“All right, so how are we going to do this? Hades was supposed to take me back to the gate that led to Earth,” I explained, scratching my head. I had seen enough weird crap in my lifetime. It was time to disappear and end this silly journey. I needed to see Ricky, Emma, and of course, Zachary, although a world without Arthur was going to be very different.
“You need to climb on me, dear. We are going back in style,” Paul said, and I looked at him like he was crazy. There was no way that I was going to fly back to London. After Greyon, my stomach couldn’t take it.
“No, I’m too heavy, and you only just got those wings back,” I told him, feeling sick again.
“I’m sorry, Max, but I have to carry you. There isn’t any other way out of here. Limbo is filled with your worst nightmares. If you thought that Hell was bad, then you have to think twice.”
I looked at the beheaded body of Hades. Yeah, maybe what he was saying made sense. I just had to do this, one last time.
Several moments later, I was embraced by Paul, flying above in the navy sky, finally going home.
Chapter 13
“For this man here who comes along with me, burdened in being clothed with Adam’s flesh, is loath to climb, despite the will to do.”
― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
We landed by another cave in the pitch-black darkness. I slid off Paul’s back and looked around, waiting for some other entrance to appear, but nothing happened.
“This way,” Paul told me and led me inside the cave. Instantly we found ourselves in a narrow corridor with stairs that were leading up. It seemed pretty random, but I wasn’t going to complain. I just couldn’t wait to cross over to the human world again.
Deep down I was disappointed that Paul had known this entire time that Lucifer was my father. He let me believe that I showed up in his pub accidentally, and he fed my addiction because he felt guilty that he failed to protect my mother in the past. I knew that this wasn’t the time or the place to discuss all these issues, but we had to talk about it at some point in the future.
My head hurt from all the things I’d learnt lately, and I had to admit, it was one hell of an experience travelling through the underworld. I was lucky that I wasn’t dragged through every single circle of Hell.
Now it was my job to change the fate of all mongrels. Lucifer was powerful and most likely immortal, but he wasn’t fully controlling his demons on Earth, and that’s where the heads of the factions came in. They were his eyes and ears, but after what happened with Rodriguez, I wasn’t surprised that he was looking to shake things up.
I smelled the earthy air when we reached the end of the stairs. There was a small metal trapdoor. Paul pushed it, and we squeezed through the space, ending up in the back of a dark alley, probably somewhere near Hackney. Goosebumps broke over my arms as the excitement rushed down my body. I was finally back to the world that I knew and understood. It was freezing cold, and I was only wearing my ripped tank top. It was the middle of winter in London. That was one thing I didn’t miss—the weather, although it was still better than in Hell.
“Here, put this on,” Paul said and handed me his jacket. My teeth were chattering, I felt a little guilty, but he still wore a thick wool jumper underneath.
“Thank you for rescuing me from the dirty hands of Hades. Being in Hell … well, it was a hell of an experience.” I chuckled, still trying to find a funny side in what happened.
When we started walking, Paul started looking more like himself again. Scruffy, a bit overweight, and he lost that incredible radiant energy. Being in the human world changed demons, and I presumed this happened with ex-Watchers, too. I figured that if he had gone ahead with delivering that warning to my mother, then possibly I would have never been born.
Or maybe I would have just been a normal human girl without any special abilities. I didn’t think I could enjoy being ordinary. My life was tough in general, but I wanted to remain who I was.
When we reached the traffic light, he said, “It was my duty, and I screwed up all those years ago. I’m going to leave you now, so make sure you take care of yourself, Maxine. Remember you can always count on me.”
“I’ll hold you to that. Lucifer has given me that one last task. Alexis needs to be eliminated.”
“You don’t have to worry about her right now. Just rest up. I’ll be in touch soon.” He bowed his head and started walking away in the opposite direction. He most likely knew that I was heading over to see Ricky. I liked that he didn’t push me to talk. He understood that I needed some time out.
The truth was that I didn’t have any place to stay. I was willing to bet Mrs. Patel had managed to evict me. By now she probably threw all my stuff away, too. I had trashed the place and hadn’t paid the rent in around two months. This was going to be interesting, returning to London after a full month spent in Hell that felt like it’d only been a few days.
I started walking through the gloomy streets, trying to connect with Matilda. I knew that she was keeping Summer somewhere safe, far away from anyone who could harm her. My magic was silent, and it was going to take me a few days to get used to being my old self on Earth.
I had nothing on me, no money, so I was forced to walk all the way to the Doomed Cases office. It was before five, and I really hoped that Ricky hadn’t gone home yet. On the way I passed a newspaper stand and saw that the whole of London was still mourning over the death of the young prince. Apparently, the investigation into the cause of his death was still pending. I managed to grab an old paper and read that the human police were planning to arrest someone soon.
I didn’t know what to think. Surely, they couldn’t have been after Alexis. That bitch must have disappeared after she was healed.
A few hours later I entered my building, feeling slightly nervous about seeing my friends. I sensed them upstairs. Everything looked just the way it was, and I truly hoped that we hadn’t managed to go bankrupt in a month, and our clients remained loyal to the agency.
