They all murmured their agreement, and I considered the matter dropped, but I sensed they were all still wary. They wanted an easy solution, but when facing threats such as these, there wasn't one. It was always a matter of choosing the best option between multiple shitty situations, then praying you made the right decision.
I rose to my feet, forcing them to look up at my full height as I towered over them like the king I was. "Now that Hannah and I have the powers of War and Famine, Pestilence won't be able to stand against us. In the meantime, use all of our resources to hunt down Fenrir. I want him brought to justice immediately."
Hannah looked at me and nodded, before I sat beside her again—in my rightful place as Demon King.
Damn, it was good to be back.
16
Hannah
As we stepped through the archway that led to Persephone's Garden, the first hint of nervousness took root in my chest. Lucifer had given me this space six months ago, back when it was nothing more than an empty lot and a dream. He'd known I would miss the flower shop and would need a connection to nature even in the middle of the Nevada desert. But then he was gone, and I'd had to design and implement the garden all by myself, trying to make it a place that the guests of The Celestial Resort & Casino would enjoy. Now I dearly wished for his approval.
It had been two days since Lucifer had become himself again and things were starting to feel normal once more. Azazel had fully recovered, thanks to my gift of energy, followed by Marcus's healing. Belial and Damien were staying in the hotel for now, though I doubted they would stay for long. The meeting with the Archdemons had gone well, and Lucifer and I were getting used to being Elder Gods. There were definitely some benefits to not needing any sleep.
Lucifer held my hand as he let me lead the way through the winding paths, under the dense trees and past the perfectly arranged plants toward the waterfall. "It's gorgeous."
"You like it?" I asked, turning a big smile on him. The sound of the waterfall soothed me instantly, and I inhaled the sweet fragrances of the flowers.
He nodded and raised my hand to his mouth, brushing his lips over my knuckles. “It’s beautiful. Just as I knew it would be. As all your gardens have been.”
"I was nervous doing it without your approval since this hotel is your baby," I said, as I walked to my bench. After I sat, I patted the smooth stone beside me. “This is my favorite spot.”
“Might be my favorite spot, too.” He grinned and sat as close to me as he could, pulling me into his arms. He dipped his head and kissed my neck, a promise of more to come. "You didn't need my approval. You had my complete faith when I gave you the project."
I arched my neck to grant him better access to my skin. "I know, but it would have been nice to be able to run decisions by you first..."
"I doubt I would have been much help. You know I'm not good with all this...nature. I leave that to you."
I rolled my eyes. It was true, Lucifer couldn't name any of the flowers near us if he'd tried. He was completely useless in that area. "We're hoping to open it to hotel guests next week."
"They're going to love it. It's really going to elevate the hotel's profile."
I practically beamed with pride at his comments, but then I noticed his frown as he stared at the waterfall. "What is it?"
“I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think we should move away from Las Vegas.” He looked out over the garden like he could see the city itself through the foliage. “I love the very air here. It’s saturated in sin, but I want to concentrate on you, and on our daughter.”
I leaned against him, finding that spot on his chest that seemed to have been made just for me to snuggle against. “I've been thinking the same thing. We need a fresh start. The Celestial is great and all, but a casino is not the best place to raise a child."
"No it's not, and I'd like to move somewhere safer, and more easily defensible." He gave a rueful glance up at the building. "Those damn floor-to-ceiling windows."
I let out a laugh. "I know! We must have spent a small fortune repairing them over the last year or two."
"It's like no one knows how to use a door anymore," he muttered.
"Including you!"
"That doesn't count. I wasn't in my right mind then."
I stared at the waterfall as I voiced the secret dream I'd had over the last few months, one I'd been scared to even really consider since I didn't know if I'd be able to get Lucifer back. "While you were away, Asmodeus bought Brandy a house on the beach in southern California. I was thinking I'd like to live near her, since I miss her a lot, and she's pregnant too. We could raise our kids together." Then the hope faded as the reality of the situation hit me again. "But I also don’t want to put her or her family in any danger. You and I are always going to be Lucifer and Hannah, Demon King and Queen, War and Famine. We're never going to have a quiet life."
