Sophia's Chronicles

Chapter 26: The Demon Deal

"This place is beautiful. How'd you get it?" Pahaliah caressed a rose, inhaling its sweet scent.

"It is a gift," I responded as I beckoned the house to open its doors telepathically. "Lucifer gave it to me before the battle." That answer seemed to have made them uneasy, Castiel most of all. "Please take off your footwear before you enter." I entered the house first, gently tapping a bell I had placed near the front door. Its resonating sound helped to centre one's mind and bring an atmosphere of peace and serenity to the house. The six of them took seats around the centre table while I went to the kitchen to make some cool hibiscus water.

"I don't understand. We're angels. We don't need to consume food and beverages." Castiel seemed genuinely confused when I set the big jug and a tray of glasses on the table. Everyone else either raised their eyebrows or chuckled at him. Come on, he was a soldier all his life. He was not habitualised to enjoying luxuries.

"We don't eat or drink because we need to, Castiel. We do it because we want to," Shemsiel raised a glass. He took a sip, letting out a moan as he savoured its taste. "This is too good. Try it, Cas." He passed a glass to Castiel, who hesitantly put it to his lip.

Castiel's eyes narrowed and his nose crinkled as he tried to put thoughts together. "It's just a mixture of chemicals."

"You're thinking too much about it. You're not supposed to break down the experience into its constituents. You should just enjoy it as a whole," Shemsiel supplemented. He then gave Castiel an encouraging smile. "You'll get there eventually."

"Alright," I began as I lounged comfortably on a couch. "Back to the matter at hand. As I understand it, Raphael is not officially the ruler of Heaven. That was Michael before, and he still needs the backing of all the angels to take the position, now that everyone knows that God isn't in Heaven. For us to win this civil war, we need to take a two-pronged approach: first, we need to gain the support of as many angels as we can, and then we need to eliminate Raphael's aides and disband his troops. Only then can we expect to win an all-out war."

"Shemsiel and I can do recon. Find out who Raphael's most valued players are and what their schedules are like," Dinah volunteered.

I nodded. "You guys do that. But do not engage with them. I want you to strictly observe. You will report to Raziel and me, and then we will take them out."

"Then Pahaliah and I can help out Castiel with campaigning. We'll approach as many angels as we can and convince them to join our cause," Rahab spoke up.

"Good. Castiel, I'm counting on you to keep them safe. Don't reveal too much about our plans, and make sure you can trust the angels who want to join you." Castiel nodded in agreement. "I want all of you to check in with Raziel every week. I think it's safe to say that Raphael may be hunting us, so be safe and call me if there's an emergency. On a phone. Which Hassiel is supposed to be getting me right now. That's all I have to say for now. All of you are free to stay here for as long as you want."


I stood silently on the rooftop, observing the rows upon rows of flowers which gave the landscape a variety of colours. I had made the ground self-sustaining, so that they wouldn't need me to take care of them all the time. I would have to pick the flowers and fruits occasionally, though. I thought about my circumstances. I was released into this world, and it seemed so imperative that I fix what was wrong with the human race. The apocalypse was supposed to be a beginning for me, but the closer I got to the apocalypse, the more I realised I didn't want it. I didn't want Lucifer and Michael to fight. Killing his own brother would have been a devastating experience – I remembered what Gabriel's death had done to us. And now I was signing myself up readily to kill Raphael. No matter how much Raphael deserved it, he was still family. It was depressing to think that death was the only legacy my freedom would have. At least I had my son. He was safe now, within me, growing slowly with his human vessel. How would I explain to him the rivalry within his own family?

Hassiel arrived and stood behind me, breaking me away from my thoughts. "Sorry I'm late. Was picking up something for you." I turned around to face him. He reached into his pocket. "Here's that phone you asked for. I could show you how to use it."

I took it from him, inspecting its weight and appearance. "It's alright. Zara can help me with that." He raised his eyebrow in askance. "Zara is my vessel. She and I have an intimate relationship where we share thoughts with each other. Her insight helps me sometimes."

