The Devil's Secret Read Online Free PDF

grow old…” God’s firm hand rested on Thorn’s shoulder, a gesture of mock comfort that felt more like a cold grip. “But maybe not.”
    Thorn glanced up at God: His smooth, feminine face was all reassurance, except His eyes. Thorn had seen those eyes countless times before. In Marcus. In Xeres. In all the humans he’d ever driven toward lust for power. These were eyes that craved total control over other beings.
    “Then again, Thorn, I don’t feel like choosing Amy’s fate today. My mind is more occupied with whether you’ll accept My offer. So I think I’ll let you choose whether Amy lives, or dies and goes to Hell.”
    Thorn bristled at the threat. He felt his skin grow hot. He wanted nothing more than to rise up and slay the Almighty where He stood, but such an act was doomed to failure. God may not have been omnipotent, but He did wield exceptional power. “Please, God, just let me be. Let me live out my life in peace, on Earth. I won’t join the demons again. I just want to be free.”
    “But you’re free right now. Free to choose between one future or another.”
    Thorn turned back to Amy, who coughed weakly as she watched him weigh his options. Amy was Thorn’s home. He went to her when he was lonely or sad. Just her presence nearby would comfort him in times of distress. He’d ruined her life, then helped her rebuild it. She was the only human who had ever seen him, and though they’d only ever spoken twice before now, Thorn considered Amy to be his best friend.
    Then Thorn’s dark side spoke to him. The side that had tempted humans to vice for millennia past. This is your last chance for freedom , it said. If there is a way to avoid both Heaven and Hell, you should take it. Even at the expense of Amy’s life.
    “But I love her,” Thorn silently told himself. “I could never live with my choice if I let her die.”
    That’s exactly what God wants. He wants you cornered. He wants reconciliation, but only on His terms. Terms that would keep you under His thumb for all eternity. If you remove your attachment to Amy, you remove your weakness.
    Just minutes ago Thorn had sacrificed his life for Crystal and Cole—two humans he barely knew. He cherished Amy much more than either of them. Yet in the Sanctuary, he knew for a fact that he would die. He’d had no hope, and had thus chosen to die for a purpose: so that others might live. And now…
    And now…
    There was a way out. A slim chance. An unlikely shot in the dark. God clearly hadn’t anticipated it, but Thorn saw the opportunity. Yet it would cost Amy her life.
    The scales were evenly balanced for Thorn. On one side was life for both Amy and him—but it came with an eternity of servitude in Heaven, never being able to act toward his own goals, stuck slaving away forever for the benefit of a questionable God. On the other side of the scales lay death for Amy and probable death for Thorn, but also the slim possibility of Thorn’s total, permanent freedom from both God and demonkind.
    This is where other demons’ stories end , Thorn realized. They come home to Heaven, listen to God’s big speech, then choose a future of quiet and blind obedience. It saddened Thorn deeply to think that Xeres might have stood in this exact spot centuries ago, had been forced to make the exact same decision. Xeres had chosen the submissive option, the easy option. And so had all the other demons who now were angels.
    Thorn thought a moment longer, and the scales slowly tipped. He sorrowfully touched Amy’s cheek and leaned down toward her pallid face. She looked deep into his eyes, and he into hers. “I love you,” Thorn whispered to his dying charge. “Please remember me as I am now. Please remember that I love you.” His voice wavered as his hand left her face. “Remember me.”
    He left it at that, then stood and spoke firmly to the Almighty Creator of the Universe. “I accept Your offer of angelhood.”
    Every angel in the room seemed to relax a