"You can't help hurting them. Every time they touch you, you'll both burn. Get out and head for Heaven. I'll be fine!" He wanted to shout the words, but sent the thought arrowing across the crowd that separated them.
"No, Luce, I love you and won't leave you. I will protect you – even from pain." Her soul-voice ended abruptly as if she'd closed the door and sealed him out. Another impenetrable energy shield. Or had she lost consciousness?
Luce stretched and craned his neck to see above the crowd, but she'd vanished.
She cried out in pain again and Luce's knuckles went white as he gripped the door frame. She was conscious and hurting and he couldn't sense her. To Hell with that.
He closed his eyes and reached for the heated mob. Time to cool things off a little... Luce ripped the heat from air and demonic bodies alike, channelling it into the wall beside the door. Frost formed on the ceiling, but still Luce pulled energy from the room. Mel's energy shield only blocked the doorway, not the whole room, and under his concentrated onslaught the wall crumbled to dust. He strode through the cloud that had once been a wall.
"Don't touch her. Step away from the angel. I won't ask again." Luce put all his fury into his tone and watched in satisfaction as a few edged away from him.
"Speak for yourself. You won't touch her again. She's going to Heaven." Luce couldn't see through the dust cloud to identify the speaker. It didn't matter – their ranks closed in. Shadows loomed only a step away. Or a blow...
He sent a silent apology to Mel. To Hell with redemption – he'd rip every demon here into pieces before he'd allow them to hurt her and he'd enjoy it, too. He'd take Hell for eternity if it meant keeping her safe.
He launched his powerful body at the nearest knot of demons. His tail slashed out and sliced through the soft flesh of a throat. Bones crushed beneath the blow from one massive fist as more crunched underfoot. The sibilant rip of parting flesh told him he could drop the arm he'd wrenched off someone's shoulder. No, something's shoulder. Black demon blood sprayed and coated his skin like oil. Luce grinned. The Lord of Hell was born for battle.
Someone was shouting and gesticulating in front of him. He grabbed the noisy head in both hands and wrenched it around until it fell silent. The body fell limp to the carpet.
Something hit his back – a solid blow, but not fast enough. He spun and caught the offending foot, shooting a hand up its owner's shin until he reached the knee. A powerful twist and the lower leg came free. A solid, gory club that he brought down on its former owner's face. It smashed like an egg, leaving no hint in the mess of meat as to who'd been stupid enough to kick the Lord of Hell.
God, it felt good to fight again. For so long, he'd tried to be good for Mel's sake, but he couldn't stand by and let them hurt her. Maybe he was giving his soul to darkness, but it belonged to Mel anyway. Better to lose it in her service than through some stupid mistake of his own.
Two strong arms fastened around his neck from behind, trying to choke him. But the arms were human-sized and couldn't do more than chafe his neck. With the demon still hanging on, he turned, trying to find Mel in the mess of bodies lying at his feet. There. Love flooded through him at the sight of her curled-up body on the coffee table, and he heard the scream of the demon behind him a moment before he smelled burned flesh. His back burned as the demon was blasted away from him, crashing so hard against the wall that it went straight through.
Luce strode through the body parts, not caring how many bones he crushed under his hooves. Melody. Melody. She had to be all right. He'd send the temperature of this room to absolute zero to heal her if he had to. He dropped to his knees beside the coffee table, now the altar that held his beautiful angel's body.
"Won't...let you," a bloodied body panted, digging claws into his side.
Luce flung the dying demon against the wall. It slid down the dalmatian-spotted plaster, leaving a wide streak of equally black blood before it slumped to the floor, no longer moving.
With shaking hands, Luce reached for Mel, not bothering to shift back to his human form. She knew him, no matter what form he took, and he could protect her better like this. "Melody. Please tell me you're all right, Melody. I'll keep you safe." His fingers left a smear of demon blood on her cheek.
She stirred weakly, lifting her eyes to meet his. Hers glistened with tears. "I don't want you to get hurt, my love," she whispered. "Not when pain is what you fear most."
