Chapter 18
“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
—REVELATION 21:8, ESV
I played with her for hours. I couldn’t get enough. The sounds she made when she was close were almost as good as the sounds she made when I denied her. My fingers were dripping with her scent by the time I finally let her rest and returned to the shadow realm. I had not let her finish, and I left her with a warning.
If she were to touch herself over the next few days and I found out about it, there would be hell to pay. If she was a good girl, I would let her come when I returned. I didn’t mention that if she allowed the bartender or the host to touch her, it would add another day to her sentence. With how loose she had been playing it with the two of them, I knew she was in for a long and frustrating week.
I smirked to myself. This form of torture was even more fun than murder. I wish I had thought of it sooner.
I crossed the bridge into the underworld and smiled. As much as I enjoyed the human depictions of Hell, they were inaccurate. It was much less ‘fire and brimstone’ and much more ‘endless night.’
The City of Hell was primarily crafted from shining obsidian, and it floated on an island in a dark, endless sea of souls. The black, ocean-like body of liquid was made up of all the lives I had been permitted to keep. It was filled with murderers, thieves, and dictators. They circled the ebony City of Hell for eternity, waiting for their turns to be tortured.
The souls that didn’t stay here with me were recycled and fed to Yahweh’s Sorter of Souls. Humans called it reincarnation. Unfortunately for all the die-hard churchgoers, there wasn’t actually any hope of their souls living for eternity in Heaven. Only Yahweh and His angels resided in the blinding white abyss He called Paradise. His Watchers lived with me in Hell. The stories say that we were once angels who fell from grace and now lived out our days in sin.
We were the Fallen.
Considering I only had a thousand years of memories available to me, I could not confirm or deny this. Yahweh did not allow me access to knowledge that existed prior to those thousand years. The other Watchers were unable to tell me anything due to Yahweh’s orders. Not even Hazai had been able to share with me why I was down here with him, though he assured me the story was ‘ hella good.’
As I walked over the gleaming black bridge that led into the streets of Hell, I found myself wondering what Lilith would think if I ever brought her here.
She would be amazed by the dark homes filled with the Fallen. I could imagine how her eyes would widen as she took in the towering black crystal spires that sparkled and shone beneath the never-ending expanse of stars from above. I wondered what she would think of the seven towers that made up the ebony castle I lived in. It stood with breathtaking authority in the center of Hell, providing Hazai and me with a clear view of our kingdom.
As I made my way into the House of the Fallen, the image of Lilith panting and splayed before me sprang unbidden to my mind. I was taken with a sudden and overwhelming urge to return to her. Better yet, I wanted to drag her down here with me and chain her to my bed.
I shook my head in an attempt to dislodge the thoughts as I entered the manor. If Lilith came here, it would mean she was usurping me, and that was not something I was looking forward to. In fact, it was not something I was beginning to think I could allow at all.
The House of the Fallen was furnished with heavy, black-lacquered furniture and upholstered with the softest black velvet to exist in any plane. Silver veins shot through the black-marbled walls, and my shoes echoed on the pristine midnight floor as I stalked into the heart of the manor. Hazai sat on the massive black leather couch before the floor-to-ceiling obsidian fireplace that took up much of the main floor. It was always lit; the fires in Hell burning emerald green, giving everything a delightfully sinister hue .
Hazai glanced up at me as I entered, his lips cut in a firm line across his face. I frowned. He was upset with me.
“That wasn’t cool.”
I assumed he was referring to me edging Lilith all night. “She touched herself. I needed to correct her,” I said smoothly as I fell onto the couch opposite him. There was a large chess table set between the two couches, and I waved a hand, manifesting the pieces before us.
“You didn’t tell her that was a rule. You can’t punish her for breaking rules she doesn’t know are in play.”
I smirked, not bothering to mention that I had just introduced another secret rule to the game without her knowledge. However, she should know that touching mortals had consequences. What did it matter if I just didn’t tell her the consequences had changed?
