1 Chapter 1~~~ Hiding from Hell

Lucia's POV

Follow your General's orders. The words have been ingrained in my mind from the day I was born. Even now as I face an eternity facing Lucifer, they circle like sharks in my mind. Binding and unbreakable.

Heaven once a home I was openly welcomed is now a hopeless dream held just out of reach by those four little words. Anger flashes through me at the thought and without further prompting my blade is in my hand.

With a small flick from my wrist the streak of silver flies from my hand toward the image of Lucifer on the back door. The satisfying thwart resounding in my mind as the blade bites deep into the wood, impaling him right between his two blue eyes, so similar to my own. Flickering flames disintegrate the image in seconds and I silently wish I could have enjoyed the small conflagration for a while longer.

Fear build as I stand, silently, waiting. All too soon a blinding flash of light and the rumbling growl that accompanies it announces its presence. Turning from the door there he is; Lucifer. My General in all his glory.

He stands in the center of the dark room. His overpowering presence filling the small space to its limit. His once pristine white wings hang tattered and torn at his back, as his pale eyes pierce the darkness and render me frozen in place.

"General." I bow my head in the customary sign of respect. My tone dull, almost a monotone as forcefully rein in the fear and set my face in a mask of calm compliance. Whatever happens I will not allow him to see me afraid; never again.

"Lucia I've been looking for you," his commanding tone sends shivers racing down my spine. "You weren't... hiding? Were you?". A knowing smirk slides across his lips, a calculating glint sparking in his eyes.

He knows I have no choice but to follow him and he knows I hate him for it. There's no point trying to escape, there's no going back. Remembering myself, I halt my thoughts before they can go any further, he will have people listening as always and I still need to play the part his given me.

"No, sir. I've been waiting for you since... the war." It's the truth, despite how much I despise myself for it. I have nowhere else to go. And I knew my prayers to the Almighty father to forgive my sins were hopeless. Even God has his limits. As it turns out, all out rebellion is one of them.

"Really? Well…... we will see." His eyes maintain an unwavering vigil on me for what feels like eternity. Finally, he frees me from where I stand, frozen beneath his graze. "Guards!" He barks before disappearing with the same flash of light and ear-splitting rumble with which he appeared. In his place stand two more of the Fallen.

"Saphar," I recognize the pale blonde locks and almost black eyes of the angel on the right. I turn to the angel standing beside him and my breath catches in my throat "Nich?".

I attempt to hide the shock that radiates through my body, and remain in place as his warm, chocolate brown eyes meet my own. His presence as one of the fallen sends my mind reeling. What is he doing here? He wasn't even in Lucifer's army.

"What". He shakes his head sharply in warning, stopping both my thoughts and words before they can fully form. Heeding his silent message, I break of mid-sentence and choose a more suitable topic in its stead.

"Where are we going?" I ask, keeping my voice calm and controlled as I regain my composure and re-school expression to a blank slate of detached disinterest.

"You'll see when we get there," is the stern response from Saphar before he steps forward with Nich and takes my arm in a vice like grip. Nich is gentler I barely have a chance to send him a quick glance of thanks before they take flight.

******

We arrive almost instantaneously at Lucifer's hide out. Immediately my ears are assaulted by screams and cries of pain interspersed with the occasional whimper and plea for mercy. They echo off the walls attacking me from all angles.

I know what they are. I know what is causing this anguish. He practiced on me enough times. The urge to help them; to save them from the evil that is lucifer is like a physical pull on my body. But I can't do nothing. I'm too weak to save them all and he knows it.

My eyes drift warily to the rocky walls around us, it is obvious I am trapped in some deep it under the earth; scorching heat bites at my skin, dead, stagnant air fills my lungs with every breath and my eyes burn as they attempt to adjust to the dim, flickering light.

This place, whatever it is, is in stark contrast to my previous home. Heaven. What other word do you need to describe the most beautiful place in existence? I lived in the open air; with lights and clouds shimmering in the sun as they raced across the endless skies. Now, I'll probably no see the magic of home ever again.

The dark cavernous chamber filled with flickering shadows, scrapes the glorious image of home from my mind. The large chamber somewhat looks like a throne room, and judging by the enormous throne sitting on top of a tiered platform, I guess that was his aim. Slouching on the throne like he owns the world is Lucifer, his wings now back in their transparent, virtually non-existent state, he looks like almost his old self.

The almost normal image is wiped away as we move closer and the startlingly bright red hue splattered over his hands and up his arms reveals itself. I almost falter as images of my blood on his hands flicker from behind the locked door in the farthest recess of my mind. But control is all I have, so with barely a hesitation in my stride, I continue moving forward, relocking that door and forcing back the wave of fear before it overwhelms me.

At his back is a table cloaked in the rest of the blood he mercilessly stole from his latest victim. The sight of the red thick liquid dripping from the rough edges of the table and the steady drip as each tiny drop finds the company of all the previous in an ever-growing pool on the floor, has me fighting the urge to close my eyes, to shut out the knowledge of what he has done.

