“Elizabeth?” Aztos whispered. “Are you awake?”
Beth blinked, her eyes trying to adjust to the brightness of the morning light. She squinted up at Aztos, who was peering down at her.
“I’m awake,” she said. “What’s up?”
“I have to go. I just wanted to say goodbye.”
“Really? You hardly ever say goodbye.”
“A situation I thought I should remedy,” he remarked.
“Oh. How long will you be gone?”
“I am hoping to return tonight, but it may be tomorrow before I am finished.”
“I’ll miss you,” Beth told him, reaching her arms up to hug his neck.
“I believe I just may miss you, too,” he admitted.
He planted a soft kiss on her forehead, and blinked from sight.
“Wow,” Beth said to herself. “Maybe sleeping on the couch was a great idea, after all!”
Beth stretched, enjoying the warmth of the morning sun on her face. She sighed contentedly, and rolled over onto her other side to go back to sleep. Then she remembered Malachai.
“Oh, no! Malachai!”
She rushed into the bedroom and found him still sleeping in the same position he’d been in when she left him the night before. She touched his forehead. He was warm, but not hot. She collected a bowl of ice water and began to blot his forehead gently with an icy cool cloth.
He stirred.
“Malachai?” she asked, pressing the cool cloth against his forehead.
He shifted restlessly and began mumbling incoherently.
“Malachai?” Beth repeated.
“No… no!” he mumbled, thrashing about. “Stop! Not her! No!”
“Malachai!” Beth shouted, gripping his shoulders and trying to wake him.
“No!” Malachai gasped, and suddenly his eyes popped open, and he sat straight up in bed.
His eyes searched frantically for something, and then he spotted Beth.
“Beth!” he gasped, and he clung to her fiercely. “Oh, Beth! I thought I’d lost you!”
“What? No, I’m right here. I’ve been here all along,” Beth said, cradling him gently. “Malachai, what happened?”
“You don’t know?” he asked incredulously.
“No! You showed up half dead on my front porch,” Beth explained. “You’ve been unconscious ever since.”
“Oh, thank God you’re alright,” he whispered, still clinging to her as if he might never let go.
“Malachai!” she said loudly. “What happened?”
“They jumped me in the forest,” he wailed. “They said they would kill me if I ever even spoke to you again. They said they were going to kill you!”
“What? Who?”
“Demons! Three of them. I tried to take them out, but without my abilities, I couldn’t do much. I was so afraid they were coming after you!”
“Demons?” Beth gasped. “Are you sure? I haven’t seen or heard anyone around here.”
“I’m sure. Is Aztos here?”
“He was here, but he left for an assignment. He’s supposed to be back tonight or in the morning.”
“Was he here before I was attacked? Did he have something to do with this?”
“Are you serious? No, he wasn’t here, but he showed up right after you did. He helped you, Malachai. He saved your life!”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because I asked him to.”
“You would have me believe a demon would be willing to do the bidding of a human?”
“I’m his wife, Malachai. So, yes, he is willing to do what I ask.”
“It was awfully convenient for him to show up when he did, don’t you think?”
“He said he could feel my terror. He thought I was in danger, so he came home.”
“And you believed that?” he scoffed. “Boy, he really has you fooled, doesn’t he?”
“Malachai, he brought my mother here, and she saved your life. You should be grateful.”
“Think about it, Beth. Why would he do that? If he saved my life, it was for a reason. Maybe he’s trying to fool you.”
“Fool me into what?”
“Into thinking he’s something other than a monster!”
“Aztos is many things, but he is not a monster,” Beth growled defensively.
“Oh? Has he told you about the things he does when he’s on ‘assignments?’” Malachai asked mockingly.
“Yes! As a matter of fact, he has! He’s told me all about it. And I understand that he does those things because he has to, not because he wants to.”
“Has to,” he quoted with a scoff. “Like I had to…”
He froze for a moment, before adding, “I made the choice to not do something I knew was wrong, and it cost me everything!”
“Getting cast down from Heaven and being cast into The Pit are two completely different things, Malachai! At least you still have a chance that your soul might be saved! If Aztos disobeys, he’ll burn forever!”
“And that makes it alright? I would rather burn for a thousand eternities than do the things he does!”
“Who died and made you God?” Beth shouted.
She quickly gasped and put her hand over her mouth. Contrition washed over her like a wave thrashing against the shore.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that,” Beth said quickly.
“I didn’t take offense to it,” Malachai said, but he pulled away from her embrace for the first time since he woke up.
“Please, Malachai. Don’t do this. Let’s not fight.”
“Demons did this to me. They said they were going to hurt you, and I wouldn’t let them. I tried to stop them, and they did this.”
“I know, Malachai. But it wasn’t Aztos. It couldn’t have been.”
