It was getting late. The sun was slipping away, hiding behind the trees. Beams of light cascaded through the upstairs windows, lighting her path to the bathroom. Running a bath, Elizabeth soaked in the hot water. A light steam covered the ceiling and fogged the mirror hanging over the sink. Rubbing the water over her face, she was careful not to get her hair wet.
Leaning back against the tub, she let out a long sigh. The bathroom was old and was showing its age. The wallpaper was peeling in the corner and at the seams, and a lot of the tile was cracked and broken. The tub was in good shape, though. It was an old cast iron tub, and although it could use some re-finishing, it was a keeper.
After thirty minutes the water had grown cold and her hands and feet were wrinkled. Taking her time, she dried off and touched up her hair before slipping on a soft cotton nightgown. It was cool, leaving most of her uncovered, but that was preferable. Cracking the door, she allowed the steam in the room to escape. Picking up the straightener, she fought with a strand of hair that wasn’t cooperating. It never quite did what she wanted, but it was good enough.
Grabbing the towel off the floor, she took one last look in the mirror. Gasping, her heart froze. Reflected behind her was another entity. He still wore a trench coat and an old brimmed hat covered his face from view. Whipping around, Elizabeth’s heart rose into her throat. There was no one there. The bathroom was empty. Grabbing her chest, she leaned against the sink, unable to move. She was tired. It was making her see things.
Pushing the bathroom door open, she took a step into the bedroom--and nearly screamed. Lying on her bed was Mr. Clark. He was staring straight ahead with a blank look on his face and hadn’t noticed her yet. Without hesitation, she threw her towel on the floor and stormed up to the bed. “What the hell are you doing?! How did you get in here?! That’s it! I’m calling the cops!”
Marching around the bed, she didn’t make it very far. He sprang into action, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her onto the bed. She struggled and tried to scream for help but he covered her mouth with his hand muffling any sound before it could escape. Leaning in close, his lips touched her ear lightly. “If you don’t stop screaming you’ll get us both killed.”
His voice was smooth and calm, and for an unexplainable reason she believed him. Her heart was pounding and felt like it would jump out of her chest at any second. Loosening his grip on her, he kept a hand over her mouth. His lips moved again, sending a stream of warm breath into her ear. “As for how I got in here, I had a key made while you were at work.”
Smiling down at her, he was pleased with his cleverness. She wanted to beat him senseless more than anything, but something in her kept her motionless. Glaring, she tried to look away but couldn’t.
A knock sounded at the door. Elizabeth jerked when she heard the tapping and let out a muffled scream. Putting a finger up to his mouth, he shook his head slowly. Removing his hand, he motioned for her to crouch next to the bed on the floor. Sliding off of her, he crept around the bed and stood plastered to the wall next to the bedroom door. Elizabeth did as she was told and sat on the floor next to the bed with her back against the bedside table.
Peering over the mattress, she watched Mr. Clark. Her leg vibrated beneath her and her heart was racing within her chest to the point that she had to concentrate on keeping her breathing slow and silent. Cracking the bedroom door open, Mr. Clark peered out into the rest of the house. When he moved something caught her eye. In his right hand was a huge sword. It was unlike anything she’d seen before. The blade wasn’t quite clear but had a crystal quality to it. The light coming through the windows refracted on it creating bands of pink and green on the smooth surface. It looked horribly fragile and didn’t seem like it would be of any use.
Glancing at her, he motioned with his fingers for her to get down. Sitting flat on the ground, she stared at the wooden floors. She desperately wanted to close her eyes and make all of this go away. Then it hit her. Maybe all of this was a dream. Maybe she had fallen asleep in the bathtub and was still there right now soaking in the warm water.
The window next to her exploded inward, blanketing every surface with glass and feathers, beautiful white feathers. They covered everything and seemed to be falling from the sky. They floated effortlessly around her, dancing and spinning on the slightest breeze. Raising a hand, she reached out for one falling in front of her.
Something flashed quickly before her eyes. It was there and gone before she could register it. It brought her back to reality, however, and blinking, her eyes focused on Mr. Clark. He was at the end of her bed stabbing another man in the chest with the sword. No, not a man--an angel. He had a pair of brilliant white wings and in his now-limp hand was a bloody crystal sword similar to the one Mr. Clark was wielding.
Her room was a mess. There was broken glass, feathers, and blood everywhere, not to mention the corpse now lying on the floor in the middle of the room. Looking satisfied with himself, Mr. Clark took in the mess and walked over to Elizabeth. Crouching in front of her, he looked her over checking for any injuries. Reaching for her hand, she jerked away from him. Locking eyes with her, Elizabeth froze.
