“Seems so,” I said.
Penny clearly read the not gonna happen behind my statement, because she murmured, “There has to be a way to mask her magical signature without changing her. Like camouflage. A temporary thing…”
I took the exit, close to home now. Adrenaline and nervousness fired through me.
The car was quiet as I rolled down my street. I loved this little corner of the world, just like I loved my magic and myself. I wanted to share it with Lucifer. It might not be much, but it was mine.
He landed as I turned off the car and pushed open the door. Mikey stood near his stairs, a hard scowl affixed on my father. He looked like he was about ready to run—seeing a demon turn into a man before his eyes probably wasn’t sitting well. Smokey waited in the shadows of the cemetery across the street, watching the goings-on. Mince, a guy that lived a block over, strolled down the street toward us, his eyes downcast, looking at his phone. He’d missed Lucifer landing.
“Long time, no see,” I said as he came closer.
He glanced up, his face creased with annoyance from whatever he’d been looking at on his phone. His nose was wide and a bit crooked from being broken so many times during his boxing years, and a bit more padding lined his stomach than the last time we’d seen each other. His gaze shifted to my front yard.
“Smokey said that whack job is gone,” he said.
He meant the Red Prophet. He wasn’t a fan.
“Is she?” I looked at Smokey, crossing the street to us. “She took off?”
“She said she had to intercept the musings of a madwoman or some shit,” Mikey said, his stare still on Lucifer. “That guy was here earlier. Claimed he was your old man.”
“Yeah.” I came around the car with a straight back and raised my chin in case Lucifer looked down on my home. “He is.”
Callie and Dizzy parked behind my car and got out, bickering about something. They cut off when they saw Lucifer standing at the base of my stairs.
“We havin’ a party?” Mince nodded at Lucifer, then smiled at Darius, showing off a chipped front tooth. That was new. “Hey, bro. Where’s your fancy car?”
“This ain’t stuff you want to get messed up in,” Mikey said to Mince in a low tone. “The new guy makes the Red Prophet look like a saint.”
“What?” Mince stopped, squinting at Lucifer. “Why?” He took a step back.
“He’s fine.” I gestured at Mikey. “Lucifer, this is No Good Mikey, obviously Mikey for short.” I pulled out my keys.
“What the fuck did she just say?” Mince stepped back again, now turned sideways, ready to run. “What kind of dude calls himself Lucifer? Because Lucifer is fictional.” He bent at the waist a little, his features comically wide. “Lucifer is fictional, right?”
“And that is Mince.” I motioned to him. “They aren’t magical, and aren’t real fond of things that are.”
“Wonderful to formally meet you, Mikey, Mince.” Lucifer smiled at the now-frozen Mince. “Yes, my name is Lucifer. I do not run hell, although some don’t see much of a difference. I am not fictional, as you can see, though I doubt I resemble the stories you’ve heard as a child, either. I never wear red hats over my horns, for example. My horns are black.” His image rolled into his demon shape, black wings snapping out to the sides. He had glowing red eyes stuck in a bony face with two horn nubs at the top of his forehead. I was nearly positive he could make this form look nicer, since he could effect any form he wanted with his magic, but he clearly liked dramatics. Or maybe he used his human look for the Dr. Jekyll version of himself and the demon form for Mr. Hyde.
“What the fuck?” Mince took two quick steps backward. “Reagan…what the fuck?” He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them up as wide as they went, rubbing them and trying again. Lucifer’s image rolled back into that of a human, with his white button-up and jeans. “Nope.” Mince shook his head, clearly not quite able to turn away just yet. “Nope!” Finally, he turned and ran.
“I’ll see ya later,” Mikey said, walking the other direction. “This shit is not my forte.”
“And that’s Smokey.” I nodded at Smokey, who was gleefully watching Lucifer, probably hoping he’d do some other magical trick. A light burn marred his bald head, and his face looked sunburnt. Suddenly I wondered what had happened earlier. Whatever it was, it clearly hadn’t dampened Smokey’s mood. “He’s not magical either, but he doesn’t mind it like the others.”
