Fallen (Chronicles of the Fallen, #1)

He growls in her ear, “Don’t forget who gave you life and who can take it away just as easily.” His breath fans across her pungent neckline. “If you would focus half your energy on your own charges, you wouldn’t be trying to fuck with mine.” Lilith stumbles slightly when he pushes her away from him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to see why I’ve been summoned.” Samuel turns his back on her and walks towards the Pit.

Seething, Lilith growls until it becomes a scream. Closing her eyes, she turns and starts walking in the other direction. Mumbling under her breath, she says, "I hope he pulls your balls off and forces them down your THROAT!"

She knows she cannot defeat Samuel; she learned that lesson many centuries ago. She would give anything to have him dead, or at least to suffer in Hell the way she is. His downfall as an archangel was when he created her as a demon. She didn’t want to be the submissive wife to Adam. Promising her all the souls she could dream of, he made her the first succubus.

Samuel didn’t expect to be cast out of Heaven for doing such a deed. The very nature of his being is what brought him to his fate; Angel of Death, deceitfulness, and seduction. He was the most beautiful and most treasured of the Archangels. Lilith smirks as her feet carry her forward. "Now he's nothing but a dick with balls." She laughs at her own joke, but she knew the joke was on her. She gave up a life of being a submissive wife to become the most powerful female demon, only to live out her eternity in a submissive role in Hell.

Looking down, she finds a demon half her size who’s been watching their debacle. His small black frame and graying skin remind her of a hobbit. Grabbing onto him, the demon screams and attempts to kick himself free. She opens her mouth wide, extending it to twice the size of her face. The demon screams as she wraps her mouth around his body, consuming him. Closing her eyes, she presses her palms to the earth of Hell, consuming the demon. Letting out a moan, her body shaking slightly, she absorbs the essence from the demon. Opening her eyes, she stands back up and looks back at Samuel as he makes his way towards the Pit. She smirks, then continues on in the opposite direction and vanishes from the site, knowing what is about to come.

Looking down on the dark, dead land of Hell, and while his body is completely healing itself from Lilith’s attack, Samuel takes in his surroundings. Heading towards the edge of the Pit, the souls inside move, kick, and climb over one another in an attempt to escape. Moans and screams for help, for saving, for final death billow out.

His gaze turns up to the chains and leather straps that hang from an unseen source. Bodies that are mangled beyond recognition rapidly heal themselves, then the process of torture begins anew. Hellhounds lash out and bite into the bodies; Demons run towards the blood and drink it off the ground, then latch onto the wounded.

Grinning, he squats down and runs his hand along the ground. A long, thin shaft appears underneath his fingers. Standing, he runs his hands over the length of it…one side blunt with tribal markings around the base, the other sharp like a spear. Keeping his gaze on the shaft, he makes his way towards a cliff. Lowering the shaft to his waist, he looks out towards the caverns in the landscape. Caves, cliffs, and peaks continue out as far as he can see. Occasionally, a blast of fire erupts from a cave. The screeching of the serpents hidden in the water that leads towards the gates of Hell fills the air.

Turning his gaze back to the ground, he notices it begin to shake. The cliff he’s standing on begins to break apart, forcing Samuel to step back. Suddenly, a large, black head, the size of a football stadium, pushes out of the ground. The neck, shoulders, and massive chest follow, then thick, massive arms reach towards Samuel.

Fear rushes through him and he starts to back pedal. Tripping, he falls on his ass. The eyes, as red as blood, peer down at him; its muscles ripple; the nails on his fingers have residue of human flesh embedded underneath them. Scooting backwards across the ground, fear pulses through Samuel as Lucifer peers down at him. Samuel's lips part in an effort to speak, but only a squeak is heard. He can feel Lucifer looking directly inside him, violating him where he sits.

When Lucifer begins to speak, everything in Hell stops. There’s no sounds, no screams, and no movement. Everything freezes in this moment. “What seems to be the problem in gaining her soul, Samuel?” His voice echoes throughout Hell as if he were speaking in a canyon. “You are a fucking incubus! FUCK HER AND TAKE HER SOUL!” The booming sound from Lucifer forces Samuel back a few more feet. Dropping the shaft, it breaks and shatters into dirt, absorbing back into the ground. Samuel’s palms press into the earth and small sharp claws begin pulling and stabbing at his hands.

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