Chapter 1

"Natalya!"

Matilda's quiet and calm voice pulled me from my musings and I opened my eyes to the oceans of emerald green grass that lay before me. The small woman landed a few feet behind me, her soft feathered wings brushing gently along my shoulder to let me know that she was there even though she had called out to me. She folded her wings against her back and took a seat by my side, crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap.

Matilda was one of the most beautiful of God's angels and if it wasn't such a sin I'm sure many of the men who we lived around would be vying for her attention. She had blonde hair that was a tone in between honey and pale blonde, as though the strands on her head couldn't decide which color to be so had decided to be both. Her eyes sometimes reminded me of my brothers because they were a violet color, but her pupils were more blue where my brother's were more purple. She was tall and curvaceous, if we were allowed most women would envy her form, and Mattie, as she was sometimes called, had the prettiest smile that was framed by small dimples and lined with straight and white teeth.

She made me feel plain on most days. My hair was a simple pale blonde, almost silver. Straight and long with no real volume to it. My eyes where violet like my brothers but had a grey hue to them and I was short and flat as a board with thin arms and legs. I was a noodle, I'd decided.

"How are you today, Natalya? Any interesting memories come to you?" Mattie asked as she let herself gaze out across the fields. Mattie was also my mentor. We are seers and she is teaching me how to separate my visions from my memories. They get tangled up so easily.

"Nothing new," I mumble, keeping my eyes forward. "Honestly, I'm getting restless. I'm thinking of requesting a Guardianship," I tell her.

As angels we have life come to us pretty easily due to being able to have anything we could possibly desire, even though it is a sin in some views. It makes life for us dreadfully boring. The only way an angel gets any entertainment is if we take a journey to Earth and help out a human in some way. But the council is stricter on the coming and going of seers like Mattie and I. We are so rare to be born that we are coddled and pampered like glass dolls, making it even more boring here in heaven. We have to have permission from an older angel, like our mentors, in order to go down to Earth for any length of time.

"So let me guess, you want me to give you a recommendation to go down to Earth to stretch your legs?" Matilda guessed, turning her violet-blue eyes to me.

I look at her in turn, shyly almost, with a hint of embarrassment tinting my cheeks as I nod slowly. "It's been so long since I was a regular angel, before I was a seer. I want to do something like I did in the old days," I mumble.

Matilda's face is lit up with an admiring smile. "Very well," she says, and my head pops up with excitement. "I'll write it out. I'm not gonna fear for you like the council will because I know you can handle yourself in a fight," she stands up and stretches her arms above her head. "You were once one of the best Guardians we had," her hand land on her hips as she releases from her stretch, bunching up the white fabric of her gown.

I get to my feet as well, standing half a foot shorter than her, and smile up at my mentor. "Thank you, Matilda. You have no idea how much this means to me," my happiness is true and genuine; Matilda is the only person I'm ever honest with about my feelings.

"Don't mention it," Mattie grins. "I'll go put in the notice now," she says and immediately flies away without another word.

The smile won't leave my face as I watch her fly away. I can't wait to return to Earth after almost a thousand years.

It was still several hours until the sun would rise for a new day on Earth, but Alexander Lukashenka was already awake and waiting. His bed called to his mind, telling him he should rest, but the fear and anxiety that coursed through his veins this night kept him awake and alert. The glass tumbler filled with more than socially accepted amount of vodka hung limply in his hand as he stood, staring out of the large window of his study. A meeting had been called and it was not a meeting he was looking forward to. He had begun to regret making that deal for awhile now.

The shadows around the room seemed to mock his fear as he kept his eyes open. If it wasn't an automatic reflex to blink, he wouldn't. He was terrified of the next few months. Everything had been going well for him and he did not want it to end. But he knew it would as soon as Belarus returned to her full power and was no longer solely dependent on the finances that Russia supported the Belarusians with.

He had been foolish and desperate at the end of the Cold War and only wanted his people to survive and prosper. He had prayed and prayed continuously, worked until his bones had ached and his muscles were on the verge of collapsing on him. But it seemed not to be enough. So he had done something his Babulia had always warned him against. He had gone to a crossroads and summoned a demon. His Babulia had been right. He should have never struck that deal.

The shadows behind him shifted and weaved together growing in height until a young man stepped out from within the depths. His black hair was cut short and hung over his unearthly blue eyes, a small piece refusing to lie down flat. A pair of plain black spectacles balanced delicately on the bridge of his nose, seeming as though they might just slip off. His attire was somewhat professional, an ensemble of black. Suit, tie, Oxford shirt, and polished dress shoes. The only thing off was the black leather bombers jacket with a white fur trim that seemed to hang off of shoulders almost too slim to support the material.

"Lukashenka," the new presence seemed to growl, although his face remained without expression as the politician jumped and spun around. The tumbler fell from his hand and crashed on the floor in his surprise.