Luce couldn't help it. He grinned. "It was. Now...what's a bit of physical pain compared to the heart-wrenching agony of losing you? I'd fall again – fall a hundred thousand times – if I knew you'd be the one to help me rise in the end."
He slid his arms underneath her and cradled her body carefully to his chest. Now he couldn't help but feel the pain she'd refused to share with him – for every demon she'd burned, she'd felt the same pain that they did, coupled with her despair at harming her colleagues. Only a sweet angel like Melody could feel regret at hurting demons. Her body was worn out with exhaustion and the memory of agony. She was barely holding on to consciousness, her weight sagging against the table beneath her. "I'll protect you from all of them and anyone else," he promised. "Let me take you home."
Mel's eyes closed. Her lips didn't move as her soul said, "Yes, my love. Carry me to Heaven. I can keep you safe there."
No – not Heaven. She couldn't hide in Heaven while she was needed here. They still had to find that crazy little bitch, Persephone.
Speak of the devil. "You really have gone crazy. Good thing we got here when we did – and you still have your pants on."
Stunned, Luce looked down to discover that he'd somehow acquired pants. He didn't own any that fitted his devilish form. Mel – she must have done it. Her faint smile confirmed it.
Persephone continued, "Slaughtering your own minions for fun? What did you do to her?"
Mercifully, the girl was wearing black pants and her cleavage was covered. Luce wished Persephone would wear a burqa around him – there was a first. He shifted so that his body was between her and Mel. He didn't trust her not to hurt Mel in her present fragile state.
"Get away from her!" Persephone shouted, glaring at Luce. Luce glared right back, feeling his fear evaporate in the heat of his fury. How could he have ever feared this skinny girl?
"No," Mel whispered, her fingers tightening on Luce's arm.
Persephone laid a hand on Mel's shoulder, ripping her fierce gaze from Luce to regard Mel with what Luce thought might be a mix of tenderness and love, edged with panic. "Mel, he's Lucifer, and you're exhausted. We need to get you to Heaven, where you'll be safe and you can recover."
"Make him carry me to Heaven. Face judgement," Mel whispered hoarsely. Her eyelids fluttered.
Luce snorted. Mel must be out of her mind to think he'd go through judgement at Heaven's gates again. If they'd been able to control their own crazies, he and Mel wouldn't be in this mess. They should be thanking him, not judging him, and he'd happily tell them that, too.
Mel's soul-voice didn't sound confused at all. Her tone was calm and strong. "Take me to Heaven, Luce. She doesn't know you can enter with me. I will thank you personally, inside." The fleeting image she sent was enough incentive for him to obey any order she gave. He felt her amusement, though her face betrayed nothing.
"You," Persephone said. "Pick her up. Carefully – I'm already going to cut your willy off for what you've done to her, but you can keep it while you're carrying her, as long as it stays in your pants. You don't want to lose anything else."
Oh Hell. The crazy bitch and the threats he'd forgotten about.
"I won't let her hurt you, Luce," Mel said to his soul.
He'd like to see the nephilim try. He could break her skinny body in two. With exaggerated care, Luce lifted the exhausted angel, wrapping Mel's skirt around her legs so she didn't show her underwear. Mel's eyelids fluttered again and she smiled faintly.
"Take my body to Heaven's gates and keep it alive. Kiss me to wake me when we arrive,
" Mel's soul said.
Luce grinned. If she wanted a kiss, she'd get one now. Her lips parted beneath his and allowed his tongue entrance. Wait...she wasn't anywhere near as exhausted as she appeared. Mel's soul was as bright as the sun, powerful enough to have taken on the whole roomful of demons without dimming in the slightest. She was up to something, and if he could kiss her for long enough, she'd show him...
"Stop that!" Persephone barked. "You can carry her and that's all. She'll spend a week just brushing her teeth to get the taste of you out of her mouth! I think I'm going to cut your tongue off, too, and give it to Mel to dispose of, so she'll rest assured that you'll never do that again." She pointed at the door. "That way. Get moving." The nephilim continued muttering under her breath, but Luce didn't bother paying attention to her.
He headed out to Reception and came face to face with Hades. "You!"
