The Devil's Lover: The Wish Read online

  Kali realized there was no point in pleading with him.

  "I should at least know your true name,” she demanded. "Since everything up until now has been a lie, why not your name.”

  "Lucifer,” he replied to her. “That is what I am called. As for my true name, that is only for me to know.”

  She decided she was not at all curious. She gave Chevalier a farewell kiss on the cheek. “Sleep well, my knight,” she stood up, facing Lucifer. “I will come with you as promised. Be it Hell.”

  †††††

  Lucifer lowered Kali to her feet after he passed with her through the fiery gate. It closed immediately, leaving behind a hollow black frame. Kali stared at it, trying to comprehend it to the best of her ability. She, a person who had never believed in the paranormal, was being carried by the fallen angel to the Hell he calls home. Irony has a sense of humor.

  Lucifer placed a hand on her shoulder to draw her attention and pointed toward the South. “That is my home,” he said proudly. “And from now on, it shall be yours as well.”

  Kali’s eyes widened with surprise at the city in the distance. It was a vision of grandeur, enough to impress even the most prestigious of engineers. Massive buildings towered above each other in an unorganized and unplanned manner, but their effect was breathtaking, nevertheless. They were slightly slanted as if they lacked foundations. It was clear that these buildings did not originate from this plane.

  In the center of it all was an enormous black castle, floating above a forest of black thorns. It was physically impossible for something so massive to be suspending in mid-air. It defied all laws in the realm of physics. It looked as if it had been torn from the ground along with the earth underneath.

  The sky in the background was filled with gray clouds. Kali looked down, noting the black soil and the strange flowers which bloomed from it.

  “Shall we enter?” Lucifer asked, noticing Kali’s curious eyes.

  “How can we get up there?” Kali asked, staring at the eerie castle in the sky. “The castle, I mean.”

  “The conventional way,”

  “And that is?”

  Four pair of black wings grew from Lucifer’s back and spread out, many times his body length. They layered neatly atop of each other. The motion was so majestic that she wished she could see it in slow motion. Feathers falling from them remained in the air for a few seconds and then disintegrated. Just when Kali thought nothing else could surprise her.

  Lucifer swept Kali up onto his arms.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. Before she knew it, she found herself leaving the ground and soaring into the sky. After a few moments, she dared to look down over the landscape. She wasn't about to let her fear of heights make her miss this. They flew over the city and forest of thorns to land on the marble porch of the castle’s entrance.

  “What are those thorns for?” Kali asked. There was a strange beauty about the blue flowers that bloomed from them.

  “Keep a distance from them. They are extremely poisonous, even to demons,” he explained. “A human wouldn’t stand a chance of surviving.”

  “Then why won’t you get rid of them?”

  “Open,” he commanded the giant gate. It swung wide, obedient to Lucifer’s voice. “They protect the castle. And from now on, they will also prevent you from escaping.”

  "Even if I try to escape...where would I go?"

  "It doesn't matter if you have a place to go or not, this realm is far more dangerous than your own. I would feel more at ease if you stay close to me.”

  "And you would protect me?” her little voice was unsure.

  "Yes,” he assured her.

  Lucifer led her through a long and dark hallway. Their footsteps echoed on the marble floor. Kali paid close attention to the beautiful winged statues placed along the long hallway. She had never seen anything that looked so life-like.

  The door from the hallway led to a brighter room with a domed ceiling. Two stairways swept up either side of the room, framing three large doors in the middle. Lucifer led Kali through the middle door into a cold and spacious room. There was a long red carpet leading to the altar; on that altar was an imposing throne.

  “Is this the throne room?” Kali asked.

  “Very perceptive,” he praised her. He strode down the altar, not letting go of her hand. He seated himself on the throne, overlooking the room.

  “Isn't this place too big for one person?” Kali asked curiously.

  "There are others like myself. Only the highest ranked demons are granted access to this castle.”

  “I haven’t seen anyone since we got here.”

  “They will arrive shortly,” Lucifer pointed to the hallway they had passed through. Many summoning circles suddenly seemed to draw themselves the marble floor. From each circle, a demon emerged. Feathers from their wings flew in every direction.

  Their clothing clearly indicated that they were nobles and aristocrats. The females were embellished with beautiful jewelry, and the male wore baroque period adornments. They approached the throne and bowed before their master. "My lord, you've returned.”

  The human girl caught their attention right away. They glanced at each other, obviously silently debating how they should react to this intrusion.

  A male demon came closer to inspect her. “Is she a souvenir from the mortal world, Lord Lucifer?”

  “Since when do I answer to you?” Lucifer asked.

  The male demon stepped back, threatened by Lucifer’s tone. A gorgeous female demon came to Lucifer’s side and placed both of her arms on his shoulders. “Are you so bored that you must bring a human to our realm, my lord?” she whispered into his ear.

  Soren flew into through a window into the throne room, landing before the altar.

  “You should remember your place, Adria.” he said to the female demon.

  “My place is beside Lord Lucifer,” she responded.

