*All characters are 18+. This is fiction for erotic entertainment only; I do not condone nonconsensual sex.*
*This is a heaven/hell fantasy. Also, unlike my usual, there is NO male orgasm.*
***
I dove.
Muscles tight, wings sharply angled, pure white feathers smoothed. Darkness and heat soon greeted me. The winds were gentle this high up, flaring into a storm as I approached my target.
I landed, soft and silent on a ledge overseeing the great city. Tall, spired buildings scattered the landscape, like stalagmites tipped with balls of flame. Orange-red heat flickered from the cavernous depths surrounding the city, a fissure that made an island for its human denizens.
Hell.
The second circle, specifically. There were few demons here, and hopefully, none that could detect me. I checked my invisibility again. I wasn't an archangel sent here with a divine purpose. If one of them caught me, they wouldn't be pleased.
Neither would a demon, but I could handle them. Probably.
I shrugged away my worries. Sneaking out had been easy. This would be fine, too.
I launched with the wind, riding it lower as I scanned the multitude of souls. As I grew closer, the wind grew louder, full of despair. Full of moaning, wailing voices.
My feathers shivered.
Not every soul in Hell deserved to be here. Perhaps that belief was blasphemy, but I'd come to the conclusion a month ago when a soul I'd watched over--a perfectly virtuous soul--ended up here. Somewhere.
I would find him and help him, so he could be saved, so he could go where he belonged. It was rare, but an archangel could take him from this place.
The city was vast. I glided over the tallest spires--hollow structures with souls bound within and without, buffeted by the relentless, shifting wind. Endless souls. Countless structures.
I alighted on a tower's window, peering at the souls within. None seemed aware of their surroundings, lost in their own worlds. And none were familiar. I stepped inside for a closer look. Perhaps there was some sort of organization.
"What's a pretty little bird like you doing here?"
I spun.
Framed in the window was a demon, though unlike the carvings I knew. The red, leathery wings each with a thick, sharp claw were normal. A thin, long tail tipped in fur. Two curved horns like a goat's curved back atop his head. Male--or so his proudly jutting organ proclaimed since wore nothing but knee-high black leather boots and chains around his sinewy arms.
But no monstrous visage, no armor of bones, no spikes embedded in his skin. He looked human. Normal. Beautiful.
I fixed my stare on his dark eyes and his smirking face. He shouldn't be able to see me.
I lifted my chin. "I'm here for one of these souls. Leave me to my business, demon."
He laughed. "You've no business here. They'd never send such a weak little thing." His deep, sultry voice shivered down my spine. He stalked toward me. I backed away.
His smile widened. "Don't be afraid. Play with me. It's been a while since I've tasted an angel."
I stumbled. He was lying. He had to be. Angels didn't... 'play' with demons.
He chuckled at my incredulous look. "You aren't the first to dip her pure feathers in the mud. Aren't you curious? Intrigued by our... activities?"
I shook my head, shook off his words, and gave him a cold look. He was only a cunning, lying demon. The question didn't even bear answering. Angels didn't feel lust. We were incapable of it, or so I'd been told for centuries. There were a few who had strayed--and they had all been cast down.
My hands flared with light. "Stay back and be silent, demon. I'm not here for you, but I'll destroy you if I need to."
He raised a brow but stopped walking. "Where are my manners. Allow me to introduce myself."
His wings flared wide as he swept out an arm and bowed, his tail twisting in an exaggerated flurry. "I am Asmodai, Lord of the Second Circle. At your service, O lovely feathered one."
I went still. Asmodai. One of the most ancient of demons, far older than myself. And more powerful. Amusement lit his eyes at my realizations.
Stupid. I'd been very stupid to think the Lord wouldn't notice me. But I was still an angel. Still better than him. Untouchable.
I stiffened my tone into a command. "Then you can lead me to my task, and I'll be gone from your realm."
He chuckled, offering another incline of his head. "Without even your name, darling? Allow me the small pleasure of knowing who I am aiding."
"Lyriel." A name was harmless enough.
He inclined his head. "Thank you, Lyriel." My name rolled off his tongue with too much familiarity. Perhaps allowing him anything was a bad idea. "And who might you be searching for?"
I paused, suspicious of his accommodating manner. "David Cartien. He arrived a month ago. He--"
"Ah, yes, shameless adulterer. Quite a few of those here. Come, come." The demon turned to the window.
My eyes flicked up quickly at the sight of his bare ass. His muscled back was only marginally better. He cast a smirk over his shoulder.
We flew lower toward the structures where the raging wind wasn't as strong. More proof that I was right. David's sin wasn't so terrible.
The demon disappeared inside a building. My eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness, catching on a single soul bound to a pillar across the room. David, his body buffeted by the winds. He appeared insensate, his eyes unfocused, perhaps looking inward. I took a single step closer.
Chains raced across the floor, lashed the air, and pinned me to the wall.
Asmodai leaned against a different pillar, watching me, one hand holding the chains that bound my wrists and ankles.
I snarled, struggling but unable to free myself. My power was bound as much as my body, my splayed wings flattened painfully against the hard surface behind me. "How dare you? Release me, or you'll regret this when the archangels come looking for me."
His eyes slowly traveled up and down my body, over the length and breadth of my wings. "No, darling. No one's coming for you," he purred. He prowled a few steps closer. "You're here to free a soul. To take something that's mine. What will you give me in return?"
I glared. "He doesn't belong to you. He doesn't belong here at all."
Asmodai grinned. "Are you saying that heaven... misjudged? Can I be... redeemed too? So many immaculate souls up there to ravage." He licked his lips.
I stiffened. "Demons don't have souls. Of course, you can't be redeemed."
He chuckled. "I'll have to make do with you, then, Lyriel." He stepped closer, his tail curling around my leg, the soft tip brushing my inner thighs. I stiffened.
"Relax, darling. I'm not going to hurt you."
I twisted and yanked against the chains. "Remove these, and stop touching me, demon. You're not allowed to touch me."
"Oh? Who's going to stop me?" His fingers ran through my feathers. Little shocks fluttered across my back. I shivered. He tilted his head. "Has anyone ever touched you like this?" His fingers whispered another path along my wings, brushing the bones just barely. My spine arched.
"No," I whispered, caught in the strange sensations. Wings were private. We didn't touch each other much, particularly not the wings.
His eyes lit. "Oh, you are
so
innocent." He inhaled deeply and sighed. "You curious little birds don't usually flitter down here until you've... explored other territories." He shifted closer, his body bare inches away, his tail gliding sinuously around my sensitive inner thighs.
I had no idea what he was talking about. I was mostly concerned with his large, obscene member so close, nearly touching me. "Get away from me with that!"
He chuckled. "My cock. Say it."
I shook my head.
His hands settled on my waist, warmth quickly seeping through my thin white dress. I frowned in disapproval, then looked away, straightening my spine. This creature would not have the satisfaction of unsettling me any longer.
His grin widened in the corner of my eyes. He dragged the tips of his overly warm fingers across my stomach. "Play with me, darling," he crooned. "A few hours, maybe a day--and that soul is yours. All you have to do is enjoy yourself. It's an easy bargain."
My lips thinned. I said nothing.
He sighed. His fingertips grew hard and pointy, then sliced down sharply. I flinched, but he'd only cut fabric. The shreds of my dress floated in the wind. He would not go so far as to actually hurt me. He couldn't. My breathing quickened.
His fingers grazed my bare skin. Odd tingles flared through my spine and my core. "Or, I can just take what I want," he crooned, "and you get... nothing."
My dignity. I get my dignity, you foul, horrible demon.
I swallowed.