It gives those of us accustomed to her a chance to strike.
I should’ve thought about using her as a weapon. In this fight, she could be very useful with intermittent bellowing. She’s like a reverse siren, her call a deterrent.
I twist and turn, taking out one demon after another, not stopping to watch the floor swallow them up. We have only a few seconds before the effects of Lilith calm and the demons are back in the swing of the action.
“Satan, I don’t know how long we can hold them,” Aza shouts.
“Keep pushing,” I yell back. “Nolda cannot make it to the throne.”
That’s their plan, and the ultimate reason I allowed the battle to be fought here. The throne must be protected. If Nolda manages to sit on that throne with four high demons at his side and a black witch, he’ll be the ruler of Hell. And we’re close to that being our reality.
Slicing through the hordes that continue to come, I back away from the main hall and slip into the empty corridor leading to the throne room.
My legion has been able to keep the demons from getting this far, but it won’t last.
Closing my eyes, I fall to my knees as I send up a silent plea for what may be the first time to God for help.
“I won’t abandon the throne again. You have my word.”
I wait, but for what, I’m uncertain. Divine enlightenment? God’s voice to call down to me? Huffing, I stand to my feet, growing angry with myself.
Of all the times to show weakness, this isn’t it. To call on God . . . the one who abandoned me here in the first place . . . it’s pointless.
When I open my eyes, I have to blink several times to determine if what I’m seeing is a mirage or reality.
Michael, Leeann, Zeke, and at least a dozen more archangels are bursting through the main hall doors, joining the fight.
“Lucifer, the reapers are out front, holding the line. If we can get things under control in here, it will all be over,” Zeke yells over the fray.
The reapers.
Victoria came. Somehow, she was able to convince the reapers to fight on my side. Victoria is here . . . somewhere.
Dread pools as I recall the state of the place. The fallen demons who fought at my side. The evil that stains these walls. And she’s out there surrounded by it.
“She’s fine, Lucifer. She’s a better fighter than all of us,” Zeke says from my side. “Don’t let her see your concern. She’s liable to fight you.”
I snicker, because he isn’t wrong. My girl is fierce and proud.
Stalking back toward the fight, feeling rejuvenated, I take out three low demons as I go, not so much as sparing them a glance as my blade tears through tendons.
I need to get to her. Not to protect, but to bask in the energy she brings.
My head lifts and my breath hitches. My heart stumbles and I damn near drop my blade and run to her.
Victoria.
She’s across the room, her sword in hand, slicing through a vampire’s chest, kicking out and slamming the blade in further. When he falls, she steps on his shoulder, pulling the sword from the demon in time for cleanup to occur.
She is fantastic.
The black leather clings to her body in a way that almost makes my primal need to throw her over my shoulders and drag her out of here take over.
I begin to clear a path of demons, making my way to her side. Her gaze lifts and our eyes connect. The hunger radiates out across the room, and I’ll be damned if I allow her to leave my side ever again.
She’s the oxygen I breathe. The light that shines even in the darkness of this place. My soul’s counterpart. My entire reason for existing. There is no doubt that she owns my heart.
The next war fought will be against Heaven if they decide to take her away.
I shouldn’t think those thoughts so soon after God’s help, but I can’t lie. I will go to war for her. She will be my queen.
My heart thumps loudly as I continue my trek toward her. The grin she wears tells me she sees just how much I want her. Even in the middle of a battle, my need for her can’t be eclipsed.
Victoria’s beautiful smile morphs into something like terror and my eyes narrow in response. Her hand shoots out, pointing at something or someone behind me.
My back bends just in time for a large battle ax to sail across the air where my head had just been. I fall to my knees, twisting my sword around to swipe at the feet of my assailant. He jumps, escaping my attack.
I look up into Bumalin’s wolfish face and rage takes over.
This Judas won’t meet his end by my sword or magic. No, I’ll make him suffer for his treachery.
My arm raises, sword in hand, just in time to thwart another blow from Bumalin’s ax. Even on my knees at a disadvantage, I’m able to push back while standing to my feet.
“Let’s make this fight fair, Bumalin,” I growl.
He throws back his head and howls, calling upon his nearby wolf-demons to join his side.
“Fucking coward. Need your lackeys to defeat one man?” I laugh arrogantly. “You’d never make it on the throne of Hell.”
He bares his pointed yellow teeth and I laugh in his face. He doesn’t scare me. There are worse things hidden in the bowels of Hell. If anything, this wolf’s appearance looks like a stage prop from a human horror flick.
Pathetic.
Our weapons clash against each other, and sparks fly at the friction caused. The weight of the sword grows heavier with every hard knock against Bumalin’s ax. That doesn’t matter, though. I’ve fought in longer, harder battles and have always come out on top. This time won’t be any different. It can’t be. There’s too much at stake.
I jab into his thick side, driving my elbow deep into his ribs. He howls in pain and is momentarily distracted. I use the second to kick my leg out and trip him.
He falls backward, and to ensure he hits the ground, I sail my foot into his stomach.
The thud of his head hitting the rock-hard ground is sickening.
