The Devil's Lover: The Wish (27 page)

Lucifer turned toward Arvin and glared
at him. “Put her down, Arvin!”

“
Mother!” Trent pulled his
sword from Lucifer. The wound instantly healed.

“
What a pretty girl,”
Arvin mused. “No wonder both you and Acelin are so in love with
her.”

“
Arvin!” Acelin warned.
“What are you going to do to her?”

“
I want her to meet the
other demons in Hell,” Arvin grinned. “After all, they are anxious
to meet their queen.”

“
She cannot go to Hell!”
Lucifer shouted.

“
Don’t you think I know
that?” Arvin asked insolently. “Dear Lucifer, knowing that, I want
to take her back home even more. I wonder what would happen if a
sinner like her enters forbidden territory.”

“
Sinner?” Chevalier was
surprised that Arvin referred to Kali as a sinner.

“
Consuming demon blood is
a serious sin,” Adria said. “Neither Heaven nor Hell can forgive
her. If she enters either of the territory, she will…”

“
Precisely,” Arvin
laughed. He opened a portal to Hell.

Lucifer directed an energy ball at
him. Acelin and Trent joined in. Arvin protected himself with a
force field and smirked. “I’ll see you at home, Lord
Lucifer.”

He ran into the portal with Kali in
his arms.

Lucifer and his companions entered the
portal. After they stepped through, the gate behind them closed,
leaving behind a large metal frame. Trent scanned his surroundings.
The land was covered in black soil while the trees and flowers that
grew from it were blood red. At first glance, they almost look like
blazing fire.

“
This is your home, my
prince,” Adria said to Trent.

The demons spread their wings and flew
south. There was a castle in the distance, one that floated atop of
a forest of black thorns. Lucifer landed in front of the castle and
commanded the gate to open. It obeyed. Lucifer stormed through a
long hallway of broken fragments of statues. Lucifer went past a
domed room and stood in front of a massive double-door. He placed
both hands on the doors and pushed it open. The light peaked
through the opening into the throne room. The demons inside stared
at the door, anticipating. Lucifer stood at the end of the altar.
Behind him were Lord Acelin and Prince Trent, along with Chevalier.
Adria joined them shortly after.

Arvin was smirking. He sat on the
throne with Kali in his arms.

Lucifer walked down the altar while
the demons on both sides of the altars bowed to him.

“
Give her back to me,”
Lucifer said in a cold and authoritative tone.

“
Lord Lucifer,” Arvin
flashed him a smile. “I’m so glad you came. What a beautiful queen
you have chosen for us.”

“
Arvin,” Lucifer said in a
warning tone.

Arvin stood up and placed Kali on the
throne. He came to Lucifer’s side. “Doesn’t she look deserving?” he
whispered into Lucifer’s ear. “She finally got what she wanted, the
throne of Hell.”

“
She never had that kind
of ambition,” Lucifer said. He walked up the aisle and traced her
gentle face with the back of his fingers. “Why, Arvin?”

“
Lucifer!” Chevalier
shouted. “What are you waiting for? Take her back to
Earth!”

Acelin placed a hand on Chevalier’s
shoulder to calm him down. “It won’t do any good,” he said. “Taken
her back to earth now couldn’t save her.”

“
What?” Chevalier stepped
forward, “What the hell does that mean?”

“
For a sinner, the
punishment for entering forbidden territory is death.” Adria
said.

“
Lucifer is the ruler of
Hell, who would dare to –”

“
Can’t you see the
helpless look in Lucifer’s eyes?” Acelin asked. “All things in life
must follow a set of laws. This is beyond Lucifer…and even further
beyond us.”

Chevalier shook his head in denial.
“No… no…this is not happening! All of you are liars! There has to
be some way to save her! There has to be!”

Acelin lowered his eyes and placed a
hand over his chest.

