“Put the ax down.”
As I debated about whether to kill the guard, I heard footsteps behind me. I dropped the ax to the side and turned around to see Lucifer for the first time in centuries. I wondered if he’d ever come looking for me. We were supposed to meet for our vacation the night I disappeared.
“Hey, Luc,” I said.
He was just as hot as I remembered. His deep-brown eyes flashed red, and he crossed his arms. He wore dark trousers and a strange jacket with a white shirt. Everyone dressed so differently than they had before I’d gone to the catacombs.
“Gemma?”
I walked down the stone path toward Lucifer. He hadn’t aged a day, and my attraction hadn’t dwindled at all since the last time I saw him. “Yes. Did you miss me?”
He shrugged and looked at the guard behind me. “Get your ass up, and remove this woman from hell.” Lucifer turned to walk away, and the guard grabbed me around the waist, catching my arm. Pain shot through my body, and I let out a blood-curdling scream as he pulled me back through the archway.
Lucifer turned and narrowed his eyes. “Stop.” The guard stopped dragging me, and I used the opportunity to sling my leg back in and kick him in the balls. His grip loosened enough for me to slip out and cradle my arm.
“Lucifer, I need to talk to you,” I said.
He stared down at my arm. “What is wrong with you?”
I pointed to the guard behind me. “He broke my arm.”
“Let me see.” Lucifer walked over and grabbed my arm. Pain and awareness shot through my body. The pain was still stronger than the touch of Lucifer. “How?”
I wanted to know the same thing. When the gods locked me away, they must have taken some of my powers, or maybe my body was weak from spending so many years in the crypt with no food or water.
“A lot has happened,” I said.
“Like you disappearing for three hundred years and then one day deciding you should show up in bra and panties, thinking I would forget about you ghosting me?”
I gently pulled my arm back. “I have no clue what you're talking about. And it wasn’t my choice to be standing out here in my bra and underwear. He ripped my dress off.”
Lucifer looked back and frowned at the large dress on the ground. Two seconds later, he swooped me up in his arms and walked toward the massive palace. I rested my head against his shoulder and let his strength envelop me. It was the first time I’d felt safe in years. Even though I’d been asleep all that time, I’d felt like I was constantly searching for something.
When we walked by the two gargoyle statues, I smiled and waved at Eric and Martin. They’d been there since I first met Lucifer. The only time they could take on their living selves and fly around was during a full moon.
People I didn’t recognize roamed the entryway to the castle. A mousy woman with blonde hair stood to the side with a pen and paper. She ran to Lucifer when he walked by. His eyes didn’t leave his path as he barked, “Get Evanora here now.”
The woman stumbled, and she blinked a couple of times. “Evanora?” she whispered back. I knew how she felt. Nobody liked dealing with Evanora, and I sure as hell didn’t want to see her.
“That won’t be necessary,” I said. “But a glass of wine, a bar of chocolate… and a steak should work.”
Lucifer glared down at me. “Get Evanora and all the other crap she requested.” When she didn’t turn and do Lucifer’s bidding, he yelled, “Now.” The woman squeaked and ran.
“That wasn’t nice. Now I’m not going to get my food, and I haven’t eaten in… what year is it again?”
“What was the last year you remember?”
“Well, the Titans locked me away in the catacombs in 1773, and Prometheus released me about an hour ago. So, 1773 is the last year I remember. He said something about me being held there for two hundred seventy-three years. My math is terrible. Can you just tell me what year it is?”
He gently put me down on his bed. His room hadn’t changed much in the last few centuries. Creepy demon paintings hung on the walls. The comforter was still deep red. My eyes swung from the marble fireplace back to Lucifer. He paced next to the bed. “So, you’ve been sleeping all these years?”
“How did you not know where I was? The Titans said they told the gods about me, and a vote was taken. I was too dangerous to be left alone.”
