She made it impossible.
"Tell me about your brother."
Serah’s brow furrowed. "I’ve told you about Samuel."
"You’ve told me of him," he said. "Tell me about him."
"Oh, well . . . I guess it’s hard to describe him. He’s strong and loyal, full of love and compassion. He’s a beautiful soul."
"So a lot like you?"
She shrugged. "I suppose we're somewhat alike."
"What makes him so special to you?"
"He understands."
"Understands what?"
She hesitated. "My desire for more."
Desire. Lucifer knew all about desire.
"What will you do if you find him?"
"If? Don’t you mean when I find him?"
Lucifer nodded. "When you find him, then."
"I don’t know," she replied. "I suppose it depends on what happened to him."
"Are you at all worried about what you’ll find?" he asked.
She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Should I be?"
Lucifer shrugged a shoulder, his attention turning to his cards. Serah was pulling ahead in the game, leaving Lucifer down to only seven cards. He could sense her hope, strong in the room as it radiated from her, so potent he nearly felt guilty when he threw an ace and broke her winning streak.
"Phooey," she said, poking her lips out in a pout. "You can’t always win."
"We’ll see."
Thirty minutes later, Serah threw her last card with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest as he won again.
As days wore on, Serah spent more and more time in the pit with Lucifer and less time attending to her mundane duties. Things on Earth were steadily collapsing, natural disasters, one after another, battering the lands. Sickness was spreading through countries, deadly diseases infecting mortals, while evil started to slowly swell.
No one on Earth made the connection, but the angels knew what it meant.
It was hard for Serah to reconcile that madness with the creature in front of her, offhandedly overturning cards in game after game, as if there was nothing else in the universe he had to do. How could he be destroying humanity, plotting to take over, when he spent nearly every moment playing a silly card game with her? He didn't sneak off to attend secret meetings, didn't have evil armies training by his side. In fact, except for the one who showed her in the first day, she didn't encounter a single demon in his presence.
The atmosphere was light, any tension that had once existed fading away as the two of them joked and laughed, for the first time their games more like fun than an assignment. There were two sides to him, two vastly different beings somehow coexisting within one body. There was Satan, the red-eyed demon, who lashed out in anger and invoked evil . . . and then there was Lucifer, making the best of what he'd been given, still finding color in a dark, dark world.
And that part—the lingering bit of angel, optimistic and bright-eyed—fascinated her like nothing had before.
Lucifer shuffled the cards and split the deck down the middle. He was about to slide her half to her when she held up her hand to stop him. "This isn’t working."
"Excuse me?"
"The way we’re playing," she clarified. "It’s not working."
"Are you quitting?"
"No, I just want to do it differently."
Lucifer laughed dryly. "This is War. There is no other way to play it."
"Yes, there is," she insisted. "You can play it like a normal person."
"I’m not normal," he said, "nor am I a person."
"Maybe not, but you can pretend."
"Why?"
"Because I asked."
"So?"
She sighed. "Try, for me. Please?"
He stared at her, his expression blank. A small swell of tension swept through but whisked right back out as he stood up and sauntered across the room, coming to a stop beside her. He pulled out a chair, and Serah expected him to sit down in it, but instead he leaped up on the table in front of her, towering above her as he sat down, his long legs dangling off the side.
"Fine," he ground out, almost as if it were physically painful to concede. "Let's get this over with."
Their game started out normally, an equal share of give and take, as Lucifer manually turned over the cards for the first time. Serah started to pull ahead eventually, winning hand after hand. Lucifer’s deck steadily shrank as the game wore on, leaving him with only three cards.
Serah threw a king; Lucifer threw a six.
Serah threw a ten; Lucifer threw a six.
Serah threw an eight and glared at him as his hand hovered over his last card. "If you throw another six, I’m crying foul."
He chuckled, making no move to turn over his card. "I’m surprised you haven’t cried foul before. I won a hundred and twenty-three games in a row. You had to know something wasn’t right."
