Lilith watched this Inquisitor work. She could sense the erection beneath his robes as he went about his torture in the name of the church. What was even better was that he knew the large majority that fell into his hands was innocent and yet he hadn't failed to break a single one. They had all confessed to the most heinous of sins to stop his torture, even the most pious. Lilith smiled, she had found that special soul that she had been searching for.
She went to the cells and searched through them finally settling on a woman that was still in fairly good shape. Starvation and disease had yet to touch her in the filth that was her cell. The Inquisitor had yet to touch her but Lilith had recognized the lust on his face when he looked at her.
Azazel had informed her a while back that she had been on the right track. They needed a torturer. Azazel had discovered through his eavesdropping on the angels that when the time came, they would need someone capable of breaking a righteous man.
Lilith entered the girls body and arranged the rags she was still wearing to display the girl's charms to the best advantage. "Haven't you tired of playing with the priest yet?" Lilith cooed from the cell leaning her meatsuit against the bars. "Wouldn't it be more fun to play with me? I am what you're looking for after all, a demon."
Alistair looked up from the man before him at the girl who had spoken. "A demon? I'll test the truth of that soon enough but Father James here must make his confession first." Alistair said as he tightened the rack another notch.
"You should give him some time to recover first." Lilith suggested. "I think he would rather die than break and that would be your first failure. Come play with me and allow him to rest." Lilith said with a smile. "I'm looking forward to seeing just how good you are." Lilith slipped the sleeve of the dress down revealing a bit more of the meatsuit's breast.
Alistair looked at the girl. It wouldn't hurt to give the priest a short respite he thought. Let him gather a bit of strength before Alistair continued. Alistair's face broke into a sick smile. "Perhaps I should get at the truth of your words girl."
"Loki you belong here. And yet you will leave us. You will leave your family to go to the other side of the ocean." Odin asked. "We welcomed you and gave you a home. Is it because of the Hindu creature?"
Loki looked out over the ocean. "Kali has nothing to do with my decision. She has tried to talk me into staying also, but I can't. Thunderbird has told me that I am needed there. I owe a debt to both Thunderbird and Coyote."
"And who will sacrifice to you there? They do not know you or worship you." Odin argued. You will weaken without sacrifice."
"You know I will not. How long have my altars been empty Odin?" Loki asked. "I have no desire for sacrifice, you know this."
"I know that you answered sacrifice with brutality until they stopped placing blood on your altars, yes. But the blood you spilled with your response was much worse than any worshiper offered to you." Odin sighed. "I cannot change your mind can I?"
"My mind is made up. I will leave tomorrow." Loki said. "They were my people before Coyote sent me here."
"Asgard will not be the same without our Trickster. And Kali, will she accompany you?" Odin asked.
"No, she has no desire to visit a land of savages." Loki answered. "Her words. She is a creature of luxury, she prefers her temples. She has already left to return to Delhi. She made her choice plain when she told me to choose between her and those who honor me as the Trickster."
Loki turned toward Odin. "I has never had need of human sacrifice or any other sacrifice, the tricksters provide me with the worship that I need, and now they ask for my help. I can no more deny them than you can deny the Berserker who calls out to you with his dying breath."
Odin placed a hand on the smaller man's shoulder. "Very well, we will miss you. I pray that you return to us soon, if not we will listen for the sound of your Horn Resounding signaling the start of Ragnarok."
"You will see me again long before that happens, Odin." Loki and Odin clasped forearms. "Be well brother."
"Zachariah, I would speak with you." Raphael said. "You sent out another group to search for Gabriel."
"He is still missing, I think that only Gabriel's return will bring Michael back to us." Zachariah answered.
"Michael grieves. We all do but we must accept the truth." Raphael said sadly. "No trace of Gabriel or his grace has been found for hundreds of years. He is dead. Michael must accept this in order to heal. You do not allow him to do so with your searches."
"I only wish to help him, bother Raphael." Zachariah said bowing his head.
"I know this. You are the most loyal of the seraphs to Michael." Raphael said. "But I am the only brother he has left among the Archangels. I cannot bear to know of his suffering. You will send no one else to search for Gabriel. You will accept that Gabriel is dead and allow Michael to heal. You will never again give him false hope. It simply causes us to mourn our brother all over again."
"Do you believe that he is dead Raphael?" Zachariah asked.
"When he left us and went to the Earth we followed him. We hunted him unceasingly and yet he evaded us. But always we could sense his grace, it gave us hope." Raphael answered. "But then his grace was gone. He is dead Zachariah. The earth took him from us and caused his death. Father's creation has caused nothing but sorrow for us."
Zachariah nodded. "We have lost four Archangels to that place. We must include Michael in the loss even though he is with us. His grief is insurmountable. I had hoped that by continuing the search we would find some sign that would bring Michael out of mourning. I was wrong. I will send no one else."
"Good, allow Michael to mourn Gabriel's death in peace."
"Azazel" Lucifer stood up and approached the bars of his cage. "I take it you are here with news?"
"Yes quite a bit of news you will find interesting." Azazel answered. "Lilith has secured the means to break the first seal. A torturer of the Inquisition. His name is Alistair. She even now has him upon the rack. He will break soon and will break those who were here before your imprisonment. The ranks of your army will swell under him and when the time is right he will break the righteous man releasing the first seal."
Lucifer chuckled. "As much as I detest that demon slut, she has her uses. I take it there is more you wished to tell me." Lucifer said looking at Alistair expectantly.
"Yes it concerns the youngest Archangel." Azazel said.
"Michael has found him?" Lucifer demanded.
"No, quite the opposite. Heaven has declared him dead."
"Impossible! All of the Archangels including me would have felt his grace shatter if he was dead!" Lucifer exclaimed.
At Lucifer's look of alarm Azazel quickly said. "He lives Lucifer. He has simply found a way to successfully hide from them. He has gone Pagan."
"What?!" Lucifer exclaimed. "He has rebelled?"
"I don't think our father sees it as a rebellion. Loki in a convoluted way has taken a shine to the humans. Far beneath the Pagan exterior of this Trickster is the grace of an Archangel. And Loki appeared when Gabriel suddenly went missing." Azazel said. "There are quite a few souls here that Loki personally sent. Those who made human sacrifices to him."
"Little brother is slumming among the pagans." Lucifer considered that for a moment. "Michael is far more incapacitated than I thought if he has not seen through this ruse. And Raphael is either as far gone as Michael or keeps this knowledge to himself for some reason."
"That is what I believe." Azazel said. "Raphael has always been the quiet one. I find myself wondering where your middle brother actually stands now."