by Maya Daniels
“If anything happens to Alexia, everyone will meet their maker.” The conviction in my voice makes a shiver run up my spine like I just made something happen by uttering the words.
“Isn’t that the sad truth,” she says tiredly.
“I do mean it,” I tell her, making sure she understands it loud and clear.
“You don’t need to convince me, Lucifer. It was clear to me the day Lilith merged with her and gave Alexia her essence.”
“She’s mine!” I roar at her from the top of my lungs, making the walls tremble.
“I know. That changed everything.”
There is sadness in her voice that intensifies the fear in my heart. I stare at her, daring her to hide whatever it is so I have an excuse to start destroying everything around me, including her. I have been passive and quiet for too long. I think they forget the amount of chaos I can wreak when provoked.
“Speak! Now!” I tell her, holding my breath to wait for her reply.
She gazes at me for a long time, as if collecting her thoughts or debating what to tell me and what to hide. I let her. I shall not leave her realm until I know everything. She will know that soon enough.
Shaking her head slowly, she stands up and waves her hand over her altar. A bottle and two chalices appear and she pours the ambrosia in both of them. I stand and watch, crossing my arms over my chest. When she’s done, she picks them up and inches towards me, handing me one. When I take it, I glance at it before meeting her eyes and raising my eyebrow in question. She doesn’t say anything, just lifts hers to her lips and takes a sip. Without words, she’s saying it’s safe to drink. This makes me snort. Lifting the chalice slowly, I stretch my arm in front of me and pour it all on the ground.
“We know each other too well to play these games. I am in no mood to drink and even less of a mood to fall for your tricks,” I tell her quietly.
She stiffens at my deceptively calm and quiet words. Indeed, she knows me very well. Well enough to tread very carefully when I am in the mood I am right now.
“I meant no harm. What I have to say is not easy. I only thought you would appreciate the gesture.”
“I would appreciate the truth more. Now!”
“You act as if I want to hurt her!” she snaps. “She’s my child. I love her, too!”
“But she is not your child now, is she? Somehow you forgot to mention that little detail to her along the way.”
“I have forgotten nothing, angel. She will know everything when the time is right and not a moment sooner.” Her voice cracks with power, and the tired friend from a moment ago is replaced by the goddess who demands respect. A little late for that now, especially after I got worked up. A small move or a word will make me lose control and start a war between the gods.
A fleeting thought comes that I’m showing Inanna that Alexia is my weakness, but it passes too fast to worry about. It’s not like she doesn’t know that already. Plus, if anything happens to Alexia, we both have too much to lose.
“Why hasn’t she been told? What are you not telling me?”
“I hid nothing from you. It’s just that recently things got bit more complicated. I never expected the weaver of the web of life to get involved. That made me look into all plans more closely. I looked at all paths, all possible outcomes … at everything before I decided this lifetime for Alexia is the right one. Still, I didn’t see what was right in front of my face. Arrogance is the downfall of the gods.”
She shakes her head, but my fists are clenching at my sides. I don’t give a damn about how her plans didn’t turn out as she wanted. I care about Alexia, plain and simple. As long as Alexia is fine and breathing, I don’t care who does what. But if Alexia is in trouble, I’ll make them all pay with their immortal lives. “How does that affect her?” I ask.
“I didn’t realize she would need to walk my path in the end.” Her voice is so soft and the words mumbled it’s as if she’s hoping I don’t hear what she’s saying.
“Walk your path in what way? Where?” I ask through clenched teeth. I’m strung like a bow and my body is vibrating from it.
“To get to the tablets of destiny, she will need to descend to the Underworld and open Ishtar’s gate,” she blurts it out then cringes.
I suck in a sharp breath and she flinches away from me. It’s not going to do her any good. My vision blurs and stars dance at the corners of my eyes as I get tunnel-vision. Everything around me fades away and all I can see is the goddess in front of me. It’s her fault this is happening. She brought this upon Alexia and she will pay for it with her life. Maybe if she is no more, everything will stop until Alexia gets reincarnated again. That will change things.