“Are you sure about that? I mean, it’s awfully convenient for him to just show up and save the day like that. Don’t you think there’s even the slightest possibility that maybe he’s trying to pull the wool over your eyes?”
“Look, you need your rest. Please. My mother said you would probably take several days to heal.”
“Your mother?”
“She’s a witch. Aztos brought her here to save you. It was her spell that healed the wound on your chest, and helped your other wounds heal faster.”
“Will you thank her for me?”
“Of course. But, will you rest now?”
“Alright,” he agreed, and he winced in pain and grabbed his side as he tried to lie down.
Beth quickly gripped him and helped him lower his weight back onto the bed. He grasped her arms and pulled her down toward him, and he looked intently into her eyes.
“He may fool you, but he won’t fool me. I won’t let him hurt you.”
“Please get some rest,” Beth implored.
He relaxed, and his eyes closed. A few moments later, his breathing shifted into a shallow, even pace, and Beth knew he was asleep.
Was he right? Beth hated herself for questioning Aztos. She wanted to believe in him. She wanted to trust him. Yet, somehow, she was afraid Malachai might be right. Did she need to worry about protecting Malachai from Aztos?
Beth found a book and settled down into the chair in the corner to watch over Malachai. Something was going on, and she was afraid to leave him alone. The day passed, and her stomach began to grumble. Soon, she was nearly doubled over with emptiness. But she was afraid to leave him. Around four in the afternoon, Malachai finally stirred. Beth was at his side in a flash.
“Malachai?”
“Hi,” he groaned. “How long was I asleep?”
“About eight hours, I think.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sleep so long.”
He struggled to sit up, but Beth put her hand on his chest and stopped him.
“You needed the rest. Are you hungry?”
“Yes, I’m quite hungry. And thirsty.”
“I’m starving, too. I’ll be right back with some water, and then I’ll make us something to eat.”
“No, I don’t want you waiting on me. I’ll get it,” he stopped her, trying to get to his feet.
“Malachai, stop,” Beth demanded, pushing him gently back down. “You were nearly killed. You can’t get up, yet.”
“Don’t be silly, I’m fine,” he said, trying once more to stand, but crying out in pain.
“Stop it!” Beth shouted. “Please, just stay here and recover. Let me take care of you.”
“I should be taking care of you,” he muttered.
“What?” Beth asked.
“Nothing,” he mumbled.
“Just promise me you’ll stay here,” Beth pleaded. “I’m going to bring you some water.”
“Fine.”
Beth went to the kitchen and quickly returned with a glass of cold water. She handed it to him, and he struggled to sit up enough to drink it. She put her hand behind his back and helped him sit up, and she steadied the glass in his trembling hand. He drank it quickly. Beth took the pillows and pushed them behind him, propping him up.
“Do you want to watch television or read a book or anything while I make us something to eat?” Beth asked.
“No, I’ll be fine,” he insisted.
“Alright, but here’s the remote if you change your mind,” Beth said, taking the remote control from the nightstand and placing it on the bed beside him. “Do you want anything specific to eat?”
“Anything is fine,” he told her.
“I’ll be in the kitchen. It’s right across the hall. Just call me if you need anything,” Beth said.
He nodded.
Beth scrambled around to make some food as quickly as she could. She heated a can of chicken soup and made them turkey sandwiches. Normally, she’d have made something homemade for someone so ill, but she just wanted to get back to him. She was still worried something might happen to him.
She loaded a tray with food for Malachai, including the soup, the sandwich, an apple, and a glass of orange juice.
“It’s nothing special,” she told him, carrying the tray into the room and placing it over his lap. “I just wanted to get you something quickly. I know you must be terribly hungry.”
“No, it looks great,” Malachai insisted.
“I would imagine anything would look great, right now,” Beth joked.
Malachai picked up the spoon and tried to dip it into the bowl of soup, but his hand was so weak and shaky, he dropped it. The spoon clattered into the ceramic bowl and splashed hot soup onto his chest.
“I’m sorry!” he said quickly.
Beth grabbed the napkin from the tray and wiped the soup away from his chest. Then sat beside him and picked up the spoon, carefully lifting a bite of steaming hot soup from the bowl. She blew on it until it was cooled, and then carefully lifted it to his lips.
“Here,” she whispered.
Sheepishly, he took the offered food.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized again. “You shouldn’t have to be doing this. It’s not your responsibility.”
“Nonsense, Malachai,” Beth argued. “I guess I’m your only friend. That makes it my responsibility.”
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
“Malachai, I would do anything for you,” Beth told him gently.
He smiled weakly, and Beth continued to feed him, though her own stomach pinched terribly. Her stomach gurgled and grumbled, and she continued to ignore it.
“You should eat,” Malachai said. “I can hear your stomach rumbling.”
“I’m fine,” Beth insisted. “I’ve eaten several times since you have.”
