The Devil Likes Lemon Cupcakes

The Devil And Strawberries

                                        »And you begin to learn

                                      That kisses aren't contracts

                                     And presents aren't promises

                              And you begin to accept your defeats

                            With your head up and your eyes ahead

                                       With the grace of a woman

                                            Not the grief of a child.«

                                             Veronica A. Shoffstall

Darkness swallowed the outdoors. The only thing I saw when I stared out the window was a reflection of myself. I brushed my lips, as if to taste the fire Lucifer cast upon them. A loud groan from behind reminded me of his constant presence, even if he were sleeping. I traced the tips of my fingers across the trail that his kisses left, the kisses that imprinted into my flesh like tattoos.

I closed my eyes as I trailed the hunter's path over my throat and on the back of my neck. I touched the burn mark, the memory of his first kiss. The skin felt coarse on that very place.

I strolled towards the large, ebony bookshelves, that held the many lives of all those writers who lived them through their imagination. I placed my fingers on their leather spines, and felt every nook and cranny in their smoothness.

I took a stop at the open book that was located on a hardwood desk. The old, yellow parchment carried the scent of something sweet and rotten. A very old and delicate handwriting spread across the pages, ink almost invisible in some corners.

»Origins of Waneta,« I quietly read to myself. The title woke my intrigue and I decided to read on.

In the beginning there was only Chaos. Titans roamed the Earth and Gods held the sky. A newborn God fled the Heaven and prowled home of those who were earth-bound. In his carelessness he was captured by the Titans and devoured piece by piece.

His father, Zeus, the one who ruled all Gods, cast his rage and hatred upon the Titans, burning them into nothing but ash with his lightning. Out of those ashes rose humans, with the mortal flesh of the Titans, and locked divinity of that one God who perished in Titan stomachs.

The divine nature is hidden in humans until their mortal bodies die. Once they are no more, they found themselves in the Underworld, where their armor-less essences are threatened by those who roam the Heavens and what lies beneath.

A shield is granted for their Frailty; a Shapeshifter – a Waneta. Waneta reflects desires, dreams, hopes and strength of their Master, thus becoming a reflection of their inner Beast. They become a Shield that accompanies and protects lonely travelers on their way to the Fountain.

Once they drink from the Fountain their essence finally becomes complete, for they have not only obtained Mortal flesh from the Titans, but also a divinity of the soul, Immortality of the Gods.

I was supposed to meet Layla once I stripped myself of this mortal clothing, yet another intervened. I wonder what makes my soul so valuable to him? I wonder who would try to harm me, and for what? I wonder if this story had anything to do with Grigori?