Chapter 1

Lilith:

I looked at old, abandoned warehouse I’d chosen as the portal with a dreamy wonder. In a matter of moments, Lucifer would rise and claim this land as his own. I spent years here on Earth, examining humans and their behaviors. I transmitted my reports to demons who had been sent to collect. They traveled through minor portals that served only one purpose: To get them here and back. My portal serves a much greater purpose, to bring my Father on this planet to bring havoc among these defenseless creatures whom apparently are God's “Greatest Creation”. I laughed to myself. The humans have done nothing but ruin this once beautiful planet. These beings are selfish, greedy, and ignorant. I smiled at the suffering they would soon experience. They deserved it.
I have been sacrificing souls to the Dark Lord for 3 centuries now. I'm not certain that he will be able to take human form but I am convinced he will be able to rise again: The greatest Fallen Angel. I focused all my energy on spell I discovered from one of the first One Hundred Witches. I sung with such forcefulness that if any humans heard it, their ears would bleed.
My portal started to shake and the incantation I sung still hummed within the walls. In front of me, the blood of an innocent I sacrificed began to sizzle as a giant rift took shape. A icy chill fell about the room as thick shadows began to spread. The darkness reveled in the innocent's blood and began to swirl around the room. An shadowy tendril reached out and soothed me with its chilling touch. I shivered as its power radiated through me and into my core.
I sighed in awe as the darkness huddled together and a crimson glow broke through. A gloomy figure gracefully stepped out of the murky shadows and I immediately knelt down in respect for my master.
A low chuckle filled the air and I peaked above only to be disappointed. “You sure know how to make a guy feel welcome.”
I groaned as I rose from the floor. It was not my master who stood before me but one of his most favored demons whom I recognized instantly.
He was tall, slender, and stood with confidence. He was smirking in amusement as he often did. The feeling of cockiness and pigheadedness floated in the air when around him. His sleek black hair complimented his piercing, icy blue eyes and his full lips made his face even more intimidatingly beautiful. His arrogance illuminated off him
“Luke. What a not so pleasant surprise. May I ask what the your doing here?”
The stubborn smirk only grew wider much to my irritation. “Lilith, you look ravishing. I must say that is one of the best gateways to Hell I have ever seen.” The sly smile and glint in his eyes never ceased to annoy me but I managed a slight smile at his compliment.
“Your far too kind Luke.” I spoke with as much sarcasm as I could, which made him laugh deeply. “Unfortunately, that portal wasn’t meant for you.”
He raised his eyebrows, straightened himself, and took on a more serious look, finally ready for business. “Lucifer sends his apologies. We have a new mission that doesn’t require his presence on Earth just yet, but he is grateful for the gateway as it will serve useful to our mission.” I nodded in seriousness as I absorbed his words but the gleam of humor was back in his face as he continued. “Our mission is to recruit humans and drag them down to hell using this portal. Before Lucifer comes to Earth we must prepare ourselves with an army ready for the apocalyptic battle. Other demons have already been sent to their towns and will be in and out of here for the next 3 months.”
I smiled at the thought of having new “soldiers” in hell. New faces, more power. The whole plan was very intriguing until Luke continued.
“Lucifer has paired the two of us to a little town south of here,Woods Burrow, where the two of us will be looking for ones who display the most potential.” I groaned and the playful smirk was back.
“Doesn’t he know I cant stand you!”
Luke's smile only grew bigger as he pretended to be hurt.
“Oh come on! You know you love me. Besides, we are the best of the best. We make a great team.” He grabbed my hand and I immediately pulled away. The smile never faded from his lips.
“Your arrogance will get you in trouble one day, I'd watch out.”
He rolled his eyes as I lead him to the warehouse exit. “Nice to know you care.”
I scoffed at him. “By the way, I'm still Father's favorite.”
His laughter was loud but abrupt. “In your dreams, little Lily”
I grimaced at his words. “I'll pretend I didn’t just hear you give me a nickname.”
He opened the passenger door to his car and I eagerly climbed in. His car always smelt like a mix of rosemary and mint, a rather appealing scent. “What? As partners, we need to establish a close bond. Ill be the most important person to you the next 3 months.”
I sighed and looked out the window. The dark gray clouds in the sky indicated rain. As soon as the thought entered my mind, a steady rainfall began to pour.
“I don’t mind the rain but would you please not flood the place.” Luke's word echoed through my mind even though I tried so hard to forget he was there. I snapped back into reality and my affinity for weather allowed me to stop the rainfall immediately.
Luke looked at me comfortingly. “Lets make the best of this trip okay? I want this to be a pleasant experience for the both of us.” As he spoke he put his hand on my shoulder. I shrugged off his hand but smiled reassuringly. “I can do that Mr. Know-it-all. Just keep the touching to a minimum. Remember, I have a mate back home.”
He rolled his eyes and the car jolted forward and sped up. The mountains and hills all pasted by in a blur and I could tell we would reach our destination in no time. I was ready for my mission.

