To those of you still reading, THANK YOU! It's been a struggle to find the time, and muse to write. I can't promise when the next chapter will post but I will promise that I will not abandon TDP. I've never dropped a story and I never will!

Warm, squishy hugs to Edwardsfirstkiss and Sazzledazzled for their help. All mistakes are mine. I tend to tweak after my Beta fairy, EFK has done her magic.

Disclaimer:SM owns Twilight. But you already knew that.

The Devil's Plan

Chapter 39

Ba'al sat in silence absorbing Satan's words. His silence was pleasing to his lord, as he took it as an acceptance of the new direction he planned to take. However, it was a delicate dance. Wait too long to appropriately congratulate Satan on his genius and the tide would turn against him, but Ba'al was not sure he was a good enough actor to pull off the exuberance Satan would expect. Instead, as his mind raced with worry over this new wrinkle, he maintained a calm appearance he hoped Satan would accept.

"Sire, am I to understand that you're going to reveal your true self to the girl?"

Satan affixed his minion with a patronizing stare. "Do I appear stupid to you?" Ba'al wisely held his tongue. "This body, as smelly and complicated as it is, appeals to her."

"Forgive me, I don't understand wha-"

"-By encouraging her current thoughts and pushing her further in that direction, my Swan will only have me to turn to when the rest of her world considers her mentally unstable. I will have no problem claiming her. "Satan interrupted

"Sire, you'll take her to the edge of madness." Ba'al felt the cold chill of disgust creep up his spine.

"And beyond," Satan said with an evil smile. "I'll be there with open arms to catch her when she topples over the edge."

"Besides, I only need her body. Once she has fulfilled her duty, she can be dealt with in any way this society deems fit."

Ba'al gulped at Satan's words. The demon truly didn't care what became of the girl once he was done with her.

~~TDP~~

Bella rolled over, burrowing deeper into her blankets knowing that her warm cocoon could only shelter her for so long. She needed to leave the warmth and comfort of her bed and prepare for the day. But knowing it and having the energy to do it were two different things. A glance at her bedside clock told her that she'd run out of time. The tardy bell would ring out in the Forks High School hallways in approximately 32 minutes. Groaning, Bella threw back her blankets and plunged into the chilly air of her bedroom.

Exactly 20 minutes later an unwashed but relatively clean, Bella Swan was on the road toward school. The frenzy of her morning had kept her thoughts occupied. A small gift she was grateful for as she'd attempted to avoid thinking about the impending doom that was tracking her.

Bella rushed to her locker, throwing her coat and bag haphazardly into its depths while grabbing the books she'd need for her morning classes. With a metallic slam echoing behind her, she rushed to her first period, planting her jean clad butt into her seat seconds before the final bell rang. Bella focused her mind to concentrate on Mr. Pelzer's monotone voice as he began their lesson on symbolism in literature.

"Bella, what's up with you today?" Angela asked as the girl joined her unusually quiet friend in the hallway.

"I'm fine." Bella answered, keeping her face forward, not trusting her eyes to advertise her turmoil.

"No, you're not." Angela declared. "Is it Edward again?" Bella rolled her eyes at the teen girl cliché of everything wrong in their life having to do with a boyfriend.

"It has absolutely nothing to do with him." Bella said with a huff.

"Then what is it? You can tell me. I want to help." Bella softened a bit at her friend's words. Angela had always been incredibly sweet and by all accounts, a really good friend. As the daughter of a preacher it was practically second nature for her to reach out to people in need. Bella stopped in her tracks as the realization hit her. Angela was a devotedly religious person. She never missed church and had always lived the life her father preached. Bella had a valuable resource standing next to her.

"Angela, I think maybe I would like to talk." Angela's face broke out into a smile.

"Lunch?" She asked.

"Lunch." Bella confirmed, linking her arm with the willowy girl's as they trudged to their next class.

~~TDP~~

"This does not please me." Satan commented as his eyes landed on the small table in the corner where Bella and Angela sat.

His plan to put his new strategy into motion was thwarted when Bella announced she was going to have lunch with just Angela. Ba'al was momentarily prepared for the deity to throw a fit as his target sauntered off with her friend, leaving him standing alone in the center of the crowded cafeteria.