"Oh," Hassiel scanned my vessel curiously. "It's good that you take care of her like that." There was a small bird fountain at the centre of the rooftop where several birds lounged. Hassiel helped me add some food to wooden bird feeders that hung above the fountain. The birds chirped enthusiastically at the gesture. Some even perched gently on my shoulder and arm.I extended a warm wave of my energy towards them, welcoming them. They seemed to like it.

Hassiel seemed delighted at the sight of these delicate and beautiful creatures. "How have you been, Hass? What have you been doing since your escape?" I asked.

"Well, it was very lonely. I was on the run, with no one by my side. And then I found my vessel, a man much like myself – a weapon-maker. For millennia, I have been employed by many kings and rulers because of my craft. Although I was enthused at first, I soon realised that humanity was too bloodthirsty for its own good." He stared in silence as the fluttering of a crow created ripples in the fountain. "I tried to stop them. Tried to slow down their progress in making more advanced weapons. But there was only so much I could do without drawing too much attention to myself, and now this infant species has weapons capable of decimating their own planet!" I sensed disappointment in his voice.

"It's not your fault, Hassiel. The humans did not make good enough use of the gift we gave them. Perhaps there is still a way we can rectify their mistakes."

His eyes widened at the prospect. "What do you propose?"

"Suppose you could find these projects that the humans have been working on to develop weapons or discover things they are not supposed to. If you give me the details, I could investigate the threat and see what I can do to eliminate it." A couple of magpies descended on the fountain and squawked noisily. Blurs of red and blue appeared as the neighbouring birds flapped their wings and took off.

"That does sound like a good idea, but you will need to give me time to gather information. I haven't been active in reconnaissance lately. I've been wandering the lands as a photographer for the past forty or so years." His mouth curved into a one-sided smile at the thought.

"A photographer? You must show me your work sometime," I requested eagerly.

"For you, of course. With the baby, you'll definitely want to keep memories of his childhood using photos. That's one thing I learnt from humans. They love immortalising such memories."

"Well, there's still about five months left before that can happen. Let's just hope that the peace in Heaven is kept by then."

"Are you planning to raise your child in Heaven?"

The smile on my face slowly disappeared. I hadn't really thought about that. "One can only hope. Heaven is where we came from, and it only makes sense for the little one to grow up there around his own kind, but with the war, I'm afraid the company will be too hostile to raise a child. I may have to do this alone."

Hassiel placed both his hands on my shoulders. "You won't be alone. I'll be here, your team will be here. We'll all be supportive of you. My nephew will not grow up alone." My eyes welled up at the sentiment. Blinking the tears away, I put my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me for a hug. His arms enclosed me gently, being careful of the baby bump. Planting a kiss on his cheek, we parted.


The warm air wafted towards me as I entered Hell. The lights on the walls of the corridors illuminated my path as I made my way towards the throne room. It was time to meet Crowley. I donned a long, floral sundress with a cashmere scarf around my shoulders – as harmless a look as I could possibly pull off. I didn't even bring any weapons. The sound of several footsteps drew closer as I finally came to face a horde of demons. They stood in my way, ready to fight. "You are not welcome here," one of them announced.

I looked at her straight in her obsidian eyes. "I believe I have an appointment with the king."

"That she does," Crowley spoke up behind them. They parted, turning to face him. He sauntered towards me and took both my hands in his. "May I say, you look absolutely stunning today." He brought my knuckles to his lips and kissed them sweetly.

"You are such a gentleman, O King," I gushed. Damn, I've never even called Lucifer king before. But I have to keep up the pretense. I might actually be better at this than I knew. Inside, I felt Zara blushing. For real. Great.