Fire exploded from the tips of Lucifer’s fingers. “There was no vote. I got a message from you.” He ran his hand through his hair. “It said you moved on and planned to spend some time in Nirvana.”
A shiver ran down my spine. I thought I would rather spend time in the crypt again than go to Nirvana and be with Lucifer's sister Mother Nature. “You're telling me you haven’t spoken to your sister, and you wonder why you hadn’t seen me in years.”
Lucifer glared down at me. He didn’t need to open his mouth to make it clear that he thought I’d left him and he hadn’t wanted to see me. What made me sad was that he never even tried to come looking for me. Well, I will have him help with the current problem. Then I’ll walk away.
“She’s difficult. We don’t talk much.” He looked down at me. “You’ve really been locked away?”
I shrugged. There was nothing to say. He never came looking for me.
Luckily, the door flew open just then, and Evanora walked in. She still had long black hair down to her butt. Her bright-green eyes bore into my skin. No matter how much I hated her, she would be the only person who could explain why my body was failing me.
She glided across the room and shoved Lucifer to the side. “Gemma.” She let my name roll off her tongue in disgust.
“Evanora, it’s been a long time.”
I wasn’t sure how old she was, but I wondered if she was one of the first people to walk the earth along with the gods. She didn’t look that old. Even though she was scary, she was one of the most stunning women alive.
Lucifer beat me to telling her what was going on. When he finished retelling the story, she grabbed my hand and chanted. Her eyes rolled back, and only the whites showed. The louder she chanted, the more my wrist throbbed. I tried to tug it away, but she held on tighter. After five minutes, she let go of my hand and sat down next to me. I rotated my wrist. She had mended the break.
“Do you know why her wrist broke?” Lucifer asked.
Evanora nodded. “Yes.” She turned her green eyes on me. “You’re dying.”
1
Gemma
“Would you rather die in a blaze of glory or alone in a bed?” I asked Evanora as she mixed up another batch of horrible tasting medicine.
“I’m unkillable, so the question doesn’t make sense.”
I grabbed the pillow off the bed and screamed in frustration. “I’m supposed to be unkillable, yet here I am. So, let’s say you could be killed. Blaze of glory or this?”
“Blaze of glory,” she answered, not looking up from the mixing bowl. I still wasn’t sure she wasn’t putting something in the bowl to help me die faster. One week had passed since she’d mentioned the fact that I was dying. That same day, Lucifer had stormed out of his room and disappeared.
The stupid witch had also cast a spell that kept me in the hellish bedroom, and I hadn’t been able to leave it. She couldn’t tell me how many days I had left. I would die soon, and she and Lucifer thought it was best to keep me locked in a room. They wouldn’t listen when I told them what Prometheus planned. Lucifer didn’t care. He said he could take care of himself and Poseidon deserved to die.
“So you understand I can’t die like this,” I said.
“Lucifer wants you here.”
“I don’t care what he wants. He hasn’t bothered to set foot in this room since you both decided to lock me here. I was already imprisoned once. I’m not spending my last days sealed away!” I screamed.
“Lucifer has a plan, and he’s waiting for everything to fall into place.”
I ground my teeth. This was the same fight we’d had for years. He wanted t
o protect me and thought he could keep me safe by locking me away. Clearly, that hadn’t worked the last time.
I jumped off the bed and walked over to the dresser. Lucifer had had one of his assistants bring me a new wardrobe. I still wasn’t used to the clothes. It was so strange, as a woman, to be wearing comfortable clothing. Yoga pants were the best thing I had come across. I wasn’t used to the TV and spent most of my time reading romance books. They were helping me get caught up with the times, but they also left me frustrated.
“You are going to let me out of this room.”
“Lucifer wouldn’t like that,” Evanora repeated.
“So you’ve said a million times over the past week, but here’s the deal. You said yourself that you would want to go out in a blaze of glory, and if I remember correctly, you have a thing for Zeus.”
The old witch blushed for a second before schooling her features.
