by Cameo Renae
A deep, echoing laugh rang throughout the cavern and sent a prickling chill down my spine. I guess Lucifer thought that was funny.
“The Midway? Those good for nothing bastards. They never want to dip their hands in the affairs of the wicked. As for Lucian… that deceitful betrayer is no threat to me, and he will never, ever, touch one hair on Ethon’s head,” Lucifer answered. His voice was dark and evil. “If he sets one foot in my domain, I will rip off his wings, sink my hand into his chest and yank out his black heart. Then I will laugh as he takes his last breath, and watches his heart being crushed in my hands.”
“Father, I cannot stay in Hell forever, and when I do travel into the mortal world, Lucian will be there, waiting. How much do you think he would give to have the head of Satan’s son on a platter just to prove that he is greater than you? I will never be safe until he is dead, and you are the only one strong enough, and smart enough, to kill him.”
Was Ethon siding with us? I watched as Lucifer’s demeanor changed.
He paused, and for a brief moment I saw a look of compassion wash over his face as he glanced into Ethon’s red eyes. They looked oddly alike, like they could actually be father and son.
There was a long, deep pause and then Lucifer stepped away from Ethon.
“This is what I’ll do. I will gather an army together that will take care of Lucian and the rest of his betrayers, BUT -” he paused again and started to slowly walk back towards us. His eyes again set on me. He came inches from my face, but I remembered what Danyel said. I stood and tried to show no fear, even though my insides were trembling.
“But, what?” Samuel asked.
“But… I want this beautiful child in exchange. She will make a perfect mate for my Ethon. Two of a kind, and who knows what kind of power could come from their progenies? The power of two Nephilim. Now that would be something to behold,” he said slowly, his eyes still locked onto mine. He raised his hand and his hot fingers traced the lines of my face. “She is very beautiful, Samuel.”
“Thank you, Lucifer, but I cannot agree to that exchange,” Samuel replied.
“My price is high, Samuel. I will not send my warriors out there for a matter that is really of no concern to me.”
“Father! I’m of no concern to you?” Ethon loudly rebutted.
Lucifer closed his eyes.
“Of course you are, son,” he answered, and then pointed to me. “But this child means nothing.”
“Then do it for me. Send your army to defeat Lucian once and for all. This has been long in coming, father. He blatantly betrayed you, and led many of your warriors astray. It is time that Lucian is put back in his rightful place. A place of submission to you.”
Lucifer crossed his arms over his chest and smiled widely at Ethon. He shook his head and laughed. “You have such a wonderful way with words my son, and remind me so much of myself. I would love nothing more than to see Lucian fall, but I have no time for him, nor his treacherous affairs. I will make sure that you are safe Ethon. You will never have to worry about that.”
“And, what about Emma?” Ethon questioned.
“What about, Emma? You’ve only just met her, Ethon. You are a Prince of the Underworld, and she is but a mere Halfbreed.”
I looked at Ethon to see what his answer would be, and he looked back at me with a look that I couldn’t read.
“If you will not send your army to defeat Lucian, then I will leave with Samuel and Emma, and will try and protect them myself,” Ethon said, turning to face Lucifer.
“Why, Ethon? What makes you want to protect these who you know nothing about?”
I wanted to know the same thing. Why was he doing this for us? And then, Ethon walked over to me and took hold of my hand.
Electricity surged through my arm and through my body, filling me with that wonderful feeling of euphoria, confusion, and warmth. I felt a strong pull towards him, and tried to shake his hand free, but he held tight. I gasped and he suddenly let go.
I didn’t realize that I had shut my eyes, until I opened them and both Lucifer and Samuel were staring back at us with wide looks of bewilderment and concern.
“Because of that father. I don’t understand what it is about her, but when I touch her, I feel something that I’ve never felt or experienced before. It’s like a current that flows from her to me. It draws me to her like moth to a flame. I feel as if we are connected, somehow.”
Ethon did experience the exact same feelings I did, and he was just as confused.
Samuel looked at me with the saddest eyes, and then closed them, shaking his head in disparagement, but it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t choose this. I didn’t understand what was happening, and it started to make me sick.
This was wrong. Totally and completely wrong!
Lucifer looked at both of us, and a wide, wicked smile grew on his lips.
“That, my son, means that you have found your mate. The one you will spend the rest of your life with. I have never, until now, heard of it happening to any other but Purebloods. This is odd, but it seems as if you both have the connection.” Lucifer walked up to Ethon and stood in front of him.
“You see son, once a Pureblood has found his mate, a connection and a bond is instantly formed. Their energies begin to pull toward each other like that of a magnet. Once contact is made, it will nearly be impossible for one to be away from the other. It’s a magical thing. One which cannot be explained. This miracle only happens once in a lifetime, and if that is what we have just witnessed between you and Emma, then you have been bonded. ”
No! No! No! I wanted to scream those words, but kept my mouth shut. And he lied! It didn’t only happen once in a lifetime! I’d had it happen to me twice in less than a month! Ethon was not my future mate! If I were meant to be with anyone it would be with Kade. He was the one that I felt the connection with first, and now, because of me, he was a mortal and barely hanging onto his life.
