Scarred (the Spellbound Series Book 3)

by Rene Lanausse

  As his feet touch the ground, Lucifer flexes his fingers, and looks down to inspect his new body. “This is more like it,” he says. It’s eerie to hear Nick’s voice coming out of this body; it’s still very much his, but at the same time, he sounds nothing like the boy I used to know. Lucifer grins at me, and asks, “How do I look?”

  I scowl, and mutter, “Get out of Nick’s body, you piece of shit.”

  “Not a chance.” Lucifer folds his arms behind his back, and turns away from me to watch the lava flowing down the side of a nearby volcano. “I gotta say, your boyfriend’s body is every bit as useful as I’d hoped. With every ounce of strength he’s gathered, and all I have to give, we’ll be unstoppable. I’ll finally be able to repay Michael for all he’s done.”

  “You’re gonna have to go through me first.”

  “I was hoping you would say that. A quick warm up sounds perfect.” Without turning to face me, or moving at all, I can feel the enormity of Nick and Lucifer’s combined power fluctuating. A split second later, the top of the mountain next to us explodes in a shower of ash and lava, chunks of rock raining down on us from above. Even more worrisome, however, is the river of lava flying right at me.

  I latch onto the lava with my own power, and redirect it so it’s jettisoned towards Lucifer. He finally spins around, and with a spell of his own, he gathers the lava in a ball a few feet away from his face. The ball grows until it’s bigger than his entire body, and that’s when he throws it back at me. I sidestep the attack, and watch as the lava spills onto the ground near my foot. We don’t have time for this; I’m not going to play catch with the devil, there are people on Earth that need me to finish this as quickly as I can. I cool the molten rock with a spell as I swing my arms in an upward motion, and the bubbling lava solidifies into what looks like a sculpture of a crashing wave.

  I whirl around to lunge at Lucifer, only to find that he’s disappeared. Before I can truly look around, something sweeps my feet out from under me, and I land hard on my back. I look up to see the bottom of Nick’s boot, and roll out of the way before it lands on my face. Lucifer closes his fist, and I’m launched into the air by a pillar of rock that springs out of the ground. I land on my feet, and deflect a punch flying at my face before striking Lucifer with one of my own. When he cries out in pain, it’s with Nick’s voice, and I realize that I may not be able to do what I came here to do; any pain I inflict on Lucifer will also effect Nick. How am I going to kill one without killing the other?

  Lucifer realizes my conundrum at the same time I do, and a malicious chuckle escapes his lips. “What’s the matter, Heather?,” he asks. “Afraid to hurt your boyfriend?”

  I grit my teeth, and close my eyes as I punch him in the jaw, which sends him spinning to the ground. Lucifer’s back up in a flash, and kicks out at me, but his movements are so obvious, he may as well be broadcasting his attacks. He may be wildly powerful now, but that doesn’t mean he’s become any better at defending himself. I grab Lucifer by the leg, and use his momentum to swing him around and throw him to the ground. “I’m only going to say this once,” I retort. “He’s not my boyfriend!”

  “Really? That’s a shame, you two were so cute together!” Lucifer fires a black bolt of lightning at me from where he lies on the ground. I shriek, and fall to my knees as the electricity surges through my body. I’ve never experienced any pain like this; if I didn’t know any better, I’d assume I were being cooked alive. When I realize that the current of power isn’t slowing at all, I interrupt the flow with a shield spell, gasping and twitching as the pain subsides.

  While I try to catch my breath, I hear a crack overhead, and look up to see that my shield is actually cracking. Lucifer’s newfound might is enough that he can penetrate even the strongest of defenses. I only have a precious few seconds before I have to move, so I try to figure out just how I’m going to end this without killing Nick. There has to be some way to kick Lucifer out of his body, but as far as I know, an exorcism is the only way to force an intruding soul out of its host body. Unfortunately, I don’t have any idea how to perform one. And there’s a slim chance a dagger soaked in holy water will kill a demon without killing the human it inhabits, but since Lucifer is an angel, he wouldn’t be effected.

