The ruler of Hell, the archangel Lucifer, is surprised that Bella not only knows he is the devil, but also that she isn’t afraid of him. His interest piqued, he tries to solve the mystery of why he cannot read her soul, and finds himself falling in love for the first time in eons.
The ruler of Hell, the archangel Lucifer, is surprised that Bella not only knows he is the devil, but also that she isn’t afraid of him. His interest piqued, he tries to solve the mystery of why he cannot read her soul, and finds himself falling in love for the first time in eons.
The throne room is probably my favorite room in the whole palace of Hell. It’s one of only three rooms in the palace showing my personal touch in the décor, and I spend a good amount of time here. This is where I perform all my duties as king and meet with the demons. The floor is Portoro marble, black and gold. Dark, deep red marble columns run the length of the room. Floor-to-ceiling windows on either side of the room open onto terraces, beyond which black trees stretch as far as the eye can see under a crimson sky that never changes. The scenery often invokes a sense of hopelessness and foreboding in my petitioners.
The best feature of the room is my throne of purplish-blue lapis lazuli. Contrary to popular belief, black and red are not my favorite colors. Red and black are a beautiful combination, but I prefer dark blues, greens, and purples. My interior designer pressured me to go with gold, but I insisted on the lapis. I like that my throne stands out and isn’t what anyone expects.
As expected, Azazel waits for me in front of my throne with a straight back and serious expression. He’s one of the few angels who were loyal to me and who followed me to Hell, my right-hand man for eons.
“What’s on the agenda for today?” I ask him as I sink onto my throne and cross my legs.
“A human would like to sell his soul to you personally.”
“Why should I go topside to meet with this human who wants to sell his soul? Why can’t you or one of the demons handle it?” I narrow my eyes and tap my foot.
“This human will only sell his soul to you and no one else,” he says patiently.
“That isn’t an answer,” I snap, launching from my throne and getting in his face. Of course, he doesn’t even flinch. Azazel has seen me at my worst, and this isn’t it.
He looks me in the eye, not backing down in the least. “My lord, it may be good for you to go topside and speak with this human. You haven’t had a human sell their soul directly to you in a long time.”
“I am aware of that. I no longer have an interest in humans selling their souls to me.” I stomp back to my throne and sit in a peevish huff.
“I believe this human may be selling his soul for a noble reason.” The knowing look in his eyes has my attention.
“Perhaps you should have led with that instead of beating around the proverbial bush. Fine, I’ll go topside to meet with this human,” I say, retaining my annoyed tone. Damn, Azazel is good. He knows how to pique my interest enough to actually go topside to meet with someone.
This human better be selling his soul for a noble reason and not a selfish one. Nowadays, most humans sell their souls for money and power. Humans know no bounds regarding greed, lust, and power; hence, I prefer not to meet with them. The trope bores me.
“Where am I to meet this human?” I ask, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
“At the Tippy Top Coffee Shop in San Francisco, California, at two o’clock this afternoon local time,” Azazel says with a ghost of a smirk on his face.
“Really? A coffee shop? I don’t even like coffee; it’s never hot enough and tastes horribly bitter.”
He shrugs. “Yes, my lord. Humans are addicted to their coffee and coffee shops.”
“Fine. I’ll be there. Let the human know and tell him not to be late. I’ll leave if he isn’t there at two o’clock sharp. Also, give me the name.”
“Yes, my lord. The human’s name is Paul.” Azazel pulls out his tablet, the information on screen. He’s always prepared.
“Does this Paul have any sins on record?”
We keep a record of all sins committed. When a human dies, those sins are weighed against all the good deeds they have done. If a human’s good deeds outweigh their sins, they go to Elysium. They come to Hell if their sins outweigh their good deeds. Simple equation.
Azazel looks down at the tablet. “Paul’s sin record only shows a few minor sins. He has committed nothing major yet.”
Major sins generally involve intentionally harming another human for selfish reasons. Minor sins usually don’t cause harm to another human, or at least do not cause intentional harm. There is a lot of gray area regarding what is considered a significant sin versus a minor sin.
