Exiled from Imperium, Abbadon is trying to figure out how to fix things...but can he?
The room was quiet, too quiet, but he’d recently found most noise just grated on his nerves. His brother had gone to see Abriella and Abbadon had been left alone in the pocket realm that had been created for him after he’d been thrown out of Imperium. He’d heard that Cruz was now ruling alongside her and that burned inside his chest like a coal. The more he thought on it, the deeper the burn.
Once more his feet began to take him from one side to another of the room. His hand ran through his golden, light brown hair, which fell once more into its perfect feathered place to the right. A deep breath was blown out through almost pursed lips, his frustration beginning to ebb. His mind considering his next move to recover from the blow to his wife. He had to do something and Div was not helping him. Maybe Aphrodite? Hera even? Venus was not being very warm and fuzzy towards him, but Astarte had been friendly the last time they had met. Ianna had seemed friendly as well, maybe she would be a good choice. His last hope might be Rati. One of them had to work, they HAD to.
First he would have to come up for with a gift for the goddess he was to beg favor from. Then, unlike the last time Div came to visit, he would listen to them carefully and what they instructed. His love for Abriella was still there, but he knew that his actions in the past had dampened hers for him. She had to understand that Stennis’ being bound was still affecting him.
Both hands now ran through his hair as he paced, a slight growl escaping his barely parted lips, he had to make this work. If he had to go to every goddess, get every blessing, he would. Abriella was HIS wife. She was HIS. She had to know that. She had to understand that. She had to realize that they were meant for one another. He was the Fifth Horsemen - Destruction. Death and Destruction, they were meant for each other, perfect Mates that should not be separated.
To his knees he went as the ache in his chest seemed too much to bear. A burning that felt like it was going to form a hole through his flesh and leave him with truly nothing where his heart now was. He could become incorporeal, but there was still an ache that followed him no matter the form that he took. This was a nightmare that he could not wake up from. He was now someone, something, that he had never wanted to be and he could not figure out how to fix it, to fix them, to make himself whole, to make them whole.
His head hit the floor, his hands now on both sides, he had to fix everything. The goddesses were his only hope. How many times had he walked the floor? How many times had he gone to his knees? How many times had he wept? How many times? How many more times would he need to? Was there any end? What more could he do? Was there really any hope at this point?
For several moments, fire was everywhere, licking at every surface within the dungeon and raging up the staircase towards Damien. He watched several of his stoutest warriors engulfed and exterminated by the flames that could have only come from one place: Kaylin. How?
Once the fire had stopped chasing him higher within the castle, Damien paused to survey the damage done and the losses. Within him a different type of fire burned, one that did not scorch the skin, but instead incinerated any vestiges of emotion he felt toward the daughter he had once loved; or at least as much as Damien could love anyone other than himself. Now, there was nothing but a burning desire for revenge and a reckoning for all she had cost him. He would not allow her to escape that easily, and the dragon would die at his hands.
Outcast and an exile I've become
My skin has cracked beneath the scorching sun
You broke my will and left me here to die
So don't turn your back I'm coming for your life
One eye open when you sleep
In your nightmares you see me
I'm what you call destiny
I can't rest while you still breathe
There was no way that Kaylin could have recovered on her own from the beating he’d given her, which meant one thing to Damien: she’d had help. There were few who would chance coming up against him by doing such a thing. One of those had been hanging down in his dungeon on the verge of death, the rest would be held up in the Palace of Imperium. Slowly his hands balled to fists as he considered that.
His father, Lucifer, he could handle. It was the Horsemen that he knew that he could not take on alone. They did have enemies though, and he was not beneath eliciting their help to enact a reckoning on his daughter and her dragon lover. First the throne that should have been his was given to the two welp bastards that did not deserve, now they had helped his daughter betray him. This would not stand. He would not allow it.
His daughter may have used her fire to eliminate many of his soldiers when she escaped his clutches, but she had left him alive and that would be her undoing. No one crossed Damien and was allowed to live. Even worse, her behavior to Xavier had embarrassed him, and she would be brought low for that alone. He would not kill her, but she would wish he had in the end. What he had planned for her would make death a sweet release that she would not be given the gift of. She would learn that he was not one to be trifled with.
I'm still alive I'll rise a thousand times
To take what's mine I'm gonna be gonna be
I'll be your reckoning
This is my plight to tear your kingdom down
To reclaim what I'm meant to be meant to be
I'll be your reckoning
They call you king usurper's what you are
No way I'll forget reminded by my scars
You feed them lies to make me someone else
I swear to God I'll drag you down to hell
It took Damien less than an hour to get ahold of one of Amon’s emissaries. He was perplexed when the Prince of Wrath wanted nothing to do with his mission. It seemed one that would have been the prince’s specialty. He would not be dissuaded though, there were still other Princes to be courted for assistance. There was noting that was going to dissuade him from his goal.
