Son of the Devil - Book I of The Higher Order

Chapter Nine: Jealousy, Thy Name Is Samael

I watched helplessly as Luci accepted Cain's hand and they conversed easily as they started the first steps of the waltz. I wanted so bad to interfere but it broke custom to do so. Luci could hold her own, yeah, that was my poor attempt at comforting myself. I knew better than most what Cain was capable of, I had cleaned up after enough of his activities to realize that. One angel wouldn't cause him trouble, even one as powerful as Luci.

"Prince Samael, I demand your attention," the Queen of Hell growled at me. I slowly turned to face her, my red eyes flashing. "Better. You will come home with us, as your Queen, I demand it."

I rolled my eyes in a dismissive action, she may have been Queen but she held very little factional power except that in name, "Actually, you're not my mum, you're not my guardian, and your title is empty. Therefore, you mean nothing to me and I have no obligation to follow your commands. Goodbye . . . Myra."

She gaped at me, "You dare to speak to me this way? Your father, King of Hell, is my husband, whether you choose to recognize that or not—even if none of his other children have trouble doing so—and he will hear of this."

"Good, you're not welcome here, now leave." Lilith commanded upon overhearing her, mum could be quite frightening when she wanted to be, after all, this was her domain. Mum put a firm but a comforting hand on my shoulder and addressed Myra once more, "and take your . . . bodyguard . . . with you."

Mum and Auntie Eve's relationships with Cain were . . . well, strained, to say the least. Cain's murder of Abel had put so much weight upon Eve's shoulders, not to mention broken her heart, that they hadn't so much as spoken in centuries. Lilith was careful to keep any mention of him out of Purgatory to protect her friend's heart from the son who had turned his back on family in favor of his position of power in Hell. That work had been undone by his sudden appearance alongside the Queen of Hell.

"Sam, may I speak with you?" Eve called from where she was standing by the buffet. I nodded and left my mum to deal with Myra. She looked me in the eye and asked with surprising conviction, "do you miss Hell?"

I sighed deeply and gave myself a moment of thought before continuing, and Eve let me speak without interrupting, "that's . . . exactly the opposite of what I feel. Hell isn't home anymore, neither are any of the other places I've been to. Purgatory is a sanctuary, and in some ways, more of a prison. I don't want to return, I don't want to go back to that life. I've found so much more than I'd ever get in Hell. Let's face it, there was a snowballs chance in dad's throne room that I would ever find happiness there. I see that now, what you and mum tried to warn me of. I've found a taste of what I could feel and I want more. Hell and dad and Myra would starve me of it and I don't think I can live without it."

Eve's eyes sparkled with a knowing look, "it's a girl, isn't it?"

"I never said anything about a girl, but she was the one to open my eyes," I admitted. "How did you know?"

"Call it women's intuition," Eve smirked slightly, looking past me at where Luci was dancing with her son. Pain entered her eyes at seeing Cain who hadn't even glanced in her direction. "Ah," she sighed, "Jealousy, thy name is Samael, and of Cain, of all people." She looked some kind of a resigned sad as she looked at her son, "you are a far better man."

A weight lifted from my shoulders upon her words but settled in my heart. There was a time when Cain and I were the best of friends, hearing those words from his own mother was like finally admitting that there was no redemption for him. "What do I do, Eve?" I felt helpless while watching them, unable to cut in for propriety's sake.

She smacked me in the back of the head. "You're a fool. All she wants to do is dance with you, so go cut in!"

"You know, that hurt!" I grumbled at her, "any advice?"

"Just be confident, but don't forget to be yourself. Now go get your girl." Eve gave me a light shove toward the dance floor. I waved her off as I straightened my bow tie and confidently strode out toward where Luci and Cain were dancing.

"May I cut in?" I asked as I locked eyes with Luci's sparkling hopeful ones. Cain, unable to refuse for propriety's sake, looked me over, smiled in malicious and haughty amusement, and graciously relinquished Luci's hands. I stepped up to take over and voiced my concern, "are you alright?"

Luci smiled reassuringly and nodded, "I am now, you were absolutely right about him. Are you sure you know the steps?"

"Absolutely, Vladimir Nabokov himself taught me." I smiled and snapped my own fingers and the music changed tempo. I took up her hands and led her through the steps. My power swirled unbidden inside me as the tempo picked up. Something about Lucifer called to it and dancing with her was like pure bliss to the oftentimes unpredictable force inside me.

I didn't realize what was happening until I saw a flash of red below us and then our feet lifted from the ground. I could not be more thankful to it at this moment, it knew exactly what I wanted. "Sam, what are you doing?" Luci asked, she was startled by our sudden position above everyone's heads without either of us flying, but I could tell she liked it.

"I'm making the moment memorable." I grinned like a love-sick puppy and dropped her hand so I could snap my fingers once more. The instruments froze in their place and the stereo picked up after a silent moment. The lyrics floating over us perfectly captured my thoughts. I gently intertwined our fingers and placed my left hand on her waist as Luci placed her hand on my shoulder and smiled up at me as we swayed together in a slow dance.

"How does a moment last forever? How can a story never die? It is love we must hold onto, Never easy, but we try."

We swayed side to side in harmony with one another. It was like everything melted away, everything but the song and Luci and I.

"Sometimes our happiness is captured, Somehow, our time and place stand still, Love lives on inside our hearts and always will."

Time slowed around us and I wished that I could stay here and dance with Luci forever.

"Minutes turn to hours, days to years then gone, But when all else has been forgotten, Still our song lives on."

I thought back on the last couple days that we'd been together and realized one very important thing.

"Maybe some moments weren't so perfect, Maybe some memories not so sweet, But we have to know some bad times, Or our lives are incomplete."

I was drawn to this angel, more than anyone else I had ever met in all of my long life.

"Then when the shadows overtake us, Just when we feel all hope is gone, We'll hear our song and know once more, Our love lives on."

Through thick or thin, I'd be there for her, no matter what, no matter where, no matter when or how, I would be there.

"How does a moment last forever? How does our happiness endure? Through the darkest of our troubles, Love is beauty, love is pure."

There was just something about Lucifer that my very soul seemed to recognize.

"Love pays no mind to desolation, It flows like a river through the soul, Protects, perceives, and perseveres, And makes us whole."

I would never let her go, she would always be a part of my heart, I needed her to know that.

"Minutes turn to hours, days to years then gone, But when all else has been forgotten, Still our song lives on."

I need to tell her. But how? Words wouldn't express the capacity of my feelings for her. Words were inadequate when compared to something this . . . unique, this . . . beautiful, this . . . timeless.

"How does a moment last forever, When our song lives on."

The song only had a few more notes left to it and I had this foreboding feeling that if I didn't act now, something irreversible would tear us apart. She was beautiful, but it wasn't her appearance I was attracted to, sure, she was easy on the eyes, but her personality . . . glowed brighter than the sun, the moon, and all the stars in the night sky.

She was perfect in every way and she needed to be told that. But words were incapable of completing the desired task. So, I did the one thing I could think of that would tell her exactly what I was feeling.

I leaned down slowly and captured her lips with mine in a timeless kiss.