The Sloth of Heaven, page 41
part #2 of The Fallen Angels Series
True, they were often hunted down by Gods, Angels and Humans alike but they were free in that time. They destroyed because it was in their nature, because they wanted something or they hungered for flesh or spirit. The world had once been awash with petty monsters and there had been plenty of Divine Monsters. Echidna and Typhon had bred frequently, their offspring becoming the stuff of myth and legend. Even Gaia had mothered some truly powerful Monsters, and how they had devastated parts of the world. Many Gods fathered or mothered Monsters because in essence they were a reflection of the Gods nature. It was not a connection the Gods liked to have made, regardless of how true it was. The Gods were beautiful, Monsters usually were not, but both devastated Humanity and its empires.
He had always walked that line between the two Divine natures because he understood that destruction was necessary for creation, death must follow life so that life could follow death. The world was all about balance and cycles. Things were not meant to be consistent, they were ever-changing, developing and repeating. He had always embraced all his nature. Many a Death God or Angel had reviled themselves and their powers. He never had, from the beginning he had always embraced all that he was. Because he had always known that he was different.
The first Angel to have black wings until his brother was born later, and with his pale skin, he had stood apart from the other Angels. His powers of death had also isolated him from them and their powers of light, sun or sky. Back then his father had been a little-seen figure, caught up in the mechanisms of the Gods and their games. Before many of the Gods had started to tire of the game and lose interest, back when a Divine’s survival hung on maintaining enough strength through faith.
As a young boy, he had spent plenty of time on the Surface, gathering food or trinkets for the Gods. Back then the Divine rarely attacked each other and young Angels were regularly sent scavenging across the Surface. He learned to manipulate and then control animals and mortals all before he reached his adolescence. By then he was regularly attending Hecate, seeing the Underworld and learning about the darker natures of the world. From her he had learned how to brew poisons that could even affect a God and how to smelt metal hewn from the Underworlds. He also started to see his family’s dynamics, even more so as the game of empires changed. As certain pantheons came to dominate and those who had lost power stepped back, avoiding bloody conflict. Wars were settled with mortal lives, not Divine, and Heaven reached a new level of peace.
But resentment had been brewing in the Angel population for quite some time. His time with Hecate had come to an end, as she sought even deeper recesses of the Underrealms and he had become involved with a movement that had turned into a rebellion that had changed the history of the world. And oh, how the world had changed. Now the Reformist Angels and their religions dominated the world, thankfully Humanity had started shrugging off their moral constraints otherwise life would have been incredibly boring.
As it was the South Africans needed much work to turn them into a suitable population. Christianity was still quite deeply entrenched and not being an island it would remain unaffected by the Purge. However, he could enact his own. While Brigid and Victoria had initially enacted proclamations of peace towards the Angels’ religion until the Purge that could very well change. All property belonging to those religions automatically became the property of the government. To be dealt with as they saw fit, either converted as a place of worship for Brigid or sold as real estate. However, several had been lost in protests and violence.
South Africa rightly feared him. They had seen what he was capable of and it was of no comfort to them. He had forced his way into their lives and made them bend to his will. They resented his presence and they resented having been forced to join the Empire. They were suddenly subject to all the Imperial proclamations. They were ill prepared for sudden militarization and so many had been shipped off to Britain, Canada and Australia. With so many having recently died and so many being shipped off it seemed far too similar for South Africa. The sudden outpouring of Daemon Races had greatly unsettled the Human population and they had been unprepared for the massive influx of Daemon refugees from the rest of Africa. Add his placement as the Imperial Governor of South Africa and there was rebellion waiting to happen.
Except it wouldn’t.
They were far too afraid, worried about the bloody backlash that he would deliver. And he would deliver if it came to that. He found Brigid’s attitude to Ireland’s rebellion far too lenient but then it was her problem to deal with. She was sure to have unknown tricks up her sleeve, she was female. He had to admit he was curious as to how she was planning on keeping her rapidly expanding empire loyal to her, especially when the conquered population would outnumber the British. Canada was there to balance it out but Australia was merely toeing the line and Ireland was already proving it would not accept it annexation.
The only option he could see were bloody and violent reprisals for any rebellion, but such actions only bred further resentment. Humans had always had an overriding tendency to demand their own freedom, even when doing so would only hurt themselves.
“Who dares enter?” the angry and cold command came out of the deep shadows of the cavern. While cold, her voice had a strange musical sibilance to it. It was something uniquely reptilian, and for a mortal it would be most unnerving.
“The Son of Death can dare to enter wherever he chooses Medusa for I have very little to fear in this world.”
Red glowing eyes appeared in the darkness, but they were not hers, they were illusions cast to draw the eyes. She was some metres closer than those glowing eyes, he could hear the rasp of scale on stone. “All fear to enter my cavern and all fear to meet my gaze. You are no different Son of Death.”
He ignored the glowing eyes and looked directly at where she was, his eyes detecting her outline in the shadows. As good as his eyes were, in the thick darkness of the cavern it was difficult to see. She must have cast many illusions.
