave of raw, otherworldly power surged through me, rooting me in place. Breath shaky, I steadied myself against the terrifying force clamoring to break free.
My eyes sought Dagon one final time before I began to speak. I expected my words in English, but a foreign language flowed instead:
Created from light, torn in two,
Between luminosity and darkness hovering,
Suspended, waiting, concealed.
The in-between veil is lifting.
I call upon the blood spilled in the past,
Accept the blood I’ll spill, merge into one.
With the knife hidden in my pocket, I sliced my hand, letting blood drip first onto the bow, then the arrow. Flames erupted, licking across them as I continued:
With crimson from the past
And crimson from the present,
I pledge my soul to Lucifer,
To Hell – in the in-between, and below.
Set the power free,
Let the crimson burn bright,
Together, we step into the dark.
Blinding red exploded outward. Power surged so violently, it brought me to my knees. Agony tore through me as if blades shredded me from within. I tightened my grip, teeth grinding against the pain, forcing myself to witness the transformation.
Slowly, agonizingly, the arrow's pristine white darkened to blood-red, its golden marks turning black. The bow followed, morphing into deep crimson and black. Lucifer's colors swallowed the old design.
The deal with the Devil was sealed.
My soul belonged to Lucifer now. It was the choice I'd made willingly. Now, it was time to unleash Hell on the bastards threatening me and my demon.
Focusing my power, I aimed the arrow at the woman who held a blade to my throat and released it.
Her scream was horrifying, primal, and chilling. She kept screaming as her body dissolving, flames consuming her. The sight of it was as sickening as the noise.
The crimson smoke around us thinned, revealing chaos. My eyes desperately sought Dagon. He had to be safe. Please.
But before I could move, the air behind me shimmered ominously. The hair on my arms stood, and the smell of what I could only describe as a storm brewing closing in on me from every side. The air electrified, and if I didn’t know better, I would have thought thunder was about to hit.
My body vibrated with an unexplainable need to kneel and bow my head. The arrow and bow danced with flames in my hands. Instinctively, I knew who was behind me. Slowly, I turned and froze in place.
Lucifer himself stood mere feet away. The freaking Lucifer. The King of Hell.
Holy fuck.
I was held prisoner by the horror coursing through my veins as I stared at red eyes brimming with the promise of Hell’s wrath. Terror immobilized me.
His voice, calm yet commanding, whispered from everywhere at once. “Kneel.”
An order.
My knees buckled immediately, my head bowing in submission without conscious choice. Even though my body wasn’t in my control, my mind was, for now, and it was freaking out. What would I do if Lucifer commanded me to do something I didn’t want to, something I couldn't bear?
Fuck.
“It’s interesting,” he mused casually. “The son of an angel choosing Hell. Not many things can surprise me, count yourself unique.”
An involuntary shiver and several dazed blinks later, I tried to open my mouth, but my lips stayed sealed, gaze locked on the earth beneath me.
Lucifer continued speaking like we had all the time in the world, and we weren’t in the middle of a freaking battle between demons.
“Tell me, Diablos Hughes, why did you choose Hell over Heaven?”
Words poured from my lips, unbidden and immediate. "The choice was simple. My heart knew this was my path."
“Why?” Lucifer demanded.
“Because my mate is a demon, and I want to spend my life with him. I want to complete our mate bond and become a demon. I can't serve Heaven and still belong to him.” My words vibrated with honesty, but Lucifer hummed skeptically.
“Interesting, but try again.”
“I’m not sure I understand, my King.” Where the fuck did my King come from?
Lucifer laughed out loud. No, it was more like an evil cackle giving concrete evidence that your doom was coming like a freaking train without brakes and with light speed.
Oh shit.
"Oh, your mate is another unexpected twist. A demon raised by an angel, tragically ironic.
What a shame for my demon, and what a tragedy this will create for the posh angel" He paused, savoring my unease.
"What you said was the truth, but there's more.
Why did you truly choose to pledge your soul to me? "
“Because Hell feels like home.” The words burst forth, startling in their truthfulness. Understanding surged through me.
Choosing Heaven would have been impossible. I may not know what real Hell was like, but I knew what Hell felt like on Earth, and in my mind. Parts of me were forever changed because of that. Anywhere else, and it would have felt foreign to me.
Besides, Dagon belonged to Hell, and my heart, my very essence, belonged to him. If pledging myself to Lucifer was the price for our eternity, I'd pay it without hesitation. I had paid it. Regret was nonexistent.
“That’s the sincerity I wanted,” Lucifer approved coldly. It was a bit funny, the devil and sincerity in one sentence somehow didn’t sound right. “Do you know what will happen now?”
I shook my head, not trusting my voice.
“Do not be fooled for even a second, boy. You may be bonded to the bow and arrow, and you may be the Archer,” the Archer?
What does that mean? “But your precious weapon and you belong to me.
Never forget that. And never forget how powerful this object it.
It doesn't just hurt a demon, it kills them for an eternity.
Of course, it can't kill me. Sadly, it can't kill an angel, but it can hurt them significantly. Never forget that either.”
“I won’t forget, my King.”
“Good, because if you do, your mate and your precious family will pay the price. Speaking of your mate, would you like to hear a secret?” He didn't wait for my answer.
“Your mate's familiar is a dragon. Did you think I'd ignore something so significant? Dagon was always destined for my inner circle.”
No. No, please, no.
Panic erupted violently within me. "Please don't take him away!"
“What would you offer in return? Don’t mistake me for an angel, boy. I don’t just do favors without gaining something. I demand compensation”
“I’ll do anything,” I blurted desperately.
I didn’t care what I had to do. I couldn’t let Lucifer take away Dagon.
Lucifer's amusement deepened chillingly. "Anything? That's good to know. Remember your promise well, Diablos. You're free now. Until I call upon you."
I didn’t dare move or raise my head. My heart was pounding, but I found the courage to say, "I- I don't understand.”
“I don’t repeat myself, Diablos. Now that I think about it, your name is symbolic. You were born to be one of mine,” he paused, and I wondered why.
He was right, though. I had always hated my name, but now things were different. I was going to be Dagon’s demon. Only his. Even if I had to follow orders from Lucifer.
“The time will come when I will have use of you. Till then, you’re free,” he finished.
I wanted to ask what he meant while simultaneously praying that I never learned what that meant. The decision was made for me when I felt the world return to normal. The heaviness of Lucifer’s presence was gone in a blink, and the noise, smells, and screams around me returned.
Heart racing, I scanned the battlefield frantically. Most of the Fireborns were already defeated.
Then I saw Dagon.
My world halted painfully.
He was several feet away from me, fighting a demon. A demon with stark white hair and a body moving swiftly like a shadow merging with the darkest powers that ever existed. The demon made my blood run cold only with a glimpse.
He was a Starborn. A powerful Starborn with hands wrapped around my mate’s neck. The woman mentioned there was a demon here who could kill another demon.
Pure panic and rage ignited inside me. Flames consumed the arrow as I raised it, aiming for the head of the fool who thought they could hurt my man.
I knew Dagon would always protect me, but I would always protect him too.
No one touched what was mine.