"No, although at the moment that sounds lovely." He stared at the waterfall for a few moments, then turned back to me. "We should do it. We'll always have duties and responsibilities, and there will always be some danger, but we deserve happiness too. As for Brandy and her family, we'll make sure they are well-protected at all times."
Could we really make it work? I wasn't sure. While Lucifer had been gone, it felt like everything in the demon world was so precarious, like it could all easily crumble to dust if I wasn't there to hold it together. But maybe if we managed to stop Pestilence and Fenrir things would calm down for a while. We'd be able to step back from the demon world, delegate more to our Archdemons, and enjoy a small amount of peace. I could dream, anyway.
A soft whinnying sound caught my attention, and we turned to see our two spectral horses moving through the grass. My ever-present gargoyle guards drew their weapons, but I held out a hand to show them this wasn't a threat. War's horse was red and huge, both beautiful and terrifying at once, though he no longer left fiery hoof prints behind him. Mine was smaller and jet black, with a luxurious mane that blew gently in the breeze.
"Where did they come from?" I asked.
Lucifer took my hand as we rose to our feet and walked over to the horses. "I'm not sure, but they will vanish when not needed. Perhaps they live in Void and can cross over somehow."
"That's so strange."
"The strangest thing for me was that Strife was the only one I could speak with the whole time I was locked in Heaven.” He greeted his horse like a long-lost friend. "Not that he ever said much back, but I enjoyed his company nonetheless."
The red horse nuzzled against Lucifer's hand, and I reached out to touch mine more tentatively. Her coat was smooth and clean, and I ran my hand over it, wondering what it would be like to ride her. She had no saddle, but I had memories of riding horses in various past lives, though I was surely out of practice now. I was tempted to climb onto her back, but I was pregnant. Then again, I was also a Horseman now, and somehow I knew I wouldn't fall off this horse that I was bonded to on a spiritual level.
"My horse is named Misery, though I'm not sure how I know that," I said. "We've only met once so far, right after I became Famine. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with her. Did I need to feed her? Brush her? House her?"
"They're Elder Gods themselves, in a way," Lucifer said. "Or maybe they're part of our own essence. I don't really know. Either way, they don't need to eat or sleep, just like we don't, though they might enjoy a good brushing now and then."
"I guess we're bound to them for the rest of time," I said. "If we get a new place to live, we should make sure there's a space for them."
Lucifer patted his horse with a smile. "We should go for a ride sometime. The only thing I enjoyed while in Heaven was riding Strife—he's faster than even I can fly."
"Good idea. Out in the desert sometime maybe?"
Our conversation was interrupted by a scream outside the garden, over by one of the hotel's pools. Lucifer and I were instantly on alert, and my gargoyle guard surrounded us with weapons drawn and their bat-like wi
ngs already out. When we rushed toward the sound, we were met by Azazel, her weapons drawn.
"It's Pestilence," she said. "He's here."
17
Hannah
A ripple of fear went through me, but I kept calm and nodded. I'd prepared for this, and I just had to make sure everything went according to plan. "Sound the alarm and have everyone get into position!"
"What's the plan?" Lucifer asked. We hadn't had time to go over it yet—we'd thought we would have a few weeks before Pestilence returned, at least.
"Just follow my lead." I didn't really have time to explain, not when Pestilence was on his sickly white horse, trotting around the large sparkling blue pool that had dozens of guests in or around it. Now they were either screaming and running, or falling to the ground sick—or worse. A few dead bodies already floated in the pool, and I swallowed hard at the sight of them. Pestilence laughed as he spread more sickness out in a putrid cloud and my hatred for him only increased, which I didn't think was possible.
