The Angel Side (26 page)

“Absolutely, positively, hands
down, without a doubt, yes, I will marry Rahovart the Demon.” I giggled.

“Hope you don’t mind silver.” Ra jumped up, sliding the ring on
to
my finger.

“It’s perfect.” I snickered, kissing Ra.

“Are we doing another wedding? We got the stuff already set up
,
and everyone’s here.” my dad hollered
over the whooping crowd
.

“Let’s do it.” I exclaimed, jerking Ra toward the archway.

The ceremony had been short, simple
,
and to the point. Speaking from our hearts, we needed no prewritten vows. After our ‘I do’s’ we were sealed to our children. Until time ceased, we would be a family. Once the ceremony ended, everyone picked up in celebration. Amy and Gabriel had their first dance to some
ska
, punk jam. As we sat watching Amy and Gabriel
during
their moment, a thought dawned on me.

“We didn’t kiss!”

“What?” Ra asked in confusion
at
my outburst.

“After the ceremony we didn’t kiss.”
I exclaimed
.

“I know. Be patient. We will.” Ra squeezed my hand.

I expected our turn to dance to be next
,
but the party had been interrupted by Amy’s parents. With all the excitement the hours flew by
,
and they needed to leave
to catch
their plane back home. As Amy and Gabriel walked them to the back gate, Ra jumped up to the radio. Grabbing a CD from the bottom of the stack, he extracted the disc and placed it in the player.

“Now, I can dance with my wife.” Ra smiled as he
sloughed
off his illusion. Following his lead, everyone returned to their usual form, including myself and the kids. Meeting Ra in the middle of the yard, I draped my arms around his
neck
as his slid his around my waist.

“Hit it!” Ra called out. We danced to a Phillip Phillips hit. The words resonated with our new life. Though we were heading into the unknown, I looked to the future
;
not with fear but with
anticipation. I didn’t need to be scared of Demons anymore. I no longer needed to sleep with one eye open or chase a handful of pills with a Pepsi. I would never have to face life’s troubles alone. Ra would always be by my side. He would fight to
the
death for me and the kids.

“So, what’s next for us?”
I asked as we swayed from side to side
.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about it and with us being married now, maybe we should consummate the relationship.” Ra winked.

“Still the deviant pervert.”
I laughed
.

“Well, how else do you expect us to add to the brood?”

“You mean?” I raised my eyebrow.

“I’ve always wanted a large family. I can see a good three
or
more running around.” leaning over, Ra pressed his lips against mine.

As our skin made contact an explosion erupted.
Blue and gold
f
lames skyrocketed and crackled around the property.

“What’s happening?” I aske
d, terrified, snuggling into Ra for protection
.

“My territory has been set. I am home.” Ra
lifted
my chin, staring deep into my eyes.

“We a
re home.” I added and returned my lips to his.

Darkness settled in as Lucifer’s blade slice
d
through me. The transition from the scorching, arid Hell to a frigid
desert
had been painful.
I had attempted to take inventory of the damage I might have suffered
,
but the sucking black void hid all traces of my body. Unable to see my hand before my face, I scanned the area for any signs of
the
slightest light. There had been none.
O
n the
outskirts of existence, I drew
a
deep, long
breath
,
awaiting my resurrection.

A sudden surge illuminated the
desolate
horizon. Wi
th a strong gravitational force
, it drew me towards
its warmth,
s
earing me into pieces of ash. Entering the luminous hole, a vortex spun me violently around until my figure came back together in my throne room. Gasping for air, I fell to my baby seal rug.

“Welcome back, Lilith.” A familiar voice cooed through the ringing of my ears.

Bewildered, I glanced over my shoulder to see who had spoken out. Three tall, slender figures stood there. Despite my vision being blurred to
almost
blindness, I knew all too well who
was
in my throne room. Struggling to rise to my feet, I steadied myself on my throne as I pulled myself up. I would not give Father the satisfaction of having me on my knees before him.

Supposedly the ‘all forgiving’ had ripped everything I
loved from me simply because I would not fall to my husband Michael’s feet as if I were some common slave.
Lucifer, the one who had convinced me that our worlds need an independent woman as a role model for the younger generation, sat as my prosecutor during my Tribunal. With his charismatic silver tongue, the jury of my peers deemed me guilty.

As punishment for my lack of submission, my place beside my children had been stripped from me. When I protested
the
severity of my
life
sentence to the Wastelands, my
a
ngelic form
had been taken
a
way and replaced with the appearance of the most despised
creature
; a rat. In further protest to His judgment, I tore my wings from my back before
H
is gang of Arch
e
s had the chance. Greatly wronged, my soul split into four pieces as my feathers hit the ground.

What should have ended me only made me that much stronger; stronger than Father. In my new found glory as a Wraith I learned that t
he so-called
‘
creator of all things great and righteous
’
had been nothing more than a circus sideshow act. Not worth
paying
the quarter
to see his false magic.
I simply had to choose the right venue to reveal Him for his true nature.

