by Zahra Stone
“Go to the dock,” I whispered under my breath as they passed me. The Valkyrie and I kept our gazes locked on each other as the trio tiptoed past. We didn’t blink until the front door clicked shut behind them. I sagged, releasing a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. They were safe.
For now.
The next thing I knew, I was looking down the barrel of a gun. I hadn’t seen her move. Just like Keres, she had lighting fast reflexes.
“Hand it over,” she demanded, motioning with the gun.
Slowly, I moved my arm up, reaching over my head to wrap my fingers securely around the hilt of my sword. She’d get it all right, right between her ribs. With one smooth motion, I unleashed the sword and sliced through the air, missing her wrist by a hairsbreadth. Her finger pulled the trigger, and a bullet shot out of the barrel.
It was my turn to be fast, faster than I’d been against Keres and her arrows. I deflected shot after shot with the sword. Its blade, made from the ashes of Hell, shimmered with my flame. Bullets ricocheted and embedded themselves into the walls and furniture.
Then, the humming in my head started again, the buzzing louder. I had to stop this now, for if I lost concentration and fell, the sword would be hers, and for whatever reason my mother wanted it, I couldn’t let it fall into her hands. Outside there was a commotion, shouting, a scream. I wanted to turn my head, to glance out the window, but didn’t take my eyes from the Valkyrie who was approaching, pistol aimed at my head.
The warm wetness of blood trickled over my lips. My nose was bleeding, probably caused by the infernal buzzing scrambling my brain. I planted my feet and focused my thoughts on ending the fight.
With a mighty swing, I made contact, severing her hand. The pistol, with her fingers still clutched around it, fell to the floor. I wanted to enjoy the look of surprise on her face, then her scream as she clutched her stump and tried frantically to stem the bleeding, but time wasn’t on my side. I needed to send this asshole back to her own dimension. After another spin and kick, she crashed to the floor, landing on her back. I stood over her, my blood dripping down. Raising my sword, I brought it down hard into her chest, piercing her heart. She vanished, her startled cry echoing into nothing.
The buzzing didn’t stop, though. Dropping to my knees, I hid my sword back between my wings and clutched my head in my hands. The Valkyrie didn’t set this trap; she wasn’t doing this to me. It was Lilith. And I knew why. She wanted both. The key and the sword. She’d sent the Valkyrie after the sword while I left the key unprotected.
Groaning, I crawled across the floor and then leaned on the windowsill to peer outside.
An angel took flight, the key in his grasp, all three of them dangling precariously.
“You,” I muttered, slamming a fist into the glass. My brother, which one, I had no idea. If they were taking the key, that meant they were working for Mom.
The most dangerous goddess in all the realms had the key to the Gates of Hell. I’d fallen for her trap, and now I risked losing it all.
Chapter Thirteen
“It’s…amazing.” Levi’s voice was laced with admiration and awe.
I grinned at him.
Shaking his head, he was oblivious of the fact that I studied him closely. “More than amazing. Breathtaking even. I had no idea.”
“No one ever does.” The Gates of Hell weren’t what you’d expect. They stood majestically at fifty feet tall and had an outer black marble circle with a rotating inner band of red marble. In the very center, a void of shimmering blue, continually moving, changing, neither water nor air, but a substance born of the universe. That blue was the beginning of creation itself.
Levi raised a hand, fingers reaching out. I knew the pull the Gates had. They mesmerized you, lured you in with their unique beauty and the sense that something beautiful would be revealed if you just touched it.
I snagged his wrist and held firm. “I wouldn’t. Touching the Gate is a direct invitation to the pit.”
His eyebrows slammed together. “Seriously?”
“Deadly.” Anyone who tried to mess with the Gates of Hell got a one-way ticket to Hell.
“What do the symbols mean?” He pointed to the sigils engraved in the slowly rotating circle. Nine different shapes, each keeping its own secret.