Yes, that’s the best course.
Her lips move as if she is talking, but I hear nothing. Deafening silence brings calm to my soul as I make my decision to end her existence. Protect what’s mine is the only thought in my head as I lift my arms, feeling the power build inside me like a volcano ready to erupt.
Chapter 12
Alexia…
As I go towards the kitchen, an uneasy feeling prickles the back of my mind, but I ignore it. It’s because I know Lucifer wanted to say something but Daisy stopped him. It’s annoying that they can’t tell me everything. Don’t get me wrong; I know why they don’t. I’m grateful to them for trying to guide me without altering my path, but at the same time, I want to strangle them all, because if I know what’s waiting for me, I can prepare for it. Yup, control freak, that’s me. Too bad life and the universe don’t function like that.
I head straight for the coffee pot, start pulling mugs and filling them up because I can hear everyone following me. Only Lucifer and Daisy stay in the living room. I hope she’s lecturing him. That thought makes me snort. The angel has changed lately, but his prickly pride gets the better of him at times. The poor guy didn’t know what hit him when he got tangled up with our lot. If he expected us to obey and follow his directions blindly, he got cheated for sure. Maybe in a sick way this was a lesson to humble him a little. Just thinking about it makes me grin like a fool. I have no idea what it is that makes me want to antagonize him. I can’t help it. Every time any of us gets to him and his controlled behavior slips, it makes my day.
“Well? Where are they?” I turn around and look at Remi.
“Where are who?” She frowns at me.
“The smokes. Where are they?” I wave my hand in her face so she can hand them over.
“I need one, too,” says Jez on a sigh.
“Maybe we should all have one,” Meda adds, grabbing the mug I’m handing her.
“You don’t smoke,” I tell her pointedly.
“You quit, but here we are,” she adds, glaring at me as if I offended her, and that makes me laugh.
“All I’m saying is you won’t like it. I wasn’t telling you what to do. You’re a big girl.” I wink at her, and she smiles.
“Let’s go outside and debate it there,” Remi says and opens a drawer, pulling out a pack.
We head outside, and as I pass the living room I see that Daisy is sitting by herself, deep in thought. I stop, unsure whether I should call her to come or if she would prefer I leave her alone. I wonder where Lucifer is but last night, as if summoned, plays in my head and I shiver. I need to stay away from him if I want to keep the conviction of protecting my heart. The feelings he awakens in me can’t be healthy. Can angels get you addicted to them? Hmmm … now there’s a thought. As I’m standing there like an idiot, a ripple in the fabric of life makes my body tremble, then I gasp. My eyes move to Daisy, but she’s already up and coming my way with a frown on her kind face.
“Did you feel that?” I ask her.
“Feel what?” she answers, but she won’t look at me.
This gives me an uneasy feeling, like earlier, when I walked out of the living room. Narrowing my eyes at her, I wait, not moving an inch, which makes her stop to avoid colliding with me.
“The ripple. Someone opened a portal, and it was
not Meda.” I look around again as if an answer will appear out of thin air. “Where is Lucifer?” I add, and the feeling intensifies.
“I don’t know; he was here a minute ago. Have you checked upstairs in his room?” Her words sound innocent. Way too innocent, if you ask me.
I glare at her.
“Where did he go?” I squeeze the mug I’m holding so tight my hand shakes and hot coffee splashes on my skin, making me suck in a breath.
“Now look what you did,” Daisy chides me, taking the mug gently from my hand.
“Where did he go?” I repeat, not fooled for a second by her diversion.
“I honestly don’t know,” she says quietly. “I can guess, but I’m not sure”
“And your guess would be?”
“To find the answer to why you haven’t been told the things he thinks you should know,” she says dejectedly.
I frown. Say what, now? He’s looking for answers when he doesn’t tell me everything, either. Talk about contradictions. Or maybe he feels it’s okay for him not to tell me everything but no one else is allowed to do it. It’s almost comical when you look at it that way.
