by Ivy E. Gomez
What's wrong with these people? What was that strange conversation? What keeper was Lucinda talking about? This is all so strange. This house. This town.
Whatever the case, I know something for sure. Whatever was between Lucifer and Lucinda has hit the rocks.
I don't know how I felt about that, either.
I glanced down at the fruit tray in my hands and wondered if it was wise to continue on my course.
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"What the hell?!" Lucifer snapped the moment he pulled the study door opened. Then, his eyes registered surprise when he saw me standing there. "It's you. What do you want?"
I rolled my eyes mentally. He definitely sounded less passionate than a second ago. I'm probably not worth the same energy he uses on Lucinda. What a jerk!
"What do you want, JoAnn?" Lucifer asked again, his mouth curving in amusement. "Whatever. Come inside."
Did he just laugh at me? I stuck my tongue out when he turned his back. I looked around his study in amazement. It was all woods and dark, just like its owner. I walked to the table and gingerly set down the fruit tray. I took a deep, steadying breath before turning back to face him. My eyes clashed with his cold blue ones, and my composure crumbled all over again.
Lucifer folded his arms across his broad chest and raised his brows in a questioning look. He looked like he was enjoying himself. "What's that?" he asked.
"Fruits. Peaches," I said with a nervous shrug. "For you."
"I can see that. I didn't ask for them, though?"
"I . . . I just thought you'd be . . ." I heaved a deep sigh and dropped my gaze. "It's a truce offering, kinda. I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. You are my boss, and I clearly overstepped my bounds. I'm sorry—" My breath hitched as Lucifer suddenly backed me against the table. I stared up at him wide-eyed as my heart pounded crazily in my chest. He held me imprisoned with his body and eyes. My face felt impossibly hot. Is it from desire?
"Wh . . . what are you doing?" I stammered, leaning back against the table. I gasped as Lucifer wrapped a powerful arm around my tiny waist and brought me even closer against his body. Every part of me was hot at this point. I pushed weakly against his chest. "Let me go!"
"What shampoo do you use?" Lucifer asked, nuzzling his nose lightly on my neck. "Could it be because you smell so good?"
I blinked up at him in surprise. He was inspecting my body as if I wasn't even there. What the hell is wrong with this man? He was full of contradicting surprises. "What is wrong with you? Let me go! If you wanted to know my shampoo brand, you could have just—"
"Do you always talk this much?" Lucifer interrupted with a cold glare. He let me go and stepped back. "If you are done, you can leave now. I will make sure to enjoy the fruits."
He went around the table and sat down on his chair. He opened up an enormous book and stared down at it, brows knitted in concentration. I couldn't believe the guts of this jerk.
"You know what?" I said with a scoff. "You are just impossible!" I turned around and walked out of the study in anger. Even I flinched at how hard I slammed the door.
So much for calling a truce.
Chapter 5
"Eat with me, JoAnn."
I stopped to stare at Lucifer in pure amazement. It is the first time he's eating at the dining table, and he even wants me to eat with him? What could that mean? He probably wanted to humiliate and dismiss me like he always did.
"Do you always think this much about everything, JoAnn?" Lucifer said softly. I could see an amused glint in his eyes.
"Sometimes." I said slowly, pulling out a chair for myself. "I have this strange feeling that you can read my mind."
"You'd be surprised," Lucifer said with a mysterious smile. I watched him eat quietly and smiled to myself. It was the first time I'm observing Lucifer eat. I don't know why I thought he'd eat differently from the rest of us. I enjoyed watching him enjoy my food, though. It gives me a warm gooey feeling that I could get used to.
"Where did you learn to cook so well?" Lucifer asked conversationally, looking up from his food.
"I learned from my grandmother," I said with a small shrug. "Nana loved cooking very much. She was always in the kitchen. She once told me that the kitchen was where she had her happiest and saddest moments. Nana expresses her emotions through cooking. I loved to be around Nana a lot, and I learned a lot from her growing up."
"I guess, I have Nana to thank for this delicious meal," Lucifer said, dropping his gaze.
My heart jumped happily at the compliment. Thinking about it now, this was the first time I was having an easy conversation with Lucifer. "Thank you," I said with a shy smile. I wondered if I should ask Lucifer about his conversation with Lucinda in the study, but then he'd know that I eavesdrop. I still feel bothered about the whole thing.
"What about Lucinda?" I asked in a mild tone. "I haven't seen her around since yesterday."
"She's probably somewhere in town causing trouble," Lucifer said with a careless shrug.
"You guys seem to go a long way," I said with a small smile. "Even though you won't acknowledge the fact, you do seem fond of her."
Lucifer actually snorted at that. "Lucinda isn't a being to be fond of. We used to have something in the past. That's about that."
Does that mean that there was nothing between himself and Lucinda? Then, what was their relationship? Why is she at the manor then? It seems that there was no logical explanation for anything that has to do with Lucifer, and that doesn't sit well with me. I have so many questions, but they wouldn't make any sense if I start to voice them out.
"Have you lived in Rosewood Valley all your life?" I asked. "This manor seemed to be passed down from a long train of generations."
