Dangerous Illusions

Chapter 20

The servant disappeared once more into the castle. While they waited, a stable hand came and led Caz away, looking over his shoulder at the new girl.

"Now, now, little angel. Be patient. She'll be back shortly and then I won't touch you anymore."

Sallion froze at his words. What was he planning? She could see the chaos and mischief in his hard gaze as he watched her.

The servant returned silently, behind Sallion. She had a small suspicion how her King wanted the collar and leash to be used. Exor gave a quick, subtle nod to the servant, who quickly slid the collar around Sallion's throat and snapped it closed, deftly threading a heart shaped lock through the two D-rings on either side of the snap that held the collar closed. The lock clicked with a sound of finality and in the same moment, the servant hooked the leash onto the front O-ring. It all happened much too fast for Sallion to have a chance to react until after the leash had been handed to Exor.

"Thank you, you are dismissed." He said to the servant before turning back to Sallion and giving a very patronizing "Good girl."

Exor laughed as he released her wrist. Sallion's cheeks flamed red at the phrase and her gaze hardened into a glare. She lifted her hands to the coarse leather of the collar, attempting to remove it, before her fingers felt the hard surface of the lock.

"I always keep my promises, little angel, but we can't have you trying to run off just yet."

The way Exor said the words hinted at something much darker than Sallion could imagine.

"P-please... take this off. I won't run away. I just... I'm so confused..." Sallion whimpered softly, still tugging at the lock on the collar, praying it would malfunction and open for her.

Without answering her, Exor made his way up the stairs of the castle, toward the two large oak doors that led into the grand building, giving Sallion no choice but to follow. She kept her head down, her hair falling over both shoulders to make a makeshift cover, hiding her face from view. Each step she took behind Exor only multiplied the humiliation she felt. He led her to a large room lined with large oak dining tables and benches on either side. She knew the room was full of other demons just from the noise they made when Exor entered, cheering, laughing, and talking loudly over one another. Exor stopped occasionally to make small talk with several demons, tugging on the leash as if making sure she was still there. Once, he pulled hard enough to make her stumble and the room erupted with laughter as she fell to her hands and knees. As she attempted to stand, she felt his foot pressing down ever so slightly on her back, keeping her on her hands and knees.

"Stay, little angel. I rather enjoy the sight of you in this position." Exor almost purred.

Sallion thought back to when they stood outside, how the servant had addressed him as "my Lord", and suddenly, realization dawned on her. He was the king down here, which meant... She lifted her head to look up at him. His attention was no longer on her, his back turned to her.

"Lucifer...?" She asked softly, her tone one of both awe and fear.

Slowly, Exor turned to face her. His expression was dark and anger radiated off his body like heat waves, causing Sallion to flinch under his hard gaze. He pulled her up by the leash until she was standing on the tips of her toes, hands wrapped around her collar to keep it from digging into her throat. The room had gone eerily quiet, everyone watching, waiting to see what their king would do to the poor girl who had dared to call him by that name.

"What did you just call me?" Exor seethed, releasing the leash suddenly and shoving Sallion back.

"I... you're Lucifer, aren't you?" Sallion questioned, oblivious to the fact that that name had been what triggered his sudden anger.

The blow came so quick that Sallion had no time to try to evade it. The back of his hand landed against her cheek, the echo of it mixing with Sallion's pained yelp as she fell back onto her rear.

"I-I..." she stuttered as Exor advanced toward her, his hands balled into fists at his sides.

"You don't speak! You lost that right when you chose to call me that damned name!" He growled, grabbing a fist full of her red hair and yanking her to her feet once more, satisfied when he noticed the tears filling her emerald eyes. "You are nothing. You will do what I say, when I say and if I ever hear another word pass those pretty little lips of yours, you will be begging God to save you. But he won't. Because you're worthless."

A sob escaped Sallion's throat as Exor threw her across the room, watching as her body crashed into one of the dining tables. The tears fell, sliding down her cheeks as she stood, trembling, and lifted her gaze to his.

The other demons in the room gasped collectively at her nerve. She was brave, but she was also incredibly stupid.

