The Devil's Daughter

Chapter 5 ~ Under Attack

I hold back the tears as he reaches for another of his beloved instruments.

"Abby!" A jolt runs through me. Lucifer never speaks to me during torture. Not unless it's to taunt me and he only ever calls me Abbegael when he does so. "Abby. Come on." And that isn't his voice. But as a spiked mace comes down on my arm I lose my train of thought to the piercing agony. I feel the bone break. My mind screaming as the cracked end stabs through my skin. Into the open air. The shriek that fills the air is pointless, but I can't suppress it any more than the last one. Screaming is all I can do. Tears streak down my face. Mingling with the blood already there. Despite my wish to remain silent to spite him, it is pointless to even try. With the burning, piercing pain throughout my body it is all I can do to not beg him to kill me. He wants me to. I found that out the first time. I will never give him the satisfaction again.

"Abby! Please!" That voice fills my head again. I concentrate on the sound, as those blood red eyes fill my vision once more. Whose voice was that? Then I realise. Red eyes. He doesn't have red eyes. Lucifers eyes are blue. He only ever had red eyes in my nightmares because I know he is evil. I'm dreaming. Despite the pain I'm still feeling, a sigh of relief escapes me. "Abby!" A jolt runs through my body as hands roughly shake me, despite Lucifer being nowhere near me. Razakiel, I realise. Zak is trying to shake me awake. With a deep breath, I close my eyes and just as the dream Lucifer brings the mace down on my other arm I open my eyes to the real world.

Mesmerising green eyes fill my vision as my own attempt to readjust to the dim flickering shadows of Hell. A sigh slips through my lips as the pain disappears and I shove the dream and dredged up memories to the darkest recesses of my mind; hide them in the basement and lock the door.

"Abby, we have to get out of here. Lucifer must..."

"Watch out!" The shadows behind him coalesced into a single solid form, almost humanoid in shape, though so distorted and misshapen it's almost as if it has been torn apart and pieced back together with some parts being lost and extras found during the process. Skin blacker than the darkest night, with veins glowing a fiery red that matches the cat-like eyes staring down at me; so eerily similar to those of Lucifer in my nightmare that for a moment I'm frozen, my mind dragging me back there. Razakiel breaks me out of my trance as he springs into action.

"Shit!" His deep voice is laced with anger and frustration. Eyes narrowed, he turns to face the demon behind him. I fly to my feet my blade, Valour, in hand. "Lucifer must have figured out what we were doing or something. The demons have been arriving since a few moments after you blacked out." His voice barely wavers, despite the attacking demons and he wields his blade with deadly accuracy. I pause for a moment to admire his graceful movements; he is a talented fighter. It makes me feel slightly better about being beaten by him. "If you're done staring Abby, some help might be good."

I jolt from my trance and move to his side twirling my body to avoid the swiping claws of a demon, before slicing another across the chest. Sizzling blood, flows like lava from their wounds, melting the rock of the tunnel, leaving no illusions as to what will happen if I get any on myself. Ducking below the swing of a taller demon with multiple mismatched limbs, I turn as its swing drags it slightly past me and slide Valour into its back, aiming for where its heart should be. For a moment it stood, seeming unchanged, before it collapsed to the floor, sinking in on itself until only a thick black goo like substance remained.

As we fight our way toward the tunnel exit the swarm of demons thins and I begin to wonder what triggered them to come after us. Usually Lucifer would not put my life in danger, and as far as I'm aware, he still trusts Razakiel implicitly.

"Zak? Why are they attacking us? How could Lucifer know it was you?" I ask him, slashing my blade through yet another mutilated mess.

"I don't know Abby. If he was here I'd ask him, but as far as I can see he's still hiding up on his 'throne'." The snarl that left his lips on the last word sent shivers racing down my spine. He clearly hates Lucifer a great deal more than I thought he did. Quickly dropping the topic of Lucifer, I see an alternative standing directly in front of me.