"You are right about that," Lucifer said. "Actually, my ancestors established this town. For centuries, this manor and this town have been lorded by the Amons, one after another. I was born here, and I will perish here."
Who uses words like perish? Lucifer could be very old-fashioned sometimes. Why do I find that fact charming? "If your whole family lived here, where are they now?"
"They have all returned to the underworld," Lucifer said simply.
I felt my chest squeeze painfully in sympathy. His whole family is dead? That was probably the major reason that Lucifer closed himself up to the warmth of the world. I am beginning to understand him better now. "I am sorry about that," I said softly.
"There is no need to be," Lucifer replied. "I have my responsibilities here as the Lord of the manor, anyway. I don't need to be saddled with the extra responsibilities attached to family. I have been on my own for more years than you can imagine, and I am fine."
"You are so used to being lonely that you believe it is the only way of life," I said, tilting my head to look into his beautiful eyes. "You have been alone for so long. I believe it's time you allowed people into your space."
"As opposed to what you might think," Lucifer said, setting down his cutleries slowly and purposefully. "I have a lot of people streaming in and out of my life at will." Lucifer pushed back his chair and got up abruptly. "I need to get back to work."
He hadn't even finished his meal.
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I pressed my face farther onto the glass windows of my apartment, gaping in surprise at the abnormally large cat strolling the grounds leisurely. Its silver fur shined, glinting in the sunlight. Its eyes were a huge brown with tinges of sharp red. And it has fangs that . . . Fangs? I blinked in surprise. Was this one of my nightmares? An unnaturally large cat with fangs was not something one would see in real life, right?
I ran to my tiny kitchen and grabbed the first thing that caught my eyes—a spatula. I ran out of the kitchen and out the front door. The cat was nowhere in sight. I looked around hastily and caught sight of it sauntering into the barn. I gripped the spatula tighter and started to walk determinedly towards the barn, heart thudding loudly in my chest.
"JoAnn?"
"What are you doing looking like you are charging into battle?' he asked, then raised his brows mockingly at my weapon. "And with a spatula."
"Thank goodness you are here, Lucifer," I said quickly. "I saw a cat go inside the barn. A very big cat. It has the height of a mountain lion and the eyes of a beast. It has fangs like a vampire and—Why are you looking at me like that?"
Lucifer was looking at me like I've lost my head. "You are not making any sense, JoAnn," Lucifer said. "Do you think you are?"
I pursed my lips and dropped my gaze. It all sounds absurd now that I hear myself say it out loud. I looked up towards the barn and bit my lips uncertainly. "But I . . . I definitely saw something go in there," I said, pointing towards the barn. "Maybe if you could just come with me and—"
"Lucinda is back," Lucifer said sharply. "And she would kill for something spicy."
"But, I—"
"Go now," Lucifer said in a quiet voice that brooked no argument.
I pouted and curbed the childish urge to stick my tongue out at him. I turned and walked towards the main house.
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Have I started hallucinating now? Questions kept running in my head as I absentmindedly dished Lucinda's meal. I definitely saw a gigantic cat. It couldn't have been a mountain lion; that would even be ridiculous. Was this the point where I accept that the monsters in my dream are coming to hunt me in real life? I heaved a deep sigh and headed out of the kitchen with Lucinda's meal.
I saw Lucinda already seated at the dining table. I studied her covertly as I set the table. She looked withdrawn, unlike her usual perky self. I wonder what she had been up to for two days since she left the manor.
"Lucifer told me you were craving something spicy, so I made you shrimp pasta using my Nana's special recipe," I said with a smile. "I hope you enjoy it."
"Yeah, thanks," Lucinda said sourly. She picked up the fork and stabbed the pasta with a force that rattled the glass of water beside her plate.
"Oh my, Lucinda!" I said in surprise. I pulled out a chair opposite her and sat. "What's wrong? You seem out of sorts."
"Someone stole something that's mine," Lucinda said. I watched wide-eyed as she shoved a large forkful of spaghetti into her mouth. Any average person would be coughing hard and shedding tears from eating that much spice at one go, but Lucinda seemed unaffected.
"You may want to eat that slowly," I said in concern, pushing the water jar closer to her. "Who stole what? Were you robbed when you went into town?"
"More or less," Lucinda replied evasively and continued to eat.
Lucifer came in then with the same irritated expression he had earlier. Lucinda pushed her chair back and rushed to him halfway.
"What are you going to do about this?!" she snapped, angrily crossing her arms over her chest. "You are not going to allow that thieving, croaking idiot to get away with stealing everything I worked hard for, are you?"
"And whose fault is that?" Lucifer asked coldly, brows raised questioningly. "In the first place, you were not supposed to leave the manor for so long."
"And it's your job to stop sneaky bastards like him from escaping their hellhole!" Lucinda snapped. "Anyway, he's out there, running loose. What are you going to do? Do you think you are safe because you are up here with some fancy manor and title? Do you think he’ll let you be?"
"Mind your fucking business, Lucinda," Lucifer said in a warning tone.
"That was exactly what I was doing before your incompetence disrupted my business!" Lucinda snapped her head at me and back at Lucifer with a humorless grin. "How about I forget it all and take the one I desire?"