“I knew it. Let me go save him and see if he will help me stop Prometheus.”
“You know, it’s not nice to use Evanora’s weaknesses against her,” Paxdon announced as he walked into the room with two babies strapped to him. I still hadn’t gotten used to him in human form. It wasn’t very often he changed from his pandacorn form. This wasn’t the first time he’d brought the babies in, and it was a reminder that Lucifer had gone on with his life without me. Lucifer had one daughter with twins and another daughter he’d just found, according to Paxdon.
“Well, Lucifer moved on without me.” I pointed to the baby in Paxdon’s arms. “The longer I stay here, the more I’m reminded of how he didn’t care.”
“Dramatic much?”
“Why won’t you guys let me leave?” I slipped on a new shirt. The yoga pants were going to be easier to fight in than a dress.
“Because, he cares about you and…” Paxdon trailed off as he looked at Evanora.
“When Lucifer received your message, he went straight-up crazy. Not just for a day or a week but for years. He would spend hours in the lower levels, torturing people and taking out his frustration. If you hadn’t noticed, most of the staff from when you were here are gone. It’s not like they had somewhere to go. Nobody could stand to be around him, and they all left. Most took jobs in the dungeons because that was better than being around him.”
“You both stayed,” I shot back.
“Because we knew what you meant to him. Others didn’t understand.” Paxdon bounced both babies on his knees. I wanted to reach out and run my hand through his golden locks. Evanora had told me the story of Pandora—Lucifer’s daughter—and what Pandora’s mother had gone through. There was no chance that Pandora’s mother would get back together with Lucifer.
“So, you want me to just sit here and die?”
“No.” Paxdon sighed.
“Yes,” Evanora said at the same time.
“You two need to get on the same page.” I grunted as I entered the password into the wall safe. Lucifer hadn’t even changed the password. It was set to my birthday. I reached in and grabbed a stack of cash and what I hoped was a gun. My powers were weakening by the day, and I would need something to assist me in taking down the rogue Titan. I wasn’t about to go to the ones who’d locked me away, but enough other people owed me favors, and maybe they would help me.
“I think it’s a bad idea, but if you go, talk to him first.” She walked over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of black leather pants and a white tank top. “And wear this.”
“I like the way you think,” Paxdon said.
I laughed as I walked over and grabbed the clothes from her hand. I didn’t bother leaving the room as I changed clothes. I slipped the gun into the back of my pants and took a look in the mirror. My skin was paler than it had been the day before, and my blonde hair was less shiny. Little things were starting to change. I wondered if I would still be able to use my powers—not that I planned to use them on the gods, but the Titan who’d threatened me would go down.
Evanora handed me a tube of lipstick. It was bright red and brought a little color to my face. I needed to have a showdown with Lucifer and then go save Zeus and Poseidon. I hated the water, but at least I would leave the world doing some good.
I slipped on a pair of red high heels. Before I made it to the door, Evanora blocked my path and stuck out a mug with her smelly medicine. “Drink.”
I had a feeling she wouldn’t let me by unless I drank the awful stuff. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed the cup from her hand and downed it in one swig. The stuff hadn’t gotten any better since the first time she handed it to me.
“It will hold you over for a day.” She glanced down at her watch. “I will make a batch for you to take with you.”
I was heading out to save two old gods who hadn’t looked for me when I went missing. Nobody had come looking for me.
As the power wielder, I’d been used by many of the gods to take powers away from some and to give powers to others. I never complained when I was called on. I did the job and walked away. I should have asked questions and figured out some of the gods’ true intentions.
I glanced in each direction outside the hallway. I needed to figure out where Lucifer might be.
“He’s in his office, where he’s been most of the time since you arrived. He’s only left a few times to take care of family stuff.”
Family. The one he created without me. I turned to the right and walked down the hall. Paxdon walked next to me with the two babies. My powers were weakening, but I could still feel the magic coming off the babies. They would be strong.