  “May we have her once you’re done with her?” another male demon peered at the girl.

  Lucifer reached for Kali’s hand and pulled her toward him to sit neatly on his lap. He lifted her chin with the tips of his finger and placed a kiss on her lips. She was speechless and didn't know how to react.

  “She is my woman,” Lucifer declared. “I will hand her over to no one.”

  The demons looked to each other, perplexed. He sounded too serious to be taken casually. Was it an official declaration?

  “It means,” Soren explained, “Lord Lucifer had placed all of Hell, including us, beneath her feet.”

  †††††

  Lucifer walked down the long corridor towards the room at the end. When he tried to open the door, it was locked. He politely gave a knock to give her a sense of privacy. He knew she had heard the echoes of his approaching footsteps.

  “Open the door for me, Kali,” he said though the door.

  “I don’t want to see you,” Kali retorted from the bed. She grabbed hold of a fluffy pillow to bury her face in. Even though she was grateful to him for bringing Chevalier back to life, she couldn’t help being upset with him. How could she face him when everything about him was fabricated to deceive her? What made it even more degrading was that she fell for his act! He must have laughed at her vulnerabilities.

  “You can’t avoid me forever,” he said.

  She lifted her head up in order to reply, "I only said I would be your prisoner, I said nothing about seeing you.”

  “You will not open the door?” he asked again, still very calmly.

  “No!” she made it clear to him. “I never want to see you again.”

  He materialized on the other side of the door, startling her. Knowing was one thing, but seeing was another. “That is part of the bargain, unfortunately.”

  She turned away from him. She still hadn’t gotten used to his grayish platinum hair yet, even though the color complemented his pale blue eyes. She was convinced that no one else could pull off such a bold color.

  “T
hey said you refused to eat.”

  “That doesn’t concern you,” she was being difficult and she knew it.

  He lifted up a lock of her hair and pressed it against his lips, “I don’t want to see you withered to nothing. You are mine.”

  “You’ve deceived me with your manipulative ways!” she buried her face in the pillow again to hide the blush on her face. “I hate you,” she muttered.

  “Shall we sleep?” he asked as he seated himself on the side of the bed.

  “Sleep?” She inched back. “You’re going to stay here tonight?”

  “Isn’t it customary for husband and wife to sleep in the same bed?” he pulled her down and trapped her in his arms. She struggled to get free. When she realized that she couldn’t, she bit his forearm. He was unresponsive.

  “You really don’t want me to stay?” he asked for confirmation.

  “I don’t want to see you, or your kind!” she sat up and bolted off the bed when he loosened his grasp. She thought he would be angry with her for her insolence, but he said nothing and left.

  She lay down on the bed again and covered herself with the blanket. She scanned the room for anything suspicious before she closed her eyes. It was amazing how the exhaustion caught up to her. She felt her tense muscles ease into a state of relaxation. With several slow breaths, she drifted into a deep sleep.

  Kali awoke sometime later, feeling refreshed. She must have been tired because she rarely could fall asleep in a strange place. Hell, no less! She stretched her arms over her head and let out a yawn. She scanned the room again and discovered several large golden chests at the foot of her bed. It was intricately decorated with carvings and inlaid with impressive cut rubies. She looked around, debating whether she should open it.

  Curious, she placed both hands on each side of the first chest and raised the lid. Inside the box was a collection of jewelry of unimaginable beauty. The pieces were heavy, and she couldn’t think of anywhere to wear any of them. No matter how valuable or invaluable they were, she couldn’t imagine them being worth anything in Hell. With a regrettable sigh, she closed the chest.

  She opened the second chest and discovered that it was filled with precious stones: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, pearls and every other conceivable stone glistened beneath her fingers. They ranged from pea size to the size of golf balls. With another sad sigh, she closed this chest, as well.

  The third chest was filled with clothing, which she found to be most practical. The fabrics were cool and unbelievably silken to the touch. She had never felt such soft fabrics. Kali imagined it would feel lovely against her bare skin. She picked up an article of clothing that was the color of butter and found that it was a simple long gown. She pressed it against her body, finding it to be the right length although a little loose. Ignoring the other chests, she wandered out of her room to find someplace where she could bathe.

  It took her about half an hour, searching room by room, before she found the bathroom, if it could be called that. The marble tiles from the hallway stretched into the room and ended at a shallow pool the size of Chevalier’s apartment. Kali took a moment to admire the structural elements of the designs before she explored the rest of the room. When she realized the pool was the closest thing to a bath, she removed her clothing and lay it aside.

  She tested the clear, not-so-blue and not-quite-green water with the tip of her toe. It was warm to the touch, which she found surprising. She submerged her body into the water and surfaced a few moments later. Leaning her head back, she let herself float in relaxation. Her golden brown tresses float freely, like exotic coral in a reef.

  Chapter 10: Safer with Him

  She found him in a large library. It was the first time she'd seen him since she had turned him away. She didn’t intentionally look for him. She was hungry and wanted to find her way to the kitchen, but had gotten lost along the way. This castle was massive in both size and complexity. She had been given the freedom to explore the castle many times, but even then, she still got lost every once in a while.