Major sins are broken down into two categories. The first category involves every type of physical violence a human can do to another human. The second category is mental harm—psychological and emotional—which generally involves cruel but nonviolent behaviors, brainwashing, grooming, and breaking a human’s spirit intentionally. Imagine the worst thing you can do to a human mind without inflicting physical pain or damage. That would be a major sin. Major sins guarantee a ticket to Hell, but for a few exceptions.
Minor sins include cheating on a spouse, lying, stealing, and the like. These crimes may not seem insignificant to a human; however, with these sins, humans still have a chance to get into Elysium if they feel remorse for their actions, attempt to right the wrong they committed, or ask for forgiveness. Or at least try not to commit that sin again. Generally, if a human can do this and still do good until the day they die, then there is a chance the good will outweigh the bad.
Hell is for those who deserve to be tortured and punished for all eternity. People like murderers, rapists, child molesters—that sort. Hell isn’t for those who are remorseful or ask for forgiveness, since their souls are redeemable. This is one of the changes I made when I took over Hell. Before I took over, everyone who sinned ended up in Hell, and not many were going to Elysium. For example, say you cheat on your spouse, but you’re remorseful, and you take responsibility for what you did by telling your spouse and ask for forgiveness, and then you never make the same mistake of adultery again. Before my reign, you would have come to Hell regardless, but now you have a chance to save yourself. Now let’s say you’re a serial killer who goes around raping, torturing, and murdering. Then you deserve to go to Hell more so than the remorseful adulterer, and you will.
At the end of the journey, it’s about the human doing more good than harm. Again, no human is free of sin . . . well, except for children. Most humans—there are a few exceptions to this rule—are born innocent. Contrary to popular belief, a child born of a sinful act does not have sin on their soul. However, some humans are born without empathy and compassion, which will likely make them sin in the future. Regardless, humans lose their innocence over time as they grow older and begin to experience the not-so-pleasant things in life, which leads to the acquiring of sin.
At Azazel’s words, I perk up. “Now, this has gotten my attention. I wonder how desperate Paul is and the lengths he’s willing to go to get what he desires?”
It’s rare for a human who hasn’t committed a major sin to be selling his soul. Whatever his minor sins are, they probably don’t involve violence or hateful behavior toward another human. If this is the case, this might be fun. It’ll be interesting to see what he’s willing to do to get what he desires. I wonder if he’ll be willing to commit a major sin. Oh, the possibilities running through my mind. I haven’t been this excited to meet with a human in a long time. I hope this man doesn’t disappoint.
Just before two o’clock Pacific Time, I arrive at the Tippy Top Coffee Shop. The famous fogs of June have burned off for the day, and the afternoon is clear and mild. As I walk into the coffee shop, I notice a good number of demons here. Some are in the process of bargaining with humans who are selling their souls, while others are on the lookout for a potential soul to buy.
My presence in the coffee shop doesn’t go unnoticed by the demons. Each demon nods as I walk by as a sign of respect. Humans may sense my presence, but they don’t realize the devil himself has just walked into the coffee shop.
I don’t look like the stereotypical devil image humans have drawn and sculpted over the centuries. I do not have horns coming out of my head, nor do I have a tail with a pointy end, nor am I red. Well, not in my normal state, at any rate. Humans forget I’m an archangel. I was cast out of Elysium. Man was made in our image, or so we were told. I look like a man of six-foot-four, with emerald green eyes that can pierce a human soul. I keep my jet black hair short and neat. I’m muscular and sexy as hell.
I still have five minutes before I meet with Paul, so I approach the counter to order a cup of coffee. I try my best to blend in so the humans forget my presence and go about their business.
The barista at the counter has the most stunning deep blue eyes I have ever seen and the most beautiful smile. I’m so stunned I’m rendered speechless for a moment.
“Good afternoon, sir. What can I get for you?” she says with the most beautiful voice and smile.
“Uh. Yes. What do you recommend?” I ask, wanting to hear her voice again.
“Hmm. I recommend a regular coffee black and extra, extra, extra hot,” she says with ease. Interesting; she seems unaffected by my presence.
“Why would you think I like my coffee so hot?” I ask nonchalantly.