Her eyes narrowed. "You’ve been cheating?"
"Of course," he said. "Come on. You really think I play fair? If I want something, I get it. I told you—I make all the rules here."
"You . . . you . . . you. . ." Anger clouded her expression. "You asshole!"
Lucifer’s eyes widened. "Tell me how you really feel, angel."
"I can’t believe you!" she spat. "I’ve dedicated everything to winning this game, so we could finally have an honest conversation, and the whole time you’ve been cheating! It’s impossible for me to win!"
Lucifer overturned his last card—a six, of course. "You beat me this time."
"Because you let me."
"No, because you asked me to play fair."
She glared at him as her hand slammed down on the table. She snatched up the last two cards, shoving them on the bottom of her deck. "I want my answers."
"Ask your questions."
"Where’s my brother?"
"Can’t say."
"Why are you still fighting?"
He shrugged.
"Stop it," she insisted. "End the war."
"That’s not a question."
"Please?"
"No."
A loud groan of frustration echoed through the room as Serah stood, shoving her chair back. Angrily, she threw the deck of cards at him, all fifty-two of them scattering around him, some smacking him in the chest. "I did all of this for nothing? Seriously? You’re giving me nothing?"
She turned to storm out when he grabbed ahold of her arm, yanking her back in her chair. She shoved away from him, prying his hands off of her as something surged underneath her skin. It was so intense her body felt like it was vibrating.
"He came here."
"Who?"
"Your brother."
Serah’s anger faded a bit at his words. "What?"
"He came to the gate. He summoned me."
"When?"
"A few weeks ago," he said. "It was the first time I ever smelled you. Your scent was all over him that day."
"Why?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Probably because he’d just seen you."
"No, I mean why did he come here?" she asked. "What did he want?"
"He wanted to ask me a question."
"What question?"
"He wanted to know why I didn’t back down. I had everything, and I gave it up for this." He waved his hands around, motioning toward the gloomy room. "He wanted to know if I thought falling was worth it."
"What did you say?"
"I said I’d rather endure an eternity of pain by choice than feel nothing forever by force," he said, tapping his temple. "The next day, the angels were frenzied. Samuel fell, they said. Nobody knew why, or how, but I knew."
"Why?"
Lucifer scooted closer to her. She stared up at him, desperation shining from her eyes as she waited for an explanation, something that would finally make sense of it. Samuel was so loyal, dedicated to innocence. What had he done to deserve such a fate?
"He fell because he decided falling would be worth it," Lucifer said. "He asked Michael to take his wings."
Se
rah furiously shook her head. "No, he wouldn’t."
"He would," he said, "and he did."
"You’re wrong."
Lucifer sighed. "I’m not. He was the first, you know. The rest all fell out of punishment. Samuel fell because he was ready to go."
Devastation swirled through Serah as she continued to shake her head, refusing to believe her brother would do that. "He wouldn’t. . . he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t just leave me alone. He wouldn’t."
"You aren’t alone," he said. "I like to think he left you in capable hands."
Serah frowned as she processed those words. Could it be? "Michael."
Slowly, carefully, Lucifer leaned forward, his face near hers as he whispered, "I meant me."
A shiver ran the length of her body as his breath fanned against her skin. Lucifer’s cheek brushed against hers, sparks tingling where they touched. She glanced up at him as he moved even closer, the tips of their noses brushing together. Serah’s breath caught in her throat, her chest aching with an unfamiliar burn as the brown in his eyes melted away slowly, familiar blue creeping back in.
He didn’t hesitate as he cocked his head to the side, pressing his chapped lips to hers. She remained still, reeling as he gently kissed her, his tongue swiping across her bottom lip. She let out a shuddering breath, his tongue exploring her mouth the second it opened, softly caressing hers. Something jolted inside of her at that moment, something astonishing, something brand-new. She brought a shaky hand up and ran it through his dark hair. Every part of her touching him prickled, pins and needles under her skin, like it was waking up for the very first time.
