Blood and Feathers

by Lou Morgan

  “So why didn’t you just run?”

  “I told you. I couldn’t let you...”

  “Then why not let me choose? Why not just run, and let me decide for myself?”

  “Because that’s not how it works.”

  “So instead of one – what did you call it? – ‘burden,’ you decided to leave me with another one?”

  “I don’t understand. Everything... your emotions are so confused. What is it you’re asking me?”

  “I’m asking why you couldn’t just stay alive.”

  “Ah.” Seket shook her head. “I tried. I trusted Michael.”

  “Well,” said Alice, shoving her hands into her pockets, “that was your first mistake, wasn’t it?”

  “You’ve met him?” Seket seemed surprised.

  “Oh, yes. He’s lovely. If you like sociopaths. We had a nice chat earlier.”

  “He’s here?”

  “They’re all here. All of them. I came looking for you.”

  “Alice...” Seket looked around her uneasily. “Alice, how did you find me? This is the lowest level of hell. You can’t have come this far on your own. Where are the angels?”

  “As far as I know, they’re picking holes in the Fallen somewhere by the Gate. It’s a warzone.”

  “It always has been a warzone. You just couldn’t see it. But who is with you? Who led you here?”

  “Long story. Mallory, mostly.” She watched Seket’s eyes widen involuntarily, and pretended not to notice. “And there’s Gwyn, although between you and me, I’m not sure he’s talking to me any more. Especially since I just tried to kill him. Down here, I had a guide called Abbadona. I used to date him a few years ago, but we realised it wasn’t going anywhere, what with him being one of the damned and everything.”

  “I can’t tell if you’re joking.”

  “You’ve been gone a while.”

  “This is important, Alice. Who brought you here? To me. Now. How did you find the way?”

  “I just did.”

  “No, you didn’t. You were led. By whom?”

  “Charon, maybe. I followed the ice. It came here.”

  “Charon?” Seket drew back with a hiss. “Alice, you need to leave. Now.”

  “Absolutely. And you’re coming with me.” Alice leaned forward, trying to take Seket’s hand, but she pulled away, shaking her head. “No, Alice. You need to leave. Leave me. Just go.”

  “What?”

  “Go!”

  “I’ve come all this way, and you think I can just go?”

  “It can’t be helped. Go. Go to the angels.”

  “Come on. We’ll go together. We can find Michael; talk to him.”

  “No time. Alice. Go.” Seket’s voice was cracking and with each word she drew further back despite Alice’s pleading. Suddenly, she sucked in a great breath of air and turned away. “Too late,” she whispered.

  “Mum?” Alice laid her hand on her mother’s arm, but there was no response. “We should go.”

  “Oh, Alice.” There was something sharper about her voice, something slicker and altogether colder as she turned her head back towards Alice. And although the voice was still Seket’s, the words were not. “You think all this makes you special, don’t you? Everything you’ve been through. All this... loss. I’m afraid it doesn’t. Careless, perhaps, but special? Hardly. It’s all just part of life’s grand pageant. People live, people die. Just accept it. Let it go. Move on.”

  “Get out of my mother.”

  “Make me.” Lucifer’s eyes shone red in Seket’s face. “Go on. Make me. If you can.”

  “You’re threatening me, but you’re not going to follow through on it, are you? So what do you want?”

  “Listen to you! Give you a little taste of your own ability and suddenly you’re staring down the devil. It’s fighting talk. I like it. Shows spirit. I could use that.” Lucifer took a step closer. Alice took a step back.

  “I could have killed you a hundred times over since you set foot inside the Gate. Just so we’re clear. Why would I go to all the trouble of bringing you all this way just to kill you now? Do think about it for a second, would you? And relax. You asked me what I want. It’s simple. I have a proposition for you.”

  “No.”

  “You haven’t even heard what I have to say.”

  “Don’t need to.”

  “Now, really. I’m disappointed in you. How can you make an informed decision if you won’t even listen to your options? How can you choose, Alice?”