He grabbed her wrist as she lowered the spoon to the soup bowl. He looked into her eyes intensely.
“I’ve had enough for now,” he said. “Please eat.”
“Ow, Malachai, that hurts,” Beth grumbled.
He released her quickly and his face was tight with remorse.
“I’m sorry. I guess I don’t know my own strength,” he apologized. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“It’s okay. It wasn’t that bad. It only hurt a little,” Beth lied.
“Please go eat your food,” Malachai begged. “I’ve really had enough for now.”
“You’ve hardly had anything, Malachai,” she argued. “You’ve only eaten half your soup, and you haven’t…”
“Stop,” he interrupted. “I will eat more once you’ve eaten something.”
Beth picked up half his sandwich, which she’d cut into two neat triangles, and she shoved a huge bite into her mouth.
“There, I ate,” she mumbled defiantly, her mouth stuffed full of sandwich.
Malachai chuckled, which made him cough.
“You are quite entertaining,” he told her.
She smiled at him and swallowed the food.
“It’s good to see you laugh,” Beth admitted.
Suddenly, the moment became intense. The atmosphere in the room shifted, and the air was thick and hot. Malachai’s breathing became rapid, and his lips parted slightly. He leaned toward Beth, and she quickly jumped off the bed and backed up, shaking her head to clear it.
“What are you doing?” she whispered.
Malachai’s eyes filled with rage, and his hand slipped under the tray of food and hurled it at the wall. Beth gasped, and backed further away. Malachai closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath, and when he opened them, their normal hazel had turned blood red. His lip twitched, and he bared his teeth slightly.
“Malachai! What’s wrong with you?” Beth gasped.
“What… am I not good enough for you?” he spat. “A demon is fine, but a fallen angel is a monster, right?”
Malachai, whose body now seemed perfectly healed and energized, slowly stood up from the bed and started moving toward Beth. In response, she slowly backed away from him. His eyes were narrow and menacing, and he panted like an animal through snarling, bared teeth.
Beth bumped into the dresser, and she put her hands on it to steady herself, leaning back as Malachai’s body pressed against hers and he leaned closer.
“Malachai, please,” she whispered. “You have to stop this!”
“I’ve lost everything… everything,” he growled menacingly. “To do the right thing. To be a good person. And now you think I’m a monster and that demon is the angel!”
“What are you talking about? I don’t think you’re a monster!”
“Liar!” he shouted, the veins in his temples pulsing erratically. “I can see it in your eyes!”
His lower lip trembled, and Beth watched as his eyes glazed over. He blinked, and suddenly looked confused. The put her hands on his chest to push him away, but she was gentle.
“Malachai, I don’t think you’re a monster,” she repeated. “I promise.”
For a moment, he stopped breathing and became eerily still. His lip quivered again, and his eyes were glassy and full of anguish. He exhaled, and a slight groan of pain escaped his lips. He lowered his head slowly to her shoulder, and his hands clasped her waist.
Beth lifted her hands over his chest and behind his neck, slowly encapsulating him in a gentle embrace. Malachai dissolved into choking sobs, and his arms now clung tightly to her as he sobbed into her shoulder.
“Shh,” Beth whispered into his ear. “It’s alright, Malachai. I’m here.”
She held him close as he broke down, stroking his hair gently and telling him everything would be alright. She wasn’t sure how much truth there was in that. In all honesty, she had no idea if anything would ever be alright again. But her heart was breaking. Malachai, normally so calm and in control, was losing it. Something was very wrong.
“What is going on in here?” Aztos’ voice echoed through the room and rattled everything.
His eyes bulged and his fists clenched as he watched Beth and Malachai clinging to one another. Malachai’s body pressed against hers, and she was leaning backward over the dresser. The both looked at him with guilty expressions, though they’d done nothing terribly untoward.
“It’s my fault,” Malachai said quickly. “I had a breakdown. She was only comforting me.”
“I am supposed to believe that?” Aztos snarled.
In a flash, Aztos had Malachai pinned against the wall by his throat. Malachai’s bare feet dangled in the air, as Aztos pushed him higher. Malachai clutched Aztos’ hand, trying to pull it away from his throat, but he was too weak.
“Aztos, stop!” Beth pleaded, pulling at his arm with both hands.
Aztos steadied himself by placing his other hand on the wall beside Malachai’s head. He leaned in until his face was so close to Malachai’s that their noses almost touched.
“Stay away from my wife, or I will tear out your heart and squeeze the life out of it myself,” Aztos growled, the amber clouds in his eyes swirling rapidly.
“Aztos, let him go,” Beth implored. “You’re killing him!”
Malachai struggled to breathe. His face turned red, then purple, and finally it began to turn blue. His struggling weakened, and Aztos tightened his grip in Malachai’s throat.