Mammon was the next that Damien was able to make contact with, and he was much more receptive to the King’s idea of going against the Horsemen. Mammon was closer to Leviathan and had a feeling that he too would be interested in Damien’s battle plans against the Palace and those who Leviathan wished to get his own brand of justice against. A time was setup to discuss things further, for alliances to be cemented, and for plans to be brainstormed. It could be a beautiful friendship or an epic disaster. Both were hoping for the former.
As Damien waited for the appointed time to come to meet the two Princes, he could not help but turn over his plans in his mind with glee. Within his mind, he envisioned the face of both Kaylin and Asher when they saw him coming for them, knowing there would be no escape this time. No one would defend them against two Princes and Damien himself. Abriella and Cruz would not want to bring war into the bowels of Imperium, not for those two. Not for anyone. Watching the life fully drain this time from Asher would be the greatest victory.
One eye open when you sleep
In your nightmares you see me
I'm what you call destiny
I can't rest while you still breathe
I'm still alive I'll rise a thousand times
To take what's mine I'm gonna be gonna be
I'll be your reckoning
This is my plight to tear your kingdom down
To reclaim what I'm meant to be meant to be
I'll be your reckoning
When the time came, Damien mysted to the agreed upon realm. Walking into the marble enclave that they were to meet, he found Mammon and Leviathan already there. Another Prince had decided to join them as well, it seemed: Beelzebub. He was seated off to the side though, not directly in the conversation it would appear. That was fine, he was sure that as soon as he laid out his case, the third Prince would join forces with him as well.
“Damien, so it is true that you are wishing to turn traitor on your father and cousins? Exactly why should we trust you?” Mammon was the first to speak, not even giving Damien a chance to sit. His eyes were evaluating every move and expression of the King, not trusting him in the slightest.
“Those in the Palace have assisted my daughter in an uprising against me which caused a great loss of my forces, and a betrayal. I do not stand for such. I wish her brought low and the dragon that assisted her to be slaughtered. I do not believe that those in the Palace really want a war, but I think the threat of it will get us all something we want.” Damien’s lips curved in a chilling grin.
Mammon and Leviathan both looked side-eyed at one another, before Leviathan this time spoke. “What is it that you think that you can negotiate for us that WE want? You getting revenge on your daughter and her lover is hardly our concern.” Leviathan smirked and waved his hand dismissively. He was beginning to think this was an actual waste of time.
“Abriella has friends within the Palace now, she will not want war to come to the Palace. You want an audience with her, and I am sure she will grant it so that violence does not touch those women she is shielding. And Mammon, it is known that you wish more power as well. Do you really think that Abriella has any loyalty to Luc? Having him under your control, would be a very powerful weapon, especially if you can bind him so he can only do your bidding.” Damien grinned. He had been considering all of this. Those females in the Palace that were friends of Abriella, they would make beautiful pawns in this game.
Beelzebub watched everything quietly from off to the side. He really did believe that the other three had lost their minds. Even if Abriella did have friends in the Palace that she wished to protect, there was no way that she was going to make the deals that Damien was proposing. The Four Horsemen alone would be enough to keep them all at bay, let alone if they called upon Abbadon to help them. Even if for no other reason than to kick Leviathan’s ass, Abbadon would show up. For the moment, he was going to keep this all to himself, arguing with his brothers when they were convinced of something would just be a pain in his ass, but there was no way that this would end in any way the way the other three were anticipating.
While alliances in Imperium are tight, are those coming against them as well?
Leviathan sat looking at the latest intel he’d received from his spies within Imperium and the other realms that his brethren amongst the Princes inhabited. At least he’d been able to ally himself with Mammon and Beelzebub. That gave him some advantage over the others that were fighting alone, but it gave him no advantage when it came to Abriella who had been able to regain the deed to her soul through subterfuge. It still enraged him and he would find a way to rectify that situation as soon as he was able to.
Rising from behind the large and ornately carved desk he had been sitting behind, Leviathan walked over to the massive map that had been crafted of Imperium and other realms that they were tracking. It was magical and altered whenever the occupants of the realms made any moves with their forces that could impact him in any way. It was used for waging war, and planning other activities. Unfortunately the Palace of Imperium was too protected by wards for him to be able to see within and get the intel that he really wanted. That was the reason for a network of spies. Recently though, his information had been slower and slower coming out, something he would soon have to remedy.
Leaning over the map, he spread his arms wide and braced himself on the edge on his wrists. He was hovering over the top of Imperium, seeing what movements of the legions and troops he could. Where there were defenses being mounted, or training being mounted. He couldn’t see any of his spies, which frustrated him. Why was he getting no information?
“Do you think the answers you want are going to jump off of the map? Or are you hoping that your spies will get outside of the wards so that you can get the information?” Beelzebub’s voice came from the doorway.
