The Devil's Lover: The Wish by Dahlia Lu
The Devil’s Lover: The Wish
By Dahlia Lu
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2011 Dahlia Lu
Cover Image Copyright IStockphoto.com
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The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictions or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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This book is dedicated to my family and the love of my life. I would also like to thank my editor, Brooke Pierce, for her meticulous efforts in making this publication possible.
Prologue
It was a long way home. Kali debated whether she should chase after the school bus she had just missed or call a taxi. She was so far off the main road that she highly doubted a taxi would even be able to find her. In fact, she was surprised there was even a gas station here in the first place; the only reason it were still in business was because the owners gouged those poor passer-by who were desperate for a little gas and had no other options.
This was meant to be a pit stop. The bus had traveled a couple of hours off the main road, and she had assumed they were lost, but the teacher insisted that the resort was nearby. The students and chaperones couldn’t wait to get to a bathroom when they spotted the small gas station on the side of the road. It was a rundown shack with a sloppy rendering of the word ‘Gas’ in paint on the side of the building. There was a rotten smell about the place that even the thick gasoline fumes could not cover. Her classmates lined up one to use the bathroom. Since she had a reputation for being slow, Kali ended up last in line.
She was not surprise to find the bathroom’s wall covered in splotches of green moss. She was not surprised when the cheap light bulb flickered on and off. And she definitely was not surprised when her mischievous “friends,” if she could call them that, did to the door to lock her in. She sighed. Kali knew they liked to pick on her, but she hadn’t expected them to pull a stunt like that in the middle of nowhere. She was dumb enough to fall for it…again.
After fifteen minutes of pushing and kicking the flimsy door, she finally managed to free herself. Swearing she’d never step foot in a gas station bathroom, she was just in time to see the bus pulling away onto the road. If there was anything worse than being the subject of a stupid prank, it was being forgotten by the prankster. Even worse, the weather was getting dark and gloomy. Her mood was quickly beginning to match the sky.
Plopping down on the bench outside the shack, she tried to figure out the next best course of action. The suspicious glances the big, sloppy middle-aged man kept sneaking towards her from behind his counter did not make her problem solving skills any more efficient. She didn’t know what he intended to say or do to her, but she did know she didn’t want to stick around to find out. Kali stood up and started down the road towards the direction they had come.
The road snaked around the side of the mountain, and was narrow and unstable enough that she felt uneasy pressed up against the wall as she walked. The rain trickled at first. She decided to continue her trek until she could find some type of civilization.
The heavens were beginning to churn as she walked on, with bolts of lightning racing behind dark, ominous clouds. Deafening thunder began to follow the flashes of light more quickly as the storm moved overhead. The mud beneath her feet was starting to swallow her shoes, a sign that clearly indicated frequent rain in this area. Kali debated once more whether she should continue on in hopes of finding shelter or if she should turn back to that rat’s nest of a gas station. The weather was becoming less encouraging by the second. Going back to the shack, with its sturdy room seemed to be the safest bet.
Hearing a sudden grinding noise above her, Kali braced herself when a large boulder came tumbling from the wall of the mountain, landing several feet away from where she stood, where it created a large obstacle in her return path. Kneeling down, she approached the edge to see how far she would fall if she missed her footing. The pure height made her dizzy.
The ground beneath her began to grumble. If her senses did not deceive her, she would say that the earth was actually moving. Kali got up and pelted down the narrow path. Her only hope was to find a stable area where the earth felt solid and stationary. The dirt began to slip down the hill and onto the path, bouncing out into space as larger chunks followed. It happened faster than Kali could fathom. As she spun around, she felt her ankle twist as she stepped into a new hole. The ground beneath her foot collapsed, and she was suddenly spinning out into the air over the edge of the cliff. There were a few seconds of rushing wind, and then the world descended into darkness.
She could hear her own shallow breathing echoing in her head when she woke up, and she could feel her faint heart beat throbbing inside her chest. When she finally forced her eyes to open, the world was a blur around her. A voice inside her head was begging her to stand up, and apparently would not be quieted. Kali slowly sat up, then struggled to stand up. Her body felt weak and numb, almost as if it belonged to someone else. She could vaguely see that she had fallen through the roof of a cave, and a path in front of her traced through the rock and earth. Perhaps further on it would offer shelter from the raging storm that was streaming through the hole over her head.
Seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, Kali let out a sigh of relief and moved toward it without much thought. The deeper she traveled, the brighter the light seemed to shine in her eyes. Perhaps there was someone there who could help her… anybody would do! A larger space at the end of the tunnel glimmered with the glowing of mineral deposits in the cave wall, creating the light that had raised her hopes. Her heart sank. There wasn’t anyone here, only a massive domed chamber that seemed to echo her own heartbeat and a lot of glow-in-the-dark rocks.
