Famine sneered at him, and then with one ghostly hand she knocked him aside. "I require a female host."
"Take me," Nemesis rose to her feet, with her imps—who had all been disguised as fae guards—behind her wielding weapons. "I'm the one you want."
Famine's green spectral form moved toward her, but there was no way in Heaven or Hell I was letting Nemesis get control of this Elder God. This was my one chance to rescue Lucifer from War, and I wasn't going to lose it. Nemesis had betrayed us time and time again, and now she'd stabbed Zel—I wasn't letting her win.
"No." I strode forward with both darkness and light emanating from me, my air powers whipping at my hair, while thorny vines grew up out of the ground at my feet. It was time to show that bitch what happened when you crossed the Demon Queen. "Famine is mine."
My thick vines wrapped around Nemesis, stabbing into her bare skin with the thorns, but she grew long, black talons and sliced through them, then managed to scamper away to the other side of the cave. Belial and Theo began fighting against the other imps, but the only one that mattered to me was Nemesis.
She split herself into dozens of copies, all of them slashing at me with swords and claws, but I cast out the light of truth around me and found the real Nemesis. I shot her with light and darkness, but she was so fast she seemed to almost blink away, and managed to dodge everything. No way was she escaping though. With a roar, I created a tornado of air laced with light and darkness, then unleashed it upon her. It caught Nemesis inside it, and then my vines reached up and tore her apart, limb from bloody limb. Though I'd never reveled in death, I watched on with grim satisfaction as Nemesis was destroyed.
Don't fuck with a pregnant woman protecting her family.
"My queen, are you all right?" Theo limped to my side, one hand wrapped around his waist.
Imp corpses were scattered over the ground, and Belial delivered the final blow to one of them with Morningstar. Then he turned to survey the pieces of Nemesis lying all over the ground in a pool of blood.
"Shit, Mother," Belial said. "I never realized you were so brutal."
"I did what I had to do." I looked around the cave and my breath caught. "Where is Famine?"
Belial sheathed his sword. "She must have escaped during the battle."
We rushed up the tunnel and emerged into a snowy battlefield. Shifters and imps fought against gargoyles and fae, and I was relieved to see that both Damien and Kassiel were all right. I scanned the area and found Famine's green spectral form floating above them all. She hovered over Mirabella for a few seconds, then turned around and reached for a large white wolf with ice coating its fur, who stood beside Fenrir.
Famine was looking for a new host. I couldn't let that happen. But Zel was gone, carried off by Callan to safety, and Famine wanted a female body.
There was only one person strong to contain her.
Me.
11
Hannah
A path of dead, brown vegetation led directly to Famine. Plants withered and died, flowers lost their petals, leaves turned black. Shifters and gargoyles alike fell to their knees in her path, as if they'd lost all the strength to fight or even stand.
She was feeding.
Everything about it made my soul revolt. I was a goddess of spring and nature, and she was the opposite of everything I held dear. Yet I had to offer myself to her...there was no other choice.
Fenrir, in his giant wolf form, saw Famine coming for the ice wolf and jumped in front of her, baring his fangs. Whoever that wolf was, Fenrir didn't want her taken over by Famine. And here I'd thought Fenrir didn't care about anything or anyone except himself. But Famine couldn't be stopped, not by Fenrir, and she tossed him aside, then closed in on the white wolf.
I unfurled my silver wings and launched myself toward Famine, using my wind powers to give me a boost. "Famine!" I yelled.
The Elder God turned toward me, just as the ice wolf shifted back into a beautiful woman with white hair and pointed ears. She pulled out a gem and activated it, using a key to open a portal that she and Fenrir slipped inside. It closed before Famine could escape back to Earth. Like the coward he was, Fenrir had turned tail again—and left behind most of his shifters.
Famine let out a frustrated growl now that her host had vanished, but then her energy turned upon me. Being near her was like facing an energy drain—her very presence made me feel tired, hungry, and weak. Like I hadn't eaten or slept in days.
"I command you to submit," I said, repeating words I'd heard Belial use with Pestilence, but then I added my own twist. "Famine, I need your help."
"Is that so?" she asked with a sickening cackle.
"I need to defeat War. I'm told you are the only one who can stop him."
Her spectral form grew dark and angry. "Yes...War must suffer..."
Not exactly what I wanted, but I let it slide. "Serve me, and we'll take him down together."
"Mother, no!" Belial called out. He stood beside Kassiel and Damien, who also echoed his sentiments, but I ignored them. My sons had to know this was the only way now that Famine was freed.
"Are you willing to make the sacrifice?" Famine asked.
I hesitated. I was willing to do anything to save Lucifer...except endanger our unborn child. "That depends on what you ask of me. I am with child, and I won't let you do anything that would hurt her."
Famine's essence moved closer as she considered me. The entire glade around the temple fell silent as everyone watched our exchange. No one fought anymore—they were too weak thanks to Famine anyway.
"I was a mother once too," she said in a quieter voice. "Perhaps you know my son, Baal."
"I do, yes. He is an ally of mine." I vaguely remembered Baal saying that Famine was his parent, but I'd stupidly assumed he meant his father.