  “Oh, piss off.”

  “Now, now.” Lucifer’s tone grew darker. “It’s a long way from here back to the surface. You have no idea what I could do to you between here and there, so don’t test my patience. I’ve been more than reasonable so far – heroically so, given that you just killed my gatekeeper. That was, by the way, entirely unnecessary, not to mention inconvenient. So I suggest you hear me out.”

  “And then what?”

  “And then, you choose. Simple.”

  “‘Simple.’ Of course.”

  “You should hear what I have to offer. I’m asking for so little. And in return, I’m prepared to give you everything you ever wanted.”

  “And what’s that, exactly?” Alice folded her arms.

  Lucifer shrugged. “Your family.”

  “My family. Right. Gotcha.”

  “Would I lie to you? Now? Why would I do that? Why would I go to the trouble to bring you here, to lead you here? Consider that.”

  “My family’s gone.”

  “Hardly. Your mother is, well, a little occupied at the moment, but she’s still here.”

  “And my father?”

  “You don’t think I can arrange for one man, one simple, pointless little man, to be released? Me?” He made a tutting sound. “You really don’t think very much of me, do you?”

  “Wait – released?”

  “You didn’t know?” Lucifer’s smile split her mother’s face like a wound. “You didn’t know. Ah, angels. They’re tricky things, aren’t they?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your father had an agreement with them, made it a long time ago. When your mother... well. He didn’t want to go on, found living too much of a struggle. Who wouldn’t, when they had shared their life with an angel? But the angels, they knew about you. They knew what you could be, and they wanted to keep you for themselves. So he was offered a bargain: that he would raise you, would keep going day after day after day, and when you were ready, when the time came, he would be released. He would be released, and could join your mother.” Lucifer paused, batting his red eyes at Alice. “Of course, the angels neglected to mention where your mother was.”

  “That’s not true. You’re lying.”

  “Am I? Am I? Are you sure?”

  “They wouldn’t. None of them would...”

  “You’d be surprised what a little ambition can do. For someone who shares blood with the angels, you don’t seem to know an awful lot about them, do you? They’re not so different from you – just as vain, just as self-centred. All scrabbling to be the best at doing what they’re told, just so they can earn the right to be told what to do by someone slightly higher up the food chain. I see they’ve worked their magic on you.

  “I’m offering you something else, Alice. I’m offering something in return. And all I’m asking is that you serve me instead. I can show you how to take that gift of yours and turn it into something special; something truly extraordinary. That alone is worth serious consideration, let alone the rest of my offer.”

  Alice found herself sitting on the ice, looking up at Lucifer while he wore her mother’s body like a suit. And still he kept talking, pacing backwards and forwards, absorbed in his own words.

  “I had hoped that with a little encouragement you might come to see things my way. That once Xaphan showed you what you could be, you might be willing to hear me out.”

  “Xaphan... Rob. All of that...”

  “Was for this, yes. And
it might have amounted to something if Michael hadn’t stuck his nose in.”

  “He pulled me away. From Gwyn.”

  “Didn’t he just? Meddling, meddling. Always meddling.”

  “If he hadn’t... he said something about my hurting Gwyn.”

  “Hurting him? My dear girl, you would have torn him to pieces, and then we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Not at all. Gabriel would have seen to that.”

  “But Michael stopped me.” Something clicked into place in Alice’s head. “He made sure I had a choice.”

  “Who knows what goes on in his head? I stopped trying to keep up centuries ago.” He rolled his eyes. At least, it looked like he was rolling his eyes. In truth, it was impossible to tell. “So. There’s my offer. I trust you find it acceptable?”

  “And if I don’t?”

  “I could start by splitting you in half while you’re still breathing. Or burying you headfirst in the ice here. Or maybe I’d just throw you back into the Dark House. I gather you’re familiar with it?” His eyes narrowed at her.

