Chapter 8

Read and find out.

“I’m sorry Azazel!” I heard Clariana scream. I lifted my head from Gaia’s neck, looking over to Clariana’s room.

“What was that?” Gaia asked, worried.

“Clariana,” I said. “She might be having a nightmare. Let me go check on her.”

I got up from the coffin-shaped couch and walked into Clariana’s room, expecting to see her. But what I saw instead shocked me. Clariana wasn’t there. Anywhere. I checked the bathroom and closet. She was just...gone.

“Gaia? What the hell is this?” I cried.

Gaia rushed over. “What?! What’s wrong?!” She peeked into the room and confusion swept over her face. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know. What the f**k did that astral projecting do, Gaia?” I asked, anger rising in me. “What happened?!”

Gaia flinched as I yelled at her. At the moment, I didn’t give a s**t. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s a sin for angels to astral project? Maybe she was sent back to heaven for punishment.”

“Oh, because heaven is the place to get punished.” Then I had a brilliant idea. “We need to talk to Lucifer. He will know where she is. Besides, he’s an original angel.”

“We’re going to talk to him?” Her voice quivered. “Now?”

I realized she was horrified. She had never seen Lucifer before, nevertheless been in Hell until now. I would’ve comforted her if the situation were different. But I was impatient.

I sighed. “Lucifer doesn’t punish unnecessarily. He is actually a pretty nice guy. He probably won’t even give a s**t about you since you’re neither his nor God’s to claim. We’re doing this for Clariana’s sake. Keep your priorities straight.”

She nodded once, and I knew she was back on track.

We walked out of the many front doors, and I told my guard where I was going.

“You’re seeing Lucifer? What’s going on?” he asked. I shook my head. “Nothing for you to worry about.

When we got completely out of my house, I picked up Gaia and flew towards the center of Hell.

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It was complete pitch black in Lucifer’s quarters of Hell, and deathly silent. No one else lived in this part of Hell, even though it was larger than any sin city.

Gaia shivered in my arms as I put her down. Did I forget to mention it was freezing in the center of Hell also? Though I doubted she was shivering from the cold

NaNoWriMo 2017 Nov 1 861 words.

The land was desolate, pitch black, and cold. In other words, it was basically a ghost town. I half expected a tumbleweed to come rolling out.

“I can’t see s**t!” Gaia cursed through chattering teeth. Ok, so maybe she was cold.

I grabbed her hand roughly and pulled her along. She shrieked and started tripping. I rolled my eyes and growled, “oh for the love of all that’s unholy!” I then stopped, bent down, and put my arm under her knees to pick her up bridal style.

I started to run. Oh, by the way, Lucifer’s “part of town” was miles long and completely empty. It was flat, dark land against a dark sky as far as the eye could see in every direction but the way we had come. It would take a human mortal days.

It would take me hours, a day max. The fact that no demon could physically fly made sure of that. Something about a dark magic spell Lucifer had put up as wards in his city, or maybe he just thought the dark magic into being. It was rumored he could do that, like his counterpart God.

The only way I could travel was by foot. I would run. I’m damn sure not going to slow down for some mortal. My angel was in danger.

Then I did stop. What the Hell was wrong with me? When had I started thinking of the angel as my possession? That was preposterous. I didn’t care one ounce about her. Or, at least, I shouldn’t. But apparently I did, made obvious by the way I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off worrying about her.

“Umm, Azazel?” Gaia asked, trying to grab my attention. “Hmm…” I said distantly. She wasn’t my priority right now, nor were her opinions or anything she cared about, for that matter. I was focused on the angel.

“Azazel! Look out!” She screamed. I dropped her with a thud and ducked, cupping my ears over my hands. I knew what was coming. A second later there was horrendously loud explosion. Gaia screamed. I looked up to see the land reshaping itself from probably a mile wide crater to the flat surface it had been before. Then I looked in the opposite direction, and saw the stampede.

Basically a herd of three-headed dogs were running straight towards us, with their tongues lolling out as if they were any other normal dog.