“You know he had to move on.”
“He made his choice, and clearly, he doesn’t want to be with me.” I shot Paxdon a frown and continued down the hall. “I’m back, and he hasn’t come to see me once.”
“He has his reasons,” Paxdon said. “I might not agree with what he’s trying to do, but he’s the boss, and most everyone listens to him.”
I rolled my eyes and pushed through a sizeable wooden door. It was the barrier between Lucifer’s private quarters and the rest of the palace. Many people lived and worked in his home, but only a few were allowed into his quarters. People stared as I walked through the central area down another hall toward his office. I could hear my name being whispered.
“Same reason he never came looking when I was sealed away.” I grunted. “Lucifer and I had something. If he’d ever disappeared, I would’ve searched high and low for him.”
“He is a man.”
“That’s the worst excuse.” I stopped. “Why do you care so much?”
“You’re two people I care about. I want you both to be happy, and I don’t want you to die. I think going on the mission might save you.”
He was wrong. I felt my body getting weaker by the day, and I didn’t want to sit around and die in Lucifer’s home when he didn’t even care enough to come see me.
“If you cared so much about me, why didn’t you look for me?”
“I sent someone.” Paxdon’s shoulders slumped. “And they came back saying you didn’t want to be found.”
The Titans would have made sure no one ever searched for me. My only saving grace was that Prometheus hated the Titans more than I did. I still wasn’t sure why he wanted Lucifer’s, Poseidon’s and Zeus’s powers.
“But you didn’t come,” I snapped. “Sorry. I know you had other things to deal with.”
Paxdon ran his hand over the babies' heads before turning to me. “You have every right to be mad at me. I didn’t come, and I should’ve.”
“You had no reason to.”
“I did,” Paxdon said. “Lucifer is an old friend, but so are you. I should’ve never believed my source. You two thought you hid your relationship well, but rumors were starting to go around.”
I rolled my head to relieve tension and the desire to scream. In the back of my mind, I thought about saying Screw it and not saving Zeus or Poseidon and taking down the people who’d sent me away. But my need for revenge was boiling over.
“Do you think they were trying to keep me from Lucifer?” I asked. It hadn’t crossed my mind until that moment.
“You made Lucifer more powerful, and if you’d stayed together, I think the prophecy would have come true.”
“What prophecy?”
“Shit…” Paxdon ran his hand over his face. “Forget I said anything.”
“Not going to happen.” I tapped my foot, waiting for the next bombshell.
“There might be a prediction that if Lucifer finds his true love, they will spawn a child of true powers.”
Prophecies always annoyed the hell out of me. They never gave an exact answer but gave just enough to get people up in arms. Then the event that had been prophesied would hit, and nothing would turn out like it was supposed to. Every ten years, someone would predict the world was going to end, and then it didn’t.
“Lucifer knew about this foretelling?”
“Yes,” Paxdon replied. “But in his defense, he didn’t believe it was true, so he wasn’t worried.”
“Or he didn’t think I was his true love,” I quickly added before turning to walk back down the hall. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m going to die soon.”
I could hear the damned souls screaming as we got closer to Lucifer’s office. The elevator to the lower levels must have been open.
“Stop being so overdramatic. We will find a cure.”
At the reception desk sat a Victoria’s Secret model. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. She was wearing the wings that covered more skin than her G-string and bra did.
“I’m here to see Lucifer.”
“He’s in a meeting,” she said.
“I don’t give a fuck if God is in that room. You’re going to buzz him and let me in.”
“Umm, no,” she said, turning back to the device in her hand. I still wasn’t sure about those things people called cell phones.
I reached across the table, grabbed the phone, and threw it across the room. It hit the stone wall and shattered. The sound of breaking glass soothed my soul. “Now, tell Lucifer that Gemma is here to see him.”
Fated Mates of the Underworld, Books 1-3 Page 28
