The Dark God's Bride by Dahlia Lu
Book One of
The Dark God’s Bride
Trilogy
Dahlia Lu
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2012 Dahlia Lu
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form.
Special thanks to the editors at wittywordsmiths.com
An ancient god on a destructive path of vengeance...
Imprisoned by the Archangel Lucifer ages ago, Summit, the Dark God, wanted nothing less than equivalent retribution. After breaking free and successfully retaining some splintered shards of his sanity, Summit set out to confront Lucifer. The Archangel was nowhere to be found. He has, however, left behind his most coveted mortal bride. The Dark God stormed into Hell to capture Lucifer’s one and only weakness, but inadvertently abducted the wrong female – his own.
A reluctant heroine…
As a mortal raised among the demons inside a floating castle in Hell, Amara’s life is not exactly what you would call normal. When she finds herself abducted by a half-mad god, who mistook her for the woman who brought her up, Amara chooses to hide her identity to protect her foster mother at the risk of her own life.
Prologue
Revenge.
The word repeated in his mind over and over again until he could almost taste it. The sweetness of it would be able to erase anything, even the humiliation of imprisonment. How long had it been? Centuries? Millennia?
Isolation.
Solitude.
Complete darkness.
The only consolation keeping his sanity intact was his sole focus on exacting revenge. The Archangel Lucifer will pay for his treachery!
Revenge! Lucifer... Revenge!
The vibration of Lucifer’s sardonic laughter was still rumbling inside his chest, inciting rage. He will rip off that proud, hauntingly beautiful face and dig the beating heart out of the Archangel’s chest. He will savor each and every bite with surging pleasure. Pure, undiluted hatred was coursing deep in his veins.
The Archangel’s spell weakened. Just a little more!
Lucifer will get what is coming to him.
I will make him curse his own eternal existence! This I vow!
Chapter One
Freedom at last! He had finally escaped that wretched tomb Lucifer had personally dug for him. He was now free to appreciate the sun, the fresh air… and the overpowering urge to seek revenge. Just when he was about to feel better and at home on the surface, he saw that Lucifer was nowhere to be found.
People call them angels, but they were far from friendly. The moment he stepped foot into Heaven, arrows were flying at him before he had the chance to even ask a question. They provoked him first—and flying arrows had always been the instrument to declare war. He had always loved a good war.
But first, he needed information about Lucifer.
“He doesn’t live here anymore,” Archangel Michael told him. “Lucifer took residence in the Realm of Hell.”
“Where is this…Hell?” he inquired.
“I’ll gladly send you there,” Gabriel said. “I haven’t seen you around for a while; you look…nude. I think you’re overdue for a haircut. Why are you looking for Lucifer, anyway?”
He licked his straight row of perfect teeth and then forced a smile. “So I can pull out his entrails and do something creative with them.”
The Archangel Gabriel looked amused and conjured up a spell, distorting the space next to him. “Now I remember why I liked you. I’ll open a portal for you right away! But you won’t find him there.”
He blinked. “Why not…?”
“He slumbers.” The Archangel Michael replied casually.
“Slumbers?” He bellowed. “How much beauty sleep does he need?”
Gabriel shrugged his shoulders. “Long story short, the humans nearly destroyed his mortal bride, so he decided to cleanse the earth… again. He exhausted himself and went back to sleep.”
He winced. “Mortal bride…? I’m asking about Lucifer.”
“We are talking about Lucifer.”
It took him a moment to react. “I am the one who had been locked up for…I do not know how long! I am the one who is supposed to be insane! He took a mortal bride?” The words rolled off his tongue unnaturally.
He stared at the portal and the tiniest seed of diabolical thought embedded in his mind. “Does he…love her?”
The Archangels briefly glanced at each other, and then nodded in unison.
“Madly,” Archangel Michael said.
“Nauseatingly,” Archangel Gabriel agreed.
“Hmm,” he pondered. His eyes lit up as he headed toward the portal. “This will prove interesting. What is the name of this…mortal?”
“Kali…?” Archangel Gabriel asked his companion.
“Kali,” Archangel Michael confirmed. “Sweet little thing.”
A dangerous grin appeared on his face as he stepped into the portal. He stared obsessively at the floating castle in the distance. A whisper escaped him. “Kali… Lucifer’s little bride.”
Amara walked down the familiar hallway of the castle she had grown up in, appreciating the tall, stained glass windows arching the length of the corridor. It had been months since she’d returned home—if she was allowed to call this place that. She high-fived several demons walking in the opposite direction and gave each a specialized greeting. These naturally beautiful demons were the reason why she couldn’t find mortal men attractive.