“I fear no one and nothing, not even you Medusa. There is little harm you can do to me.”
He felt magic washing over him, she was trying to turn him to stone. This time, he saw her real eyes light up, brilliant white, their glow piercing through the darkness. “That is where you are wrong” she snarled. But her powers only washed over him, for he was more Divine than her, he wasn’t sure if he was still just an Angel or if he had Ascended to Godhood but either way his Divinity was well beyond her ability to petrify him.
He cast his magic out, bringing stark white light to the cavern that burnt through her shadow illusions. Medusa was cast into stark relief and he was surprised at her new appearance. Originally she had looked like a terrible Monster, her snaky hair, bronze wings and tusks had given her a fearsome and gruesome appearance. This new body was a kinder, more natural look. She would always be able to terrify, but she also looked natural as though evolution itself had spawned her. She was far more serpentine, instead of the legs she had once had she was now purely serpentine from the waist down and from above she was a hauntingly beautiful reptilian woman. Not a beauty everyone would see, but she was Divine and the Divine always had beauty.
Her time in Hell had changed her into a Greater Demon and the Greater Demons were all powerful Divine. They had the power to defy Angels and even Gods. They were a new class of Divinity, replacing the old class of Monsters he supposed. But so many of them had been reimagined by Humanity, even himself. They were stronger, more attractive, more fearsome and much more dangerous. They had become a strange blend due to Humanity’s strange amalgamation of ideals. Greater understanding and time had changed their views on the Demons they had once feared until some of them held attraction of mythical allure.
Medusa particularly had filled a strange niche in the Human psyche. His research on the internet and codex databases had revealed that of all the mythical Monsters she was one of the most commonly known. Originally reviled over the generations but as her story came to be understood, a great sympathy arose for her. Which was only fair, she had been dealt a disastrous fate through no fault of her own. This had softened her and given her a great deal of feminine power. Women related to her and she was seen as the victim of old patriarchal societies that had destroyed women’s powers.
There was the sound of hissing and snake rattles as her hair swished around her head as she pulled a huge long bow to its full extent and fired. He glanced down at the arrowhead as the metal shattered across his skin. No mortal weapon could harm Divine skin unless it was imbued with Divine power, something that could usually only be done with direct skin contact. Ranged weapons were essentially useless against the Divine. Even arrows made from Divine metals like Nyxite failed to do much damage.
“Did you really expect that to work Medusa? I am the Son of Death and the father of the Chaos Goddess. I am the Angel of Death, I am the Seducer, the Betrayer, the Sacred Father of the Incubi, the Serpent Angel and a Greater Demon. Did you really think that you could petrify me or shoot me with petty arrows?” He moved as swift as lightning, gripping her throat and lifting her up, his other hand caught her tail when it flung around to whip him. He spread his wings wide and he roared in irritation. “Did you think your petty tricks would really work on a fully Divine being? Me, who straddles the line between Angel, God and Greater Demon? You saw me in Hell Medusa, you know what I am capable of, the power I wield.” He lowered her down, and the hand on her throat let go to tilt her head up, his lips gently brushed along her jaw line.
The snakes that had been hissing and threatening to bite him suddenly relaxed and he could feel her pulse quicken beneath his lips and hand. “You know how volatile I am and yet you thought you could defend yourself with such petty tricks. I am surprised and disappointed in you Medusa.”
There was something odd in the way he said her name, and with his lips on her neck, it was robbing her of her ability to think. “Why are you here Samael?” she finally struggled to ask. Why was thinking suddenly so difficult and why was her pulse racing? Even her skin was feeling hot, especially under his hands.
“Because I have a proposition for you, one you may or may not find to your liking. But it will directly affect you and your kind and this land you seem fond of clinging to.”
He could feel her anger flare “This is my home.”
“No, this is your exile. This is where you fled after Athena turned you into a Gorgon, to hide away from Humanity This is where you died at the hands of Perseus. You came here because you have nowhere else to go, because you know of nowhere else to go. You are hiding again Medusa only this time your actions are affecting others because this time the Gorgons feel your call and have come for you. And yet you keep them away, you will not let them answer the call you are giving out. You have enforced exile upon a race now. How many Gorgons hang about outside, unable to go and yet unable to come in?
He didn’t let her answer, pressing his finger to her lips to keep her silent. Oh, how she wanted to scream at him and shout that he was wrong. What did he know? But a small part of her agreed with him, she was hiding, she was a coward. And a large part of her didn’t want him to remove his hands from her. She felt like parts of her were on fire, in an entirely good way. She had never felt this way.
“You are scared, Medusa, but you don’t need to be. You are a Greater Demon, the world will be scared of you. You are the original Gorgon from which all others were crafted after, their fate is your whim. And in all likelihood, you have Ascended to be a Goddess with greater powers. You could feed on faith, you have it within your touch from the Gorgons. You could be a being of awe and terror, you could feast on a banquet of fear, love and faith. If you so choose, but you have to take risks.”
