Page 70 of Fear the Fall
“That’s what I do as well.”
I shake my head. “Father cast you to Hell because you embodied evil.”
He tsks, wagging his finger. “I challenged him, and he retaliated with a punishment, damning me to rule over the truly evil.”
“What about the Bible and all the teachings?”
He scoffs. “That old thing? Do you not know this world’s history? The early days of humanity were brutal. Order was nonexistent. The Bible is merely stories that God whispered into the ears of men, giving them something to hold over other humans, to keep them in line.”
“How so?”
“Humans fear the unknown. They need something to explain what happens after this life. They need a reason to toe the line. Fear the devil and Hell, and you stay in line.”
There is logic in his words, but why would God damn his son for simply questioning things? Lucifer was his favorite. He adored him. The punishment doesn’t seem to fit the crime.
“He was trying to teach me a lesson, while also giving me the opportunity to experience life, which is all I wanted.”
“You wanted to be human?”
“I wanted to feel something more than what was allowed in Heaven.”
His gaze pierces mine, and there’s a shift in the air. I don’t speak and neither does he. Several minutes go by and I avoid his stare at all costs. When I finally do turn my head toward him, he seems more relaxed.
“Tell me something true,” he says, leaning back in the flower-patterned yellow chair. I lick the inside of my lips, stalling. I don’t want to talk. I’d rather sit here in peace, order food, and get the hell on with this sham of a day.
“Not happening, princess. This is my day.”
I grumble under my breath.
“A truth for a truth?” he offers, and I motion for him to go right ahead. He chuckles, but consents to go first. “I spent an entire human lifetime here on Earth.”
My eyes widen at his admission.
“Who ran Hell?”
He grunts. “The same demon who is currently threatening my reign.”
“Oh, snap,” I say, and his lips form a thin line.
“You sound like a human when you talk like that,” he says, and I roll my eyes at his barb. “Anyway, Nolda is an idiot. He’s gotten further in his quest than I thought possible, but he doesn’t have the brains to carry it all the way to the end.”
“If you know who it is, why haven’t you dragged him back to Hell and tortured him?”
“Oh, don’t you worry your pretty little head over the details. He’ll have centuries of torture ahead.” Luke folds his hands together, placing them on top of the yellow-checkered tablecloth. “Right now, I’m allowing him to earn every bit of his punishment.”
“You’re not at all concerned that a coven is helping him? Even if he isn’t smart enough to bring war to your doorstep, they could.”
His eyes are two impenetrable screens keeping me out of his internal thoughts as effectively as bars on a prison cell. The stony glare he directs at me has unease sweeping through me. Luke shakes his head, and the hard glower disappears.
I want to ask him what that was all about, but something tells me he’s done with the conversation around witches and his demon traitor.
“Why did you decide to leave Hell for a time?” I ask, steering us back to safer pastures.
His shoulders relax, indicating he likes the new direction. “Why not?” he answers my question with one of his own, but I don’t take the bait.
“Fine,” he says, relenting. “Like I said before, I wanted tofeel.”
The honesty gives me pause.