by Lisa Oliver
“I can’t wait for you to tire yourself out, darling,” Technic cackled. “Playing with young people is so boring – they just lay there screaming, and it gets so old. But you… mmm, to have all your hunky muscles under my control… it’ll be delicious.”
I can’t let him get his hands on Lucifer. Stefan cast his eyes around the room, but there was nothing he could use. I’m just an anchor – Lucifer’s the fire power… even if he drains me… it won’t work. Stefan tilted his head. He could have sworn he heard the sound of rustling feathers. There, by the door, Stefan’s heart leapt into his mouth as he saw the translucent hue of Garrick and Gaston shimmering there. Gaston looked murderous as he watched Technic, but when his pale eyes turned on Stefan they were as kind as Stefan remembered.
“We’ve fought this before,” Gaston mouthed. “Years ago. Remember?”
Stefan tapped his head and flapped his hand around his body. He remembered facing demons with Gaston – two of them. It was the only time Gaston had ever used his marks – something only possible because Stefan hadn’t hit his age of maturity yet. But he didn’t have a clue what Gaston had done, or what marks he’d used. The last thing Stefan wanted was to translocate his mate and let Technic go on to hurt more innocents.
“Watch.” Gaston’s ghostly hand went to his left shoulder, then down to his navel, across to his right hip, and then up to his heart. With his free hand, Stefan mimicked the movements, the question on his face.
Gaston nodded, and then pointed to Lucifer.
“He has to do it?” Stefan mouthed back silently.
Gaston nodded and gave him two thumbs up.
“Do you know who that is and what he did to me?”
Gaston’s features looked sad and he nodded. But then he frowned and pointed insistently. Tears blurred Stefan’s eyes and he hurriedly blinked them away. Gaston was always kind, and always fair, but when he wanted something done, he never backed down. Inhaling slowly, Stefan straightened up and keeping his hand on Lucifer’s waist, he walked around so he was facing his mate.
“Get back,” Lucifer growled, glancing down quickly as he threw another fireball in Technic’s direction.
“That’s your anchor?” Technic let out another cackle. “Honestly, Lucifer, I thought you could do better than a young wimp like him.
Good, he hasn’t recognized me yet. “I know how to beat him,” Stefan said, catching his mate’s eyes. Keeping one hand still touching Lucifer, he quickly undid the top three buttons on his shirt with the other. “Give me your hand and trust me.”
“Aww, does your precious anchor want a quick fondle before he dies,” Technic sneered. “Come over here boy and I’ll give you more touch than you can handle.”
Lucifer looked unsure, but he slipped his hand into Stefan’s. “Remember your books,” Stefan urged quietly. “Did you ever read about the Hallelujah Chorus?”
His eyes widening, Lucifer murmured, “It’s a ritual using marks on an anchor, known to decimate demons.” Lucifer flicked a glance over at Technic as he kept his voice low. “The council stopped using it decades ago because it kills the host.”
“Your quarry’s already dead. He’s just too stubborn to die.” Stefan held Lucifer’s gaze.
“Most anchors don’t carry the marks anymore. Are you sure you can do this?”
“Done it before.” Stefan nodded. “Just let me guide your hand.”
“Hey, whatever you two are doing, you can fucking cut it out now.”
A flaming bolt landed by Stefan’s feet and he kicked it away. “I’m going to turn around, we both have to face him, and I’m going to guide your hand. When you feel a click, push.”
Stefan waited until Lucifer gave a curt nod. “Love you,” he whispered. Without waiting for a reply, Stefan turned, keeping hold of Lucifer’s hand. The look of shock on Technic’s face was priceless.
“Stefan? You’re supposed to be dead! You’re the first anchor I drained.”
“You’re not that good, Jordan.” Stefan felt Lucifer stiffen at the name, but he had a job to do. Moving Lucifer’s hand, under the neck of his shirt, he felt a tingle as the first mark was brushed over.
