Armageddon by Thomas E. Sniegoski

Author:Thomas E. Sniegoski [Sniegoski, Thomas E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

There was nothing—and that was exactly what Aaron wanted.

He didn’t want to feel the pain of failure anymore, the disappointment of all who had suffered because he wasn’t good enough.

Nothing was exactly what he deserved.

But suddenly, he was disturbed by the strangest sensation.

Something cold touched his nose, pulling Aaron back from the void. He opened his eyes to find two beady eyes staring at him, and a pink nose twitching.

It was a mouse, and Aaron remembered that his name was Milton.

“What are you . . . ,” Aaron began, as a hand reached into his field of vision and scooped the mouse away.

Aaron rolled onto his back and looked up into the face of his father.

“Hello, Aaron,” Lucifer said, placing the rodent on his shoulder. “I’m sorry to see you here.”

“Is that you?” Aaron asked, recalling the last time he had seen his father. He had plunged a sword of darkness into the Nephilim’s chest. “Are you you now?”

“In this place, I am,” Lucifer said. “But out there . . .” The Morningstar looked out into the perpetual shadow. “I’m afraid that I’m still not in control.”

Aaron sat up with a grunt, his every muscle protesting the movement. It felt as though he’d been lying inert for weeks.

“What happened to you?” Aaron demanded.

“Let’s just say I let my guard down,” Lucifer explained. “I let my guard down and a very old, very powerful evil took root inside my body.”

“The Darkstar,” Aaron said, remembering the name he’d heard from a goblin warrior.

“Satan, the Darkstar,” Lucifer corrected.

“But I thought that you were . . .”

“Satan? Never took the title, despite what others have said throughout the ages. But now he’s taken over my body and turned me into the monster that legend made me out to be.”

“We have to stop him,” Aaron said, rising to his feet. “We have to get you back.”

“Yes,” Lucifer agreed. He reached up and gently petted the mouse perched on his shoulder. “But I think we need to deal with you first.”

“Me?” Aaron asked, surprised. “There’s nothing wrong with—”

“He’s inside you,” Lucifer said, touching Aaron in the center of his chest.

Aaron winced, the pain suddenly excruciating.

“When you were stabbed, he planted a seed of darkness in your soul.”

The skin on Aaron’s chest burned, and he ripped open his shirt to reveal a large, jagged, black circle in the center of his chest.

“What is this?” he asked his father in surprise.

“The seed is growing.”

“How do I—” Aaron dropped to the ground, bent over with agony.

“The darkness always leaves a piece of itself behind, to fester and grow. It’s preventing you from healing. It’s feeding on your courage, making you doubt who you are—what you are.”

Aaron mustered a short laugh through his pain. “That’s where you’re mistaken,” he choked. “I’m not at all who you think I am or what I’m supposed to be.”

“You’re wrong,” Lucifer countered. “You’re special, Aaron. Capable of so much more than you even realize.”

“I’ve failed in just about everything that I’ve tried to do.

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