I try not to flinch away or cough from his overpowering cologne. Earthly counterpart? I’m not really anything like him. But maybe that’s not what he means. Maybe he means I’m his equal? I start paying more attention to what he’s saying.
“I believe it’s time for step one. We must get you into the public eye. We must start some buzz, as it were, about what a great-all-around guy you are. People have to trust you implicitly before you can wrench away their free will.” He pats me on the back.
“Sounds good. How do we do that?” I ask, licking the rest of the pizza sauce from my fingers. It’s a step in the right direction, anyway. And if our ideas of what ruling Earth means are more different than Lucifer expects, then I’ll just have to deal with that when we get there. I don’t even want to contemplate what kind of mischief he has in mind right now. This is me we’re talking about, not some evil mythological character.
Lucifer grins again. “Let’s start with becoming governor, shall we? It’s small, but a good stepping-stone. I’ve fixed it so that no one knows your real age.”
“Governor, huh? Okay. I’m game.” That could be cool. Now we’re getting somewhere. That’s a position of power.
“There’s a Memorial Day parade this weekend. Let’s recreate the Kennedy situation. The governor will be riding in a 1963 Dodge Convertible.”
“What? So you want me to shoot him from some window like the guy who assassinated President Kennedy? How’s that going to make people like me?”
Lucifer finally unwraps his arm from my shoulders and backs up a step. “Not you. You’re going to save him. Or ‘try’ to.” He makes little finger quotes around the word try. “Obviously he needs to give up his seat, and that’s the easiest way.”
“So who’s going to do it, then?” I ask.
“Who do you hate—besides Grace?” Lucifer asks, sitting down in my throne.
I don’t bother to correct his assumption that I hate my sister. I’m not sure exactly how to describe what I feel toward her, nor do I want to. “Hale. But he’s dead already.”
“You don’t want revenge on anyone else?” he asks, leaning forward, urging to me to think further.
“You said ‘hate.’ I want revenge on plenty of people.” Emily’s face swims in my mind. The girl who pretended to like me only while my sister was alive. Grace’s best friend. But I can’t say it out loud. I mean, girls don’t shoot governors. Not girls who are so smart they go to college early and have never been in trouble.
“Why not?” Lucifer says.
“Wait. I didn’t say anything. Can you read my mind?” Shit. That’s not good.
“No,” Lucifer leans back in the chair, which suddenly feels higher than it was before. “But I can read human desire when it involves one of the big sins. I can see gluttony, greed, and lust, for example. I know you’re considering someone. Just give me a name.”
“Emily,” I say.
“Perfect.” Lucifer stands and snaps his fingers. Emily appears in my room with a scream. She spins in place, making her long brown hair swirl out behind her. She’s wearing the same jeans and tank top that she had on when I watched her get in her car and leave without a backward glance. She settles down, staring at me with wide eyes hidden behind thick, plastic glasses. She’s still pretty, but she’s nothing compared to Keira.
“Hi, Em.” I sit down and grab another slice of pie. “Pizza?”
“How did you—where am I? What’s happening? This is kidnapping.” Her pale cheeks flood red, and she shakes with both anger and obvious fear.
Lucifer snaps again and she freezes in place, flyaway hairs floating like seaweed around her face.
“I can’t interfere with her moral judgments or make a deal with her without her asking me. So this is your job, Noah.” Lucifer leans back like he’s ready to watch a movie.
“Wait one damn minute,” I say, stepping around Emily and getting closer to Lucifer. “What do you expect me to do?” This is his show, not mine. I’d rather leave Emily in the past with my old self, just like Grace.
“You have power now, my boy. It’s time you see what it feels like to use it. You can will her to do whatever you want. Go ahead, have fun. It doesn’t count against her mortal soul if she doesn’t choose it, but I’ll let that go in this case since she’s making such a noble sacrifice for us.”
I glance back at Emily, uncertain. I’ve seen Keira glamour people. She even taught me to manipulate people without glamour, but in this case I don’t think that’s possible. I wish she were here. She makes me feel more sure of myself.