"There were other children too," Famine continued. "War murdered some of them. The others...perhaps they are still alive. Perhaps I will be able to find them."
"Then you understand that I would do anything to protect my child."
"Yes. I will not hurt this child. I swear it."
Relief loosened my chest around the breath I’d been holding. As an Elder God, she couldn't lie. "Then what sacrifice would you ask of me?"
“The sacrifice of your fertility. Your baby will remain safe and whole. She will be powerful and strong. I will ensure it. But this child will be your last. After she is born, your body will bring forth life no more.”
I wrapped my arms around myself as her words sank in. The last. It was difficult to contemplate. I hadn’t given thought to having more babies after this one, but the idea that it would be impossible made me feel hollow inside. I smoothed my hand over my bump, feeling the baby move inside, knowing once she was born I'd never experience this miracle again.
I swallowed hard as tears pricked my eyes, but then I turned and looked at my three smart, brave, handsome sons. Lucifer and I had been blessed with them and with this daughter growing inside me now. As long as this unborn child would be safe, I could accept never having another one after her.
"I accept this sacrifice."
"Very good." Famine moved toward me in a way that reminded me of a swarm of bees. “I’m looking forward to being a mother again."
Something in the way she spoke the words iced my blood. There was a finality in her tone, as though the child would be hers, and not mine. She thought she would take control of me, but I was going to fight. I remembered Oberon's words about how one could defeat and then become an Elder God, just as Famine's ghostly form surrounded me. Her power enveloped me and seeped into my skin, oozing into my pores, sliding into every hole until she'd slithered deep into my soul. Overwhelming hunger and desperate need made me nearly tear out my eyes, along with a melancholy so strong I could barely breathe. I was fueled by deep, intense longing, not just for food, but for power. For life.
Fighting against Famine's immense power was impossible. How had I ever thought I'd be able to defeat her? She stretched throug
h my body, taking it over, claiming me as her host, and I couldn't stop her. No wonder Lucifer hadn’t found his way without his memories. He'd never had a chance.
I gazed across the battlefield, at the dead grass and the weakened beings all kneeling before me. I could see their auras, their power, their essence, and I breathed it in, drawing upon their strength, claiming it as mine. It was my nature to feed, and none could stop me from draining every last living thing around me. Only then would I be strong enough to stop War.
My eyes fell upon the three men before me, the ones who called my name over and over. Damien sagged, his beautiful skin dimming as I sucked away his life force. Kassiel was on his hands and knees, his face pale. Belial, the oldest and strongest, fought back the hardest, but even he eventually fell under my might.
As he hit the ground, my senses came back to me and I recoiled. What was I doing? I couldn’t allow Famine to leech power from those I loved. Those were my children she was draining, and behind them, my friends and my allies. I had to stop her from killing them all. I had to gain control somehow.
I forced myself to release the energy I'd stolen, allowing it to return to the people around me. Famine tried to exert control over me again, but this time, I knew what she was doing and I fought back. I could feel it now, a duality where I needed to hold on to myself, to make myself strong so that I didn’t fade behind Famine. She would be the driving force if I let her, until we merged into one terrible, awful being that would drain the life out of every living thing in every realm, until there was nothing left.
Famine struggled harder, pouring more of her power over me, while attempting to reach out and steal life from everything around us. I countered her by sending out living energy into the surroundings with my Persephone powers, bringing the plants back to life around us, fighting her blight with my power of growth. That only made her more angry, but it also made me realize something—I was the direct counter of Famine. She made crops wither and die, and I made them grow and flourish.
I was Persephone, the goddess of spring and death. I was Eve, who had trapped the Four Horsemen originally. And I was Hannah, an angel of truth, and the motherfucking Demon Queen. Famine thought she could take over my body and raise my child as her own, but she had no idea how powerful I was. Especially because it wasn't just me. I had my daughter too, a little piece of Lucifer nestled in my body. My baby was strong, and together I knew we could subdue Famine and contain her.
My daughter kicked like she understood my need for us to fight together, and I drew on my love for Lucifer to center myself. I gazed upon my sons, all of them standing again and looking at me with such love it overwhelmed me. My family was my strength. Love gave me power.
This is my body, I told Famine. And you will submit to me.
Never, she cried, as she raged inside me. The overwhelming feeling of desperation, need, and hunger that could never be sated filled me, but I stared at my sons and pushed it down. I focused on life and love, using my memories of all my past lives to fuel me. I'd been reborn hundreds of times, my soul strengthening every time, and each life had given me a tiny bit more power. Enough power to defeat even an Elder God.
I forced Famine into a small space inside me, squeezing her tighter and tighter, draining her of strength and will until she faded away into nothing. The intense hunger and longing vanished, along with her presence. The only thing that remained was her power, coursing through my body like crackling electricity, now mine to control.
Famine was gone, and I remained.
No, that wasn't right.
I was Famine now.
An Elder God. A Horseman of the Apocalypse. A being powerful enough to stop War.
A black horse appeared out of the night and rode toward me, and I held out my hand to her nose. She breathed over me with warmth and recognition as she nudged against my fingers. I knew this horse, and it knew me. Misery, something inside me supplied. That was her name.
