Divine Descent

Chapter Fourteen

I should have known.

The signs were in front of me all along.

The visions. The darkly-hinted note. The fact that he'd conveniently appear at peak moments of my turmoil, using my vulnerability to program me to rely on him.

Just being what I am, I should have known my counterpart would be a devil.

The devil.

As I stare into the black eyes of the ultimate demon, seeing my own reflection in his glass-like pupils, I go cold, my insides tossing, struggling to attain the composure I once commanded so well.

It's gone.

I want to call him a liar—he is the best there is—but standing in front of him, I don't sense any lies. There must be a reason I'm more comfortable here than anywhere else. There's a strong sense of purpose floating in suspension all around me, and through me, energy sent through his fingertips.

Tears build in my eyes, fearing the fact that my skin could betray me like this. My heart calls for Elijah, wishing he could save me, tear me from this man's hands. Doing my best to appear calm, I speak plainly, without judgment or malice.

"Please release me."

I expect him to hold me tighter. To laugh in my face.

Instead, he does just what I ask and takes a few steps back, giving me a few feet of space to absorb the bombshell he's just impacted my life with. Immortality was already hard enough to wrap my head around. This is just... impossible.

"There must be some mistake."

His gaze is patient, as if he expected I'd say those words. "There isn't."

"There must be. I'm not evil. I... I do bad things, but I'm not evil."

He smiles, oddly. "You think I'm evil?"

"Aren't you?"

"The humans deign me so. They blame me because they like to blame something, anything for their misfortunes, rather than themselves. Rarely am I the mastermind of the horrors of the world."

He must see I'm not convinced. He laughs, looking down. "I'm telling the truth. I will be glad to enlighten you further as we get to know each other more."

My mind swarms with possible answers for him, all of them in effort to escape without the wrath of a dark god coming down on me and all those I love. However, he doesn't give me the time to get any of them out.

"My name is Samael. You may call me that."

He plants himself before me, arm extended, hand hanging for interaction. I'm hesitant to shake hands with the devil, as I think any normal person would be. Whether he's evil or not, my head has been filled with enough stories to dissuade me from trusting this stranger.

He doesn't desist, refusing to back down. His eyes are steady.

"I am not your enemy, Cassandra," he insists once again.

"I don't know what you are, or what you really want, but no matter what you said, there's no chance I'm going to turn my back on Elijah."

He finally drops the hand. "For the time being... I'm not asking you to."

Confused, I grimace. "Okay? Then why go through all the trouble of bringing me here now? Other than to scare the shit out of me."

"I have a proposition for you. You are, of course, free to deny it. This is a one-time offer."