Chapter 1 - Emptiness

Miguel Romero was a young lawyer living in the Mexican capital. He attended an American college, but after finishing school and apprenticeships, he returned to his native country. Miguel was a fairly tall and slender man with broad shoulders, a dark complexion, black eyes and slightly curly hair of the same color. The features of his face were very masculine and looked like carved out of stone, and he had a little bit of facial hair.

His apartment was quite modest: it consisted of a living room with an open kitchen, a tiny bathroom and one bedroom. The bathroom contained a toilet, a washbasin, a shower and a washing machine, and in the small bedroom there was a double bed, a wardrobe, a desk with a computer and a chair, a shelf above the desk, full of books, and a whole lot of documents and files stacked in two cardboard boxes on the floor - these were papers he took home to work on. Before, Miguel never took his work home, but recently he preferred to work around the clock just to keep his mind occupied.

That day, as every morning, Miguel was awakened by the familiar sound of an alarm clock that showed five in the morning.

- Unfortunately, its time to get up.- he groaned dissatisfied while getting up from the bed.

Miguel always liked his job and would be eager to get up even at four o'clock to make breakfast... Breakfast for Her, to bed, the way She liked. But now his girl was gone. She wasn't sleeping next to him when he woke up. Back then, everything made sense with Her by his side. Now that Miguel was alone, he was not happy about anything and quietly hoped that something bad will happen to him. Yes, he really wanted to die, so as not to feel this horrible inner emptiness...

Miguel quickly made himself breakfast, washed and dressed, then drove around half past six in the car to the office where he worked. Around noon, while he was on his lunch break, his cell phone rang. Miguel sighed as he looked at the display screen - it was Juan, his best friend calling, the one who was now dating his ex. But no, Miguel didn't blame him. They fell in love - Maria and Juan. What could he do about it? So Miguel picked up the phone and listened to his friend carefully.

- You know, Miguel, come over to our house today, at six. We are having a party, it will be fun.- Juan said excitedly.- You have to come, it won't be the same without you.- he added in an almost pleading tone when he did not get a reply to his proposal.

- Okay, I will. Six o'clock, right?- asked Miguel with a resigned voice.

- Yes, exactly.- Juan confirmed, happily.- See you tonight, then.- he said and hung up the phone.

Well that's great, Juan's party, and she'll definitely be there too. Why did it have to hurt so much? It's been a while since they parted ways, and it was time to heal the wounds. Unfortunately, no matter how much it hurt, Miguel couldn't let his buddy down. He was friends with Juan from childhood, they grew up together and always helped each other. Now, by the way, Juan was helping him more than usual, as if to make up for the fact that he had accidentally stolen his girlfriend from him.

No, he couldn't think of her. It was giving him only suffering, and Miguel was really fed up with this dull pain in his heart and feeling of emptiness. But how could he forget someone he loved so much? And how long will it go on? Couldn't time hurry up a little in healing his wounds?

Miguel met Maria Rosa in high school. It was the first time he separated from his friend, because Juan had gone to his father, who lived in Los Angeles after divorcing his mother, who arranged for his son to study at a reputable high school and did not even want to hear about the refusal. Miguel was very sad to say goodbye to his childhood friend and felt really lonely during the first days of high school, and since he was never very social, so had a hard time finding new friends. But then he saw Maria, when she came to their class after two months, as her parents had moved to the capital from a smaller town. Miguel immediately fell in love with this beautiful, black-haired and black-eyed girl, with a filigree figure and a beautiful smile. Maria was his first love, he had never dated anyone before, but luckily she also liked him. They began to spend a lot of time together, until a year later they officially became a couple. After finishing high school, they were 19 years old and had common plans for the future. Miguel rented a modest apartment with his money, earned in a bar where he worked on weekends and holidays. Maria was in seventh heaven. They went to study law together, and then Miguel became an apprentice at a law firm. He earned little as an apprentice, but it was enough for a living. Maria was not so lucky and did not manage to finish her studies, but she finished the course and worked as a babysitter, earning money. It was so wonderful for the next three years.

But then Juan returned to Mexico after college and internship. Miguel was glad to see his friend back, but when Juan met Maria, he was not so pleased. The way they looked at each other was clear, though Miguel didn't want to acknowledge it at first. A month later, Maria confessed that she loved Juan, said she was very sorry, could not help it and then moved out to his place. Despite the pain, Miguel was not angry with his friend. He couldn't and preferred to suffer himself rather than pour out his grief on Juan. His friend was supposed to be happy, he deserved it, and it didn't matter that found it in his girlfriend's arms.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nadir sat in her cave in the Underground and prepared for the next walking out to the surface. Her hunger was getting worse, she was getting weaker and weaker, so absolutely had to feed. Get as much energy as possible to keep her calm for a week or two. When Nadir left to go to the portal that led to the surface, she came across someone that didn't want to see, now or ever.

- Samael...- Nadir almost whispered his name as he rose in front of her - almost two meters tall, broad-shouldered, with long black hair and piercing, captivating eyes that changed color depending on his mood, from dark black to sea blue, all the way to blood red.

- Nadir...- he said her name in that velvety, low voice that made any female demon shiver instantly.- I hope you thought through my proposal.- he added, taking her gently around the waist and bringing closer to him. Samael stared at her with eyes that were greenish blue now, and his touch made her tremble, but Nadir woke up in time - she wasn't that stupid.

- I thought it over, very carefully. And my answer is no.- Nadir replied proudly, regaining control of her senses and body, which craved his touch more than ever.

- Think carefully.- as he spoke, Samael's eyes began to darken.- None of them refused me, and you won't resist me either.- he wrapped his breath around her, which made her feel weak.- Or you will die.- he added later, watching Nadir slide slightly to the ground. It was only a small part of the Breath of Death that could kill any demon and Samael, as one of the Fallen Angels, could use it.

- You won't intimidate me.- Nadir gasped, a little dazed.

- It's a small dose, but a bigger one will kill you. Remember... I have an advantage over you, so don't refuse me. I'll get what I want sooner or later.- Samael smiled seductively and ran his hand over her bare shoulder.

- Samael!- suddenly a familiar, high and extremely feminine voice spoke up.- Could you please leave my child alone?- then a tall brown haired woman with a defiant look of her black eyes, in a very indecent blood-red dress, stood over them.

- What? Your child? What are you talking about, Lilith?- Samael asked with a malicious smile.

- I'm the one who creates the succubus, so that makes me their mother, and I don't want you to harass them, especially not in front of my eyes.- Lilith replied, glaring at him with lightning bolts. Samael, seeing that he had angered her, withdrew at once.

Nadir was glad that at least Lilith had power over him. In their strange relationship, she definitely ruled, and although cheated on him more than once, was extremely possessive towards him and always reacted with jealousy to the news of Samael's affairs.

- Hope you're okay? I saw what that idiot used on you.- Lilith looked at her intently, however not like a mother to a child, but an owner to a car after a minor collision.

- I'm fine, my lady. When I come out to the surface and feed, I'll be stronger right now.- Nadir replied with due respect.

- You're right.- Lilith concluded.- Go quickly then.- she turned and walked with Samael towards their palace.

Nadir knew she meant nothing to Lilith. Only enormous possessiveness, and perhaps also the will to tease Samael, pushed her to do this. Even though she cheated on him herself, didn't like it when he wanted to cheat on her. Lilith was the true epitome of hypocrisy, jealousy, malice, hatred and evil in its purest form.