“I just assumed since you’re the devil that, like the demons here, you like your coffee exceptionally hot.” She shrugs.
I’m not sure what surprises me more—that she knows I’m the devil or that she’s aware demons come to this coffee shop. This is intriguing. Generally, when demons are topside, they are in human form, so no human would be able to tell them apart from any other human. If demons came topside in their natural state, humans would run away screaming. That would not be good for business.
“Why would you think I’m the devil?” I give her my most devilish smile.
“First, I don’t think you’re the devil—I know you’re the devil. How I know isn’t important or up for discussion,” she saysc confidentially.
“Intriguing. Yes, may I have a regular coffee, black and as hot as you can make it?” I can’t help giving her a genuine smile.
This is something I’ll explore more after my meeting with Paul. I’m curious as to why this human can spot demons in their human form and how she knows I’m the devil. There is something about her I can’t quite put my finger on.
“That will be four-fifty,” she says.
“Ah, yes. Here you go. Keep the change.” I give her a twenty-dollar bill.
She takes my money and puts the change in the tip jar in front of the register. How interesting. I was expecting her to keep the change for herself. It’s also interesting I can’t get a good read on her soul. Generally, I can read any human soul, which tells me about their sins and greatest desires. For some reason, I’m having trouble reading her. I can see her soul, which is beautiful, but I can’t see her desires or her sins. Odd.
“Here you go, sir. Please let me know if your coffee isn’t hot enough.” She hands me a scorching hot cup with a smile.
“It’s perfect. Thank you.” I take a sip and walk away to find Paul.
I generally don’t like coffee; it’s bitter, acidic, and it stains everything it touches. I will say this coffee isn’t half bad. I’m impressed she could heat it to the perfect temperature. I must say, I haven’t been this intrigued by a human ever.
As I scan the coffee shop, I find my mark sitting in the corner. I cross the room to his table and sit across from him. When Paul meets my gaze, I’m disappointed. His soul is already tainted; sadly, it won’t take much to push him into temptation to commit a major sin.
“So, Paul, why am I the only one you will sell your soul to?” I ask, ready to get this deal over with.
“Are you Lucifer?” Paul asks, nervously looking around the room.
“Yes, that would be me,” I say, annoyed and sipping my coffee.
“I want to sell my soul to save my niece. She was in an accident and isn’t expected to make it. I’ve tried to bargain with other demons, but they say they can’t give me what I want. I believe you can.” Paul shifts in his seat, hopeful and too excited for his own good.
“Perhaps I can give you what you desire the most. So, tell me, why do you want to save your niece so badly you’re willing to sell your soul?” I stare intently at him and watch him squirm.
“She’s the only family I have left, and I love her.”
“Mm. Perhaps. Or perhaps it’s because of your sick and twisted fantasies about her. If she dies, so do your fantasies. With her alive, your fantasies can live on and possibly become a reality someday.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the open book says shakily.
“Yes, you do, whether you want to admit it or not. I propose the following agreement: I will make sure your niece makes a full recovery in exchange for your soul. Generally, the term of the agreement is ten years, but I’m feeling in a generous mood today. If you make your sick and twisted fantasies a reality, let’s say in the next five days, then I will make the term of the agreement twenty years. During those twenty years, you will not face any consequences for your actions regarding your niece while you’re alive. Once your time is up and your soul is delivered to Hell, you will face the consequences of your actions tenfold. I have a special place in Hell for people like you.” I raise an eyebrow menacingly.
“No. I can’t do that to her,” Paul says weakly.
I roll my eyes at his audacity in trying to act innocent. “You and I both know that not only can you do that to her, but you want to.”
How disappointing. Paul isn’t doing this out of the goodness of his heart. No, he’s looking to get away with doing what he desires to his niece without consequences while he’s alive. Her life hanging in the balance has given him the perfect opportunity to make his desires come true by selling his soul to me. As I’ve already told him, the consequences he will face in Hell will make him regret making this deal. After all, Hell is about punishing those who deserve to be punished for the sins they have committed, and by the time Paul gets to Hell, he will more than deserve his punishment.
