by J. L. Myers
Down below, Lucifer stood in the center of the looking glass, ready at the thought of what he needed to do, and yet desperate at knowing the horrible result.
Surrounding Lucifer were the ten archangels with wings varying from pure white to the darkest black. The twelve vampires stood watching too, their toes lined up with the edge of the looking glass, ready to lend their God-gifted power to make the impossible possible. Out of them all, one face stood out. Michael. For almost the first time ever, Lucifer saw something other than contempt in his eyes as the archangel stared down at him. Approval perhaps, or maybe even acceptance. Whatever it was, an unspoken vow passed between them as Michael nodded, eyes sliding to the other body that stood drenched in the water that surrounded him.
Evangeline.
Though they had entered the clear water covered in grime and blood, the now glowing pool bubbled lightly, washing away the remnants of death. Evangeline’s eyes as she peered up at him were wide and patient—and full of love. God, she looked so much like Lucifer, in color and in features. Golden and blond, with the hint of his square jaw and an intensity that shone from her violet eyes. The rest of her was all Gabriel, the high cheekbones that were hidden under the youth of her face, the fullness of her down-curved lips that trembled, the light and purity that shone from her without wavering. She was a part of each of them, a perfect creation that encapsulated all that was good in both of them and shone brighter than either of them ever could or ever had.
Evangeline had done it. Lucifer’s young sheltered daughter had taken God’s power and his command, and she had saved them all. She had saved Lucifer too, even before this day, though he had only now come to the realization. And now she would save Gabriel, the hope the world and all of Heaven needed, and the mother she had deserved to have all along.
God, Lucifer didn’t want to leave her. The thought of releasing her cupped hands that kept her siphoning ability trapped was worse than anything he’d suffered to date—with the exception of watching Gabriel burst into raining sparks. They had only now come to start to know each other. But he had made his choice. Evangeline’s life with a mother who cared for and loved her more than anything in this world. Whatever happened thereafter, Lucifer knew she would be safe. She would be protected. Not only by Gabriel with her fierce maternal instincts but also by Michael. He would be her guardian angel, her protector. Her warrior.
Almost like she could read his thoughts, Evangeline’s head tilted forward, silver tears dripping down into the pool as she sniffed.
Taking a deep breath, Lucifer lifted one hand from around hers, tucking back the long strand of hair that had fallen forward. He hooked a finger under Evangeline’s chin and tilted her face up. “The time has come. Do you remember what I said?”
More tears flooded forth, but Evangeline nodded as they streamed down her face. “ You love us both. More than Heaven, Hell, and all of life itself.”
Swallowing hard, Lucifer willed his own tears back, his heart breaking as Evangeline turned his hand over and placed that one tiny spark in the center of his palm. “And no matter what, I always will.”
The water around them rippled with gentle disruption. Azrael, the Angel of Death—and angel Lucifer never thought he’d need help from—had slipped down off the edge and now waded closer until he was standing beside them both. “Time is fleeting. I feel her slipping away.”
Lucifer nodded his approval, sniffing as Evangeline domed her small hands over the spark he held. The angels around them joined hands while the vampires held up their own in front of them. The air buzzed with energy, a glow coming off the archangels as the vampire’s eyes clouded, iced-over, or brightened. Light pulsed like a living, breathing thing all around, beaming up from the floor, rippling through the columns, and pulsating the water with tiny vibrations.
Azrael’s hands hovered above Lucifer’s and Evangeline’s cupped ones. “Ready?”
Lucifer breathed his final farewell. “Goodbye, daughter of mine.”
And then Azrael’s hands came down with a heavy clap.
The change was instant as the Angel of Death staggered back and pulled from the water, drops shedding from his body and mottled, stained wings as he joined the circle.
A fight of death and life was taking place right in the palm of their hands.