“Please! Aztos, stop!” Beth pleaded. “Stop, before you kill him!”
Beth noticed the flesh just under Aztos’ right eye twitch slightly, and she placed her arms delicately on his shoulder. He flinched, but he did not recoil from her touch. Still enraged, he continued to choke Malachai.
“Aztos, please,” she whispered.
He turned his eyes toward her and saw the pain and pleading within them, and his grip on Malachai’s throat loosened slightly.
“Let him go,” Beth said gently. “This isn’t you. I know you.”
His grip loosened more still, and he turned his eyes downward, looking at the floor.
“Aztos, remember who you really are,” Beth begged him.
Finally, he released Malachai, who slumped unconscious to the floor. Beth immediately fell to the floor beside him, shaking him, and trying to rouse him.
“Malachai!” she called. “Malachai, wake up!”
He was breathing, but he did not stir.
“Move,” Aztos snarled, and Beth quickly stepped aside.
Aztos hoisted Malachai’s limp body over his shoulder and threw him onto the bed. He slapped his face a little too hard, and Malachai stirred.
“What… happened?” Malachai asked.
“You were attempting to copulate with my wife,” Aztos snarled.
“What? No! I wasn’t…” Malachai attempted to explain.
“Stop! I am no fool!” Aztos shouted. “I know what I saw!”
“Aztos, it wasn’t…” Beth tried to interject.
“Enough!” Aztos shouted, and he disappeared.
“Damn it!” Beth snapped.
“I’m sorry,” Malachai said weakly. “I… I don’t understand what happened to me. I wasn’t in control of myself. I’ve never felt that way before.”
“It’s not your fault,” Beth said confidently. “Something happened to you. I don’t know what it is, but I’m going to find out. Just get some rest.”
Beth cleaned up the mess Malachai had made when he hurled the tray of food across the room, and she took the remains into the kitchen. She heard a breeze and a rustling sound behind her, and she turned to see Aztos standing behind her. His face was tense with agony.
“Elizabeth, you are my wife. I am well within my rights to expect you to remain faithful to your vows,” Aztos snarled.
“I have been!” Beth shouted. “Malachai is my friend, and I can’t just abandon him!”
“You will do so,” Aztos demanded. “You must! I want him out of this house tonight!”
“He needs me, Aztos!” Beth said, her eyes pleading. “You have no idea what he’s going through!”
“I need you!” Aztos shouted, slamming his fists into the kitchen table so violently it crumbled to pieces.
Beth’s eyes widened, and for a moment, she was breathless. She blinked – her mouth hanging open in shock. Could it really be that he felt something for her, after all?
“Aztos…” she whispered, her hand reaching gingerly toward his arm.
He recoiled, the storm in his eyes shifting violently in turmoil. He stepped backward, his knees buckling. Aztos clutched his chest and fell to his knees. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach and began to swell. It felt as if he’d been kicked in the stomach, and his abdomen were filling with blood – as if it might burst at any moment. His heart pounded, and his throat began to swell. Never had he felt such a violently strong emotion. Never had he believed he could.
“Why?” he asked her, his voice barely audible – dampened by the excruciation emotional agony that twisted inside him.
Beth stared at him, her eyes wide, and her mouth hanging slightly open. Why was he reacting this way? She couldn’t understand.
“I… I don’t understand, Aztos…” she barely managed to say. “You said… demons don’t feel emotions the same way. You told me… our marriage was nothing to you… that I was nothing to you.”
“Clearly… I was wrong…” he panted, struggling to draw air into his lungs, which threatened to collapse.
His eyes squinted, stinging. He clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyelids together tightly in a vain attempt to conceal the emotions that threatened to rip him apart. Everything he’d experienced – the horrific abuse at the hands of his father, the horrifying things he’d been forced to do – none of it could have prepared him for pain of such excruciating intensity.
“Aztos, I didn’t know. I never thought…” Beth began, kneeling down beside him and trying to embrace him.
“No!” Aztos shouted, flinging himself backward to escape her touch.
“Aztos, please,” she begged. “Nothing happened! I was comforting a friend, and nothing more! I would never break our vows! Never!”
Beth’s vision blurred as her own tears threatened to spill. Her heart ached, and she desperately longed to prove to him that nothing had happened between her and Malachai. Aztos had jumped to his feet, and she followed him as he backed away from her.
“Aztos, I didn’t know you felt this way. I thought you…” Beth went on.
“You had to know,” Aztos groaned weakly, interrupting her. “You had to.”
“You told me, Aztos! You told me I meant nothing to you! You said our marriage was nothing but a sham – a thorn in your side! You said I was a mere annoyance that you’d be forced to deal with until…”
She couldn’t finish the sentence, remembering how deeply the pain had wrenched at her insides when he’d said it.