“So, do we have an agreement?” I ask pointedly, wanting to get back to my palace and away from this pathetic human.
“So let me see if I understand this,” Paul says hesitantly. “In exchange for my soul, you’ll make sure my niece makes a full recovery. Now, if I live out my fantasies with my niece in the next five days, I will not face the consequences of my actions while I’m alive and will be given twenty years before my soul is collected and delivered to Hell.”
“Yes, that’s correct. To make this more interesting, you can live out all your sick and twisted fantasies, whether with your niece or anyone else, without fear of facing the consequences for your actions while you’re alive.” I lean in and give him a charming smile to seal the deal.
Paul is looking for the promise to be vile not only with his niece but with others as well. It’s deplorable how corrupt humans are. Yes, I’m tempting him into doing disgusting things. But he doesn’t need me to create his dark desires. No, those dark desires are already a part of him and have been for some time.
Eventually, Paul would have given into temptation with or without selling his soul. I’ve only given him the means to do so without consequences while alive. Let’s not forget humans have free will. Paul can choose not to sell his soul or give into temptation. If he does sell his soul and give into temptation, the consequences are on him.
This is precisely why I don’t like to deal with humans anymore. It’s no fun. Humans always want to give in to temptation regardless of whether they sell their souls. When humans come to me or demons, they are looking for twisted validation that it’s okay for them to give in to their temptation, and they are hoping they can do so without consequences. Seriously, where is the fun in that? Where’s the challenge?
“Yes, we have an agreement.” Paul nods eagerly.
The agreement manifests in front of him in the form of a printed document, along with a pen. Paul picks up the pen and initials and signs his soul away where the tabs indicate.
I cock an eyebrow. “Aren’t you going to read it first?”
“No. You’ve given me the terms for what I desire. I don’t see why I need to read it over.” Paul barely glances up from the busy pen in his hand.
No corruptible human has ever taken the time to read over the agreement before signing, which is a pity; there are things in the contract humans aren’t aware of that they should be. Like what happens if either party does not fulfill the terms of the agreement, what nulls and voids a contract, things of that nature.
Paul really should have read the agreement before signing it. There is a clause regarding extending a human’s life beyond its expiration date. The natural order is the law and can’t be undone by anyone, including yours truly. Yet the natural order can be bent somewhat. The result is always the same; the person originally meant to die will die sooner rather than later.
Therefore, Paul only has five days to live out his darkest fantasies with his niece. Once the five days are up, she will die. She was never meant to survive the accident; it’s her destiny to die. The devil is always in the details, which one must read to be aware of and understand.
When Paul finishes signing the agreement, the agreement disappears to be filed away. Paul rushes out of the coffee shop without a thank you or goodbye. No doubt on his way to the hospital. By the time he reaches the hospital, his niece will have miraculously recovered from all her injuries.
Powerful primordial beings in the vast universe created angels, demons, and humans, though not all were created by the same primordial beings. These primordial beings have existed since the beginning of time. Death is one of those primordial beings who maintains the Grand Design by making sure everyone dies at their appointed time or at least close to their appointed time. I guess you could say Death oversees the fates of angels, demons, and humans, or at least keeps them on track. I’m not certain what determines the “appointed time” for each.
I’m sure I’ll be seeing Paul again once his niece has died. I’m sure he will protest I didn’t live up to my end of the agreement, which I did, of course. It’s written in the contract.
As I leave, I see the blue-eyed barista at the counter helping a customer. For some reason, I want to stay and watch her work. I don’t know what about this human has me so intrigued.
Again, I try to read her soul, but I cannot see her soul details. How frustrating. I wonder why. Now, if she were another angel, demon, or nonhuman, I could understand, since I can only read human souls. From what I can tell, she’s entirely human. I’d know if she wasn’t human.
I sit back down and watch her as she works. She smiles at each customer as they tell her their order. Clearly she has been working here for a long time. She’s proficient at making the drinks and patient with the other employees, who seem to be struggling to make certain orders.
Watching her work, I listen to the other demons’ conversations around me in the coffee shop. I’m pleased to hear the demons are sticking to the rules of Hell for their agreements. However, one conversation among three demons catches my attention. I’m not sure why their conversation piques my interest, but it does. I tune out all the other noise in the coffee shop, focus on their conversation, and listen carefully to what they say.