“Just catch her eye,” Lucifer says, and snaps her back to life.
Emily spins, shocked to find me suddenly behind her, and lets out a little squeak. “Please let me go. Noah, you don’t want to do this, whatever this is. Just let me be.”
She’s begging me? That means she knows I’m in control here. I look into her eyes. She’s sincere. She really wants my permission to leave and go back home. Maybe I should pick someone else.
“Please,” she says again. “If Grace were here, she’d never let you get away with this.”
Grace. And there it is. It’s still all about her. My decision is made. “Emily, shut up.”
Her mouth snaps shut. The fear grows deeper in her eyes. Her pupils shrink like they’re trying to escape. My heart beats faster. I can tell her to do anything.
“You hate my sister.”
The fear turns to cold hatred. I smile. “You would do anything to win me back, but sadly you can’t. Losing me has driven you so insane that you’ve decided the only way to get my attention is to do something drastic. Something no one would ever expect you to do.”
I glance over at Lucifer who nods in approval.
“This weekend, before the parade, you will take your father’s hunting rifle and bullets, and you will hide in the bushes near the starting line. You will shoot the governor when his car passes by. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” She’s calm now, focused completely on me. I can’t help myself. I reach out and brush the hair away from her face. She leans into my hand as I pull away.
“You won’t remember that we met like this or spoke at all. As far as you know, we haven’t spoken since you moved.”
I back up, and she disappears before my eyes as Lucifer sends her back to where she came from. One second she’s there in front of me. The next, she’s gone.
“Well done,” he says, rising and slapping me on the back again.
“Thanks.”
I grab another slice of pizza and sit in the vacated chair. It was weird, the feeling of total control, but I can’t say it wasn’t nice.
“I have some minions of darkness to check in on. You deserve a break. Why not go out and find a girl? Do whatever you like. You’ve earned it.”
“So I can have anything I want? Anyone I want?” I ask.
“Yes, of course you can.” Lucifer’s patience is obviously thin at the moment, but I don’t care. I’m still high from my success with Emily. It’s time to test my boundaries.
“Then I want Keira. Here. Now.”
Lucifer’s eyes light with blue fire. I was wrong. Angry Lucifer is much scarier than grinning Lucifer. Still, I hold my ground, remembering Keira’s lesson. He’s the one off balance here. That means I’m in charge, at least for the moment. He needs me. He’s been waiting for the Antichrist for centuries. Suddenly I’m more sure than ever that Lucifer can’t hurt me.
“You said anyone. You also said I can call any of the Demons to me. You don’t lie.” I lean back in the chair and toss the rest of my slice into the open box. I have to try and remember that Keira doesn’t want him to know we have actual feelings for each other. She’s convinced he’d never let us be together, but I’m not so sure. I just have to explain this in terms he can get on board with. “I don’t get why you’re keeping her from me, or why it’s such a big deal if I want to bang a specific Demon.”
The lines in his face grow deep and dark, making him look like he�
�s wearing a war mask of some sort. The blue torches behind him on either side flare like flamethrowers. His words are clipped. “I have my reasons. I do not divulge everything when asked as though I’m some common fortuneteller.”
“Fine.” I smile. “I’ll take care of it myself, then. Keira!” I call into the air. She appears between us in a neon-orange bikini, soaking wet and so beautiful I can barely stay in my chair.
She smiles at me, then turns to find Lucifer behind her, and the joy melts off her face as she drops to her knees, shivering.
“Lucifer?” she asks. “What is your bidding?”
“I thought I told you I don’t like it when you suck up, Keira.” Lucifer motions for her to stand, and she does, not risking a glance at me. I wish she could feel free to be her usual snarky self, but I am enjoying the view of her backside in a wet bikini. I still can’t believe she really does want me enough to go behind the Devil’s back and risk eternal torment in Hell by sending me love letters. I smile. That won’t happen. Not as long as I’m the Antichrist.
Lucifer clears his throat. “Your other boss summoned you, Keira. It would seem that Noah here can’t keep his mind off of you. So I will turn your mission over to our dear Grace while you serve his needs.”
