I flew up to join the others who were circling overhead in the night sky. Samael and Kassiel kept the area shrouded in darkness, while Olivia used her angelic power of invisibility to hide us from onlookers. Callan and Marcus looked ready for battle, while Bastien scanned the area with his Ofanim senses, which would be able to see through any illusions Nemesis or other imps used. Having a group of angelic allies was certainly proving to be useful these days.
"They're coming," Bastien said, pointing toward the south. I followed his gaze but saw nothing there. "Nemesis is hiding their approach, but they're all there. Belphegor. Adam. Belial. A green-haired fae male. And about twenty or thirty imps and gargoyles, from the looks of it."
"Any sign of Hannah?" I asked. "Or Azazel?"
"No."
Damn.
"Get ready," Samael called out, and the others readied their weapons, including the other loyal Fallen who had answered my call to battle.
Bastien released a flash of light, and the demons in the air and on the ground were suddenly visible to all of us. I caught sight of Belphegor in the sky, surrounded by gargoyles, and I felt her try to use her Archdemon power of sleep on us. We'd prepared for this though, and Marcus used his healing powers to combat it, protecting our group. He flew after her, with Callan at his side wielding burning light against the gargoyles.
Nemesis suddenly turned into dozens of versions of herself, all of them wielding long, deadly black claws. Bastien shot the illusions with the light of truth, while Kassiel worked to take down the real Nemesis. My Fallen clashed with the gargoyles, and Olivia used her succubus seduction to distract and confuse the imps. Adam, Belial, and the green-haired fae were in the back of the group, and I surged toward them, while searching for any sign of Hannah and Azazel.
There! Far in the rear, away from the brawl, some soldiers were holding Hannah and Azazel captive. I turned away from Belial and Adam, losing them amidst the chaos, and shouted for Samael to follow me.
Before I could even get there, Hannah and Azazel bucked free and knocked their captors out, then started running across the grass toward me. Silver cuffs circled their wrists, like the ones they used in Penumbra Prison, no doubt blocking their powers.
"Hannah!" I swooped down and grabbed my mate into my arms. She let out a surprised cry, and then pressed her face against my neck.
"Lucifer! I knew you'd come!" She pulled back and looked at me. Her eyes were wide and glazed like she’d had a shock. "Belial! It's him!
"I know."
“He betrayed us," she continued, as if she hadn't heard me. "He’s behind all this. We have to stop him!”
I met her eyes. Hearing Hannah's words had confirmed what I'd already suspected, and it only made the dark pit inside me grow larger. "I know."
Samael picked up Azazel, who looked pissed at being carried around like a child who hadn't gotten her wings yet. I worked at the cuffs nullifying Hannah's magic—Adam was certainly taking no chances this time. Or maybe I should blame Belial.
"Who has the key?" I asked.
Hannah's eyes hardened. "Adam, I think."
I'd figured as much. "We'll deal with them later."
We flew back toward the circle of stones and the battle, toward the sound of guttural cries and metal striking metal, toward flashes of light and bursts of darkness. Then there was a great rumbling below us, as the earth opened up in the center of the stones. The green-haired fae stood beside the new pit, and he used his earth magic to excavate the tomb from deep in the ground. Damn Earth Court—why was one of them helping these traitorous demons?
The ancient black tomb looked as new as the day it had been sealed, with silver and gold symbols—words of power and warning in languages not spoken anymore—competely covering the outside. The tomb had been made long ago by the most powerful fae enchanters, who could imbue objects with the powers of others.
I set Hannah down with Samael and Azazel, out of harm's way, and rushed toward the tomb—but I was too late. Belial stood over it, and time seemed to stand still as he slashed his hand with a dagger and let the blood drop onto the tomb. The symbols began to glow, drawing everyone's eyes.
The lid of the tomb suddenly burst open, and with it came an enormous blast of power, knocking everyone back with as much force as if we'd been hit by an explosion. Some crashed into the large stones, while others tumbled out of the sky and landed on the grass. I managed to spread my wings and catch myself, but the extreme force still knocked me away from Hannah and the others.
