"Absolutely no way in Hell!" He snarled. He still had my waist firmly in his grip, and he pulled me closer to him instinctually. The air in the room was heating up to an uncomfortable degree, and I had no doubt it was his doing.

"Relax, Lucifer. I have no inappropriate intentions. Even I wouldn't attempt such a thing."

This did nothing to calm him. "There are worse things than that, and you know it, you snake!" He shouted. His icy blue eyes were stormy. They promised death.

"Could you give us a moment?" I asked Apophis sweetly, a sarcastic smile on my face.

He grinned and bowed with a flourish, "of course, milady." He swept out of the room once again. Instantly, I broke out of Luce's grip angrily.

"You do realize he is only messing with you?" I told him, exasperated beyond measure.

"No, it's more than that. You intrigue him, and intriguing a creature like him is never a good thing," He snapped, running a hand through his dark hair. "This is why I didn't want you here!"

"Well, tough nuggets! I am here, and he is delighted. You have a chink in your freaking angelic armor, and he is having a jolly old time prodding at it with a sharp stick." I shouted, throwing my arms up.

"He isn't only trying to get a rise out of me. There has to be something more!" He growled, "he is too ancient to stoop to such childish tactics."

Yeah, something made me doubt that.

"Well, it's only fifteen minutes, and it's not like you have a choice in the matter. Suck it up." I said curtly.

He opened his mouth, probably to continue ranting, when Apophis walked in.

"Time's up! If you would excuse us, Bright One?" He sang mockingly.

For a moment, I thought he wouldn't do it. I had no clue what would happen if Lucifer refused to pay his debt, but I had a feeling I didn't want to find out.

"Lucifer, please?" I whispered, looking up at him imploringly. Damn, I forgot how tall he was sometimes.

His eyes searched mine for a moment, his expression tender. His hand came up to my face, as if to caress my cheek. I closed my eyes in anticipation. The reassuring touch never came. I opened my eyes questioningly, only to see him retracting his hand quickly, his jaw set. I felt a pang in my heart, but I forced it down instantly. This was what I wanted, wasn't it? For him to leave me the hell alone?

Maybe that's not what you want anymore.

I shook my head violently, wanting to slap myself across my stupid face.

It's only hormones. You only feel like this because he's a goddamn amazing kisser.

I hoped.

The angel turned away from me, though it looked like the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life.

"I'll be right nearby, Rika."

The thinly veiled threat, of course, was not directed at me, but rather the Egyptian god beside me.

"I won't keep her long," Apophis promised, getting one last jab in.

The King of Hell froze, his hand on the doorknob. His wings ruffled, feathers standing on end.

"I will open this door in precisely fifteen minutes. If you are still here when I do so, Serpent god, I will take it upon myself to see you out."

With that, he stormed out, the door slamming shut behind him, the crack echoing throughout the library. I was alone with the Snake.

"You get off on this, don't you?" I asked when I felt the silence had stretched on for too long. I refused to look at the god's dumb face. Regardless of what I had told the Luce, I wasn't overly thrilled at the idea of being alone with the man.

If you could even call him a man.

"I'd be lying if I said no. I'd also be lying if I said yes."

I turned, finally, to look him in the eye. His cocky grin had faded, and in its place was a pensive, far-off expression that looked natural on his inhuman features. He met my gaze unperturbed, and that's when I truly began to feel fear. Without all the immature jokes and arrogant posturing, I was left with an ancient and all-knowing force of nature. I found I vastly preferred the twelve-year-old boy act.

"So, you simultaneously do and don't enjoy pushing celestial beings' buttons? Care to explain?"

"To anyone else, Ammi," he responded softly, "the answer would be a vehement no. But I think you and I can come to understand one another, in time."

"Time?" I snorted, "we have fifteen minutes. That hardly seems enough to braid each other's hair and swap life stories."

He winced, casting a regretful look at the door.

Why does that give me a very, very bad feeling?

"It is unfortunate. I rather think I find your mate to be the favorite of the celestial beings. I will be sad to lose his alliance." Ice-cold fear gripped my guts.

"What did you do?" My throat felt swollen shut, and I barely forced the words through it.

He waved me off with elegant, too-long fingers, "nothing to fear, Ammi. I only paused time so be sure we weren't rushed," seeing my reaction, he quickly added, "I promise, I have no ill intentions."

"Then why will Luce break off his alliance? If you don't plan on..." I trailed off, unable to finish the morbid thought.