  And then a peculiar thing happened. Lucifer twitched. His whole body – Seket’s body – jerked violently, and the red eyes dimmed. Not by much, but enough. “Alice? Alice. I don’t have long.”

  “Mum? You’re free?”

  “Hardly. Listen to me. You can’t help me. I know you want to, but you can’t. You can’t.”

  “I have to. I came here for you. I came all this way.”

  “I know, and I love you for it. But you have to go. If he comes back... when he comes back... I...” Seket’s voice was straining. If there was a fight for control of her body, she was losing it. Of course she was.

  “Alice, he’s coming. He’s coming, and he wants an answer. Promise me you won’t give one to him. Hold on. Promise me you’ll hold on.” Her voice was fading now, even as she backed away from her daughter.

  Alice shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  “Just... Hold on.” Their eyes met, and for a moment Alice saw something there, something that had not been there before. Something almost like hope. “Have faith,” Seket whispered and closed her eyes. When they opened again, they were red from lid to lid.

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  Keep the Faith

  “I CAN’T ABIDE being interrupted. And just as we were getting to the interesting part, too. You have an answer for me?”

  “No.”

  “No, you don’t have an answer, or no you’d really rather like to see just how many ways you can hurt?”

  “The first one. Obviously.”

  “Ah, then we’re getting somewhere. You’re clearly not as stupid as you look,” he said with another broad smile. He hastily added, “No offence intended, of course.”

  Alice smiled back at him coldly, and recoiled as he sat down beside her. “So,” he said, “at least you’re considering my offer. Don’t get me wrong: I’m delighted. But I was hoping for something a little more... concrete.”

  “Big decision. Can’t be rushed.” Her mother had said hold on. Hold on for what? Until when?

  Lucifer nodded. “True, quite true. But I’m going to need an answer from you now.” Before she could blink, he had snapped out a hand, and grabbed hold of her wrist. His fingers burned where they touched her skin. He stood up, dragging her to her feet. “You see, I’m stretched rather thin at the moment. We’re not used to quite so many visitors, you understand, and keeping things the way I like them is becoming quite a strain on my attention. I’m a perfectionist; what can I say? And it seems our guests are quite determined to outstay their welcome.”

  “You mean you’re losing.”

  “Look at it as a strategic sacrifice.”

  “Oh, right. That’s totally what it sounded like when I was up there. Really strategic. You must be so proud of those henchmen of yours. They’re doing a grand job of running away, screaming like little girls.”

  “Henchmen? You mean the Twelve?” Lucifer held her at arm’s length, staring at her. And then he started to laugh. “Child, the Twelve are long gone. As I said: a strategic sacrifice. Where would the strategy be in sending my best soldiers to slaughter?”

  “All of that, everything up there...” Images flooded through Alice’s mind. A rocky field that ran red with blood. Angels who fell from the air. The Fallen running, hopelessly. “All of that...”

  “All of that? I needed to make sure the Twelve were on their way. And that we had time to have our little talk, and fun as it’s been, I’m going to need to press you for an answer.”

  “No.”

  “No answer, or...?”

  “No. The answer is no. Actually, the answer is to tell you to...”

  “And that’s quite enough of that.” Without batting an eyelid, Lucifer tightened his grip on her arm and lifted her off her feet, swinging her upwards. She was flying and she was falling, falling fast and the ice was rushing up to meet her. Alice landed heavily enough to feel her teeth rattle. The back of her head smacked down into the ice and stars spun above her. Her hair felt wet, sticky, and her left arm throbbed. She tried to sit up, but a wave of nausea forced her back down and she groaned. There were footsteps coming towards her. Lucifer. She rolled over onto her stomach, tried to crawl, but before she could move, a foot connected with her side, lifting her into the air again. This time, she didn’t even notice coming back down. It all hurt too much.

  But there was no fire.

  Nothing.

  There was another kick, and another. She was hauled to her feet and shaken, then knocked down again; thrown about like a toy.

  And still there was no fire.

