“But he’s not supposed to,” I said. “Death is final. Death is forever. I met Gabriel by accident, in a dream, and the Agency wanted my head for it. Lucifer can’t come here. He’s breaking the rules.”
“As are you, by being here now,” Evangeline said.
“I didn’t come here on purpose. I would rather eat a basket of wriggling spiders than spend five seconds with you,” I said. “Lucifer can’t keep doing this. He has to know that there will be a price to pay. There always is when you bend the laws of magic.”
“Lucifer would gladly pay any price the universe asked of him, especially now,” she said, and she stroked her hand over her belly.
I could see the taut roundness under her gown, the first budding of her pregnancy.
“Are you kidding me?” I said. “Not only has Lucifer somehow found a way to cross into the land of the dead, but he’s managed to knock you up?”
“Are you frightened, little granddaughter? Scared that you will no longer be Lucifer’s first and most precious once my son is born?” Evangeline sneered.
“I’m scared, but not for the reasons you think,” I said, staring at her belly in horror. “You’ve got a child conceived in death growing inside you. How do you know it won’t be some abomination unleashed on the world?”
Evangeline smiled, and my blood turned to ice.
“I’m counting on it.”
Then I woke again, to biting cold and to searing pain. My head was in J.B.’s lap and Nathaniel’s face was over mine. He knelt beside me, his hands on my hands, and the light of the sun was healing the burns. It hurt almost as much getting damaged in the first place. I screamed again and again, tears running down my face. J.B.’s hands on my shoulders held me in place.
Lucifer’s sword was still in my grasp. Jude, Samiel and Chloe crowded around. Beezle was on the ground next to my head, peering at me like I was something under a microscope.
After a while Nathaniel finished, his face drawn and sweating. “I did the best I could, but they will always look a little damaged.”
He pried my fingers off the sword one by one. “You can let it go now, Madeline.”
I waited for the waves of pain to recede so that I could think. Then I held my hands up to my face. I expected to see ridges of deep scars, like the victim of a fire. Instead there was a fine webbing of shadows running from the tips of my fingers up to my wrists in all the places where the creature’s blood had touched.
The result was like a faded tattoo. Well, it wasn’t any worse than the scars on my face from the Hob, or the mess on my neck from the pix demon. All things considered, it was pretty good, actually. I still had all my digits in working order, and in my book that was a win.
“Where are we?” I croaked.
“In the wastelands,” Nathaniel said. “I would not have been able to heal you otherwise.”
“How did we get out?”
“Unbelievably, your advice was sound,” Beezle said. “We just kept going forward. I guess Titania figured she didn’t need any more tricks with that monster in there.”
“The quantity of bones would suggest that the monster had been a sufficient deterrent in the past,” Nathaniel said dryly.
I sat up, rubbing my eyes. “Well, we escaped the faerie kingdom.”
“For now,” Beezle said ominously. “But we’re still stuck in this netherworld until you can get your granddaddy on the line.”
“And Titania can and will certainly send someone after you now that you’ve managed to get away again,” J.B. said.
I touched my stomach, felt the reassuring flutter of little wings. This was going to be one hardy kid when he was finally born—if his mother survived that long.
“That’s the least of my worries,” I said grimly, thinking of Lucifer and Evangeline. I didn’t say anything about my vision, though. I wanted to have a little talk with Lucifer first.
The snake tattoo on my palm wriggled, as if it knew I was thinking about Lucifer.
“Tell him I want to see him,” I said to my hand.
“You know, you look insane when you do that,” Beezle said.
My palm tingled, and then I felt Lucifer drawing near.
“He’s coming,” I said, getting to my feet with J.B.’s assistance.
“You should be quoting Macbeth, you know,” said Lucifer’s voice behind us. “I always liked that scene with the three witches.”
“Nobody here needs reminding that you’re something wicked,” I said, turning around calmly to face him while everyone else jumped in surprise.