I’m raising my sword above my head to end his life when my eyes catch on the sight of Nolda and a small entourage heading off toward the throne room.
Shit.
When my eyes connect with Bumalin, he wears a wicked grin.
“It’s over,” Bumalin growls in delight.
This was a distraction. Bumalin needed to either kill me or keep me preoccupied long enough for the rest of them to get to the throne. And I allowed it to happen.
I don’t waste time ending Bumalin. The grizzly oaf will be easy enough to track down and torture. Right now, I have to stop Nolda.
Rushing from the room, I head in their direction, but I have the advantage. My castle is a fortress of hidden passages and portals that go from room to room. I push through the nearest and find myself on the backside of my throne. The room is still empty, so I utilize the element of surprise and prepare for an outnumbered battle.
“You’re far from outnumbered.”
I twist around in time to see Zeke, Michael, and Leeanna rush through the portal I just exited.
“We saw you,” Leeanna says, shrugging as though it should be obvious. “What are we up against?”
“Nolda has four high demons and a black witch. They’re coming to take the throne. We must stop them at all costs.”
“A ritual,” Leeanna snarls in disgust.
“They’re here,” Michael says, sounding far too calm for what’s to come.
The throne room doors burst open, and in stalks Nolda at the front. When he sees me and the angels at my back, he pauses.
“How . . .”
“This is my home, Nolda. You didn’t really think it would be that easy, did you?”
“I planned for you to be distracted. It’s not hard these days.” Nolda’s arrogance is maddening. He’s a low, scatterbrained demon. The fact he got this far in his quest is mind-boggling.
“Step aside. I’ll take care of this.” The black witch nearly pushes Nolda out of the way, stomping to the fr
ont of their pack.
My eyebrow lifts, but I don’t even bother to stand from my throne.
“You think you have power here, witch?” I flick my wrist and send her sailing into the doors she just came through. Her body crumples to the floor, and Nolda’s eyes widen.
“Get her up,” he screeches. “We need her.”
“It’s just you and me, Nolda. Let’s see who truly rules Hell.”
I stand, pulling my sword from its sheath and moving menacingly toward him.
The demons forget about the witch, all piling behind Nolda in a V formation.
I roll my eyes, trying to mask the worry building inside me. Nolda would be easy enough to kill, but to take him out with four high demons at his back, with any number of powers gifted from the black witch, is distressing.
But I won’t allow them to know that.
I jump forward, jabbing my sword in Nolda’s direction, but he sees it coming, and is able to step out of the way in time. We begin a duel, much like the one I was just in with Bumalin. Steel clashes together, sparks flying, both of our bodies twisting and turning to evade the other’s blade.
Nolda has been working on his form. He’s much more skilled than he’s ever been in the past, but he’s still not good enough for me.
I should stop toying with him and just get this over with, but a part of me wants to drag it out. A very big part of me wants to watch his expression turn from confidence to surprise to dread. I want to watch the color bleed from his face as I end his miserable existence.
My feet cross over each other as I move toward Nolda, backing him into a corner. My sword lifts above my head and I get the satisfaction of watching Nolda cower.
“You underestimated me, Nolda, and for that, you’ll die.”
I have no intentions of killing him. He needs to suffer. He needs to be made an example. I hit Nolda over the head and he drops to the ground.
“Finish them,” I call out to the archangels, and they get to work.
Leeanna and Zeke circle around Abdiel, who lowers his head, readying his horns for attack. They don’t give him the chance. Leeanna lifts into the air while Zeke tackles him from the back. Having thrown the demon to the ground, Lee drives her sword, forged in Heaven, into the demon’s back. He evaporates, ceasing to exist.
Around me, the angels continue to take on the other three demons, ending the fight quicker than expected. The high demons have been subdued, and the angels work to restrain them.
Zeke comes to my side. “I was able to get the cage you requested. We’ll restrain them until we’re able to move them somewhere else.”
The doors slam open again, and all eyes turn to see Victoria rushing through, panting as though she sprinted the entire way here.
How she found this room is the question. My castle is a labyrinth. Lilith runs in behind her, and then it makes sense. Somehow Lilith and Victoria managed to not kill each other long enough to make it here.
I smile across the room at my girl, and she smiles back.
“How’s the fight going out there?”
“It’s over,” Victoria says. “Camille and the reapers helped to defeat the traitors.”
I turn my head to catch the look on Michael’s face when he hears the news that Camille was here. If possible, his face is whiter than it was when he arrived in Hell.
I’m preparing to offer a jab at Michael’s expense when Leeanna’s gasp garners my attention.
I turn in time to watch as the black witch approaches Victoria’s back.
Without a second thought, I transport myself between the two just in time for Yvette’s spell to thrust from the wand in her outstretched hand into my chest.
A searing cold, the likes of which I’ve never experienced, flows through me, freezing my insides.
I drop to my knees, eyes wide in confusion. The commotion around me sounds muffled. I can’t make out any of the words or who speaks them. Victoria falls to her knees in front of me, saying something, looking panicked, but I can’t understand a word she says.
I fall back, head hitting the ground, and everything goes black.
KING OF SHADOWS
My ears ring with the force of my screams.