“You want to come outside with us? I really need a smoke. I figure I’ll die way before they have a chance to kill me, so might as well take advantage of it.” I chuckle at my own pathetic joke.
“Not funny,” she says, but she wraps her arm around my shoulders leading me outside.
“Oh, look. Alexia decided to grace us with her presence,” Remi says dramatically, and they all laugh a little.
“Bite me.” I flip her the finger and she barks out a laugh.
After grabbing the pack that’s next to her hip, I pull out a smoke and light it. The first drag chokes me a little, making me cough, and they chuckle. Shaking my head, I ignore them, my eyes going towards the woods like a compulsion. At first, I think it’s because of what happened with the snakes. The thought makes me shiver a little and goosebumps cover my arms. Everyone around me is talking, but I can’t get rid of the strange feeling. I can’t even hear what they are saying. After a second, there is a pull in my chest like someone tied a rope in the middle, yanking on it. I gasp, then choke some more, coughing from the smoke I inhaled too sharply.
“Take it easy there, killer. No one is taking it from you.”
I hear Remi’s words as she rushes over and pounds on my back. as if that will make it better. My eyes water from it but I have no time to worry because I know that if I don’t move towards the woods, something will split my ribcage open.
“Something’s wrong,” I rasp, my throat raw from the smoke I sucked in.
“Wrong how?” she asks and everyone is on instant alert.
“What do you feel?” Jez comes next to me, her arms already reaching down to touch the earth.
“I don’t know. I just know I must go into the woods,” I tell them, my feet already moving in that direction.
No one stops me, but they all come along, making a semi-circle around me. The closer I get, the more urgent it feels. I have to be there. I speed up a little, then start jogging, and within few seconds I’m sprinting, entering the trees like I’m running for my life. I have no control over my body or my actions. I hear them calling my name but I’m powerless to stop or even slow down. As I get deeper into the woods, a shimmering between the trees pulls my attention. Instinctively, I know that is where the portal was opened earlier.
“Meda, call out the last portal now!” I scream from the top of my lungs.
I know it’s of life-or-death importance that I enter the portal. I don’t know how I know this. I just do, the same way I know it needs to happen this second. Luckily for me, Meda doesn’t question me, nor does she hesitate. As I get closer, I hear her chanting as the purplish portal appears. I fly through it. What I encounter on the other side stops me dead in my tracks before plastering me on one wall like a painting.
Lucifer stands in the middle of Inanna’s temple. His body is shaking and glowing like the sun. His wings raise up and stretch out as far as they can. His power whirls around him, out of control, vibrating the walls and the ground like an earthquake. Cracks appear on the smooth stone and ground, sending rubble like shower on top of my head from the ceiling. Opposite him, Inanna is standing proud, her hands in front of her and palms facing Lucifer. A shield of rainbow colors pushes against his power to keep it at bay and away from her. My breath gets stuck in my throat, and I’m frozen in place with no idea what my next move should be. Spreading my arms to the sides so I don’t get blown all over, my mind spins with questions. Why is he here? More importantly, why is he attacking Inanna? Did I make another poor choice by allowing him to wiggle his way into our little tribe? Was he working with Tiamat? Derik’s and Enlil’s faces float in front of my eyes. He gave Derik wings, didn’t he? Thoughts are whirling through my head at a million miles per minute. Out of nowhere, his face when I woke up this morning comes to mind and all thoughts disappear like they were never there. I refuse to believe he would do such a thing. He might be arrogant but he has too much pride to stoop that low. He would make sure we all know he wants to hurt her, just so he can gloat. It doesn’t make him evil. It makes him an entity. God or angel, they think themselves above the rest of us.
With that in mind, I snap my shield around me and push my way towards him, screaming his name. I must stop this crap and find out what the hell is going on. Their powers are so strong that within seconds, cracks appear on my lousy shield and pain crawls over my body.