Lucifer started to speak, caught sight of Nathaniel, and paused. His eyes narrowed as he stalked past me until he was face-to-face with Nathaniel. Nathaniel stared back at Lucifer with his brand-new eyes.
“That little fuck,” Lucifer said.
“I think you mean Puck,” Beezle said.
“No, I meant what I said,” Lucifer replied, and there was a low current of anger mixed with amusement in his voice. “What did he intend? For you to kill me at the most opportune time?”
Nathaniel nodded briefly. “But I was revealed too soon, he says, and the spell no longer will work correctly.”
“I should kill you now, you know,” Lucifer said conversationally. “Eliminate the possibility that the spell might go off anyway.”
“No, you really shouldn’t kill him now,” I said meaningfully. “Not until you and I have had a chat about a few things. In private.”
Lucifer turned to me, raised one eyebrow. Everyone else looked at me in curiosity and astonishment, as if a private conversation was an exotic concept from a foreign country.
“Very well,” Lucifer said. “I presume you called me here to get you home since Puck has neglected you.”
I nodded.
“Everyone hold hands, then,” Lucifer said. He watched carefully as both Nathaniel and J.B. lunged for me, and then he smiled like some private suspicion of his had been confirmed.
Beezle settled in on my shoulder. “You need your coat back. This sexy-clubgoer look lacks comfortable pockets.”
“Try not to fall off into another dimension while we’re crossing the universe,” I said.
Everyone else linked up, Lucifer nudging J.B. aside to take my hand. “Grandfather’s privilege,” he said.
J.B. crossly joined the end of the line, and then we were off. The wonders of the galaxy seemed a lot less wondrous to me this time around. Maybe I was getting jaded. Maybe I was too preoccupied with the new horror of Evangeline’s baby, the vampire invasion of Chicago, the threat of Lucifer’s brother rising from Lake Michigan, and the very high probability that Titania or Bendith or both was going to try to kill me in my sleep sometime soon.
That didn’t even begin to cover the complexity of my relationship problems with Nathaniel and J.B., or the fact that Samiel had apparently been harboring a lot of unkind thoughts about me. All in all, I had more than enough to keep my mind busy as we passed through space and time.
We were back in Chicago and standing on my front lawn before I knew it. The sky was gray and swirling, and lightning crackled to the east, above the lake.
Lucifer stared in the direction of the lightning, his face revealing nothing.
“Let’s take a walk,” I said to him.
Everyone protested in their predictable ways, but I silenced them with a look. Nathaniel and J.B. led the parade inside the house, and Lucifer and I were left alone in the snow. I led him onto the sidewalk, still unshoveled. The snow had been tamped down in a slippery path by dozens of feet. I wondered whether escaping humans had passed by here, or whether the path had been cut by Therion’s roaming vampire brigades.
“Is Alerian causing the storm?” I asked.
Lucifer seemed unsurprised that I knew about his brother. “What else did Puck tell you?”
“More than I wanted to know, really,” I said. I watched his face for a reaction. “And so did Evangeline.”
There was a tiny spark there in his endless eyes, nothing I would
have noticed if I hadn’t been looking for it. And then it was gone.
“I’m glad you brought up Evangeline, because I have a task for you,” Lucifer said.
“I’m not interested in your tasks,” I said. “I want you to help me get rid of the vampires in Chicago.”
“If you would ask a boon of me, then it is churlish to refuse one that I would ask of you,” Lucifer said.
“You’re going to ask me to do something that’s disturbing, wrong and probably illegal,” I said. “You always do.”
“Human laws don’t apply to me,” he said.
“Magical ones do,” I said.
“Which is why I need your assistance,” he said smoothly. “You can do that which I cannot.”
“First help me get rid of the vampires,” I said. “You have the power to wipe them all out with one fell swoop.”
“Yes, but I am not permitted to do such a thing. I can’t interfere in the doings of humans in such an obvious way,” Lucifer said.