“We call to you demon…” Stefan kept his voice steady as he moved Lucifer’s hand over his shirt to his navel. It wasn’t easy, keeping his eyes focused on the man in front of him, especially when the red in Technic’s eyes deepened and his skin started to mottle. “We recognize you, demon spawn…”
“Fucking cut that out! I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but it’s giving me the creeps.” Technic launched a furious attack of bright red power balls, which Lucifer kept deflecting with his free hand as Stefan forced himself to continue.
“We bind you to our will in the name of all that is good in this world.” Stefan trailed Lucifer’s hand over his hip.
“You were never good,” Technic screamed. “You jumped into bed with me so fast my head spun. You’re a worthless whore and a lousy fuck. You’re…”
“We bind and we banish you.” Stefan slapped Lucifer’s hand over his heart. His whole skin glowed a bright yellow, something neither Lucifer nor Technic could ignore. The air around Stefan and his mate glittered with bright gold and silver balls, spinning, twirling, waiting. There was a harsh inhale of breath behind him and then Stefan felt Lucifer’s power merge with his and push, sending the cloud in Technic’s direction, covering him completely.
“Be gone forever. So, mote it be.” Stefan’s eyelids fluttered closed as the light surrounding Technic got too bright. But the twenty year old Stefan deep inside him was determined – he was going to watch until the bitter end and he forced his eyes to remain open.
Technic’s face twisted in a grimace. He started flailing his arms, tearing his robe and beating at his skin, all completely covered in Stefan’s magic. “Make it stop,” he screamed. “I thought you loved me. Lucifer. Stefan. You loved me once. STOP IT!”
“You don’t know what love is.” Lucifer stood like a rock behind him. “You never did.” His free hand slid over Stefan’s shoulder. “But we do.”
Technic flickered – demon one minute, his normal human self the next. With his robes torn to shreds, his skin covered in blotches and burns, it was as if he was boiling from the inside. Stefan saw that look of hesitation, sadness crossing the human face at Lucifer’s words. But then the demon returned, his snarls of rage and frustration replaced by sheer terror as a loud bell sounded. Technic’s lips were still trying to form the word “No”, as he disappeared. Lucifer’s three year hunt for a monster was finally over.
The golden power ball hovered in the air for a moment and then slammed back into Stefan, hard enough to make him stagger. But Lucifer was there, holding him upright, and when Stefan’s knees crumpled, it was Lucifer who scooped him up and took him out of the room.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lucifer threw another log on the fire and checked the bed for the tenth time since he’d brought Stefan back to his family home. Stefan hadn’t moved from where Lucifer had put him; the events of the day clearly more than his body could handle. Taking his chair at the side of the bed, Lucifer had just picked up the book he was reading and reached for Stefan’s hand when there was a soft knock at the door.
“Come.” Lucifer put the book back down as the door opened and Darwin poked his head around it.
“Still nothing?” He crept into the room, taking the chair on the other side of the bed as Lucifer shook his head.
“From what I’ve been reading, this used to be common.” Lucifer purposefully kept his voice low. “Stefan just needs to rest while his magic recalibrates itself. The books I’ve read suggest holding his hand so our bond will help his magic settle. There’s not much else I can do but wait.”
“I can’t believe he carries the marks to perform a Hallelujah Chorus.” Darwin shook his head in wonder. “Do you know how rare that is?”
Pointing at the book, Lucifer said, “I do actually, and if this is another attempt by you to let your mat
e tell the council about my mate, the answer is still no.” He let his features soften as he checked Stefan again. “We’ve exchanged the words. He loves me too; can you believe that?”
“What’s not to love – your sparkling personality or the way you glower every time something doesn’t go your way.” Darwin’s cheeks went bright red as he teased. “Honestly, this hasn’t got anything to do with the council. I am sorry. Monty is too. He did try to argue his case, reminding me that magic is an intrinsic part of us, a tool to be used for the good of many. I reminded him that love was far more important.”
Lucifer snorted. “I thought Monty was too much of a politician to ever consider love as a crucial part of any equation.”
“He has his moments.” Darwin grinned. “However, when I pointed out that you losing your anchor would be akin to cutting off your arm, and that me as your brother would have no choice but to break my mating with him, so I could anchor for you again, your work as a steward being too important for the good of the many to have you left on the sidelines or matched up with another second-rate anchor, he saw the validity of my argument.”
