Lucifer (Brimstone Heat Book 1)

by Rayne Rachels

  Lucifer shook his head. “How is it that you can hear the language and understand it, but you can say they words correctly or even remember them?”

  “I have no clue.” She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s just one of my many new special talents.”

  “Watch what I do and listen very closely to what I say. Try to listen to the worlds not the translation. ” He turned his attention to the split log. He bent down and touched the log as he said a couple of words in the ancient language. The sulphuric odor of brimstone filled the air. The log burst into flames and in seconds only a pile of ash remained.

  Angie crossed her arms. “This isn’t going to work.”

  Lucifer pulled another split log from the small wood pile and stood it on its end next to the pile of ashes he had made. “Just concentrate and remember the words.”

  “That’s the problem,” Angie growled.

  “Did you just growl at me?” asked Lucifer.

  Angie suddenly found her fingernails extremely interesting. “No, I didn’t growl at you. You must be hearing things in your old age. I probably need to get you a hearing aid.” She held her hands up and inspected her fingernails in the sunlight. “I really need to get a manicure. My fingernails look absolutely horrible.”

  Laughter filled the area.

  Lucifer ran his hand through his hair as he shook his head. “What do you want?” he asked his brothers.

  Angie looked at the three men walking toward them from the edge of the clearing. Her eyes widened. “Damn,” she said and made a low whistle. “I can just imagine what kind of trouble you four got into in your younger days.”

  “Did she just call us old?” asked the tallest man in the trio. His midnight black hair hung down past his shoulders. The beginnings of a beard darkened his face, making his green eyes standout.

  “Compared to me, you are all ancient and ready for a nursing home,” said Angie.

  “See, I told you she was the perfect baby sister,” said Phoenix as he walked over to Angie and wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug. “I’m so glad you survived the change.”

  “I’m glad to see you too. Wait. What did you say?” Angie pushed out of the bear hug and stared at Phoenix. “You knew about it?” she asked as she stared at him.

  “That Lucifer was going to claim you to him? Yeah, I knew. We talked about it right after we checked the black dually and found the driver missing.” Phoenix noticed the small tick of Angie’s jaw muscles and her narrowed eyes. “Are you okay?”

  “I’ll deal with you in a minute,” she told Phoenix. Angie slowly turned to face Lucifer. “You discussed claiming me to you with your brother, but you couldn’t discuss it with me before you jumped into the deep end of the pool and did it?”

  “Angie, my beautiful lifemate.” Lucifer took a step toward her.

  Angie held up her hand. “Don’t even go there. You are in a whole heap of trouble.”

  “I told you I was sorry,” said Lucifer.

  “That was yesterday before I learned you discussed all of this with your brother, or was all of your brothers?” Her hands were on her hips. “Did the other two know about his too?”

  “We knew nothing about any of this,” said the brother who looked like a bodybuilder.

  Angie turned to glare at the two men. Yeah, they were definitely the perfect eye candy.

  Lucifer growled. “Quit looking at them!”

  “Don’t growl orders at me.”

  “You are mine,” declared Lucifer.

  “Yes, I’m yours, but that doesn’t mean I can’t look. Besides, you’re in trouble again.”

  “Yeah, I think I like her too,” said the big man with the black hair.

  Angie turned her attention back to the two men. “Not another word out of either of you.” She shook her finger at them.

  Both men looked away to hid the smiles on their faces.

  Angie shook her head and turned her attention back to her lifemate. She walked over to Lucifer and poked him in the chest with her finger. “We are supposed to be partners. That means we make decisions together, not behind my back, especially when the decisions concern me. Am I clear?”

  “Very clear.” Lucifer rubbed his chest.

  Snickers and laughter filled the air.

  “Would you three just shut up,” said Lucifer without taking his eyes off of Angie. He took her hand in his and gently pulled her to him. “We are much more than partners. You are my lifemate…the other half of my soul that I didn’t realize was missing. I’m sorry I upset you by not giving you a voice in this decision. In the future, I will try to do better, but when it comes to your safety, there will be no discussion. I will do anything necessary to protect you.”

