by Emma Dean
Eisheth chuckled. “Jessica is definitely going to like you.”
As she stared out at the Pacific Ocean, waves crashing and the salt spray in the air, Mika wished she would have known what her phone call would do. But she supposed she’d set this in motion weeks ago when she’d asked Audrey to contact Selene.
Jessica already knew something was going down. She was already trying to get access to the seal. So it made sense that she would try to get access to Mika the moment she was available. But the kicker was, she planned to bring Lucifer.
How was Mika supposed to handle all this?
Her phone chimed a thousand different times and Mika did a mass text telling Audrey, Malachi, Ethan, and Lucien that she was alright and would be back soon. Hopefully. But she kept her doubts to herself.
When Corbin said he was going to be gone for a few days, she really hadn’t anticipated secretly meeting with Lucifer in the meantime.
What would the prince of hell think of her – a mere witch? Was he the prince, or the king? Did it even really matter?
Pop—pop.
Mika turned at the sounds right on the heels of each other and tried not to vomit when she saw the man who was so clearly Lucifer.
“Good evening, Mika,” Lucifer said pleasantly in a voice so smooth and cultured it made her weak in the knees.
“Whiskey?” Eisheth asked as he handed a glass to Jessica on his way to Mika.
“Scotch if you have it,” Lucifer said, clasping his hands behind his back, never once looking away from Mika.
“Of course I have it,” Eisheth scoffed. “You think me some kind of barbarian?”
Jessica looked from Lucifer to Mika and then back again.
Mika was frozen. Then she downed the entire glass of whiskey.
Jessica laughed and stalked over to her, handing Mika her own glass. “Here, drink this too.” Then she clapped her on the back hard enough Mika nearly spilled the whiskey. “Pleasure to finally meet you, cousin.”
21
“Eisheth has not officially claimed me,” Mika told Jessica stiffly, downing the second glass of whiskey before she could think twice. The alcohol warmed her blood which helped because she was currently freaking out.
And she thought a demon was bad. Now Lucifer himself was considering her and Mika felt like she was in way over her head. But this was important, and she couldn’t waste this precious time.
Could the Council track her location? Could Corbin?
Her hand went for the crystals on her necklace and Mika wondered if the raven had placed a tracker on her – would he come running the second he noticed she was no longer on the east coast?
“You’re clean,” Jessica said, looking Mika up and down. “Eisheth wouldn’t have let me come if you weren’t. No one knows you’re here, and your phone’s tracker has been deactivated. The benefit of this place is some of the wards Eisheth has on it.” Jessica gave her a half-smile and leaned against the balcony, Mika assumed to get her to relax. “It’s a dead zone for any magic trying to find you.”
The half demon, half witch hunter couldn’t look more the part if she tried. Mika couldn’t help but admire the shirt that had decorative skulls on it; torn and woven back together in a way that showed skin through the slices like it had all been done on purpose.
Tattoos peeked through and Mika recognized a few runes which meant they weren’t just for decoration. They were probably also spells, which was crazy hard to do with ink in flesh.
Leather pants hugged every curve the hunter had and her boots looked comfortable and easy to run in, normal aside from the glinting spurs attached to them. But it was the black duster that really made her look like some kind of neo-western outlaw. Weapons no doubt hid under the cover of that coat, but Mika didn’t bother looking.
No, she was more interested in the hellfire magic Jessica possessed and what it had to do with the secret society trying to open a seal to hell under Morgana.
She glanced over at Lucifer only once. The only reason he was here was because he wanted something from her. Otherwise Jessica could have easily handled everything herself and passed along Mika’s request.
Neither of them knew what Mika even wanted, other than she wanted to talk to the prince of hell. But clearly there was something about her the fallen angel wanted to know – to use no doubt.
God-like beings didn’t cross planes to mess in a mortal’s life on a whim.
“What do you know about the Hellfire Society?” Mika asked no one in particular, watching as Eisheth served Lucifer a glass of scotch, a bottle of whiskey in his other hand. The demon didn’t seem subservient to Lucifer, but Mika didn’t understand the hell realm as well as she probably should.