No one moved as Pestilence emerged from his tomb for the first time in thousands of years. I could only watch on in horror, knowing it was too late to stop what was coming.
Pestilence didn’t have a body, of course. We’d taken care of that long ago. The Elder Gods couldn't truly be killed, since they were primordial deities representing the basic building blocks of the universe. They could only be weakened and contained.
Pestilence oozed out of his tomb with a putrid odor—the smell of sickness that can't be cured, that rots away at your body until there's nothing left. He rose up like a spirit, a mass of sickly yellow energy that pulsed and buzzed, radiating pure evil and so much power it was oppressive. Now that he was released it would be nearly impossible to capture him again, though he needed a body to come to his full powers.
“I command you to submit,” Belial said, his voice hard as he faced down the malignant essence. "Give me your strength so I may defeat my enemies."
The putrid specter laughed, a sound of pure malevolence. It crawled over my skin like a physical touch, oily and painful.“If you want my power, I require a sacrifice of the heart. Something you love. Or...someone.”
"No," I yelled, and rushed forward, but half a dozen gargoyles leaped on me to stop me. I bucked them off, using darkness and hellfire. The battle had stopped as we'd watched the horror unfolding in front of us, but now everyone seemed to come out of their daze and the fighting started up again.
"Stop it, Belial!" Hannah yelled, running toward him, her hands still in cuffs, her blond hair flying back.
Belial grabbed her arm and drew her against him, raising a dagger to her neck, and my heart stopped. With a roar, I ignited everyone around me with blue hellfire, trying to get to my mate before my son could sacrifice her.
Belial looked into Hannah's eyes, and whatever he saw there made him pause. She reached for his face, and at her touch, he dropped the dagger and stepped back, his hands shaking. Unable to sacrifice the one person he still loved.
I slammed into him a second later, knocking us both back into one of the huge stones so hard it actually fell over. He fought me and threw me off him, just in time for us to see Adam standing before Pestilence.
"I command you to serve me," he shouted.
Hannah was only steps away, and I feared he would reach for her as his sacrifice—but then Adam grabbed Belphegor from beside him, and stabbed a glowing knife through her throat. She looked at him with wide, shocked eyes as her life spilled out of her neck, before she collapsed into the grass.
"No!" Belial yelled, and many of the gargoyles around us screamed and cried out.
Pestilence cackled. "A powerful sacrifice. Yes, you will make a fine vessel indeed."
The specter rushed toward Adam and entered his body through his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He filled Adam with his essence, making his hair turned white, his skin becoming a sickly yellow, while noxious, revolting power emanated from him. Even Adam’s allies stepped back, their fear plain to see in their eyes. He'd been dangerous and evil before, but now he was something so much more. A god of vile torment and endless suffering, who turned glowing white eyes toward Hannah.
He reached to grab her and I moved as fast as I could, but Belial was closer. Our son put himself in front of her, blocking Adam's touch. Adam-turned-Pestilence grabbed him by the neck and breathed a cloud of horrible air at him, then threw him down. Belial hit the ground in front of his mother, his face turning green and his eyes glazing over, as his body
twitched and curled up in pain.
"No!" I yelled, as I threw hellfire at Adam, trying to distract him from my mate and my son. Samael and Kassiel joined me, wrapping Adam in chains of darkness, while Callan shielded Hannah and Belial with a wall made of light. Behind us the gargoyles fled, their Archdemon defeated, and my allies took out the rest of the imps.
Adam hissed at us and slid away, like the slippery eel he’d always been. And they’d likened me to the serpent? They’d always had the wrong guy.
"Adam!" Nemesis cried out, as Olivia stabbed her with a glowing white dagger on the other side of the stone circle.
A spectral white horse appeared, and Adam grabbed Nemesis around her waist as he mounted it, his motions far faster and more practiced than I’d ever seen them. I ran forward, using my wings to propel me as fast as I could, but he rode away, the horse galloping quicker than any earthly beast could run.
"Help!" Hannah yelled.
