Sold My Soul *editing*

Ten - The Council/Reunited

Lucifer walked me through the winding halls of his palace when we came to a small door. There was no handle on the door however, so it could not be opened by anyone who passed by. Lucifer reached over me to touch a hidden wall panel that was completely unnoticeable, unless you knew it was there. When he pushed in the panel, the wall next to the door slid open; the door was merely a distraction! Turning to examine my reaction (which was to keep a blank face), he grabbed my arm and led me into the room.

It was a small, dark place lit only by a few candles. In the center was a round table covered in maps, books, and wooden pieces representing soldiers. Seated around the table in low chairs were a few familiar faces in the history of wars: Adolf Hitler, Genghis Khan, and Napoleon Bonaparte, to name a few. In my many years locked down in this hell hole, I'd had a lot of time to read up on history, as I had found I have a passion for it.

"Servants to the War Council of the Underworld, meet your future queen, Ivory Delphine," Lucifer announced formally.

I stared in shock as some of the cruellest, most vicious people in the history of the world bowed before me. Lucifer led me to two seats at the "head" of the table - somehow, even though the table was circular, Lucifer managed to clearly mark himself as the leader.

"So," Lucifer spoke after making sure I was comfortably seated, "what news?" He turned to face the council.

Napoleon spoke up. "We took the angels by complete surprise with our first attack. They did not expect us to come so soon or so many. We lost men, but they lost many more. The battle is almost won."

Lucifer growled, whether in approval or aggravation I was not sure. "Yes, we may be winning the battle, but what about the big picture? What about the whole war?"

And that was followed by a seemingly endless monsoon of war speech with sprinkles of dry humor here and there. Never have I ever experienced something so painfully boring that it actually brought tears to my eyes. I sat silently in my chair, occasionally nodding my head as if to signify that I actually understood what was happening. One of the times I was nodding my head, my head failed to come back up as my eyelids fluttered shut. I flung my head up in surprise. I was a soulless body, I should not be able to experience the feeling of being tired. Or was this meeting actually so boring that it bored an empty being of the devil to actually fall asleep? But I recalled the dreams I'd had earlier, things I also should not have been experiencing. What was happening to me?

At some point, everyone in the room stood up. I looked around and watched the men bid each other farewell. They filed out of various secret doorways. How could a room so small have so many openings? Why, I believe that if one pressed enough panels, the room and its walls would no longer exist; it would just be a continuation of the other halls and rooms that led up to it.

I blinked to clear my head and suddenly Lucifer and I were the only ones in the room. He looked over at me with a sideways glance and began laughing hysterically.

"Ivy, you should have seen yourself," he gasped. "I've never seen anyone so bored in my entire life! And when you nodded off to sleep - I almost lost it right then and there. Luckily you picked your head up very quickly, before anyone else could notice. Did you even hear a word we said?"

Sheepishly, I shook my head.

Lucifer grinned. "We're winning, my dear! Soon the angels will fall and I - no, we - shall rule together!"

He pulled me out of the chair excitedly and spun me around in his arms. I laughed in exhilaration as I spun, soon landing in a deep embrace. My head rested on his shoulder and he held me tightly at my lower back.

"Ivy...," he murmured into my hair.

I simply nestled my head further in his shoulder. I couldn't explain it, but I felt a need for his embrace, for his strong arms to hold me as they did now.