  When he noticed her presence, he placed the book on his hand back on the shelf. She was impressed with the pure size of the room. It was ten times, no, maybe fifty times larger than the school library, if not more. The book shelves towered as tall as three stories. In the middle of the room was a built-in marble fountain, which was under a domed glass ceiling.

  “All these books,” her eyes jumped from shelves to shelves. “I had never seen so many books in one place.”

  “Well,” he said, “when you have abundance of time, you develop hobbies.”

  “You read them all?” she asked teasingly.

  “Yes,”

  “All of them?” she asked once again in disbelief.

  “I collect them among other things.”

  "This library is protected by magic so the materials will not be ravished by time.”

  “How old are all these books?”

  He took a moment to search his memory. “It started with the Ith’cara people, four hundred fifty-six thousand years ago,”

  Her eyes narrowed. “The history of civilization only goes back twelve thousands years.”

  “For you, it may be.”

  “Are you saying there were many civilizations before us?”

  Her stomach growled. Her face flushed from embarrassment.

  “Will you eat now?”

  She was too stubborn to say yes. He took her by the hand and the next minute, they were in the kitchen. Every room in this castle was enormous. Almost everything was made of stone in the kitchen. It looked like something straight out of a medieval fairy tale. There were small loaves of freshly baked bread on the table, along with some milk.

  “Do you need to eat?” she asked curiously.

  “I can eat," he said, "but like everything else, it is not a necessity.”

  "Do you need anything to sustain yourself?"

  "No,”

  “Then why is there a kitchen in the castle?”

  “We didn’t build it,” he grabbed the bread and handed it over to her, “it was stolen.”

  “You stole it?” That explained the piece of land the castle set on. It looked as it if it were torn from the ground. “Why?”

  “It’s a very long story. Longer than your lifetime, I’m afraid. In a short few words, they got on my bad side. Even so, I must commend them on their craftsmanship. Have your meal. I have other engagements to attend, but I will return shortly.”

  Part of her didn’t want him to leave.

  “Good riddance,” she muttered, knowing he could hear her. He turned back. He’d forgotten one important thing. In an ancient language, he summoned a protection spell around her.

  “W-what did you just do?” she asked, surprised.

  “It’s just a precaution,” he assured her. “Be a good girl until I get back.”

  †††††

  He was a liar! He said he would return ‘shortly’, but it had been days. She had taken the time to explore the castle, but even a big place like this could only keep her occupied for so long. She glanced out of the window and wondered where Lucifer had gone. She made her way downstairs to the entrance of the castle. She even tried to open the double doors, but they wouldn't move an inch. It didn’t take long before she gave up.

  As she walked away, she heard a creaking sound behind her. Turning around, she saw the doors were already opened. She could have sworn she heard someone chuckling.

  Running to the edge a few hundred yards from the castle, Kali looked down and got dizzy from the height. The castle was situated two hundred yards above ground. It was not possible for her to get down. She heard a horse neighing in the distance, coming closer. A black stallion was running toward her. No it wasn’t a horse, it was a black Pegasus. Its black wings spread out like the wings of a dove. It stopped in front of her.

  “I would be more surprised if I saw a horse with wings a couple of weeks ago. Actually, I don't even know how long I've been here,” she slowly r
eached her hand out to pet the steed. It responded with a friendly whicker. It jerked its head, telling her to get on its back.

  “You want me to get on?”

  The Pegasus nodded.

  “You can understand me?”

  It nodded again.

  “Now I’ve seen everything!” It took her a couple of jumps before she managed to mount the beast.

  “Now what?” she asked.

  The steed neighed and dashed forward to leap off the cliff. Taken by surprise, Kali grabbed its mane so she wouldn’t fall off. It made a steep drop close the ground, before it flapped its wings and veered up into the sky. Kali felt nauseated from the speed and the movement. She was hanging on for dear life.

  “Where are you taking me?” Kali asked the Pegasus. She was squinting to protect her eyes from the high speed wind coming at her. Several minutes later, he landed on the ground. Kali hurriedly got off the steed. Without waiting for her, it took off.

  After Kali shook off the dizziness, she found herself somewhere inside the city. The buildings were so tall that they rivaled each other for a place in the sky. Instead of the rich and musty odor that so many cities commonly possessed, there was a light, pleasant sandalwood scent in the air.

  The city was devoid of people, but she could feel other presences all around. They were watching her every move. Sometimes she would catch an image of a person from the corner of her eye, but when she turned to look, there was no one there. She couldn't understand why they were watching her so closely. She felt like she was being stalked.

  She picked up her pace as she walked.

  She feared that if they decided to, they could attack her at any time. She had felt nothing but hostility from the demons since she first arrived. They were not just watching her; they were staring down at her. She remembered their proud faces when she encountered them in the castle. The only reason they hadn’t become physical with her was because of Lucifer. He had openly declared her to be his property in front of his subjects. Though degrading, it had kept her safe until now.