'Tween Heaven and Hell (11 page)

I nodded and pushed the plate of sweet cake toward Prevara.
She reached for the biggest piece and then settled back happily onto the divan.
As she took the first bite, a look of genuine pleasure crossed her pretty
features. She finished chewing and swallowed with a sigh of contentment. “This
is why I forced myself to be good all those years, Myra. Because my Spiritual
Advisor told me that Heaven was filled with only good and happy things. I
interpreted that to mean I could eat all the sweets I wanted without gaining
weight.” She followed this up with a devilish grin in my direction and I couldn’t
help laughing. Even my angel chuckled.

Myra raised her coffee cup in a silent toast to her friend
and the two of them giggled together. I just sat back and watched because I’d
never seen Myra so relaxed and happy. Obviously she wasn’t always crabby. Just
when she was around me. This thought brought a frown to my face, which nobody
seemed to notice but me.

When the cake and the coffee were gone, Myra shimmered away
to do whatever angels do and left Prevara and me to do what we needed to do.

Unlike any teacher I’d ever had before, Prevara approached
her job with a sparkle in her blue eyes and a genuinely happy smile. “Now,
Astra, here are a couple of volumes you’ll need to read before your next
teacher comes.” She put her hands in front of her, palms up and two oversized
books that were bound in leather with gold-tipped pages shimmered into view.
She handed them to me and I gasped under their weight.

“Those records will give you good, solid information on the
last two thousand years of the Royal Court. You should especially focus on the
breakup in human year 2001. That was when Nerul’s group finally split off from
the main court and set up their own court. Up until then Nerul had been third
in line for the throne. However, his scheming and backstabbing ways had landed
him in trouble a few too many times. It is our understanding that he was going
to be dismissed from the court within a matter of weeks when he finally took
his band of cutthroats and skedaddled.”

I laughed. “Skedaddled?”

Prevara grinned at me. “Anyway, that information will help
you understand the enmity between the two groups now. Which is basically at the
heart of the whole trouble we are currently seeing. That and the fact that
Nerul wants that crown badly enough that he will do anything to get it.”

“I thought Nerul was already the king.”

Prevara licked a bit of cream off her fingers thoughtfully
and then wiped them on her shimmery, peach colored robes and shook her head.
“There can only be one true King. You see, Astra, before Nerul left the court
of Dialle the First, there had always been only one Devil Court. Although he
has called himself King Nerul since establishing his little kingdom, his
leaving didn’t change the fact that the devils only recognize one true king.”

I nodded, thinking I was starting to understand some of the
political dynamics I’d become embroiled in. “Satan.”

Surprising me, Prevara shook her head and leaned forward
excitedly. “No. I know that humans think Satan is the king of devils. However,
the true king is actually Satan’s direct servant. His power is subjugated by
Satan’s. Satan rules the entire dark world through a single devil king, which
is why it is such a coveted position.”

“And which is why Nerul will do anything to get it.”

Prevara nodded and smiled proudly at me. “You got it,
Astra.”

“So if Nerul isn’t the king, then who is?”

“Dialle the First.”

My eyes widened in shock. “Dialle the First is still alive?”

Prevara laughed and patted me on the knee as if I were
simple. “Of course! You see, Astra, although he keeps trying to put himself
above Dialle, Nerul isn’t recognized as king by any of the dark world except
his own followers. At least that was true until recently.” She gave me a look
that told me she wasn’t sure where the situation stood at the moment and then
shook her head and went on. “Dialle the First has shown signs of weakening
lately. He is getting on in years, of course, but it’s more than that.
Something is happening. The dark world has been getting more and more restless
and Princess Rayanne has been getting more and more outspoken as King Dialle
has shown less and less inclination to lead.” She sighed. “It has always been a
difficult situation but it has recently grown worse. And Nerul certainly isn’t
helping matters any. He, of course has heard of Dialle the First’s weakened
state and he has moved to strengthen his position in the dark world. What makes
it even more difficult is that, in some ways his claims are true. Aside from
Dialle the First, Nerul is the oldest and most powerful of all the devils. And
the fact that he held such a lofty position in the old court works in his favor
too. In fact, many have said that he is the obvious choice to succeed Dialle.”

