Lust

by L-J Baker

  Luc walked over to the girl, entering the circle with her. He crouched down, and pushed her hair back, then hooked one finger under her chin, and lifted her face up. She'd been crying. Dirt and tears stained her face. Her bottom lip had crusted blood from where she'd been struck.

  "Who hit her?" Luc spun around and glared at Uriel and Gabe. It would never have been Az. His brother may be a whore, but he respected women.

  Gabe shrugged. "Don't look at me. She was like that when I got here."

  "Uriel?"

  "I'm guessing it was Michael. I didn't do anything. She practically begged to come with me."

  Luc turned back to the frightened woman. She was shaking. "I'm sorry this happened to you, but we have to keep you here for a bit. You'll be safe here. I promise." Luc used his power to make a bottle of water appear and offered it to her. Her eyes widened and she scurried back against the edge of the circle. He put the water down and stepped outside of her circular prison.

  "Way to go, Lucifer, scare her more," Gabe said with the same bored look.

  "I'm not the one who terrorized her. None of this is my fault. I'm not even the one who wanted to use her like this. As I recall, Gabe, you were all for it."

  "I was wondering if you forgot how to be an angel." Uriel sneered. "You've been acting human far too long. It's good to see you be yourself."

  "It was a bottle of water, Uriel." Luc shook his head. "So now we're all here. What are we doing?"

  "I was thinking," Gabe said. "That I'd pull her from the compulsion and we'd see how she feels. You are still interested in that, correct?"

  "You can do that?" Luc asked, but all eyes were on Gabe.

  "I can. I think. Michael and I use similar techniques. We learned most early lessons together."

  Luc should have known that those two were so far up each other's asses that they could cancel out each other's compulsion. Luc had been close with Uriel, but he was pretty sure neither of them had that ability.

  All archangels could use compulsion, as could some of the simple angels, but they all did it with their own twist. Archangels were especially good at it, so when a human was under it's grasp, it was damn near impossible to overturn. It could wear off if they were in a place like Hell, where the power of other angels was much less effective, but that took time.

  And time they didn't have.

  Gabriel got up with a dramatic breath, like all of this was such a bother to him, and walked over to the girl. She scratched at the floor, trying to get out of the circle, but with no luck. Gabe crouched down, and grabbed her by the shoulders, forcefully. He wasn't known for gentleness, and Luc knew he'd be rough, but he still hated seeing a woman treated that way.

  Luc turned away, not wanting to watch how Gabe handled it.

  "This needs to happen," Az said and put a hand on Luc's knee. "I know it's not what you wanted."

  "I never wanted any of this. All I wanted was to find a little happiness for myself. Michael is the one who wants to destroy everything. He should be the one paying the price."

  "Well isn't he now?" Uriel said, glancing over at the girl. "We have the one he loves, so that has to hurt him."

  "Does he though?" Luc asked.

  "Does he what?"

  "Does he actually love her? Can you imagine Michael actually loving anyone besides himself? I know I can't," Luc said. "It wouldn't surprise me if this was just his attempt at jealousy. It doesn't seem weird to you that as soon as I start looking for a mate, he suddenly turns up with one, that he had to force to care for him?"

  "Makes sense to me," Az said. "Michael is a dick."

  Gabe looked back at them over his shoulder and glared at Az. He might be helping them, but it was no secret where his loyalties were. He was only helping because he didn't want the humans destroyed. If it were anything different, less catastrophic, Gabe wouldn't be there with them at all. He would be backing Michael one hundred percent.

  "I'm not going to pretend I know what Michael's motivations are, and to be honest, I don't care all that much," Uriel said. "I just want to see all of this done with so I can get back to my own life." She glanced around the room with her top lip curled up. "I certainly don't want to be down here."

  Uriel wasn't one to be trapped, and in Hell, that's just what she was, since she couldn't go through the gates on her own. Luc was surprised she even agreed to go down there. Not that he wasn't grateful for all her help. Without her, they probably wouldn't have gotten Michael's little slave away from him. So they needed her, and unfortunately, Gabe, too.

