The Devil's Lover: The Wish (11 page)

It nodded again.

“
Now I’ve seen
everything!” It took her a couple of jumps before she managed to
mount the beast.

“
Now what?” she
asked.

The steed neighed and dashed forward
to leap off the cliff. Taken by surprise, Kali grabbed its mane so
she wouldn’t fall off. It made a steep drop close the ground,
before it flapped its wings and veered up into the sky. Kali felt
nauseated from the speed and the movement. She was hanging on for
dear life.

“
Where are you taking me?”
Kali asked the Pegasus. She was squinting to protect her eyes from
the high speed wind coming at her. Several minutes later, he landed
on the ground. Kali hurriedly got off the steed. Without waiting
for her, it took off.

After Kali shook off the dizziness,
she found herself somewhere inside the city. The buildings were so
tall that they rivaled each other for a place in the sky. Instead
of the rich and musty odor that so many cities commonly possessed,
there was a light, pleasant sandalwood scent in the air.

The city was devoid of people, but she
could feel other presences all around. They were watching her every
move. Sometimes she would catch an image of a person from the
corner of her eye, but when she turned to look, there was no one
there. She couldn't understand why they were watching her so
closely. She felt like she was being stalked.

She picked up her pace as she
walked.

She feared that if they decided to,
they could attack her at any time. She had felt nothing but
hostility from the demons since she first arrived. They were not
just watching her; they were staring down at her. She remembered
their proud faces when she encountered them in the castle. The only
reason they hadn’t become physical with her was because of Lucifer.
He had openly declared her to be his property in front of his
subjects. Though degrading, it had kept her safe until
now.

She didn't realized how long she had
walked, absorbed in her thoughts. She could only guess it had been
a while when she found herself alone, surrounded by unbelievably
massive tree trunks. She had seen trees these sizes in travel
magazine, but it is one thing to see them in picture and another to
stand between them. She felt so small and insignificant by
comparison. 

The atmosphere was still; the
surroundings were eerily quiet. Everything felt so alien. From the
strangely glowing, moving plants to the little creatures she found
living amongst the trees. Every step of the walk, she discovered
something new. They were strange, new, and exciting things she had
never seen before. 

She became increasingly distracted by
how thick the atmosphere had become. It was getting much harder to
breathe.

She didn’t know where she was, or how
far she was from the castle. In fact, she didn't even know if they
were still on Earth anymore. Although there was no sun here, the
sky still shifted color. It was getting darker and darker as she
ventured deeper into the forest. When it got too dark to see her
hands in front of her, she began to feel fear creeping up her
spine. Strange low growls were somewhere close by. She didn’t know
what to expect. At least in the castle, she was safe under
Lucifer’s protection. She should have stayed put.

Red glowing dots began to appear in
the dark. They came in pairs, like glowing eyes. She didn’t know
what they were, or if she should stay or run. Adrenaline rushed
through her veins. Her instincts took over and she ran for it. She
didn’t know how close they were behind her. She didn't know
anything!

She just ran as fast as she could
until she stumbled on a hard object and fell forward. They were
very near; the glowing eyes were only yards from her. Her ankle
screamed at her, letting her know that something was very wrong
with it. She squeezed her eyes closed and braced herself for what
was to come.

Nothing happened.

When she opened her eyes again, the
pair of eyes charged forward, but then they were kicked back by
something. They couldn’t get to her.

“
Help!” she screamed out
in panic. “Someone help! Lucifer!”

“
So you finally need me,”
his voice was all around. 

“
Lucifer?”

The area was filled with red lights.
Lucifer appeared from the shadows. At sight of him, the canine-like
beasts backed away in fear, and one by one scampered off. He came
to her side and scooped her up into his arms.

“
Did you…how did you know
where I am?”

“
This is my realm, Kali. I
know where you are at all times.”

“
Have you been following
me the whole time?” she was suspicious that he did.

“
Yes,” he
admitted.

Anger wrapped her face. “And you did
nothing! How could you!” she shouted at him.

“
I knew you would wander
off on your own,” he replied. “That was to teach you a lesson. Fear
is an excellent teacher.”

“
I cannot stand you!” she
hit his shoulder several times with her fists. “Let me down this
instant! Let me down!”

He teleported them back into her room
and gently placed her down on the bed. “Your ankle is hurt. At
least now you learned not to leave the castle,” he grabbed hold of
her ankle and quickly realigned it. She yelped.

“
You are a liar, Lucifer,”
she managed to say. “You said you would be right back, but it’s
been four days,” she said, half crying.

He chuckled.

“
What?” she was surprised
at his reaction.

“
I thought you didn’t want
to see me.”

“
That is beside the
point!”

“
I should leave for months
at a time then,” he teased, “maybe even years. After all, what does
a few decades mean to me.”

“
Then why have you bought
me here if you’re just going to run off somewhere?” she blurted
out. She was too angry to hold back her thoughts. Once she realized
what it sounded like, she pushed him away with both of her hands.
"Get out! I truly never want to see you again!"

She blushed when she realized he had a
pleased expression on his face. 

When she woke the next morning, he was
sitting in a chair by the window. His head was resting on the palm
of his hands. His eyes were locked on her. It was obvious that he
didn’t sleep. Or rather, he didn’t need to sleep. What does he do
with all of that time?

“
I had breakfast prepared
for you,” he said. “They should bring it up soon.”

