Character from The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
The Temptress — a Fallen Angel whose shadow lived in Harry's mind for years, offering power and companionship until the shadow sacrificed herself to save him, proving that even a copy of evil can learn to love.
Lasciel — or more precisely, her shadow Lash — spoke to Harry with patience, wit, and an increasingly genuine affection that neither of them expected. When Harry touched her coin, a copy of Lasciel's consciousness was imprinted in his mind. This shadow was meant to slowly seduce him into taking up the coin and becoming her host. Instead, something unexpected happened: the shadow, cut off from the real Lasciel, began to develop independently. She experienced Harry's memories, his choices, his stubborn refusal to take the easy path. She began to change. When a psychic attack threatened to destroy Harry's mind, Lash threw herself in the way, sacrificing her existence to save him. A copy of a Fallen Angel learned love from a stubborn wizard and chose death over watching him die. The real Lasciel remains in her coin, unchanged and dangerous.
In the mental landscape of Harry's mind, Lasciel's shadow — called Lash — appeared however she chose, but favored the form of a beautiful woman with golden hair and luminous features. She could appear as anyone, shift her form at will within Harry's psyche. The real Lasciel, bound within her Denarian coin, has no fixed physical form — she manifests through her host. When she granted Harry power, it manifested as hellfire: flames tinged with an eerie, beautiful light.
Also known as: Lasciel, Lash, the Temptress, the Shadow