  Angie smiled. “I can live with that.” She tilted her head up to him. “Kiss me.”

  Lucifer leaned down and captured her lips with his lips. The kiss deepened causing Angie to moan with pleasure.

  “Excuse us,” Phoenix cleared his throat. “You two really need to get a room. You’re as bad a Mother and Father.” He shook his head.

  Lucifer broke the kiss. “You’re just jealous. Just wait until you find your mate.”

  The smile on Phoenix’s face slowly disappeared. “I will be extremely happy when she finally shows up. I want what you have found with Angie.”

  “You will find your lifemate,” Angie said, trying to reassure Phoenix. “When you least expect it, your lifemate will suddenly drop into your life and turn it upside down.” She smiled and looked up at Lucifer. “Are you going to introduce me to your other brothers?”

  “That is Onyx and Diablo.” He gestured at the two men. “Guys, this is Angie Gunner, my lifemate.”

  “And our new baby sister,” said the brown haired, muscular guy. “I’m Onyx.”

  “Don’t you run the gym at the edge of town?” asked Angie. She had never been in the gym, but she had heard others talking about it and about the man who ran it.

  “Run it and own it.” He grinned at her.

  “I’m Diablo.” The man with the long black hair stepped forward. “I’m a bounty hunter.” His voice was deep…sexy deep. There was also an air of mystery about him.

  “Wow! Not a safe occupation.” Angie’s eyes widened slightly. That was the absolutely last occupation she would have thought of, but it fit the bad boy image he had going on.

  “Neither is being a librarian, from what I hear,” he said. The hint of a grin flickered across his lips.

  “You’ve got me there, though normally, being a librarian is a fairly safe job, as long as you don’t count the life threatening papercuts that sometimes happen when the books get a little rowdy.” Angie grinned. She knew he was referring to the fact she had been shot while doing her job at the library.

  Diablo stared at her. Without warning, he started laughing. “I like you. It’s going to be fun having a little sister,” he said as he winked at her.

  “Time for you to get back to work,” said Lucifer as he turned Angie around to face the log she had tried to burn earlier.

  “How about we don’t and just say we did. I won’t tell if you don’t tell.” Angie batted her eyes at her lifemate.

  He shook his head. “You need to master this skill.”

  Angie frowned. “I really doubt it’s going to happen anytime this century.”

  “Just focus and concentrate and do exactly like I showed you.” He patted her on the shoulder. “You can do this.”

  “Angie is already showing signs of being able to produce the fire?” Awe filled Phoenix’s voice.

  “Key words—showing signs.” Angie rolled her eyes as she made a set of air quotes with her fingers. “I have yet to actually destroy anything because I’m having trouble with the language.”

  “What kind of problem are you having with the language?” asked Diablo.

  Angie turned and looked at Lucifer. “You tell me to just concentrate and he asks me about what kind of problem I’m having with the language. He’s already figures out I’m
have a problem with the language. I’m not having a concentration problem., but it’s completely a language problem.”

  Lucifer glared at his brother.

  Diablo just shrugged his shoulders. “Just a different perspective of the problem,” he said to Lucifer. Looking at Angie, he asked, “Can you explain exactly what problem you’re having with the language?”

  Angie sighed. “This is going to sound really crazy, but when Lucifer says the words, I don’t hear it in the original language he’s speaking. I hear it in English. It’s like having an alien translator in my brain. I don’t hear the original language. I only hear the translation. So how can I say the words in a language I can’t hear?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this?” asked Lucifer.

  “I did. You just told me to concentrate and listen carefully to what you said. So I’ve tried to listen for the actual language, but I’m not hearing it.” She kicked at the ground as she explained the problem to her lifemate.

  Lucifer looked at his brothers. “Have any of you experienced a language problem like Angie’s?”

  Phoenix shook his head. “I’ve always heard the language, but maybe it’s because we were never human.”