The human's body remained stiff in the demon's presence, scared to move, scared to blink, scared to even breathe. Slowly the tinkling of glass filled the air, and Alexander's curiosity got the best of him and he looked down to watch as the tumbler that had shattered on contact with the floor slowly put itself back together, levitating up to rest gently on the table to the man's left. The magic took another step forward and removed the liquid from the floor and depositing it back into the glass. No stain was left. No sparkle of a fragment of glass that anyone could later step on. It was like it had never happened.

His eyes stayed on the repaired glass until the demon's voice called his attention back. "Relax," the demon hummed, as though bored with this moment. Most demons would find it hilarious, laughing at the reaction to magic that humans seemed to always have. But he wasn't like most demons. "I'm not ready to collect just yet," stepping forward, he moved himself into a chair, relaxing back into the softness of the leather couch in Alexander's office.

"I-I-If you are not here to c-c-collect, sir, m-m-might I ask why you are h-h-here?" the human tried to ask politely, but he was unaware of demon customs so was unaware as to if he was actually insulting with his demon acquaintance with his timidity or not.

"I came to bring a warning," the demon sighed. "It seems someone else has grown a liking to you and is looking to break the contract you signed with me. I can't have them doing that, now can I? It doesn't show good business qualities when you can't even hold one contract." The young man allowed his head to roll along the back of the sofa in an attempt to loosen the muscles in his neck and upper back.

"No, I s-s-suppose it wouldn't," Alexander stuttered. "What can I h-h-help you with then?"

The demon remained stoic. "Just don't accept any deals with anyone for awhile. I'll be trying to get this new friend of ours out of the way, you just go about your business as the President of Belarus," the demon hummed, lifting his head and watching Alexander with those eerie blue eyes.

"V-v-very well, sir," Alexander muttered, "I will also keep a look out."

Scoffing, the demon stood. "Whatever," he grumbled as he vanished in a swirl of shadows.

The minute he knew that the demon was gone, Lukashenka let out a relieved sigh and leaned back against the study window. He felt as though a dozen years had been shaved off his life and he couldn't afford to lose much more. Speaking with his demon associate always put him on edge.

"I thought he'd never leave."

Alexander jumped for the second time in the span of an hour, and turned to face his desk. He was almost afraid to look, expecting to see yet another demon in his house. Instead, his new visitor took his breath away.

In the wing backed chair sat a small woman who seemed to emit a light from deep within herself. Her pale hair and alluring violet eyes drew him and comforted him body and soul. She wore a dress that was a glossy white, looking to be made of silk and lace sweater over it, the sleeves ending at her elbows. She looked elegant but simple all in the same moment.

"Who are you?" Alexander breathed out.

She smiled sweetly. "My name is Natalya."

"He said you would come. Said you would try to break the deal he and I have struck," the Belarusian's voice was shaky but he did not stutter as he did in the demon's presence.

Natalya tilted her head to the side. "In a way I suppose you could say that. I'm actually here to guide you away from his influence and protect you from any more deceit until you are ready to be on your own. If I deem that breaking your contract with the demon is the only way to do this then I will," she informed him with a small smile on her lips.

Alexander took a step forward and allowed himself to lean against the desk for support. Her presence seemed to invigorate him and make him feel confident in himself once more. He felt empowered and young. But he couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen this girl before.

"Have we met before?" he asked her, curious to know.

Her sweet smile took a slightly sad tone to it before she replied. "Angel's cannot be seen in their true forms otherwise humans would go blind from seeing us. Our purity is too much for your eyes to handle. So we take the guise of someone who was close to those we mean to speak to. We find that sometimes it is easier for humans to accept things when they recognize a face. This form is what your younger cousin would have looked like if she had lived to be twenty," Natalya explained.

It felt as though a nail had been struck through his chest as a tear found its way down his cheek. He didn't know what to feel anymore. There was anger at this creature for taking the form of his cousin. Then joy to see her once more. And a deep sadness lingered at the memory of her passing. It was all jumbled inside of him, held down by the nail that was tearing its way through his chest.

"How is she?" he mumbled, finally.

Natalya's smile once more turned sweet. "She is happy," she told him, "living alongside her mother and father in Utopia. I asked her if I could use her form when I came to visit you."

His lips quivered into a smile. "S-s-she's happy," he mumbled through his chocked throat. "That's good."

"Yes, it is," Natalya replied, waiting patiently for Alexander to regain control of himself.

It took him a moment but once he had calmed down he turned his attention back to the matter at hand. "So, Miss Natalya," he sniffled, "what shall we do now?"

She stood from her seat behind the desk. "Now, it is time for you to make a decision," she said. "I can go ahead and break the contract with the demon if you want, however that would mean when you die you will not gain entry into heaven. Or I can guide you and show you how to break the contract yourself," she explained. "That way you may join your cousin in Utopia."

The silence between them was almost deafening as the middle-aged politician thought over the two choices he had been given. But he didn't truly need to think it over. He would do almost anything to join the rest of his family in Utopia.

When he looked back up to give his answer, Natalya already held out her hand to the man a smile lingering on her lips, expecting his choice. Returning her smile, Alexander reached out to take her hand in his.