My gargoyle guards rushed to form a barrier in front of Pestilence, their stone skin protecting them from his deadly plague, and that allowed a few more of the tourists to escape. What we didn't expect was that Pestilence wasn't alone this time—he'd brought a group of imps and shifter allies, and they all radiated disease like some sort of super-spreaders as they chased down other unsuspecting humans.
"He could infect the whole Strip if we don't stop him!" Lucifer said, as he summoned his War sword of hellfire and darkness and wielded it in front of him.
"I need to get Pestilence back into the garden," I said. "You take care of the others."
Without even stopping to question what I had planned, Lucifer altered his trajectory and headed toward the imps and shifters. I trusted him to take care of them, and I walked toward Pestilence slowly, hoping the others were already moving into position at the waterfall, or this plan would fail. The being that had once been Adam turned his attention toward me, a smile spreading over his sickly yellow face, one of the boils on his chin pulsing like it had a heartbeat.
“Eve, my love.” His voice had changed, no longer the sound of my first husband's voice, but now tinged with something far more ancient. His eyes were all white, no pupils at all, and it was hard not to look away when he stared at me with them. "You've changed."
"I wanted to be like you." I took another step forward and let my Famine essence unfurl. My body glowed with a faint green light, and I would bet money that my eyes did too. "Your equal."
He cocked his head. "You released Famine?"
"Yes and I made the sacrifice." It was hard not to gag as I approached him. "Now we can be together. All we have to do is take out War."
He rubbed his hands together. "Yes, and then we can rule this world side by side as gods. That's all I ever wanted."
"I know." I forced a smile. "Come, let me show you my horse, Misery. She's in the garden waiting for me. We can talk more there."
Pestilence dismounted his own horse and sent it away with a gesture. The white beast rode away, turning incorporeal and running over the pool before vanishing. Then the rotting corpse-like Horseman walked alongside me, while my gargoyles hung back, though it clearly pained them to do so. I eyed Adam closely, wondering how he had become so far gone. Lucifer had changed too, with the red angry glow always bursting out of his skin, but he hadn't lost himself as much as Adam had—he must have been fighting War's influence even without his memories of me. I wondered what horrible thing I would have become had I failed to defeat Famine—probably some gaunt, haggard figure with sagging boobs and jagged fangs, always trying to find my next meal. I shuddered a little at the thought.
No one stopped us as we entered Persephone's Garden, and I led Pestilence toward the waterfall. Now that I'd let my Famine powers out, they begged to drain all the life from the plants in the garden, but I held myself back.
"What made you change your mind?" Adam asked.
"When Lucifer became War he was lost to me. He forgot who I was." I cast a glance over at Adam. "You would never do that."
"No. Never. Over hundreds of years, I always found you. Even when he didn't."
"I know. I became Famine because she has the power to stop War—and so I could be a Horseman like you." I gestured at Misery up ahead, who stood beside the waterfall. "Ah, there's my horse now."
As we approached the waterfall, my gargoyle guard moved in close, with Theo at the lead. Pestilence jerked his head around, just as Belial, Kassiel, and Damien emerged from the hidden cave below the water.
"What's this?" Adam asked.
"It's time for you to go back to sleep." I still had the powers I’d accessed in Faerie, and they were stronger here in the garden I’d created. At my thought, vines wound around Pestilence, binding his limbs, and his face contorted.
“You can’t hold Pestilence!” As he spoke, he struggled, and the vines started to wither and die from his poison.
I drew on Famine, finding the vacuum always in the center of me, the one always hungry for power. I focused on Pestilence, drawing on him, taking his energy away. Making him weak.
He screamed as he realized what was happening. “What are you doing? You lied to me!”
"And it was all too easy... You'd think you would know by now that I will never be yours."