“Fantastic to meet you, sir,” Smokey said. “It’s an honor.”
“Out of curiosity, why didn’t you choose a magical neighborhood?” Lucifer asked, offering Smokey a small bow.
“I’ve had to hide my magic, and it’s easier with people who don’t know magic exists.” I led the way up the stairs. “I’ll introduce the others inside.”
“You’ve had to hide your magic,” Lucifer repeated softly, following me. “Why is that?”
I turned the key and opened the door before stopping. “We have a very strong ward. I’ll need a blood offering to let you through.”
Lucifer’s gaze trailed to the frame of the door. “If you insist, though I can get through this if you’d prefer.”
I stepped into the house. “You can see the magic?”
“I can feel it because of its power. It’s expertly wrought, I can tell. By a mage, yes?” He turned and looked at the grim faces of Penny and Emery. “Those mages, I would assume? The angelic magic thrums within it.”
“Would you wreck the spell to get through?” I asked.
Lucifer thought for a moment. “Most probably. I don’t think I could pass without disrupting it. I could try…”
I furrowed my brow. “So you wouldn’t need to tear the spell down first?”
“My power trumps theirs. I’ve pushed through a lot of wards in my time. I’m good at getting around or through them.”
“I guess I won’t have much protection if the elves decide to come calling,” I murmured as I pulled a knife from the holster on the side of my leg and nicked his finger. He didn’t flinch.
“Only the most powerful of them, and they wouldn’t bother doing the dirty work themselves. Are they here? In town? I can send up a host and clear them up easily if you’d like. It would be my great pleasure.”
I let his blood drip onto the tripwire for the spell and had him pass through. “Not the elves specifically. They’ve sent spies, I’ve heard. They aren’t actively engaging yet, though Roger—the alpha shifter I’m working with—doesn’t think that’ll last.”
“Probably not, no.” He entered my house and his gaze traveled over the living room and then down the hall. He followed me into the kitchen, noticing the table, the countertops, and then the pantry.
“Have a seat.” I motioned to the table, figuring I’d treat him like anyone else. When it was time for whiskey, we usually sat at the table to drink it and shoot the shit. I pulled down glasses as the others filed in, the latest remodel making that possible. Penny took a seat opposite Lucifer, her eyes hard. Dizzy took a chair next to Lucifer, and Callie settled in next to Penny.
“No drink for me, Reagan,” Emery said, drifting to the counter and hoisting himself up on it. He clearly planned to treat Lucifer as he would a new vampire.
Darius lowered into the chair on the other side of Lucifer, leaving the seat at the end for me. Wariness swirled within him, and I knew he was intentionally putting himself as a buffer between my dad and me. On the surface, though, he couldn’t look more confident.
“The mage scowling at you is Penny,” I said as I put the glasses down before retreating to get the bottles of alcohol.
“I seem to have two mages staring at me.” Lucifer glanced between Penny and Callie. “I am getting the impression that I am not very popular among your friends.”
“Not really, no.” I poured two fingers of whiskey for Lucifer and then the same for myself. Callie tapped her glass, and I poured for her and then Penny.
“Wine for me, Reagan, thanks,” Dizzy said, hi
s customary smile absent.
After pouring Darius’s cognac, I grabbed a bottle of red from the pantry.
“The younger one staring at you is Penny,” I said, finally sitting down. Usually Darius would help prepare the refreshments, but he clearly wasn’t comfortable enough to move freely around the space. It seemed I was the only one who felt zero wariness in Lucifer’s company.
“Hello.” He tilted his head at Penny. “You were the mage that laid waste to the entrance of my kingdom, correct?”
“Yes,” she said without bashfulness. “I didn’t mean to the first time. I did mean to the second.”
“Of course. As I said earlier—you have mighty magic.”
“Emery is over there on the countertop,” I said. “He’s her dual-mage partner. You might’ve heard of him as the Rogue Natural.”