Lucifer planted a kiss on Kali’s
forehead. “She never wanted to hurt anyone. All she wanted was to
be a good wife to me and a doting mother to her son. That was her
only wish, Arvin.”

Trent stood still watching. The heavy
droplets of tear from his eyes fell one by one onto the cold marble
floor.

“
This woman is the woman I
love,” Lucifer placed gentle kiss on her lips. “She knew I have all
the power in the world and she could ask me for anything. Even if
she wanted to rule all three realms, I would have waged war against
Heaven and Earth. If she wanted me to destroy everything in
existence, I would have done so. But she never asked me for
anything. All she ever wanted was to be a wife and a devoted
mother. Yet, there was always something or someone that wanted to
take her from me. It pained me dearly when those people are the two
I considered even closer than flesh and blood. Now that you have
brought her here to her deathbed, you should know that I will not
spare you.”

Arvin summoned his sword. “No,
Lucifer. I do not think that you could kill me for a mere
mortal.”

“
Then you do not fully
understand what she means to me,” Lucifer stood up straight and
faced Arvin.

“
You will not kill me for
a mere mortal,” Arvin repeated with unwavering
confident.

“
She is a mere mortal to
you, but to me, she is the only purpose to my existence. The moment
you brought her to Hell, I thought to myself that it is a shame
that I cannot die with her. Arvin, when we walk away from his
battle, only one of us shall prevail. Whether I avenge her or are
killed by you. Here and now, I hope with all of my effort that it
would be the second case.”

Acelin lowered his eyes.

“
He doesn’t want to be
alone,” Adria said under her breath. “He wants Arvin to kill
him.”

“
Why?” Chevalier
asked.

“
Because if he wins, he
will have to witness the death of two people he loves,” Adria said
in a sad tone. “He is in great pain.”

Lucifer summoned his sword. He charged
toward Arvin at speed and struck. Arvin used his sword to fend off
Lucifer’s attack. The two demons fought in mid-air. Their movements
were so fast; the bystanders could barely see who was attacking
who. Every time their swords met, they were pushed back by the
intense pressure from the swords.

Trent came to the throne and picked
Kali up in his arms. He hugged her tightly as the dim lights began
to leave her body. Chevalier panicked. He ran toward Kali and
Trent, trying to catch the escaping light. The light went through
his hands and escaped. Even though it was in vain, Chevalier
continued to try. His eyes were blood shot. He used magic to
capture the dim lights but it could only hold it back for a few
seconds.

“
Mother,” Trent cried.
“Please don’t leave us. Please don’t leave
me
. I’m not at all grown up yet. I
still need you!”

Chevalier placed a hand on Trent’s
head when he realized that he could only watch her die.

“
I was wrong, Mother. I
shouldn’t have taken you away. If you could forgive me…no, you will
forgive me, right, Mother? You will forgive me because you are my
Mother.”

Lucifer glared at Arvin when Arvin’s
sword managed to cut off a part of his wing. His feathers are
raining down onto the altar. A lost feather landed on Kali’s cheek.
Trent could feel the life escaping from her. She was getting colder
and colder while her presence was fading away. Trent’s body
radiated silver light. When the light dimmed, Trent returned to the
shape of a five-year old boy.

He started to cry out loud. Adria came
to his side, wanting to pick him up.

He refused her violently. He turned to
his Mother. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be the child you wanted,” he
cried. “I’m sorry I cannot be a normal boy. If I were, I would have
better appreciated the things you’ve done for me. I’m sorry I
didn’t understand. Forgive your son for not understanding you,
Mother.”

Two lines of tears spilled from
Chevalier’s eyes. This was not happening. This was definitely not
happening. Anyone but Kali! He had given her up to Lucifer, wanting
her to be happy. This was not the result he wanted, not at all! If
he had known, if he knew this would happen, he would have fought
Lucifer till the end. He had tried so hard to bury his feelings for
her all this time. He had been trying to heal his wounds. But why
did she end up like this? He held onto her hand and placed his
other hand on her face.