I raised an eyebrow at my friend. “If she knows the rules, then she’s less likely to break them. If she doesn’t break them, I don’t get to punish her.”
And did I ever want to punish her. The memory of her begging for release rolled through me, and I felt myself grow hard at the thought of how sexually frustrated she would be over the coming days. Fuck she was such a beautiful little disaster. “What has gotten into you? You’re acting like you suddenly have a soul,” I commented dryly.
“I just think you’ll regret hurting her this much. You’re supposed to be conditioning her to take over for you, not fucking her senseless. You’re going to have to exist with her for eternity. Forever is a long time to live with someone who hates you so thoroughly.”
I shrugged. “I haven’t fucked her.”
Yet.
“You know what I mean.”
Glancing up at Hazai, I played with the idea of telling him the beginnings of my new plan. Since I had discovered how much I enjoyed playing with Lilith’s sweet cunt, I hadn’t been able to shake off the beginnings of what felt an awful lot like rebellion.
“Tell me what you’re thinking. You’re up to something. I can smell it on you,” he said suspiciously. His nostrils flared, and he leaned forward, his gaze dropping to my hand as I slid my knight across the board. “Hmm, nevermind. Maybe that’s just the scent of Lilith’s cunt on your fingers,” he remarked dryly, shooting me an amused look.
I barked out a laugh. Leaning back and crossing an ankle over my knee, I eyed my friend carefully.
“Alright, fine. You’re right.” I pressed my tongue into the side of my cheek, then sighed. “I don’t want to condition her to take my place.”
“We knew that already. ”
“No, it’s more than that. I want to keep her . ”
Hazai’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “You want to keep her?”
I nodded. “Yes, here with us. I want her to be my bride.”
Hazai’s mouth curled up, and his eyes darkened. “I doubt she’s going to have any interest in being your bride after the way you’ve treated her.”
I snorted. “I don’t give a fuck what she wants. She’ll grow to like it. I can be nice when I want to be.”
Hazai snorted, but his eyes were shining with mischief. “You’re going to get our asses thrown into purgatory again, aren’t you?”
“Was it my fault last time? I can’t remember,” I asked honestly, and he shrugged.
“More or less.”
I sighed, “I’m sorry.” I really was. There weren’t many I cared for, but Hazai was so close to me that we were nearly one soul… if we were the types of creatures that had souls. “I’m obsessed, Hazai. I know I shouldn’t be playing with her like this, but I can’t seem to stop. I don’t think I’ll ever stop. She has infected what little piece of a heart I have. Even now, as I sit here talking to you, all I want to do is return to her and bury my cock in her throbbing fucking pussy until she screams for me to drag her down to Hell with me.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Hazai laughed.
“I know, I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to do here. I can’t stop, it’s like a fucking compulsion.”
“If you want to do this, we’re going to have to figure out a way to get Yahweh to agree, or we’re all fucked.”
I nodded. I knew he was right, and I had some ideas for that, too.
“So you’re willing to help?” I asked, and Hazai winked and nodded.
“Of course. Kidnapping and fucking with mortals is like the first thing I taught you to do when you got here if you remember correctly. It’s not exactly my first time.”
I laughed and moved my rook. It was true. Dragging unwilling mortals to Hell together was one of the earliest available memories I had of Hazai and me spending time together.
He grew pensive and continued, his tone more serious. “But if we’re going to do this, we need to figure out how we’re going to pull it off, and fast. Her coronation is only a few weeks away. You’ll need to make her your bride before that, then we’ll have to deal with Yahweh once she’s bound to you.”
I nodded. That had been exactly what I was thinking as well. Hazai leaned forward and moved a pawn into play on the chessboard. I grinned at him, and he shook his head at me in mock exasperation.
“I suppose we wouldn’t be the Fallen if we always played by the rules.” He murmured, and I laughed.
“Rules are made to be broken… just ask Lilith.” I smirked darkly as I made my first move on the board.
Let the games begin.