“You are not permitted to cross into the land of the dead and impregnate your dead lover, either,” I said angrily, stopping and turning toward him. “You don’t mind breaking the rules when it suits you to do so.”
“I don’t break them, exactly. Just bend,” he said. “What did you do to Nathaniel that revealed Puck’s spell so soon?”
“How do you know I had anything to do with it? And don’t change the damned subject,” I said, my face coloring.
“Ah,” Lucifer said. “And my grandson hardly cold in his grave.”
“It’s not like that,” I said.
“What’s it like, then?” he asked, his eyes dancing.
“I don’t have the time or the inclination to explain it to you,” I said. I could hardly explain it to myself. “And you’re hardly in a position of moral authority.”
“I had thought you would seek comfort from Amarantha’s son,” Lucifer mused. “You didn’t seem to like it very much when I sent Nathaniel to you as your bodyguard.”
“I didn’t,” I said, feeling I was losing ground here. I’d meant to stand my ground until Lucifer agreed to help me, not become embroiled in a conversation about my not-a-romance with Nathaniel.
“Still, this could be useful,” Lucifer said. “He obviously has affection for you, and Puck’s revelation could hardly have been welcome. It would certainly be handy to have Puck’s son on my side.”
“I’m not going to help you manipulate Nathaniel so you can piss off Puck,” I said. “I don’t want to get in the middle of your sibling rivalry.”
“My dear, you are already in the middle of it,” Lucifer said.
I shook my head. “No. I’ve got enough to do. Now, if you won’t help me by blasting all the vampires into oblivion, will you at least tell me what I have to do to get rid of them, short of raising my own army?”
Lucifer stroked his chin thoughtfully. “You did not completely unleash Nathaniel’s power, did you?”
“I told you, I don’t want…”
“This is relevant,” Lucifer cut in. “You want to know how to defeat the vampires, yes?”
“Yes,” I said cautiously.
“You need to finish what you began with Nathaniel, and the solution will be revealed,” Lucifer said.
“I’m not going to bang Nathaniel for your amusement,” I said.
“Nobody said anything about ‘banging,’” Lucifer said. “But if that’s your preferred method, then who am I to argue?”
“I’m not discussing this with you anymore,” I muttered. “Are you saying that once Nathaniel comes fully into his power, he will be able to get rid of the vampires?”
“No. I am saying the solution will be revealed to you,” Lucifer said.
“Why can you not just help me?” I shouted in frustration.
“If I did, then my enemies would descend on you like ravening wolves,” Lucifer said seriously. “You need to demonstrate that you are capable and strong, that you do not require my assistance.”
“Haven’t I done that already, over and over and over again?” I said, my anger draining away and leaving exhaustion behind. “When do I get something out of this relationship besides misery?”
“I have offered numerous times to make you my heir and you have refused,” Lucifer said.
“Yeah, that doesn’t really seem like a gift to me,” I said.
“But it is,” Lucifer said. “If you were my heir, you would also have the benefit of my protection. Those who seek to destroy you or your child would be subject to my retribution.”
“So you’re saying that this blood relation confers all the disadvantages and none of the benefits unless I am recognized officially?” I said.
“In a manner of speaking, yes.”
It was tempting. Oh, so tempting. It would be a blessing to throw off the weight of responsibility, to live a day without feeling hunted. But on further examination, that apple Lucifer held out to me looked a lot more like a cage. Temptation was his first and best skill.
“Thanks, but no thanks.”
“I can wait,” Lucifer said easily. “I think my offer will appeal to you sooner or later.”
“Keep dreaming.”
Lucifer smiled in a way that made me nervous. “Now that we have answered your question, it is time for my request.”
“You don’t make requests,” I said. “And I’m not feeling inclined to help you.”
“Too bad you do not have a choice,” Lucifer said, and he didn’t sound as though it was too bad for me at all. He sounded like he was quite enjoying himself. “You can either carry out my task under your own power, or you can do it under the compulsion of the Hound of the Hunt. And believe me, you will not be able to resist that compulsion. If I order you, then you must obey.”
