Chapter 3 Five Years Later

Sophia Parks was asleep in her small bed thrashing around in the grasp of a horrible nightmare. Waking quickly with her heart pounding and drenched in sweat she reached for her bottle of anxiety pills and swallowed two, using her saliva as a lubricant to swallow the medication. Reliving the terror of her ex-boyfriend's attack was getting tiring and had only become more frequent since learning of Vincent's release from prison. Her lawyer had informed her that he had been released for good behavior and his family connections causing her PTSD to spike. The alarm clock went off, making her jump and curse loudly.

"Mondays always suck," Sophia muttered as she grabbed her eyepatch off the nightstand and headed into the bathroom to get ready for the work week. She mentally prepared herself for another week of callous comments that would come from the locals and out-of-towners coming to stay at the hotel. The tirades of being called ugly, hideous, and monster took their toll on her self-esteem. Gazing at her reflection in the mirror with her right brown eye she tells herself that her appearance will be better once she can afford a glass eye instead of the black eye patch she wore. With her long chestnut hair in a high bun, she sighed when glancing out her window to see it frosted over.

"Guess I will be shoveling after my shift," she mused sourly to herself. After putting on her winter coat, and boots, she pulled the hood over her head to hide her visible scars before walking to work at the hotel. When she arrived at the hotel, her boss told her excitedly that they had a new guest who arrived yesterday. Paranoid about Vincent she queries Otis about the guest.

"It isn't your ex dear, this guy is big, blue-eyed with long thick black hair. He's probably a movie star," he teases and Sophia grins.

"I highly doubt if someone famous would come here," she giggled.

"He's up in room 205, make sure you make his room super nice. I charged him extra," Otis admitted, making her shake her head and wag her finger at him.

"Nonetheless Sophia, give him extra shampoos and soap bars and offer room service. The big guy didn't eat when he arrived yesterday," Otis said softly. Sophia nodded and removed her winter weather articles of clothing and put them away in the back of Otis's office. She grabbed her cleaning supplies and sighed as she made her way down the hallways.

The Previous day

The left hand of Lucifer or Faelon Ogrith as he was known was a large dark angel with huge black feathered wings. His disposition was cold and heartless. With a scowl seemingly always present on his ruggedly handsome face, many other demons refused to approach him. Lucifer had requested that he go to a small town in the human world called Winterset located high up in the mountains to observe the reapers collecting souls along with the humans that lived there. The small town was quaint and picturesque but Faelon didn't care about any of that. Normally he would have refused this assignment but since Lucifer had arranged his marriage to another irritating female named Cora, he was more than ready to get away from the annoying chit. The demon had become obsessed with him and it irritated him because she was not his mate and he had no romantic feelings for the young female or any other for that matter. He didn't even have the desire to mate with her although she frequently tried to seduce him he always growled annoyingly, avoiding her advances.

The blizzard that had struck during the evening left the landscapes pristine white as the humans gathered in the church for the Sunday evening sermon celebrating whichever God they worshiped. The snow continued to blow the white bits of cold into his face making him scowl more. Faelon sat crouched on the steeple with his black wings tucked against his bare muscled back, cursing the chimes of bells within. He was doing his assigned duty of observing the reaper who was to collect the soul of an elderly man. Unfortunately, he didn't know when, where, or how it was going to happen. He opted to simply watch for any of the reapers to make their appearance. Faelon cocked his black brow as his startling blue eyes focused on a couple heading toward the church entrance. He was invisible to the people below as he frowned down at them.

"Yuck," he mumbled sourly, seeing them obviously in a loving relationship as they hung tightly to each other.

"What utter bollocks," he hissed. Faelon didn't love a single thing in his immortal life. Faelon was startled momentarily when his boss Lucifer appeared next to him with a grin on his face.

"I have brought you human clothing and a debit card you can use to find a temporary place of residence and food to feed your large frame. Your assignment is going to last a while here so hide your wings when possible and avoid the humans while you're gallivanting among them," Lucifer said pertinently and Faelon growled bitterly. He raised his hand out as the blowing snow melted quickly in his palm and flicked the moisture onto the devil causing it to sizzle and evaporate on contact. Lucifer frowned and stood on the edge of the steeple.

"Don't fuck with me or I will punish you with my hell hounds," he threatened. Faelon chuckled and grabbed the duffel bag from Lucifer's outstretched hand.

"Okay boss, whatever you command," he snarled, making the devil nod happily." I will check in on you periodically to make sure you haven't strayed from the task at hand," he warned and Faelon rolled his eyes and waved him off. Lucifer looked at the swirling snow and side-eyed his dark angel.

"Enjoy the weather. It is much like your disposition," he smirked and vanished before Faelon could shove him off the church. Lucifer knew that the black-hearted angel didn't fear him and was close to becoming a serious liability. Faelon, still invisible, dropped off the steeple and proceeded to walk towards the town. His footsteps melted away to show his movement. Realizing that the humans could grow suspicious he rose into the air and flew to a more shoveled area. Slipping into an alleyway he hid his wings, and put on the gray t-shirt and trench coat before slipping the debit card into the wallet and pocketing it into his pants. This wasn't his first time in the human world but he certainly hoped it was his last. He strode past the humans that gave him a wide berth and eyed him with trepidation. Faelon understood their fear as he gave off an air of danger that he enjoyed. Spying a small hotel he entered. The bell above the door announced his presence to an older African American man who adjusted his glasses above his nose as he glanced up at him.

"I require a room for an undetermined amount of time," Faelon stated harshly. The gentleman chuckled as he nodded.

You came to the right place mister and luckily I have an entire empty second floor. The cost is four hundred a week for a room. I can book you for the week and will need identification and a form of payment on file encase of damages. My name is Otis and I'm the owner of this establishment. There's a bar and a small diner adjacent if you're needing that kind of comfort as well," Otis replied, kindly gesturing down the hall with the tilt of his gray-haired head. Faelon pulled out the wallet and rummaged through it for his photo id and the debit card. He exhaled deeply at his identification and handed it to the elderly man. Otis ran the card and entered Faelon's information.

"Here's the key card for room 205. A housekeeper will be by at eleven each day to bring towels, clean up and take the trash. Enjoy your stay, Mr. Ogrith," Otis told him with a smile. Faelon, not wanting to expose his fangs nodded briskly and muttered thanks as he snatched the keycard and headed up the carpeted stairs to relax in his room. He was pissed that he was ordered to stay in the human world. The air smelled polluted and the humans were an odd lot. Finding his room he opened it and tossed the duffel onto the bed as he took off the coat and shirt. He was always hot and radiated the hellfire that flowed through his blood. After removing his boots and pants he stretched out naked on the king-size bed and closed his eyes.

"At least I will have a peaceful sleep without concerns of that blonde wench trying to seduce me in my bed," he growled low and slowly drifted off into a deep slumber. His flaccid member lay across his thigh without little concern to him since Cora, the demon Lucifer wished him to mate with, couldn't find him here.