"He's in pieces, Elizabeth."
She appeared disturbed to hear this but not entirely convinced.
"What did he tell you?"
After Cassie told her what he had said, Elizabeth looked very unhappy but reluctant smile flashed across her face for a second.
"He's always so dramatic."
Not understanding Cassie said, "I don't think he's exaggerating."
"Oh, I know he's not, but even now he can't just be sorry for what he's done."
"But he is."
"No, not really. It's not what he has done that bothers him, but my reaction to it. He doesn't really know what regret feels like. He wasn't made with it because he was never meant to do anything wrong. He'd do it again and he knows it, unless someone stops him."
"Isn't that what you do?"
She laughed, "I cannot really control him. Do not mistake his love for me as giving me any inherent leverage over the extreme parts of his nature. On a normal level, he's almost like any other guy but when it comes to using his power he's just not always capable of doing or not doing certain things just because I've asked him. He has never been able to control himself. So, we have a little arraignment when it comes to these "things" that he does or wants to do so that I can put enough pressure on him to get him to stop because I can't follow him around all day scolding him. But I miscalculated and I allowed him to disregard our arraignment in a major way. Now I'm so shocked by the effect on real people that I just don't know how to deal with this."
"It's not your fault," Cassie said.
But Elizabeth could not help feeling somehow partially responsible.
Malachi took the opportunity of his mother being gone and his father having to stay with his little sister in order to get himself in to trouble. He went to see Ella at her room at Mendham and see just what she was made of.
"Hi, Malachi, I didn't expect you," she said opening her door after he knocked.
"I didn't tell you I was coming," and he walked past her into the room and sat on her bed.
"Ella, I decided that we should have it out now and see who wins."
"You've decided?"
"Yes."
"And what makes you think you have any chance against me?"
"What makes you think I'm worried about you in the slightest?"
Her eyes accepting the challenge, "Well, if you insist."
"I do. And since actually killing each other is…inconvenient…I think we should put a wager on it."
"Oh, backing down are we?"
"No, not backing down, I'm just not willing to upset the balance just out of curiosity, but I am willing to make it interesting for you."
"What did you have in mind?"
"Why is he so distraught?"
"Because I'm supposed to respond and ignoring him is not one of the acceptable responses. He's done this before, this "I've done this thing, now what are you going to do about it?" It's like a game. But he's never done anything close to this horrible before. How does he make up for this, not to me but to those people?"
"So you decided to avoid having to deal with him? I understand that."
"I decided to ignore him with every intention of calling him back once I figured this out. But I can't let him off of the hook lightly."
"Why didn't you come to me?"
"To be honest, I thought that I couldn't let him know that I went running to you and Azazeal, so he couldn't try to use you both to influence me."
"Well, he didn't come to us until yesterday. But he is miserable."
"He's used to the attention now. Having someone care what he does and react to his evil. You see, what I think, feel, and want with regards to his activities is very important to him but I'm responsible for ensuring that I get what I want. If I want him to do something, or not, or promise me something, or pay for something I have to take it from him in one-way or another. And he only allows me to do this because he does love me…and because he ultimately enjoys the surrender."
Azazeal was too distracted with Sara to notice the number of angels that were coming by just to check in on Lucifer. He had always been someone to fear and avoid, unless you did exactly what he wanted, but seeing him in this kind of distress was apparently worrying many of the more sensitive angels. Haniel and Muriel were particularly affected and spent the whole day discussing it.
"Is there nothing we can do?"
"It's between them, Haniel."
"But surely we can help."
"I have tried to comfort him but he refuses. I just hope she takes him back. Can you imagine what he'll be like if she doesn't?"
"Well, he was a bit scary, but I think he was just still angry about the fall."
"Only you, Haniel," and Muriel shook his head, "He was never just angry."
"I don't know, I just can't bear to see anyone like this," and she drifted over to him again. His eyes were now closed as he lay on the couch, so she reached out her hand to towards his shoulder. He didn't notice her in time and she managed to touch him for an instant before she jerked back in emotional pain. They looked at each other for a second and finally she wandered away with her eyes glazed over.