I walked inside as if I hadn’t been missing at all.
“Hey, Emma,” I said, trying to be cheerful. Emma gasped and stood up so abruptly, staring at me. She managed to knock most of her stationary on the floor and then she went slightly pale. I should have given them a warning, or maybe called, but that felt unnatural.
“Maxine. Oh, my God, is that really you?” She started screaming. Seconds later I was nearly knocked off my feet when she started hugging me, sobbing at the same time.
“Max, for Lucifer, say something,” Ricky said, appearing in the room.
I smiled as other emotions overwhelmed me when he joined in and hugged me, too. Normally I wasn’t a big fan of any kind of affection, but after my trip to Hell, a few tears of joy managed to slip through.
“Paul showed up with his angel wings and literally saved my butt when Hades tried to rape me,” I said.
“Hades, one of the mythological gods of the underworld? I thought he wasn’t real?” Emma asked, wiping her tears away and smiling widely.
I needed to sit down and go through everything that happened in the past.
“There is a lot that I have to explain and you two had better sit down. I have some pretty sensational news.”
“That doesn’t sound too good,” Ricky muttered, but managed to pull a chair up for himself. Emma blew her nose and flopped back on her seat. Ricky was using his energy to check if I was real and that this wasn’t any kind of trick. He looked well, and I was glad that his demonic energy wasn’t affected by the fact that he spent a few weeks in intensive care.
“Lucifer is my real father.”
I had to start somewhere, and I needed them to get over the main shock to explain the rest.
As I was expecting, Ricky laughed, using his abilities to tell me that I nearly got him. Emma brought her hands to her mouth, staring at me with her eyes wide open. She must have believed me straight away.
I told Ricky that I wasn’t joking and then continued from the beginning
of this crazy story. It was late evening in London when I started going through everything that happened to me from the moment that Alexis had murdered Arthur.
Ricky nearly smashed the wall with his fist when he heard about his ex-wife. He was still pretty much in shock, hearing that Lucifer was my real father. The fact that Catherine was still a bitch didn’t really surprise him. Nothing changed in that respect, but at least she was back in Hell.
“Paul used to be God’s messenger?” Ricky asked, for the fourth time. “And he knew that Lucifer was your father and he kept this hidden for years?”
“Oh, Max, I can’t believe this. Satan … wow. I mean, I can’t even understand how this is possible,” Emma said, shaking her head. It surprised me that she was taking it so calmly.
“And he made you go through the circles of Hell just so he could bloody see if he could acknowledge you as his daughter?” Ricky repeated, pacing around the office. He was breathing hard, walking, and I could literally see anger radiating from his pores. He had been in Hell, so he knew exactly what I had to go through.
“Yeah, that’s pretty much what happened,” I said. “Trust me, it took a while for this to sink in. I didn’t really believe him when he told me who he was.”
“This is unbelievable, I always thought that your father was an upper-level demon, but I never would have imagined that it was Lucifer,” Ricky admitted, trying to take all of it in, but he was having a little trouble with processing the news.
In many ways I was doing all right, getting back to the agency still feeling pretty sane.
I suddenly felt Matilda’s magic inside me. It was a relief. Summer was safe and still with her. I didn’t want to worry about Rodriguez. He had no idea where to look for her, and Lucifer had promised that he would take care of him.
“I managed to convince your landlord to give you another chance,” Ricky said, unexpectedly. “And I paid your rent.”
“Really? I can’t believe that she went for it. I mean—thank you, that means a lot,” I said, and my voice trembled. Then I went to him, hugging him again.
“Wow, things in Hell must have been really hard out there if you’re willing to touch me,” Ricky said, laughing. I snorted and hit him playfully.
Then his expression turned serious. “I still can’t believe what happened in Purgatory. What Arthur did was noble and great. I was wrong about him. He was a decent man.”
It was sad to think that I was never going to see him again.
“Matilda will look after Summer while I deal with Alexis. I really want to see my little girl, but London isn’t safe for her, especially not while Rodriguez is still the head of Lucifer’s faction.”
Both Ricky and Emma agreed with me and then we talked about everything that I missed while I was gone. Ricky quickly gave me some updates about the agency. Apparently, we were working as normal. He decided to outsource the most complicated cases and hired a few demons to help him with fieldwork. After everything that happened, he was still a businessman.
He must have read my mind, because a moment later, he offered to call Zach. I was glad I didn’t have to tell him that I wanted to see my beloved detective. I had missed him, although my emotions were still unsettled.
“We were planning to get you out of Hell. Zachary was adamant. He didn’t give up. Even when everyone kept telling him that there was no chance for you to survive,” Emma explained. “In the evenings, he went chasing demons around London with Nameless, trying to find the way in to Hell.”
The man truly loved me, and I was lucky to have him. Ricky told me to get home, that I needed some time out. I needed to wash the scent of Hades off my skin. It was around ten p.m. when I left the office of Doomed Cases and headed to my flat.
Zachary was waiting for me outside my door, and I stopped abruptly when I saw him. My heart made a flip in my chest. He sat with his hand over his head by my door. The image of Arthur rolled in front of my eyes, but I told myself to get it together. The father of my child was dead, and even Lucifer wasn’t ready to bring him back. It was time to accept it and keep on living.