She slipped through the room at the end of the hallway and smiled at the stunningly beautiful demoness who possessed the most bewitching violet eyes. Her long, silken black hair was rich and vibrant, trailing behind her graceful footsteps. Her foster mother was physiologically twenty, or perhaps even younger. She looked the same as she had eleven years ago when they first met. If it wasn’t for this woman, Amara would have been long dead and frozen under some godforsaken bridge.
Her mother welcomingly held out her arms. “Amara…!”
“Mother…!” She leaped into her mother’s arms. “I missed you so much these past two years. You weren’t here the last time I visited.”
“How did you get here?” Her mother asked, clearly surprised by her visit.
“I ran into a demon I know and asked him to take me here.” She smiled. “I know almost all of them. I’ve been practicing on my magic so I can open the portal myself. No luck so far, but I’m not the type to give up.”
“No, you are not.” Her mother smiled.
“It was so sudden, I didn’t bring any gifts. There are so many things to see in the human world mother!”
“Did you bring enough gold with you?” She asked worriedly.
“I have enough,” Amara said. She had sold the gold and bought a nice apartment near campus with a lakefront view. “I’ve learned so much these past two years. I don’t feel I quite fit in though.”
“You are human. That is your world.”
“I know, but…” Her eyes trailed to the side. “I feel at home here with you. May I stay with you?”
“You know the rules, Amara.”
“But the thought of leaving you alone here…” Amara said in a saddened voice. “Your husband slumbers, and your biological son barely visits you.”
“The time goes by quicker than I thought. Lucifer will return to me before I know it. Trent…? He has his own life, and I won’t interfere with it.”
“Have you ever thought of coming to the mortal world to live with me?”
A we
“Why not…?” Amara pleaded.
“I’ve seen it all, darling. I don’t want to… what I meant is…”
“Yes?”
“I was once a mortal, and a lifetime living among them is enough.”
“So all you want to do is wait until Lucifer returns to you?”
Her mother nodded.
“You’re just avoiding Chevalier, your old beau.”
“My what…?”
“Your lover…”
Her mother looked momentarily flustered. “He was not my lover,” she laughed softly. “He’s a very good friend of mine. I’ve known him since I was a little girl…” She lowered her eyes. “That was so very long ago.”
“He loves you.”
“And he always will, but I can’t reciprocate. My heart… my heart can only belong to one man.”
“Why do you love him so much? It’s been… so long for you.”
Her mother gripped tightly onto the skirt of her gown. “I made a mistake in the past, so I have to face the consequences. I forced him to go to sleep, so I have to wait for him to wake again.” Her mother attempted to hold back a sob and failed miserably. She inhaled deeply, forcing it back. “Do you not believe in true love?”
“The kind you have?” Amara deepened her frown. “No thank you. I would rather not spend ten thousand years waiting for a man.”
Her mother shrugged. Suddenly, her mother turned toward the window. Her violets eyes became acutely alert.
“Mother…?”
Her mother turned back and said to her, “I have to get you out of here quick! I sense something coming. Something powerful, and hostile.”
“What is it?”
Her mother shook her head as she summoned up a portal to Earth. “I don’t know, but you should go.”
“I don’t want to,” Amara protested. “I just got here! And I miss you so much!”
“Amara,” her mother said in a warning tone. “You need to go now.”
The castle was shaking. A burst of energy shattered all of the windows, but an ancient spell on the castle pieced them back together.
“You must go, quickly!” Her mother pushed her toward the portal. Amara ducked low, went under her mother’s arm, and ran for the door.
“I want to see what it is,” she said stubbornly.
“Amara…!” Her mother scowled.
Amara ran down the hallway, noting the windows shattering and mending repeatedly. Earthquakes shook the castle, and it wasn’t even connected to the ground! What could possibly have that much power?
She heard screams coming from the throne room.
“Where is she?” A male’s voice bellowed. “Where is Lucifer’s little bride?”
He’s looking for mother?
Amara peeked through the throne room and gasped at the sight of a nude, overgrown male, probably around six-foot-five, holding a demon off of the ground by his throat. His hair was thick, coffee colored, running down the length of his body. The rest lay coiled on the ground next to him. His eyes were piercing blue with dark rings around the irises. Amara gasped, helpless, when the wrathful male turned to her.
The door swung wide open. The demon pointed in her direction, and the male hurled him against the wall.
Good time to run, Amara!
She felt a large hand on her shoulder the instant she turned around. He slowly dragged her back against his bare stomach and inhaled her scent. She winced when she felt a lick on her neck.
He was mumbling something in a strange language and then hissed, “Mortal.”
“You could tell that by smelling me,” she said matter-of-factly, although she could hear her own knees buckling. “Was the lick really necessary?”
“Let her go!” Her mother screamed at the man.
“You are the only mortal in this castle…” the man said softly to the side of her ear. “You must be Kali.”
“Let her go or you will regret it!” Her mother threatened.