“You do realize he is no better than I am,” Aztos snarled, lashing out in the only way he knew how.
“What are you talking about?”
“I realize I am nothing but a demon – an evil monster, detestable and undeserving of love,” he growled, pain burning in his eyes like fire. “But he is fallen. Your precious angel is every bit the monster I am!”
“I have never seen you as a monster, Aztos,” Beth argued. “Never! You’ve never given me a chance to show you how I felt!”
“Felt?” he spat. “Past tense? As in… you no longer feel anything for me?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“That is what you said!”
“And you said I meant nothing to you! Was that the truth?”
“I told you the truth as I saw it at the time,” Aztos hurled at her.
“But you’re saying you don’t see it that way now?”
“I… no! That is not what I am saying at all!”
“It sounds like that’s what you’re saying!”
“I told you, demons do not feel emotions the same way as humans.”
“But you do feel them, don’t you?” she asked, stepping forward and placing her hands softly on his arm.
He opened his mouth to say something, but the words did not come. For a moment, he looked weak, even vulnerable. Then his gaze became stony, and he looked away.
“Aztos, please,” Beth begged him, her voice breaking. “Tell me how you’re feeling. There’s nothing wrong with having emotions. If you feel something for me… anything… I need to know.”
Her hands still rested lightly on his arm, and the tension in his muscles managed to relax slightly. Still, he said nothing.
“Please talk to me,” she implored once more.
“Why? Why do you care so much for a demon – one who has done unspeakable things and has made you so miserable?” he shouted.
“Do you want to know the truth? The silly, yet completely undeniable truth?” she asked him.
“Yes,” he said hoarsely.
“Because I love you, Aztos.”
For just a moment, his dark heart softened. Never had anyone said those words to him, and he never thought anyone would. In fact, it had never really occurred to him to expect it, or even to care. Now, however, it was the only thing that mattered. Then he remembered Malachai.
“No!” he shouted. “You love your precious Malachai! He is what matters to you.”
“I care about him. I don’t deny that. But I have never loved him. I have always loved you.”
“You lie.”
“I swear it’s the truth. I have no reason to lie to you, Aztos. If I wanted to be with Malachai, I could have left a long time ago.”
“But he loves you. I can see it in his eyes. And his heart is pure. Why would you not choose him over me?”
“Your heart is pure, Aztos. I know it. I’ve felt it all along. These things you are compelled to do don’t come from you. These are things you would never think to do on your own.”
“Why does it matter when I cannot do anything about it?
“What if there was something you could do?”
“There is nothing.”
“But what if there was?” Beth pressed.
“Why do you care, anyway?” Aztos scoffed. “I am a demon, and you deserve far better than me.”
“There is no one better than you,” she admitted. “Not in my heart.”
Again, he scoffed.
“Everyone is better than me.”
“That’s not true!” Beth insisted vehemently.
“The things I have done have precluded me from deserving love, and I would not want it even if that were not true.”
“You know that’s not true, Aztos,” Beth argued. “And whether you deserve love or not, you have it… you have mine. Aztos, I love you with all my heart. How can I make you see that?”
Aztos was unable to think or respond. The pain of seeing her with Malachai had been unbearable. He’d wanted to tear his own heart from his body and destroy it to make the agony stop, but not before doing the same to Malachai. Now, he was almost believing what Beth said might be true.
“I want to believe you,” he said quietly.
“Anything… I’ll do anything you ask if only you will believe me,” she pleaded.
The scene of Malachai and Beth embracing flashed in his mind. It tormented him, and he knew it would never stop. There was only one thing she could do to get rid of it.
“Kill him,” Aztos demanded.
“Wh… what?” Beth asked, unsure she’d heard him correctly.
“You heard me,” Aztos mocked. “If you love me as you say you do, then kill him.”
“You want me to… kill… Malachai?” Beth gasped. “How can you ask that of me?”
“You said you would do anything,” Aztos spat. “I am telling you what I need you to do if you want me to believe you love me.”
“Please, Aztos,” she begged. “Don’t ask me to do something like that. You know I can’t.”
“You can, and you must,” he demanded. “It is the only way. If you kill him, I will believe what you say is true, and I will be able to protect you from my father, and from Lucifer. I will be able to tell them you were only getting close to the angel in order to find his vulnerability and destroy him. They’ve undoubtedly already heard he is here.”
“I can’t,” she whispered, shaking her head slowly.
“You have the dagger,” Aztos reminded her. “You know how it is done. He trusts you. You will be able to get close enough.”
“No. I mean… I can’t do that to him,” she argued. “He’s my friend. He’s a good person, Aztos! He trusts me!”
Aztos felt violently ill. To hear his wife, the woman he… he couldn’t bear to listen.
“Stop!” Aztos shouted. “Either kill him, or I will!”