She felt a warm and thick liquid running down from her head to her back. Suspicious, her right hand traveled to the back of her head, touching the sticky liquid. Holding her breath unconsciously, she brought her hand around in front of her eyes. Crimson blood, still very warm, stained her fingers. She could feel it running down her calf and forming a puddle at her feet. Kali began to feel weaker. The sight of blood always freaked her out. She took a few steps, eyes still glued to the red wetness on her hand. Soon, she felt her strength draining away. Without realizing she was falling until too late, she slumped to the floor as her body gave out.
The ground was cold and hard, but some of her blood managed to seep into the dirt and rocks. More found a passage carved into the ground, filling up the trough as it continued to flow around the divot through the stone. If she’d been upright, she would have noticed that it seemed to fill a well-defined shape, clearly a carving of some sort.
Kali’s eyes filled with tears as the horror of her situation grasp onto her. She could feel the warm water spilling down her cheeks to mix with the blood under her head. She swore she saw her whole life flashing before her eyes. Her vision began to melt as she gasped her final breath. Right before the darkness claimed her, she saw him.
Cha
Kali let out a horrified scream. She had never experienced such an intense fear; it felt like it was engulfing her very soul. At the same time, she felt the life slowly drained from her body. The end was ever so near. There were still so many things she hasn’t had the chance to try. So many things left undone. It can’t end now; I’m much too young to die!
The door to her bedroom burst open. A tall, masculine figure entered from the bright light in the hallway. She instinctively winced, then opened her eyes again. A pair of golden eyes was locked on her. It took her several seconds to recognize their owner.
His eyes quickly scanned her body for any physical injury, and then he inspected the rest of the room for intruders. When he was sure they were completely alone, his attention returned to her. He was talking to her, but his voice was so faint that she could barely hear what he was saying. The volume of his voice slowly increased before she could panic. For that short moment, she thought she had gone deaf.
“…answer me,” he demanded urgently, “What’s wrong? Are you hurt anywhere?”
She grabbed onto the hard muscles of his arm. He could tell she was desperately confused. “There was…I was…dying. Chevalier, I was dying! There was this mudslide and I hit my head…and this cave…I’ve never been so frightened in my whole life!”
He gently patted her arm to comfort her. “It was only a bad dream, that’s all. Calm down.”
“You don’t understand,” she shook her head, “There was this man…no, this thing, it was in the cave and it talked to me! It was saying something in a strange language, but I understood him!”
“What did he say?” Chevalier asked.
“Something about prolonging my life…” the memory of the event began to fade, “something about a wish…”
Suddenly she realized that what she said were completely irrational. How could he possibly believe her, if she couldn't even believe it herself? Shaking off the memory, she lay her head back down onto the pillow.
“Never mind…,” she said. “It was just a weird dream.”
†††††
They waited patiently, anticipating the arrival of their master. They could feel his presence coming closer. They all turned their attention as if the movement was rehearsed, swinging their faces to the double doors. The stone doors creaked open, letting a breath of fresh air into the enclosed room. Several long moments later, their master walked through the doors with an air of innate confidence. His luminous fair skin and ethereal blue eyes demanded immediate attention, which he received in full.
He walked passed them without so much as a glance and stood in front of his rightful throne. The master turned to look at his subjects, who stood completely silent while he seated himself. They bowed to him in unison once again. A beautiful female offered him a glass of red wine served on a golden platter, and he gladly received it.
“My Lord, Lucifer,” a young man with soft pale green eyes and golden auburn hair appeared in front of the aisle. His voice echoed through the dome room. As he walked toward the throne, the feathers from his magnificent black wings were falling off and disintegrating before they could reach the ground. The wings seemed to disappear from his back as he approached. The others in the room bowed to him with the same respect they showed their man on the throne. He dropped to one knee before his master. “Your awakening is ahead of schedule.”
Lucifer sat on his throne, arrogantly swirling the glass of blood wine in his hand.
“It was unexpected,” he said. His perfectly balanced face and grayish platinum hair reflected off the silver surface of the wine glass. “What of Arvin and Acelin?”
“They are deep in their slumber,” Soren informed his master. “Only you are awake before your time, my Lord. I was concerned when I did not know your whereabouts the last several days.”
“I was momentarily distracted. It was quite impressive to see how much the humans have advanced since I was last among them.”
“Their simple species never fails to replicate their history.” Soren replied disparagingly. He promptly noticed his master’s intrigued expression. It was… somewhat unusual.
“If you were a human, Soren, what sort of wish is worth dying for?”
“I wouldn’t know, my Lord,” Soren was disgusted at the thought. “I am a demon.”
