Hell's Revelation (Book 3)

Chapter 17

Swimming around in Frank's memories were not quite the interesting escapade I had first anticipated them to be. He seemed to take delight in showing me some of the more horrifying and despicable moments of his life, and I was still struggling with calling up memories of moments I hadn't experienced first hand. More often than not I found myself frustratedly wallowing in the dark recesses of his mind, falling sullenly to the floor as I surfaced to hear him chuckling gleefully at my failure.

"Y'know this isn't supposed to be so amusing. And you're not helping, my failing might be funny to you, but it gets us nowhere."

"You're problem, Love, is that you're trying too hard. You said yourself it happened with Lucas because you weren't trying to force it, pick something, let it come to you more naturally. Trust you have the power and stop trying to bulldoze your way in or I'm just going to keep showing some of my very 'best' memories. Now won't that be fun."

"You're sick, you know that." I stood up again and brushed down my clothes. I was getting rather tired of ending up on the floor each time I managed to surface from the sucking pull of memories. There had to be a better way to do this.

I sat down in one of the stone chairs and rubbed my forehead, easing out the knots I could feel forming and the headache that threatened to overcome me. While I knew this was the only way I was going to learn how to manage this new power, the only way we were ever going to succeed, I was not enthusiastic for yet another trip down memory lane with Frank.

"Demon, Love, or had you forgotten. And you're no saint yourself now, are you?"

"Ha, nothing I've done will ever compare to you."

"Now that is something we can agree on. It's how we're made, Love, it's what we're here to do, our very purpose in life. Don't go getting all preachy on me now or I might start to think this whole Revelator business is going to your head."

"Not preachy, I understand that much. But all these truths that have been revealed so far, they've certainly made me think, made me question all of it. My whole life up to now was a lie, it's a rather sobering, not to mention depressing thought"

"The prophecy was made for a reason, Rayne," Lucas said, sitting back from the papers and files he'd finally given up on trying to glean any more information from. "It was foretold that a time would come when big changes would be needed in Hell for it to continue to function as intended. That time is now, corruption has leached in through all the red-tape, and corruption among those that hold the power can't be allowed to continue. It was inevitable this would happen at some point, it was just a question of when. So a solution was formulated, a fail safe if you like, and that is us."

"And oh how we wish it wasn't," I muttered with a sigh.

It could have been anyone, any other demon in Hell could have been saddled with this burden, why had it been me? Life had been simple, I'd even enjoyed it to a certain extent...but I'd always felt different hadn't I? Something made me not quite fit in with the Hybrid breed, something was off and this was why. It could have been anyone, but it was decided upon my birth, the mix-breed daughter of Lucifer and a Saint, that it would be me and there was nothing I could have done to change things.

Acceptance was still hard, even after the Requiem proved that everything the prophecy foretold of was true. Hell's most reluctant saviour, that was me.

One idea had struck me as I indulged in my moment of self-pity. It probably wouldn't help me out with the power much, but if it could stop me from having to pick myself up off of the floor it would be a start.

"Okay, one more try before this completely melts my brain."

Frank held out one bony hand, his talons clacking against each other as he waited for me to take it, but I shook my head.