“I can almost taste her purity. It’s driving me crazy. When do we move forward with our plan?” one demon says.
“Soon. We need to wait for the right opportunity and for her to be alone long enough to grab her,” the second demon says.
“We have been waiting for weeks now. How much longer do you expect us to wait?” the third demon hisses.
“We need to tread carefully. We can’t take her in front of witnesses,” the second demon says, irritated.
“Why not? We can always kill the witnesses.” the third one says.
“You know we can’t do that without breaking the rules of Hell,” the second says harshly.
I look directly at the trio. I know the leader; he’s one of Lilith’s many sons, Asmodeus. The two with him are his buddies, Abdiel and Alastor. Yes, these three obey the rules of Hell as far as I know. I sip my coffee and keep listening.
“When then? I want to watch as you take her purity, taste her fear, and then fuck her until I get my fill.” Alastor rubs his hands together lustfully.
“I managed to see the schedule posted on the bulletin board by the bathroom. Next week Friday. She will be closing the shop by herself and won’t be working that weekend, so no one will miss her until Monday. Not that it matters,” Asmodeus says with a wicked laugh.
Abdiel wiggles like a puppy. “Good. I want to fuck that bitch so bad.”
“Not to worry, by next week, that bitch will be our plaything.” An evil grin splits Asmodeus’ ugly face. “I will so enjoy taking her purity by force. I can’t wait to taste her fear.”
Hmm. I wonder who they are talking about. Their conversation bothers me, but I don’t know why. If the three demons follow the rules of Hell, I don’t have a problem with what they are planning to do, no matter how vile. It’s not uncommon for demons to have humans as playthings or lovers.
Then why is this bothering me so much? Perhaps because the woman they’re after works here and is pure, which is even rarer nowadays.
I stretch out my senses and focus on the baristas in the coffee shop to see if I can pinpoint the woman they are targeting. Maybe knowing her identity will help me understand the uneasiness I feel.
As I take a deep breath, the smell of roses hits me, a most intoxicating smell. When I find the source of the scent, I’m stunned. The smell of roses is coming from her.
Lucifer’s Mark is book one in the HELL’S QUEEN series that automatically draws you into a world of demons, witches, and a paranormal romance you will absolutely adore. Dunn writes in a way that you really connect with the characters, feeling the emotional connection that builds between our main characters as the story progresses.
Lucifer’s Mark sets the story with a barista named Bella, who has the gift to see people’s auras including the demons who order scalding hot black coffee daily. One day, when negotiating over a vulnerable soul, he notices her behind the counter and feels intrigued over her. Knowing she may be in danger from the demons that have implanted themselves in her cafe, he starts to develop feelings for Bella in this intense paranormal romance that will have you on a roller coaster of emotions.
Elizabeth Dunn gives us a enticing plot full of suspense through vivid, harrowing situations that cause Bella to truly find out who she really is and what she is capable of doing after being kidnapped and nearly assaulted by a group of demons. Through these dark situations and finding out that Lucifer cared enough to want to track her down through the depths of Hell was extremely alluring for the readers. The character development was nicely paced through the storyline. There was so much depth into the development of Hell and I found myself lost in the lore as Lucifer claimed the throne.
Lucifer’s Mark is a great opening to a series I know will captivate readers and may even cause them to start having a more appealing attraction towards Lucifer, as Dunn writes him in a sophisticated fashion that will have you mesmerized. Extremely impressed with the pacing, the plot, the character development, and the twists that will have you on your toes until you reach the end.
After reading the synopsis, I was intrigued with the overall portrayal of Lucifer. As an avid viewer of Lucifer type characters on television (Supernatural & Lucifer), I felt like this gave him a form of character we hadn’t seen much of and I wanted to know how Dunn would make him different than what we hadn’t much seen before. And she did not let us down. This is a book for the dark romance girlies that gives us everything from romance to damsel in distress to feminine rage that will keep you entertained until the end. A great first impression of the author and I look forward to the next book in the series.