Addison sat alone, watching Aryanna scurry toward her private chambers. Her thoughts turned to Aamon. What tricks was he up to now? And why hadn’t Aryanna allowed Addison to accompany her back to her room? Why did she insist on dealing with him alone?
“I love this stream. I’d forgotten how beautiful it is. It’s one of my favorite things about this place.”
Addison glanced up to see Samael standing next to her. They made eye contact, and he said, “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I was sitting with Aryanna a moment ago. We were in the middle of a conversation and then she pressed a hand to her chest like she was in pain. I asked her about it, and she said Aamon was trying to communicate with her, to find a way into Gaia.”
“Where is Aryanna now?”
“She took off toward her chambers. I offered to go with her, but she told me she needed to deal with him herself. I don’t understand. If I am our best chance of defeating him, why wouldn’t she want me at her side?”
Samael sat next to Addison. “I’m sure she has her reasons. She’ll be all right. If there’s one thing I know about Aryanna, she always knows what’s best. Whatever Aamon’s trying to do, she won’t allow it. Not here.”
Addison wanted to believe him, but knowing Aamon … He would go to any length to get what he wanted.
“Can I ask you something?” Addison said.
“Anything.”
“Aamon said I know little about you, and he’s right.”
“You will come to know me in time, and I will come to know you.”
“What was he referring to when he spoke about the demonic creatures who were with him at the manor? He said they knew you. How?”
Samael folded his hands in his lap, taking some time before responding.
“Your mother changed me when we met. She made me want to be a better person, to do more for humanity.”
“Are you saying you weren’t a good person before you two met?”
“I’m saying I didn’t take my role seriously. I didn’t focus on all the good I could do for humankind. I was selfish, focusing more on myself.”
“And now?”
“Before we discuss it any further, there’s something you should know. After your mother left, and I couldn’t find you, I was wrecked inside and out, feeling lost for many years. For a time, I left your brother in the care of my sister, Beatrice. I checked in on him here and there. He was always thriving. She was as good of a mother to him as his own would have been.”
“Where did you go?”
Samael grimaced, his expression uneasy. “I retreated from this earthly life. For a time, I resided in the underworld.”
“The underworld? Are you referring to Hell?”
“Hell is a biblical term, a one-sided word for a multifaceted place. Without seeing it for yourself, it’s hard to explain all that it is, but I will say this … it’s much more elaborate than mortals realize.”
“Even if it is, it’s still where the evil ones of the world go to live out for eternity, isn’t it?”
“Depends on the person.”
“Why would you want to be in the underworld? What were you doing there?”
He crossed his arms. “I suppose you could say I was offered a temporary position.”
“A position … as what, the devil?” Addison snarked a laugh, but as she looked upon her father’s face, a chilling feeling swept over her. “Tell me you weren’t acting on behalf of the devil.”
“And just who is the devil, to you?”
“He embodies all that is evil and corrupt. He’s the worst of mankind, the one who whispers into the ears of men and women, tempting them to do his bidding.”
“Then you would be wrong.”
Wrong?
How was that possible?
How could Satan be anything else?
“How am I wrong?” Addison asked.
“The devil isn’t good, and he isn’t evil. Contrary to what most humans believe, it is mankind who decides what kind of person they will become. Humans use the devil as a crutch, an excuse to shift the blame of their actions, of who they are, onto someone other than themselves.”
“So they seem innocent when in reality they’re not.”
Samael nodded. “You think of a devil in singular terms, one entity ruling over Hell in its entirety. It’s far more complex than that. Hell is too vast, too populated to be manned by a single person. Those who watch over the underworld serve as judge and jury. Their sole purpose is to ensure all who reside within that realm are kept in line, paying for the sins they made on earth until the debt is paid.”
“I wasn’t aware a debt could be paid,” Addison said. “When someone dies, I always assumed life was over, that Heaven and Hell are the end of the line.”
“For some, it is the end, but not all. As mortals enter the underworld at the time of death, no two situations are the same. Each sinner is unique. Each has less or more to account for, depending on the decisions they made in life. For some, the debt is unable to be paid, the sins far too monstrous to atone, even if given the opportunity to do so.”
“And for others?”
“A clean slate is possible and can be earned over time.”
“How much time?”
“It depends.”
The longer Samael spoke, the more Addison realized there was so much more to consider about life and death than what she thought she knew. She’d always thought of Satan and God as single beings. One ruler. One judge. Now, it seemed there were multiple rulers of the afterlife. Perhaps Aamon’s agenda to reign over the human world wasn’t all he wanted. Perhaps he wanted dominion over the underworld too.
“What happens after the penance has been served, the sins atoned?” Addison asked. “Does the sinner remain in Hell?”
“He, or she, is granted an opportunity to return to earth to begin again, to begin anew. They’re offered a second chance, a rebirth. Most never make it to this stage.”
“And those that do?”
“It is a singular opportunity, granted only once.”
Addison’s mind expanded, stretching in ways it hadn’t before. All these years she’d seen life and death as white or black with no in-between. She’d never considered the beauty there was in each layer of gray. Not until now.
“Was this your responsibility in the underworld, to decide who was given a second chance and who wasn’t?” Addison asked.
Samael shook his head. “The decision is made in an instant, the moment mortals surrender to death. They enter the underworld with a fighting chance to better themselves or with none at all.”
“Why would you take on such a role when you could have been with your son, creating a life?”
“I came and went as I pleased. Wherever Corbin was, whatever he was doing, I always had an eye on him. I was there for him. I just wasn’t there every hour of every day.” He paused a moment and then added, “I know what you must think of me, that I gave up a life with my son, and you’d be right.”
“In a way, I suppose it’s like any other job, except yours wasn’t the typical nine to five.”
“It was not. Still, if I could rewrite the past, I would do things a different way.”
“You’re here now, making up for lost time.”
“I am.”
Addison felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Aryanna standing behind them.
“Speaking of lost time,” she said, “I have been in contact with Aamon. He is growing restless, stronger by the hour. You must ready yourselves. The battle will soon begin.”