I heave my body over top of Luke’s, stopping anyone from getting near him.
“Help,” I yell, to no one in particular. “Help.” My voice is hoarse and my heart thumps in my chest.
Luke doesn’t move underneath me, and terror threatens to pull me under.
“Help,” I say, one more time.
Someone falls to their knees beside me. I peer over to see a grief-stricken Lilith.
“Help him,” I beg. “I’ll give you whatever you want. Just help him.”
I would give my own life to save Luke.
A tear falls from the wicked woman’s eyes, and her head shakes. “I can’t,” she cries. “It’s beyond any powers I possess.”
My head swivels on my shoulder, looking from one archangel to the next. Each of them lowers their gaze to the floor.
“Michael,” I say, walking on my knees until I’m in front of him. “Please do something. I know you can. If anyone can, it’s you. Please help him.” My pleading is no use.
“Victoria, if I could, I would, but I don’t possess that power. The black witch’s magic is beyond my comprehension. By the time I could uncover what she’s done, it would be too late.”
“But he . . . he can’t die. He can’t!”
“I’m sorry, child,” Michael says, running a hand soothingly down my hair.
I jerk out of his grasp. “Don’t touch me,” I bark. “Don’t you dare touch me. This is all your fault,” I yell, growing more erratic.
It’s not his fault. I’m misdirecting my anger.
Grief will do that to a person. We need someone to blame. Someone to hold accountable, even when there’s no reason.
But there’s plenty of blame to go around. It’s just not Michael who deserves it placed on his shoulders.
“It’s my fault.”
The words fall brokenly from my lips for the entire room to hear.
“He stayed on Earth because of me. This war happened because of me.” The words continue to spill out, pulling me further into despair.
On my knees, I bow my head, close my eyes, and fold my hands.
Dear Heavenly Father, please hear me. It is I who deserve punishment. It was me who turned my back on Heaven. It was me who tempted the Devil and held him captive.
I’m the reason he was away. I repent, and I’m willing to take his place. Save him. End my existence if you must take a life.
A deluge of tears falls down my cheeks and sobs rack through me. My heart breaks with every moment that goes by. He’s dying, if not already dead, and I can’t do anything to stop it.
I cry over his lifeless body for several minutes, and nobody tries to pull me away. For that, I’m grateful. I would fight anyone who tried.
“My child, stand.” God’s booming voice has my head snapping up.
“God,” I say, scrambling to my feet. “Please. Help. I—”
He cuts off my words with a raise of his hand. “Victoria, this was all for a reason. Greater powers are at work. Lucifer is needed here in Hell. I cannot allow him to perish. However, an example needed to be made, because war is coming, and he has deserted his post far too many times.
“Another war?” I ask.
“A mighty war. Far greater than any before.”
“When?” Leeanna asks, and I nod several times, seconding her question.
“Not today.”
I have to control my urge to groan. There are never answers when God’s involved. It’s all riddles and half replies.
He shakes his head. “There are reasons I cannot say, Victoria. Reasons you would not understand. None of you would.”
“Try me,” I say, a little too testily, considering God is here and offering his aid to Luke.
Thankfully, he chuckles. “Victoria, I do miss your wit. Heaven has been rather dull
in your absence.”
I smirk at the compliment.
“You must all prepare for the battle between good and evil. It is upon us.”
I have so many questions, but I know I’ll never get the answers I seek, and in truth, all I need is Luke back to health. All the other accusations on the tip of my tongue die as I remember the purpose for my calling out to him.
“And so it shall be,” he says, smiling down at me. “Now come.”
He pulls me back to my knees next to him. “Place your hands over Lucifer and pray.”
I do as instructed, putting my entire will into praying for Luke’s recovery.
With my eyes still closed, I only hear his sharp intake of breath, followed by a coughing fit. My eyes fly open, and Luke’s shine up at me.
“Victoria,” he grumbles.
I crash my body to his, peppering kisses all over his face.
“You’re alive. God, he’s—”
My words die in the air as I realize he’s no longer present, and we’re no longer in the throne room.
We’re alone in Lucifer’s room.
He’s sprawled on his bed and I’m hovering over him.
“Victoria. W-what are you doing here?”
“I’ve been here. Camille and the reapers came to help. Don’t you remember the fight?”
He shakes his head, wincing at the movement.
“Lie still,” I command. “You were badly hurt.”
“I was?”
He sits up, despite my request to remain still. He groans, rubbing his chest where the black magic entered.
I lift his shirt, and a deep purple bruise is all that’s to be seen from the magic.
“A black witch,” I explain.
“Yvette.” He nods, blinking several times as though to clear his sight. “It’s coming back to me.”
“Please lie down,” I beg, motioning for him to at least scoot back so that he can rest against his pillows.
He purses his mouth but obliges me.
When he’s settled, he stares at me for several long minutes, not saying anything. I’m about to break the tense silence, but he beats me to it.
“You came back.”
“I told you I would, Luke.”
His eyes close for a moment, and a breath rushes from his chest. He’s in pain.
Trust the Fall (Fallen Hunters Series Book 2) Page 21