"What? It's just a little girl talk," Alice commented. "It's normal. If my Jazzy hadn't been busy all weekend, I'd probably have joined them. But I need my Jazz time." Ba'al smiled down at Alice as she snuggled into his side while Satan looked to be forcing down the urge to vomit.

"Her place is with me." Satan declared grumpily, viciously taking a bite of his cheeseburger. Ba'al sighed. Not for the first time, he wondered how he'd fallen to such depths. How had he, a demi-god that had led armies across ancient battle grounds, fallen so low as to babysit a petulant angel from hell as he plotted the end of humanity? Ba'al searched the human faces of the Forks student populace for Astarte. She should be here sharing his pain. He found her sitting across the room under a window with Edward's brother. The large child had a dark look about him as he stared at his untouched meal. Ba'al frowned. He didn't know much about Emmett Cullen, but to his knowledge the boy never missed a meal. Suddenly, Emmett pushed his tray away and jumped from his seat, startling everyone at the table. Astarte tried to grab his hand, but he swiftly pulled out of her reach, glaringly menacingly as she attempted to touch him. Emmett's glare changed minutely as he passed the being inhabiting his brother's body. His stormy eyes lightened minutely before a flash of worry passed over his face as he continued his trek out of the lunch room.

Ba'al shot Astarte a questioning look from across the room. The look of distress he received was not welcomed.

"I am sick of this excuse of an existence!" Satan announced angrily, pushing the remnants of his lunch away from him. "This is not how a King is treated." To Ba'al's surprise, Alice barely lifted an eyebrow at the Devil's declaration.

"This is normal for high school." Ba'al gently reminded, hoping Satan took the hint. Satan scowled but said nothing more before returning his stare to the corner table.

"Good grief, Edward, Bella said you'd become moody, but don't you think you're overdoing it a bit?" Ba'al immediately tugged his human close to him, fearing retaliation from the ill-tempered devil.

"Ba'al, you need to discipline your pet." Satan growled.

"Alice, why don't you go over and join Bella?" Ba'al urged.

"But I wanted to sit with you. Wait, what did he call you?" Instantly Ba'al realized that he'd been allowing Alice too much freedom. He hadn't been exercising his control because he found her mind fascinating and was quite content to listen to her speak it. Satan, however, was not amused.

In an even and controlled tone, Ba'al spoke to the girl at his side, "Alice, you will get up and go sit with Bella. You will listen and report back to me what you hear. Is that understood?" With relief, Ba'al watched the subtle glazing of her eyes and the slow nod of her head. With only a "Yes, Jasper." She picked up her things and went to Bella's table.

"Impressive," Satan commented. "Your parlor trick works well upon a feeble mind. If only my Swan was as easily swayed."

"Sire," Ba'al said quietly. "What are your plans?" Reluctantly, Satan turned away from the girls' table.

"I will begin after the end of today's torment in this facility. She is obviously upset. Why is she seeking comfort with a stranger? Her focus should be on me."

"It is normal for humans to seek out the advice of their friends. It seems especially prevalent with females." Satan continued to pout throughout the rest of the lunch period. As soon as the bell rang, Satan bolted out of his chair and rushed to Bella's side.

"Bella, think about what I said." Angela's face was serious as she squeezed Bella's arm.

"I will." Angela frowned as Edward sidled up to Bella's side, before hurrying off.

Devilward, watched the dark-haired girl and not for the first time, wrinkled his nose at a familiar and unwelcome scent.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked her frowning boyfriend. Devilward's eyes quickly cut to Bella.

"I am not." He commented. "I am wondering why you would choose to confide in anyone other than me, your lover?"

"Lover? And how do you know…"

"Is it not what you were doing? I should be the one who you speak to when you are upset." Bella stopped walking and turned to the boy beside her.

"Wait, are you really upset about that?" Sensing the opening he'd been waiting for, Devilward struck. He put his arm around Bella and put a hurt look on his face.

"Am I not your boyfriend? Should I not be the one you seek for solace and understanding?" Bella frowned at his strange words, but was able to decipher what he meant.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you'd be hurt." Devilward shrugged his shoulders in the common teen male action known to parents around the world.

Bella sighed and spoke quietly as they walked toward their class. "I'm going through something and I-well it's kind of hard to believe, but since you were there in the beginning, maybe you would be the right person for me to consult." Devilward contained his grin. She had no idea just how early he'd been involved.