  For a fleeting moment, I consider offering my body as an alternative host for Lucifer’s soul. I’m much stronger than both him and Nick individually, I may be able to maintain control. Then, I’ll just impale myself on my sword, and… My sword! Michael’s words ring in my ears as I realize that I can use his old weapon to my advantage: “It burns with the fire of six archangels, their strength contained within the ruby on the hilt. Together, they make sure only the worthy may wield their might, and burn the wicked ones who might try to steal their power for themselves.”

  Lucifer may be evil, but Nick has always had a heart of gold. If I’m right, I can hurt one without hurting the other. If I’m wrong… Well, I pray that I’m not.

  I crouch just as my shield splinters apart, and the black bolt of lightning sails right over my head, singing a few stray strands of hair. Before Lucifer can hit me again, I launch him into the air the same way he did to me. I grab him with a spell, and hold him in the air for a moment before flinging him into the side of a volcano, where he slams against the rock.

  Lucifer grunts in pain, but he’s far from done with me. He brushes off his shoulders, then dashes towards me, his leathery wings stretching out behind him as if he’s ready to take off. I pull my sword out of the sheath at my hip, and smile to myself as flames race along the length of the blade. Lucifer’s eyes widen in panic, and he slides under my sword as I thrust the tip towards his heart. He rises from the ground a few feet away, covered in dirt and rubble. He points at my sword, and demands, “Where did you get that?!”

  I look down proudly at the crackling flames, and reply, “It’s a present from my father.”

  “Michael…” Lucifer shakes his head, and says, “That bastard. He won’t get to see me killed with the blade that killed my brothers.”

  I narrow my eyes, but withhold any comment. I’m suddenly a little less confident in my plan to save Nick. If he knows how Michael killed the other archangels, does he know about the blade’s other qualities as well? I can’t be sure. At least it’s clear that he’s unsettled by the weapon’s presence. “You know, if you somehow come out of this alive, you can put him down the same way he killed the others.”

  Lucifer cracks his neck, and the red in his eyes and veins glows brighter than ever. “Oh, I intend to.”

  It sounds like Lucifer doesn’t know the sword will burn him alive; I can use that to my advantage. I point it towards him, and suggest, “How about you come and take it, then?”

  Lucifer reaches an outstretched hand over the ground before him, and a crack spreads across the solid rock. It splits apart, and widens to reveal an ocean of magma just beneath us. From within, a slender black object rises slowly, until Lucifer wraps his fingers around the obsidian hilt of a sword. A glistening black blade extends from the hilt, as long as mine, but just an inch or two thinner. He grips the hilt with both hands, and eyes me with amusement. Now, it’s my turn to panic; if he’s anywhere near as skilled as Michael with a sword, I may be in trouble.

  I launch myself skyward with a spell, then spread my wings, flapping them quickly to pick up speed. If Lucifer wants this sword so badly, he’s gonna have to work for it. When I look over my shoulder, I’m rewarded by the sight of Lucifer taking flight, his leathery wings flapping clumsily in an attempt to propel him forward. It’s almost amusing, watching him struggle. It must be strange adjusting to Nick’s wings after a thousand lifetimes with the wings of an angel.

  Evidently, Lucifer can’t handle being too slow to catch me. I feel his power surge once more, and the ground I’m flying over crumbles, human sized chunks of stone falling into the ocean of magma below. Geysers of molten rock spew into the air all around me as I pass, some of them close enough that I can feel the heat r
oasting my skin. Lucifer laughs as I dodge the obstacles he throws in my way. I’d only planned on luring him closer to his body, but now it’s a struggle to keep from getting burned to a crisp.

  After the third close call, I’m fed up with letting Lucifer toy with me. He’s not the only one around here with unimaginable spellpower. I whirl around, and stir the magma between Lucifer and I into a swirling, flaming vortex a hundred feet high. It’s enough to distract Lucifer for a moment, while, I gain some altitude and fly through the broken window to his office.

  The moment my feet touch the cracked marble floor, I pull my wings back inside of me. I jog towards the center, and hold my sword by my side while I wait for Lucifer to show. Mere seconds later, he flies through the window as well, and skids to a stop just inside the office. He watches me through narrowed eyes; evidently, he’s done playing games. He’s ready to end this. And so am I.