Lucifer looked triumphant. He’d boxed me in again. A part of me had been expecting this ever since Lucifer had made me the Hound.
“What is it that you want me to do?” I asked, knowing the answer, dreading the words.
“I want you to fetch Evangeline and my son from the land of the dead and return them to me, of course.”
15
“NO,” I SAID AUTOMATICALLY. “NO, I WON’T DO THAT.”
“I told you, you haven’t a choice,” Lucifer said silkily.
“I don’t even know how to get to the land of the dead,” I said desperately.
“You’re an Agent of Death,” Lucifer said. “The ways are within you, even if you are not aware of them.”
“I’m not an Agent anymore,” I said.
“Once an Agent, always an Agent,” Lucifer said. “The Agency can give nothing to you nor take anything. It is all within you.”
“I don’t even have wings,” I said. “Why don’t you do it?”
“I am not permitted,” Lucifer said.
“I’m not, either. The Retrievers will come for me for sure,” I said.
“You have more flexibility than I,” Lucifer said. “The one rule that neither I nor my brothers will break is this.”
“But you are breaking it. You’re just sending me to do your dirty work.”
“The letter of the law will be honored,” Lucifer said. “I will not leave my son in that dead place.”
“You should have thought of that before you got busy with Evangeline,” I said. “You’re putting my child, Gabriel’s child, at risk.”
“I will allow you the time you need to deal with the vampires,” Lucifer said. “And then you will go.”
“No,” I said.
“You will go, by my word or your own,” he said. “And I know you well enough that I think you would prefer not to be under the compulsion of the Hound.”
“I hate you,” I said.
“Of course you do,” he replied, and then he disappeared.
I stood there on the empty street, fighting back tears, trying to pull myself together. There was no way I could tell anyone else about this.
J.B. would never let me defy the Agency so openly. Despite everything th
at had happened between the Agency and myself, he still had a strong belief in the system. He still believed that there was an order to the universe that could not be undone. I had seen enough of Lucifer’s machinations to know that this wasn’t true.
I sucked in a heaving breath and wiped my cheeks dry. Crying wasn’t going to solve my problems. I walked slowly back toward the house, dreading the moment when I’d have to explain to everyone else that I had no idea how we were going to get rid of the vampire infestation.
“Madeline Black!”
I turned around, surprised to hear someone calling my name. In the middle of the street were three teenage boys that I hadn’t noticed earlier. Had they been there while I was talking to Lucifer? They were all skinny and had scraggly pubescent beards. The boys carried a variety of weapons that looked like they might be handy for killing vampires—swords and crossbows and stakes. Where had they gotten all those things from?
“Yeah?” I said.
The boy in the center leveled a crossbow at me. He had a red bandanna tied around his head like he was a refugee from an ’80s action film. “You’re coming with us.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed.
All three boys scowled at me.
“We’re taking you to the Vampire Authority station,” Red Bandanna said. “Don’t make us hurt you.”
I’d completely forgotten about Therion’s stupid message. Now these boys had somehow managed to find me and were intent on collecting the bounty on my head.
“Listen, kid, you can’t take me anywhere I don’t want to go,” I said, trying not to be angry.
They were just humans. Little humans who lived in a city that I had nearly killed myself trying to protect. If the ungrateful little shits knew what I had done for them, to protect them and their families and others like them, they wouldn’t be standing there threatening my life.
One of the other boys also raised his crossbow in a menacing fashion. “You have three seconds to agree or else we shoot. One…”
I blasted nightfire at his crossbow and the weapon burst into blue flames. The kid screamed and dropped the bow, holding on to his hand. The skin on his palm was blackened and peeling. I’d never seen the effects of nightfire on a human before. Was I really prepared to kill some boys whose only sin was stupidity? Maybe Beezle was right. Maybe I was going dark side.
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