by Amy Braun
Lucifer didn’t answer. He just continued to stare at me. I thought that was all he was going to do, until he looked into my soul.
I squeezed my eyes shut and gasped. It was like two rough, hot hands were reaching into my brain and prying it apart. He could see it all, every memory I shared with my sister.
The day I found her in the forest, alone and wailing in a smoking patch of earth. When she learned how to cook with my mom. The first time she used her powers to heal my wounds. Laughing when I tried to braid her hair. The horrors we’d endured when the demons came for her at Owl Creek. Witnessing the deaths of our parents. Still loving me after I became a killer for the Blood Thorns. Needing her to keep me together. Promising we would leave them. Running after we were betrayed. Losing her and finding her again. Demons hunting us as her powers began to grow. Seeing her rib get torn out. Promising to keep her safe even though I knew I would die. Watching her lose control, and ultimately losing her all over again.
All of my memories surged at once, filling my heart and threatening to break it. I choked out a sob. I nearly begged him for mercy. The pain was crippling, turning my legs into wet noodles. I didn’t know what he was looking for, so I couldn’t protect myself from him.
Then, after what seemed like an eternity, the hands were pulled from my brain. I heaved and bent at the waist, taking deep breaths to calm myself.
When I looked up again, Lucifer was directly in front of me. I startled and tried to punch him. He caught my wrist easily. Instinct kicked in and I tried to pull away, but he jerked me back. I bumped against his chest. His body heat was smothering, at least twice the heat of a human’s. I lifted my head to look at Lucifer, and was painfully aware of how small I was compared to him. He was the Devil. He could crush me, burn me, pull me apart without the slightest effort.
Lucifer gripped my chin and raised my face to his. The floods of dread and yearning fell on my body like drenched clothes. He was too divine. Too terrifying and mighty for me to fight him. I didn’t even have a weapon to try.
“You are her protector,” he stated. “Your love compels you to defend her, no matter how much she has ruined you.”
I don’t know how it happened, or why I did it, but suddenly I found the defiance that had been hiding in me.
“She didn’t,” I breathed out.
“Is that why you are wandering these halls without a purpose? Is that why you are letting your heart break?” He tilted his head ever so slightly, examining me. “Is that why you refuse to let her go?”
I tried to back away, but a sudden ripple of energy shuddered down my spine and through my legs. I couldn’t move my feet. They were frozen in place.
“She came to me of her own accord, on the sole promise that I permit you and your friends to live. Given how she has run from me, I was reluctant to adhere to her wish.”
Lucifer leaned down like he wanted to kiss me, knowing I couldn’t run from him. My heart felt torn– half of it screaming to escape whatever torture Lucifer’s kiss would inflict, the other half greedily craving it.
“You think I am being cruel to her. That I would bring her harm. But you are wrong. I have treated her as she deserves to be treated. She is a princess. She belongs. She is happy.”
My mind told me it wasn’t true. That Dro was working on a ploy, buying time until I could rescue her. She had to be. It made more sense. She wouldn’t give in. Not after everything we’d gone through.
Except…
I can’t fight this anymore, Connie.
Those weren’t the words of someone who was planning a double-cross. They were honest and sincere. A revelation and an epiphany.
Dro had surrendered.
My heart cracked so sharply I couldn’t breathe for a minute. I fought my tears, hoping I looked strong in front of him.
But it didn’t matter how I tried to look. He would see right through me.
“I am here to offer you a truce, as I am grateful for what you have done for my child.”
I gasped in air, looking at him. Lucifer was grateful for me protecting Dro. For unwillingly leading her back to him. If those weren’t the words to a trap, I didn’t know what was.
“I am indebted to you. Your tenacity has crippled the Heavenly Host. You have valiantly fought for my daughter’s life. I am impressed.”
Lucifer’s hand slid from my chin to my cheek. It pulsed soothing heat and crippling pleasure. It wrapped my body in blankets of comfort, relaxing my tired body and easing my pains. I sighed, aching for more. It wasn’t wrong. Couldn’t be wrong.
“I shall spare you further pain. You will suffer no more. There will be no need to run, because you shall not know fear. You will know peace, Constance Ramirez. All I ask is that you let her go.”
His fingers crept into my brain again, reminding me of everything I wanted. To not be afraid that someone would hurt me, or that I would hurt someone. I wanted to forget about angels and demons and ruthless artifacts. I wanted to be normal. I wanted Sephiel to be relieved of his grief, Max to regain his hope and energy. I wanted Warrick to hold me and tell me how much he loved me, and to have the confidence to give him my whole heart without restraint.
Lucifer could do that for me. All I had to do was stop searching for Dro.
But under all those dreams, I saw the reality of what I really desired. What I needed. A teenage girl to look at me without fear for once. To not see her pulling at her snow-white hair with guilt. To stop icy blue eyes from filling with tears when I came back covered in blood. To fix the mess I had made of our relationship, and stand beside her again.