  He must have known what she was thinking, must have felt her rising panic, because he crouched down next to her and stroked her hair.

  “Is that the best you can do? I was hoping for so much more. If this is all you have... well. Perhaps I don’t need you after all.” He patted her head as she coughed and tried to wipe the blood from her eyes and nose. “A shame. I could have taught you so much. So much more than they can.” He sighed. “Mind you, given time, you’d have learned. They’re all the same, the angels. They will fail you.”

  “Not all of us.” The voice came from across the lake. It was soft, and it was warm, and it was familiar. And it was angry.

  Mallory.

  “Ah, there you are. I was beginning to wonder when you’d turn up,” said Lucifer, without bothering to look round. “How did you like my mortars?”

  Alice’s vantage point wasn’t exactly up to much, but she still saw Mallory flinch, saw a shadow pass across his face. And although she hadn’t dared to hope for it, she felt something spark at the tips of her fingers.

  Mallory opened his wings, sailing across the ice towards them. She heard the rustling of the wind through his feathers; smelled the blood and naphtha covering his clothes. He looked Lucifer up and down as he landed.

  “The mortars? They’re great. Loved them. Brought you one.” In one fluid motion, he reached into his jacket and pulled out a thin, club-shaped object, hurling it towards the block of ice. Lucifer screeched and dived after it. There was a loud roar; the world shook and Mallory ducked, clutching his ears and arching his wings above his head to shield himself. He scuttled across to Alice.

  “You know, for a guy who’s not used his body in a few hundred years, he’s pretty prissy about it.”

  “He’s...” Alice rolled onto her side. That hurt more, and she couldn’t make the words stick together. “It’s...”

  “Alice, I’m Earthbound, not stupid.” He paused to consider this, tipping his head to one side. “Well, not that stupid. I know who he’s riding.”

  “Riding?”

  “Technical term.”

  “Oh.”

  “Come on, Alice. Work with me here. Last time I saw you, you were about to incinerate a Descended. So you tell me, do we need to talk about that?”

  “He’s still alive, isn’t he?”

  “Point taken.” He held out his hand, and gently pu
lled her upright. “This is going to hurt.”

  “You, or me?”

  “You’re funny.”

  “Apparently.”

  “Never mind. Let’s get you fixed up before he puts out that fire.”

  As it happened, Lucifer was busy doing just that, protecting his ice-bound body from the mortar blast. Mallory held out his hands to her, and looked her up and down. “I’m not going to like this, am I?” he asked.

  Alice gave the closest thing she could to a shrug. “If it’s any consolation, I’m not either.”

  He laughed and closed his hands around hers, and she felt the familiar warmth spread through her body, the same jabbing pins growing stronger and stronger, and then stopping all at once.

  He let his hands drop, staggering slightly, and spat out a mouthful of blood, then shook his head sadly. “He did a number and a half on you, didn’t he?”

  “Is that a technical term too?” Alice shook off the echoes of the beating she’d taken.

  Mallory smiled. “If you like. I’m proud of you, you know.”

  “Whatever.” Alice wasn’t watching Mallory. She was watching Lucifer squatting, toad-like, in her mother’s body as he put out the last of the flames. Mallory followed her gaze, pulling his guns out from beneath his jacket and checking them over. Alice looked appalled.

  “You’re going to shoot him?”

  “If I get a chance to, yes.”

  “But... my mother...”

  “You’re not exactly helping, Alice.”

  “And where did you get the second one from, anyway? I thought you only had one.”

  “Vin. I know,” he said, watching her mouth drop open, “I was as surprised as you. But then he threw my drink in the river, so I can only imagine he was going for shock and awe.”

  “Huh.” Alice looked back over at Lucifer. He had turned to face them, and stood with folded arms in the middle of the ice. He was smiling. Of course he was smiling. “You know I won’t let you shoot my mother.”

  “And I won’t let you stop me. There’s more at stake than your mother. She Fell, years ago. That was her decision.”