"Can you come over after school?"

"Yes, I will make myself available to you."

~~TDP~~

"Do you want a snack or-"

"Yes."

"Will a ham sandwich and a water work?" Bella allowed her backpack to slide off her shoulder to land on the floor with a satisfying 'thump'. She only wished all baggage was as easily removed from her shoulders. Edward followed her through the small house to the kitchen.

"That should be sufficient." Bella rolled her eyes and walked to the refrigerator and began getting out the ingredients for his sandwich. Bella thought about how to start their conversation as Edward inhaled his sandwich.

"Now, is it time for you to confide in me?"

"Let's go upstairs." Bella sighed, before getting up from the table. She took his hand, pulling him from the table and towards the stairs. Devilward, followed behind her with like the dutiful boyfriend he was pretending to be.

"Take a seat." Devilward strode in and sat heavily onto her bed.

"So, you remember when we read my family's bible?" Bella asked, walking towards him with a large, weathered book. "Well, I found my mom's journals, and I learned some things that made what we read in here, make sense." Bella searched his face for a reaction but was met with a stony stare. "Um, so that led me to contact a priest that was mentioned in mom's journal. But he disappeared right around the same time my mom did. Which is weird right?" She waited for him to say something but again, he stayed silent. Devilward, while pretending to be the loving and supportive boyfriend, had nothing to add since he was already well aware of everything she was mentioning.

"There's a new priest running the church, and he found Father Ignatius's journal." Devilward's eyebrows shot up at this news. He'd known she'd gone to the church for information, but he wasn't aware of exactly what she'd discovered. He was surprised to learn that the old fool had kept a written record of what he'd discovered.

"What did he say?"

"He believed my mom. He believed that the Devil was after her. He was going to try to help her…and me, I guess. But he disappeared right before she did." Tears began to form at the mention of her mother. She moved closer and laid her hand onto his shoulder, needing his support. Sensing her need, Devilward put his arm around her waist, as a supportive boyfriend should.

"What did this priest reveal?" Devilward asked, as his fist clenched behind her back, slightly perturbed that there was such overt evidence of his acts.

"Basically, he wrote about the fears my mom had. He wrote to some people in Italy and discovered that my ancestors, the ones we read about in the book, well, their deaths were not cut and dry accidents. And that a lot of them had been pregnant when they died, leaving the surviving child as the last of their line. Just like I am."

Suddenly, the weight of everything, toppled over and broke. Bella took a deep breath and let all of her fears tumble out. "I think the Devil killed my mom, I think he's been killing my ancestors for generations and now I think he's after me!" Devilward dutifully pulled her closer and allowed her to use him for support. This is what he'd been waiting for. He could, and would use her fear against her.

"I don't understand, how that could be possible? No one believes in the Angel, Lucifer anymore." He said with feigned concern. Bella nodded and sniffled into this shoulder.

"I know it sounds ridiculous and crazy but the journals… and the fact that both my mother and the priest disappeared around the same time, plus those crazy dreams I was having… It all kind of adds up." She lifted her head up to look at him with red rimmed eyes. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

Devilward, had been warned by Ba'al not to rush her over the edge, but to appear to weigh her words solemnly before pushing. He was to give her support but not jump to quickly. What Ba'al failed to consider was that he was the Angel Lucifer, Lord of Hell. Since when did he do what others told him to do?

"I believe you." He said solemnly nodding his head as if he were absorbing her words. Bella pulled back, tears still dripped from her eyes.

"You do?"

"Furthermore, I think that you are correct in thinking that you are next." Bella's eyes grew wide. She didn't know what to think but knowing that Edward believed that the Devil was coming after her, lifted her spirits.

Bella reached out and took Devilward's hand, entwining his fingers in hers. "Thank you," she said softly. "It helps, to have someone on my side." Devilward cupped her chin and tipped her face to his.

"Isabella Swan, you are my only reason for existing on this plane."

Hang in there with me. We're getting there!

Wanna hang out in June? Check out the TwiFic Meet up fb page; TFMU Twific Meetup.
Last year was my first meetup and I had an absolute blast! Everyone was super nice and I got to meet some of my favorite authors as well as meet a few fans of my own writing ( I have fans!). If you go, I promise you'll have a blast.

Until next time,

ruinedbyrob