Looked like she did have homework after all.
Eisheth handed the bottle of whiskey to Jessica who poured more in her glass as well as Mika’s and then sat down next to Eisheth at the fancy glass patio table under the stars. Lucifer approached them slowly, like he knew exactly how nervous Mika was the closer he came.
Fates, he was massive.
She’d seen hunters and shifters like Samuel the white tiger, but this…Lucifer was something else altogether. It wasn’t like he was abnormally large. No, he appeared normal – maybe like an actor buffed up to play a superhero who also happened to be six foot five, but…he really was massive.
His presence alone was smothering, and then add the power radiating from him on top of that? How did Jessica deal with him on the daily?
Mika downed another glass of whiskey like it was water, feeling the tips of her fingers tingling pleasantly from the alcohol.
“That particular society is old,” Lucifer said softly. “Been around for as long as I can remember.”
That didn’t bode well.
Mika looked to Jessica then, but she was intensely aware of the prince of hell taking another step closer to her. He leaned against the balcony with some space between them but not nearly enough, back to the ocean, still watching her.
“They are in Morgana,” Mika said, clearing her throat awkwardly. “They want to open the seal to hell. Malachi says his father wants to start an apocalypse to wipe the world clean, but I’m curious how they even know the seal is there, and if that’s what they really want. Perhaps they’re looking for a certain gift.”
Jessica muttered something unpleasant under her breath and drank some more whiskey, but she waited – somehow aware Mika wasn’t done.
Mika finally turned to Lucifer, giving him her full attention. “That portal was sealed by you,” she said quietly.
She was just a witch – she shouldn’t even be talking to someone as powerful as Lucifer. He was something like a god, but she supposed this was her life now. First the Morrigan and now Lucifer. Hopefully this would be the extent of her experience with the divine.
Lucifer smiled slightly and sipped his scotch. His eyes flashed for just a second and Mika recognized the hellfire there – the glowing red that she sometimes saw in the shadows. The prince of hell’s was not quite the same as those gentle eyes, but she knew for sure now – whatever was stalking her was definitely from the hell plane.
“The seal is behind a very powerful door,” Lucifer said. “How did you open it?”
Mika cleared her throat again, feeling on the spot. Her nerves tried to get the best of her, but she flexed her fingers, calming her magic.
It wasn’t like Eisheth didn’t already know what she was. And since Jessica was one of his wards, she probably knew too. Something about telling the prince of hell what she was outright felt weird. But what exactly was he going to do with the information? Tell on her? Lucifer didn’t operate under the Council’s supervision, so she doubted he would waste his precious time informing them of something like this.
“I opened the door with a blood spell,” Mika told Lucifer. “And then I saw your mark on the seal in the floor.”
Lucifer smiled again, but it was sharp. “With a blood magic spell that doesn’t exist in that library. I made sur
e of it.”
Mika decided she needed more whiskey. She was feeling parched and she didn’t even really know why. Sitting as gracefully as she could in one of the patio chairs, Mika reached for the bottle of whiskey with trembling fingers, ignoring Eisheth and Jessica’s twin grins.
She took a sip of much needed alcohol and decided she wasn’t going to throw anyone under the bus. “I have a friend who has access to alternative libraries,” she said carefully.
Lucifer busted up laughing. Lucifer. Bent over his knees, laughing his damn ass off, and wiping tears from his face.
“I like this one,” Lucifer said, still chuckling as he sat down next to Jessica.
Mika’s eyes widened when the hunter threw her legs over Lucifer’s lap, crossing her feet at the ankles. Then her eyes nearly popped out of her head when Lucifer casually placed his hand on her boots like they did this all the time.
She drained the rest of her whiskey and poured more, ignoring Eisheth’s wink.
“I had no idea the foxes liked you so much,” Lucifer told her, still watching her like one would a bug under a microscope. “They don’t like anyone.”