“Natas, shi! Na Azazel! Nes Natas, Gaia. Moshierra halta. Nes esta!” The interpretation for those words were something along the lines of, “hello there, my name is Azazel. I am of Satan. Gaia, not of Satan. Mother worshipper (which could translate to Goddess worshipper.) Oh, and she’s not for eating...Yet.”

“Oh for the love of - “ I began to say when the dogs didn’t stop. But before I could finish the demonic phrase, I was thrown to the ground by the heavy weight of one dog’s body.

Gaia began screaming even louder. “Azazel!”

“Oh, gross!” I exclaimed as a big, slobbery tongue swept the whole side of my face. “No!”

And then I felt another weight. And then another. Dogs were piling themselves on top of me.

But then came a very feminine voice, saying, “Natas children, come to me!” And then there were whimpers as dogs were pulled back by an invisible force to their master.

“Oh f**k,” I said, only then just realizing what that command could mean for me. My body began sliding across the dusty ground as if I was being pulled by my feet. “What the hell?” Gaia whispered, and there was awe in her voice too.

I opened my eyes once my body stopped, and looked into the face of the “goddess” of hell.

“Oh hi.” I said innocently as if nothing had just happened. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “What are you doing here, Azazel Natas?” I gulped but tried not to show my fear. No, I wasn’t afraid of Lucifer. But the dark mother? Eh, yeah. You would be a dumbass not to.

I looked around as if an easy explanation would literally pop into thin air, or at least a distraction. And then I saw it. She wasn’t wearing her usual attire, which consisted of a s****y dress. And literally that’s all she wore. No panties or anything. In fact, today she was dressed a little too modestly. For a demoness at least.

“You’re pregnant again.” I said, smiling with the satisfaction of finding a distraction. Yeah...I was a dumbass. The next minute there was a stinging pain on the side of my face and my head was turned 90 degrees. I believe she had smacked me, but the thing was, she had done it so fast I hadn’t even seen it.

“My apologies.” I said.

“No apologies. Next time just keep your damned mouth shut. I’m not ‘God thou art in heaven’. I don’t accept apologies. And I damn sure don’t accept them from people who apologize just so they can do it again. Now get your damned w***e and let’s go. I’m taking you home.”

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NaNoWriMo 2017 Nov. 2 214 words.

After I had pulled Gaia to Lilith, kicking and screaming, and clasped Lilith’s hand, the mother of all demons (mostly) snapped her fingers and immediately reality wobbled. Gaia fell to the Hellstone-tiled floor and puked. Lilith’s face twisted in disgust.

She snapped her fingers again and Gaia flinched, fearing that they were being transported again. But instead, two scrawny, naked demonesses came from who-knows-where and began cleaning up the puke.

I gagged a little. Then I looked around the dungeon-like castle. It was exactly as I remembered it. Black everywhere, with maybe a hint of grey or red. Stairs that went down instead of up. Oh, and the blood stain from centuries ago, still in that messy, child-like demonic sacrificial circle. I smiled from the memory, and my heart warmed at the thought that they had never cleaned it up. Such a sentimental piece from my childhood.

I rose my head at the sound of heels clacking against stone. Of course, mother was already bored with her company and was leaving us.

I sighed. “So why the f**k are we here?” But she had already left. I rolled my eyes and turned towards Gaia. Oh. Well she didn’t look good.

She was shaking violently, and this time I knew it wasn’t from the cold.

Nov. 3

I walked to her and gently put my arm around her shoulders, pulling her against me in a loose embrace. I sighed. I had been doing that a lot lately.

“I’m sorry,” I said finally, after a long gap of silence. Gaia let out a long, shaky breath. She shook her head, “it’s ok. We need to focus on finding Clariana”

“Yes, but you are a mortal as well. And if I had compassion, I wouldn’t be ignoring you. You are hurting inside. And, apparently, I have compassion, since at least I’m trying to find her.” Then I thought about it. “Or maybe I’m just being selfish. She’s probably in a better place now, where she wanted to be all along.”

I heard Gaia take a breath, preparing to say whatever she was going to say. But then before any words left her lips, an astonished cry came from where mother had left.

“Azazel!” The voice said. I turned my head with a smirk on my face. “Father.”

Author's Note

hi im back