Lucien's Hell Bound Angel (Hell Bound Series) (2 page)

‘Don’t fuck with me.’

And boy did it. Looking up further, Lucien saw the flaming pit that Dante called his stomach. It was as if he drank the lava flowing through the lake of fire. And it didn’t stop there. The hot liquid flowed through his veins, causing a blaze unlike any other. The orangey glow had torn through his muscles and illuminated there forever more. The rest of his body was chiseled and seemed to be carved from granite. And his face…it was monstrous. Darker than night, with horns protruding from his head, stretching back and winding down to his back. His eyes again were the same orangey color that made Lucien cringe. His teeth were lengthy, and razor sharp, which meant he could easily tear through anything.

             
“Silent now are we?” Dante asked with a smug smirk on his face.              

             
Cocking a confused eyebrow at Dante, Lucien remained silent. He knew talking would only cause him to get tortured and by the stinging twinge in his back, he’d say he’d had enough of that. Good thing he blacked out and “dreamt” a tiny moment of happiness before being sucked back into reality.

“You sure had a lot to say a moment ago.”
Dante sneered.

A moment ago?
A moment ago I was being pulled through oblivion
. Lucien wanted to shout, but again he remained silent. Had he really done the unthinkable and spewed back at the one person nearly everyone feared or hated? No. He wasn’t that stupid. There was no way he had done the impossible. Hell he hadn’t even been lucid long enough to even try and talk.

“Wise choice.”
Dante replied. “Now back to the task at hand. You’re
going
to do what I asked of you.”

Lucien shot him a vile glare as if to say no. Hell no! He didn’t care that this guy was the “King of Hell”, there was no way he was reverting back.
Not even if he got on his knees and begged him. But that would be a sight to see. Turning his head, he held back from spitting in Dante’s face.

No more than a second later, he felt searing pricks slice into his face. Dante had grabbed Lucien forcefully and curved his head back to him. Being that his claws were poison, Lucien knew not to move.

“Such impertinence! You’re nothing but a maggot to me. Do you hear me?”

“If I’m such a maggot then why do you want
me
?! Why not just kill me?” Lucien spat finally breaking his silence.

But not soon after there was that dreaded silence again. A tick was noticeable in Dante’s jaw. He had definitely clenched his teeth in frustration. What Lucien had said more than likely struck a nerve and by the look on his face Lucien could tell he
was contemplating his options. That stupid mouth of his was gonna be the end of him. Damn it, why hadn’t he just kept himself in silent mode? No, Dante wouldn’t dare destroy his “prized possession”. So, keeping his glare on his maker, Lucien stood his ground knowing he would fold.

“Fine.
Wrath, Envy…end him.”

Maybe not.

The reply itself was startling as Dante turned to leave without a care in the world. Lucien let out a strangled breath as both Wrath and Envy let him drop to his knees. The moment he felt them release his wrist, he realized they were what was holding him up. His strength had been depleted and totally drained. The lashing had done more to him than he realized.

“When you're done with him,
I need you to make a trip to Earth. Dezmon is
dying
to see me.” Dante added.

Nodding with pleasure, Envy manifested a
n axe. There was no doubt in Lucien’s mind that he wanted to behead him. Probably keep his head as a trophy. Peering at the blade, he could see it was clearly sharp enough to take off a limb in one swift blow. And he was sure that it had with all the dried venom coating the edge.

Damn it! If he wasn’t so weak he would pull himself up and kill them both in a matter of seconds. Now Dante
on the other hand— he was a different story. There was no way he was gonna be able to take him down. In his dreams maybe, but that was about it.      

“No!” Lucien shouted in protest. “I’ll do it!! I’ll go!!” he finally folded,
hoping Dante would change his mind because once he gave an order, it was either followed or—well you get the gist.

“What’s that?” Dante asked turning back with a sarcastically smug smile teasing his lips.

Lucien swallowed the lump in his throat before saying again, “I’ll go. Send me.”

             
Hearing that was like music to Dante’s ears. Or in his case, the screaming torture of his prisoners. Oh how he loved to watch the flesh being filleted off of those beneath him.

“I’m sure W
rath and Envy are very capable of bringing Dezmon back.” Dante teased, knowing Lucien would react.

Envy swiped down and measured the blade of the axe to
Lucien’s throat for good measure.

“Are you sure you
wanna send these two idiots to Earth?” Lucien spat as he kept his eyes on the blade Envy held.

There was now a flicker of
resentment in Envy’s eyes as he gripped the axe tighter. Lucien was sure that he was a few seconds away from losing his head. Sure angering the one person who hated you with a passion was stupid—especially if he was holding a sharp object to your throat— but Lucien couldn’t risk letting them go to Earth. Not when he knew they’d destroy any and everything in their path. The death toll of innocent people would pale in comparison to the casualties to any war ever fought. Wrath was made to inflict misery on everyone he came in contact with.

Going to Earth was well worth saving humans from what they didn’t know was coming.
Tsking, Dante pondered his words and Lucien took that as a good sign. Thinking was always a great opportunity to get into a person’s head. That little hesitation was a vast window to plant whatever seed he needed. So Lucien kept going.

“If these two dimwits were up there, they’d more than likely screw your plans up.” He urged and Wrath dug his claws deeper into his wrist.

Groaning in pain, Lucien nearly buckled, but he knew the moment that he did, he would slice his throat open on the blade that was only mere inches away from him.

“Stop stalling.” Wrath said through clenched teeth. “Envy
destroy him.” He finished with his hard no nonsense tone.

“Gladly!”
Envy replied as he drew the blade back once more and swung.

