Part 5

The hand slammed into his throat, easily lifting him from his feet and driving him against the wall. Iblis blinked back the sudden involuntary tears and he was slammed to his knees, gasping for air that would not come. He felt the hand knot in his hair and yank backwards, exposing his neck to the night. He hadn't the chance to focus on his assailant as he'd rounded the corner into the darkened alley, following his vision as she walked the nighted streets of Britain. The only image that flashed through his dazed mind was that of a knife flashing in the darkness to slit his throat, and leave him to drown in a pool of his own blood as some inconsequential cutpurse fled through the shadows. He would die here, in this stinking and steaming alley, and never know by whose hand it was. He would not be able to complete his work. He would never see her again.

All of this flashed through his mind in the instant he was driven to his knees. But then his eyes focused on his assailant, only a shadowed form in the darkness. The shadow unfurled itself like a serpent rising from slumber and she stepped forward, her pale face emerging into the wan shaft of moonlight shining timidly into the mouth of the alleyway. His jaw went slack as he gazed fully upon her, so close he might burn away before her glory. She leaned into him, and her smooth, cold cheek brushed against his, driving a sudden wave of ecstasy through his body; her perfectly formed lips brushing his ear as her question purred forth.

"Goddess... I... I meant no harm... I only wished... your beauty... I didn't believe, until I saw you..." He couldn't focus his mind, couldn't wrap his tongue around the words... in an instant of clarity, he thought, 'How does one speak to a God?' He saw the bemused smile on her lips as she pulled away, tugging him to his feet by his fine white hair, the hint of laughter... and something else?... in her eyes. Her beauty burned away all coherent thought within his mind, and her face filled his gaze until the world around them seemed to fall away. In some distant corner of his mind, he realized that she was speaking, but only saw her ruby lips forming the words. He tried to focus on them, and soon the words came to him through the silent buzz which had filled his ears.

"...lattery will get you everywhere, my dear, was wrong. Now, tell me again... why are you here?"

He felt the fingers flex in his hair, and he knew she would break his neck without a thought if his answer did not satisfy her. The words came slowly, at first, and picked up speed until they rushed from his mouth in a torrent that brought a new look to her eyes, eyes which could devastate a room with just one sweep. He told her everything, told her things even he didn't know, and the tears of truth, tears of discovery fled down his face as he unrolled his tale before her. She was a Goddess; he, a mortal. And he sang his devotion to her in prayer.

On his knees, in a darkened alley, Iblis finally touched the divine.