My heart ached as I thought of him, but I fought the sadness, and the urge to curl up into a ball and cry. Cry until I couldn’t cry anymore. But I couldn’t let them see that I was weak.
I felt strong arms wrap securely around me and knew they were Samuel’s. “It’s okay Emma. It’s okay,” he reassured me.
“So you will help them, father?” Ethon asked.
“First, I want to see their marks. I want to make sure that they are father and daughter, and that she is in-fact a Nephilim.”
Doubt suddenly rushed through me and my heart began to hammer against the walls of my chest. I hoped whatever Samuel did to Alaine’s mark worked. If it didn’t…well I didn’t want to think about what could happen. There were too many horrifying scenarios, and I didn’t have time to run them all through my mind.
I could sense that Lucifer could be very evil, and after all the horror stories about him, the thought of what he could do had my stomach twisting in knots. I turned back to Samuel, and he smiled and gave me a nod. I guess he seemed to think everything was going to be okay.
Lucifer held out his hand to me, so I walked up to him, and pulled my hair to the side to show him my mark. “What happened here?” he asked, lightly touching the burn. I held my breath.
“She was burned by a certain flame-thrower on our way here,” Samuel started to explain. “We’ve been through a lot to get here to speak to you, and cheated death on several occasions.”
“Well, one day you shall have to humor me, and explain how you made it through my invincible levels of Hell. That will be a story I should like to hear in full, brilliant detail,” Lucifer stated, still studying my neck.
“Yes. It was quite an adventure,” Samuel answered.
“And my Guardians?” Lucifer questioned.
“Dead,” Samuel stated.
“All of them?” he asked, turning to Samuel with a look of amazement.
“Yes. All of them,” Samuel said, with a voice of satisfaction.
“And it was… just the two of you?”
“No. There wa
s another, but he fell at the last gate.”
“Hmmm. Then, I guess I can call it even. I would have killed the Guardian’s anyway for allowing you to get so far. I am curious though, as to the details. It will take me some time to gather new Guardians, but right now I do not have the time, or the patience.”
He was still fingering the burned mark on the back of my neck.
What the hell was taking him so long?
Did he see something?
I could feel sweat start to run down my face, and I had to slow my breath.
I glanced up and saw Ethon staring at me, with a look of worry, so I smiled. I smiled as a cover, to show him that I was all right and it worked. He immediately smiled back.
“Father?” he questioned, which broke Lucifer’s concentration.
He finally stepped back, so I stood straight letting my hair fall back over the mark. As I stood, the Bloodstone around my neck released itself from the suit, and it was glowing bright red.
“What is this?” Lucifer questioned, curiously reaching for the stone. As soon as his finger touched it, he immediately pulled it back, like it had burned him. “What is this witchcraft which glows around your neck?” he growled, glaring at me.
“It was a gift. A Bloodstone of Christ,” Samuel responded quickly.
“How did this Halfbreed come in possession of such a rare relic? And explain to me, Samuel, why a member of the Fallen would allow his daughter to wear such a treacherous object?”
“It was a gift from her Guardian. He gave it to her before he was killed,” Samuel answered.
We were in trouble. Deep, deep trouble.
Chapter 18
I quickly positioned my arm to cover the sheath of the dagger, praying that Lucifer wouldn’t see it. If he found out that I not only had a Bloodstone, but Michael the Archangel’s dagger…there was no way we would make it out of here alive.
“Father, please. They’ve been through enough to get here to speak to you. If they hadn’t come and warned us about Lucian, I could have traveled into the mortal world without a clue, and could have been executed. You would have never known what happened to me, and would never have understood why I never returned.”
I was amazed at Ethon’s persistence to help save us.
Lucifer looked at his son and exhaled loudly, and then walked away from me. I also quietly exhaled and relaxed a bit, still hiding the dagger as best I could, but trying not to make it too obvious.
“And your mark,” he said turning to Samuel. Samuel lifted his hair and showed him the mark behind his right ear.
“Well, she is definitely yours, Samuel. There is no doubt about that.”
“Then will you help them?” Ethon questioned. He was really making this so much easier for us. I glanced at him and gave him a smile. He did deserve that much.
Lucifer paused. “I will help, but it will still cost something. Nothing is free, and if you’ve come to me, then you know that even speaking with me has a price. But, because my son has been smitten by your daughter, and there seems to be that universal connection, I think I can cut you a deal. A soul. A single soul in exchange for my help. And, let me tell you, right now that is more than a fair price for what you are asking of me.”
“A soul?” I questioned. My stomach started to churn. I never expected him to ask for that type of payment! There was no way that I would be able to agree to that unless it was the soul of someone that was evil. A murderer or molester. I would have no problem handing him over one of those.
But, then he clarified his answer.
“On the day that Lucian is defeated, you will have to choose one soul. One soul that will become mine. Because you have come to me, and what I have to do is no easy task, the soul will have to be of one which is close to you, besides your Fallen father. It’s a small price really. You get your father, and will be free to live out the rest of your miserable lives in the mortal world.”
