Chapter 1

The click clack of my heels accompanied me through the harried atmosphere of the Satani Media lobby. To most it would have appeared like any other morning in any other office. I however, could tell that something was wrong – very wrong. Each of my steps appeared smooth and unfaltering to the untrained eye but to me the tension and dread was weighing down each click and clack of my ridiculously expensive shoes. The soles feeling as though they were made of concrete, each step was as difficult and lagging as the first.

Shooting a glance towards the reception desk, my fears were only heighted when I noted the frown firmly between Kirsten’s overly plucked brows. The fact that her face was even showing a hint of emotion proved just how bad the situation was. It must be truly horrific to stir her brow in such a way. Almost instantly my heart was in my stomach and it felt as if it was turning over and over. I gulped and met her weary gaze with a shaky smile. Her solemn reply only confirmed it – something was definitely wrong.

Someone bumped into me, knocking the Styrofoam cup of coffee from my fingers so that the scalding hot contents spilt all over my once crisp white shirt and my new grey skirt. The perpetrator glanced up apologetically as I cussed out loud attracting attention from several people in the lobby before they hastily glanced away. Removing my gaze from my ruined top, I noted that the man who had bumped into me was still apologising to me, his face showing utter terror as he waited for me to address him. I was stuck between letting him get a piece of my mind and confirming the silly fears that had been picked up in the past few months or whether to treat him kindly even though I was annoyed at my outfit being ruined.

I almost laughed when the man who was taller than me and obviously worked out quite a lot held his hands out to me in defence as if I was going to strike him a great blow. I paused for a moment. How I had gotten a reputation as bad as Lucius’? My eyes however strayed past the man to Kirsten sitting behind the desk with that frown between her brows and it wasn’t long before I remembered my previous urgency. What did I care about coffee stains when Lucius was probably going to tell me that the world is going to implode or something equally catastrophic?

“Get someone to clean this mess up. We don’t want anyone to slip now do we?” I smiled gently down at the cowering man but I might as well have slapped him or asked him to lick it up with the pained looked he was giving me. He hastily bobbed his head, the thick floppy blonde hair falling in front of his eyes before he hastily swiped it behind his ears. He backed up a step, still refusing to meet my gaze as he withdrew. He reminded me of a scolded puppy with its tail between its legs and I felt suddenly guilty for putting the fear of God into the man. But how could I have made the situation any better?

It would have been funny in a pathetic kind of way if this kind of thing didn’t happen nearly every single day. It was weird, after about 3 months of being at Satani Media people started to treat me differently. The humans, with the exception of Kirsten, assumed that I must be a bitch to be able to handle my own against the notorious Lucius Satani, the CEO of Satani Media. The demonic however, suddenly started treating me with a degree of respect. I had saved them and destroyed one of the most deadly devices to their kind. As a result, they all assumed that I had powerful blood which earned me many potential suitors should I want them. I shuddered at the thought. They may look like ordinary people but Lucius had been teaching me what really lurked under their skins and the essences that fed their dark and twisted souls. It was fair to say that none of them would make the cut for step- dad for my son who was becoming more susceptible to people’s influences as the days went on.

With a resigned sigh, I made my way to the lift, not an ounce of surprise on my face when a new coffee was placed in my hand while someone else offered me a clothes bag which I assumed would have a ridiculously expensive outfit in it. Taking the coffee from the cowering man and the clothes bag from a short stout woman, I didn’t even blink when I met undulating red irises. They alone told me all I needed to know – she was a demon. They had been more obvious since the battle, letting me know who they were so that I knew whom I could discuss matters with. It was quite surprising that none of the humans noticed but as with everything, human nature allows each person a great degree of deniability. It took me up until two angels and the devil himself revealed themselves to me; horns, wings and tails and all, for me to finally see what had been in front of my eyes the entire time.