"You're a crazier bastard than I thought you were," Hades responded, eyeing Mel. "You should have been content with what you had. To think you could touch her without consequences? You'll lose everything and you deserve to. She gave up Hell for you to end the Heavenly War. Gave you your own little domain to bring peace. And this is how you thank her, you arrogant, ungrateful bastard."
Luce's jaw dropped. Mel gave him Hell? Without her, he'd have just been another damned soul in Hell and not its Lord? He reached for her, but couldn't sense her soul near. Somehow, she'd slipped away, leaving her body in his willing arms as he waited for answers. He just needed to get her to Heaven's gates.
"Once the higher angels have reversed whatever you've done to her, she'll be the one you answer to for judgement. But don't expect her to deliver it – she won't soil her hands with you. She'll hand you to the rest of them and they'll want blood for what you've done to her. You won't survive long enough to corrupt another soul and every moment you live will be torment worse than any punishment you've delivered in Hell."
Hades' dark eyes reflected Luce's own. The Lord of Hell and the Lord of the Underworld. Two of the same until Mel changed everything. "That's up to her," Luce grunted, shouldering the other man aside. He had to get Mel to Heaven. Wait, was that...? The touch between them was enough for him to read Hades' soul. The man thought he'd earn his way into Mel's good graces through this. Maybe she'd even be grateful enough to reward him with wings and a new realm.
"Naming your successor will be up to her, too," Persephone piped up behind him. "When you're gone, Mel will name a new Lord of Hell. Or Lady, if that's her wish." Her giggle set Luce's teeth on edge.
Oh, God, they were both delusional.
"You're after Hell?" Luce snorted. "There's a poisoned chalice. If you're working with Hades, hasn't he told you what it's like to run the Pit of Despair? Dead boring."
Hades' eyes flared with the fires of Tartarus at the insult to the object of his desire.
"Only if you're a demon." She sniffed. "As an angel, the master of Hell wouldn't be confined to the Pit. Heaven, Earth, Hell – all open to them. For you it was a sentence. For anyone else, it's simply an opportunity and a responsibility." She coughed. "At least that's what Mother said, right?"
Mother? Luce whirled around in time to see the silent communication that passed between Persephone and Hades. "You're talking about that bitch Demeter?"
Hades frowned. "Demeter's one of the gentlest immortals I've ever met, unless you get between her and her children. Then she's a vengeful lioness out for blood." He shuddered as if he had personal experience of this. Luce wondered what the story was. He'd have to ask Mel some time.
"I'll say. She tried to hack my balls off with Michael's sword," Luce said.
"Really?" Persephone giggled.
"Because of your lies," Luce continued. "And Mel sacrificed herself to stop your crazy mother."
"No. NO! I heard you hurt her, not Mother. It was you!" Persephone shouted. "I'll make sure you pay for that, too!"
Luce shrugged. Yes, he regretted hurting Mel, but he'd paid his penance for that, or so Mel had said. He didn't fear her judgement – he was hers to command, and she knew it.
"You'll pay for everything you've done to Mel. And to me!"
"I did nothing to you that you didn't ask for," Luce replied coolly. "And a lot less than you asked for, as you well know. From what Mel's said, I should have fired you as a PA the same day I hired you. You pestered her constantly with questions while we were away on business. You couldn't even make a dinner reservation without her advice. Do you even remember my favourite entrée? Or after dinner drink? Or where you sent my dry cleaning?"
Persephone pouted. "What do I care? I was just supposed to keep you happy enough to sign your corporation and Hell over to me. If I had to suck your dick a dozen times a day, better me than Mel!" A tear slid down the girl's nose. "Why couldn't you just take what was offered and leave poor Mel alone?"
"I don't expect you to understand," Luce muttered. "And I let you do that once. A single time. And only because you wouldn't leave me alone."
"I told Mel you were gay," Persephone retorted, marching ahead of him.
Gay? He'd slept with men and women, and he'd been both, too. The Lord of Hell seduced anyone and everyone – no matter what it entailed. A labour of lust that he'd even enjoyed at times. But now? There was Mel and only her. As long as Mel took a female form and expressed her preference for his decidedly male body, he could never be gay.