"You underestimate your mate's power. The Bright One is not one to be trifled with. He will certainly know that I have stopped time, and, if I waited long enough, he would break my enchantment," he fixed the full wait of his knowing stare on me, "many beings fear me. Lucifer only fears the damage I could do before he ended me."

End him? Lucifer could kill a god?

"But, again, I must emphasize that even with my magic, he will soon break in. When he does, I cannot be here if I wish to continue existing. So, ask your question again, and I will answer it."

"Why do you live like this?" I said, sitting down on the loveseat, "why not align yourself, make friends? You antagonize and anger. That must be a poor way to live."

"It is the only way to live."

I opened my mouth instantly to fire off another question, but he held a hand up. Unlike a normal person, this gesture actually froze the words in my throat.

Immortality must come with the rude app pre-installed.

"Ammi, I am an old god," he began, his exotic accent thickening as he spoke, "many would consider my age an asset. I have knowledge beyond that of most every other being in existence. Knowledge holds hands with power, and with power comes longevity," he took a deep, shuddering breath, "but let me ask you one thing. How many of my fellow gods of Egypt do you suppose exist today?"

I stared at him.

He grinned, white teeth stark against his swarthy complexion, "you may speak."

"Thank you for your permission," I side-eyed him before I continued, "I normally would say many still exist, but I get the sense that that isn't where you're going with this lecture."

He narrowed his eyes at me, "don't get short with me. Believe it or not, by giving you this 'lecture', I am giving you a valuable gift. Don't make me change my mind concerning my payment."

I gulped. Point taken.

He continued, "to answer my own question: there are none. I am the sole survivor of the Egyptian pantheon. This is because progress and relics of the past are not compatible. I am a relic of the past, but, unlike my brothers and sisters, I evolved.

"In this new world of angels and demons, we two, you and I, are outsiders. I do not belong here anymore than you do, Ammi. I cannot afford to have friends, or even too close of allies. I would either be stabbed in the back or dragged into a petty war as collateral. This is my lot in life, and now, it is yours."

Now that's a mood-booster.

"However, you have an asset that I don't, something valuable and precious. You have your mate."

As we stared at one another, I realized his eyes weren't wise. They were sad. They were eyes of sorrow and tragedy. I hated to imagine the kind of existence that produced that sort of hopelessness.

"I didn't want this. I wanted anything but this," I whispered, despair clogging my throat and threatening to drown me, "this isn't fucking fair."

"No, it's not. But you were never going to lead a normal life. You will soon find out that even if you didn't want this life, or him," I shuffled my feet, "You will come to want this, when you accept your situation for what it is. When you accept him for who he is."

I stood up so violently the loveseat slid back a few inches, "are you dumb? Are you dumb? Because it seems to me you're a few hieroglyphics short of a scroll of papyrus, Bucko!" I shouted, my voice climbing higher and higher in pitch as I grew more hysterical, "I will never want this! You come here, spouting some therapy crap and expect me to nod and skip away happily? Bull. Shit."

He just sat there, the smug fucking bastard, not saying a word as I ranted on. I began to pace, and those sad, unnatural eyes followed me as I continued to rain abuse down on him.

"You obviously know jack about me, which makes sense. We just met. But you should know I don't just 'accept' a situation that I don't like that is being forced upon me by a bunch of egotistical, misogynistic dill holes who think they know what I want. I know you're a little out of date, my man, but it's the twenty-first century. You don't get to do that crap anymore."

I stopped my pacing, my fists clenched, and my breath coming heavily. I kicked myself when I noticed my trembling, but found I was unable to stop.

"Are you sure I'm the one out of line here, Ammi?" The snake said softly, impassively.

My rage was reaching a boiling point. Now, my fist would become acquainted with a jaw. The only unknown would be which jaw; either a god's, or someone who was trying to stop me from decking a god.

"I'm fairly certain you're the one making wild assumptions here. So yes, I'd say you're out of line."

His response brought me up short, "at least I'm not lying to myself for dubious reasons."

"Lying to myself? Dubious reasons? Pray, shed some light on my humble human psyche, great God!" I snarled, immediately on the defensive.

"You are troubled, Ammi. I know this. You know this."

My eyes widened, but I tried to play it off, "I'm not sure what you-"

"Let's not do this song and dance," the god growled, exasperatedly shifting on his chair, "I'm an all-knowing god. You can assume there's nothing to hide from me. From your mate, however..." He trailed off.