  “It makes sense.” Diablo nodded his head.

  “Yeah, it does. But it could also be the fact that Father spoke the language to us from the time we were babies until just recently,” said Onyx.

  “Is there a book somewhere with all this written down in it?” Angie gave Lucifer a hopeful look. “I really could use a book with translations.”

  “I’ve never seen a book.” Lucifer shook his head.

  “Then how did you learn?” asked Angie. She couldn’t believe there wasn’t at least one book she could use for reference.

  “Onyx is right. Our Father taught us by speaking the language to us. All this happening to you is new to us,” said Phoenix. He gave her a sympathetic look. “Why don’t you try again.”

  Angie shrugged her shoulders. She felt the weight of defeat and disappointment, and wondered if it would cause everything in her life she cared about to come crashing down. “It’s not going to change anything if I’m not saying the words in the correct language.”

  Lucifer caressed Angie’s cheek. “You can do this. Just focus on the log. In your mind see it catching fire and burning until nothing but coals are left.”

  Angie rolled her neck from side to side. “Fine! I’ll try one more time, but I don’t think it’s going to do any good. All I’m going to do is prove that I’m a failure at this.” She walked over to the split log. Leaning down, she touched the log and said the words. A slight sulphuric odor floated on the breeze, but the log didn’t catch on fire.

  Angie stared at the log and tried again.

  Nothing happened.

  She stood up and kicked the log. It didn’t go as far as she wanted it to go. Angie looked at Lucifer. “This isn’t working. There is absolutely no use for me to keep trying to say a bunch of words in a language I’ve never heard.” She stomped her foot out of frustration. “I feel like such a failure,” she muttered under her breath.

  Lucifer walked over to Angie and hugged her. “You are not a failure. We’ll take a break and try again later. And in the meantime, we will try to figure out a different way to teach you.”

  “Let’s try again a lot later…like maybe sometime in the next century,” sniffed Angie as she leaned into the warmth and comfort he was offering her.

  “We’ll see,” said Lucifer as he rubbed his chin on the top of her head.

  “Lucifer, what’s going on with those demons?” Phoenix pointed to three demons standing just inside the clearing.

  “What demons?” asked Angie as she tried peeking around Lucifer’s body, but he turned so she couldn’t see them and to protect her from any possible danger.

  Lucifer shook his head. “I don’t know. The one in the middle started following Angie at the hospital. It was acting extremely unnatural.”

  Onyx and Diablo raised their eyebrows, but didn’t say anything.

  Angie cleared her throat. “Actually Smiley was at the library. I saw him just after I was shot.” Angie managed to look around her lifemate. She let out a long sigh. Her shoulders slumped. “Why did he bring others with him? Is there something I should be worried about?”

  The smiling demon waved at Angie.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me! It’s actually waving at her.” Onyx slowly shook his head.

  “I’m more impressed with the fact that Angie can see them,” said Diablo.

  One of the demons slowly glided forward, stopping just a few feet from Lucifer and Angie. It looked at Lucifer and nodded its hooded head and then it turned its attention to Angie. It reached into its robe and pulled out a small book bound in black leather. It held the book out to Angie.

  “What is that?” Lucifer reached for the book, but the demon moved it out of his reach and shook a skeletal finger at him.

  “Is that for me?” asked Angie. Her voice shook slightly. It was one thing to look at the demons from a distance, but to have it extremely close was a complete different and scarier story.

  The hooded demon held out the book to her and waited for her to take it.

  Angie glanced up at Lucifer who shrugged as he nodded his head toward the demon. She swallowed and slowly reached for the book. As soon as she had it in her hand, the demon let go and dropped its arm. It then glided back to the other two demons.

  The smiley demon gave Angie a skeletal grin, which looked more like a grimace, as it sent her two skeletal thumbs up. Angie plastered a smile on her face and returned the thumbs up gesture.

