The Devil's Love

Shadow of Death: Chapter 11: Anton

Sarah seemed rather quiet after our little trip to the office. It had me concerned.

"Is everything okay? Did Nolia upset you?"

"No." She offered with a grin. "We talked about heaven and the angels; it was actually interesting. She seemed quite emotional about the situation."

"All demons are Sarah; they love this place. They want to be here. Unlike the damned of course who would do anything to get out of this place. But that's the point of it really."

She nodded and sat back on the deck chairs I'd set out for us. Brannon was laying on her lap, awake and content. Cerberus was at my feet, asleep and whimpering like he was chasing something in his dream. Our view of the lake was picture perfect in my opinion, and Sarah seemed to like the place as well. I found it rather comforting that she was assimilating with ease.

"How long has Nolia worked for you?"

"About fifty or sixty years."

Sarah shifted in her seat a little, looking like she was uncomfortable.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Have you and her, you know?"

Oh, that's why you're uncomfortable.

"No. I made it a rule that I never fraternised with the office staff."

She nodded, happy with the answer but I could see the underlying pain.

"Sarah, I know that you think the numbers are vast but I can assure you, they are not. How many demons do you think there are?"

"Thousands?" she offered with a shrug.

"Six hundred and fifty, three hundred of them are female. Of those three hundred women, two hundred and twenty of them are in relationships. And just so that we are clear, I never fraternised with anyone that was in a relationship. So that leaves eighty demon females that were a potential love interest. Just before your arrival into my life, sixty females were working in or around the office area, so in accordance with my rule, they were not eligible. We are now down to twenty possible candidates. It may surprise you to know that even if I could, I did not. At best I would have had no more than ten of them laying around the place, which I might add was not for any physical purpose. It was purely for show. You know, the devil and his lovers."

Turning onto my side to see her better, I took her hand and laced our fingers together.

"They were the fakes, my love, picked for their allure. When someone comes into the underworld, it is my job to tempt them, to show them how good life could be if they accept the deal. That's why I maintain a pretty view of the land with its autumn leaves. The swanky office with its excessive marble and glittering glass, the receptionist that mentally undresses everyone that walks in through the door."

Sarah raised an eyebrow at me, a little shocked at Nolia's description.

"It is temptation, my love," I said in response. "She knows what she needs to do; she knows that it is all part of the game. As did the others, my assistants. They were the ones who fawned over the potential candidates, oozing their lust for them to push the deal forward. Everything in that office is about excessiveness, to show that temptation is the path for them. It doesn't always work, Nicolas wasn't interested in them. In a way I suppose that those ten women were considered part of the office staff as well, maybe I should add them to the sixty."

I thought about it, concluding that it was an accurate statement.

"Yes, seventy females working in or and the office. So that leaves ten, and yes, of those ten I did fraternise with them."

"So just ten women then?"

Okay so no, I guess this is where everything falls down.

"No Sarah, ten demon women. We were only discussing demons."

She frowned for a moment as she struggled to think about it.

"So what then? Humans?"

"Sometimes yes. Vampires tend to run a mile when they know I'm around, humans can't feel the presence of another type of being like vampires can."

"Anton, I'm a little confused. How many other types of beings are there?"

I shrugged and began to pack away our lunch, wishing that we didn't need to have this conversation. Wishing that I didn't need to relive how foolish I had been.

"Anton?"

"In this world, there are vampires, lycans, witches, humans, and deities. Occasionally beings from other dimensions visit, but that is rare. I have never interacted with a lycan or a witch, nor any other dimensional being."

I heard the gasp; she'd figured it out. Turning back I saw her putting Brannon into the pram as she stood from her seat.

"You were screwing a deity, as in an angel?"

Nodding I pulled her onto my lap, hoping to subdue the rising anger.

"It was wrong; I see that now. Not just because of the way that it looks but because I now know that Michael was making them come here so that he could see into this world. I was letting angels in, freely walking through the place and they would have seen everything."

Wrapping my arms around her waist, I ensured she couldn't move, though she seemed pretty happy to be on my lap. She wasn't struggling nor complaining, and even though she had moments where she looked incredibly pissed at me, I saw a sympathetic smile. Why? Because she knew that I'd been tricked.

"There was no real danger, just them spying on me, making sure I was behaving myself and keeping me subdued. What better way to keep the devil occupied than a pretty angel on her back for him?"

Sarah frowned as her lips pressed a thin line. Ooh, hello jealous monster. I grinned, pulling her to my body.

"You are my pretty angel now my love."

She huffed her laugh which made me chuckle. Her head tilted back, waiting for my kiss. I obliged, always ready and willing to give her love.