“Part of the combination.” The Gates energy thrummed as the blue material arched through the air toward me, wanting my attention and touch. “I know,” I soothed, stepping closer, reaching in, and letting the substance encase my hand and arm.
“You’re immune?”
“Yes. See the blue? It’s the first molecule Hell was built upon. It’s also in the mark of the key, connecting us all. It makes me immune.” To destroy the gate was to destroy Hell itself. And I’d never let that happen. No matter what my mother threw at me, I wouldn’t let her have this.
“It’s so different to Heaven’s.” Levi stood mesmerized, and his words backed me from the edge of my anger and back to him.
“Yes. The Pearly Gates is more symbolic than anything else.” Sucking in a calming breath, I closed my eyes to communicate with the Gate. Strengthening our bond, I delivered a warning.
They’re coming.
“Does she know? Does Lilith know how stunning the Gate is? The power? For it has to be powerful, right?” He held up a trembling arm. “I can feel it…look. The hairs on my arm are standing on end.”
“Yes. It’s very powerful,” I agreed, running my hand over his skin and soothing down the hairs that were indeed standing upright. “And no, she doesn’t know.”
“What?” His eyebrows shot into his hairline. “How did you keep that from her?”
I shrugged. “It never came up. The Gates are sacred. They are the heart of Hell, the essence.”
“And the key? Obviously, the key isn’t a conventional key, and the Gates aren’t conventional gates. What happens when the key and the gate come together?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“You’ve trusted me with this, Lucy. Trust me a bit more and tell the truth. What happens?”
I opened my mouth to answer and then clamped it shut. I could feel Ashliel’s energy searching for me. She’d never been here, I’d kept the Gate’s exact location hidden from her, and I wasn’t about to change that.
“We need to go. Ashliel is looking for me.” I grabbed Levi’s hand and pulled him with me. “Guards!”
Three red dragons appeared, circling overhead. “Your majesty?” they said in unison.
Levi’s jaw dropped, and I shrugged. I’d been called worse.
“The Gate is under threat,” I said. “The key has been taken. You need to be extra vigilant.”
The three of them breathed fire as if outraged that I’d even suggest they hadn’t. “We are always vigilant.”
“I know you are. But I’m telling you, you need to be extra vigilant. An attack is coming. Be prepared. Don’t let the Gates fall.”
“Ona byr gondtoby xardayk, ona soy uira.”
“What was that?” Levi hissed as we walked away.
I glanced at him. “What?”
“What they said. That was a different language, wasn’t it?”
“It’s the ancient language of my father’s childhood.”
“Of the gods?”
“Yes. It roughly translates as: we swear on our lives, we will not fail.”
“Geez, you really are old.” The words tumbled out unheeded, and I bit my lip from laughing at the look of horror on his face when he realized what he’d said. “I mean, I didn’t mean…” he stammered, obviously flustered.
“It’s okay, I knew what you meant, and yes, I really am old.” I swept a hand down the line of my tight form. “Not bad for my age, eh?” I winked at him, tugged him against me, and then flew us away from the Gate and back to Hell HQ.
“There you are!” Ashliel hurried towards us as we stepped into my office. I shot Levi a warning look, reminding him not to reveal where we had been. Turning my attention
to Ashliel, I asked, “Any update?”
“Another door has been opened.”
I sighed. “Of course. Do we know what and where?”
“Not sure what yet. But I know where. Peru.” She glanced at Levi. “Are you going with her?”
Her simple question triggered a light bulb moment. Lilith wanted me to go after the witnesses she was calling. She wanted me out of Hell. “No!” I shouted, making them both jump. They turned surprised faces to me as I paced back and forth. “This is what she wants. She wants me chasing after the witness. She wants me distracted and out of the way. She wants Hell vulnerable.”
Ashliel sniffed and jutted her chin in the air. “Well, I’m still here.”
My head tilted as I considered the frown pulling her brows together and the tight grip she had on her clipboard.
“Yes, you are, and you’re a great help. I’d be lost without you. But this is personal. She’s coming after Hell, and she’s coming after me.”