“Yes. We agree,” Samuel said immediately, stepping forward and offering Lucifer his hand.
“No! What do you mean we agree? We can’t give away the soul of anyone close to us! I’ve already lost too many,” I cried.
Tears began to pool in my eyes as I thought about my parents, and now Danyel. Too much death in such a short time, and I wasn’t about to offer anyone’s life up but my own. Especially to be gifted to Lucifer and have to live in Hell for all of eternity. No way.
Samuel came and knelt in front of me, taking both of my hands in his.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll take care of it. This will not be your decision to make. It will be mine,” he whispered. “You need to be strong, Emma. You’ll just have to trust me.”
I did trust him. There was nothing else I could do but trust him.
Who would he choose? There wasn’t one single person around me that I would be willing to give up and hand over to Lucifer. This place sucked, and I was so ready to leave it and never return.
Samuel stood back up and walked over to Lucifer, offering him his hand again.
Lucifer took a small, sharp knife out of his pocket and slit Samuel’s palm open. He then took a piece of parchment and rubbed it over the wound, covering it with his crimson blood. Lucifer then held up the paper and right before my eyes, I watched the blood start to move, forming some type of ancient writing. At the bottom, I saw it clearly. Samuel’s mark appeared boldly, in bright red.
Lucifer held the parchment near his lips and blew lightly upon it.
“Thank you, Samuel,” he said, as he rolled up the parchment, and tucked it into his jacket pocket. He then held out his hand to Samuel, and they shook.
Lucifer turned back to Ethon.
“Ethon, you will escort them back into the mortal world, and help to protect them until I can assemble the army. I will send a few of my warriors to travel with you as well, until I can gather the rest together. This should make for an interesting turn of events for Lucian.”
So this was it. We were teaming up with the Devil to defeat another one of his Fallen members.
Holy crap.
I wondered if God knew what was happening. Did he even care?
I sighed.
“So, I will be traveling with you,” Ethon said, nodding to Samuel.
“It’s not necessary, Ethon,” Samuel said. “You will be safer here, and besides, the Midway has sent a few Guardians of their own.”
“But Ethon has been fully trained in the ways of the Fallen. He can sense when they are near, and would be the best protection for your daughter. Besides, they are bonded now. There is no way they will be able to be away from each other for too long. He will enter the mortal world to be with her anyway.”
Samuel paused, glanced over to me, and then nodded. I could tell it wasn’t a nod of agreement. It was a nod that told me that he was going to go along with whatever was being planned.
Just knowing that we were leaving this place made me happy. Our mission had succeeded and we were soon going to be home with Alaine, Kade, and the others. I suddenly felt like a huge load had been lifted off of my shoulders.
But then again… what would the others think about Ethon and a few Fallen in their midst? Fallen that they’d probably fought against. Fallen that they had hated for all these centuries. I had a feeling that this was not going to be good.
Kade was still in recovery, but what would he think about Ethon, and what would happen if he found out that Ethon and I had the same connection? All of these things ran through my mind like a whirlwind, but I couldn’t think about any of it right now. I had to block it out, and would deal with it when I needed to.
Ethon was just another Guardian in my life. Right now, he meant nothing to me. Yes, it was strange that I had dreamed of him and his red eyes over the past days, but maybe it was because I was getting closer to him, and it was that weird connection that triggered them. But, dreams weren’t going to determine my future, and I wouldn’t let them dictate who my mate would be.
“Ethon, I want you to call Azzah
and Bane. They will be traveling with you,” Lucifer spoke, breaking me from my thoughts.
“Father, Azzah seems to have lost his hand,” Ethon chuckled saying the last part. I held back the urge to laugh too.
Lucifer shook his head and sighed. “His hand… or his head?”
“His hand,” Ethon said.
“Well, as long as he still has his head, his hand will heal soon enough. He and Bain are two of my best, and I want them to escort you,” he said.
“Father, I don’t need escorts. I’m more than capable of protecting myself. Besides, Azzah is such a pain.”
“I have not doubt that you can protect yourself, but if Lucian should decide to strike early, I want my best warriors there to help you.”
“Fine,” he huffed. “How will you know when to send the army?”
“I will be sending Ash with you as well. I will assemble my warriors, and as soon as Ash contacts me, we will come.”
Lucifer whistled, and in a few moments we heard a loud caw. A huge black raven came swooping down and landed on his arm. It had eyes, the same crimson color as Lucifer. Lucifer kissed its head. “Take good care of him, Ethon.”
“I will,” Ethon said, stepping forward. The large bird hopped onto his shoulder, and then he turned and left the room. I assumed it was to get the others.
Great. Azzah. He was definitely going to cause a stir in the house.
“So, what about the wall of protection? If any of the Fallen enter the house, the shield will come down. Right?” I questioned.
Samuel’s eyes widened and he seemed to be glaring at me. Did I say something I shouldn’t have? Was it the fact that the house was covered by protection?