There was fire then, passion erupting when her hands touched him. His kiss was firmer, his lips moving feverishly. She tried to kiss him back, tried to keep up with his frenzied movements, but all at once, it was too much—too overwhelming, too foreign, too intense. She shoved away from him, shaking her head. Lucifer froze, breathing heavily, the blue in his eyes being overtaken with black as he gawked at her. His expression morphed quickly to confusion. "Oh, fuck."
She tried to move away as his hand shot out, his large palm covering her cheek. His thumb brushed against her skin, quickly wiping something away as Serah’s vision blurred, hindering her view of him.
The burning in her chest intensified as her throat closed up, words barely able to make it past the obstruction. "What’s happening to me?"
"You’re crying," he whispered. "You’re fucking crying."
Serah pushed away from him again, bringing her hands up to frantically wipe her face. Crying? She could see the tears shining on her fingers as she brushed them away, like tiny diamonds glistening under the dim lighting.
Impossible.
She stood up, panicked, and darted for the door. Lucifer tried to stop her, scurrying right after her, but she was too quick. She bounded out the door and soared to the gate at lightning speed, passing straight through it. Lucifer tried to follow and hit the shield at full blast.
A high-pitched shriek ripped through the sky as the enchantments struggled to keep him imprisoned, so loud Serah recoiled and brought her hands up to cover her ears. She swung around, seeing Lucifer had made it halfway through the shield before it brutally repelled him.
An excruciating scream tore from his chest as his eyes burned bright crimson, his lip curling in a monstrous sneer. He dropped to his knees, his tanned skin turning orange as if fire raged beneath, that spot on his chest where Michael had carved the mark glowing so brightly Serah could see it through his black shirt. Flames seemed to explode from the circle, scorching his clothes.
He threw his head back and clenched his hands into fists as another noise ricocheted through the land. The ground quaked as the guarding reapers descended upon him, the shapeless faceless black monsters tearing at his skin. His screams grew louder as his body absorbed them before spitting the masses right back out, like mere shadows passing through him.
Serah’s vision blurred more, her chest constricting as she fought for composure, gasping for needless air, unable to catch an unnecessary breath. She covered her mouth as tears flowed down her cheeks and turned away from him, unable to take it. She ran again, not stopping until she stepped foot back onto the soil of the woods in Hellum Township.
Serah and Hannah swayed gently on the swings of the quiet school playground. The kids were all in class, recess not for another hour, leaving the two angels all alone for a bit. The air behind Serah crackled seconds before her swing roughly jolted, nearly knocking her out of it. She gripped the chains tightly, holding on, as Hannah glanced behind them. "Samuel."
Serah sighed as her brother teleported from behind her to in front of her the moment she turned to look at him. She turned back around, raising an eyebrow as she met his gaze, seeing the look of amusement on his face. "Don’t you have anything better to do than annoy me?"
"Nope," he said. "Nothing is more important than my sister today."
"Why?"
He smirked. "Happy Creation Day!"
Serah’s rolled her eyes. "We were created in the summer. It’s fall."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. You know that, Samuel."
"Oh, well, guess I got you a surprise for nothing then."
Serah’s brow furrowed as she regarded him with curiosity. "A surprise?"
He nodded, his attention shifting to Hannah. "Sorry, hippie, I didn’t get you anything."
Hannah shook her head. "I don’t know why you insist on calling me that."
"You do the hippie stuff, like play with nature and gaze at the cosmos. If you were mortal, you’d totally smoke reefer and sing ‘Kumbaya’ with your stoner friends."
"I think you’re confusing me with you," Hannah said. "I’m pretty sure I overheard you and Michael discussing world peace yesterday."
"Hey, it’s a great concept," Samuel said. "Would certainly make our work easier if everyone could just get along."