“
They?” she inquired. "I
can find my way to the kitchen now. It’s one thing to bring food
here, but I can't imagine your demons would be willing to bring it
up to me.”

“
I have arranged for
servants who are more
sensitive
to your needs,” he replied. "I admit I have been
careless with your accommodations.”

“
I don’t understand,” she
blinked.

"Your own kind would be able to take
better care of you.” 

She was alarmed when she interpreted
his words. "Did you kidnap them?"

"I made a bargain with them,” he
corrected her. “They agreed to serve me if I saved their dying
son.”

“
And did you?”

“
Yes, but that boy was not
meant to live long. I could only prolong his life several
years.”

“
You said you could make
humans live forever.”

“
I can. However, the
process itself is much more complicated than you think. I do not
have the energy to waste on a boy.”

“
After the boy dies, after
they die, what will you do?”

“
I will get
replacements.”

“
How many replacements
will there be?”

“
As many as it
takes.”

“
I can take care of
myself. I can cook for myself,” she sighed. “You cannot ruin so
many lives just because of me.”

“
Why not?” he asked with
an indifferent expression on his face.

“
Why not?” she responded
with a rhetorical question. “These are my consequences and mine
alone! I can’t drag anyone else into this. I don't think I can live
with it. How can you just treat them as if they’re
disposable?"

“
I do not want to argue
with you over such tedious matters,” he got up from his chair.
“They should be here with your breakfast by now.”

“
Please let them go,” she
grabbed his hand. “I don’t want them to be here with me.
Please?”

He touched her cheek with the back of
his hand. “It will be very lonely in this castle. I want you to
have company.”

“
The guilt will kill me
more than the loneliness.”

After some consideration, he nodded.
“If you do not wish for them to stay, I will send them
back.”

†††††

He was caught in bad weather on his
way back to Hell. Kali had been waiting for him at the entrance.
His clothes were soaked. She ran back to her room to grab a towel.
Before she could return, he was already in her room.

“
Here,” she handed him the
towel. “Dry yourself off before you catch a cold.” she suddenly
felt silly. Unlike her kind, he was unsusceptible to
illness.

He took the towel she offered and
dried his hair with it.

“
What are you doing?” she
asked when he unbuttoned his shirt.

“
Changing,” he said
simply.

“
Not in here…”

“
We are no longer
strangers, if you have yet to realize,” he headed toward the door.
“However, if that is what you wish, then I will comply.”

“
We are strangers,” she
said, “since Lucien was only someone you made up to deceive
me.”

He paused. “Would you have come to
love Lucien the way he was?"

“
I may have if he were
real!"

“
You are incapable of
love,” he said. She suddenly felt a pinch in her heart. "You keep a
distance with everything in your life that you
can
love. That is the reason you
chose to befriend a selfish and hypocritical girl. You pretended to
be ignorant of the cruel things she'd done to you, because you knew
none of it can remotely affect you. You have lost everyone dear to
you so that even caring for anyone else is taboo. That is also the
reason why kept on refusing your Chevalier, your knight, because he
is the only person who can emotionally cripple you. You chose
Lucien, like everything else you’ve chosen for yourself in life,
out of your own needs. You didn't chose him because you could love
him, you chose him because you knew you could not. You chose him
out of pure convenience and because he offered to take you away
from the only thing that was threatening you. You cannot love
because if your heart endures another tragedy, it will crumble and
it will die.”

She couldn't think of anything to
say.

“
You need a man who cannot
be taken from you, even by death. You need a man who cannot change
and will not change. You need me, you are just too proud to admit
it.”

He came to her side and embraced her.
His wet clothes soaked hers. “You wish everything I said was a
lie.”

Yes, she did wish it was a lie. He had
dissected her and made her feel so vulnerable she wanted to cry.
She hated the feeling of exposure. She wanted her life to be
dictated by her own reasons and logic. When those thoughts were
said out loud, she felt unreasonably selfish. He still wouldn’t let
her go.

All thoughts dissipated when she
inhaled his scent. It was nothing short of intoxicating. The warm
heat of his body against her skin was enough to set her on fire.
She felt weak at the knees when he lowered his head to kiss her.
His lips were soft and warm. The gentle kiss became something more,
unquenched, passionate. Before she knew what was going on, she was
already lying on the bed with him on top of her. His breath was hot
against her slender neck. She desperately wanted to refuse him, but
her body would not listen. His beautiful blue eyes could even bends
heaven to his will. She was too weak to rebel. 

Chapter 11:
Sacrificial

“Welcome back, Chevalier,” Soren said.
He was leaning against the hospital’s white wall, his arms folded
on his chest. He wore a black suit that fit his figure almost too
well.  

“
Where am I?” Chevalier
sat up on the bed. His limbs felt so weak and difficult to control,
as though they weren’t his own. He rested his head on his hands.
“It hurts so much…”

Chevalier looked up at the beautiful
young man. “Who are you?” 
“I am Soren.”  

“
What do you mean by
‘welcome back’?”  

“
Just what I said,” Soren
stood up from the wall. “What is the last thing you
remember?” 

Chevalier thought about it. “I was
driving on the highway, and these trucks..,” Chevalier shook his
head. “Then I woke up here.”

“
You have died, Chevalier
Shiva,” Soren said bluntly, his voice devoid of concern.