Natalya was flung across the room away from Alexander before his hand could brush against hers. Her back slammed into the bookshelf situated behind the desk and she grunted at the impact before she fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Whimpering, the only human in the room fell to the floor himself, and crawled away from the mass of shadows swirling in the center of the floor. He should have listened to the demon. He shouldn't have accepted Natalya's offer of help. If he hadn't she wouldn't be hurting right now and the demon wouldn't have returned so soon after their last encounter.

"Nice try, sweetheart," the demon drawled in a bored tone as he stepped from within his tornado of shadows. "But you'll have to try better than that." He leveled his menacing blue eyes on the small angel as she struggled to her feet in order to stand up to the demon and protect the human that had been caught in the crossfire.

Groaning, Natalya finally stood on her own feet but was leaning against the bookshelf that she had been thrown against for support. She sent the demon an annoyed glare, the smile from earlier wiped clear off of her face. "Why do demons have to be so flamboyant about their entrances?" the blonde hissed in pain as she rubbed at the spots in her shoulders that had hit the bookshelf the hardest. "It's truly an overuse of power to be so fanciful," she continued to grumble at the demon.

"Didn't you know, angel cakes? We demons have a flair for the dramatics," even though he was being sarcastic his tone still remained dry and bored.

Sighing, realizing she'd have to ask Matilda to give her a massage when she returned later; Natalya turned her full attention to the demon. They both completely ignored the whimpering human in the room and just watched each other to see who would make the first move.

The stalemate between the two creatures was pulled tight like the string of a bow pulled too far. Stretched any further and it would snap with Armageddon on the way. The fight between any angel and demon was always tenuous as they fought over the souls of the humans. Demons sought souls for sustenance, to gain power and to use as play things. The angels brought peace and prosperity to the souls of humans, seeking to protect them from the darkness that demons would promise.

The game of the moment was to find out what this specific demon wanted from Lukashenka. He didn't act like other demons that Natalya had met. He seemed bored with everything around him, as though the excitement of being a demon had left him long ago and he was simply going through the motions of being the creature he was. He was a curious one.

"Why do you want Alexander's soul?" she questioned him.

She thought her question would surprise him. Not many angels took an interest in the habits of demons. But he didn't flinch, only directed a droll stare her way.

"He's dinner. Simple as that, sweet cheeks," at least he answered her question, even if she didn't believe it to be the truth.

Maybe he was trying to end his existence. No, that wouldn't make any sense. A difference between angels and demons was that when they were tired of existing they could end their existence in different ways. An angel's end is described as the angel's final tears. It is when the angel has given up and so cries tears of blood. Not many go through with this because once it has begun it cannot be stopped and is told to be an extremely painful experience for the angel. Demons, however, have it much easier, in a sense. When they are done with their existence they simply stop hunting souls. It's not quite as painful but still an annoying process to go through. In the process they seemed to become bored during the wait for their end and begin to disassociate themselves.

So it made no sense why this demon would be after Lukashenka's soul. He wasn't even a soul of great merit. Maybe the politician was just another meal for the demon. Either way, she couldn't allow him to take the human's soul.

The demon continued to look around the room in a bored manner, his hands shoved into the pockets of his bomber jacket, not paying attention to the angel before him. It was beginning to annoy the blonde with his nonchalant attitude. It meant that he felt she wasn't strong enough, or important enough, to warrant his attention.

If he knew she was a seer he might show some interest. But that was a childish thought and she didn't really want to give away that she was a high value target amongst Hell's residents.

"May I ask who my opponent is?" she asked trying to attract his attention back to her and to keep it away from Lukashenka.

This question seemed to catch his attention as his eyes immediately darted back to rest on her. She'd never seen that reaction before and it stunned her for a moment, almost making her jump.

A twitch started at the corner of the demons lips, as though it was hard for him to contain whatever emotion he was currently feeling. The corner twitched once more before he finally gave in and burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. His hands fled his pockets as he grabbed at his stomach, bending over in pain as his chuckles of amusement filled the study. It was the only sign of emotion that he had shown in the short term of their acquaintance and it was a strange sight to say the least. She'd never expected this from the stoic demon that had stood before her only moments before. And this had started simply by asking who he was.

When he finally calmed to only slight giggles coming from between his lips, he stood to his full height, smile still broad across his face exposing pearly whites and fangs. He whipped a reminiscent tear of his mirth from his right eye as his giggles subsided into silence. Yet that smile remained.

"Sorry," he said with a light chuckle. "It's just been a while since anyone has asked me who I was that it was really funny," he explained. "Wow," he heaved a sigh as though a great weight had been lifted from him, "I really needed that. Thanks."

"Um…sure, I guess," Natalya replied. "But I still have no idea who you are."

"Oh! That's right. I suppose I should introduce myself," he said. "I am Alfred," he declared, sweeping into an unnecessary bow. He looked up at her from his bow, blue eyes gleaming. "But you can call me the King of Hell."