“No! Aztos, please don’t do that! You’re not that kind of man! I know you!”
“I am nothing! I am a demon, and you will do well to remember that!” he snarled. “That angel is as good as dead. I hope you’ve said your goodbyes!”
With that, he disappeared, leaving Beth behind, screaming his name. As she knelt in the floor beside the space he’d once occupied, she hid her hands in her face and began to sob. She couldn’t allow Aztos to kill Malachai. Malachai had done nothing wrong.
She also couldn’t allow Aztos to darken his own soul my committing murder. Everything he’d ever done had been at the behest of his father or Lucifer. He was a good person, born under horrible circumstances. She had to save them both.
She rushed into the bedroom, but Malachai was gone. He must have overheard their conversation, and he’d fled. Beth burst out of the house and rushed toward the clearing. She only hoped she could find Malachai before Aztos so she could warn him. Malachai had been stripped of most of his powers when he was cast out of Heaven, and he would be unable to defend himself against a demon as powerful as Aztos, especially in his weakened state.
As she rushed across the yard toward the forest, she ran straight into Malachai, who had appeared before her without warning. She would have fallen if his strong arms had not caught her and held her tightly.
“Beth, what’s wrong?” he asked, sensing her urgency.
“It’s Aztos!” she cried. “He’s coming to find you… to kill you!”
“Perhaps that is for the best,” Malachai agreed.
“What? No!” Beth shouted. “How can you say that?”
“I don’t deserve to live,” Malachai explained. “I disobeyed a direct order, I am fallen, and I have…”
Malachai paused. His mouth was still open, but he did not continue.
“What? You have what?” Beth asked.
“I have fallen in love with you.”
Beth could not speak, and she could hardly breathe. She tried to take a step back, but Malachai’s grip was like iron.
“I knew it!” Aztos snarled from behind them.
“If you’ve come to kill me, just get it over with,” Malachai said, releasing Beth and turning toward Aztos.
Malachai stood between Beth and Aztos, his arms instinctively spreading outward to shield her.
“Just don’t hurt her,” Malachai added.
“You think I would…” Aztos stammered. “You think I would hurt her? My own wife?”
“She has already told me you don’t love her,” Malachai said. “She told me you said your marriage was a sham, and she was but a thorn in your side.”
“That is none of your concern!” Aztos shouted, his voice echoing through the forest so loudly that birds took flight and rushed away in terror.
“It is my concern when I love her and you don’t!” Malachai snapped back at Aztos.
“She is my wife!” Aztos reminded him.
“And you said yourself your marriage is a sham!” Malachai growled.
“My marriage may be a sham, but it is a bond that cannot be broken. She is mine for eternity, and you will never have her.”
“I believe that should be for her to decide, not you, demon!”
The disgust in Malachai’s voice when he spat out the word demon was palpable, and it certainly did not escape Aztos.
“I know you do not dare to behave as though you are any better than me, angel. Oops! I mean fallen angel!”
“I may have fallen, but I would never do the things you do!”
“Please stop this,” Beth begged. “Just stop!”
“Did she tell you she loves me?” Aztos asked, a sly grin sneering on his lips.
“She doesn’t have to tell me, Aztos,” Malachai said pointedly. “I can feel it. I feel her love for you every time I talk to her. Although, why she loves someone like you, I cannot begin to understand.”
Aztos looked confused. His brow wrinkled, and his eyes shifted back and forth as though he were searching for something inside his own mind.
“And yet you love her?” Aztos asked.
“My love for her is unconditional,” Malachai admitted. “Whether or not she loves me. Whether or not she loves a demon. None of that matters to me. I love her, and I will never stop loving her, even if she never returns that love.”
“Then I have no choice but to kill you where you stand,” Aztos growled, unsheathing the Dagger of Xamien, which glinted menacingly in the sunlight.
“Aztos, no!” Beth shouted, her voice pleading.
Panicked, Beth stepped between Malachai and Aztos. Her eyes were full of fear, and she tried to shield Malachai with her own body.
“Move aside, Elizabeth!” Aztos growled, stepping forward with the dagger wielded and ready to strike.
“No! I will not let you do this!” Beth shouted.
“You would give your own life for him?” Aztos snarled, his voice full of scorn and pain.
“I would give my life to prevent you from turning into the man I know you don’t want to be,” she said gently. “Aztos, this isn’t you. I know you think it is. I know you think you’re nothing but evil, but you’re not. Just give me a chance, and I’ll prove it to you!”
“Beth, please step out of the way,” Malachai implored, and he tried to pull her behind him.
“Stop!” she snapped, jerking away from him and turning back to Aztos. “Please, Aztos. Prove you’re the man I know you are. Don’t do this!”