The slightly muffled sounds of torture continue beyond the wall of Lucifer's cavern, and it is this that send chills down my spine; he is not only taking up the blade against innocence themselves, but passing his skills on.

"Nicholas. Saphar." Lucifer acknowledges as if the two bright colors in the room are normal. As if there is nothing wrong with what he has done. "Out," he dismisses the two angels at my side, the word echoing throughout the chamber and blocking out the cries of pain momentarily.

All to soon the residing echoes subsides and the violent sounds return; relentlessly hammering at my heart. I wait patiently. Listening pointedly to the quiet footfalls of the two angels as they make their way from the chamber, I wait silently until the echoes subside. Then, finally, we are alone.

"I have our minds blocked right now so we can speak." I almost sighed in relief, that means not only can the other reader not see my thoughts but neither will Lucifer find out that I'm not just pretending to despise him…. I actually do.

"Welcome to hell Abigale." Hell? That's what his calling this place? Okay…. Way to be original. "My dear child are you okay." He asks after a moment of chilling silence. I almost growled at the indignation of the words, though that might not be the most intelligent thing to do at the moment.

Why he bothers pretending I have no idea, it's not like he actually cares, he simply needs me alive. It wouldn't matter to him how badly I was injured as long as I was still breathing. Yet he insists on keeping up the charade. I will never work; I know better. Torture tends to do that to you.

"I'm perfectly fine, father, "I attempt to keep the anger out of my tone as I respond; the disgust that writhes through me at the last word is almost physically sickening. But he can't know I hate him. I don't think I can survive another round under his blade, not right now, it gets more difficult to bounce back and force myself to keep going each time.

"Very good. You did well in there; none of them would think for a second you were my daughter, or anything beyond another member of my army, for that matter. It would have been easier if you were part of my army. But I think you convinced everyone of that too with the little act you pulled in there."

"Yes, father. I apologies for that, though you know I had no choice". I keep my voice light and submissive. In truth I had chosen which General to serve. As one of the top fighters in my class I had the right to that privilege, I simply didn't tell Lucifer that and chose Mikheal instead.

Of course, when he found out I wasn't in his army…. Well some things are better left unsaid, but I will never understand his love for violence and torture. Despite that, I don't regret my decisions and I never will; serving Mikheal for the short time that I did would trump serving under Lucifer for eternity any day.

"Yes", his tone now glacial as his eyes spear me in place. The fear I perpetually fight comes crashing down on me in an unstoppable tsunami; slamming into my chest full force and crashing any last shred of hope in my system. It appears he hasn't quite gotten over that incident. Keeping the terror, he instills hidden far away deep within the recesses of my mind, I keep my face blank; right now, my best chance is a change of topic.

"Uhm…. Will I be staying down here? How do I keep everyone from finding out? I can't spend all my time with Nicholas now, since you obviously have him working and you aren't going to let me tell him the truth." The ice in his gaze barely shifts as I speak. I wait in tense silence for a reaction. Finally, his focus shifts briefly away from me and he responds.

"Yes. You will here. You are half human Lucia, never forget that. If God finds you, if any of the angels find you, you're dead. Just like your brother. They may not know what you are capable of, but they know you shouldn't exist. They won't hesitate to kill you. You are something that God forbade; angels will fear you without knowing what you can do. The fact that you are the Devil's daughter only makes it worse."

"The Devil?"

"That's what they call me. I quiet like it don't you?" I nod, despite the sudden urge to laugh at his arrogance, and wait for him to continue the rambling speech I've heard a million times before.

"A half breed from an Archangel is even rarer and more potent than normal. You are only the second to exist, my dear Lucia. Your brother was murdered when he was found out. He pardoned me the first time, forgiving me my one and only sin. When he found out about you, he was going to banish me from heaven. Me! You know this! I had to wage war on my friends! My family! All to protect you!" He is almost screaming at me now, blaming me for his failure to conforms Gods rule.

In reality he doesn't care about being thrown out, he intended to go to war anyway. That's why he needs me. "If it wasn't for Mikheal we would have won! Why my own brother turned against me I have no idea, but one day I will him for daring to betray me." By the time he finishes his rant practically discussing the issue with himself, more or less ignoring me completely as he grumbles on about Mikheal's army and military skill.

"Father," the word feels wrong on my tongue even after all these years. I don't want to draw his attention back to me but I just can't leave; the consequences of what would not be pleasant, not for me anyway.

"What!" He barks. I stumble back half a step despite not wanting to let him see my fear, and sparkling flint lights his eyes. "You will remain down here at all times. You will not leave. You will not enter the human realm. You understand?

My head moves to acknowledge his request as my heart sinks like a stone in my chest. I'm stuck here? Forever? I bow my head, refusing to let him see the moisture in my eyes as I an eternity in hell.

"I will assign my best shield to you so you will not let any of this slip accidentally to the other fallen. He will remain with you all times. I will send him to you once I finish to speaking to him. "You can go," at his words I immediately stride from the room, keeping movements fast and silent, anything to keep his attention from falling back to me.