Underworld

Chapter 16 of Banished for Love

Devin’s Point of View

 

After leaving Kelsey at Jeremy’s house, I set a course for home. I leave my car in the garage and stroll through the many halls until I reach the study. I search the massive bookcase nestled in an alcove for Dan Brown’s Angels & Demons and tip it off the shelf. This triggers the bookcase to swing open, revealing a dark winding staircase. I take the stairs down, down, down into my hidden basement and walk to the back of the dank space. I step up to the threshold of a deep hole in the ground and step out into the open air, landing lightly in the cavernous room far below. As I walk through, small red men bow their heads to me in respect.

 

After all, being the son of Satan gets you that kind of treatment around here.

 

To be more specific about my heritage, I’m the son of Satan and a human named Persephone. So really, I’m still half human. Ironic though isn’t it, that my dad chose to mate with a woman who shares the same name as the Greek Queen of the Underworld.

 

“Devin my boy!” my father calls out as I step into his throne room.

 

“Hey dad,” I reply with a nervous smile, shoving my hands deep within my pockets.

 

“How have you been doing up there? Terrorize lots of people?” he asks with an impish grin.

 

“Yeah dad, about that…” I begin.

 

“Have you gotten rid of that little thorn in my side, Kelsey, yet?” he interrupts.

 

“That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about.” I bite my lip, unsure of how to explain this to my father, knowing he couldn’t possibly understand. He's very much a “my way or the highway” ... to hell... kind of guy.

 

My concentration is broken when my mom rounds a corner into the room. Her face lights up and she rushes over after catching sight of me.

 

“Oh Devin, honey, how I’ve missed you,” she says, wrapping me in a tight mom hug. I hug her back, burying my face in her familiar dark curls.

 

“I’ve missed you too mom,” I respond, smiling.

 

“Persephone, you’ve interrupted the chat I was having with my son,” Dad says testily. I angle my body in front of my mom’s, as if to protect her from his irritation.

 

“You can chat later. He hasn’t come to visit in so long and I want to catch up with my son,” she replies, taking my hand and tugging me toward my old room. My father, surprisingly, lets us go without another word. My mom shuts us in my room and turns to me, a knowing look on her face.

 

“Alright, what’s the big bad news you were about to tell your father before I saved your patootie?” she asks, sitting cross-legged on my bed. I walk over and plop down beside her.

 

“You know how dad wants me to raise hell for that fallen angel girl, Kelsey?” When she nods, I hesitantly press on. The rest tumbles out of my mouth in a rush. “Well, I was, and in doing so, I kinda, sorta, think I’m maybe starting to fall in love with her.” The sentence hangs in the air between us for a moment.

 

My mom looks at me skeptically. “Honey, are you sure? You’re down here so much, with no real human contact. Are you sure it’s not just your human emotions getting the best of you? Remember the last time, you thought you were in love with that one girl, but once you came back down here, you forgot her soon enough.”

 

“This girl’s different. That other girl was nice enough at first, but she just didn't have that same spark Kelsey does. Even as a fallen, there's still such light inside her,” I pause for a moment before whispering, “I kissed her, mom.”

 

“Oh, honey, how romantic!” she gushes, throwing her arms around me.

 

“Yeah, but how can I face dad about that? He sure won’t be the most understanding.” I say with a sour look, pulling back from her embrace. “He wants me to kill her. And I almost did. I could’ve easily let her fall after she slipped on one of the roof tiles I had loosened. But at the last second, I just couldn’t do it. I saw the look in her eyes as she realized she would die falling from that high without her wings, and I just reacted. Without even thinking about it, I saved her.”

 

“You leave your father to me. I’ll chat with him once you’re back on the surface,” she responds, patting my knee.

 

“Are you sure? Dad can get pretty ruthless when he’s angry,” I say, worry coloring my tone. Although if anyone can reason with him, it would be the one woman he has a soft spot for.

 

“I can handle myself, sweetie. You just let me deal with your father,” she says with conviction.

 

“I owe you big time,” I say, hugging her tighter.

 

“And I’ll come to collect one day. So, tell me about this Kelsey girl,” mom says, her eyes softening.

 

“She’s unlike anything mom. She’s beautiful, smart, funny, sweet, and nerdy. She has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met. When I'm with her I don't feel half human, son of Satan. I just feel like... me. She seems to see the good in me, even when sometimes I doubt there is any. She’s more than anything I could have asked for,” I say, smiling as I think of her.

 

“By the look in your eyes I’d say she’s pretty special,” my mom replies, matching my smile.

 

“She is,” I respond with assurance.

 

“Well, you better get back up there. Before your father comes looking for you,” she says, giving me a little shove toward the door.

 

“I’ll see you soon mom,” I reply, wrapping her in another tight hug. 

 

I walk back the way I had come in, avoiding the throne room altogether. I step under the hole that had brought me down here and will my wings into existence. I smile at the sensation of them spreading across my shoulder blades, black as night. They resemble my dad’s; a thin layer of skin stretched around a boney frame. I spring off the ground and let them carry me back up to my basement, to the surface, and most importantly, to Kelsey.

Author's Note

Funny story.
Originally, Devin wasn't going to be the son of Satan, he was Satan himself. The Devil in disguise. Get it? DeviN, DeviL. Clever, huh?
What happened was, as I was developing his character, I fell in love with him as a character! So I couldn't make him Satan, I had to at least give him the CHANCE to be good, right? So yeah, he turned into Satan's half-human son.
Little insight into the making of the book for you guys :)