Page 52 of Falling for the Devil

Diana swallowed down the renewed tendril of fear creeping into her gut. “Just how big is this water planet?”

“Oh, it’s just the largest planet in the known universe.”

“Can’t you just fly us out of here back to Methuselah?”

The look he flashed her squashed the nugget of hope she’d been holding onto.

“And... it’s on the complete opposite side from where we need to be. To simply find another portal would be best. The closest known one to here is about three billion light years away.”

“Oh.” Diana collapsed onto the floor of their protective cocoon, folding her legs underneath her. What more could she say?

He kneeled beside her, his hand tilting her chin up to look at him. “I promised you that I would keep you safe. I meant it. And I promise to get you out of here and back to civilization. It just may take a little longer than I imagined.”

She’d thought the color change of his eyes had been a product of the weird light in the cavern, but staring at him now Diana realized the burnt umber hue had deepened so much so that his pupils were overtaking the irises. Incredulous, she blinked a few more times. Same result. Her mouth opened to mention it, then shut when a shadow fell over them.

Diana shot up to her feet, toppling Lucifer over. Pointing up, she began to jump with excitement. “Birds! A flock of birds!”

He grasped her hand. “That’s not exactly birds, I don’t believe so, anyway.”

Her nose scrunched up. Yes, they appeared too large to be any birds with which she was acquainted. “I’m guessing I don’t want to know what they are.”

Lucifer nodded.

“But what are such enormous whatever-they-are doing on a liquid planet?” If there was only a tiny plot of land on the whole thing, where did they all land to sleep? “Never mind, doesn’t matter. What I’m trying to say is that there is life here, and those animals will need to find land to eat, sleep, whatever. Right?”

He nodded again. “Smart girl!”

Lucifer sped up their bubble to keep the creatures within sight. They’d follow them to land and pray they could hop through the portal into another unknown world before they gobbled them up.

HOURS LATER, WITH THE sun setting behind them, a tall mountain seemed to emerge from the sea in the distance. Lucifer had been tempted to move his energy from propelling them across the vast ocean to more fun endeavors, but a slice of guilt gnawed at his gut. Guilt for having ever placed Diana in such danger and another, more brutal guilt—a sin. At some point, he’d be held accountable. Now, he just needed to find a way to protect her from the fallout.

For her part, Diana had babbled on in circles. Her inquisitive mind had been unlocked and she puzzled over the original mystery that had brought them together. Although dwelling on their gruesome discovery was not pleasant, she faced it with courage. Where his anger and grief kept his mind locked on irrational, violent revenge, hers had started to put things together. Things he had been unable to see. Things he should have known instantly.

“That place”—for that was all she could call the hellish location—“it kept their consciousness, perhaps even their souls alive somehow within their butchered bodies. But the parts didn’t seem to mind.”

She bit her lower lip, trying to figure out an impossible question. It only made Lucifer’s heart bang harder against his chest and his cock to stand at full attention.

“I’ve heard of places like it, where the dead are tormented for eternity. There are rumors that Hades set up an elaborate labyrinth of unspeakable tortures for those deemed unworthy of the Elysian Fields upon death.”

Lucifer made to interject that their beliefs were all different, yet the same. But not even the devious Hades could’ve imagined such horror brought to life.

Diana continued without acknowledging him, as if she was speaking to herself alone, in her own mind where no one else could intervene. “I don’t think that place was one of his creations.”

At least they agreed on that point.

“But someone else did. Why, though? Surely, the Creator would never construct such a place.” She looked at him for reassurance.

He nodded, but a coldness formed low in his gut that dared to give life to an unspeakable truth.

“Also, I know this sounds hideous, but did you get the feeling they were... oh, how do I say this?” Crimson flushed across her chest and rose up her neck to color her cheeks a flaming red. “They acted... umm, horny.” The last word spilled out even as her hand flew up to cover her mouth. “I imagined that, didn’t I? Please say that I imagined it.”

The visions Lucifer had received from his dead brothers and sisters verified everything Diana said. Lust had led to their downfall and lust would be their eternal tormentor.

His eyes grew wide with sudden horror. He jumped up and turned away, not wanting to scare her more.

He knew exactly who—or more like what—was responsible for the missing angels, the dead angels, the rotting-in-torture angels. And he understood why their names had been struck from the angel rolls.

They hadn’t just all decided on a whim to give in to all the baser instincts of those lesser beings than them. They had been lured into it. Stealthily. With malice and forethought.

---