Luce let his laughter ring out across the clouds as they approached Heaven's gates. The nephilim would never understand what Mel meant to him and he'd never let her go.
Unlike the last two times he'd trudged up to these gates, today the benches were empty. The dude in the dress was nowhere to be seen, which Luce figured was a pretty smart move. Someone had warned him that it was a bad day for judging the devil.
The place wasn't entirely deserted, though. Patrick and Koyane stood side by side with three other men, like a row of soldiers at ease on a parade ground. Both Patrick and Koyane acknowledged him with a nod that Luce returned. Neither seemed hostile – more like they were waiting for something.
A figure stepped into view from behind them. Of course. Bloody Michael, with his armour and his sword. Any source of trouble from Heaven and Luce knew Michael had to be involved. If he came anywhere near him or Mel with that flaming sword...
"I've already told him that if he makes any hostile move toward you, you have my permission to shove that sword up his arse," Mel's soul said quietly.
Luce fought to keep his face straight. Mel couldn't be serious.
"I am. But I also advise you not to, as I'll insist that you withdraw the sword and heal him afterwards."
That did take a fair bit of fun out of it.
Persephone cleared her throat. "Right, you. Set her down and back away from her."
Luce waited for Mel's instructions before doing anything with her body.
"On the vacant benches, please, Luce," Mel's soul said. "You'll need your hands free."
Cloud streamed, cool and damp between his toes as Luce did what she'd asked. He concentrated and caused a cushion to appear beneath Mel's head. The white cotton turned to gold silk before he released his focus.
Luce heard Patrick mutter something, presumably to the man next to him, and they both chuckled quietly.
"I said get away from her!" Persephone insisted, grabbing Luce's hand and yanking on it.
Mel's soul emitted a tiny sigh. "Go with her, Luce. My body is perfectly safe here."
Luce still didn't trust the nephilim. She'd caused too much trouble in the past.
"Read her soul, Luce, like you do mine. Use the hand to hand contact as a conduit. Then you'll know more about her motivations than she does."
Unwillingly, Luce let his fingers close around Persephone's as he poked her soul, just like Mel had told him to. The swirling shadows around the nephilim's soul converged on him, then fled to hide behind the girl's soul instead. That was a first.
"They fear you because you fought them when they tried to cont
rol your soul, my love. You barely had any darkness left to hand to Persi when you signed them over to her." Mel's admiration swelled his heart.
Hesitantly, Luce probed the girl's soul. The contrast to Mel's calm centre was striking. This girl was a whirling storm of contradictions, cycling through frustration, fear, anger and loneliness that Luce recognised. There were frequent flashes of both Demeter and Mel, accompanied by sparks of love that quickly drowned in loneliness and darkness. He didn't understand. He hadn't read enough souls to be able to read any of what the girl's soul told him.
"I'll offer you a deal, demon," Persephone hissed as soon as she'd dragged Luce out of earshot from the others. "If you tell me what you've done to Mel and reverse whatever you've done to my soul, I'll let you keep your...appendages." She eyed his crotch before dragging her gaze up to his face.
Despair tingled across the girl's soul as she thought of herself. She knew she was doomed to never enter Heaven again unless Mel could recover and help her. Even that was only a faint hope.
"Offer her the second but not the first. She'll be in your debt," Mel instructed. Her voice sounded so clear, ringing across the clouds as if she'd spoken aloud. Luce glanced at Mel's body, but it hadn't moved. "I'm beside you, my love, that's why you hear me so clearly."
Luce shrugged. "Mel will tell you herself when she wakes up. I think it's up to her how much she tells you about our delightful time together." He'd picked his seductive tone just right – Persephone blushed redder than Mel ever did. "As for what I've done to you –" he circled her palm with his thumb, just as Mel had done to relax him "– does that mean you're not honouring the deal you made me sign? You don't want everything?"
The girl's soul seemed to collapse under his slight pressure. "I'll give it all back – everything – if you undo what you did to me so that I can enter Heaven again. I'll never be an angel with this darkness haunting me. I'm tainted. Please. Please. I'll do anything." Her pleading voice was so quiet, no one but Luce could hear it. Except Mel.
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