Lucien shut his eyes as he felt the whoosh of the blade come near him, but a blow never came. Or maybe it had. Was the blade so smooth that he had killed him only to land him in—Wait…where would he end up if he was “destroyed”?
He was already in Hell.

Was it Purgatory or Limbo?
Guess it didn’t matter.

Opening one eye
slowly, he saw Dante holding Envy’s wrist. So, he had changed his mind…and just in time. Lucien’s neck had literally been on the line.

“
You swayed me mongrel.” Dante mocked because he knew how much Lucien hated being called that.

Lucien hated when anyone mentioned the fact that he was a hybrid. So Dante usually took every chance he got to call him anything that pointed out the fact that he was a half breed.

Like now.

“You have three days to retrieve what I want
or…” Dante whispered the rest in Lucien’s ear; he obviously didn’t want anyone else hearing whatever it was that he had to say.

Whatever it was, it made Lucien cringe and he heaved in frustration. Clenching his fist, Lucien shut his eyes and bowed his head. There damn sure was no way to turn back now.
Dante placed a hand on Lucien’s head and a second later everything went black again.   

Chapter Two

Up to Earth

             
Blinking, Lucien opened his eyes to see utter darkness. Licking his lips, he tasted dirt and grumbled. Every one of his muscles were aching, especially his back. Dante was such a bastard. He could’ve at least sent him back fully healed. Sure he had already begun healing on his own, but that could take the rest of the night. Looking around, he saw trees.

Lots and lots of damn trees.

How convenient.

Drop me in the middle of nowhere.
Lucien thought irately.

It’s not like I only have three days to do what you want!
His mind roared again.    

Saying it out loud would’ve been too risky. Dante would probably throw a bigger obstacle at him if he wasn’t too careful. Earth was his playground. Anything could happen at any moment. A tornado, hurricane or earthquake…hell even a vampire could pop up. He was already
face down in a ditch—and that was if he was lucky. Pushing himself up on shaky legs, he brushed the grime off his pants and took in his environment.

The sky was black with tons of stars twinkling. There was no sign of a building, so he was definitely in the woods. Peering at the top of trees he spotted a few crows waiting to feast on him.

“Sorry.” He said as they eyed him. “No dinner tonight boys.” He teased as he took off into the night.

After walking for what seemed like forever, he found a road. Thank Hades because he was tired.
Not that he was complaining because the air felt good against his skin. A trip out of Tartarus was worth a million words. He was hoping this night didn’t count, but knowing Dante, it did. So he had no time to waste. Walking a little farther, he saw a diner. Good thing too because he was starving and not opposed to slaughtering an animal only to eat it raw. It had been awhile since he’d had human food. It was delicious compared to what he was used to. Trekking a little further, he walked in, only for all heads to turn a look at him. Hearing a few gasp, he knew he must’ve looked like he felt.

The waitress stared at him as he walked up to the counter. Her jaw had dropped as she gripped the pen
and the pad she held in her hands.

“Bathroom.”
He simply said and she opened her mouth wider to answer but sputtering only came out.

“I—It’s—um…”

“Bathroom.” He said again. This time there was malice behind the word which meant if she didn’t spit it out, he was gonna beat it out of her.

This time she simple pointer her pen to her left. Looking in the area she directed, he saw two doors down the tiny aisle between the boot
hs. Without another word, he strolled passed the few people eating or ordering. Going into the dimly lit bathroom, he saw his reflection in the mirror. His shirt was torn and baring his abs through the slits. Blood soaked the t-shirt, but it happened to be black so only he knew it was there. Dirt was smudged all over his face as if he’d slept there, which thanks to Dante he had. He even had a bit of dirt pie.

Turning on the water, he let it run cold for a moment before dipping both hands under the faucet. A bit of the grime embedded on
his fingers ran off before he drank a handful of water. Gulping it down, he had another before splashing it over his face. The cool water felt good running down his skin and soothing him. Taking a breath, he grabbed a few paper towels and wadded then together before wetting them. He then cleaned his face.

After cleaning the grime off of his face he checked himself out. That was gonna have to do for now until he got a change of clothes and a good night’s sleep.
Which he knew he wouldn’t. There was no way he could with the task at hand. Stalking back out, he slid into a secluded booth and waited as the same waitress timidly walked over to him. Her cherry hair was in a messy bun with strands falling into her face. The frame of her body was too slender as if she barely ate. Her lips were trim and her eyes were green.

Definitely not his type, not that he had a choice anyway. He needed to regain his strength fast and in order to do that he unfortunately had to fulfill his incubus needs. Meaning, he needed to have sex. Being that it had been more than an elongated period of time since he’d taken a female into his bed, he was skeptical. There was no way sex had changed since he’d done it.

Right?

Right.
But that wasn’t his problem. There had never been any complaints of him as a lover. Ever. He just wasn’t sure if he wanted to bed anyone. Taking a celibacy vow had been an impossible choice, but he had done that. Undoubtedly leaving his hand to be his only pleasure. The reason behind the vow was one he never wanted to share. Besides, it was better to be alone than to have women cringe at the sight of his marred body. Always having to make a person want him was demoralizing.

Good thing I don’t care about sentimental crap like that.
His mind scolded as the waitress stopped in front of him. After sitting a menu on the table, she pulled her pad out.

She was visibly shaken by his presence and he liked it like that. Striking fear into people was what he was great at. Not that he wanted to do it, but it was good to know he was excellent at what he trained for rigorously.

“Hi.” She smiled nervously. “My name’s Delilah. I’ll be your waitress tonight. Can I start you with a drink?” she asked the rehearsed line he was sure she said to everyone.