As I pondered this strange bond with this horse I'd just met, my sons rushed over to me. "What was that?” Belial’s knuckles were white around the hilt of Morningstar, which was glowing with both white and black light.
“Are you okay?” Kassiel asked.
Damien peered at me. "Is Famine in there?"
“I am Famine.” I stroked the horse’s flank, then turned to face them with wonder. "But I'm also still me."
Belial arched an eyebrow. "You defeated her?"
Kassiel grinned. "Of course she did."
"How?" Damien asked.
"I used my love for my family to give me strength," I said, rubbing my bump as I smiled at my sons.
"That's corny as fuck," Belial said, rolling his eyes.
"Maybe, but it worked, didn't it?" I gave each of them a warm hug, so relieved to still be myself, but now with added hope. If I could defeat Famine, then surely Lucifer could defeat War too. He just needed me to guide him and help him remember who he was.
I glanced around the area, and most of the shifters and imps had either fled or been killed. Most of my people were still standing, except for Callan and Zel. They were on the ground under a dead tree, and I rushed over to them.
"How is she?" I asked.
Callan looked up at me with a pained expression. "She needs a healer right away."
While Damien called for Mirabella to open the portal to Earth, I kneeled beside my best friend and placed my hand on her cheek. She was weak, and I felt her life force in a way I never had before. A little voice told me it would be so easy to drain her of what was left—the lingering remnant of Famine's essence, perhaps. Something I would have to learn to live with and control.
But if I could take energy and life, could I give it too? I was able to do it with plants, why not people?
I rested my hands over the huge, bloody gash in Zel's stomach, which I'd avoided looking at because it was too horrifying to consider. While angelic healers like Marcus used their connection to the light to heal, I was different, and my power came from nature. Just like Famine did before, I drew upon the life force of the plants around us, making the grass turn brown again. The tree over us withered and died, its leaves falling upon us like rain. I gathered all of it inside me, and then I funneled it into Zel.
The magic kicked her own immortal healing into overdrive, and she gasped as her eyes popped open. Her stomach knit back together and color returned to her face, while she stared at me with shock.
"What...?" she asked.
"I'll explain everything later." I stroked her cheek with tears of relief in my eyes. "But if you could stop almost dying on me, that would be great."
She shrugged a little, though it made her wince. "I make no promises."
"My queen, the portal is ready," Mirabella said, from behind me.
"Thank you." I ordered everyone to go through it, while I did my best to repair the area. The spot where I'd healed Zel would never recover though, I feared. It would remain lifeless, a grim memorial to her neath death.
Callan carried her through the portal, and then there were only a few of us left. I glanced back at the tomb and the statue towering over it one last time, feeling a strange mix of affinity and hatred for the place, no doubt from this new part of me that had been trapped there for thousands of years.
Mirabella lightly touched my elbow. "Before you go, I wish to thank you for saving me and Eira from Famine."
I blinked at her. "Eira?"
"Fenrir's daughter, the ice wolf. She's half-fae from the Winter Court. Her mother died when she was a baby, so she was raised by Fenrir among shifters. She was a messenger for the demons like me, and a good friend, at least until Fenrir turned against Lucifer." Her voice trailed off with a hint of sadness. It was a good reminder that this civil war had torn apart our people, and Lucifer and I would have to do a lot of work to heal it, even once we stopped Fenrir. At least Nemesis was gone now.
"I do everything I can to protect my people," I said to Mirabella.
She bowed low, and I turned toward
the portal. It was time to get back to Earth to face Lucifer.
To face War.
12
Lucifer
After realizing the woman and my child were gone, I'd destroyed the penthouse in a rage. I barely remembered any of it, and only came out of my berserker frenzy when Samael and some angels rushed in to try to stop me. How foolish they were, thinking they could stand against me. A touch of my power turned them into mindless warriors craving blood, and now Samael served me once more. As for the angels that were with him, they were chained up in the basement of The Celestial. We'd use them as prisoners of war, or possibly bait, if needed.
I poured myself a drink and stood on the edge of the balcony, gazing down at the city I owned. A city that would soon know bloodshed and terror as the war between angels and demons began once more. Samael was currently rallying our forces, preparing them for battle. Soon the angels would be here too. My blood raced at the thought of the fighting that would soon break out across these brightly-lit streets. I craved the clash of weapons and the spray of blood, the cries of agony and of triumph.
I turned back to look at the destroyed furniture inside my penthouse. The black leather couches and the piano had been familiar to me, bringing back many memories, but other parts of my past were gaping black holes. Now they were in pieces, the leather ripped, the piano smashed. No matter. It was better this way. There wasn’t a room in my home that didn’t smell of the woman, and her presence invaded me with every breath I drew.
But she wasn’t here now. Samael wouldn't tell me where she'd gone either. Somehow he managed to resist that one question, but I would get an answer soon. Those who wouldn't bend to my will would break.
I needed to find the woman and bring her here. Now that I'd kissed her, her absence created a hole in my chest, one I hadn’t expected and didn’t know how to fill.
Infernal God (Claimed By Lucifer Book 3) Page 6