Their icy blue color was even more brilliant in close proximity, and her heart skipped a beat. Reaching for her hand a second time, she didn’t move. Holding it near his face, he examined her index finger carefully. There was a tiny splinter of glass stuck in it. She hadn’t even noticed it was so small, but somehow he knew. Carefully he pulled the glass out of her skin. A small drop of blood followed the glass and without hesitation he placed her finger in his mouth.
Her spine tingled and her lips trembled. Sliding her finger out of his mouth slowly, his eyes never left hers. Keeping a firm grip on her hand, he stood, pulling Elizabeth to her feet. Blinking, she retracted her hand slowly, still unsure of what had just happened. Staring at him, she no longer cared about his eyes. Adorning his back were wings. They were just as white and crisp looking as his adversary’s, but with one crucial difference: he had three.
Unable to talk, she motioned to them with a shaky finger. Glancing at the floor, he was a little reluctant but spread them out to their full span. They took up the entire room and Elizabeth couldn’t help gawking. Picking her bath towel off the floor, he cleaned the blood off his sword.
“My given name is Ben Ani, but you probably know me as Belial. I used to be one of God’s angels. A Virtue, to be exact, hence the wings.”
Finding her voice, Elizabeth took a seat on the bed. “One of the fallen angels.”
Nodding, he remained silent. He was more intent on cleaning his sword than having a conversation about it. Watching him silently, she had a hard time looking away from the wings protruding from his back. Once he finished cleaning the sword, he spun the weapon in his hand absent mindedly. Yawning, Elizabeth somehow felt like she’d be able to fall asleep even after everything that had happened.
Her yawn reminded him of her presence. Motioning towards the door, he strode out of the room and down the stairs. She followed him obediently, a little curious about what he planned on doing next. Opening the front door, he scanned the yard meticulously. Satisfied there weren’t any more angels lurking about, he said, “Grab your keys and lock up.”
Following him outside, Elizabeth did as she was told. Curiosity had gotten to her, however, and following him off the porch, she asked, “Where are we going?”
He never glanced back and instead continued to scan the dark yard. “It’s not safe here. We’re going get help.”
That seemed logical enough, but where would one go for help in a situation like this? Elizabeth was exasperated. Rubbing her head, she struggled to keep up with the pace he had set. “Are we walking there?”
He paused. His eyes darted around the yard again, eventually coming to rest on her. “No. We’ll take my car.”
Parked across the street on a gravel drive was a bl
ack Firebird. It was an older car but it was in pristine condition and looked like it had just rolled off the factory line. He didn’t strike her as the muscle car type, but then again, she’d never known any demons before, either. His wings melted into thin air when he bent to get into the car. Tossing the sword in the back seat, he leaned over and unlocked the passenger side door for her.
Opening the door hesitantly, she looked back at her house. It was set so far back on the property that it was barely visible from the road.
Leaning over the passenger seat, Belial asked curiously, “Are you coming?” Nodding cautiously, Elizabeth took one last look at her home, and then dropped into the car.
The road was dark and ill-lit. A dense fog had already rolled in, which gave the overhanging trees an ominous look. Belial had rolled the windows down to let the cool night air into the car. Elizabeth embraced the relative silence of the night. The hum of the car’s engine was soothing and the wind flowing through the windows relaxing.
“Where are we going?”
He didn’t answer. His eyes stayed fixed on the road. Sighing, she returned her gaze out the window. The smell of spring flowers still lingered from the day and a number of stars shone brightly in the dark sky. The wind passing through the window brushed her hair gently and, sticking her hand out the window, she spread her fingers apart gripping at the air casually. Bringing her hand up, she let it dip slowly before bringing it up again in a wave motion. Smiling, she leaned back in the seat, casually moving her hand up and down.
“Are you trying to lose that arm?”
Jerking, she glanced at the demon. Pulling her arm back into the car, she kept her hands in her lap. It felt like she was being punished but couldn’t quite figure out why. He remained mute the rest of the drive as well and drove them straight into the middle of nowhere.
They pulled off the deserted highway roughly an hour later. The dark parking lot they ended up in had only a few cars in it and backed up to an old run-down brick building. The metal roof was severely rusted and most of the windows were boarded up. The ones that weren’t completely covered had bars protecting the cracked, opaque glass. The door was made of steel and was rusting under what remained of the chipped paint. The place gave her the creeps and screamed, “Go away!”
Belial was right at home here. The darkness didn’t bother him; he was used to it. Striding confidently to the old building, he knocked on the door like he was visiting a neighbor or an old friend. He’d even forgotten about Elizabeth and when the door opened was confused by the question a gruff voice asked: “Who’s that?”
