Reluctant Demon Read Online Free Page B

were finally finding our true place. We liked being in charge of something. Not me, of course. No, thank you.
    I didn't want the responsibility of ruling over anything, but for some of the others, it was a different thrill altogether. I won't name names, of course, but let me tell you, some of them were absolutely giddy with the taste of power. It was embarrassing. That's when they began to believe a terrible thing. I will admit that hearing them talk about the possibilities did give one a bit of a tingle—even me. Lucifer helped us imagine ourselves in lofty ways completely contrary to our nature.
    "Perhaps we were made to rule," he proposed.
    "Lucifer's right," someone quipped. "Why should there be only one ruler?"
    "Why shouldn't we rule ourselves? W h a t in creation is more magnificent than us?"
    The more they talked, the more they began to desire more than heaven. I began to wonder if we had somehow missed out on something. It wasn't long until we developed such pride in our own extraordinary selves that we started to consider how we could leave our sphere and its confinement. Lucifer was right.
    "Why should there be limits for us? And who should decide what they are?" he asked.
    Angels cannot handle ambition. Until Lucifer introduced us to the concept, our entire purpose for being was to carry out the plans of God; we never thought about doing anything else. Of all God had made, we were the most like Him. The heart of God was love, and He lavishly loved us. Perhaps that's why we were so foolish as to think our actions had no consequences. We had never disobeyed before. It had never been in anyone's imagination to do such a thing.
    And that's how things would have remained if it hadn't been for Lucifer. It was entirely his fault. As one of the highest-ranking archangels, he had access to the throne room—something that none of the rest of us had. That's why we attached so much weight to what he said. Lucifer caused us to think about how exciting things might be if he were in charge. I don't know why, but I have to tell you there was a strange exhilaration about the idea. I found myself being swept along with the others in the excitement. Did we never once think there might be consequences for disobedience? Oh, yes, we did. But not really.
    We were convinced that God's love for us was so great that it would not allow Him to bring punishment against us. Nonetheless, I was nervous.
    "What if God isn't amused by Lucifer's political ideas?
    What if He thinks self-rule for us is rebellion?" I asked.
    "Will He just overlook it like nothing happened?"
    "He can do nothing else. He is all about love, and He cannot deny His own nature," Lucifer assured us.
    "Then are we safe to insist on our own way?" asked another. Lucifer nodded confidently, so we agreed that it must be true.
    It was our knowledge of the depth of God's love for us that makes our betrayal all the more despicable. Oh, I know you think that you know about Lucifer. There was a time when we thought we did too. Believe me, you know nothing. You do not know his cunning or his hatred for all that lives on Earth. You do not know the extent of his willingness to corrupt, destroy, and steal.
    Perhaps that is the true reason I have decided to tell you what I saw happen. Lucifer is the source of my misery. If I seem bitter at times as I recount the events that forever changed heaven and Earth, well, it is because I most certainly am. It began with the rebellion of Lucifer.
    Yahweh Himself would say Lucifer was the seal of perfection. He was wise, perfect, and beautiful. He glit-tered like a star when he moved about. He was clearly God's favorite. This is why none of us could have imagined what was about to happen. Even when the summons came, we were not alarmed. We were called to assembly in the high court of heaven, but that had happened before. God often called us to assembly when He had something new to share. He wasn't looking for our input, of course. I think He liked