“So what, or should I say who, stands in his way?”

“Right now it’s Prince Dialle and Princess Rayanne.” Her
pretty face formed a very unladylike scowl. “I believe you’ve met them
already.”

“Oh yeah. We’ve definitely met.”

“Aside from speaking badly of Nerul to the King, young
Dialle and his lady love are at the top of Nerul’s list because he blames them
for the death of his only son, Nille.”

I suddenly found it difficult to stay seated. I stood up and
wandered into the food service area, where I requested more cream cake from the
Food Distributor. Carrying a heaping plate of cake back to Prevara, who
accepted it happily, I sat down again and asked the question I’d been stressing
over. “When I went before Dialle’s court, I was told that Nille was being held
prisoner. They implied he was still alive. How do you know he’s been killed?”

Prevara sucked on her long, pink fingers and shook her head
slightly. “We don’t actually. I mean no one’s seen him for a fortnight and our
court spies heard Dialle and Rayanne speaking of his death a few days ago.”

“Court spies?” I let the question sit between us as Prevara
used her tongue to remove a dab of cream from her full, peach-colored lips and
then sat back contentedly.

“You probably saw some of them when you were taken to
Dialle. They have made the ultimate sacrifice so that they would be in a
position to hear of Dialle and Rayanne’s plans in advance.”

Realization suddenly dawned. “You mean the chained angels?”

Prevara’s pretty face clouded up. “One of them was my best
friend.”

“Will she ever come back?”

Prevara shook her head and stood. “Their souls are lost to
us. They will not get out of that court alive. The things they are subjected
to…” She gave a small shudder and turned back to me with a forced smile. “I
must go now. Study those records and you will be ready for your next teacher.
God Bless, Astra.” And she shimmered away, leaving me with a heavy heart and a
new determination to help. If those captive angels could be saved I was going
to make sure it happened. I had some idea what the members of the Devil Court
were capable of and I couldn’t believe anyone would deliberately put herself
into a position to be subjected to it from now until eternity.
If
she
existed that long.

After Prevara left, I spent the rest of the day and well
into the night poring over the monstrous books she had dumped on me. The text
was written in ancient human English and was often difficult to follow, but, by
the time I wandered wearily off to bed with red throbbing eyes, I felt like I
had at least filled in a few of the gaps in my knowledge of devildom. And, more
importantly, I felt a little more prepared to go up against the evil courts. As
I closed my eyes, I couldn’t help thinking that a little knowledge can be a
powerful ally when one is startlingly short of allies.

* * * * *

The following day I met with my next “teacher”, a tiny
explosively wired angel with matronly curls all over her small head and the air
of someone who put out fires for a living, I learned more than I cared to know
about the royals. I won’t bore you with all of the details of that lesson now,
but suffice it to say that they can get into your head, dabble with your soul,
steal your last idea from your brain and get you to thank them for it when
they’re done. Aside from their “spectral” abilities, I learned that they can
travel from place to place at the speed of light and can appear in many forms,
including animal. My little teacher was very clear on the fact that devil
royalty are the cruelest form of evil that exists. And they are most dangerous
to those who see them as they truly are. This last statement left me a little
perplexed, but my teacher wouldn’t explain it any further to me. She just kept
saying that I would understand all with time.
Gee thanks.

Chapter
Eleven

The Devil Pays a Visit

The Devil knocked upon her door, a leer upon his face,

She fought with every pow’r she had and earned herself
some space.

It was one o’clock in the morning and she thought she was
having that dream again. Her eyes were closed and she thought she was asleep.
But maybe she wasn’t quite asleep. His hands were hot. Not warm, but hot, like
he had a fever of one hundred and four degrees and had been sitting before a
fire with about twelve blankets on. They moved across and down her body
possessively, causing her to moan despite herself. As she felt his weight ease
down on her, her eyes shot open and she gasped. She found herself looking into
the deepest, blackest eyes she’d ever seen.