Mika tried not to stiffen under his gaze. “Not all witches are dicks, and Hunter is one of the smartest people I know – shifter or not.”
Lucifer’s smile dropped from his face and he held Jessica’s feet while leaning forward to really peer at her. “Hunter Kavanagh?”
“Uh, yeah.” Mika couldn’t help herself, she leaned back a little to put space between her and the prince of hell. The power radiating off of him was unsettling – scorching where the Morrigan’s was icy.
“That asshole,” Lucifer grumbled, leaning back. “He’s definitely smart. I’ll give him that. Well, if Hunter is the one taking you under his wing…good luck. If I could go the rest of my existence without having to deal with another fox, it would be too soon.”
Familiar rage rose up and Mika gritted her teeth, trying to tell herself that she couldn’t snap at the prince of hell – that this was not the time to get particular, but she was who she was, and it was a good excuse to get out of here before he ‘asked’ her to do whatever it was he wanted her to do.
Her job was to relay information, not be the devil’s errand girl.
She sipped on her rage like it was a fine wine and let it slowly rise to the surface, letting herself feel the anger, letting her magic loose a little bit at a time. Mika didn’t care what Corbin said, emotions gave her an edge.
“Hunter is a good man,” Mika snapped, her words as sharp as a whip with flechettes. “He is the only one who is willing to help me. Did you know? Did you know what I am and what I can do?”
“Mika,” Eisheth warned.
“No!” Mika sliced her hand across her body, feeling her blood boiling in response to the demon’s attempt to silence her. “I don’t care who, or what, you are. Everyone with power thinks they’re so much better than anyone without. Did you know that I existed Lucifer?”
The prince of hell looked at Jessica warily and the demon witch just smirked at him. “Did you?”
“I did,” Lucifer hedged.
This time it was Mika who leaned forward. “And you did nothing.”
“Neither did your goddess,” Lucifer growled, the sound like a thousand hellhounds roaring in the distance.
But Mika was too furious to care, to be afraid. She wrapped her hand around Lucifer’s wrist and watched him closely, testing him. “She is trapped in a plane that no one has done anything about. I was left alone for three years to think I was some kind of monster, by the goddess, by my family, by anyone who knew.”
Her power reached for the fallen angel lazily, as if it knew exactly what she wanted and needed. And there wasn’t even a flicker of pain or realization on Lucifer’s face.
“What damage could I have done if Hunter hadn’t decided to help me before it was too late?” Mika asked, calming her voice as much as possible, concentrating as much as she could. “What would have happened to me if another fox hadn’t stayed to protect me? If a raven hadn’t disobeyed Council orders to keep my secrets? These so-called ‘lesser shifters’ have done more for me than anyone else. So, I would appreciate it if you weren’t a dick about my family.”
Lucifer didn’t try to pull out of her grip; if anything he leaned forward ever so slightly, testing her. “You’re not one of mine.”
She loosened her hold on him, seeing what she needed to in those eyes of punishing flame. Lucifer was just like everyone else, just with more power. “But now you need me,” Mika murmured.
“I don’t.”
Mika released Lucifer then, wiggling her blood covered fingers. “Fine then, figure it out yourself.”
She stood then and took a swig straight from the whiskey bottle, her right hand glistening with Lucifer’s blood. She set the bottle down on the table. Mika would never forget that look of shock on his face in her entire life, she didn’t care if it meant her death – this moment was totally worth it.
“It was nice to meet you, Lucifer. I hope to never see you again.” Two steps and Mika knelt, drawing runes into the floor in a perfect pentagram. Just like that the floor started glowing with that hellfire power.
No one said anything as she opened the door to Morgana and gave them all the finger.
Mika hated people. She hated high society witches looking down their noses at the witches not born into a prosperous clan. She hated the beings of enormous power who always thought they knew better. Some had wisdom with age, and some just thought they could get away with the same old shit.
And she hated men who always thought they were stronger than her.
“Mika!” Jessica’s voice made her pause, the cold wind whipped through the portal from the east coast into the Los Angeles air.