  After some time, Gabe stood up and went back to his seat. "Let her rest, then she should be fine."

  "Now we need to deal with Michael." Uriel pulled her feet up onto the chair and wrapped her arms around her knees. "He won't delay. Real love or not, you took something that belongs to him."

  "Technically, you did, but you're right, he will be coming," Luc said.

  "Michael will be furious. It will distract him," Gabe said. "This is the time to be ready. When he shows, you have to get him into the box as quickly as possible. No showing off, no rematches, Lucifer. You need to stay focused on the real job here."

  "I get that Gabe. I'm not holding grudges. I don't need to prove I can win a fight against Michael. I just want this over."

  "Good." Gabe stood up. "Then we go back and wait."

  "Az, why don't you take Uriel and Gabe back? I'll get Melanie settled and bring Oz back."

  Az nodded and their siblings followed him out. Luc walked back over to Melanie, who was now quietly sobbing on the dirt floor. He extended an arm and helped her to her feet.

  "Let's get you somewhere more comfortable." Luc led her to his private quarters and got her settled in his bedroom. There were enough guards around to watch her if it was just a single person to worry about. But he needed to worry about Michael and there was only one demon he trusted.

  She would be there any time to take over and he could leave Melanie without worry. Until then, he would stay by her side.

  "What is this place?" She asked after returning from the bathroom to get cleaned up.

  He debated whether or not to tell her the truth, but he figured that the poor girl had been lied to, tricked, and taken advantage of enough. "This is Hell."

  Her eyes widened and her mouth shivered. "Am I dead?"

  "No. You're not dead. You're here to keep you away from Michael."

  "He said we were in love." She shook her head and sat on the edge of the bed. "Everything feels fuzzy."

  "Do you feel like you love him?"

  "He frightens me. He talked about crazy things. Apocalypses, and repopulating the world, and all this stuff about us having all these babies. I… I don't know why I said it was okay."

  "That wasn't your fault. Michael has powers, he can make you think or feel things, whether you want to or not."

  "Is he the devil?"

  Luc wanted to laugh, but it wasn't the time for it. "No. Michael is an angel. Technically, I'm the devil, but I'm not going to hurt you."

  He would have to take these memories from her before he returned her to her life. That was assuming he won and Michael ended up caged down here in Hell. But for now, he would be honest with her. She deserved that much at least.

  Harley knocked and walked in the room.

  "This is Harley, a good friend of mine. She's going to stay here and keep you safe."

  Melanie nodded and Luc walked into the hallway to speak with Harley before he left.

  "I don't like this."

  "I know you don't, but I need you here. I can't trust these asshats down here. Who knows if Michael got to anyone. He's been playing the long game, Harley. This has been in the works for a while. He would have had time to implant spies, or traitors. You're the only one I can trust."

  Luc closed the club early, much to the annoyance of the drunken stragglers that hung around hoping for one more dance, or some random person to agree to go home with them. Luc wasn't interested. They could get laid another night.
He was more concerned with their safety. The mage might have put protections on the club, but that didn't mean they were safe.

  The only thing left to do was to wait. It wouldn't be long. He could feel it in his bones. Michael wouldn't be happy that they'd taken Melanie. Not that he didn't deserve that, and much worse after he took Harley, but Michael never saw his own wrong doings.

  Luc climbed the steps to his apartment for what he hoped wasn't the last time. He might be opposed to killing his brother, but he held no illusions that Michael would even think twice about taking Luc's life. Their first battle was different. Their father was there. Even if Michael wanted to kill him then, their father wouldn't have allowed it. This time, they were on their own.

  For good measure, he texted Anna and told her he would be busy with family stuff all day tomorrow, just to make sure she didn't show up. Then he had a few guards set up to keep an eye on her. He also had Oz put some protections on her apartment. Luc couldn't guarantee her safety, but he wasn't willing to leave it completely up to chance either.