Nodding my head in thanks, I took a grateful sip of the coffee and accepted the clothes bag before using my little pinkie to press the call button for the lifts. It took only a moment for the metal doors to slide open but I had to wait several seconds for the people to pile out of the box before I could step inside. I pressed the button at the top of the list before leaning forwards and somehow managing to slide my ID card though the slot using my little finger and my ring finger. As the card reader was at waist height, I had to lean a little too far forward to swipe the card as it was hanging around my neck on a black and red cord. I had to be careful with the card as the cord would disintegrate the entire thing should someone else take possession of it. It was a new security feature that Lucius decided to add after last year’s fiasco in which I almost ended up dead with a blessed arrow through my head.

The entire thing was the result of religious zealots who had managed to see past the veils covering most mortal’s eyes and had somehow come to the conclusion that everyone in Satani Media was demonic – literally. For me they took that statement and tried to prove it with an impromptu exorcism. Yes, nothing says a demon resides in your soul like being covered with holy water while a bunch of men in balaclavas brandish crossbows and crucifixes. It would have been something to laugh about if it didn’t nearly cost me my life and hadn’t launched me into a world of supernatural.

The tinny voice announced that we had reached the top floor before a poor rendition of Highway to Hell started to blare through the speakers. I laughed a little while shaking my head back and forth a few times as the door slid open. That was one of the good things about Lucius - you could always count on him to lighten the mood and be a little bit ridiculous. No matter what people said about him, he was definitely more than a scary suit. After all, he was once an angel so he’s not all bad.

Stepping into the long stretching hallway, I found that my steps had a slight bounce as I jigged to the tune up until the doors clanked shut behind me. It was then that I looked up and noted that Lucius was standing about 15 feet away. There were a few things I noted as unusual. Firstly he was just coming out of Phil’s office, secondly he looked rather disgruntled and as I peered closer I noted that there appeared to be pink frosting on the lapels of his jacket. Being the devil you would expect the man to look evil. Lucius however, was quite the opposite. Taking after his angelic side, he was more of a beautiful man rather than creature of your worst nightmare and he was stood before me in all his glory with his arms folded across his chest as he glared at the now closed door.

Stepping into his line of vision and blocking his view of the door, I offered him a warm smile. He blinked a few times as if coming from a daze before he settled his gaze upon me. I allowed myself to take him in and was rather surprised by his dishevelled state. To go with the frosted lapels, I noted that his shirt and suit were less than immaculate. Both had signs of frosting and were rather crumpled as if he had slept in them. That caused my heart to race more than his beautiful face because that man usually had two changes of clothes in his office. Raising both brows, I watched in amusement as he frowned before following my gaze to his rumpled state.

“Oh sorry, I fell asleep in my office last night.” He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly before wrapping an arm around my shoulder and guiding me down the corridor. I knew in an instant that he was ushering me away from the room he had just vacated and that he was trying to hide something but I let it pass.  I could hold off from secrets for five minutes.

“You need to take better care of yourself, even if you are the devil.” I sent him a cheeky grin before lumping everything onto my desk as I passed. We paused on the threshold of his office. Normally he would proceed on his own but he seemed to linger there for a moment.

“I will. I- um- Savannah? Can I talk to you for a moment in private?” He opened the door to his darkened office and held it open for me expectantly. Maybe secrets couldn’t wait, I thought churlishly as I noted the concern etched upon his features. I knew it would be bad, the feeling that was lingering in the air was becoming more cloying as the moments passed.

“Sure,” I whispered feeling dread well up once more in the pit of my stomach.

As soon as I brushed past him into his office, I heard the door bang shut behind me, a breeze accompanying it as the two of us became engulfed in darkness. Whipping my head around, I turned to look at Lucius only to find darkness on all sides.

“Lucius? Luke? What’s going on?” I questioned into the darkness as my heart rate picked up speed. I made to retreat only for the lights to suddenly flick upon. The bright light assaulted my eyes making them stream as I blinked rapidly to ease the pain.