"I can't tell him." I said, shaking my head vehemently.

"You have to. All of it."

"Why? Why are you here? Why are you wasting my time with me?" I cried, throwing my hands up in frustration.

"Ammi, you are more important than you realize. We are on the brink of a holy war. Your mate is disconnected from Heaven and does not know of the disaster brewing. But regardless, you both will be caught up in it," he opened his slitted eyes, despair churning inside them, "I am simply trying to keep it from consuming you."

Well what in the Hell am I supposed to say to that?

"And you're telling me that I need to tell Lucifer...about everything?"

The god nodded.

"And somehow this ties into a holy war that may or may not kill me?"

Another nod.

"And only you can see this coming?"

"Unfortunately, this particular power and blame are things I must alone bear," the god answered, rising from his seat.

"Not the only blame you have pinned to your scaly ass, is it?" I said abruptly, remembering something Marcus and Lucifer told me earlier.

The god froze.

"You dickwad!" I snarled, starting towards him, intent on violence.

"Now, now, there's no need for that." The god pleaded, backing away.

You'd better fucking run.

"Like Hell!" I roared, "do you have any idea how bad periods are? They. Suck. And you know what comforts me while I am hormonal and bleeding everywhere?"

"Erm, I-"

"I love it," I shouted over his feeble excuses, "when, despite all of that, I can't leave

my bed because my guts feel like they are being torn from my body by a drag queen with 7-inch acrylic nails!"

"I truly am sorry...but surely, they can't-" he quailed at my thunderous expression, "or maybe they are, and I am suitably chastised?"

I shook my head angrily, "nuh-uh. I don't think so," I grinned evilly, "I think, Mr. Super powerful god, that you now owe me a favor."

He blanched but took the out immediately.

"Of course, of course. It's only fair, really. You can call me whenever," he cleared his throat nervously, "and now, unfortunately, I have to leave. I'm afraid your mate will soon join us."

A thought struck me. A dangerous thought. A terrifying thought. A sad thought.

"Take me with you."

The god's mouth fell open, eyes the size of saucers.

"It doesn't have to be like this. You could do it right? I could hide. I could be free of this." I shook with emotion. Freedom was within my grasp.

"I could do it, Ammi. And I would do it." Emotion overflowed. I could hardly believe it.

"Thank you so-"

The god held up a hand, I stopped abruptly, "you didn't let me finish. I could and would do it...if you really wished me to."

And that's the problem, isn't it?

I could lie to others, but not myself. I wanted freedom...but I thought I now knew I wanted him more.

Because when Apophis told me no, I felt disappointment. But I mostly felt relief.

When Lucifer blew down the doors to the library, entering with blinding light and blades drawn, he found me, alone, crying my eyes out.

He immediately dropped his weapons and seemed to appear by my side in nanoseconds. He went to pull me into an embrace, only to stop abruptly, his face contorted in agony.

Great, now I'm a terrible feminist who ruined her chances with the guy that she abandoned her morals for.

"Ammi." The angel choked, frozen by indecision.

"Please. I just...I understand, I guess." I managed, my lip wobbling.

Damnit. I'm going to ugly cry.

"What do you mean, Love?" The angel pleaded, crouching down to look at my downturned face, "what do you understand?"

How to say this without sounding like an idiot?

"I understand why you've given up," I sobbed, "I am pretty difficult."

"What are you on about, Kitten?" He whispered, "did that bastard hurt you? Just tell me, and I'll take care of it."

I giggled through my tears, the obliviousness of this man was astounding.

"Of course not. He just pointed out my unfixable mistakes to my face. It's nothing I didn't do to myself." I sniffled. His hand twitched as a tear fell down my cheek.

"There's more than just physical hurt, Rika. Much," he took a shuddering breath, "much more. And often, they are worse. What did you do?"

"I just-" my face went red, "I realized that just as I finally figured out that I had an affinity for a certain angel, he no longer did for me. And I also just realized that I deserve it."

His eyes widened, a shocked expression taking over his face. Then, suddenly it went flinty. I gasped at the pure rage in his icy blue eyes. His sharp jaw clenched. He looked positively lethal.

"I am going to ask you a question, now, Rika," he growled, his glare smoldering, "and you will not skirt around the answer or try to avoid it, or I will not stop myself from doing something you really won't like."