  We circle each other for just a moment, before he lunges at me, the point of his sword aimed directly at my throat. I sidestep him easily, and wait eagerly for his next move. I could easily parry his every move, but as Michael taught me during our training, that would be pointless. We would needlessly damage our blades, and it would interfere with observing his movements. I see an opening in the middle of Lucifer’s next swing, and give him a shallow cut on his left calf. He gasps in pain, and rather than bleeding, the wound glows white. I can’t tell which of us is more surprised, but afterward, Lucifer’s strikes carry even more urgency than before.

  I’m no master, but I can tell Lucifer’s swordsmanship has gotten rusty, if he’d ever even had any skill. He’s sluggish, and sloppy, and leaves himself open more often than not. I could easily end this in an instant, if only he weren’t hiding in Nick’s body. Every so often, I leave him shallow gashes on his forearms, or his calves. But for the most part, I dodge every slash aimed my way. It dawns on me that merely cutting Lucifer won’t separate his soul from Nick’s body. I can tell the glowing cuts along his limbs are incredibly painful, but they won’t be enough. Maybe he’ll have to hold the sword for my plan to work. And there’s only one way to make that happen.

  I feign a moment of absentmindedness, and let Lucifer disarm me. My sword clatters to the ground, and slides a couple of feet away as the flames die off in the absence of my touch. Lucifer laughs triumphantly, and slashes at my throat while my guard is down. It’s so quick, that I barely have time to move my head back, and his blade slices the air mere centimeters from my skin. Lucifer punches me with his free hand, and I allow the blow to knock me to the ground.

  Lucifer stands over me for a moment with a smug grin plastered on his face. He raises his sword high, and I flinch as he flings it to the side, and the black blade sinks into the wall. “Ease up, kid,” he gloats. “If I’m gonna kill Michael’s daughter, I’m gonna do it right.” Lucifer reaches out his hand, and with a spell, calls my sword into his palm. It rises slowly from the ground, and glides through the air until his fingers wrap around the golden hilt. And that’s when the screaming starts.

  I roll into a crouch, and stand up tall to watch what’s happening. Lucifer’s hand is engulfed by the flames of the blade as he screams in agony. The flames race up the length of his arm, spread across his torso, and swallow the other arm to the fingertips. Within seconds, his entire body is burning, and for a moment, I worry that Nick’s body will be destroyed in the blaze. The white light pouring from Lucifer’s many wounds expands until it shines brighter than the flames wrapped around him, and all I can see is white.

  Just when I take a step towards him, it seems as if Nick’s body explodes, and I’m thrown onto my back once more. A black smoke billows out from where he stood, rising to the ceiling as it coalesces. The white light dissipates, and to my immense relief, Nick’s body remains intact, his mouth still open in a silent scream. He’s not only alive, he’s better than ever; his skin has returned to its original pallor, and his eyes have become the same gentle brown I’ve always known. There isn’t a single trace of Lucifer’s corruption left.

  As I watch, the black smoke near the ceiling crackles to life, and becomes a flame once more. Lucifer’s soul gathers into a single dense cloud, and quickly flies back into its original body. Around the same time, Nick realizes he’s in control once more, and a mask of cold fury falls over his face. It’s a look I’ve never seen him wear before, and one that I can live without seeing again. He looks down at the sword in his hand, whose flames have died down into nothingness. He takes one look at Lucifer’s body as it shudders to life, and I can almost see him make the decision. He crosses the room in a few easy strides, and with a cry of rage, he plunges the blade into Lucifer’s heart.

  Lucifer sputters, and looks up at Nick as if he’s offended. “I might have expected this out of Xena over there,” he coughs, “but never from you.”

  Nick twists the blade inside of Lucifer’s chest, before roughly pulling it out. He glares down at Lucifer, and says, “You should have known better than to push a good man too far.”