Lucifer stared at his brother. “You would have honestly done that?”
“I knew it wouldn’t come to that.” Darwin chuckled softly. “Monty loves me dearly in his own way. His loyalty to the council is a huge part of what makes him so good at what he does. That, and his honesty. But between you and me, I think there are times in the dead of night when he wishes he’d done more – been more like you, facing criminals on a daily basis instead of making speeches and fighting for law changes.”
“His job’s necessary.” Lucifer stroked Stefan’s motionless hand. Stefan’s lifeforce was strong and his magic was calming down. Lucifer looked up to see Darwin watching him.
“I’ve never seen you like this. It makes me feel bad about how I treated you and Stefan before, when I first learned you’d mated. I really wasn’t sure you’d ever care for him, and I was carrying residual resentment after not being able to claim Monty for so long. But this… you… you’re so different now.” Darwin gestured to their joined hands. “Aside from me, you only ever touched someone long enough to get your rocks off.”
“I’ve never been like this before.” Lucifer cleared the sudden lump in his throat. “I love him. I’m not going to hide that. Stefan deserves the very best me I can be. He deserves all of me, in the bedroom and out of it.”
“I’m glad you found him then.” Darwin looked around, his cheeks still red, clearly looking for a change of subject. “Er… I called the council office in Cairo like you asked, or rather, I got your boss, Ben, to do it through official channels. Our plane is on its way back here, so it was easy to make the excuse you were in the air, and uncontactable for now.”
“More lies. Thank you.” Lucifer nodded to show his approval. “And the girl, is she…?”
“She’ll survive. The only one of Technic’s victims to do so. Fortunately, she’d been rendered unconscious at the end there, so all she remembers seeing is Stefan running into the room, demanding that bastard Technic to get away from her. She doesn’t know a thing that happened after that.”
“I got her out of there before anything else happened anyway.” Lucifer heaved a sigh of relief. It was going to be a long while before the image of that pale girl left his thoughts. Then he clicked to the rest of what Darwin had said. “Stefan survived too. He was Technic’s first victim.”
Darwin’s eyes widened. “How? I thought the guy who abused Stefan before he hit maturity was someone called Jordan Luck.”
“Stefan recognized him…” Lucifer took a couple of calming breaths, reminding himself that Technic was gone – dead, thanks to his mate’s courage – and he could never harm Stefan again. “To complete the chorus, we both had to be facing Technic. As soon as Technic saw him, he knew his name, demanded to know why Stefan wasn’t dead. Stated, as bald as you please, that Stefan was his first victim – his first attempt at draining an anchor.”
“Holy shit, that was years ago.” Darwin touched his lips, horror showing in his eyes. “That means, all that time, when we were friends with him and Mark, when you and him…”
“Yep.” Lucifer’s jaw tightened. “The man who claimed to want me above all others, according to what Abdullah said, and what Technic told me himself, I let that man touch me. I got off with him. And all that time, he was the man who almost killed my fated mate. If Stefan hadn’t of been so strong…” He broke off. He couldn’t get the words out.
“Fuck, Lucy.” Darwin shook his head. “I’m so sorry. How the hell are you two going to get past this? I mean, I assume Stefan knows how close you and Technic used to be.”
“We’ll get past it. We have to.” Lucifer tightened his hold on Stefan’s hand. “You think I don’t feel disgusted? Have you any idea of what’s going on up here?” He tapped his head. “Even if Stefan had died, there was a good chance the council wouldn’t have done anything. The council guy who interviewed him in the hospital, basically implied Stefan was young and stupid and should just count himself lucky he was still breathing.”