I turned toward the sound of her frantic voice and saw her kneeling over Belial. Marcus dropped to his knees beside her and put a hand on our son's forehead. Belial wasn't dead, I saw with relief, just suffering from Pestilence's sickness. Glowing white light surrounded him as Marcus worked to heal him. Could he be healed? I wasn't sure.
Slowly the green tint to my eldest son's skin faded away, along with the glaze over his eyes. He still looked weak, but he blinked up at his mother, who was stroking his hair, his head in her lap.
Kassiel crouched down alongside them, his eyes narrowing as he focused on Belial. “How could you? Do you have any idea what you've done?”
Belial stared back at him defiantly, even in his weakened state. "You wouldn't understand. You've always been the favorite."
I pressed my lips together as I stared at my sons. It wasn't a question of favorites. I loved all my children, but this was the second time Belial had led a rebellion against me. How could I forgive him for that?
Belial must’ve felt better, because he threw Marcus off him, his eyebrows drawn, his expression angry. He launched into the air, flying away as fast as his black and white ombre wings would carry him. Kassiel spread his wings to follow, but I grabbed his arm.
“Let him go.”
My youngest son turned to me and raised his eyebrows as he snapped his wings back, his obedience unquestioning. “We can't let him get away! Not after what he's done!"
"Adam is the bigger problem now. We’ve got to stop him." I turned to Olivia and her other mates. "I need your group to track him down."
Olivia nodded and Callan said, “We’ll find him."
Kassiel turned to his mate. “I’m staying with my parents. Don’t get close to this asshole. Just keep an eye on him from afar.”
Olivia pressed a kiss to his forehead and whispered a few words, then she and her other mates launched into the air in the direction Adam had vanished.
“Come.” I turned toward Kassiel, Samael, and Azazel as I spread my wings. “We’re going home.”
Hannah stared at the spot where Belial had been on the ground, her face pale and her eyes in shock. I lifted her up into my arms, fitting her body to mine, where it belonged. She needed some rest to recover from everything she’d been through at the hands of Adam and our son, and we still needed to get these damn cuffs off.
Then we would figure out how to stop the impending apocalypse.
26
Hannah
When Lucifer had said we were going home, I’d expected a long trip back over the Atlantic, not this. My gaze traveled over the large stone manor house and the sprawling grounds, which sparked the feeling of familiarity inside me.
"Welcome to Blackwing Hall," Lucifer said, as he set us down in front of it.
I reluctantly let go of him, still shaken from everything that had happened. I desperately needed a shower and some new clothes—I'd been wearing these for days—and then maybe I could process what I'd just seen.
"This is where we lived when you were Lenore," Lucifer said, as he led me toward the entrance. "Do you remember?"
“I…I think so.” The memories were so fleeting and I was so damn tired. Not just physically, but emotionally. I didn't want to think anymore.
“I grew up here," Kassiel said, as he walked beside us. "Here and in Hell. It was important to you that I spend time on Earth too, so I would empathize with humans since so many of your past lives were as one."
Yes, that sounded right. Standing here, in front of this house—our home—felt so familiar. Memories floated through my mind of our family being together here. Once I'd had a chance to recover I'd like to explore them some more, but this wasn't the time.
A blond woman in a pantsuit walked out of the impressive, wooden front door at the top of the stone steps. “Everything is ready for you, my lord." She turned toward me and bowed her head. "My lady."
“Thank you, Einial,” Lucifer said as he swept through the door while holding my hand.
I stumbled forward through the great entryway, and then Lucifer paused and held up my hand, looking at my wrist, which still had the silver cuff on it blocking my powers.
"We need to get these off," Lucifer said with a growl.
"Here," Kassiel said, stepping forward and holding out a small silver wand, about the size of his pinkie finger. "I got this off Adam during the fight. Before he turned into that thing."
"Good work, son." Lucifer took the object and touched it to my wrists. The cuffs instantly clicked open, and a rush of power and a sense of wholeness filled me. I took a deep breath and stood a little straighter, already feeling more like myself again.