Crowley extended his elbow. "Shall we?" My hand resting in his elbow, he led me to the throne room. The hushed sounds of gossip erupted as we walked away from the demon horde. Crowley invited me to sit at a table. A servant soon brought us beverages. Crowley poured himself some scotch, and gave me a cup of what looked to be a smoothie. "Something healthy for the child, of course." How thoughtful, I heard Zara say to me.

I took a gulp of the cool, creamy liquid. "It's an incredible feat – becoming king of Hell. How did you pull it off?"

"With Lucifer gone and Azazel dead, Hell has been in chaos. There was a power vacuum. I saw the opportunity, and I took it." Crowley shrugged and took a sip.

"Crafty, I like that," I complimented him. For me to get close to him, I would have to make him think I liked him. It was the only way I could get him to talk. "But still, for a lone demon like yourself to become king… there must have been something more. You didn't just wake up one day with the power of Hell backing you, right?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. Before I could say anything else to rectify any possible sign of deception that I might have given away, I noticed his eyes soften. He set his drink down and stood up, buttoning his coat. "I'd heard that you would be interested in the technicalities of things, but I didn't think I'd see that side of you so soon. Follow me, I have something to show you."

Intrigued, I followed him as he navigated through the hallways and stairs and stopped in the armoury. I glanced at the balcony. That was the exact spot where Lucifer and I shared conversations. Lucifer usually didn't allow demons this high up in the complex. It was his personal space. And now I was here… with Crowley. Fishing out a key from his pocket, he unlocked a door that led up to the rooftop. I remembered that Lucifer had it built long ago, but he rarely went up there and neither did I. As we stood on the rooftop, I recalled that the pinnacle of Heaven was where we first began the revolution – the pinnacle represented the height of power, and placing instruments of communication and power on the highest peak of civilisation represented control. It was likewise in Hell.

Crowley pointed a finger at a distant compound. "That's where the souls are kept. But their power feeds into Hell's command centre. Which happens to be here." He gestured towards a podium at the centre of the rooftop. A deep red orb floated above it, with several smaller, black, yellow and white spheres orbiting it. It resembled the one we had seen in Heaven. Of course, I should have guessed – this was how Crowley got enough power to become king. But there was still a piece of the puzzle missing. "You must be wondering how I was able to siphon its power. It's very simple, actually. With Lucifer locked up, the next in line for the throne, other than you, was supposed to be a Prince of Hell. Thing is, the Princes don't want anything to do with Hell, apparently. Ramiel just named me king, and I humbly accepted. The orb sensed the truth in my claim, and gave me its power."

What he said had come as quite a shock for me. I'd never understood the fondness that Lucifer had for the Princes, whom he had turned himself, especially since none of them returned the respect, aside from Azazel of course. It appeared that the Princes and I shared the natural aversion to power, which I would normally respect. In this situation, it seemed surprising that not even one of the remaining three stepped up to the throne anyway, out of duty. This was probably why Crowley was able to bypass the Princes and myself to get the throne. Except now, I had to become queen somehow.

"Something on your mind?" Crowley noticed my furrowed eyebrows. I could use this to my advantage.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that… when you mentioned the Princes of Hell, I remembered the time when Lucifer turned them. He spent so much time creating this kingdom and his demon army that he barely even spared time for me." I sighed, trying to look as forlorn as possible. "Even when I did so much for him…"

Crowley gave me a short, mirthless laugh."Like seducing me and putting a tracker in my pocket? You can drop the pretense. We all know where your loyalties lie." His gaze flickered between my abdomen and my eyes.

"You don't know what it's like to be his partner! When you've been in a relationship with someone for 13 billion years, things get stale. He got increasingly tired of me so… I did it to get his attention. Of course, it didn't work." I made my voice crack up. "That time we met you, it wasn't completely a pretense. Not on Zara's part, nor mine." I turned away, placing my hands on the ledge. Sure enough, Crowley approached next to me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." He placed a comforting hand on mine.