Something glimmered inside Aztos. It was just a tiny flicker, like a spark attempting to ignite a larger fire, but it was quickly extinguished by the wave of anguish he felt over his wife protecting the fallen angel who loved her.
“I said move aside,” Aztos warned. “I will not give you another warning.”
“Please, Beth, just let him do this,” Malachai begged. “I don’t wish to see you hurt because of me, and perhaps this is the best thing that could happen to me, anyway.”
“Stop it, Malachai! Don’t say that!”
“It is true. I have fallen from the Lord’s good graces, I have destroyed your life, and I am in love with the wife of a demon – a woman who does not love me and likely never will. What is the point of living?”
“He is right, you know,” Aztos added. “He is better off dead.”
The vitriol in the voice of Aztos was thick and bitter. Had Beth not interfered, he’d have already plunged the dagger into Malachai’s heart, and it would all be over.
“Aztos… please… I love you,” Beth whispered weakly.
Aztos felt a surge inside him. It was foreign, and it scared him. He was overcome, and he was powerless to explain it. His hands began to tremble, and he allowed the dagger to drop to the ground. In an instant, he was gone.
Beth breathed a sigh of relief, and she reached down to lift the dagger. She intended to hide it as soon as she had the chance.
“Give it to me,” Malachai pleaded.
“What? Why?”
“Please, just give me the dagger.”
“I’m going to hide it where Aztos can never find it. Don’t worry, you’ll be safe.”
“I don’t wish to be safe. I wish to use it to end my life.”
“Malachai!” Beth gasped. “Why?”
“I cannot bear this, Beth. I love you, and I can’t stand seeing you with that… demon. He doesn’t love you, and you deserve better. But since you love him, and you don’t love me… and never will, I just want this to be over. You should have just let him do it!”
Beth stepped forward to touch Malachai’s arm, but he recoiled.
“Don’t!” he begged. “Your touch is poison to me. It seeps inside me and won’t let go. Feeling your touch without your love is like the venom of a serpent. It burns, and it paralyzes my soul. It destroys me slowly, from the inside out.”
Beth’s heart ached. She cared deeply for Malachai, but it was Aztos she truly loved. If there was a chance, however slight, that Aztos might return her feelings, she could never be with Malachai.
“I’m so sorry, Malachai,” Beth whispered. “I would do anything to take your pain away. But I need you. You’re my only friend. Please don’t leave me.”
Malachai sighed dejectedly.
“You’re right, you do need me,” he relented. “You need me to protect you from that demon scum you married. So whatever pain I must endure, I will continue to do so. I can’t leave you alone to bear this by yourself.”
Beth sighed with relief.
“I need to go find him,” Beth said apologetically.
“Fine, go,” Malachai said, but his voice said otherwise.
“I’m sorry,” he told him, but it fell on deaf ears, as he’d already vanished.
Beth took a quick detour to hide the dagger underneath the back porch, burying it under a mound of soil and covering it with a heavy stone. Satisfied, she quickly went to find Aztos.
Beth burst through the front door shouting, “Aztos! Aztos, are you here?”
She flitted from room to room, searching everywhere for him, shouting his name in vain. Finally, she headed down to the basement. The lights were off, and it was nearly pitch black, but she could barely see a dark shadow in the corner, highlighted by the faint light cast from the door upstairs.
“Aztos?” she asked, walking slowly toward him.
There was no response, but as she approached him, she could see him kneeling on the floor, facing the corner. She fell to her knees behind him and placed her hands tenderly on his shoulders.
“Please talk to me,” she whispered.
“Why don’t you go to your angel?” he growled.
“I don’t love him, Aztos,” Beth pleaded. “I love you.”
“You do not know what you are saying,” he demanded. “You are blind. I am a monster!”
“No! You’re not a monster! Please listen to me, Aztos,” she begged. “I know you. I see inside your soul every time we’re together. I know who you are, and you are not a monster! You are the man I fell in love with!”
Aztos clenched his teeth so tightly together his gums began to ache, and his jaw felt like it might break. His eyes began to sting – something he’d never felt before. He didn’t understand what he was feeling.
“The things I have done…” he said, his voice more grunting than speaking. “The things I have done make me a monster!”
“But you would never do those things if you weren’t forced to,” Beth argued. “You don’t choose to do them!”
“Yes!” he shouted! “I choose to do them! I choose to save my own soul at the cost of countless others!”
“Who could fault you for that, Aztos? No one would blame you for not wanting to be thrown into The Pit for all eternity. You wouldn’t…”
“I blame me,” he growled.
Beth gulped, and she felt a dull ache in the pit of her stomach.
“Then let’s find a way out,” Beth suggested gently. “Together.”
“There is no way out.”
“There must be. Let me help you find it.”
“Lucifer does not just let demons go, Elizabeth,” he scoffed. “I cannot just leave! He created me. I belong to him.”