Muriel stopped her and said, concerned, "You shouldn't have done that."
"I know," she responded as she stared to cry.
"So, you do exert some power over him then?"
"Only what he allows really…but you want to know how it works don't you?" Elizabeth smiled.
"Well…I…"
"I know the speculation that goes on. I have many, many ways of getting what I want."
Cassie blushed a little.
"Sex, Cassie, it's always sex…I can give it as a reward or tease with it till I get what I want, but that's not always enough, so sometimes when necessary… he finds that it hurts," Elizabeth smiled wickedly.
"But you swore…"
"Semantics are a beautiful thing, Cassie. Pain, for whatever reason, is sometimes the only thing that allows him to give in to me and when used with pleasure and coercion, I can get him so twisted in knots, he'd agree to almost anything. But I don't harm him. What he said to you, does not happen, although it's not a bad idea," she teased still irritated with him.
"But I thought he, well, liked that sort of thing."
"Oh no, he only actually likes a little pain but I push it further than that when he won't give in to more subtle methods. It still turns him on though, because it's the surrender that it brings out of him that really gets him going. Besides, he knows that once he gives in...he is rewarded."
"Oh, my! I wouldn't have thought that would work on such a powerful and evil being."
"You'd be surprised how easy it is to tempt him into the bedroom even when it's obvious that I'm going to demand something. And no matter how much he fights me, when I have to move past playful and escalate to more serious methods, he never resists because really he's the one deciding how much it's going to take. Like I told you before, he wants to be controlled, but I just can't figure out exactly why that's so important to him."
"Interesting! You know, he really sounded like he would gladly come back to you even if all you would give him was agony."
"I know, he really would and that scares me, but it's also partially just the way he thinks of things. It's the only way he can think of to try to get me to forgive him. He has no concept of how to apologize for what he has actually done. He can only try to make it up to me."
Inside the old kitchen were Cassie had found the Canary, they began their battle. If Malachi won, they would spend a night together, which she shrugged off as a typically male and assumed he was teasing her. If Ella won, the stakes were much higher. Malachi would give her another chance kill him if he ever wanted to start the End of Days. They had agreed to no weapons, but of course Malachi had a few tricks up his sleeve.
He was very surprised by the amount of power that she had and in typical arrogance he played with her a little, not really giving her credit for actually being in the process of testing him for weaknesses. When he got bored of this, he decided to put and end to this but found himself more tired that he expected and Ella more skillful than he had suspected...
"What are you going to do?"
"I'll call him back to me tonight, get him off your hands."
"But if you're not ready…"
"I'm fine, besides I have to put an end to this. "
When Cassie came home, Azazeal told her that Malachi had not been home since the morning. They started to worry together and Lucifer watched them from across the church.
They were so intertwined, he thought. He had originally been rather disappointed to see that Azazeal's nefarious activities had turned in to mostly things that, had Cassie known about them, she probably wouldn't have minded. But after seeing them together more and more and actually thinking about Azazeal's nature, it made sense that he would make these changes for her. He easily let go of the desire to do evil that Lucifer had so carefully cultivated in him. He was still mischievous and certainly arrogant but the evil had been artificial. He had given parts of himself to her that he could not take back, but didn't want to. Lucifer tried to understand.
He, on the other hand, had made no real changes and realized that everything he'd ever offered Elizabeth was superficial. He could and would have given her any worldly thing she wanted and some otherworldly things too, but they would have meant nothing. Which is why, he supposed, that she did not ask. He loved her but he did this as much for what it did for him, then as just for her. He had given her access to his body and a bit of control, but these to were ultimately selfish. He began to wonder why she was with him at all.
All of sudden Lucifer jerked up to a sitting position and froze as if listening for something. It was almost too much to hope for but then he heard it again, "Lucifer, come here to me." He stood, shuddered, and went to her.