His lips brushed along hers, robbing her of self-control. She prepared for a rough kiss with a thrusting tongue to pry her open. But his kiss was feather light, sending warmth through her. His lips and tongue gently encouraged her to open up. She felt her fangs spring open and yet he seemed to pay no heed. He even ran his tongue across them.
She was drowning in new sensations. The cavern was too warm, and yet his touch while fire left her craving more. His mouth was sure and dominating, but gentle and coaxing. It left her mouth to run across her cheek, up and down her neck and to nibble at her earlobes. She was in Heaven and she was in torturous Hell. Her hands were clawing at his back and wings to drag him closer. She hated feeling this need and at the same time she needed it so badly. She had to slake this thirst, to sate this incredible hunger.
She felt his hands slide down from her snake-hair, caressing her neck, one ran down her back sending shivers down her spine as he pulled her closer. The other hand trailed around to the front, his fingers tracing around the curve of her breast before tracing around one of her nipples. She felt it go hard and once again she was preparing herself for the rough hands she remembered from Poseidon’s rape and yet it never came. His mouth disappeared from hers and she unintentionally hissed until she felt his mouth on her nipple. She moaned as she felt his tongue dancing across the sensitive skin.
She was in such pleasurable bliss that at first she did not notice that he had slipped his fingers inside her until he started stroking her. She never knew such pleasure could happen. As a Human, she had been a virgin-priestess of Athena until Poseidon’s rape, and that had been violent and humiliating. After that, no one had wanted her. Now she had an Elder Angel, a Fallen Arch Angel, stroking parts of her she hadn’t even comprehended contained such a capacity for pleasure. Her moans were loud and uninhibited. She wanted to quieten but he seemed intent on her not getting that. For his mouth moved down from her breast to her vagina and more pleasurable sensations took hold of her.
He had her bucking against his mouth and he knew when she came. He always knew just like he could always bring anyone to orgasm. But he wasn’t anywhere near done and he was enjoying introducing her practical virginity to the world of pleasure. He disappeared his clothes, they were half hanging off of him anyway from where she had clawed at his back. He didn’t mind, he was used to the frenzied clawing of females and even a few select males, and honestly he enjoyed it.
He lingered for a long while, taking his time to bring her to the edge before torturously pushing her over at his leisure. When the mood struck him, he moved back up her body, grinding his own against her, using his skin to keep alight her pleasure sensors.
It was slightly strange not to have legs wrapped around him, but he was not unused to having a tail wrapped around him. He had slept with Naga before their extermination, this was no different. Now it was time for him to seek his own pleasure. He guided himself into her, feeling once again her claws raking his back and her moans echoing around the cavern.
She had never known such pleasure before in her life. Now she finally understood the drive and need for sex. It made so much more sense now. Poseidon’s rape of her had been skilful as using a hammer on a screw. Samael, on the other hand, was truly a master of the sexual arts.
She looked at him where he lay spread out on his front in the warm sand, his wings hanging lazily around him. Every little shift or fidget amplified by the shuffling of those wings. Sunlight gleamed against his ivory skin, and his bottom and thighs looked extra glorious. “You said that you had a proposition for me.”
He turned those marvellous violet eyes of his to meet hers, the sexual haze faded to be replaced by calculation. “For you and your kind. The British Empire is growing once again and it has offered citizenship to all Daemons. South Africa has signed into the Imperial Covenant and from there the imperial hunger will only spread north. Brigid and her empress have eyes on every country that has ever belonged to Britain. That will lead them in a straight line up to Egypt, which itself has spilt into Libya’s own territory. The Empire will come to your doorstep, I am offering you and the Gorgons a valued place within the Empire before we reach you.”
“Why are you assisting a Human empire? Why are you working under Brigid? The Angels’ Rebellion grew out of their hatred of serving the Gods and now you are willingly back in service. What the Hell are you thinking?
“She has my daughter.”
That took the righteous anger right out of her sails. “If she is holding her hostage then surely there is another way than to help her build her empire.”
“Sariel is not a hostage, she sought Brigid’s guardianship and protection. Smart really considering the Angelic Legions could have been pouring out of Heaven in search of her. She is serving Brigid of her own free will and Brigid is protecting her. She has taken on her Mentorship and is training her. As for serving Brigid? It is no great pain, she asks for little and has a loose leash. As for her empire building, I agree with her on it. She seeks unity across nations and races, conquest is perhaps the only way Humanity will ever really achieve solidarity.”
His face grew more serious, losing its admiration “As for working against Brigid…only a fool would dare. She is now the most powerful Goddess in the world, with the faith of billions supplementing her own natural strength. She has the faith of all the Fae and Atlanteans as well as all the Daemons living within her territories or seeking to. Even the Humans have been shocked into the acknowledgement of her. They see magic every day, they see Daemons and Fae walking down the street, they see what she has done to their lands. Humans minds are slowly grasping that she truly is a Goddess and their lives are now completely within her hands. And she is only going to get more powerful.
She is not an enemy you want to be making.”
“And yet you have not seen your daughter.”