"Well, they won’t." Hannah stood up, giving Serah a small smile, before turning back to Samuel. She threw up two fingers as she stuck her tongue out at him. "Peace out."
She vanished in a crack of electricity. Samuel laughed, shaking his head as he turned back to Serah. He kicked her feet as she swung toward him. "Come on, get up. Let’s go."
"Go where?"
"Your surprise, remember?"
Sighing, Serah stood up, expecting Samuel to teleport somewhere and her have to put feelers out to pick up his location, but he didn’t. Instead, he started walking through the playground toward the sidewalk. She stayed in step with him, the two of them casually strolling down the street in Chorizon.
"Is my surprise here?"
"Yep."
"What is it?"
"You’ll see."
"Why won’t you tell me?"
"Because it’ll ruin the surprise."
They walked for a few blocks, slowing as they came upon a small coffee shop. Serah gazed in the window, seeing a few patrons inside, nothing that would particularly spark her interest.
"Coffee?" she asked. "It always seemed kind of disgusting to me, Samuel."
He laughed. "No, your surprise is behind you."
Serah’s gaze shifted. In the glass window, she could see the reflection of the street behind her. There she spotted it, the cherry red 1966 Pontiac GTO parked along the curb, the top down, fresh paint glistening under the sunlight. She spun around. "My favorite car!"
"Yep," he said, nudging her with his elbow. "Surprised I remembered?"
Before she could respond, the air around them sparkled as Samuel shifted, taking on his full human form. A man walking out of the coffee shop startled, alarmed, dropping his drink as Samuel appeared right in front of his eyes. Samuel glanced behind him at the man, casually nodding. "What’s up?"
Serah hissed through clenched teeth. "What are you doing? People can see you!"
"So?" He shrugged. "We can’t drive this bad boy unless we materialize. It’ll draw too much attention with nobody behind the wheel."
"Drive it?" She gaped at him. "We can’t drive, Samuel."
"Why?"
"Because it’s against the rules!"
"Oh, get off it," he said. "Tell me which one of the commandments it breaks."
"Thou shalt not steal."
"We’re borrowing it. See? The keys are already in it for us. Not stealing."
Serah gazed at the keys. "Thou shalt not covet."
"We're not coveting. We're driving."
Serah sighed. "I don’t know how to drive."
"How do you know? You’ve never tried." He waved his hands, motioning toward the car. "Come on. I look crazy, just standing here talking to myself."
She stared at her brother, contemplating. "Are you sure about this?"
"Absolutely, little sis," he said, conviction in his voice setting her at ease. He rubbed his hands together. "Let’s do this."
Serah glanced around suspiciously, hoping no one was looking as she materialized beside her brother. He grinned at her as he ran toward the car, leaping into the passenger seat. Serah walked around to the driver’s side and opened the door, timidly sliding into the seat. She put on her seat belt, earning a dramatic eye roll. "We can’t get hurt."
"No, but there’s a law about seat belts," she said, "but go ahead and keep yours off if you want a police officer to pull us over."
Samuel shrugged. "Eh, would certainly be interesting."
Serah started the car, a smile overtaking her lips as it came to life, the car vibrating as the engine purred. She tried to recall what it was mortals did as they drove and checked her mirrors, adjusting the seat to reach the pedals better. She put on the blinker to signal and looked around cautiously, making sure nothing was coming as she pulled out into the street.
Samuel glanced around the vehicle, opening up consoles and looking in cubbyholes. "Ha!" he yelled after a moment, snatching a pair of sunglasses out of the glove compartment. He lounged back in his seat as he put them on, casually leaning his arm against the door. "All right, sis. Gun it."
Her eyes widened. "What?"
"Press the gas."
"I am."
Samuel craned his neck to look at the speedometer. Serah looked down at it: 20 miles per hour. "Give me a break. What race car driver goes this slow?"
"I’m not really a race car driver," she said incredulously.
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