  “Okay, did anyone besides me find that completely disturbing?” Onyx looked at his brothers. “I’ve never seen demons act that way. I didn’t know they could act almost like humans.”

  Diablo stepped toward the demons. “You need to go back to Hell until you are summoned.” His voice echoed a dark fury that demanded complete obedience.

  The three demons ignored him.

  “Go to your lair!” Diablo stepped toward the demons, but they still ignored them. He looked at Lucifer and then at Angie. “Will they listen to you?” he asked her.

  “I…I honestly don’t know. I’ve never tried to tell them to do anything.” She looked from Diablo to Lucifer.

  Lucifer tightened his embrace as if he was almost afraid to let go of her. “Tell them you are okay and for them to return to their lair.”

  Angie nodded. She trembled as she looked at the three demons. “Lucifer, my lifemate, and his brothers will protect me while they are here. Go back to your lair. Thank you for the book.”

  Two of the demons nodded their hooded heads and left. Smiley stared at her for a minute, and then he waved at her.

  Angie gave him a quick wave. She watched the demon turn and walk away.

  “What the hell is going on with those things?” asked Diablo. He ran his hand through his black hair. “Those are acting almost as if they have souls.”

  Lucifer shrugged his shoulders. “Yesterday, there was only one. Now there are three. It doesn’t make any sense.”

  Angie opened the book and skimmed through several pages, pausing on one that was tabbed. She smiled as she walked over to the split log she had tried to ignite earlier. She picked it up and read from the book. The sulphuric odor of brimstone filled the air. Suddenly, the log ignited and burned until coals fell to the ground. Angie turned around. A huge grin covered her face. “The book they brought me is basically a beginner’s guide. The use of fire and brimstone is the subject of the first chapter. Someone underlined the exact phrase I needed to say, and wrote it out phonetically.”

  A huge grin spread across Onyx’s face as he slowly shook his head. “It had to be either Mother or Father. The book had to have come from one of their personal libraries.” He looked at his brothers. “You know…the ones we were never allowed to go into because of all the old stuff Father said he and Mother had stored in there.”

  Lucif
er walked over to Angie and took her hand in his. “It looks like Mother and Father are looking out for you.”

  Angie closed her eyes. “Thank you,” she said, not knowing if Lucifer’s parents would hear her or not.

  A breeze lifted her hair. Deep male laughter floated around her. “You’re welcome, daughter.”

  Angie’s eyes widened as she looked at Lucifer and his brothers. “Was that who I thought it was?”

  “Well, it’s official. You’re family.” Phoenix had a goofy smile on his face. “I think it’s time for a celebration. BBQ and beers are back at the house.”

  “You already had that stuff waiting for us at the house,” said Onyx.

  “Well now, we have an even better reason to celebrate.” Phoenix punched his brother’s shoulder. “Getting kind of weak, aren’t you?” He laughed at the face Onyx made at him.

  The good natured bickering continued between the brothers as they walked back toward the house, leaving Angie and Lucifer in the clearing. Lucifer let go of Angie’s hand. “You have some reading to do.”

  “You think?”

  Lucifer laughed as he picked her up and cradled her against his chest. He started walking toward his house.

  “Put me down. I can walk, you know. Besides, I’m not exactly that light. I don’t want you to get hurt because you carried me.”

  Lucifer kissed her cheek. “Maybe I like carrying you, have you thought of that? And as for the comment about you being too heavy for me to pick up, I think I may just spank you. There is nothing wrong with your weight. You are perfect for me. So, no more putting yourself down.”

  Angie blushed. “Have I told you lately that I love you?” she asked.

  “You have, but I like hearing it,” said Lucifer. “And I want to hear it for many, many years to come.”

  “And you will, but you are still in trouble for your lack of communication skills.” Angie grinned.

  Chapter 14

  “Damn,” muttered Lucifer as he rolled over and grabbed his cell phone off the nightstand. He glanced at the caller id and groaned. Tapping the screen, he put the cell phone up to his ear. “It’s three a.m. This had better be good.”