Demon ∞ l.h.

∞ Chapter Twenty One ∞

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∞ Present Time ∞

Letting out an awkward cough, he resumes his position back on the couch.

"What did you want to ask me?"

My mouth moves up and down in astonishment, but no words are coming out. I was extremely surprised at Luke's sudden willingness to answer my questions, in previous times he had been nothing but unhelpful in my quest to find out more about Hell.

If Luke had given me any reason to believe he was awkward moments before, he gave no telltale signs now. His handsome features were completely neutral, resting in a state of complete disinterest. Only his eyes gave away what I imagined was his his true feelings. The blue normally clear and light, they were clouded by hesitance and...was it concern? I mentally shake my head, it couldn't be.

I blinked at him in silence. Luke sat patiently waiting for me to gain my composure. After a few seconds of not speaking one of his perfect eyebrows arched, questioning me silently. Damn it, Eve. Pull yourself together woman1 You're a graduated, dignified 26 year old now act like it! My brain was screaming at me.

I let out a short cough and pulled what I thought was a business-like expression onto my face. "Questions, right, yes of course." Could you get any more awkward? "Is there any restrictions to the questions I ask?"

Luke looks down for a moment, and deliberates for a second, tapping his long fingers onto his black-slack covered legs. After only a few seconds he looks up at me once more. "There is no restriction to what you ask me, Eve, but there will be restrictions in the answers I give you. Do you understand?"

Immediately I nod my head. That was the best offer I was probably going to get, I might as well take it. "Okay, first question: this really is Hell?"

"Correct. I've told you this many times before, did you not believe me?" Luke's answer is cold and sharp, much like his personality. I shook my head at his question.

"It was hard to believe," I admit with a shrug, "Hard to accept it, I guess, I mean it goes against everything I believed in. Which leads me to my next question... If there really is a...Hell, does that not mean Heaven exists as well?"

I watch Luke's expression carefully, judging his reaction to my prying queries. His expression remained as neutral as ever, and I paid careful attention to his eyes. The vibrant blue, usually swimming with emotions had stilled.

Luke's answer came slower this time, more carefully worded as if he was afraid of saying the wrong thing. "Yes, Eve, Heaven exists. Heaven is as old as Hell, if not older. From the moment the first sinner committed her first crime, Hell has been ready to receive her the instant her heart ceased to beat."

"Her?"

"Surely you know who the first sinner was, Eve. After all, you share the same name."

"Eve? As in 'Adam and Eve' Eve?" Luke's nod was the only confirmation I needed.

"What happened to Adam once him and Eve were both exiled from Eden?" I can't help the curiosity to know what happened to him. Luke fell silent once more, and it was longer before he answered.

"I don't know... He came to Hell, but what I did with him, I cannot remember now. It was so long ago." I sit back into the chair in disappointment slightly, dismayed by the lack of information. Don't dwell on what you don't know, move along, get ask him as much as you can before he won't answer anymore! My subconscious was right, if I wanted to find out as much as I could about the world I lived in, I needed to ask now for who knew when I would get the opportunity again?

This one I was more hesitant to ask, fearing for the answer. "Luke, are there...angels in Heaven?"

Luke gives me a sad smile. I look at his position on the couch. Where he sat he looked powerful and intimidating only moments ago, but now, a certain vulnerability seeped through, leaving him looking like a small, lost child.

"Did you ever hear the story about how I became ruler of Hell? How I fell from grace, Eve?"

I try to think back, but as hard as I try I can't remember stories of Lucifer. Damn, I really should have paid attention in those mandatory bible study lessons. I shake my head.

"My father was the reason I was cast out of heaven- yes, I was an angel. I'm sure you have heard the quote: 'Be careful who you trust, for the Devil was once an angel?'. Anyway, my father, God, threw me out of Heaven downstairs to here because I loved him. More than anything did I love him." Luke's sad expression suddenly twisted until it resembled the smirk I despised so much.

"And then he created you hairless little apes, and asked us to do what? Bow down to you, of all things! Bow down to flawed, murderous human beings and love them more than my creator? I told him I couldn't that I would never love a human more than him and he did what? He got Michael, my very own brother, to cast me out of Heaven into Hell." I watched as Luke's Adams apple bobbed in his throat, his hands nervously twitching in his lap.

"Luke..."

"Tell me Eve, does the punishment fit the crime? Is it such a crime to love one's father too much?"

I couldn't answer him I just couldn't do it. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't help but feel sympathy for the Devil.

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Morgan xx