42. I don't know you

Sean had stopped well short of the gate. Elise could see from his expression that he was not comfortable with the idea of getting any closer. He looked beaten down to the point of utter exhaustion. She was unsure if she should try help him or just leave him there. Ultimately, she decided it would be best to leave him where he was. This was hell after all. What could she do for him that wouldn’t just get him beaten later on. She continued down the road to the gate. Before he was out of earshot, she turned and told him thank you. Sean smiled briefly at her words. Then he wandered off to find someplace to hide.

Elise looked up at the huge, wooden door. She couldn’t see any easy ways to open it. Finally, she decided that she would just have to push it open. She would have to exert a huge amount of strength.

She walked up to the massive door, put her hands against it and leaned into it. The door started to move. Suddenly someone looked over the side of the wall and shouted.

“Who goes there? State your name and your business.”

“I am Elise. I'm with Leviathan.”

“No, you are not. I don’t see him here.”

“I did not mean to say that I am not literally standing here with him.” Elise rolled her eyes. “What I meant was I am his.”

The man looked confused. Elise turned her head and showed him the mark that Leviathan left when he had bitten into her flesh.

“Well, anyone could have done that.” The man called from the top of the wall.

Elise was beginning to lose her patience. If he continued to block her way, she would be forced to take action. After all the fighting yesterday though, she was just not in the mood. She decided to try a different angle.

“Is Deliah in the house.”

“Yes”

“Ask her. She will tell you that she knows who I am.”

The man shouted for a runner to go ask Deliah if she would vouch for Elise, and then they both waited. It took some time for the runner to return. Elise expected that. Leviathan’s house was huge. She sat cross legged in front of the gate to wait. Finally, the man shouted down again.

“Deliah says she knows no one named Elise.”

That was the last straw. Elise’s anger boil over. She hated liars. It was something that was just unforgivable. She had even turned away from her own family because they had lied to her. Elise began to see red. She opened her wings and launched herself at the man. She ran into him so hard that he was thrown from the wall into the courtyard. She landed on top of him and started to punch him. The man pulled out a weapon and stabbed her in the side. She let out a scream, but she kept on hitting him over and over.

Others approached and pulled her from the bloody body. She went to grab her weapon. But before she could, she felt hands grabbing at her. She shoved them off one by one. Her opponents kept coming on so quickly that she couldn’t draw her weapon. So, she used her fists, her feet, and her wings. Although she couldn’t kill them this way, she could certainly fight them.

“Get her.”

“Put her down.”

The attackers shouted at each other as they tried to get ahold of Elise. Deliah stood watching form a window looking out over the courtyard. She watched as Elise fought them back with nothing but her fists. She had hoped that the demons down there would break her so badly that her father would not want her anymore.

She didn’t like the idea of her father loving an angel. She didn’t think it was right. More importantly she didn’t want her dad to be in love with anyone. He was a prince of hell, the oldest one, and she wanted him to remain in hell and rule. She had convinced herself that he only wanted to leave because of Elise. If she could get her out of the picture, then he might want to stay.

If he left, she would lose a lot of her influence in hell. Sure, she was a daughter of the Prince of Chaos, but without the threat of him backing her up she couldn’t command nearly as much respect. She needed Elise out of the picture, and she almost always got her way.

As Deliah watched Elise fight, she realized she was not in for an easy job. The way Elise moved was nothing less than perfect. She was keeping her pace and even though she had been stabbed she never faltered. And this was without her weapon.

Elise kept up the fight until she noticed that many of the demons were backing away from her. Finally, they all stopped. She glanced around at each of them, waiting for the next attack. As she turned, she saw Leviathan standing in their midst, with a furious look on his face. If looks could kill all of his minions would be dead. Then he shouted.

“Who the fuck is responsible for this attack? Have I not made it clear that she is mine?”

There was silence. Then Elise spoke.

“Leviathan it was him.”

She pointed at the first demon she had attacked. He was lying unconscious, covered in welts.

“He barred my way at the gate. When I asked him to go confirm who I was with Deliah, she told him that she did not know me.”

Leviathan looked over Elise. He could see that she was bleeding pretty badly.

“Who did this?” He demanded.

Again, she glanced over at the man on the ground.

“Take him to the dungeon. He will hang for three years. As for the rest of, you now know this is Elise and she is mine. If I ever find any of you miss treating her again, I will not be lenient.”

Elise was confused. What did he mean when he said that he would be hung for three years. She planned to ask him when they were alone. Leviathan grabbed Elise’s hand and pulled her into the castle. When the door shut behind them, he pushed into her.

He kissed her harshly biting her bottom lip so hard it drew blood. Elise pulled back. She didn’t understand why he was acting this way. How could he want her right now? She was cut and covered in sweat, dirt, and blood.

“What is going on?”

“I want you.”

He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her in for another kiss. She still did not understand why he was so turned on all of the sudden. His hands traveled over her body waking her up inside. She let her questions about his motives slip away. Choosing to get lost in this moment, she let him have her, all of her right there against the door.

After they both had their fill, she looked at him.

“So, want to tell me why you couldn’t seem to control yourself.”

He became thoughtful for a minute. Then he answered. “It is this place.”

“What, hell.”

“Yeah, you see here in this place, in my home I feel all my anger and my bloodlust running on high. So, watching you do all that damage was like a fantasy being fulfilled. It enlivened me in a way I can't really describe.”

Elise saw him for the first time for what he really was, a prince of hell. He was the prince of chaos and here in this place he was bathing in the gore and chaos that followed and angel being in hell. She still loved him, and he loved her, but this was a different Leviathan than the one she knew on earth. He was darker. He looked taller than before. His already big muscles seemed more defined. His face looked a little more devilish. Despite the physical and emotional changes, she knew he was still hers. He was still in love with her, and she knew that he would never lie to her.