Staring blankly at the door, it took him a minute to pop back to life. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled Elizabeth to his side casually. A brilliant smile crossed his face and he stated confidently to the door, “She’s with me.”
The door didn’t move but Belial wasn’t deterred. He remained still, staring at it intently, until it accepted his answer and opened. The inside of the building was somehow darker than it was outside. Belial positioned Elizabeth in front of him and pushed her into the building. Her legs felt like concrete blocks and were reluctant to move. It felt like she was being shoved into a cave and everything inside of her was screaming, “No, go back while you can.”
The door closed as soon as they passed through. Belial immediately pulled the guard aside and whispered something to him softly so Elizabeth couldn’t hear. She could care less what he was doing. At that moment she needed her eyes to adjust. Everything around her was pitch black and she refused to move from the spot he had left her in.
Her eyes never quite adjusted to the point she would have liked. She could tell that she was in a tight hallway but couldn’t make out any details. Suddenly something grabbed her, causing her to jump. Belial led her to the other side of the hall and through another door. The room on the other side was much larger and dimly lit. There were a few people seated at tables scattered around the room and all eyes were on them when they passed through.
Pulling her along, Belial led the way to another hallway. There was no music playing and the only sounds were the soft murmurs of people conversing and the clanking of glasses. At the end of the hall was another small room with a table in the middle. A few chairs were scattered around it, but other than that the room was bare. The lights in the room gave it a strange glow and it reminded her of a police interrogation room from TV shows.
Pulling a chair out for her, he motioned for her to take a seat. He’d been all but silent up until now, which kept her nerves completely on edge. He was calm enough however and took a seat next to her. Going into a trance, his eyes remained open, but he didn’t move. He didn’t even blink. He just sat, staring straight ahead.
Tapping her finger on the table, she leaned back in the chair, allowing the front legs to leave the ground ever so slightly. Suddenly the door opened. She was taken completely by surprise and almost flipped backwards in the chair. Grabbing onto the edge of the table, she barely caught herself.
A young man entered the room. He looked about the same age as Belial and was just as gorgeous. He had blond hair and brilliant golden eyes that almost matched the color of his hair. Belial immediately stood when he entered the room and gave a quick bow. All Elizabeth could do was stare and gawk at him. Her mouth fell open and she was unable to disengage his gaze. She wasn’t sure, but she couldn’t help think that his man might have been even more attractive than Ben.
After he took a seat, Belial returned to his. There was an awkward silence while the newcomer and Elizabeth looked each other over. She felt horribly unattractive sitting near them and even a little insecure. Her leg twitched and her finger tapped her thigh with excessive speed. Without disengaging his stare, the man questioned Belial, “I trust you two have been getting along well?”
“Yes, sir, well enough. But she’s different than the others. I can’t seem to control her.”
Looking away from Elizabeth, the man now focused on Belial. “That’s due to the mix in blood. I warned you this wasn’t going to be easy.”
Belial nodded in agreement. Glancing back at Elizabeth, the man smirked when he continued, “Although you can’t be having that much trouble since you’ve already got her showing you her nightgowns.”
Elizabeth’s cheeks burned. She’d completely forgotten that she’d been getting ready for bed when everything began. They were in such a hurry leaving the house that she never thought about changing or grabbing a robe. Pulling her knees onto the chair, she grew extremely self-conscious. Stretching the gown down over her knees, she checked everything, making sure all the important parts were covered. Both men watched her closely, too interested in what she was doing.
Unable to remain quiet any longer, Elizabeth glared at the man. “I don’t know what you think’s been going on, but you’re wrong.”
Belial was not amused. His eyes grew wide. She was being rude. Grabbing her hand, she immediately yanked it away from him. Glaring at him, she continued, “As far as controlling me, you’re definitely out of luck. Whatever your goal is you can give up right now. You’ve got the wrong girl!” The man’s eyes narrowed and Belial tried to stop her again, but she was on a role now. “Oh, and who’s going to clean the mess at my house? There’s a dead angel or whatever in my room and I need to go to bed at some point and would like it if there were no feathers or blood or bodies in there when I do.”
Belial sprang to his feet, clinching his hands into fists. Fire flowed from his eyes but Elizabeth wasn’t about to take it back. The other man wasn’t upset at all, however. Smiling, he squinted at her. “I’m sorry for assuming so much, and I will have someone go to your house immediately to take care of the mess.”
Frowning, Belial retook his seat, glaring at Elizabeth the entire time. The other man’s spirits never dampened, however. Chuckling, he sat straight in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair. “How rude of me,”
he said. “I’m not used to having to introduce myself. I have many names but you may call me by my given name. I am Lucifer, Lord of the Underworld.”
Chapter 6