"Don't dare me, Lucinda," Lucifer said menacingly. His blue eyes changed to a stormy dark that glinted dangerously. How's that possible? Maybe it was the reflection of the sunlight gliding in through the huge stained-glass windows. It doesn't make any sense but it was plausible, at least.
I shivered when a strange energy passed between the two as they glared at each other. It almost felt like a battle of power, something beyond the natural. The whole conversation didn't make any sense to me. It was like they have both forgotten my presence or even my existence.
"I didn't live like a fucking savage, fighting all the battles only to come up here and lose it all, Lucifer," Lucinda said, shaking her head slowly. "You can't imagine the things I had to do to come up here. I won't go back there as a loser. Then, my life would really be over. I need to have my dues to bear a crown. I'm running out of time. What will you have me do?"
"You stay still," Lucifer said. "I am going to catch that bastard and make him regret escaping from hell."
He looked like he meant that literally. I shivered as goosebumps broke out on my skin. Who the hell are these people?
Chapter 6
I lay back on my bed and stared at the ceiling, wishing for answers to the thousands of questions running around in my head. Maybe Lucifer and Lucinda belonged to a secret cult. That would explain why their discussions were always very strange. Their whole relationship was mysterious. At first, Lucinda seemed like Lucifer's lover from an exotic city. It doesn't seem so anymore, though. Lucinda was at the manor for some reason, known only to herself and Lucifer. What could have been stolen from Lucinda to make her so mad? And who stole it? What was Lucifer's job in all of these?
I rolled over on my stomach and heaved a tired sigh. I can't even go to sleep because of the monsters waiting to devour me. And now I have to worry about giant cats on the lawn and Lucifer's secret cult.
I heard a sharp knock on my door and sat up to listen. The knock came again. I glanced at the table clock, and it reads 10:05 p.m. I wondered who could be at my door at this time of the night. Could it be Lucinda? I am not sure I want to be around Lucinda, especially alone when it's so dark and quiet. I wrapped my thin robe around myself and padded barefooted to the door. I opened the door and blinked in surprise at Lucifer. He looked like a tall scary shadow that blended well with the darkness behind him.
"Lucifer?" I said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Can I come inside?" Lucifer asked. I nodded hesitantly and moved aside for him to enter.
Lucifer looked around the small tidy living room as if he had never been there. He seemed a little unsure, an attitude that I would never have attributed to Lucifer.
"Is something wrong?" I asked, frowning up at him in concern. "Do you need me to get you anything?"
"No. I . . ." Lucifer cleared his throat. "I will be leaving the manor tonight."
"Okay," I said slowly. Why was he telling me that? Does he want me to come with him?
"No, JoAnn," Lucifer said in exasperation. "I don't want you to come with me. I want you to lock the door after me and not to open it for anyone under any circumstances."
"Okay." I said, still a little confused. "But wait. I didn't ask to come with you aloud, did I? You can read minds, can't you? Come to think of it. You are one strange man. Who the hell calls himself Lucifer? You belong to a cult, don't you? Lucida too. I can't—"
Lucifer's lips suddenly came crashing down on mine, cutting off my rant. I froze completely. His lips were surprisingly soft and coaxing. I could feel butterflies going crazy in my stomach. I couldn't feel anything except the sensation of his lips against mine. A thrill of pleasure ran down my spine, and I let out an unconscious moan. The sound seemed to bring us both to our senses. Lucifer pulled back abruptly. His eyes were harder than I have ever seen them.
"Lock your doors," Lucifer said curtly. He turned around and walked out the door without a second glance.
I stood frozen on the same spot for a long time after he left. What just happened?
*******************************
I opened my eyes slowly an
d groaned a little from the stiffness in my neck. I looked around and sighed. Memories of the previous hours flashed in my head. I must have fallen asleep on the couch. I sighed and sat up on the couch, looking around to determine the time. It's probably past midnight.
I froze at a sound from behind. I turned around slowly to see Lucinda sitting crossed-legged on the chair by the window.
"Lucinda?" I called to be sure I wasn't hallucinating. "What are you doing here? How did you get . . ." I glanced towards the door and sighed. I forgot to lock it, even after Lucifer's unforgettable warning. "What do you want, Lucinda?"
"Isn't that a funny question, JoAnn," Lucinda said in that sultry voice that never failed to creep me out. "I want you, of course. To think I had to go to such great lengths to lure Lucifer away from you."
"Wh . . . what are you talking about?" I asked nervously. Lucinda suddenly seemed different. She was more like a predator, and I was the prey.
"I would love to explain it all," Lucinda said, getting up slowly from her seat. "But you see, I do not have much time before Lucifer realizes that he has been tricked."
I stared wide-eyed as Lucinda fell on all fours. She grinned up at me, and I watched in horror as her sparkling white teeth turned into fangs, and her beautiful face morphed into a long scary face. Her spine suddenly bulged, ripping her clothes in the process. Then, I heard a horrible cracking sound.
Before I knew what was happening, a massive cat with wicked-looking fangs stood in place of Lucinda. I let out a blood-curdling scream as the beast sprang toward me.