  Before he opened the door to his apartment, he could hear his siblings arguing. Their constant bickering was getting old. Luc would be a lot happier when they were done with all this nonsense so his siblings could stop being in his space all the time. He'd missed having family in his life, but this was too much.

  "Just toss her in with him then," Gabe said, raising his voice. "I don't honestly care, Azrael. What does it even matter?"

  "What's going on here?" Luc walked into the apartment, in the middle of his siblings and the room went silent.

  "The boys are arguing about what to do with Melanie when all of this is over," Uriel said, with her arms crossed over her chest. She had an amused smile on her lips, enjoying the bickering for some reason. Maybe it reminded her of home.

  "Do what you want." Luc left them there and went to his safe. He'd been afraid to open it since he realized that Michael was after the tablet, but he had no choice. Besides, if it was ever a good time since everything started, it was when he had three other angels in the apartment.

  Without his siblings realizing what was going on, he opened the wall plate that hide his safe, and grabbed a small knife he left near the bed, to slice across his palm. He pressed his palm into the safe and waited for it to pop open. Beside the Hell Tablet inside the safe, was the Hell Box. Luc snatched it up, shoved it in his pocket, and slammed the safe closed.

  "What are you doing in here?" Uriel was standing behind him in the doorway, leaning against it like being in his bedroom was the most natural thing in the world.

  "Getting this." Luc pulled the small box out and held it up, then shoved it back in his pocket.

  "Is that the Hell Box?" Uriel flashed herself in front of him, not wasting the extra three seconds it would have taken to walk there. "Can I see it?"

  "No."

  "Why not?" she whined, the way she did when they were kids. Back then, it often got her what she wanted. Now, he could easily ignore it.

  "Because it's not a toy."

  "What's not a toy?" Az walked in to see what they were doing.

  "He's got the Hell Box in his pocket." Uriel practically bounced in place. It was the most excited he'd seen her since she was young.

  "What does he have in his pocket?" Gabe wandered in Luc's bedroom to see what was going on.

  "Why is everyone in my bedroom?" Luc pushed past the lot of them and went for his bottle of bourbon. "No one is touching the box. It's staying with me. All of you need to shut the fuck up."

  The apartment grew silent.

  "I'm going to sleep." Gabe went back into Luc's room and closed the French doors behind him.

  "Whatever, I'll be back in a few hours. I need some air." Uriel flashed out of the apartment.

  Luc drank down an entire glass of bourbon, which was the last of the bottle, then poured a glass of scotch. It was the only thing his siblings hadn't been sucking down.

  "I'll go get you a few more bottles from downstairs." Az headed for the door and for the first time since he walked in, Luc felt like he could take a breath.

  He loosened his tie and slipped it off his head, then took off his jacket and tossed it on the chair. He wasn't in the mood to sleep on his couch. He wanted his bed back, and his bedroom, and his entire apartment. And maybe his life.

  Luc just needed to decompress. He headed for the couch, with the bottle of scotch, since apparently Az was taking forever to return with the good stuff, when he saw the usual angel flash come from the kitchen. It was too fast for Uriel to be back and he was pretty sure he had Az better trained to use the door, but maybe not.

  "Az, I thought we talked about you—"

  Luc stopped in his tracks.

  It wasn't Az.

  "Surprise, brother." Michael took a few steps closer, then stopped.

  "Michael," Luc said, feeling for the box, and realizing it was in his jacket pocket, that he just flung over the chair. "Showing up uninvited I see. You never did have manners."

  "Maybe not, Lucifer, but I've always had everything else you wanted."

  "I'm not sure where you've gotten that idea from, but you have nothing I want."

  "Well this time, you have something I want."

  "So I've heard. Actually, I have several things you might want, starting with your lackey."

  "Where is our little Cupid, anyway?"

  "Locked up, like you're going to be."

  Michael laughed. It was loud enough for Gabriel to hear, even if he'd fallen asleep, but for some reason, he wasn't coming. If that asshole had changed his mind about being on Luc's side, he was going to lock him in the box with Michael when all this was over.