Had it been the other two, Mika would have ignored them, but she turned to the hunter and waited.
“He was just testing you.” Jessica sipped on the whiskey and smiled at her. “You’re loyal to a fault.”
But that didn’t make it any better. “Neither you nor Lucifer can step onto Morgana grounds without an invitation,” Mika said. It had been a guess, but the irritation that flashed through their eyes confirmed it. “Insulting me and my friends wasn’t a good way to start this meeting when you need something from me.”
Lucifer glared. “Are you sure about that?”
Mika inspected the remaining blood on her hand and the power it held. “The island isn’t yours, as you so eloquently put it. Perhaps you should ask the Morrigan nicely on the full moon. You aren’t the only one with this kind of power.”
Stepping through the portal was the hardest thing she’d ever done, but Mika wasn’t going to let anyone treat her, or her friends, like they were less than simply because of what they’d been born as.
A slice of her hand and the portal disappeared, closing on Lucifer’s surprised face and Jessica’s knowing smile.
For whatever reason the hunter was on her side.
22
Mika snapped her fingers and a vial appeared in her hand. A few words and the blood on her hand went into the vial. She wasn’t about to waste divine blood – not when it would open a portal to any realm or plane if she knew the right runes.
Tucking it away she started walking through the forest back to the library.
What a waste of fucking time. Lucifer wasn’t as powerful as he liked to pretend he was – just like every man in the known universe. And Jessica…well if she had anything else to say to Mika, she could just tell Selene or Audrey.
All Mika had wanted was for Lucifer to tell her why the seal was under the school, and if it had always been there. She’d wanted to ask if he knew anything about the forty-nine witches, and if he had any plans or advice to keep the seal he’d closed shut.
But Mika didn’t trust people. Lucifer hadn’t killed her for her insolence, but he also hadn’t been trying to help her. He’d been waiting to see what she could do for him. Mika had simply used her anger at his jab
as an excuse to expose his real motive.
Pop.
A second set of footsteps matched her own and Mika sighed. “Why can you visit Morgana?” she asked the demon.
Eisheth chuckled and slipped his hands in his pockets, eyeing the dark trees. He even shuddered against the cold wind. “The Morrigan and I were friends once. But time passes differently in hell, and there was this whole drama I missed out on. I never knew what happened to her. Not until you said something.”
Mika considered those words carefully. Eisheth wasn’t Lucifer’s demon either from what Hunter had explained to her. Eisheth was Jewish so Samael was his king – and husband.
“I thought she’d died,” Eisheth murmured.
And Mika knew by the way his blood pulsed in his veins he was telling the truth. She stopped in the middle of the dark, enchanted forest and stared up at the demon who looked both relieved and sick to the stomach.
“She was your friend?” Mika asked.
Eisheth nodded, looking off in the distance – toward the temple. “A few centuries ago, maybe five or ten? She asked me to watch over her daughters and I wasn’t sure why, but I agreed of course. The Morrigan knew of my love for you mortals, and what was a few more? I honestly never thought it would be something that would ever fall to me.”
“So she knew what was coming?”
The demon shrugged. “I think so? Either way, she disappeared and it’s been difficult to keep track of all of you. Your family has always had the power, but it died out. Or so I thought. There was a cleansing right after she disappeared.”
The word ‘cleansing’ made Mika nauseated. “They tried to wipe us from the face of the earth,” she murmured. For some reason that didn’t surprise her. Mika had honestly expected it on some level.
All she had to do was look at what remained of the Morrigan’s temple and the ruins of whatever was here before.
“Why are you here?” Mika asked, tucking the vial of Lucifer’s blood away and crossing her arms over her chest.
Eisheth snorted. “Lucifer really doesn’t like Hunter. Sorry about that. He and the chaos tricked him out of one of the recently dead once and he’s never really gotten over it. Unfortunate that was brought up at all. You know how men can be,” the demon said, bumping her shoulder with his. “Such fragile egos.”