“SURPRISE. Happy Birthday Savannah!” The sound of several voices shouting caused me to stumble backwards. I stood there for a moment, just taking it all in before I felt my eyes welling with tears and felt my heart warm at the sight before me. Not giving them a chance to gather their wits, I launched myself at two very attractive men wrapping my arms around their necks as I hugged them for all their worth.

“What are you guys doing here?” I questioned as I pulled back from them and stared up into their eyes with awe. They were two people I never thought I would see again.

“We were here on official business and thought we would pay a quick visit.” Gabriel replied mildly though I could see the smile upon his lips as he saw my happiness plastered plainly upon my face.

“What he means is we’ve had reason to return for a while but because we are only allowed a morning pass we saved it until today so we could both be here for your birthday.” Ezekiel cut in before smirking at his brother feeling rather smug with himself as he poked his tongue out at his superior. I felt my brows rise into my hair at the playful attitude Ezekiel was displaying. Clearly being back in the world of pearly gates had done him good because he seemed freer, and somewhat lighter than he had been the last time I had seen him. Then again, they were stressful times.

“Well, thank you for coming.” I grinned at the two men before letting the seriousness appear upon my face. “What business is it you’re on? I’ve had a bad feeling all morning and it still hasn’t gone away.”

The two angels exchanged looks that I was unable to decipher before Gabriel turned his dark eyes on me.

“Our official business is you. Apparently our father has a job for you and that you have already agreed though you might not remember it.” Clicking his fingers, a golden scroll appeared within his grasp. He stared at it for a moment before holding it out to me. Before I could touch it however he pulled it back. “Don’t’ touch it just yet because as soon as you do we must leave. I don’t know what he has planned for you now and I don’t know when we’ll see you next so –“ He cut off as he gulped a few times. Without any other preamble he leant forwards and wrapped me in a hug. As soon as he released me, Ezekiel did the same. He then offered the scroll to me once more.

Feeling tears well up in my eyes at the thought of them parting so soon, I offered them a shaky smile. “I love you guys. My angels.” The two men in question grinned at me and nodded before I wrapped my hand around the scroll and took it from Gabriel’s fingers. There were no fireworks, no flashes of light. As soon as their skin ceased to touch the scroll, the two of them were gone. 

Blinking at the spot that the two of them had just vacated, I felt strangely hollow, like I had lost a part of me. I had come to depend of the two of them as much as I had Lucius and seeing them again had only confirmed how much the two of them meant to me and how much I had missed them – no matter how much I tried to deny it.

A hand on my shoulder pulled me from my thoughts and I glanced up to meet Kirsten’s warm smile. I could see the sympathy lurking in her eyes but I was grateful that she didn’t allow it to show fully on her face or it might have been my undoing. She handed me a plate of cake and couldn’t stop the smile from appearing on my face when I noted the pink frosting on top of the cake. I now understood Lucius’ rumpled attire.

“He spent the last week planning all of this,” Kirsten murmured as she shot glances over at the man himself who was talking hurriedly into the phone. “He wanted it to all be perfect for you, he wanted to make you smile.”

I shot her a grin. “He did.”

Sneaking another glance at Lucius, I caught him looking at me and the smile I received was felt right down to my toes. He continued to chat away on the phone but as each second passed; I noted his face becoming more and more closed off. The dread I had been feeling since arriving at Satani Media hit me like a freight train as I felt the tension rise to suffocating levels. I could feel the golden scroll crinkle under my grasp as my hands clenched tighter around the object but I was too preoccupied with watched the emotions play across Lucius’ face.

For a moment it looked as if Lucius had actually had the breath stolen from him before he started to bark orders into the phone, eventually though he disconnected the call. While he took the time to run a frantic hand through his hair, I strolled forwards and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“What’s wrong Lucius?”  I questioned softly causing the man to look down at me. For a moment he did nothing but stare before a sigh escaped his lips.

“I’m sorry to ruin your birthday Savannah but we’ve got a problem -a serious problem.”

Hope you like it. I didn't get a chance to edit as I was busier this week than I thought I would be. I hope you all like it anyway. Thank you all for being so patient :) xxx