“Of course,” she says with a bowed head.
Lucifer disappears from view, and Keira runs into my arms so fast I almost don’t make it out of the chair in time to catch her.
Then her soft lips are on mine, and her arms and legs are wrapped so tight around me, I’m knocked back into the chair. We inhale each other like we’ve both been underwater and just came up for air. She rips open my shirt with her Demon strength, and my fingers undo the knot to her bathing suit top.
“I was so scared I’d never see you again. I’ve missed you,” she breathes between our kisses.
“I couldn’t take another minute without you,” I say, holding her face between my hands and smoothing the pads of my thumbs over the skin of her cheeks.
“How did you manage it?” she asks with awe.
“You taught me well. I simply exerted my will over Lucifer. I am his equal whether he likes it or not.” It feels good to say the words out loud to someone who will appreciate it.
But instead of more awe, it’s fear I see in her face. It makes me think of the way Emily looked at me, and I don’t like it. I drop my hands to my sides.
“You don’t think I can handle him?” I ask.
“I don’t doubt you or your abilities,” she says, this time smoothing the hair from my face and leaning in so that the spicy scent of cinnamon teases my nose. “But this is no human we’re talking about. He’s Lucifer, King of Hell. I’ve seen him destroy so many souls. I just don’t ever want to lose you.”
I soften at her words and draw her the rest of the way to me, my hands splayed across the firm skin of her back. “You never will, Keira. I promise you that.” Thunder roils somewhere above us then, and I close the small distance to her swollen lips.
Chapter 6
Grace
“Come on, babe. If you come in with me, it’ll help me think better.” Randy motions for me to join him in the Jacuzzi. He’s so drunk he doesn’t even realize that Keira actually disappeared straight out of the water, leaving me to babysit when I came back in for my purse.
“I don’t have my suit on,” I say innocently, indicating the meager clothes I’m wearing.
“Neither do I.” Randy’s smile spreads like oil across his face as he begins to stand. Thankfully he freezes mid-bend before his waist rises above the bubbles.
Lucifer appears before me, making me jump a little. I have to get used to him popping up to order me around. “Are we having fun yet?” he asks, raising a martini in salute.
“It’s better than being stranded in the desert,” I say with a sigh.
“Ah, but you used your ingenuity, my pet. And that’s exactly what you should do. It’s all a learning experience.” He pokes my nose. He’s right. I am his pet. I’m here for his amusement, but I don’t care if it means I have a chance of getting through to Noah. I have to remember that. I have to focus on my goal no matter how demeaning Lucifer’s orders are.
“Do you have another assignment for me?” I ask.
“This is your assignment. Randy Daring. Unfortunately Keira is too busy to help any further. You have to convince him to con the casino downstairs tonight. He has to be at the height of self-confidence to pull it off. You are his arm candy and his confidence booster, got it? You now have a closet full of clothes and accessories to make it work. If you succeed, I’ll let you visit Noah. If you fail, I’ll punish you.” He pops an olive in his mouth and drinks a sip of martini with it.
“Understood, Lucifer.” I force a smile. He’s going to let me see Noah. I just have to get this guy to go count some cards or whatever. Piece of cake.
“He’s a good-looking one,” Lucifer says, admiring Randy’s half-bent form.
He’s right. Randy’s got the kind of body that says he works out at the gym regularly along with smooth dark skin and supermodel features. But nobody can make my heart sing like Josh, and no one ever will.
“You don’t mind if I watch you work for a few minutes, do you?” Lucifer asks. As though I would daresay I mind. “He can’t see me.” He toasts to Randy’s frozen form, and the guy comes back to life.
“I’m dying to get out of this room,” I say, turning to Randy and bringing him to a halt before he can finish standing. “Have you been to Vegas before?”
“Nah. I’ve been to some Indian casinos in the Midwest, though. Roulette’s my game. I know how to beat the system, babe.”
“Oh?” I ask, striding closer to the edge of the tub. “Then let’s do it here.” I lean forward and let my eyes grow wide.
