February 2011 RhyDin...

"One down, one to go," a masculine voice said, startling Rhys out of his silent vigil behind the wheel of the 1970 Monte Carlo.

Rhys grabbed hold of the steering wheel, swerving and nearly careening off the road, startled by the sudden and unexpected appearance of a certain angel turned demon beside him in the passenger seat. "Jesus Christ!" he exclaimed, heart pounding, as he glared over at his unexpected guest who was clad in a black Armani suit and trench coat, looking a little too much like a lawyer on his way to the office. "What the hell"!"

"Jesus," Abaddon mused. "Now, there was a challenge. Forty days and forty nights in the middle of a desert, and he refused so much as a sip of water. Now, that's will power. They don't make men like that anymore."

"What do you want?" Rhys asked, narrowing his eyes at the demon before turning his head back toward the road.

Abaddon brushed a speck of lint from the shoulder of his coat and sighed. "Does it ever get warm in Rhydin" It's as frigid as Lilith around here."

"Did you come here to discuss the weather?" Rhys remarked. "Seems to me you might appreciate a little break from the heat."

The demon chuckled. "Ironic, isn't it' People are always looking for hot vacation destinations, but mention Hell and they freak out. It's not so bad. It's a dry heat. Like Arizona. If God were really sadistic, he'd have given us humidity. It's the humidity that kills you, you know."

Rhys pressed his lips together into a tight line, a sign of growing annoyance. "I never liked Arizona much."

"Oh, come now. That's not entirely true. You met your ex there, didn't you? There has to be some good that came of that."

"Did you just come here to pour salt in the wounds?" Rhys remarked.

"I'd never do that. Salt, nasty stuff." The demon effected a shudder. "There are far better methods of torture than physical pain. Desolation, for one, is far more effective, don't you think?"

"What the hell do you want?" Rhys narrowed his eyes at the demon, face flushing with anger. He'd had just about enough of his poking and prodding, tearing open wounds that had barely had a chance to heal.

The demon sighed again. "What happened to your sense of humor, Rath' I apologize" Rhys," he corrected himself. "There's not much to laugh about in Hell these days. To be honest, it's getting a little boring."

"Did you come here for a therapy session because the doctor is out," Rhys replied, eyes returning to the road.

"A therapy session. That's good. See" You do still have a sense of humor. I miss that about you."

"Let's cut the crap, shall we" Tell me what you want, so you can get back to roasting souls and making S"mores, or whatever the hell it is you do down there."

"Oh, that's a good one. Very original. Have you ever read Dante" I inspired him, you know. Hell isn't so bad once you get used to it. Besides, Heaven is boring, believe me. Why do you think you're here instead of there?" Abaddon snapped his fingers. "Oh, that's right. It's because you wanted to be human, isn't it' I tried that once, remember" See where it's gotten me" Do you really think they're going to let you have what you want' You're not human, Rhys. You're an angel. You don't have Free Will. That's something that reserved for monkeys in meat suits. Trust me on this."

"Trust you?" Rhys echoed. "You're screwing with my head and you want me to trust you?"

The demon laughed. "You have me confused with Lucifer, dear boy. I'm the Destroyer, not the Deceiver."

"Destroyer of what?"

Abaddon shrugged. "Whatever I feel like destroying."

"And what do you feel like destroying today?"

"Right now, that little deal you made with Michael. To close the Gates of Hell, I believe." The demon clucked his tongue. "Now, what fun is that' I have a better idea."

"To kill Lucifer," Rhys remarked, remembering their agreement. "And I assume become King of Hell, though why you'd want that title is beyond me."

"That's for me to know and you not to find out."

"You're a real enigma, aren't you?" Rhys asked, sarcastically. "Let me see if I can guess. You take over power in Hell, rally your legions, and wage war against Heaven. How's that?"

Abaddon smirked. "Is it that obvious?"

"Dude, it's called Armageddon. It's in the Bible, for Chrissakes. Kids learn about it in Catechism class."

"Oh, well" It won't be all that bad. Do you really want all those rules" Look at Rhydin. Threw the rule book out the window when He made this place and they're doing just fine."

"You want to make Earth into Rhydin?"

Abaddon laughed. "No, of course not! Don't be silly."

"Then what do you want?"

"Freedom."

"That's it?" Rhys looked over at the demon doubtfully.

"That's it. Hard to believe we have the same goal in common, isn't it' At the heart of it, that's what all rebels want. You can kid yourself all you want, Rhys, but you're a rebel. Just like me. You just haven't realized it yet. It's too bad your memories are locked away in the angelic part of your soul. You and I used to be friends once."

"We're not friends. We're never going to be friends," Rhys replied, clenching his jaw.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that. You made a deal with a demon, Rhys. That's verboten where you come from. See or hear from any angels lately?"

Rhys frowned, but said nothing. He hadn't seen or heard from Lailah since he'd made his pact with Abaddon.

"That's what I thought. You did a no-no. You're on your own now. No one is going to help you, but me."

"I don't need your help," Rhys said through clenched teeth.

"On the contrary, my dear boy, I think you do. I came here to tell you how to kill Naamah, since you seem unable to do it without my help."

"Oh, really' Let's hear it then."

Abaddon shrugged. "It's very simple really. Naamah wants one thing and one thing only, and that's you. So, you set a trap for her using you as bait."

Rhys snorted. "That's brilliant. Why didn't I think of that?" he asked, sarcastically.

"She won't come to you so long as you're wearing that trinket around your neck."

Rhys frowned. He'd acquired the stone from Aurelia to keep him safe from nightmares. "She tries to get into my head when I'm sleeping. How am I supposed to kill her when I'm asleep?"

"She wants to seduce you, Rhys. It's her way. It's what she does. You have to be stronger than her. You can fight her in your sleep. You just have to know how."

"Well, that's helpful."

"Dreams are nothing but an illusion. Learn to control those illusions, and you'll have mastery over Naamah."

"You're talking about lucid dreaming. There has to be an easier way. Why can't I just summon her like I did Lilith?"

"She knows about Lilith. She'll take precautions against that. You have to lure her to you, and there's only one way to do that."

Rhys sighed. "So, I get to play mousetrap with me as the mouse. That's just freaking awesome."

Abaddon shrugged. "I never said it would be easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is."

"You're just a font of wisdom, aren't you?"

"I have my moments. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a date in court." Abaddon grinned and smoothed the tie that lay against his chest. "This should be fun."

Before Rhys could say another word, the demon was gone, leaving Rhys alone to contemplate his next move. One down, two to go, he thought to himself, secretly correcting the demon. If Abaddon thought he was going to actually go through with that deal, he had another thing coming.