“Hey,” I said quietly and sat next to him. The heat was back, riddling through me the moment our bodies touched again. The silence was unnerving, and there were a lot of things that we needed to say to each other.
“Ricky called and for a split second, I thought he was fucking with me.” Zachary sighed. His emotions were affecting me more than usual. He was filled with rage, happiness, and love. I wasn’t ready for all this, but I had to be, because he was ready to fight for me.
My heart thumped in my chest as the craving for his touch made me a little weak. Maybe it was time to get some liquid magic into me and just forget about the weight of responsibilities that were still making me a little anxious.
“I thought that this was the end,” I admitted and lifted myself up. “Come on, let’s get inside. I just need to feel normal for a second.”
He nodded and rose to his feet. Ricky had cleaned my entire space, and for a change, the flat was cosy and inviting. Zachary shut the door, and, for a long moment, he just stared at me, like he didn’t believe I was really in front of him.
“I fucking missed you, Flower, more than you can imagine,” he said, tossing his jacket away. Maybe this was wrong on so many levels. I was still grieving Arthur, and my little girl was out there, but I deserved to act spontaneous for a change.
I walked up to him, grabbed his mouth and kissed him hard. The moment our lips touched everything felt better. The fire that brewed deep in my stomach was back.
“Maybe you won’t believe me when I say that I haven’t showered in a month in human terms,” I said, aware that he was more ready than me.
“Well, we can do that together, can’t we?” He leaned down and lifted me up. I was surprised to see that the bathroom had been renovated, and everything in the loo was in perfect working order. Zachary started undressing me, and I noticed that his hands were shaking slightly.
When we were both in the shower, and the warm water began streaming down my body, I shut my eyes and let him kiss me. I felt alive again, finally belonging somewhere. My other life, that one in the underworld, could go to Hell.
Chapter 14
“How hard it is to say what that wood was, a wilderness, savage, brute, harsh and wild. Only to think of it renews my fear!”
― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
I arched my head backwards, letting the water wash over my face. Zachary stood behind me. My body was pleasantly numb after he made long and peaceful love to me in the shower.
We were taking the time to enjoy each other, reflecting on what kept us apart. I didn’t want to think about the future, or about the fact that I still had to go after Alexis. That task didn’t seem real anymore.
The whole bathroom was filled with steam. Zach was tracing his finger over the line of my back. Heat radiated from his skin and spread over my body.
“I thought you were dead. For weeks, Ricky had been telling me to give it a rest, that you weren’t coming back,” he said, then kissed my collarbone, moving further toward my neck.
We hadn’t even talked about anything; the sex had replaced words for now.
“It’s a long story, and I’m not really sure if I want to talk about it tonight,” I said, thinking about the time that I was going to have with my daughter once this whole thing was over. She probably had no idea who I was. Matilda had been looking after her in the past two years, so that was understandable. There was going to be a time when I would take over. I wanted her to call me Mum.
“You have to tell me everything eventually, Flower. I’m curious to know things about Hell,” he told me, and I thought that maybe humans weren’t supposed to know anything about Hell, but I owed an explanation to Zach. He was there for me when I needed him the most.
His hand suddenly moved down in front of my body, and I shut my eyes enjoying his erotic tortures. Warmth scattered over me, and magic embraced us both with its electric veil.
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Then his finger started moving inside me and I gasped, letting go of a loud moan.
“Let me enjoy this for a bit longer,” he muttered and started rubbing my clit with his forefinger. The burning sensation in the pit of my stomach was back.
“Oh yes, just don’t stop. I have missed this,” I said, shutting the water off, and trying to focus on his movements. He laughed and then he replaced his finger with his hard length. Moments later he was moving inside me again and I was gasping for breath.
I loved it, and with every thrust, I needed more of him.
“Not planning to,” he muttered and bit my neck and then began really working me. We were still standing in my tiny shower, so the space was pretty cramped. I pressed my palms on the glass, moaning as he rode me from behind. The second time was quick, hard and intense. The whole front of my body tingled when he pushed me to the edge of orgasm, and it wasn’t long before we both climaxed, sparks rushing down my skin, as the magic flew between us.
It was over fast, and, for a long moment, he laid his head on my back, breathing hard. My heart pounded in my chest.
When he pulled away, I felt a little dizzy and drained. Zach slapped my arse playfully when he walked out of the shower.
“Get dressed, you have a lot to tell me. I’m going to make some food for us,” he said, drying himself with the towel.
“The fridge is probably empty. I haven’t been here for over two months,” I reminded him. Before the events in Purgatory, I was staying with Ricky, and in my day-to-day existence, I barely had anything in the cupboards.
After I rinsed my body with water I stepped out of the shower. I dried myself with a new towel that Ricky most likely had bought for me, and then went to the bedroom. My old clothes were still hanging in the wardrobe, so I dressed quickly, thinking about food. My stomach was growling loudly. After my meeting with Lucifer, I kind of forgot about how hungry I really was.
Doomed Cases Box Set: The Complete Collection Books 1- 4 & Prequel Page 81