He passed the key to Samael, who unlocked Azazel's cuffs, as he asked, "I'm assuming our suite is ready?"
Einial nodded. "Yes, Samael asked that I prepare the bedrooms and main living areas. Everything has been looked after very well over the years by the staff.”
"Good." Lucifer rested a hand on my lower back, steadying me as he addressed the others. "We'll discuss everything after Hannah's had a chance to recover."
We left them in the main hall, and Lucifer led me down long corridors that I barely noticed, until we entered a suite, the one we’d occupied before, so many years ago. I glimpsed dark furnishings and a large four-poster bed, but couldn't really focus on anything at the moment.
Lucifer turned to me and took me into his arms. "I was so worried."
I clung to him tightly, so relieved to be with him again. He pressed his lips to mine, the kiss soft and sweet—reverent almost. I relaxed against his chest, savoring his presence. The scent of him was so familiar. It wove through so many of my memories over the years. Lucifer. My rock. My constant. My husband.
"Are you all right?" he asked, his gaze raking over me. "Did they hurt you?"
"I'm okay, but I could really use a shower and some fresh clothes."
"I'll have some brought to you." Lucifer pulled out his phone and sent out a text, probably to Samael or Einial. "Get as much rest as you need, and when you wake, we should have some news about Adam."
“He has Pestilence inside him now.” I still couldn’t believe what I’d witnessed. It seemed impossible, like something from a dream or a movie. I sank to the bed as some of the shock from the past few hours caught up to me. "He nearly killed Belial. The destruction he could unleash...”
I shivered as I imagined what Adam would do to me if he found me. He’d killed me so many times before, and all he had to do now was breathe on me. I covered my mouth briefly and shook my head as I imagined what he might do to any mortals he came across. There were no words to describe the horrors in my head.
I looked up at Lucifer. “How do we stop him?”
He rubbed the back of his neck, his brows furrowed. "It won't be easy. It took many angels, demons, and fae to take down the Four Horsemen when they were loose before, back when you were Eve. They’re impossible to fully kill, which is why we destroyed their bodies and trapped their essence in magically-sealed tombs. We'll need to either capture them again, or send them to the Void
realm, with the other Elder Gods."
I ran a hand through my dirty, matted hair with a sigh. "Then we'll need to act quickly before more of the Horsemen are freed."
"Yes, now that the Archdemons have released Pestilence, they’ll go after War next. It’s only a matter of time."
"War—he's buried in Heaven, isn't he?" I asked.
"He is, which should give us some time. Like Hell, Heaven has been sealed off, and very few can enter it."
I rubbed my wrists, which were still a bit sore from the cuffs. "How do we get in?”
Lucifer slid off his jacket and tossed it aside, looking somewhere between casual and disheveled. “There are keys, but only a few remain, and I highly doubt any of the Archdemons have one.”
“Do you have one?"
He lifted an eyebrow. “No, I haven’t had a key to Heaven in a very long time. But I'm sure we can find someone with one."
I pressed my palms to my eyes, knowing I needed to get up and shower, but the thought of moving was too exhausting to consider. Especially when my heart still ached so much.
“I can’t believe Belial would go this far,” I whispered.
"I can," Lucifer said, his voice sharp.
“I think there’s some good left in him,” I ventured, remembering when Belial dropped the knife, and the lost look in his eyes when he couldn't sacrifice me. “If I could just get through to him..."
“There’s no use. He's too far gone." Lucifer's jaw clenched. "It's my fault, not yours. I haven’t been the best father to our firstborn son. If I could change the past, I would. But there's no hope for a reconciliation with Belial at this point."
Jutting out my chin, I shook my head. “I refuse to believe that.”
“Hannah, you’ve got to stop harking after the past." His features hardened as he spoke, his eyes becoming cold and unfamiliar. "It’s done. He's broken. There’s no fixing him."
I rose to my feet and glared at him. "Belial’s our son, and we will not give up on him.”
Devilish Mate: Claimed By Lucifer Book Two Page 16