Acelin clenched his fists. He turned
away, not wanting to witness the battle nor Kali’s death. He must
sleep, he said to himself, after a couple of thousand years all
would turn to dust and start anew. Even this pain in his chest.
Even his feelings for her.

“
Goodbye, my brothers,”
Acelin said as he calmly walked away from the altar. “And goodbye
to you, too, dearest.”

“
Father, please save my
Mother!” he begged. “Save her for me, please? I will never ask
another favor from you again.”

Lucifer heard his son’s cry but was
unable to respond.

“
He can’t,” Adria said to
Trent.

“
Father is the
all-powerful. He can save her. Only he can save her for me,” Trent
wiped away his tears. He caught his breath when he no longer felt
Kali’s presence. He cried out, calling out to her. Chevalier inched
away. He covered his mouth with his hands. He felt sick to his
stomach.

Lucifer swallowed his tears. Rage
sparked in his cold blue eyes. He thrust his sword at Arvin and
pierced him. He cast a magic circle in the sky to bind Arvin and
flew about twenty feet away.

“
You are really going to
kill me?” Arvin asked when he saw the pain in Lucifer’s
eyes.

Lucifer turned his sword into a bow
and arrow made of blue flame. He fit the arrow into the bow and
aimed it at Arvin.

“
She is dead, Lucifer.
Killing me won’t bring her back!” Arvin said.

“
It may be so…” Lucifer
said. He chanted a spell onto the arrow before letting it go. It
pierced Arvin’s left wing and pinned him against the wall. “When
you sacrificed yourself during the war so that I could safely
arrive in Hell, I made you a promise. And I will keep that promise.
I spare your life this time. However, I will take away all of your
powers. For you, it’s even worse than a death sentence.”

Arvin looked over his shoulder. His
wings were disintegrating into nothingness. “No,
Lucifer…”

Lucifer flew to Kali’s side. He took
her from Trent and gathered her lifeless body into his arms. For a
long moment, he did not speak. He planted a soft kiss on her lips
and then ran his fingers through her silky hair. His beautiful eyes
mourned his loss.

“
Your plan failed
miserably, Arvin. She didn’t die. Everything that was her had
already engraved itself inside of me. You did not take her away
from me, Arvin. No one could. Perhaps the only thing you did was
make me realized how much she meant to me. Keep the throne of Hell,
I will not return.”

“
Do not forsake us,
Lucifer!” Arvin shook his head. “I will only accept one
master!”

“
This time, I am
abandoning you, Arvin.”

“
Lucifer
!”

Epilogue

The gloomy day was too perfect for the
occasion. Chevalier tapped the dirt into place and then rested the
shovel by his side. He removed his dirty gloves and shoved them
into the pockets of his black jacket. There was an emotionless
expression on his face as he stood for several minutes. Only her
name was carved on the semi-polished gravestone. No dates or
epitaph to remind them of the person she was.

“
At least write something
nice about her on it,” Chevalier said.

“
It wasn’t necessary,”
Lucifer replied as he placed a bouquet of flowers on her grave. “No
one needs to know who she was besides us.”

“
At least carve a date of
death, Lucifer.”

"I have to find her,” Lucifer said in
a soft voice.

Chevalier blinked. "What do you mean,
find her?"

"Her soul was scattered across the
earth. My Kali...I will find her. I will find all of her, even if
it takes an eternity, even if I have to circle this earth a million
times over. There will be a day I will bring her back into my arms
where she belongs.”

"An eternity is an awfully long
time.”

Lucifer agreed. "I sealed her body
with magic to preserve it. She will need it when I resurrect her.
Trent and I will have to be without her for a while.”

"We will find her,” Lucifer assured
him. "Can you wait until then, Trent?"

"I will wait,” Trent nodded. "No
matter how long, I will wait.”

"I guess this is goodbye,” Chevalier
said, feeling heavy that it had to end this way.