"Bet she was talking about you, Maliel," someone shouted out from the group.

"Shut it," Maliel said.

"What? Maybe Ami can kiss your foot and make it better."

"Kiss my foot? I'd rather that she-"

Ami stopped her stirring and turned to the group of males. "I'll do anything I can, Maliel," she said in a soft voice, while the other angels roared with laughter. "Anything at all. . .You know me."

Adryel shook her head as Lucifer led her toward the back of the cavern, to a point where it narrowed, becoming a tunnel of sorts, a meter wide and barely high enough for Lord Lucifer to walk upright. He was carrying a torch, and Adryel could see nothing beyond its glow.

They walked for what seemed like an hour before reaching an intersection with a second tunnel, and turning right. After several more minutes, Adryel could see light ahead.

What could it be? She'd thought that, except for firelight, she would live in darkness for eternity, that she had glimpsed daylight for the last time when Michael had slammed the gates to this so-called h.e.l.l, sealing the only exit by rolling an immovable boulder over it.

As they drew near the end of the tunnel, she spotted a large opening in the back wall and angels were busily enlarging it. White light-daylight-poured through the gap.

Adryel gasped. "What is this?"

"A way out." Lucifer smiled as if he had presented her with the most wonderful gift imaginable, and perhaps he had. "A way out of h.e.l.l."

He gestured for her to step up to the opening, which she did, and, as Adryel peered through, she spied green gra.s.s, and trees, and flowers.

"It's beautiful," she whispered. "More beautiful even than the palace garden. What is that wall up ahead?" She pointed to a stone barrier about a meter high that ran in both directions farther than she could see.

"This is Earth," Lucifer replied. "Recall the Plan of Creation? This is where the human creatures live. That wall surrounds their garden."

"But. . ."

"When you step through the opening, you will have the sensation of. . .I have no word for it. . .of being outside of your body. You will feel as if you are a spectator, as if you are watching what you are doing rather doing it. I had a similar feeling as I fell through the pit." He looked at her questioningly.

Adryel nodded slowly. "I know what you mean. I seemed to see myself falling through s.p.a.ce, the rock walls flashing past me. I saw my wings as they extended, rather than feeling them. . .I thought I was about to be sick."

"I believe we were moving from one plane of existence to another as we pa.s.sed into the pit. When we step through the hole ahead, we'll pa.s.s to a third level." He reached his hand out to her. "Come."

They crawled through the opening on all fours. Adryel caught her breath, experiencing the sensation Lucifer had described.

As they stood and dusted themselves, Lucifer looked back at the hole.

"Yesterday I had to slide through it on my stomach. Before long, it will be pa.s.sable."

"Can we go back?" She looked anxiously toward the opening and the angels standing on the other side.

Lucifer smiled. "Yes, of course we can go back, but why would we want to return? Look about you." He spread his arms wide and spun in a circle. "Grain sprouting on its own. Trees full of fruit. Bushes so heavy with berries they cannot hold themselves upright. We can plant other crops. We can hunt. We will be freed from the slop we have to eat inside."

He paused, and his face fell. "Unfortunately, we likely must go back. Should Michael discover we are free on Earth, he would be forced to seal the portal. We cannot move out onto Earth, but we certainly can visit, and forage, and plant. . .and make mischief."

As Adryel gazed around, she again noticed the wall. It ran for what appeared to be miles in each direction. Near each horizon, it turned, enclosing, it seemed, an expansive area. Trees towered over the walls, and she could see fruit growing on the branches of many of them, but they were all strange to her, different from any she had eaten before.

"The humans can be found within the walls."

"I saw one of them when I went to parlay with Adonai. You told me there are others?"

"You saw a male. There is a female too."

"And were you correct? Are they evil as you suspected?"

Lucifer spit on the ground. "Bah. They have little opportunity to do evil. I've no doubt they would if they. . .Ami has spoken to them both."

Adryel's muscles tensed. "Ami?"