"How was I supposed to know you don't like that name? That is the name you're known by everywhere, except apparently here!" She cried, swiping a hand across her cheeks to rid them of the tears that had fallen. "And you... you don't get to tell me what worth I hold. You know nothing about me or why I was sent here!"

Exor's top lip curled up in disgust as he glared at Sallion. Before he could do anything else, Sallion turned and fled from the room, the echo of her sobs trailing after her. He cursed under his breath and chased after her. He couldn't let her defy him like this in front of all these people. It would hurt his reputation more than help it.

Sallion heard him follow and quickly turned down a dark path that had a slow steady descending staircase. She followed the stairs as fast as she could, glancing over her shoulder as she did. She saw his shadow pass by and she breathed a sigh of relief, slowing her steps until she was stopped on the stairs. She panted heavily, her tears still streaming steadily down her cheeks.

Did Gabriel know what was happening? Did he know this would happen? Was being cast out of heaven not the true punishment for her crime?

The thought made her tears come faster and she slid to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest and letting out a heartbroken sob. If this was her punishment, she should endure it. She knew that, but she couldn't bring herself to accept it. The staircase darkened and, without looking up, Sallion knew Exor had found her. She trembled with fear as she heard his slow methodical descent toward her.

"There you are, little angel. I was afraid you might miss the first game I had planned." Exor spoke slowly, obviously attempting to control his anger. He bent down to grab hold of the leash, watching the sobbing girl. A part of him he'd believed long dead felt sorry for her, felt bad for what he'd already put her through, and felt even worse knowing what he had planned. The guilt stopped him. Could he really treat her this badly? Could he really render her as useless as he'd claimed in the throne room?

The weakness he felt made him angry once more and he pulled hard on the leash.

"Follow. We'll deal with the broken rules later, but for now, we must be getting back." He ordered, turning and making his way back up the staircase, not caring in the slightest that she would struggle to keep up with him, having been given no opportunity to stand.

"Oh, and one more thing, little angel, I better never see you walk again, unless I tell you to do so. You will learn to keep up with me even while crawling like the lowly animal you are. Stupid pet..." he muttered the last part under his breathe before chuckling at the sudden idea. Yes, that is what he would make of her. A pet. Trained and broken to only obey his command and nothing else.

She remained silent the entire way back to the throne room, her focus on trying to bring herself to accept the punishment Gabriel had given her. Perhaps it was a lesson in obedience. It certainly would be fitting, seeing as how she was cast out for breaking a rule and now was being given hard to follow rules. Yes, this must be her true punishment. If Gabriel was watching, she vowed to make him proud, to follow the rules she was given to the absolute best of her abilities. No, better than that. Her best had proven to be not good enough, so she'd do better, try harder.

The throne room was still silent when they entered and Sallion was somewhat glad for the quiet atmosphere. Exor tugged harder on the leash, forcing Sallion to crawl faster behind him until he got to his throne and sat down. She kept her gaze on the floor as he spoke, issuing yet another rule.

"Whenever I am sitting, you will kneel, silently, next to my right hand so that I may touch you whenever I please. You will not pull away from me or try to move out of my reach." He then turned his attention to the rest of the room while Sallion moved to kneel at his right hand, keeping her head bowed submissively. "Let's serve dinner."

The room seemed to come alive in that moment as servants who'd stopped working to watch the scene jumped back to their tasks, rushing from the room, the other demons resumed their conversations, and a group of five large men approached the throne.

"We heard you called for your advisors, my Lord. How can we assist you?" One of the men asked, his voice soft so that only the seven of them could hear.

"I am considering making this angel my pet. I do not see any harm in doing so but I want your input. Will it hurt my reputation as King if I do so?" Exor inquired.

The question startled Sallion and she let out a soft whine, tears pricking at her eyes once more. She could only imagine what he meant by "pet".

"No, my Lord. I do not believe it would hurt your reputation. It may actually help. You have gone a wee bit soft. The display earlier definitely got everyone's attention." One of the five men stated after several moments.