“Ah.” Lucifer nodded at Emery. “A rare treat. Yes, I have heard of you. You caused some disturbance with the elves, correct? Reagan thought you would enjoy my castle. Didn’t you say that, Reagan?”
“Yeah. They wouldn’t mind if you did an illusion to mess with them,” I told Emery.
“Mind? We’d welcome it.” Lucifer laughed. “I do so enjoy getting visitors lost in the castle. It’s been too long.”
Emery nodded but didn’t say hello.
“This is Callie”—I motioned to her—“and Dizzy.”
“We’ve met,” Callie said with a hard expression.
Surprise flitted across Lucifer’s face. He studied her. “Remind me, if you would. I don’t recall.”
“When you were involved with Amorette,” she replied. “We were her friends.”
“Yes, I remember now! Forgive me.” He smiled at her. It wasn’t returned. “A grave loss for everyone, but no one so much as Reagan.” His eyes turned apologetic as his gaze flicked back to me. “I apologize for my actions in your mother’s garden. I overstepped and used your pain abominably. I hope you can forgive me.”
“It’s possible,” I said, warmth budding in me because he’d realized his error without being told. “This is Darius. I believe you planned to kill him and my mage friends.”
“I did, indeed, yes. That would have been a mistake, hmm? You would not have forgiven me for that.” He turned and inclined his head at Darius. “Your reputation precedes you. You have made short work of learning my kingdom. You know it quite well in a short period of time.”
“Not well enough, or I wouldn’t have found myself in a cell, waiting for death,” Darius replied smoothly.
Lucifer laughed. “This is true. You are the child of Vlad, is that correct?”
“Yes,” Darius answered.
Lucifer took a sip of his whiskey, and his face pinched. “This is quite a bit different than what we can offer in the Underworld. I can see what you mean, Reagan.” He blew out a breath.
“It’s like a punch in the face,” Penny said, clearly fond of that comparison, and leaned forward and looked at Lucifer closely. “You are incredibly nonchalant about almost killing us. You don’t seem sorry at all.”
Lucifer spread his hands. “You tore down my magical walls, snuck into my kingdom, and intended to deceive me. Death was justified. It’s for the best it didn’t happen, but that doesn’t change the offense. You have not apologized because you had good reasons for your actions, and I will not apologize because I did too.” He shrugged. “And here we are. My hope is that Reagan can forgive me, and we can put it behind us.” He met my gaze. “I wondered if I might have a few moments of your time?”
“Not on your life,” Callie said immediately as Penny started shaking her head.
“It’s fine.” I pushed back my chair and stood, Darius with me. Emery hopped down from the counter. “You guys, it’s fine. He didn’t come all this way to kill me, and he won’t be able to kidnap me out from under your noses.”
“Very true. I mean Reagan no harm.” Lucifer pushed his chair back and stood with me. “Not now, and not ever. It was a bad judgment call to try to force someone like her to stay in my kingdom. Tatsu has made that abundantly clear to me.” Tatsu was his dragon, and I was surprised to hear that she didn’t agree with Lucifer. “We have things to discuss, though. Things that have nothing to do with the coming war.”
I grabbed my glass and used my free hand to gesture to the living room. “We can sit in there.”
Emotion rolled through Darius, but he made no move to stop me when I left the room. He also made no move to sit back down. Neither did Emery.
“Your friends are very protective,” Lucifer said as he sat on the couch. I took the armchair on his right. “That speaks highly of your connection with them. Your neighbors are the same way. I can see why you were eager to get back here.” He moved his hand through the air. “Your home is beautiful. It suits you perfectly. The location is interesting as well. This is a very vibrant city that speaks to me. I’m glad to be here.”
I bent my head in acknowledgment, pushing down a smile and trying to ignore the weird glow of pride in my chest. I’d wanted his approval for reasons I couldn’t explain.
