Page 68 of Sleeping Redemption
“I came because I sensed your discovery. Tell me, what is plaguing my followers?” His tone left no room for anything but a straightforward response from me. Alerting him that I didn’t have any answers was not going to be acceptable.
Swallowing hard past my heartbeat lodged in my throat, I drew my shoulders back. “The problem lies in the presence of too much evil influence or perhaps the lack of holy grace. Either way, the scale has shifted slightly here, and I have yet to determine how far this trend stretches to the other sectors.”
His head tilted at me like he took everything I said under careful consideration.
“Hm,” was all he said in response to my explanation while the heated pads of his fingers traced over the line of my jaw and down the front of my throat. There, he swiped an idle pattern over where my voice box rested in the column of my neck.
After enough time had passed where I was tempted to speak just to break the silence, my lips parted, but no sound came forth. I tried once more. My mouth moved with my tongue, trying to enunciate the words and force them out, but I heard nothing at all. There was only the stark silence between Lucifer and I on the porch.
My oceanic blue eyes widened at him in confusion and panic.
The rich sound of his chuckle echoed around me. “Ah, yes. Go on, give me that look, my valiant fallen soldier. I want to be certain that you do not interrupt what I am about to bestow upon you.”
Both my brows furrowed together with a sense of hurt flashing across my eyes that the one I pledged my loyalty to was using his malevolence over me.
His hand came up under my jaw, cradling it in his palm. If the situation had been any different, one may have even called it an affectionate touch.
“Now, let me impress upon you what my expectations are. The balance between the virtuous and the sinful is not the only change I see occurring. I see it in you as well, Kinley. So, let me take a moment to remind you of your duty and pledge to my cause.”
I stood there, as still as a statue, while his grasp on my jaw tightened ever so slightly.
He leaned forward, and I could smell the abrasive scent of sulfur beneath the warmth radiating off him. Lucifer’s mouth lowered to my ear as if he were going to whisper sweet nothings to a lover.
“I have always offered you freedom to play with your toys. As of recent, I even have overlooked certain indiscretions of which toys you fuck. But, make no mistake, that does not mean I will condone your inability to serve me in conducting my business on the mortal plane.”
He paused to take a deep inhale while brushing the side of his face against my own.
Continuing, he spoke in a low and dangerous tone. “When I return, and Iwillreturn soon, I expect a great deal from you. Not only do I want answers, but I want a plan and strategy in place to rectify the balance of light and dark. I have great expectations foryour future, Kinley. Find a way to even the scales and overcome this situation in a way that pleases me. Am I understood?”
Slowly, I nodded at him, confirming my understanding of what needed to be done.
His face drew back, as did his hand.
“Good girl. Now, just one more thing for me.” The shadows shrouded his face in this form, but I could hear the smirk in his words. “Have faith that I know what is best for you, and believe that I will never abandon you, even when you want to abandon yourself. Can you do that for me?”
My body went rigid with tension. When I went to verbalize my response, I was once more reminded of my muted state.
Lucifer flicked his fingers in my direction like he would propel a discarded cigarette at me. An invisible force made impact with my chest hard enough that I gasped out. My strained cough finally broke through the supernatural gag that he had imparted on me.
“What were you saying, Kinley?” He prompted me to give my response again.
Simultaneously speaking while nodding, I said, “You have my faith and my unwavering loyalty.”
“That is exactly what I want to hear. Go on, then. This will be an uphill battle. Do not disappoint me,” he warned.
Before I could respond any further, the sun filtered through his presence until the shadows around him faded, and I was left alone with just my orders on my porch.
Remember, only my love will ever be your salvation.
To have the Devil’s love was something to be embraced and also to be feared.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Reality can be a cruel son of a bitch. Lucifer’s visit had come as a stark reminder of my place amongst the fallen. In typical fashion, he hadn’t been cruel, but he hadn’t been gracious either.
The entire encounter had left me feeling inadequate in a lot of ways and angry in a handful of others.
After delving into more research on other sectors, I began the tedious task of tracking the minor shifts and reconciling them against any further event-driven data I could get my hands on.