When Leviathan looked up, he saw his brother leaned up against the door jam with his massive arms crossed over his broad chest. Unlike Leviathan who was tall with dark hair and eyes, Beelzebub had lighter auburn hair and blue eyes, his frame broader and more muscular as well. They were only brothers in that they were created by Div at the creation of the Earthly Realm, so their “Father” was the same. There wasn’t much about them that was alike, other than their hatred for their father.
“I would not be that lucky, we both know that.” Leviathan kept his head raised, looking at his brother. “And with Abbadon being banished, we can’t even count on him losing his temper and mouthing off when he’s in another realm. At least I don’t have to think about his hands on her any longer.” His hands gripped the table tighter, knuckles whitening from the exertion.
Beelzebub chuckled as he pushed himself off of the door frame. “So you think she is sleeping alone in that massive palace of hers, with her legion and friends? No one keeping that bed of hers warm now that Abbadon is gone?” He didn’t care if Abriella was or not, but he liked watching the muscle twitch in Leviathan’s jaw. He found it amusing. Since Abriella had gotten the deed to her soul back, there had been too much planning and not enough doing. “Can’t your spies shed any light on that?”
“I haven’t asked. I’m trying to find a way to get in there and take on her personal guard.” Leviathan wasn’t going to get in an argument, or let Beelzebub see how much he was getting under his skin. “And I have been informed that there are some new residents at the Palace, it’s even expanding for it.” Now Leviathan was smirking as he pointed to the new wing on the table before him. “I am considering getting rid of a few of my spies, let some of my more trusted ones take care of them for me. Eliminate loose ends. The next few weeks will be critical…” A devious smirk came to his lips as he watched the movements beneath him on the mystical map. No one would know what hit them…
“Is that a smart move, remove those who are your eyes and ears?” Beelzebub had heard of the guests, one he was particularly interested in. He had his own contacts in Imperium, and his own reasons for wanting to get to know about the new arrivals. Just because he was a Prince didn’t mean that he was under Leviathan’s thumb or that they were even necessarily on the same side. However, Leviathan had his uses, as did his spies that were in Imperium.
Leviathan mulled it over. It was not that his brother didn’t have a point, but sometimes you had to make an example of someone to get your point across that orders were to be followed and information passed along. “I have one that is expendable. I believe she’s turned on me. In fact, I know she has.” There was a resignation in his voice, there was no joy in some losses. He knew one of his other brothers would not be happy about it, but that was too damn bad. There had to be one sacrifice to make the point. Since Lucifer was no longer at the top, Leviathan had taken his spot and be seen as strong. There was only one rogue Prince and no one gave a damn where Amon had fucked off to.
“I hope that it gets you what you want, and not an even larger war.” Beelzebub was prudent. Killing anyone in Imperium was not going to go over well. Since a spy would be someone on the inside of the Palace, it was going to be taken personally by Abriella. If she decided to really hunt for Leviathan, they might have a serious problem. With or without Abbadon, that female was viscous as fuck when pissed. Then there was her brother…
“You think one female in that Palace will arise problems?” Leviathan scoffed. “Besides, if it looks like an accident to everyone but those who need to know, then nothing will happen. Do you doubt me?” He looked up with a smirk, a cocky one.
“Levi, I don’t doubt you, but you are dealing with some powerful beings that we have not been able to get an upper hand on since this all started. The closest you got was Talia and let’s not forget how that ended up.” Beelzebub’s brow rose. Did Leviathan really want him to recount that disaster of a cluster fuck? He doubted it.
Leviathan’s teeth ground at the reminder of how sideways that whole operation had gone. “We’re still working on that. She’s determined to get Leandre back, and I do believe that she has managed to bring Gabriel into the fold of our arsenal.” Leviathan’s smirk grew.
Beelzebub looked at his brother as if he had turned into a hydra before him. “Are you out of you fucking mind?! You have brought Gabriel, who our Father has a death sentence on his head, into the fold? Like we weren’t going to have enough trouble with the Horsemen after our asses, you want all of Heaven after them now? And Talia is in charge of this? Is she really such a good piece of ass you’re ready to damn the rest of to death over you own stupidity?!”
“I’m not fucking her. Are you insane, who knows what kind of incurable diseases she has, and we’re immortal.” Leviathan’s eyes rolled before turning back to the map of Imperium. “They’re both useful, you don’t see it yet.”
This is it, Beelzebub thought, the damned idiot had lost his mind completely. Maybe Abbadon needed a new best friend. Had to be safer than this shit.
Since his dismissal from Imperium the last time, Abbadon has been plotting and scheming on how to get back into his bride's good graces. Those he would normally turn to for advice are now against him. The doors to redemption seem closed and his own siblings are tiring of his him. This is when he is seeming most lost and like he has nothing left to lost. A dangerous place for all to have him find himself in.