"Now, now, my dear, she was with me yesterday when I first slithered through the opening, and we walked to the wall and peered over. . .as I said, it seems they have little opportunity to do evil. In fact, there is only one thing they've been told not to do."

"Truly? What?"

"There is a fruit tree in the garden. . ."

"There are many."

"One particular tree is found in the very middle. The female tells us that if they eat that fruit, then they will die." He laughed.

"As they carted us across the plain, I heard some of the guards talking. One of the trees in the garden is called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The humans do not understand the difference between the two, but if they eat the fruit of that tree, they will." He smiled. "Can you see what Adonai has done? While he has given them the ability to freely choose between good and evil, he has denied them the knowledge that would allow them to do so."

"He's cheating." Adryel frowned.

"Exactly so. Whenever they would flip the disk," he pulled it from his pocket, "the circle would always appear, because they don't have the ability to see the X."

"So Adonai can tell the angels you were wrong," Adryel said indignantly. "What can we do?"

Lucifer smiled. "We'll teach them about simple shapes. . .Come with me."

Adryel followed Lucifer as he strolled toward the wall.

"Look." He pointed across it. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Adryel's mouth dropped open as she gazed at the garden on the other side. "All of that fruit. And the creatures. . .and those little green plants. I'll bet you can eat them." She looked up at Lucifer. "Nothing like this can be found in the city. Why, no one would need to work in order to eat. You'd simply stick out your hand and pick it off the tree or pull it from the ground. The animals. . ."

"Magnificent." Lucifer sighed. "Such a waste. . .I want to encourage the humans to eat the fruit from that tree. The one they won't touch. Ami talked with the male and-"

"Ami talked with him too? Why?"

"He was quite friendly, I a.s.sure you. She offered herself to him if he'd share a piece of fruit with her. . ."

"Why was Ami here and not me?" Adryel growled.

"Ami was here because you were not available. In any case, the a.s.signment was more suited to her than to you," he snapped.

"But. . ."

"She offered herself. . ." he repeated, exaggerating the words for emphasis Adryel continued to stare at him.

"Bah. I didn't want you to. . ." Lucifer shook his head. "I was warned not to become involved with females," he mumbled. He paused and took a deep breath. "I expected better of you. . .Besides, her attempt failed. I want to try a more indirect approach next time, and it so happens you are more suited to this a.s.signment."

His eyes traveled down her body. Adryel felt herself blushing, although, after spending so many nights with Lucifer already she could not imagine why.

"As a power, you have the ability to take on a different appearance, don't you?"

"Yes. . ." Adryel was curious. "I haven't done that in years, though. Not since I was at the Inst.i.tute. One of my friends had a couple of unwanted admirers, and we decided that a ferocious wild dog might frighten them away."

Lucifer glared at her and Adryel shrugged. "What? It worked."

"Yes. Well, this may be a bit more ambitious than tormenting your fellow students."

Lucifer explained his plan. Adryel was to take on the appearance of an animal, approach the female, and talk her into eating fruit from the forbidden tree.

"Do animals speak?"

Lucifer shrugged. "Not that I know of, but it won't matter. The humans are not very experienced. A talking animal will simply be something new, not something that does not exist."

"I was a very convincing dog." She smiled at the memory. "Perhaps a horse. They do have horses here, don't they?"

"I was thinking of something smaller, something harmless. Let's see. . ."

They scanned the trees and bushes, hunting for the perfect creature.

"A bird maybe?" Adryel suggested. "Or one of those." She pointed to a small white animal with long ears.

"I don't know. . ." Lucifer looked thoughtful, then his eyes lit up. "A serpent, perhaps."

"What is a serpent?" She looked around, expecting to see a strange creature hovering behind them.

"A serpent will be perfect." He picked up a tree branch that had fallen to the ground. He plucked two pieces of fruit from it and handed one to Adryel. It was bruised from striking the ground, but a smile spread across her face as she bit into it.

"It's delicious. What is it called?"

