Chapter Two

    

        

    

            My name is Domina Moralitas. I work for my master, Lucifer, the Horned God; the Devil.

            When he took me in he promised me everlasting youth, and indeed, my age of nineteen has not changed. He promised me power, and I am so powerful, sometimes I don’t think I can control it. He promised me my every wish be fulfilled.

            That promise was a lie. 

            However, you do not argue with the all-powerful master. You do not incur his wrath.

            I do not remember my mortal name. But I do remember when my master came to me for the first time, I remember how he brought me peace and freedom; and everyday, I cherish the gifts he has bestowed upon me, and I use them to serve him.

            I was only sixteen when my house burned down, killing my mother and my sister. I was left with my father. My father refused to accept what had happened to us, and he became an uncontrollable alcoholic. My five year old brother was taken away and placed in a foster home.

            My family had been Catholic. I had been raised, trusting God. We gave him our prayers, we gave him our money, we gave him our faith, and in return, we received nothing, but an uncertain promise of a happy afterlife.

            I forgave God for what happened to my mother and sister, and everyday and every night I prayed my father would stop drinking and become a father again. I prayed for him to get better.

            By seventeen, I had dropped out of school to work full time and pay the bills.

            By eighteen, we had lost our house and were living in a horrible part of town, in a run down building, where I could barely afford the rent. My father was gone most of the time, and his condition was getting worse.

            By nineteen, my father was dead.

            The Sunday after my father died, I stood, dressed as respectfully as I could in front of the church. People were filing in, smiling.

            Tears ran silently down my cheeks.

            I had given him my trust, I had given him my hope, my prayers, and in return he stole my family, he stole my home; he stole my future.

            Behind me, a voice spoke, “There’s a church, and a mosque, and a temple, have faith, but it’s not that simple.”

            And those were the first words I ever heard from my master.

            I turned from the church that day. I went home to my bedroom, and listened to the voice for three days, refusing to believe it was real.

            At first, I had convinced myself that it was a mere hallucination, a trick of my mind, or an after effect of the shock of my father's death. But I suppose his death had not really been that much of a shock.

 

 

            The voice invaded my head. It spoke to me in dreams, turning them to nightmares that seemed surprisingly not shocking. His voice echoed edgily in my head during the day, and seemed to surround me in any and all darkness.

            I was terrified the first day. I remember bludgeoning my head with a crowbar, trying to drive the incessant voice away. I woke up in a pool of blood, still alone in my dark bedroom, to his mocking laughter. I could do nothing but sob, and scream, and beg the voice to leave me alone.

            The second day, I learned to ignore him.

            And the third day, if he left me for even more than five minutes I felt as if any minute my life would crumble and I would break into tears uncontrollably. But he always returned to me, reassuringly and lovingly. I suppose, how I feel about him, is how those I choose feel about I.

            On the third day, I gave in. I talked to the voice. It did not merely answer my questions, but posed more.

            He promised to make me an infamous ruler in this world, on one condition; I work for him.

            At first I was sceptical. I did not want to believe that this was what I had turned to.

            But I was young, weak, and alone. He posed more promise and companionship than God ever had, and so I joined the Horned God's ranks.

            He made me the most desirable woman in the world; completely irresistible.

            He told me that no man in the world could say no to me. And though I was physically weaker than many, or most, no one would hurt me, for fear of losing me. Not only was I irresistible to men, but if I turned my eyes upon any woman, they, too, would follow me to the end of the world. Any and all people I chose to smile at would follow me submissively to their deaths.

            I was created so desirable that those who worshipped the Horned God would worship me as his Empress. Those who believed in neither God nor the Horned God would attempt anything to draw my attention. But most important, according to my Lord, was that those who worshipped God would turn from him for my attention, if I even chose to even glance at them, and flash them my innocent, sweet smile.

            My Lord liked to tell me that if I tried, the mortals' pathetic God would probably follow me to his death. I never understood if he was joking or not, or possibly just mocking and angering the Father for fun.

            The third night was the night I first talked to my master.

            The fourth night, I threw all caution to the wind, and placed my trust in my new Lord.

            The fifth night, he gave me the gift of irresistible beauty. He also taught me about God's tricks, and lies. The Ten Commandments conduct ignorance, and ignorance mixed with fear cause those to be controlled. God does not answer prayers, he does not tell the truth, as he himself has many times betrayed his own commandments. The Horned God, however, is unable to tell a lie.

            The sixth night, he bestowed upon me grace, stealth, and indomitable charm. He gave me an entirely new personality, both seductive and unconquerable.

            The seventh night, he awarded me with the comprehension and ability to speak all tongues of the world, including his personal favourite; Latin.

            But last, just one minute from midnight on the seventh evening, when he was satisfied with his creation, he gave me the ability to forget my past life; and, of course, my new name, Domina Moralitas.