Unnatural Instinct: Fallen

24.

It's worked; I've managed to break out of his mind. With a gasp, I sit up, still feeling the flames coiling around me, still hearing them roaring in my ears. It takes a couple of moments for my senses to adjust, but once they do I spring into action.

I can hear you screaming and see that you're not in bed; instead, I discover you sprawled out on the sand, naked and terrified, a bunch of my demon brothers surrounding you as they haul you into the blackness.

With a shout, I leap from the bed and dive towards your outstretched hand. By some miracle I seize onto it, you grip me back, and together we're dragged away.

Almost instantaneously we leave the dark earthen corridor that leads into hell and enter the realm of hell itself. Releasing your hand, I scramble to my feet, striking out at my demon brothers as they hoist you onto their shoulders. Just up ahead is the rocky hill that leads to my master's castle.

My demon brothers screech and claw and kick back. More demons descend like rodents from all directions, crawling out from their pits and caverns as they join the fight or help carry you. Through sheer numbers, they manage to tear you away from me, their long black claws wrapped around your wrists and ankles. More grip at your shoulders and hips as they march you towards the castle. A nearby geyser spews flames into the air, flashing golden light against your lovely skin. I hate that they're touching you. I hate that they're ruining you.

With a roar, I break free of my demon brothers, lifting myself into the air on desperate wings. I don't get far. My angel brothers descend—a dozen or more and I know all is lost. It only takes a command from my master and they will tear the feathers from my wings so that I can never fly again.

I assume that's what they will do. What I don't expect is that they take me prisoner. All at once they surround me. Dodging my furious punches, they grip onto my arms and legs and drag me down back to the ground, their wings beating furiously against my resistance.

'Let her go!' I cry, more to my master than to my brothers. I know he can hear me.

You're almost at the doors of the castle by the time they subdue me. Unlike you, I'm not carried on their shoulders but dragged along the ground by my feet. If I weren't an angel, the hard jagged rock would rip me to pieces. As it is, all I can do is writhe and thrash and hurl useless curses as we follow in yours and my demon brothers' wake.

All too soon, we pass through the doors and reach the hard smooth surface of my master's molten rock floor.

'Release me!' I shout uselessly. None of my brothers acknowledge me. It's a sad thing. We might not have known each other's names, but we had once been allies, sometimes even friends. Now, they don't look at me.

Now, I am the enemy.

They drag me a long way. The sound of your screaming echoes loudly down the corridor. It tightens a knot in my guts. This is it. If I don't do something now, you'll die and the world will perish. But there's nothing I can do. No manner of twisting or turning or thrashing sets me loose from my brothers' firm grips.

We pass the doors of what was once yours and my master's adjoining rooms, proceeding deeper into the castle. Though they keep themselves safely hidden away, I see the castle is full again, with demons, with angels. Red eyes gleam at me from shadowy corners and darkened doorways. 

We're hauled upstairs. We're taken down several corridors. Left. Right. Stairs. Right. Right again. I know where we're going. I've lived here long enough to understand the maze of halls.

Stepping into my master's throne room is like stepping into an immense cave. The ceiling is so high it's shrouded in darkness. Great pillars carved in the images of angels in various poses stand like guards on either side of us as we're marched down between them. Your crying and the sounds of my brothers' footsteps echo loudly in the emptiness. Great archways line the walls and within them blaze torches held in the fists of stone demons. Their jewelled eyes glare at us against the flickering firelight.

Soon, I can see the raised dais, the throne atop it and the figure sitting upon it. From a distance his angel light makes him appear like a glowing star. For your sake, I am grateful that he has chosen his angel form; I don't want you to have to suffer the Jackal, particularly for what he intends to use you for.

I can't deny he looks beautiful as he sits the throne. Three wide steps lead to the simple seat. Made of the same molten rock as the rest of his castle, it's polished and glittering. Flat and backless, it looks more like an altar than a chair. To the unwary eye, it looks simple, until you look more closely and see the hundreds of tiny faces carved in its base—the screaming faces of the damned.

He's hunched over his lap, his chin braced against his fist, his golden hair hanging around his extraordinary face as he watches our approach. His other hand hangs between his knees. He's naked. He looks careless and relaxed—a striking pose for one such as him. It's not hard for me to understand why you cannot resist him.

Finally, we draw close. The demons set you down carefully to your feet, though you crumple to your knees. As for me, I'm dropped unceremoniously onto the floor. Our captors back away, vanishing into the shadows, except for two angels who stand at my back. Immediately, I pick myself up. They don't stop me as I help you to your feet.

'Joel,' you say tearfully as you clutch onto me, ashen-faced and trembling.

'You're going to be all right,' I say, holding you in my arms.

At the sound of my master's laughter we turn towards the throne. 'More lies.' He straightens in his seat. 'I'm glad you're both here.' His eyes flick to me. 'Particularly you, my loyal follower.'

'And why is that?' I dare to say. Why is that, indeed? It worries me. My master takes no prisoners.

'Because,' he leans over his lap again, his blue eyes bright as they bore into mine, 'you get to watch.'

My angel brothers march over and seize my arms. I try to fight them off, but they yank me away.

'Joel!' you cry, reaching out for me.

'Don't you touch her!' I snarl.

'Or what?' Satan sneers back.

He stands and I thrash against my brothers harder until I almost break free. Two more angels appear out of the shadows to help. I can do nothing but shout and curse as my master approaches you.

'The time has come,' he says as he takes your chin, ignoring my outbursts. Your eyes shine as you look up at him. 'No more resisting. No more whining. You will do what you were made to do. Understood?'

Tears spill down your cheeks and you tremble in his grasp, but you nod.

'Good. Now, kiss me.'