Chapter 2

Skylar

:
“Skylar! Please tell me you finished the English homework.” Isabella's agonized tone pleaded as our group sat down at our usual table in Study Hall.
I smiled to myself. I had predicted this morning that she would ask me for it sometime today.”Of course silly! I am actually a responsible student unlike someone I know!” I stuck my tongue at her and she frowned as I slid my worksheet on The Odessy across to her on the table. I looked around for Mr. Greene, the Study Hall supervisor but he was sitting at his desk in the corner, sipping coffee and reading Time Magazine.
“Mason here” -As she spoke she grabbed her boyfriend's hand and gave him an adoring smile-“Wasn't feeling very well. We spend 4 hours on the phone just talking and talking. I needed to focus on comforting him. Besides, Mrs. Yule needs to get a life. And a boyfriend to have a little fun with.”
The thought of our uptight and unlovable Literature teacher with a man made me shudder. “Oh no! Don’t put images in my head that I don’t want to see.”
Isabella gave me a teasing smile and leaned into Mason's embrace. “Ha! Payback for not telling me Garret gave you his number. I had to find out from Rochelle Pearson! You know I hate listening to that girl speak unless she has something really juicy to say.”
I laid my head down on the table and let out a long, exaggerated sigh. It's bad enough I’ve been trying to get Garret Hills to give me his number for 2 years, but now the whole school knows about it.
“Its not a marriage proposal Isabella! Just a way to talk.” I couldn’t look at her face with my head still on the table, but I could imagine Isabella rolling her eyes.
“Pa-lease ” She said, turning the word into two syllables. “You know how HUGE this is. Its a step in your back and forth constant stares and awkward conversations. Its been going on FOR-EVER! Now's the time to get some girl!”
I couldn't help but smile at my best friend's encouragement. Isabella has always had a good way of giving me a confidence boost. Whether it be when we were 5 and I was deathly afraid of riding a bike. Or when I was terrified of my first roller coaster at 9. Even recently when I had to suffer the most unbearable tragedy, she was always there, giving me the courage I needed. Of course, this applied to boys as well and since 9th grade the only guy for me had been Garret.
I took a deep breath and gave my Isabella a reassuring smile. “Optimism”. I lifted my head up and cringed at the word. Nothing seemed to be going my way lately, there is no point in hoping.
“I know, I know. Its hard for you to have a little faith, but I have have enough for the both of us.” She poked my forehead with her pencil and continued to copy down the answers of my English homework.
I turned to the rest of our group. Jayden, the quirky athletic guy of our group was intensely twisting a blonde curl of his girlfriend Miya's hair. Miya, who always wore a smile, was looking blankly out the window at the stormy morning sky.
“Why have you guys been so quiet?” I waved in Jayden and Miya's direction.
I was able to capture Jayden's attention but Miya kept staring out the closed window.
“Nothing. Just one of those mornings I guess.” He flipped his light brown hair out of his face and tugged at the curl of Miya's hair. “Sweetie, what are you looking at?” Miya blinked a few times and looked at the worry on Jayden's face. “I'm fine. I'm just sad that it might rain. I don’t want my hair to get wet.” Miya groaned and pouted, Jayden laughed and kissed the tip of Miya's nose.

I averted my eyes to avoid watching them cuddle and make silly faces at each other. I grabbed my sketch book out of my bag and started to looked at my previous work. I laughed to myself at how bad my drawings have gotten. I just don’t have the passion for it anymore. Not since.....My mothers passing.
It was hard for me to even think the words but at some point, I'm going to have to face the devastation staring at me in the face. Its been months of people asking me non-stop if I was okay and each time, I'd shrug and tell them things are starting to look up but its always been a lie. My label, the pitiful girl who lost her mother and has a workaholic for a father, has had everyone in town on their best behavior around me. Teachers are less strict, gift baskets await me on my front porch, even walking on the street the townsfolk have a smile and something nice to say about me. That’s the price I pay for living in a small town where everyone knows about everything.
The bell signaling the end of 2nd period startled me. Isabella rose up and kissed Mason goodbye. Jayden gave Miya an encouraging smile as they pushed in their chairs.
“Ready for Hell.” Isabella moaned while handing me back my homework.
I sighed as we left study hall. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Good Morning class!” An unfamiliar face said as we entered the English classroom. “I am Ms. Wiley, your substitute for the day.”
Ms. Wiley looked too beautiful to be a teacher. She was tall, with a perfectly curved figure. Blonde wavy hair went fell just passed her shoulders. He lips were an bold shade of red.
“Wow. She's a goddess. Super model hot.” Jayden stared at the substitute with his wide green eyes. I elbowed him for Miya's sake.
“Everyone please, Take your seats.” Her voice echoed within the room, demanding respect. She smiled sweetly as she began taking roll. “Skylar Athens.” She looked up from the sheet, scanning the room.
A raised my hand. “Here.” I said while trying looking anywhere but her intimidating face. She caught my attention, however, pausing and staring me up and down. She smiled in approval. “Skylar, pleased to meet you.”
I raised my eyebrows in response but she merely continued calling out names. I noticed how she didn’t give anyone else a glance. It made me feel uneasy, like she already knew I was the talk of the town. The rest of English period went by slowly but I couldn’t help but sense a weird presence among me.

Impressum

Texte: The pictures and illustartions dont belong to me. Just the writing.
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 19.12.2011

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Widmung:
For Sam, who was one of my first friends and for some odd reason is still my bestie. She always makes me laugh and reminds me how crazy I am. For Lauren N. Who shares my passion for writing and who is just all around an amazing, awesome, talented person and a best friend And most importantly, Zachary Levi,the guy that I love most in this world and I cant go a day without thinking about him.(Even though we havent met yet) My heart belongs to you, and i keep hope alive i will meet you one day