It’s not easy to move. It’s like placing your hands on a building and expecting to be able to shove it off its foundation. I keep repeating Lucifer’s name, over and over until finally, Inanna focuses on me. Her lips move, and even if I can’t hear her, I see them forming my name. As she finishes the last letter, Lucifer’s head snaps in my direction, like my name is the only thing that can get through to him. In an instant, everything stops and I topple over after losing the resistance to my shield. Tripping over my own feet, I tumble head first towards the ground, but before I hit it, arms wrap around me and lift me to a firm, muscular chest. His scent wraps around me like sunshine peeking through dark clouds, and I burrow closer to him, taking deep breaths. He tightens his arms around me and snuggles his head into my neck, panting like he has been running for days.
“Are you okay, love?” Inanna’s husky voice breaks the silence. Lucifer stiffens.
“What the fuck is going on?” I snap, remembering where I am and what I found when I got here. I push on Lucifer’s chest so he can let me go, but that only makes him squeeze me harder.
“We had a misunderstanding,” she says nonchalantly, as if they were simply exchanging words.
“Try again.” My voice is strained. “Lucifer, you’ll break my ribs if you keep squeezing that hard,” I add, gasping.
He loosens his grip on me but doesn’t let go. Instead, putting me down, he moves his body in front of me, tucking me behind him in a protective manner. What the hell? Is he trying to protect me from Inanna? If I hadn’t seen what was going on earlier, I would’ve laughed. I don’t find it funny now.
Lifting an eyebrow, I stick my head out from behind him. I look at her, waiting for an explanation. One way or another, I’ll know what got up their asses. I’m not going home without an answer. It must be written all over my face because Inanna sighs, her shoulders sag, and taking a deep breath, she starts talking.
Chapter 13
Lucifer…
“There was some new development to your path, love. I can’t tell you details without altering it. What you witnessed was Lucifer disagreeing with it all.” With a sigh, Inanna bends down slowly and sits ungracefully—for the first time—in front of me.
As angry as I am, I cannot stop the pity I feel for her. Everything she has worked for might crumble in a blink of an eye, but my protective side when it comes to Alexia does not let it linger long.
“She will not do it. This ends here!” I snap.
“No one asked you, Lucif
er!” Alexia turns on me with venom in her voice.
I know she’s angry and frightened after witnessing our standoff, even if she tries to hide the fear. My witch is brave, but she will be stupid if she ignores it and just plays along with this whole charade. I will not stand for it. She might hate me to start with, but eventually she will realize I’m looking out for her. She stands in front of me and glares at me with her hands fisted on her hips. My reaction? Like any arrogant male, I laugh! Not at her. I laugh because it is so adorable and refreshing that this woman stands up to me and glares at me as if I’m a mortal when gods and goddesses cower under my gaze. My heart thumps hard in my chest and warmth envelops me. A shiver runs up my spine, and I stiffen at first, darting my eyes around the temple to see if there is a threat. It takes me a second to understand it’s her magic swirling around me, flirting with my power—caressing, linking, seducing until I fully relax my tight muscles. Sharp pain like a dagger stabs me in the thigh and I look down to see an ice magic shard sticking out of my leg. Jerking back, I growl my displeasure and glare at Alexia.
“Really? Now you’re upset? Want to laugh at me some more, angel? See how that works for you,” she says sweetly.
“You do have a death wish, love.” Inanna chuckles, so I turn my glare on her.
“I see, now, why she is your vessel. You both can drive a male out of his mind,” I tell her through clenched teeth, pulling the ice shard out of my thigh.
They laugh halfheartedly, but the strain is heard in it loud and clear. I do not know if I like how Alexia is changing me. If this were to happen with anyone before I had connected with her, they would’ve met their maker in many different ways by now. The witch makes me soft, and it brings fear out in me that I’m not familiar with. Not just with my reactions but with everything I feel. This will either make a difference or it will get us all killed. Alexia’s voice brings me out of my musings and makes me shiver. The witch can bring me to my knees with her voice alone, not that I would ever tell her that.