“Hello my sweet. I’ve come for another taste.” She felt
the silk of his midnight hair fall against her neck as he lowered his lips to
hers. Heat, like flames licked at her tender flesh, searing her where the
tempting arc of his lips touched. She flinched at the intensity of her feelings
and rose up under him in fear. Of course he mistook her movement for lust and
moaned as he pushed his body more tightly, more heavily against hers.

She began to panic in earnest, pushing against him with
small, helpless, white hands. He only laughed as he held her pinned and
squirming, his long, sharply pointed white teeth gleaming in the half dark,
moving ever nearer to her exposed, pulsing, white throat.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I slammed the button on the
hologram control and threw my pillow at the spot where the vampire holomovie
had hovered just seconds before. I couldn’t get away from him anywhere, not
even in the privacy of my living space in the wee hours of the morning. Every
time my traitorous mind found an opening, it brought him to me in my
imagination. Now I was even watching holographic films about devils and
vampires and their helpless female victims. This was just shit.

I got up and started to pace back and forth in my bedroom. I
paced from one end of the small space to the other and back again, moving
faster and faster with each revolution, like a spinning top that was building
to its crescendo. My skin started to weep moisture and my heart was pounding
hard in my chest, scaring the Hades out of me. But I couldn’t seem to stop
myself from flying around the room. No matter how fast I walked my traitorous
thoughts kept finding him, outlining him lustfully, wishing for him… “Shit,
shit, shit.” I ran into the personal hygiene room, tearing my clothes off as I
ran and flung myself into the shower tube. “Fifty degrees, pulsate on high.”

The icy tentacles of water pounded against my skin, almost
sizzling against the heat of it. I realized suddenly that this was more than
simple lust and imagination. This was devil-induced mischief making. Even as I
realized it a dark shape shimmered into view on the other side of my glass
shower wall.

I was proud of myself that I didn’t shriek. I very calmly—
Okay
my hands were shaking but I wasn’t screaming like a banshee so give me a break—
reached
over to push the off button on the shower, not trusting myself to speak to use
voice deactivation.

As I emerged he raised one silky, black eyebrow and let his
gaze slide down my dripping flesh. “Very lovely. I shall enjoy this very much.”

My pulse exploded in my chest and, for a very brief moment,
I thought I would die. But, another point for me, I simply let my gaze slide to
the towel he was holding for me, just out of reach of course. “You know, I’ve
learned a lot about the Royal Court recently, but I didn’t know you were
delusional as a general rule.”

His yummy lips parted in a wide smile, showing just the very
tips of his teeth. “Did you know that we can smell lust, little Tweener?”

Okay, I’ll admit it, that one got to me. “Give me the damn
towel!”

He took one more look-see and then held the coveted piece of
cloth out to me, taking care to hold it just far enough away that I would have
to take a step closer to grab it. I looked longingly at the drying tube but
quickly realized I would have to turn my back on him and leave him to his own
devices for the length of time it would take the tube to dry me off. I wasn’t
willing to do that at the moment.

Seeing no other choice, I moved that one step closer and
pulled on the towel. Without my even realizing that he’d moved, he suddenly had
me smashed full length against his body, with one arm wrapped around my waist
like a steel band, just at the top of my butt where it curved into my waist. “I
will have just one taste now, as a preview of things to come.”

I tried to jerk away but found that my legs and arms had
turned to air. As his incredibly soft lips lowered to mine I felt myself
floating, completely boneless in his arms. His breath smelled of lust and
sensual things and the sweet heat of it moved like molten pleasure through my
body as we kissed. I knew he was playing with my mind again and I wanted to cry
with frustration that I was so helpless against it. Here I was, a big, bad,
demon and devil conqueror and I was putty in this beautiful creature’s hands. I
wanted to scream. I wanted to knee him in the balls. Instead I moaned, dammit
and ground myself against him. Damned traitorous flesh.