“Shit no. Not even for you, babe. This is Vegas. The mafia will skin my ass if they catch me fucking with the casinos.” He drains his bottle of beer and tosses it back over his shoulder with a loud belch.
I try not to react with disgust.
Lucifer appears behind his shoulder and raises his eyebrows in challenge. A shock of pain shoots up the right side of my body, and I jump a little. It’s a warning: hurry up and get to work.
“Oh, that only happens in the movies. Now if you were talking millions, that’s one thing, but one little roulette wheel? That’s small potatoes to them. They probably wouldn’t even blink unless it was over a mil.” I trace a pattern on the edge of the tub with my finger.
“I’m not going to risk it. I’ll just sit here and drink on your dime, and if I’m lucky, you’ll get in here with me, babe.”
“Well, I won’t,” I say quickly. Too quickly, because I get another jolt. “Unless…” I add, and Randy looks up, surprised. “Unless you can impress me tonight in the casino.”
“You said something before about a guy who does something to impress you,” Randall slurs, squinting like it helps him remember.
“That’s right,” I say. “I have expensive taste, and I like excitement. I like a guy who can, say…scam a casino and pay for a diamond-studded bikini.”
Lucifer’s hot breath is on my neck, and I struggle not to react. “There’s one in your closet now so you can celebrate when he succeeds.”
“Shoot, that sounds like a lot of money,” Randy says.
“Oh, my last boyfriend bought me one already. It was just an example. But I would be impressed to see you outsmart the system tonight. What do you say, Randy? Maybe I’ll be so impressed that I’ll show you that bikini.” I pout and rock back and forth a little.
“I say I’m a sucker for blondes, babe. Go get me a tux and some dough to start out at the high rollers’ table and I’ll show you a good time tonight. I’d get them myself, but Keira brought me here in such a hurry, I didn’t have a chance to grab anything.”
*
I’m in the world’s sluttiest and most expensive flesh-colored evening gown, about to put on the fuchsia lipstick Lucifer left me, when my phone comes to life on the countert
op, nearly jumping out of its case as it plays “Highway to Hell.”
Josh.
My heart skips a beat as the lipstick falls to the sink, and I spin toward the phone to find out where he is, battling all of the conflicting emotions inside of me. But I don’t have to search. I don’t have to decide.
He’s right here in front of me, and my body feels like a compass drawn magnetically North.
I throw my arms around him and cling for dear life as tears swim unbidden in my eyes. The usual electricity when we touch is magnified and draws a gasp from us both—a reminder of when we first fell in love.
“Hey,” he whispers, calming me like I’m the tiger cooped up downstairs. Gently, he pushes me back far enough to look at me, and I can’t help but stare back, back into his beautiful blue eyes filled with worry and sadness.
I can’t stop sobbing enough to form words. I want to tell him how I’ve needed him. How I’ve missed him. How I made a mistake and should never have left Heaven. But I can’t, because if I say those things then I’ve given up on Noah. And if I give up on Noah, who will save him? And what would that make me?
His thumbs smear the tears from my face, and he waits with incredible patience as I try to get control of myself.
“Grace,” he says in that deep voice, and it sets me off crying again.
“Oh, Josh,” I choke out. “I told you not to come.” What I really want to say is Thank you for coming because I need you more than anything.
“I know. But I had to. I wanted you to know that I’m still here and still working on helping you and Noah. In fact, I’ve found something.”
“You have?” Hope springs to life in my chest, and I feel like ripping off the top layer of my own skin, like it’s a horrible Halloween costume or something. I glance at the girl in the mirror that Lucifer created. Caked-on makeup with streaks of mascara running down my face. Breasts barely covered by skintight silk that blends with my skin tone to give an illusion of nudity. Hair teased and twisted on top of my head with curls spilling like a perverted water fountain.
But it’s like none of it matters to Josh because his eyes remain on mine, full of concern as he keeps talking. “We found the actual prophecy. It talks about Lucifer and the Antichrist.”
Soul Conquered Page 4
