Satan's Queen

10

Stiff and awkward, Jacob followed her inside. It was strange to be in one piece again. It was strange to be him again. He hadn't yet shifted the echoes of agony that he'd suffered over the last several weeks. And it would be a long time before he did, he knew. Even now he shivered, as though the flames were still peeling away his skin.

Shaking himself, he looked around the room. The bed was the first thing he saw, a hard knot tightening in his belly.

They both turned as the door slammed shut, seemingly of its own accord.

Kaitlyn wrapped her arms around herself. The demon was starting to get heavy. Liquid dripped onto the floor from places Jacob didn't want to think about. The nicest thing they could do was kill it. But Jacob knew as well as the next angel that nothing "died" in hell. To die in hell was a terrible thing—even more than an eternity of suffering. It wasn't just a death—it was the utter destruction of the soul. Jacob's heart lurched as he looked down upon the pathetic creature. Nothing deserved such a fate.

Not even Satan himself.

'Where should we put it?' Jacob said.

'On the bed.'

'Where are you going to sleep?'

Kaitlyn gave a sour chuckle. 'I could never sleep on that bed again.' A shadow passed over her face. The muscle in Jacob's belly tightened further.

Carefully, he lowered the demon onto the bed. When he pulled away, his arms were wet and glistening with whatever was coming out of it.

Kaitlyn laid a hand on his shoulder. 'Come on, I'll help wipe you down.' She looked down at her own blackened arms and filthy shirt, both from the demon and from Jacob's own once burned body.

The shower was hot. Jacob was careful to keep his wings out of the wet as Kaitlyn soaped him up. He couldn't help but gaze at her like he hadn't seen her for years. The water plastered her long, dark hair to her head and neck. Droplets beaded her shoulders and clung to her nipples. More beaded her pubic hair. She had never looked more beautiful. Sad. But beautiful.

Jacob lifted her chin. 'Why are you sad? We're together again!'

'For how long?' She wiped down his arms. 'How are you feeling? Do you-do you remember it all?'

'The fires, you mean?'

She nodded

Jacob kept his face straight, even as he felt the heat burning behind his eyes, down his throat, liquifying his lungs. He could almost feel it inside him, the way it scorched and melted his bones. He could not put words to the agony he'd felt—and he wouldn't.

'No. I can't remember a thing.'

The corner of Kaitlyn's mouth twitched. 'You're a worse liar than I am.'

'And what about you, Kaitlyn? How are you feeling?'

'Shit. And that's the way it should be. I'm a terrible person, Jacob.'

'Kaitlyn ...'

'You know how many times we fucked?' she blurted. 'While you burned? While you writhed in agony? I can't even count. And it gets worse—I fucked him not only as an angel but as a monster. A monster! Don't you get it? I had his big red cock inside me. And I liked it. I convinced myself that I liked it! I betrayed you! I'm a slut and a whore! I don't deserve you. I don't deserve heaven or God or fucking life.'

She threw the washer on the floor. Jacob tried to grab for her but she slipped through his hands.

'Stop it,' she said. 'Don't touch me or you'll have to wash yourself again to get the filth off.'