  The wound in Lucifer’s chest spews out a virtual geyser of white light, and white cracks spread across the surface of his skin. Whatever’s happening, I know we don’t want to be around for it. I grab Nick by the hand, and take one last look at Lucifer’s body as it begins to splinter apart. Then I race for the iron door as quickly as I can. I slam it shut behind us, and we sprint down the passage towards the open portal home just as a tremor rocks the entire building. I turn around just in time to catch slivers of white pouring through cracks in the buckled iron door, and as it fades, a grim satisfaction watches over me. Thanks to Nick, we’ve seen the last of the king of Hell.

  28

  When Nick and I cross through the doorway home, we quickly discover that the streets of New York City are in chaos. Slowly congealing pools of black demon blood litter the rain-slicked pavement, while the demons still breathing are winging through the air. I take it the lesser demons were the first to fall; greater demons are stronger, and more difficult to kill. As we watch, one said demon falls from a rooftop right before us, screeching in a voice simultaneously animal and human. White light flashes from behind the demon’s eyes, and its body hisses as it melts down into a puddle of black.

  My earpiece crackles as it comes to life, and Jenna’s voice reaches me across the line. “Welcome back, guys,” she says calmly, as if a war isn’t ripping our city apart. “How was your trip?”

  “Just fine,” Nick replies as he hands me my sword. “Mission accomplished. What do we do now?”

  “Right now you’re in Midtown, where the angels are doing most of the work for us. But Lucas could use some help near the U.N., and Alyssa’s looking a little swamped up near Columbus Circle.”

  “Got it.” Nick turns to me, and says, “Looks like we’ll have to split up.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a great idea,” I mutter as I give Nick a visual once-over. He’s bleeding from a couple of the scratches I gave him while Lucifer was in control, but for the most part, he seems fine. “You’ve just been through an ordeal, and I’m not sure how ready you are for this-“

  “Heather. I’ll be alright. I’m still just as strong as I was ten minutes ago, just without the side effects.”

  “But-“

  “Don’t. I’ve always respected you enough to let you make your own choices. Please do the same for me.”

  “Okay.” I wrap my arms around his middle, and accidentally get a long whiff of his scent. It makes me yearn for a simpler time, when things between us hadn’t been so complex, when we weren’t constantly fighting for our lives. “Be careful,” I whisper into his chest. We may not be what we once were, but all the same, I don’t know if I can handle losing him again.

  “I will be,” Nick whispers back before we release each other. “I love you.”

  I’m not sure if he means romantic love or platonic; it’s more a limitation of our language than any fault on his part. But I tell him, “You too,” before running off in the direction of Columbu
s Circle. The moment I’ve gathered enough speed, I leap into the air, spread my wings, and fly.

  A couple of demons notice me passing overhead, and chase after me as I fly over to Alyssa. They may not look like it, considering their glittering armor-like skin, but there are still human souls in these bodies. Innocent people. It’s the same dilemma as with Nick and Lucifer; I can’t find it in me to hurt these people. And I can’t just hand them all my sword and hope for the best. I pull out the guns Krystal gave me, spin around to face behind me, and fire at the demons on my trail. After a few tries, I manage to shoot them both before they can pounce on me. They’ll fall unconscious, and probably revert to their human forms, but they’ll live.

  Even without my second sight, I can tell Alyssa is close. I can hear dozens of demons shrieking in pain, and the roar of a motorcycle’s engine. I round a corner, and I can see her riding Lily’s bike around Columbus Circle, with a double bladed sword in one hand. At her command, a section of pavement rises out of the ground, and provides a ramp as she speeds toward it, and flies through the air. The curved blades flash as Alyssa slices through a demon’s chest, and she lands with a hard jolt several dozen feet from where she started.

  I fly right over her, and shout, “Are you sure you need any help here?”

  “I got this,” Alyssa shouts back, “but you’re welcome to join the party!”

  “Gladly!” I land near the statue of Columbus in the middle of the rotunda, and open fire on the demons circling us. Concentrated bursts of energy pass through several demons before long, while Alyssa keeps drawing them nearer with Lily’s motorcycle. When she’s close enough to hear me over the engine, I ask, “Where did you get that?”