“Hello, Father.” I
snarled, ignoring his beloved Son and Spirit standing beside him.

“I see you have returned intact, attitude and all.” Father replied.

“If you were hoping I’d come back crawling on hands and
knees
with gratitude for resurrecting me,
then
you’re a bigger fool than I
though
t
.”

Father’s creased brow indicated I had hit the nail on the head. He assumed I’d be so grateful to be pulled from utter darkness that I would fall in line. How little He knew about me. My life had been nothing but bleak lifelessness since my children, husband, and family were taken from me.

“Well then, I shall leave you to do what it is you do, Daughter.” Father pursed his lips.

“See you soon, Father.’ I winked as he and his revered slaves left.

With Him gone, I dropped
onto
my throne, catching my breath. It had taken every ounce of energy I had to keep up the appearance that I had come back as strong as I had left. Truth be told, my journey from death had taken a toll on me.
Leaning my head back, I attempted to will my headache to fade away, but it only throbbed harder. As I
laid
back, the sudden realization that I
didn’t
know the outcome of the battle in Hell came over me.
Had Etta destroyed Lucifer or had Lucifer escaped death yet again. I doubted Lucifer had the capability to dodge the bullets Etta
would fire his way. As a Wraith, she held the power to wipe him and his legions off the face of our worlds.

I had crossed paths with three other Wraiths in all my years. The same as every other male I’d known, they too wanted a male dominated world. Unwilling to step down from my throne, they had forced my hand to rid our world of their mediocre existence.

Having extinguished them so easily, I assumed Etta would be as easy if not easier due to her incessant loyalty to the males in her life. That had not been the case, however. Once I plunged my sword into her bosom, a great energy pulsed within her. Tremors rippled through my body as the power emanating from her swelled to great proportions. Lucifer and I had severely underestimated what we had been up against.

However,
with
Etta
being so young and naïve
, it had been simple to make a few changes to our plan.
With her marriage to an Arch and a High Knight Templar as a father, the Heavens would
n’t
rest until Etta had been made whole. With a little charade, Etta had been fooled into believing we were allies. With her misplaced trust,
I’d taught Etta as much information as safely possible about the true power a Wraith wielded. Of course, for my protection I had left quite a bit out of our ‘training session’
but had given her enough to accomplish the task I had for her.
Now the question remained, had Etta followed through with her end of our supposed deal?

Jumping from my throne too quickly, I had become light headed as I stumbled to the golden, gem encrusted throne room door. I hadn’t quite recovered from my restoration. Leaning my head against the cool metal, I fought to regain my composure before opening the portal. With a few deep
breathes, I flung the door open to find the usual protection detail surrounding
the doorway
.
As I stepped over the threshold to greet them, my female warriors snapped to attention, clenching their polearms.

“Bring him to me.” I commanded.

With my weakened condition I had no way of knowing if Lucifer passed through my gates, but I hadn’t been one for showing weakness. I had to project an air of confidence. Relief
swept over me as two guards snapped their heels together, bowed their heads
,
and took off toward the direction of my intake lobby.

Etta had done it. Someway, somehow, she had conjured up the courage to kill her own twin brother. She had chosen her Heavenly family over her own flesh and blood. Stepping back into my room, I waited for Lucifer’s arrival.

I hadn’t waited long. With a knock, a guard opened the door as two others dragged Lucifer in and threw him to the floor. With a dismissive wave, I signaled for the guards to return to their station.

“Really?
I should rip their spines out for putting their hands on me.” Lucifer bit out as he took to his feet, dusting himself off.

“Well, here you are. It seems everything is going according to plan.” I said with a wry grin
.

“Did I not tell you family
would be
her greatest weakness?” Lucifer closed the gap between us
.

“I will admit I had my doubts.
I
t appear
s
I
had been
wrong about you. Maybe you are useful after all.”
I moaned as he kissed and nibbled on my neck.

“I’ll show you all the many ways I can be more than simply useful.” Lucifer lightly whispered in my ear.

“Where is it?” I asked as he fumbled with the bronze straps of my b
rigandine
.

“Where is what?” he replied as he finally conquered a strap.

Not one to be so easily seduced, I raked my hand through his sandy blond hair
.
G
rabbing a fistful
,
I wrenched his head back until he fell to his knees. There had been
one
piece that would make or break the rest of our plot against the Heavens. If he had failed to retrieve it and bring it with him, I would be forced to throw him in the valley with the rest of the wretched souls I ruled.

Lucifer’s gaze burned into me as he reached into his belt.
With anticipation
,
I waited to see the weapon that would cause Father’s kingdom to collapse. Opening the palm of his hand, Lucifer revealed
a small red shard of what had once been part of Etta’s soul.

Euphoria blazed within me as the ruby shimmered under the light of the chandelier. Biting my lower
lip
, I
yanked
Lucifer up by his collar,
pulling
him firmly into me.

“Now let’s see some of your other skills.” I said
,
raising a playful brow.