“But you’re her daughter,” Levi pointed out.
“Yes. I am. But I’m also my father’s daughter, and maybe she’s decided that since I haven’t sided with her, I’m against her. Who knows, really? I need to talk to her, have a conversation and sort this ridiculous mess out.”
“Oh,” Ashliel whispered.
My gaze narrowed on her. “What?”
“She did send through some requests to meet with you and I…”
I sucked in a breath and kept my temper tucked beneath it. “You what?”
“Told her no.” She looked agitated, and Ashliel never got agitated. “I thought it was what you wanted, she’s been messing with your head, and you and Levi were still sorting things out and didn’t need her interference.”
“It’s okay, Ash. You were looking out for me; I get it. But reach out and request a meeting, okay? On Earth. Not here, she cannot come here.”
“And the witness?” she asked.
“Send the details to Dacian. He can handle this one.”
Chapter Fourteen
“What is this?” Standing before me were Gabriel and Michael. I’d received a message from my mother and returned to Earth to meet with her. Only, upon arrival, I didn’t find her. I found them.
Michael unfurled his wings, and I snorted. So, she had returned their powers, as suspected. Gabriel didn’t show his wings, but he didn’t need to. Instead, he stood back, arms crossed over his chest, a scowl on his face.
“Good to see you, Lucifer,” Michael said, his voice carrying an edge to it that said he was anything but glad to see me. Michael inched forward with a smirk on his face and then began circling me, scanning his gaze up and down.
“Where are Del, Jase, and Duke?” I demanded, holding my ground.
He stopped pacing. “Safe. For now.”
“So, it was you who took them.” The feeling of disappointment was unexpected. I’d secretly hoped they weren’t involved, but it seemed they were neck-deep in Mother’s scheming after all.
“Why are you doing this? Why are you helping her?” I asked, keeping my gaze trained on him.
“The question is, why aren’t you?” His lips curled back against his teeth, and I saw the evil in him, a shadow against his soul.
“Because I don’t want to destroy Dad and everything he’s created, including Hell.”
Michael barked out a laugh. “Typical Daddy’s girl. Still his favorite, even after what he did, killing your child, you still defend him, stand by him.”
It hurt to hear him speak of my baby, but I refused to rise to the bait. I knew the game he was playing; he’d played it before.
“The reason Dad siphoned my magic was that Mom locked him in a hidden cavern for thousands of years. Left him there to rot. Doesn’t that mean anything to you? That even then, she was plotting to destroy him.”
Michael raised a hand as if to strike me, and I braced myself, refusing to flinch. Not that I’d let him hit me. I’d have him on the ground in two seconds flat. He must have remembered our last skirmish, for he lowered his hand, clenching it into a fist at his side.
“Just give us what we want, and you can go. You don’t need to be involved in this.” Michael said.
“Give you the Sword of Souls?” I scoffed, truly amused that they’d think I’d hand it over. “No.”
“What if I gave you my word we would keep you out of this?” He shot back.
With one brow raised, I eyed him, wondering if he thought I’d fall for his lies again. With a snort, I said, “You think I am a fool? That I don’t know you intend for Hell to fall, along with Earth? Hell is my realm, my home. Don’t think I won’t defend it with everything I have.”
Michael’s gaze met mine, and a shiver danced over my skin. There was something dark in the depth of his eyes, something that went deep. Wincing at the pain of how lost he was, I glanced over his shoulder at Gabriel. Was he lost, too? He hadn’t said a word, just stood there and let Michael do the talking, the threatening.
“Gabriel?” I asked, wanting his opinion, wanting to know if he stood against me, too. Michael looked at Gabriel and gave a slight shake of his head.
So, Gabriel was under Michael’s command. Well played, he’d had me fooled, all this time letting me think he was trying to help me that Gabriel was the bad apple, manipulating him.
Through narrowed eyes, I studied him, saw the slight flush of color in his cheeks, the clenching of his hands into fists before he relaxed them and pressed them against his thighs.