"Now look at what he's done," I continued, tearing up. "He didn't even think to make me queen. After all I did!" A tear escaped my eye. Crowley instinctively used a thumb to wipe away the tear drop, resting his palm on my cheek. I let a silent moment pass. "If you really question my loyalties, consider why Lucifer is still in the cage and I've done absolutely nothing about it for all these months!"

Crowley rested his other palm on my other cheek, cupping my face as he stared deep into my eyes. "Lucifer clearly knows nothing about treating a lady with respect. Especially someone so precious like yourself…" he gently pushed a lock of hair behind my ear. "I do not intend to repeat his mistake." He leaned in and kissed me on the lips, slowly deepening the kiss as I reciprocated. His hands slowly drifted to my waist and held me in a tender embrace. I wanted to say I felt dirty – carrying Lucifer's child yet romancing his rival – but there was a hint of truth in what I told Crowley, and this moment was at least a little comforting. Nevertheless, it was a little too real. More real than I wanted it to be.


We were back in the throne room. The air of formality was restored, with several witnesses around. Still blushing, I turned conversation back to business. "So, Castiel tells me that you are trying to look for Purgatory."

"Did he now?" Crowley sipped on his scotch.

I sensed his apprehension about learning that his partner-in-crime had told another about their big plans. "It's alright. I'm helping him take down Raphael too. We're all on the same side, here, although he'd rather not be publicly associated with me. I'm sure you understand my position."

"Apparently so. If you don't mind my asking, what's in it for you?"

"Same as you, Crowley. With Raphael out, there will be a power vacuum, and I will rise to rule Heaven. Also, revenge."

"But the angels don't want to be ruled. Won't there just be another civil war?"

I grinned. "Well I won't call myself the ruler or anything, but angels are used to taking orders from archangels and with me on the frontlines of the war, they'll be looking for someone to thank and look up to. They'll allow me to rule them." I patted my tummy. "It's also not that difficult to score sympathy points with them. When they see the face of a cute little archangel son, they're practically gonna be begging me to raise him in Heaven just so they can eagerly watch him grow. An innocent newborn archangel with no corrupted motives will have a lot of sway over the angels and, by association, so will I."

Crowley's eyes widened and raised both his eyebrows in surprise. "That is… a wonderful plan." Bait – taken. Now for the hook.

"Imagine, Crowley. You, the king of Hell, and me, the ruler of Heaven. Together, we will be an unstoppable force."

He tilted his head back and, resting it on the spine of his chair, his eyes drifted to the ceiling. "I like the sound of that," he murmured. He looked back at me. "Using your own child as a political tool. I can get behind that."

I chuckled. "At least Lucifer gave me something of worth. Did you ever have kids of your own?"

"I had a son long ago. Little scamp didn't amount to anything. The only thing he did properly was die." Ouch. But Crowley was opening up. He must be beginning to trust me. "I'm presuming you want in on the Purgatory souls?"

I wanted to say no and humbly decline, but Crowley was a businessman. If I refused, he would wonder why I declined an offer anyone would accept. "You could say that. Anything to guarantee success…"

He nodded, setting down his drink. "I'm willing to cut you a portion. But what can you give me in return?"

"I can give you a partnership you won't regret. With me in Heaven, we can both control the flow of souls to Heaven and Hell, and we can keep the demons and angels out of each other's ways. You will also have the prestige of being the demon who took Lucifer's lover away from him, that too while she carried his child. I'm sure you'll enjoy the humiliation it'll give him and his followers."

"All tempting prospects," he replied. After a moment of contemplation and a quick glance at me, Crowley stood up and extended his hand. "We have a deal." I shook his hand, beaming outwardly.

We walked hand-in-hand towards the exit where demons were watching in anticipation. Although I never expected much from them, I still felt hurt from their betrayal of Lucifer. Time to let them have a taste of their own medicine. I kissed Crowley on the cheek in front of all the demons, eliciting shocked gasps and murmurs. As I turned to leave, Crowley maintained his grip on my hand and pulled me towards him. Kissing me once more on the lips, he said, "Do visit often."