I wanted to be fearless. I needed my sister to be safe.
It took all my strength to breathe and push away the tempting warmth of his promise. The air was sharper in my lungs, almost painful as the heat left it. I held my breath, just in case it was my last one.
“No,” I said.
I’d never said a word so quietly before. Never said it with such conviction. No matter how much I ached for that security, for the freedom to live without danger, I wouldn’t take the easy road. I wouldn’t be seduced into the Devil’s trap. Whatever he said, I knew he had something terrible planned for my little sister. You couldn’t be the Devil if you didn’t have a hidden agenda. Dro’s pain and blood would not be on my hands.
I waited to see if Lucifer would kill me. I’d rejected his offer, pushed away his advances. There was nothing in his eyes or on his face to reveal what he was feeling. If he even could feel. I concentrated on breathing evenly. I inhaled sharply and squeezed my eyes shut when he forced himself into my head again, drawing out all of my guilt and fear. I dug my nails into my palms, drawing blood. I was trembling, but still didn’t give in. I didn’t beg for mercy, didn’t drop to my knees and cry for release or forgiveness. I didn’t think about Dro or Warrick or Max or Sephiel. Lucifer didn’t need the ammunition.
“You are brave, Constance Ramirez,” crooned the Devil. “Precious few have resisted my comfort. Perhaps you only need more time to break.”
I slowly lifted my eyes and looked at Lucifer. He was already gliding away, moving without a sound, past my free-floating hatchet as if it wasn’t even there.
“I’m going to kill you.”
The words were out of my mouth before I realized who I was telling them to. Lucifer stopped, and slowly turned back to me. The horrible crush of love and hate flowed over me. I swayed and tried to shake the fog from my mind.
“I do not think so,” Lucifer chided. “My daughter would not forgive you for that.”
“She’s not–” I started to slur.
“She is where she belongs. All the beings I command honor her. In time, her sadness shall fade. As will her memories of you.”
I tried to force my body to move, but Lucifer’s magic was too strong. He stared at me with empty, abysmal black eyes.
“Do what you will, Constance Ramirez. Hunt the fragments. Search for the girl you believe is your sister. I shall not seek to destroy you.”
I blinked, not understanding.
Until he said, “For if you continue down this path, you shall destroy yourself.”
And then he was gone, blinking out of sight and leaving me alone in the lifeless school gym. The sudden release from his magic had me pitching forward and listening to my hatchet clatter onto the floor.
It shouldn’t have been hard to get up. It was something I’d done a million times before. Just get up, grab my hatchet, and walk away.
But all those times before, I felt whole. I wasn’t missing a huge chunk of my life. My foundation was solid.
Now the ground under me had split, and I was falling into darkness.
The pain hit like a bullet to the chest. I put my hand to my chest and tried to breathe through it. Nothing I did seemed to work. I felt as if someone had torn out my heart and filled the hole with piercing wooden splinters. It wasn’t long before my cheeks were wet with tears.
I had no idea how long I crouched there, on my hands and knees, crying over everything I had sacrificed, losing the one person I never wanted to lose.
Eventually I ran out of tears. Crying wouldn’t bring my sister back. It wouldn’t kill Mateo and Drake. It wouldn’t stop Lucifer.
The last time I broke down like this, I had Warrick to hold me and anger to draw strength from. Now I was alone and couldn’t find the energy to lay blame. Rage had caused me more harm than good. It was time for me to let go and focus on motivation.
Finding Dro was the only thing I needed to do right. I could deal with everything else after as it came along.
I took a deep breath, gathered my weapons, wiped my eyes, and left the gym.
The guys were out of their classrooms when I made my way into the corridor. I followed the sound of their voices until I heard them enter the principal’s office.
Two angels were standing on either side of the door, closing it and acting as guards. They saw me approaching and stared at me blankly, but didn’t shift to move out of my way.
My patience ran out in microseconds.
“You can move, or you can get punched in the face. Either works for me.”
The angels glanced at each other with uncertainty. I almost hoped they would test me. After my encounter with Lucifer and consequential breakdown, I needed to feel strong again. If I had to beat up some angels to do that... Well, I’d be making feathers fly.
“She may enter,” came Michael’s authoritative voice from beyond the door.
I shared a mutual glare with the angels before they moved aside to let me pass. I yanked open the door a little too aggressively, smacking one of the angels sharply in the arm.
Score one for me.
Angels stood in the reception area, staring at me with untrusting silence. They lined the walls like white leather curtains. I barely gave them a glance.
Weaving into the principal's office, I found Max, Sephiel and Warrick. Sleep didn’t seem to have done anything for them. Max was slumped on a couch with his head propped in one hand, depressed and miserable. Warrick was leaning on the wall by the door with his arms folded over his chest. He seemed awake and focused, but the bags under his eyes told a different story. Sephiel stood on the right of the desk, rigid as a soldier. Michael, of course, sat behind the principal’s desk with a stony expression.
