The Beast and Beauty

Chapter 21: His wrath

Lucifer

Blood dripped from my arm heavily enough that Belle grew anxious. “Don’t worry, you don’t need to drink it all, just a sip will do.”

“It’s a little dramatic for just a sip,” she replied.

“Well it’s a f.ucking sharp dagger, my apologies for bleeding all over you.” I didn’t mean to snap, but for some reason Belle seemed to find my reaction funny.

“Just drink,” I muttered.

I lifted my arm to her lips and very delicately she held it and drank. I thought she would throw up or push me away or react in some other disgusted way, but she didn’t do any of those things, I tried not to react to how good it felt having her drink my blood, her lips around my wound, I realised if she saw that she’d probably think I was f.ucking Dracula or some s.hit.

She kept drinking as though it tasted really good, and then I realised what was happening and gently pulled my arm away from her.

“You taste so good, like summer and unicorns,” she smiled.

“Sorry, I forgot how addictive demon blood is to humans.”

“Is it to do with your divinity, like your energy?”

“Kind of, yes.”

She looked up at me like she was thinking and then asked, “and is kissing demons addictive too?”

I grinned at that and answered, “oh, extremely.”

She smiled shyly back at me and then turned and laid back against me. “So now what?” She asked.

I picked up the spell book I put beside me and gave it to her. “Now it’s the humans turn,” I teased. I flicked through the pages until I found the right one, heal all ailments. She practiced the complicated chant until she was pronouncing it fairly accurate, and huffing in frustration, said, “I can’t do it, they are so hard to pronounce, what language is this?”

“Belle, for such a book lover, I thought you’d be able to read anything.” I was only teasing, but she only huffed more and dropped herself back against my chest. Laughing I said, “calm down, you’re doing fine, and you can pronounce them good enough, the spell will know your intention and so will I as it will take both myself and the spell to make this work.”

She sat up again and picked the book back up. I lit the candles for her even though we didn’t really need them, a lot of ritualistic items weren’t needed, but it helped practitioners to focus on something and to believe in it more. She chanted the spell and I unleashed my own powers, I felt when they connected with the power of the spell and when it was complete, the candles blew out.

“Ow!” She grabbed her legs and rubbed at them. “What? What’s wrong?” I frowned with concern it should have worked.

Wincing she gritted, “it’s ok, this usually happens, I get the most severe feeling of pins and needles when feeling first comes, it should subside within a few minutes.”

I watched her cautiously I really hoped I hadn’t f.ucked anything up, but like she said, after a few minutes she seemed fine, and slowly she moved her legs. I stood up and standing in front of her I held my hands out, she placed her hands in mine and I gently helped her to her feet.

It took a long while slowly walking her around until she was used to using them, she held my hands for support and after a while she was able to walk on her own.

“Thank you so much for this,” she smiled warmly.

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Stop doing that.”

“What? I’m not doing anything.”

She grabbed my hands and stopped me from walking away, she stood in front of me like almost chest to chest (if she wasn’t so petite and short) and looked up into my eyes. “Lucifer, be kind to yourself, when others thank you or say nice things about you, don’t be so quick to disregard it like it’s meaningless, or you don’t deserve it.”

I jerked away from her, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do, every time I thank you or say something nice about you, you just shrug it off. You are kind, Lucifer.”

“I’m not f.ucking kind, get that stupid s.hit out of your head and go dance with your f.ucking dead father’s photo.”

I waited for her to storm off or cry, but she did neither, she smiled at me sadly and that was so much worse. “I’m sorry you have such anger in your heart, Lucifer, I’m sorry for whatever pain and heartache you went through to cause it.”

She walked off after that and the rage that had been coursing through my body finally came out, I smashed my fist into the concrete wall, and it cracked and splintered all the way up to the ceiling, my cheeks were wet, but I refused to believe it was sadness or pain, it was rage, had to be.

Belial came in and then stopped in the doorway warily. “King?”

He was a king in his own right, but I was king of them all. “What!” I spat.

“It can wait, but if you need an outlet for your wrath, may I suggest our newest soul, he is quite the monster, possibly worse than any other we’ve had here before.”

With my forearm leaning against the wall, I lay my forehead against my arm and asked in a barely controlled voice, “what did he do?”

“Everything, the better question would be what hasn’t he done.”

That was good enough for me. I stormed past Belial and made my way to the worst part of my realm, where the most severe and horrific punishments and t.orture were carried out.

I saw the man chained up and ready for me and grinned wickedly. I don’t know how long I spent causing him as much pain as I could, down here pain was so much more severe, it was like having every nerve ending exposed and multiply that by a hundred.

I was shirtless but kept my trousers and boots on. I was covered in blood and sweating so that blood mixed with sweat was dripping down my chest when Belle came in, she looked at me while I did terrible things and then without a word she ran back out. What had she been doing here?