“Of course you are,” Lucifer reached out to Soren’s face with his hand, “and a beautiful one at that,” Lucifer smiled, his nails digging lightly into Soren’s flawless face. Crimson blood dripped from the cuts. They healed instantaneously.
†††††
It was far too late for her to be out. As much as she would hate to admit it, the nights of this city do not pity a young girl’s soul. There is something about the dark that brings out the malicious side of people. Just the other day she had read about two young girls who were raped and murdered while returning home from school. Photographs of their bloodstained bodies still lingered in her mind. Kali winced at the thought.
She didn’t intend on staying out so late. A male co-worker was supposed to come in after her shift, but was a no-show. Her manager strongly insisted that she cover for him. She needed this job badly enough to agree.
It wasn’t that she needed the money. Her tuition was paid in advance and Chevalier has been a good provider, but he worked far too hard for their living expenses. How long could he go on working three jobs? She wanted to make a little extra money so she could at least take care of herself and lighten his burden.
Speaking of Chevalier, he must be furious that she was not home at this hour.
A group of young men standing idly by the side of the street reminded her to pick up her pace. She focused on the end of the road to avoid direct eye contact. When she heard footsteps following her at her own speed, she began jogging. Their pace matched hers.
Before she had the chance to bolt, a cold and rough hand grabbed her forearm.
“Where are you going in such a hurry?” she heard one of them asking. Nothing good could come of this. “You’re acting like we’re a bunch of criminals.”
Her heart went into a frenzy. Pictures of the bloodstained corpses of murdered girls flashed into her head. Kali took a moment to make her face carefully neutral before turning around.
“I’m running late,” she replied as she slowly pulled her arm back. The man caught it once more and pulled her forward aggressively.
“I’m sure you can spare a moment for us,” he grinned. The foul stench from his breath made her stomach churn. She pushed away from him to keep as much distant between them as possible. “What’s a beauty like you doing running around at this hour?”
She felt disgusted when she felt a hand on her buttock. She did not know which of the men harassed her, but she instinctually slapped the man in front of her. She would be lying if she blamed it all on reflexes, though. At the moment, he was the object of her contempt. He and the rest of his men seemed stunned by the hit.
Kali made use of this chance and dashed away. Fear and adrenaline rushed to her head, fueling her body. She would not be so lucky to escape again if they caught her. God, she could just imagine the things they would do to her! Genuine fear rushed to her head. She didn’t bother to look back to see how far she had run. She could hear their rampaging footsteps close behind, and she was running out of breath.
She couldn’t keep this up forever.
Spotting a trashcan full of beer bottles at the end of the curb, Kali grabbed the first bottle she saw and smashed the bottom against the metal light post. With what seemed to be a weapon on hand, she turned to stand her ground.
The men were cautious at first. Something about a little thing like her threatening them with a broken bottle was amusing to them. Her body was shaking with fear, but her face was stoic. The group of men laughed at her attempt at bravery. The man who had snatched her wrist before suddenly grabbed her wrist and squeezed it, until she dropped the broken bottle on the ground. She struggled to wiggle away from
Suddenly, he loosened his fist and she pulled away by instinct. To her surprise, he fell to his knees, gasping for air. His face held a look of pain as tears began to stream from his eyes. She had never seen a man in so much agony.
“What’s wrong with you?” his men were backing away at his unusual display. His head began to turn to the left. He screamed out for help, but his head continued to turn all the way around. The pain on his face was frozen at the moment of his death. His crew stood in complete shock.
“It’s that girl!” a man shouted out. “She did this to him! She…she’s a witch!”
Kali had never seen a man dead before, much less dying. She had attended several funerals, but they were all closed casket ceremonies. Nothing had ever come close to what she just saw. When she turned back to look at the others, they were glaring at her with bristling hatred. Their body language showed obvious murderous intent.
One man pulled out a knife from his pocket, slowly approaching her. There was no doubt in her mind what he was going to do with the knife.
Another man was behind her. She didn’t realize he was there her until he grabbed her by the wrists and held her in place. The other man raised the knife above his head, aiming at her heart.
“No please…” she begged, her eyes glued on the streetlight reflecting on the blade of the sharp knife. She imaged how it would penetrate her flesh and flinched.
“You’re not going soft, are you?” she heard the man behind her ask when a long moment had passed. “She’s clearly a witch, she killed him! It’s not like this is the first time you killed somebody!”
“Shut up!” the knife-wielder said, agitatedly. “It’s not me, it’s her! I…I can’t move my hand!”
“What the hell are you talking about? Just finish her already!”
He lowered the knife from above his head towards his neck. “Help me…I can’t control my hand!” he said in panic. His other arm rose to control the knife. Before his friends could reach him, the knife sliced through his throat.