I walked in like the girl they were about to expel for setting the teacher’s lounge on fire.
“Gang’s all here,” I said, walking straight to the desk and dropping into the chair across from Michael. “Good. Let’s talk.”
Michael narrowed his eyes, clearly not wanting to be in the same room as me. That was fine. He didn’t need to talk. He just needed to listen.
“Who here can find out where Mateo and Drake are going to be next?” I glanced over my shoulder at Max. “Can you?”
He looked at me, frowning as he thought about his answer. He finally shook his head. “It’s too murky. Lucifer must be blocking them from wherever he is in the world.”
I kept my face blank. “He’s in Juárez.”
“How do you know?” Warrick asked.
I flicked my eyes at him. “We came here with Dro. I can’t see a reason for him to be anywhere else.”
Warrick frowned, but it was easier than telling the whole truth right now. Not bothering to return to that recent memory without getting some kind of therapy, I turned back to Michael. The archangel was observing at me with all the interest of a brick wall.
“You can track Lucifer too, right?” I asked. “Maybe not as well as before, but well enough?”
He blinked once. “If you are intending to mock me, I should warn you to stop now.”
“Not mocking,” I defended. “Asking.”
Michael narrowed his eyes yet again. “Yes.”
“Good. Because we need to take the fight to Lucifer and his new friends,” I bit out.
“You mean the fragments?” Warrick asked.
“If we can get them, sure. But I was thinking we go straight for the two human bastards holding them.”
“You think that will make a difference?”
I turned around in the chair so I could face Warrick directly. I don’t want to say I was getting annoyed with him, but my temper was on a short leash right now.
“I think Mateo and Drake are playing a major role and know where the remaining fragments are. I think they know where Dro is, and Lucifer by extension.”
“Do you believe Andromeda is with Lucifer?”
I twisted in the chair to look at Sephiel. I was glad he asked the question, because I wasn’t sure I could stand looking at Max’s heartbroken expression. It would only make the gash in my chest feel wider.
I could have lied. Maybe I should have lied. But after everything we’d been through, my group deserved the truth. Michael didn’t, but he seemed to be quite comfy in his leather chair. My confidence slipped a little bit, and I slumped in my seat.
“I don’t have to believe it. I know it.”
Sephiel’s heart shot to his eyes, and suddenly I couldn’t look at him, either. “How?”
Again, I should have lied. But if I wanted Michael to go through with my idea of luring Lucifer out by targeting Drake and Mateo, then I had to tell the truth. It wasn’t something I was used to.
“Same reason I know he’s in the city. He came to see me.”
The entire room fell silent. Michael’s jaw twitched. It was the first semblance of emotion I’d ever really seen from him.
“When?”
“About twenty minutes ago,” I confessed.
All my friends gathered their breath to scold me, but I was quicker on the draw.
“He didn’t hurt me, I don’t know how he found me, and I don’t think he wants to kill us.”
“That doesn’t sound like the Lucifer who tried to kill you a month ago,” Warrick said coldly. “What changed his mind?”
I thought back to everything Lucifer had said to me. About walking away and accepting his truce. About Dro being happy with her birth father.
Those were the truths I couldn’t seem to tell.
“Does it matter?” I deflected. “The point is he’ll think we’re going for Dro more than the fragments.”
“But if we go after the fragments, we buy more time and draw him into the open,” Max said tentatively. “I can’t really see what happens, but Constance is right. Each fragment carries a part of Lucifer and the Gate’s power. The more we destroy them, the more damage we do to him.” Max’s expression tightened. “I can see that Carver has one with him.”
I glanced back at him. “Your sight is working again?”
Max wobbled his hand. “Still a little spotty, but that part was clear. Carver is our next best shot. I think he’ll be with Mateo and Drake. I just can’t see where they are.”
My gaze shifted back to Michael. I raised an eyebrow. He barely even blinked. I wondered if my gamble of poking at his pride had worked the way I planned. If I’d wasted my breath on a creature that had never loved the company of hu
mans.
Then Michael nodded. It was so small I almost missed it, but there was a conviction in his eyes that hadn’t been there before. That was when I knew I’d snared him.
“I shall work with your prophet to discern the locations of all those we seek. Then we shall confront them.”
Michael rose out of his chair in one fluid motion. I stayed where I was, watching him carefully. Michael towered over the desk and watched me, thinking God knows what. I never broke eye contact. After a second, he glided out from behind the desk and moved for the door. Sephiel stepped back to give him space. He glanced at me briefly with a look that I swear held some disappointment in it. I didn’t know if it was because I’d met Lucifer and not told him, or because Lucifer had been right under his nose and he never knew it.