The glow all around them died suddenly, and Evangeline beamed so bright she was more brilliant than a star. Her small hands clung to Lucifer’s, blue filigrees rising up in coiling threads, and Lucifer brought his other palm over the top, locking them together as blue radiated out from their joined hands. Black-laced wings sprung from Evangeline’s back, glowing with infinite power to infuse Lucifer’s light into Gabriel’s spark.
Lucifer felt the pain then, a sudden and unyielding agony that hit him at the knees and punched through his heart. Like the circular room had, Lucifer throbbed with light, the pulses speeding up as his heart raced—and then dying as it was sucked from the tethers to his soul. With the spark held in their hands, the pool around them darkened. The connection to Lucifer’s light was fading, he could feel the darkness closing in, the cold of nothingness taking hold with hooks that would never let go.
Evangeline must have felt it too, because she tried to tug away, her head shaking as fearful understanding dawned across her face. “It is so dark, so…empty.”
Evangeline could feel his soul, the nothingness that was replacing all Lucifer had ever felt—his memories and all of his love—with a dark and empty void. Lucifer clung to her tighter, refusing to let his daughter go, refusing to let her stop what was almost complete. “Remember,” he said. “I may be changed, but my love will live on. You will see it every time Gabriel smiles at you. Every time she embraces you. I will never be gone from your life.” Holding on with one strong hand, Lucifer’s other rested against his daughter’s racing heart. “I will always be right here.”
Evangeline stopped struggling, accepting the cruel fate they had been dealt. “Goodbye, Father.”
Their hands split apart, throwing Evangeline up and back and into Michael’s arms as he raced to catch her.
Lucifer was hit too, though not with the same force. It was almost like the light had blasted through him rather than at him, like he was now immune to its power. But he didn’t dwell on the change for long—because the spark in his hand had escaped his grasp.
Now floating an inch above the choppy water, more light grew below the dark surface, a thousand more tiny sparks filtering up as if they were bubbles fighting to rejoin the air. The sparks broke from the water, brighter now out of the darkness, each one flaring brilliantly as it melded with the tiny ember that awaited them. In seconds what had once been a spark that was ready to burn out was now a glowing sphere that grew and changed shape right before his eyes. Stretching higher as it flooded lower beneath the water, a form took shape of a glowing womanly figure with long cascading hair.
“Gabriel,” Lucifer gasped as he stumbled forward, shocked to feel something tangible as he reached for her glittering arms. She was real, she was here, coming back to him. Coming back to life.
But Lucifer was slipping away. He could feel it now, a downward pressure that wanted to suck him under and drown him in eternal darkness.
The glitter that made up Gabriel’s face petered out, shedding back as if it were a second skin, revealing the restored and healthy porcelain plains of her ethereal face. A face that cracked with fear as she looked at him. “Lucifer…” Her rosy bottom lip quivered, her chin bunching as she tried to talk and hold back tears. “What did you do?”
Lucifer leaned in close, taking her mouth with his. “I redeemed myself.”
The angels and vampires around him disappeared in shadow, and his crying daughter did too until all he could see was Gabriel and the single tear that trailed down her face.
“This is not our end. Nothing can keep us apart.” Gabriel clung to Lucifer’s neck, keeping her other hand pressed to the stubble along his jaw. A glimmer of hope came to life in her
eyes. Gabriel brought her lips up to his—for the very last time. A spark passed between them as she pulled away and peered up at him.
Lucifer noticed the mirror pendant around his neck was gone. His one link—his one reminder when his memories faded—of the woman that owned half his heart. Chest aching, he forced his lungs to breathe normally.
This really was their end.
Lucifer smiled, knowing Gabriel’s hope would live on even after he was gone and his memories of all that mattered to him faded, knowing she would still love him even when he forgot how to love in return. As she clung to him, he knew their time was up. His body froze as if it were turning to stone.
“I loved you,” Lucifer whispered his goodbye as the darkness beckoned him home, disintegrating him in a cloud of black that fell like inky ashes through the water.