Darwin looked doubtful. “A murder is more serious. Surely, the council would’ve…”
“Would’ve what? Sent us after Technic, or Jordan as he was known then?” Lucifer forced air through his clenched teeth. “The council doesn’t give a shit about anchors. One dies – get another one. Technic had ten victims we knew about – twelve if we count Stefan and that young girl we saved today. God knows how many more victims there might have been between Stefan and Mark. You can’t tell me what happened with Stefan was an isolated incident. The only people who have given a shit about the plight of anchors were the decent investigators in the field, people like Brutus. Now he’s gone too.” Lucifer shook his head. “When I think of all that Stefan’s been through…”
“So, what happens now? Are you thinking of giving up your position as Steward? I mean, if you can’t trust the council, then…?”
“I don’t know. I can’t even think about that right now.” Lucifer looked up, meeting his brother’s eyes. “For now, I want Stefan to wake up. I want to know he’s okay. Knowing I couldn’t even call in one of our healers, because then they’d have seen all his marks… do you know how helpless I feel?” He glanced across at the man on the bed. Stefan hadn’t moved. “I promised him he would always have a home with me, and that he’d be safe. I won’t have him exploited; I will kill anyone who tries to take him from me. Anyone.”
Darwin got up and smoothed out the creases in his jeans. “It’s just as well one of us mated to someone with a few more brains and a bit more diplomacy then, isn’t it? Because while I’ve been in here, Monty is going over every word in the council by-laws looking for a way to protect Stefan and your mating. In the meantime, I’ll send up some food for you, and then I suggest you stretch out next to your mate and get some sleep.” His smile was sad. “I imagine you two will have a lot to discuss when he wakes up.”
“Keep the security around here tight,” Lucifer said gruffly. “The twins and that second demon are still lurking out there somewhere.”
“If Technic summoned the second demon, he’d have returned to hell the moment Technic went poof, meaning we won’t have to worry about a revenge seeking demon coming after us anytime soon. As for the twins…” Darwin shrugged. “With Abdullah and Technic gone, with luck they’ll come to their senses. Those two men were never the brightest bulb in the pack, but I can’t believe they’ve actually physically hurt anyone like Technic did. But I’ll keep a watch out. Just rest, okay.”
Lucifer nodded, already looking back at the bed when he heard his bedroom door close. One of his longest running cases was over, and usually, when he’d closed any case ,he felt jubilant and would be out partying until the wee dawn hours. But this time… gods, it was so different. This time, all Lucifer wanted was to hear from Stefan’s own gorgeous lips that he was still loved, he was forgiven for having anything to do with Technic at all, or at the very lea
st, that his precious mate was all right. Come on Stefan, open your eyes for me, please.
Chapter Thirty
Stefan dragged himself from the murky darkness, squinting against the light of the room. Room? Where am I? Stefan’s last conscious thought was the sight of Technic’s face twisting in pain and anger before it… Lucifer’s room. He got us home. Relieved, Stefan did a quick mental body check. Limbs still working – yes. Head – reasonably clear, but Stefan would take that as a win. Magic – Stefan tilted his head slightly on the pillow. His magic was… calm. Still there, still bubbling away, but…
“You’ve been out fourteen hours.” Lucifer’s gruff voice sounded hoarser than usual. Stefan gingerly rolled over to see his mate watching him, his head propped up on his hand. “I didn’t dare call a healer – your marks kept shining like a beacon for a good ten hours after you passed out. But I was able to find a passage in one book that mentioned now we’re mated, if I held your hand, my magic would help stabilize yours.”
“You held me all that time?” Stefan felt a warmth well up, threatening to make him cry. “The last time, the only other time I’ve done something like that was with Gaston. He did what he could when I collapsed, but I spent a week afterwards feeling like I was going to fly apart.”
Lucifer frowned. “I’m not feeling anything like that through our bond now. You’ve been calm for hours, even when you were unconscious.”
“You must have a magic touch, at least when it comes to me.” Stefan ran his tongue over his teeth and swallowed. “Is there any water by chance? I feel as though I’ve eaten half the sand around Cairo.”
“I’ve got it.” A glass appeared in Lucifer’s hand, complete with a straw. Stefan went to take it, but Lucifer held it out of his way, pointing the straw in his direction instead. Stefan took a few cautious sips, the water bursting over his parched tongue. He managed to drink half the glass before he indicated to Lucifer he’d had enough.