  "You should want this too, Lucifer. I'll empty Hell and you won't have to be stuck there anymore. You can even go back home and make nice with Daddy. I'll take it all from here."

  "You could have had it, Michael. You're the one who chose to take it upon yourself to have me banished to Hell. Father would have put you in charge. It would have been yours."

  "It still will be, as well as this filthy planet. But I'll remake it, much better than how the humans have it. They destroy. I'll perfect."

  "With your little slave? You can't even get a woman to fall in love with you on your own, so you have to compel it? That's pathetic."

  Michael balled his fists at his sides and took a couple more steps toward Luc. His jacket was too far to reach. He needed to get closer without Michael realizing what he was doing. And where the fuck was Gabriel? Luc glanced at his bedroom door and Michael smiled.

  "Are you waiting for Gabe to help you?" Michael took another step. "Don't hold your breath. I sensed him the second I got within ten miles of this place. The first thing I did was take care of him."

  Luc took a step backwards, toward the chair. He wasn't sure he wanted to know exactly what Michael was talking about, but he knew he couldn't count on Gabe coming to help now.

  "And Azrael, well, not only is he not coming, but well, I'm sorry. I know he was your favorite."

  Luc couldn't think about what might have happened to Az. If he survived this, he could worry about it then. For now, he had to keep his focus. He needed to get to the box and he needed to get Michael into it.

  "Well, I guess we're even then for Melanie."

  Michael pressed his lips together and held his breath. He was trying to keep his cool, but Luc saw through it. He was pissed, which actually amused Luc more than it should in this situation.

  "Humans are expendable. I can find five others just like her."

  "And then force them to fake-love you? Aww poor Michael. You must be really bad in bed if even as an angel, you can't get a chick to fall for you."

  Michael pulled a bright, silver dagger from his jacket and held it at his side. Luc recognized the blade. It was one forged a long time ago that their father kept in a glass box back home and called the forever blade. As children they all learned the story about the blade that could kill an angel, for good. Luc always thought it was s
crewed up that such a thing existed, not to mention that they were basically threatened with it as small children.

  So, Michael really did wish him dead.

  Luc used his powers to call his own blade. It wasn't one that would kill his brother. He wouldn't have used one if he did have it, which he didn't. But he needed to defend himself, one way or another. If he could hold Michael off, maybe even long enough for Uriel to return, if she even could, then maybe he had a chance. What he really needed was that box.

  Luc took a few more steps in the direction of his jacket and Michael took a few more toward him.

  "Are you planning on finishing off all of our siblings, brother?"

  "Only the ones who get in my way. If you'd like to hand over the tablet and walk away, I would consider letting you go, Lucifer."

  He was lying, but even if he wasn't, Luc would never give him that tablet. If Michael killed him, the safe would never open. Not unless their father decided to intervene, which he never would. Michael didn't know that, of course, and Luc wasn't about to tell him. He refused to give him any clue to how the safe worked.

  Maybe with enough time and magic, he would find a way in. There were no guarantees where Michael was concerned. Luc wouldn't put it past him to one day find a way in. But his safe was built by their father and it was made that way for a reason. It required not only Luc's blood, but for it to be given willingly. That wasn't possible with him dead.

  "You'll never get that tablet, Michael. You're just too stupid to realize it. It's a shame that dad made you the way he did. I think even Cupid made out better than you did. At least he's intelligent. Oh, and good looking."

  Michael tensed and advanced a few more steps.

  He was always self-conscious of his looks. As an angel, he was perfect, of course, but Michael's beauty was more subtle than many of their siblings, and he always felt inferior because of it. It didn't matter that compared to humans, Michael would be a supermodel. He never saw that when he looked in the mirror. Luc hoped he never would.

  "Not only will I get the tablet, but I'll use it, destroy everything you've built here, and maybe I'll even replace Melanie with one of your little game girls."