Chapter Forty-Three
Small feet climbed the glowing stairway to Heaven, each step slow and measured, almost hesitant and yet set on their path. Evangeline knew where she had to go and what she had to do. The lure inside her was like a live wire pulling her in, an invisible tether that had been tightening since her father disintegrated into nothingness before her very eyes.
Heaven awaited.
With deep breaths and despite the resistance Evangeline felt to avoid what awaited her, she didn’t try to ignore the command. Each slow blink of her eyes flashed the horror she had beheld up there, the broken bodies, the exposed insides of creatures that were gruesome enough already…and the blood. Even now Evangeline could smell it, the metallic pungency that clung to her throat and seeped into her tongue like a stain.
Reaching the last few steps, Evangeline faltered.
She did not want to remember it. She did not want to see it.
Any of it.
Especially the moment the father she had never gotten the chance to know committed to the ultimate sacrifice—for her mother.
But there was no erasing all the grim death from Evangeline’s mind. Those images were stamped inside her head like they had been chiseled on the inside of her skull. And there was no turning back now as the power inside her body hummed with growing intensity, battling with the small shell of her body that contained it.
Giving in, Evangeline climbed the last few steps and breathed a deep sigh of relief at the sight. Heaven was spotless, cleansed of all the horror that had muddied its purity and unlimited peace. No more cut-up and sliced open bodies. No more dying monsters and angels writhing in-between the dead. Only the black, silver, and red blood remained, still coating the glowing floor and splashed against the veil that was now solid once more. The bodies of all the nephilim that had given up their part-angel lives for a worthy cause remained too.
Leaning down, Evangeline touched a clean spot on the floor, following the instinct that made her hands tingle. The same instinct that had directed her in every action since she accepted God’s power. Light spread out from her fingers, shooting up between the puddles and smears left from bodies being dragged away for disposal. The glow became brighter, radiating as if it were absorbing the entire floor space.
Then it suddenly shrank back down.
Evangeline breathed a sigh of relief and straightened. Apart from the nephilim bodies, the last remnants of the bloody war were gone. Cleansed.
The place Cyrus had stood watching with glee over the messy battle was now empty. The enemy’s leader was no more, a life that was burned out with the fury of her father’s fire. Lucifer’s fire. Still, the pearly throne with broad curving armrests and a tall carved back held her gaze. Evangeline knew where she needed to go, and without even realizing, she was taking small, quick steps forward through the quiet circle of nephilim. Clearing the expanse of golden light, she didn’t take the vacant place to sit upon the throne. Instead, Evangeline fell to her knees at its base, clasping her hands together as she held them up to her lips. Her eyes slid shut. “I did all you asked of me. The darkness is no more.”
A gentle tingle started in her heart, growing stronger and warmer by the second. It stretched out from the organ that beat with steady pulses as it raced up to pounding speed, spreading outward in an unstoppable wave. With heat and vibrations streaming to Evangeline’s arms and down her legs, her mouth opened to cry out. But there was no sound, only sweating and her small heart that wanted to break through her chest with its thumping beats. Never stopping, the energy reached her toes and then, finally, her hands and the tips of her fingers.
A tortured scream pealed itself from Evangeline’s gaping mouth, splitting the air of purity and the shadows of memories that danced behind her closed lids. Her eyes flung open, her eyeballs glowing white-hot as her hands broke apart—and the all-powerful energy she contained burst from her palms.
The blinding essence blasted from Evangeline’s hands in twin streams that pulsated into the throne as if it were liquid light. In the puddle of light, a form took shape, growing and expanding to fill the empty seat.
The tether that ripped power from Evangeline snapped, and she fell back. Her bottom hurt, but she did not care, she barely registered the hard knock. The form that was shedding light like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon was too much to look away from. The boy with the rounded face of an angel, golden arms and legs that stuck out from a pure white robe, and kind glowing eyes, was not what she had expected.