"It's a peach. Ami tells me the forbidden fruit seems to be very similar. I suppose the taste is too." He began to use the branch to shake the bushes as they walked along the wall, munching on the fruit.

Adryel watched him in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for a serpent. . .There," he exclaimed, pointing to a long, thin, black animal slithering along the ground, flushed from a low shrub. It had tiny feet that appeared to be fairly useless except over a short distance. "That's a serpent. They don't talk, but you will, of course."

Adryel wrinkled her nose. "It's horrible. No, I couldn't possibly. . ." She rubbed at her arms, feeling as though she had suddenly become slimy to the touch.

Lucifer stared into her eyes. "It is a perfectly acceptable creature, Adryel. . .unless, of course, you think I should send Ami to try again. . ." Lucifer stroked his chin as though he were pondering this thought. "I will of course be so very pleased with anyone who convinces the humans to eat that fruit." He paused, idly hitting the branch against the bush. "You know. . .Beliel asked about you, just this morning."

Adryel cringed. She had no real choice. She had to do everything he asked of her. The alternative. . .

She chanced another look at the serpent-thing and shuddered. "I'll need time to practice."

News of the exit from the cave swept through h.e.l.l. Lucifer was forced to post guards to prevent his angels from exiting en ma.s.s.

"The male human told Ami that angels visit the garden daily," he announced, "so we must be careful until we learn their habits. Then we can visit."

Lucifer had captured the serpent, and it returned with them so Adryel could study it. She spent the evening practicing, getting more and more comfortable with the idea of becoming one, even if temporarily.

Most of the others had never witnessed a power changing her appearance and they watched her as she repeated the process time and again, even though she had ordered everyone to leave her section of the cave. "You don't have to be perfect," Lucifer told her. "I'm sure they haven't seen all of the animals yet, but you don't want her to be interested in you rather than the fruit."

"If the serpent will cooperate it's actually easier to use its body than to copy it," Adryel told him, as she demonstrated the process, entering the serpent and causing it to stand upright and to speak. "Fewer questions too."

Even Beliel seemed to be impressed, although he managed to make an obscene suggestion about a future project she might undertake.

That night, as she lay beside Lucifer, she could tell he was pleased, and, as much as she hated to admit it to herself, that made her feel pleased as well.

He smiled at her and stroked her hair. "Success is within grasp, within your grasp. You'll do it. I feel certain of it."

The next morning, she and Lucifer left h.e.l.l, carrying the serpent, and vaulted the garden wall. He waited as she fed the animal a handful of berries, and pa.s.sed into its body. He strolled beside her as she slithered through the garden toward the tree. The humans were nowhere in sight.

"Good," he said as they reached the forbidden tree. "You'll have time to prepare. Ami and I observed the woman on this path and the male told Ami she walks it each morning before midday." He reached up and plucked two pieces of fruit from the tree, placing one on the ground near Adryel, biting into the second piece himself.

"You said your plan is for the woman to find you eating a piece that had fallen on the ground. Try it. It's quite good. Even better than the peach you tasted yesterday."

Adryel nibbled the fruit. "Oh, it is good." She took another small bite. "What is supposed to happen when they eat this? I feel no different."

"Of course you don't. It gives the knowledge of good and evil. You already know the difference."

As he spoke, they heard a voice singing. As it became louder, Lucifer turned to leave.

"I'll hide over here. Do well."

He had barely taken cover when the female human entered the clearing. She looked much like a beautiful, female angel, and Adryel could easily imagine Beliel's reaction.

"Good morning," Adryel called as the human pa.s.sed her. She raised the front end of her body off the ground so she would be easier to see.

The human looked about, finally focusing on Adryel. "You can speak," she exclaimed. "I'd no idea other creatures could talk."

She did not seem afraid of encountering a talking serpent. Although, Adryel surmised, she'd had no reason to be.

"I certainly can speak. I'd dare say there are a great many things you do not yet know."

The human laughed. "Quite true. I seem to learn something new each day."

"Do you have a name?" Adryel asked.