“No chance of that happening, demoness.” He sneered. “I will be taking this mortal with me.”
“What do you want with her?” Her mother demanded.
“She’s Lucifer’s little bride…my instrument for revenge.”
Her brow drew together. “What on Earth are you talking about?”
“Lucifer’s Kali...”
Her mother rolled her eyes. “I am Kali. Let her go!”
The male seemed momentarily confused. His eyes trailed from her to her mother then back at her. “Do you take me for a fool, demoness? I can smell you from miles away. This mortal is Kali and she will be coming with me.”
“I’m telling you that I’m Kali!” Her mother shouted in frustration. “Take me and leave the girl alone!”
The scenery around them changed. The male had teleported outside the castle, taking her with him. He dropped her onto the ground and walked over her toward a stagnant waterhole. He quietly stared at his reflection off the surface. His hands slowly rose and rested upon his face as though he had never seen himself before. She stared at his reflection and was forced to admit that he was sinfully handsome. Everything about him cried out masculinity. Her eyes trailed lower down his body, alarmed, and then swiftly turned away.
He grabbed a handful of outrageously long hair and sliced it off with his sharp nails… claws… whatever. They were sharp.
“It looks good,” she complimented. Her voice was slightly shaky.
He turned around. “Yes, I know.”
She inched her chin several inches higher so that she could focus on his face, and only his face. He turned, pacing back and forth until the ground underneath his feet was worn. He would have looked a lot more imposing if he wasn’t naked. He seemed oblivious to that little fact.
He peered at her every now and then, as though he was trying to decide her fate. She leaned back and relaxed her shoulders. This is going to take a while.
“Have you decided what to do with me yet?” She asked after an hour had gone by, drumming her fingers on the side of her jaw.
“Not yet,” he replied casually. “I haven’t gotten that far into the plan yet. It was sort of an extemporaneous measure. Do not worry, mortal. I’ve always been good at improvising.”
“This mortal has a name,” she reminded him.
The corner of his mouth twitched. “I…don’t…care.” He drawled with a slow shaking of his head.
“Fine,” she choked, clearly offended. “What about you? Does the immortal have a name?”
“Of course I do! It’s…” He closed his eyes and inhaled sharply. “It’s…”
“Yes?” She encouraged.
“It’ll come back to me soon.”
She stared at him with an incredulous expression. “You mean to say you forgot your own name?”
“Temporarily,” he admitted as he waved a hand in the air. “It’s not important.”
“Then what do I call you?”
After spending a moment with the thought, he said, “If Lucifer is the bearer of light, then I shall be the night that douses his light into eternal darkness. Noctis. I shall be called Noctis…at least until I remember my own name.”
“Okay...” she said. “Mr. Noctis, what do you want with me?” Or with my mother, for that matter…? She thought to herself. “Do you mean me harm?”
“I haven’t decided that yet. You should be quiet and let me think. Actually, help me think. What should I do to lure Lucifer out? What should I do to wake him from his slumber?” He stared at her. “Should I torture you and hope that your scream would be loud enough to reach him?”
Her eyes widened. “No…”
“You’re probably right. His hearing is good, but not that good.”
“What do you have against
He appeared in front of her. If she hadn’t grown up around demons, that would have given her a heart attack. “He trapped me in the earth! It felt like half an eternity and it probably was!”
“Oh…” her voice trailed off and then she mumbled, “I guess an ‘I’m sorry’ card won’t do it.”
“The best apology would be him watching me eat his eyeballs fresh from his skull.”
She winced at the graphic image in her head. “If you’re eating his eyeballs…how could he watch it?”
He walked back to where he was standing before. “It’s obviously flawed. As I’ve said, I haven’t had the time to think this plan through. Maybe one could watch, while the other one is being eaten…I don’t know.”
“Is this going to take long? I’m hungry.”
He stared at her with disgust. “Mortal,” he sneered.
“Hey! You are the one who kidnapped me! You are my captor! That means I am your responsibility and you are to provide me with food and shelter, until you can decide what to do with me.”
“An annoying mortal,” he spat.
“Yes, I am a mortal and that means I can die if my needs are not met. If I die, then you won’t be able to lure Lucifer out and get your revenge.”
His hand rubbed the back of his neck and let out a frustrated sigh. “What is it that you need, mortal?”
“Well…” She got up to her feet. “It is getting dark, which means I need a comfortable bed to sleep for the night. I am hungry and kind of thirsty. My clothes are dirty, because you ruthlessly threw me to the ground. I have bruises that may need medical attention.”
He muttered a string of curses. “Anything else that you need to survive?” he asked in a sardonic voice.
“Yes, I need to shower and brush my teeth before I sleep or cavities would form. That would mean painful trips to the dentist and I hate my dentist.”
He pinched his forehead. “Lucifer has terrible taste in women. Do you really need all of that?”