“God?” Evangeline’s only encounter with the Almighty had been when he had appeared before her old, frail, and dying, and infused his life essence into her. Now he was a picture of life and health…and youth.
The boy nodded, his golden hair that reminded Evangeline too much of Lucifer’s falling into his youthful yet ancient glowing eyes. “My faith in you has been rewarded. You, my dear child, saved Heaven and all the lives and souls that remain. You stripped the darkness away and set the order right. You protected me too when I was too weak to protect myself. You chose the right path, and you saved the light. You saved your mother too. You are a light that shines bright in spite of the darkness that swirls around you.”
Evangeline scuttled back to her knees, bowing her head and clasping her hands. “I chose the one path I could live with.” She blinked a little faster, feeling the heat of tears burning behind her eyes. “And one that hurts inside,” she whispered, folding her hands back to press them to her chest.
Warmth grazed the side of Evangeline’s face, and she glanced up into God’s milky eyes that somehow smiled down at her. “Lucifer chose his path. You only delivered the option, an option not even I had the power alone to offer.” Now a smile graced the boy’s face. “And Lucifer made the right choice, finally.”
An ember of hope came alive inside Evangeline’s heart, burning as bright as the fire her father commanded. “There is hope for him…for my father?”
“Without hope, there is only uncertainty and darkness. We must always hold onto or hope, our faith.” God sighed and his hand fell from Evangeline’s cheek, leaving warmth that shrank and left a chill in its wake. His eyes, though cloudy, diverted from her and downward.
Though the answer about her father was not what Evangeline wanted to hear, it was not a promise of redemption, the boy’s drawn expression had words forming on her tongue. “You are sad. Why are you sad?”
God sighed again and kneeled down before Evangeline, gathering her hands in his warm ones. He squeezed. “You proved my fears wrong. You proved that light can shine through a darkness that cannot be vanquished—as your light does in battling the darkness that clings to you. You ensured our safety and our future…” Evangeline’s hands in his started to glow blue, igniting the filigrees that danced around her wrist and up her forearms. God looked up, the murky white dissipating to reveal stormy, silver eyes and a glaze that hinted at tears. “Yet I cannot save yours.”
Evangeline gasped and pulled her hands away, her heart that had slowed now racing back up to breakneck speed. “What will happen to me?”
God rose slowly and hoisted himself back onto the throne that was way too big for him. He
shook his head. “For once, I do not want this. Not after what you have done and who I know you to be. Yet I have no choice. I must protect Heaven and all that reside herein.” He paused and closed his eyes, breathing deeply before reopening them to look down at her. “Your blood opened the gates, and they can never be secured—so long as you are above.
With words spinning in her head, Evangeline came to the only conclusion she could. “You are sending me to Hell?” The thought was terrifying and yet not the worst thing she could imagine. Lucifer was there—her father was there. Evangeline’s easing fear cranked back up. Her father that was devoid of any light, a prisoner to total darkness. She had learned of the goings on in Hell from Michael before she had ever known who the Dark Prince of Hell was. To be there with him like that would kill Evangeline’s light—because she would never be able to save him from himself.
“No, child. Your existence is a threat to every soul we protect, not only in Heaven but also below.” God shook his head, his small mouth pressed together in a straight line. “I cannot let you stay, yet I cannot deliver you below.”
There was only one option left that Evangeline could think of, one that chilled her bones and made her shiver. Her vision glazed over, the sheen of tears turning all the surrounding light as well as God murky as she glanced down. “I must die?”
“After all you did to save us all, that is one choice I am willing to let you make.”
Evangeline’s head snapped back up, hot tears streaking down her cheeks at the sudden motion as they were flung from her burning eyes. “A c-choice?”
Now God smiled, his youthful face losing some of its previous despair as a glimmer of hope shone from his silver eyes. “Death is one of them, yet, there is one more. The life of a mortal on Earth where your powers will be bound and your memories will be stripped from your mind. You will become a blank slate. A normal child. One that will live out a mundane existence.”