“You can come with me, Gabriel.” I offered. “This doesn’t have to be the way.”
Michael’s backhand across my face surprised me; I hadn’t seen it coming. The crack of sound was loud, and the sting in my cheek infuriated me. My wings unfurled, burning with flame, but I didn’t retrieve my sword. If I were to fight with Michael, I would do it without the weapon he coveted so badly. He stood, a sneer on his face, and I slapped him.
Hard.
His head snapped back, and one hand rose to his face in surprise.
I smirked. “Stings, doesn’t it?”
“Bitch!” he spat.
“Asshole.” I kept my voice calm as the temper he had little control over exploded. There was more to battle than physical combat, yet it seemed Michael had forgotten that as he charged me. We went down in a tangle of limbs, fists flying, sliding along the ground, kicking up gravel as we went. Our blows echoed like thunder overhead, each connection a loud crack, replicating a lightning strike. I was bleeding and breathless, but so was he.
Jumping to my feet, I whirled to face him, only to discover I was no longer on Earth. Instead, I stood in the boardroom of Heaven HQ. Dad stood by the chair at the head of the table, arms crossed over his chest.
“Really, Lucifer, disagreeing with your brothers? Again?”
“Are you serious?” I furled my wings and cleaned myself up, tugging my shirt into place before planting my fists on my hips and eyeballing my father. “You pulled me to Heaven to reprimand me for fighting?”
He sighed and shook his head. “No.” Pulling out a chair, he took a seat and then indicated that I do the same.
I took the seat to his left, leaning out of arms reach. I didn’t want him to touch me. It was too soon. I was still raw.
“I’m sorry.” He looked at me with sad, puppy dog eyes, and my own eyes welled in response. What could I say? That it was okay? I knew he was referring to the transference of my child, my unborn baby. I blinked my tears away, changing the subject.
“You need to do something about Mom,” I finally said.
“I know.” His voice was pure misery.
I glanced at him with razors in my gaze. This was not the father I remembered. He had been strong. Confident. A ruler.
“I’ve made such a mess of things, Lucy.” He sighed, bowing his head. I looked at him in shock. Disappointment flooded me, followed by anger. He was the creator, he’d made us all, and he was admitting defeat? Without even putting up a fight?
“You need to be the
man she fell in love with,” I said, tamping down the emotion in my voice. “Strong. Excited to share your life with her, excited for the future, excited for life.”
“But I’m not with her anymore. And she sure as Hell doesn’t want to be with me.”
“Oh no? You think she’s going to all this trouble because she doesn’t care? She’s going to all this trouble because she cares too much. You hurt her, Dad. She wants to hurt you in return. You can’t sit back and let her do that because she’s not only hurting you, she’s killing people. Destroying worlds. You know she’s calling the witnesses? Which reminds me, what does that even mean?”
“Calling the witnesses?” He sighed, his fingers twisting the ring on his finger around. “A god—or goddess—can call a meeting of the witnesses to request action be taken against another god. Or goddess. A witness is simply a god—or goddess—not directly involved in whatever conflict has occurred.”
“Witnesses are gods?”
“Yes.”
“And calling the witnesses is…calling out another god?”
“Sort of. If there is a disagreement that cannot be resolved between gods, if there is a complaint or wrongdoing, then the witnesses are called to make a ruling. A minimum of six witnesses must gather and hear the testimony from the god who feels he—or she—has been wronged.”
“Like a court hearing?”
“Exactly. Only the witnesses must agree unanimously that the accused is either guilty or innocent. If guilty, they then decide a punishment, or they have the power to give that power to the accuser.”
“So, basically, Mom is taking you to court? To have you officially punished?”
“It appears that way.” He looked sadder than I’d ever seen him, his lips turned down at the corners and his eyes flat.
“But…what is she charging you with?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I will find out if she manages to call together enough witnesses.”
“But why is she calling them to Earth? Why not her realm?”