“Then we need to find something to exchange for you.”
“Lucifer would not just make an exchange.”
“Yes, he would,” came a voice from behind them.
The both turned quickly to see Malachai standing on the basement stairs, barely illuminated by the light coming through the basement door.
“What are you doing back in my home, angel?” Aztos shouted, flying into the air and landing at the base of the stairs.
“I came to see if I could be of assistance to Beth,” Malachai said gently. “I mean you no harm.”
“Get out of my house, now!” Aztos yelled, his fists clenching tightly at his sides.
“I will, if you will first hear my offer,” Malachai urged.
“You have nothing to offer me,” Aztos snarled.
“Then I make the offer to Beth,” Malachai said. “But hear it, first. Then, if you still wish it, I will go.”
“Fine,” Aztos growled through clenched teeth. “What do you want?”
“I believe I know something that will convince Lucifer to release you from your servitude,” Malachai said. “You could offer him an exchange.”
“What sort of exchange?” Aztos asked skeptically.
“Offer him the soul of an angel,” Malachai answered.
“What?” Beth gasped. “You don’t mean…”
“I mean my soul, yes,” Malachai acknowledged.
“No! Absolutely not!” Beth shouted.
Aztos’ eyes narrowed, and he winced painfully.
“I believe Lucifer might agree to such an exchange,” Malachai said directly to Aztos.
“Why would you offer such a thing?” Aztos demanded. “You know what will happen if Lucifer manages to get his hands on you.”
“I am fully aware, but I am prepared to make the sacrifice if it will make Beth happy.”
“Malachai, stop it,” Beth said flatly. “I won’t allow this. We won’t allow this. Right, Aztos?”
Aztos was silent, clearly contemplating Malachai’s offer.
“Aztos!” Beth shouted, now standing beside him and tugging at his arm. “Tell him we won’t allow it!”
“One soul,” Aztos commented. “One soul and I will never have to… I can be…”
Aztos turned to Beth with a tortured expression. His eyebrows were pushed together, wrinkling his forehead, and his lower lip quivered so slightly it was nearly imperceptible.
“One soul,” he repeated.
“Not his,” Beth refused.
Aztos opened his mouth to speak, his eyes pleading. He said nothing, but instead waited.
“Aztos, not his!” Beth said once again. “Offer him mine.”
Aztos’ eyes shifted from their normal amber into a hazy burnt orange, and he glared at her stormily.
“You would offer your soul in place of his?” Aztos screamed. “What good would that do? It would be no benefit to me to have my soul if you…”
He could not complete the sentence.
“If I what?” Beth demanded.
“I cannot live an eternity without you!” Aztos finally admitted. “I will not! I would rather face The Pit!”
Beth’s eyes glazed over, and she stumbled backward. She could hardly breathe.
“Aztos, what are you saying?” she pleaded.
“I am saying… that I love you…” he said, blinking rapidly to quell the flood of tears that threatened to flow.
Beth blinked, her eyes hazy and stinging. She was motionless.
“Elizabeth?” Aztos asked.
Suddenly, she snapped back into consciousness, and she flew into his arms. He wrapped her in a strong embrace, and she looked up into his shifting eyes.
“It is true?” Beth whispered.
“Yes, it is true,” Aztos admitted. “I never thought it would be possible. I thought demons could not feel real love. But I know this is love. I know I would die for you. I would die without you.”
“Make the exchange,” Malachai pleaded. “I deserve it for what I have done, and Beth deserves to be happy.”
“Malachai, you do not deserve that,” Beth snapped. “And I will not allow this!”
“This is my choice,” Malachai said. “I make it willingly. You don’t have a say in the matter.”
“Aztos, don’t you dare consider this,” Beth warned. “You can’t do this to me.”
“It could mean being free to be with you,” Aztos pleaded. “We could be together without… I would never have to…”
“There must be another way,” Beth said. “Surely, there must be.”
“There is no other way,” Malachai said somberly.
“You’re wrong, Malachai,” Beth insisted, putting her hands on Aztos’ shoulders and starting deep into his eyes. “There is a way, and I’ll find it. Aztos, I promise you we will find a way. But this is not the way.”
“She is right,” Aztos admitted. “This is not the way. As much as I would love to get rid of you, I cannot do it like this. I’ve heard your offer, now get out of my house before I change my mind.”
“As you wish,” Malachai said, bowing politely, and then disappearing.
“I love you more than ever,” Beth whispered, laying her head against Aztos’ chest and sighing contentedly.
“I am sorry I have been unable to love you the way you deserve, Elizabeth. I have only just realized how strongly I feel for you.”
“I always hoped one day you would come to love me,” Beth whispered. “It was worth waiting for.”
Aztos stroked her hair gently, and squeezed her body close to his. He couldn’t believe he’d never seen it before. She was everything.