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lucifer flying just outside the garden. He had the imps and shifters fighting each other with a touch of his War frenzy, while Belial and Azazel picked them off on the sidelines and protected the innocent humans. It was almost beautiful as Lucifer moved his hands like the world’s most violent conductor. Then he finished his orchestral movement by destroying them with darkness and hellfire. Perfect takedown.
And my cue to finish what I’d started with Pestilence.
I directed the vines to pull Adam under the waterfall, using the walkthrough feature I’d installed. Theo hit a hidden button and the wall slid open to reveal Pestilence’s tomb. I’d had it brought here from Stonehenge, banking on the fact Adam wouldn’t be able to leave me alone and would return again. And where Adam went, Pestilence went too.
Damien was already inside, with the tomb open and ready. He'd told me it wouldn’t work as well the second time around, since the runes weren't fresh—whatever that meant. I had to take the chance though. We had no other option.
Pestilence struggled and glared at me. "No! You will die!"
He sent out wave after wave of disease and horror, but my gargoyle guards were immune and they blocked me from it. Still, it took all of my power to drag him to the tomb, and even then I wasn't sure it would be enough.
With a roar, Adam suddenly broke free of his vines, then materialized a golden bow and arrow and began shooting me with them. One hit my arm and made me instantly feel sick, and I yanked it out and prayed whatever it was wouldn't harm the baby. I knocked him back with a blast of air, then used a weave of darkness and light to shield myself from more arrows.
Just when I thought Adam might actually break free, Lucifer rushed in and tackled him, knocking him backward.
“Get in that tomb, you bastard.” Lucifer's face twisted with rage—fury created by all the times Adam had wronged us over the years. He shoved Adam hard, and they both fell into the tomb and began wrestling. Lucifer launched himself out a second later, his body covered in boils from Pestilence's magic, and then blasted Adam with bright blue hellfire. Belial joined in with his own hellfire from the other side of the cave, and I used a combination of vines and air to lift the lid of the tomb and use it to cover Adam.
The second it was closed, Damien spilled his fae blood on top of it, and the runes began to glow. The lid buckled and nearly came off as Pestilence struggled, and Belial rushed forward to add his own. I created a blade of darkness and sliced my own hand, then Lucifer did the same. Angel, demon, human, fae—all represented in our family line. As soon as all the blood mingled, the runes flashed bright, and the tomb sealed. Then it all went dark in the cave.
; "Is it done?" Belial asked.
"Yes, but the seal won't last for thousands of years like the previous one did," Damien said. "And I think anyone powerful enough could open it, if they tried."
"But it will hold for now, right?" I asked.
Damien inspected the runes. "Yes, I believe it will hold for at least a decade or two, assuming no one tampers with it."
"That's enough time for us to find a better solution." Lucifer wrapped an arm around me. "An excellent plan, my love."
"Thank you, but it wouldn't have worked without everyone doing their part." My shoulders sagged in relief as I leaned against him. Adam was locked away, and couldn't harm me anymore—or my daughter. We might actually be able to have something akin to a normal life.
For a while, anyway.
18
Hannah
The next morning I sat in my garden on my bench, gathering my thoughts. We'd cleaned up everything from Pestilence's attack, and the angels had been able to heal most of the hotel guests. Unfortunately, many others were killed during the attack, and Lucifer had to use his persuasive powers to cover it up so it wasn't all over the news. We planned to offer compensation to each family that had lost someone, since it was our fault they'd been attacked at all. It definitely pushed me more in favor of moving out of the city to somewhere more remote, where we wouldn't put so many innocent lives in danger.
The good news was that our plan worked, and Pestilence was securely locked away beneath the waterfall. I felt his power emanating softly throughout the area, and I was certain the humans did too, because it seemed to draw them to The Celestial—and to the garden. His ancient power lured them in without harming them, just as it had done when he was under Stonehenge. A strange benefit of him being locked there, since it would only bring us more business. About time Adam did something that helped us after all these years.
Infernal God (Claimed By Lucifer Book 3) Page 9