He paused for a moment to sip his drink. His face pinched again. “I’m not sure I like whiskey. It is, indeed, like a punch in the face.” He smiled and put it on the coffee table. “I owe you an apology, Reagan. I read the situation with you very badly. Those antics would’ve worked on a great many people, but I am a proud parent to know that they will not work on you. I do think of you as my daughter, I hope you know that. You are my blood. You proved that in so many ways in the Underworld. I hope I don’t make you uncomfortable when I say that you belong there. You were meant to rule, and I hope you’ll choose to come back someday.” He leaned back and crossed an ankle over his knee. “I have made it clear to my subjects that you are royalty, whether you live there or not. You are my daughter, and you will be treated as such. It is your birthright.”
The warmth glowing in my middle swelled and flowed through me. I had wanted this olive branch. Ever since leaving the Underworld, I’d yearned to go back.
I swallowed down the lump in my throat but didn’t respond. I wasn’t quite sure what to say.
“I invite you to return and stay for a while,” he continued. “I’ve left the borders opened. You can come and go as you please, wander wherever you may. You have no limits—no restrictions. I will offer you no warnings or advice, as you surely don’t need them. I would just ask that you treat the kingdom with respect.”
“Of course,” I managed.
“I left your vampires alone when you were last in the Underworld. They were allowed to follow you out in peace. All but the one that had been captured. He, I returned to his maker and a horrible demise. In the future, if vampires come in with you, they will be welcomed. If they are not, they will need to report to me and state their business. I hope you don’t mind, but they are cunning. Until this business with the elves is settled, I’ll want to keep my eye on them.”
So he’d let Ja go. I glanced toward the quiet kitchen, everyone clearly listening in. That was a good little tidbit for Darius. Maybe he could wrangle another favor from her or something.
“First, they aren’t my vampires. None of them. And if they aren’t Darius’s, then they are definitely up to no good. You’re right to keep your eye on them at all times.” I pointed toward the kitchen.
All of them, I thought so the others wouldn’t hear. Darius loves me, but he’s still a vampire. I’d be grateful for a heads-up if he’s wandering around down there. He doesn’t share his business as often as I’d like.
A ghost of a smile curved Lucifer’s lips. Wise. You’ll now have a network to rival his. We can easily keep tabs on him.
Cripes. I needed to remember whom I was talking to.
“I hope, someday, that you will take a position of leadership within our kingdom,” Lucifer went on. “We can work you in slowly, or throw you in the deep end and see what happens.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said, and maybe I was crazy, but I actually meant it. “There�
��s a war coming, though, so I really should deal with that first.”
“Yes. About that.” He adjusted himself in his seat. “The elves will be trying to kill you, you need to realize that.”
“I do, obviously.”
“And I will be trying to kill them.”
“Right. Makes sense.”
“If you get in my way, I will go around you, or kidnap you for real this time and stow you somewhere safe, but I will not go through you. You have nothing to fear from me or my people. I wanted to make that clear.”
“Are you going to ask me to join your side now? I got manipulated by a shifter earlier today, so everyone is taking their shot.”
“No. I’m done trying to manipulate you. You will go your own way. As will I. I will say this, however: I don’t need that accursed druid’s painting to know what you looked like in that dungeon. To remember the broken body lying on that cold, hard ground. To know how long it took you to recover. That is etched firmly in my memory. Either you will claim vengeance for that, or I will do it for you. I will not tolerate mistreatment like that, not to my blood. They will suffer for what they have done, and if I am not mistaken, we are not the only ones who wish to claim our vengeance.”
His eyes flicked to the kitchen. His words became thoughts.
About your hellfire-spewing friend. Make sure that she doesn’t tip too far into rage, or at least does not stay there too long. She might want to get vengeance as well, but if you value her, don’t let her. She is not like us. She can’t venture too far into the darkness and still make it back to the light. I can see how her death or insanity would affect you badly, so I offer that advice.
I shook my head and looked away. I liked this sonuva bitch more and more as I got to know him. I loved how his evil blended so well with the good, and how he was completely unabashed about either side.
“I probably would join your cause, if you weren’t working with Vlad,” I joked, huffing out a laugh.
“Hopefully you will join me after we wipe the elves from the Realm.”
Battle With Fire Page 7