Deal with the Devil

Wings

Three. Days. 

It had been three whole days without any sign of Lucifer. Mara informed me he had ‘business’ in another part of the realm. He was the Princes of Darkness, the King of Death and Shadows and all things evil for God's sake. Didn't he have demons to handle ‘business’ for him? And how much ruling could dead souls really require? 

I was getting frustrated at his lack of help with this whole bond thing. Every day was a second closer to my deadline. I had read what felt like every book in his damned library and I still didn't understand exactly what was binding us. “Hello, earth to Wren.” Mara waved her fork in front of my face. She had dragged me to lunch in the city to get me out of the dusty old library and bless her for trying. “Isn’t it a little inappropriate to say earth when we are currently in an unearthly realm?” I pushed around my food. She just shrugged “It’s what the humans say...or so I’ve heard.” I groaned, missing my life on earth. 

“It’s the bond you know.” She stated matter-of-factly. “It’s what is making you so irritable.” She continued with another bite of her dessert. “I am not irritable.” I snapped. She raised her eyebrow at my tone. “When you are bound in the way that you and Luce are, being….apart…can weaken you and some less powerful demons even go insane when separated too long from their mate.” She paused for another bite while rage bubbled in my stomach. “It’s why he keeps you in his bedroom. Just the scent of you on his sheets can keep him from losing his mind most days.” She said casually.

 The word mate was still echoing in my head as she continued on. This was the final straw for my anger and I erupted from my seat at the cute bistro restaurant and I felt my power tingling in my finger tips. Before Mara could react, I flashed to the far end of the city. Where the land ended and a never ending river of fog began. I sat on a rock and fumed, turning my power over and over again in my mind until a boulder in my line of sight disintegrated.

 Mara spoke of the bond like she knew what it was, like she could help me. So why wasn't she trying to help me break it? Why was I bound to stupid Lucifer in the first place? What did she mean mate? The thought of him smelling me on his sheets sent unpleasant shivers down my spine. My mind was spiraling out of control, maybe I would go insane after all. 

The flapping of wings made me turn my head. I shielded my eyes from the large gusts of wind but I could make out a figure landing with wings that seemed to stretch for miles. When the figure touched the ground and the dust settled, I felt the invisible string between Lucifer and I pull taunt and thrum with power. The weakness in my body and pulsing headache subsided but my anger did not. 

I stared at the large male, his presence felt larger than the mountain at this moment. Wings I didn’t even know he had stretched out eight feet to either side, dark and velvety like the wings of a bat. They looked so different from the wings of an angel, as if they had been plucked of feathers. I fought the urge to go up and touch them, to see if they felt the way I imagined. Soft and smooth. 

As if sensing my desire, Lucifer stepped closer to me. “You summoned me?” He said with a raised eyebrow. “I did no such thing.” I countered, disgusted at the notion. “Oh but you did Wren. I could feel your distress through the bond. It felt like you were screaming down it” He was close enough now to reach out and touch. “Distress? I haven’t even begun to show you distress. You just up and leave without warning for DAYS and leave me with this..this..” My voice was rising with each word  and I was at a loss as to what to call this feeling. 

Before I could finish formulating my sentence, Lucifer stepped forward and hugged me...just hugged me. Like I was a small child. His large arms circled around me and he pulled to his chest and against my will my traitorous body relaxed into him. 

He whispered into my ear gently, “Sometimes the bond requires….soothing. A new bond is strong and possessive and will demand closeness.” I hated the words he was saying but the feeling of his arms around me was slowly thawing my icy rage. I let my cheek rest against his chest and I felt limp in his arms. He bent down and scooped up my legs under my knees and held me bridal style. Every instinct I had to fight the intimacy of it was smothered by the humming of the bond. 

Lucifer carried me to the edge of the land and leapt into the nothingness before I could register his plans. I braced against his chest, the wind snatching the scream from my mouth. His wings spread to catch us as we descended in free fall. Just when I thought we’d surely nose dive directly into whatever lay below the dense fog, we were rising. We rose above the small city below the mountain and across to the next floating city and on and on we flew for what felt like hours. It was more beautiful than I could have imagined. Mountains and waterfalls and miles and miles of beautiful terrain, each floating island different from the previous one. The sound of Lucifer's heart and the warmth of his arms became a lullaby and I was soon asleep in his arms still circling the lands of the realm.