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Doing good in Hell was the most contradictory thing I had ever heard. “I don’t understand what you want from me. Missolis seems pretty desperate to leave this place. She thought I was going to be your savior, not your moral guide.”
“I know she wants to leave, and there are many like her who would risk everything for another chance at achieving grace. But you and I both know, no matter what we do… we are damned. God isn’t here to give us back our grace, and Earth is no place for a demon.”
I looked down at my feet, then back up at Malachi. Abaddon—my Abaddon—was the most corrupt angel I had seen on Earth so far; his wings, his horns, if he were in Hell no one would mistake him for an angel. Malachi’s appearance, however, would certainly raise eyebrows on Earth.
His horns were thick and—on closer inspection—I could see the cracks and blood where they had painfully torn out of his skull and continued to grow from his forehead. His feet were no longer human, but instead the cloven hooves of a goat, and his skin was the color of a juicy, red plum or apple.
He’d fit in on Earth like I fit in here—and he was scared.
“If someone had tried to convince me to leave Heaven and go live on Earth…” I trailed off, looking for the right words to say. “Earth is no place for any of us, demon or angel, but just like you have down here, angels have made lives for themselves up there.”
Malachi frowned. “Living in a bastion, walled up from the rest of the world, constantly at war with others of your kind?—”
“Is exactly what you’re doing down here. You built this sanctuary to protect yourselves from other demons, the ones who didn’t agree with your way of living. That’s exactly what happened on Earth—we fight because everyone has a different idea of what life should be; it’s very human if you think about it.”
“Is that what you’re striving to be more like? Humans?”
“All I’m saying is, I’ve lived on Earth for a while now and I was able to make a life for myself there. It’s a life full of conflict and danger but, like you, it’s the only life I’ve ever known outside of Heaven.”
“You could learn to be happy here,” he insisted.
“And you could learn to be happy there,” I retorted.
He remained silent for a moment before making his way toward my door, turning to face me as he opened it, “If you go ahead with this, many will follow you, and they will die.”
“I don’t want that, but it’s their decision to make, not yours.”
“The outcome is inevitable, Sarakiel. Your arrival has given them false hope.”
I shook my head. “I made promises to the lost souls in Heaven and on Earth. If I don’t help them… I won’t be able to live with that guilt. It would consume me.”
“The lost souls down here don’t matter, then?”
“I’m sorry…” I said, the words punctuated by a burst of laughter that floated up past the small window in my room. “I have to do this.”
Malachi nodded. “If you are caught, your fate will be worse than ours,” he said, before exiting my room and firmly shutting the door behind him.
CHAPTER EIGHT
It was a long while after Malachi left when Missolis summoned me back to her war room. I’d spent that time pacing the room I had been given, tempted as I was to leave it and go for a wander around the strange demonic city in Hell. I wanted to know more about it, to experience it properly, but I worried my presence would do more harm than good.
The time alone with my thoughts had given me an opportunity to reflect on where I was, how I had gotten there, and what I had yet to do. Abaddon. Lucifer. The other Abaddon. What were the chances really that it would be his Citadel I had to go through to get back to Earth?
Pretty high I suppose, he was the King of Hell after all.
Heaviest of all though was the concern that by being brought here, I had endangered all of these demons and their safety. The rebels might have been followed to their base. What if there was an ambush waiting for me as soon as I left? I had some Light left, but nowhere near enough to defeat an armed squadron of demons by myself.
Whatever we were going to do, we were going to have to do it quickly—and Missolis seemed to agree.
“It is decided,” she said, “We move on the Citadel immediately.”
“Immediately?” I asked, “How immediate is that?”
“As soon as we are done telling you the plan. There’s no time to waste, as I’m sure you’ll understand.”
“Of course… I’m just surprised you’ve been able to come up with a plan so quickly.”
“It isn’t foolproof, but it should get us within striking distance of the passage to Earth.” She nodded at the other two demons standing by the large table in the middle of the room; a table that was covered in parchment maps riddled with scribbles and notes. “These are my lieutenants: the Hellion, Kainon, and Ravager, Etari. They helped devise this plan.”
