by Nicole Thorn
If I wouldn’t be ended, then I would have to put an end to everything around me.
The air changed, forcing my eyes open. I still laid on my back, but above me, I saw bars. I sat up and looked around.
I laid in a cage.
“Just a precaution,” a familiar voice said. “We all know what happened the last time, and since this was more significant to you, I thought that it would be best.”
I stood in my cage, and saw that I had been brought down to Hell. Lucifer stood outside of the bars.
“Where is she?” I growled.
“Where she belongs. She’s with the dead.”
I gripped the bars so hard that I thought I might bend them. “She belongs with me,” I said with calm rage.
He took a slow breath. “Naughty boy. You went and fell in love with an assignment. You had to know it would end with blood and sorrow.” When the words escaped him, I thought of the witch in California. She’d told me that. The fog would clear and there would be blood and sorrow, and it would end the way it was meant to.
No. This wasn’t how it would end. She also told me that if I fought for what I needed, then the end was never really the end.
So I’d fight.
“Bring her to me,” I ordered the Devil.
He smiled. “Oh, I like what she’s done to you. The dead girl gave you life. Should be interesting to see what this will do to you in the long run.”
“I won’t be doing my job anymore.”
“Well, that’s just not true.”
“Make me,” I said through my teeth.
A black eyebrow went up. “Fascinating.”
I paced the cage as he watched me. Anna thought that she belonged there, but I knew better.
“Do you? Do you know better?” Lucifer asked me.
I ignored the question. “How long are you planning on keeping me in this cage, Lucifer?”
“Until I know you won’t make a fool of yourself by running to the gates. You’ll just come right back ‘round, but I know you’d keep going.”
“I wouldn’t need to run if you’d bring her to me.”
“Then what? What will you do? She’s dead now. As long as she’s dead, you can’t keep her.”
Fight.
He asked, “You were willing to spend eternity suffering under my punishment, just to have her for her short human life?”
I nodded.
“Loyalty, you don’t see much of that as of late. Children are so fickle these days.”
“I am not a child.”
Lucifer smiled at the cage. “You are young, Ezra. In many ways. You fight like a child, but also like an old man. Each has the same grit but different reasons.”
I kicked the bars of the cage as hard as I could. It did nothing, but directing my rage always dimmed it. It was the only way I knew how to control it. Expel the anger all out at once.
Why did he torture me like this? Did he get joy from my misery?
“No. I’m just making sure that my decision is a sound one.”
“What decision?”
Lucifer turned from me and looked to the gates. “Cory? Now, please,” he said at normal volume.
In front of my eyes, Anna appeared. She stood beside a girl I’d only ever seen a couple of times. She was short, and her hair was grayish-purple. A Fallen.
The tiny Fallen wore a dark blue shirt and had the lettering ‘Police Box’ with ‘Public Call’ in the middle.
“Ezra,” Anna cried in relief. My cage disappeared, and she ran at me. “I thought I’d never see you again.” She buried her face in my shoulder, and I held her as tight as I could.
“I didn’t,” I lied.
I kissed her with force and anger and happiness. I couldn’t believe I held her. I picked Anna up and carried her behind the bus stop. I needed a moment with her.
She still wore the red dress, but it wasn’t damaged anymore. My hands touched the bare skin of the back of her thighs as I carried her. I pressed her up against the back of the panel and let my body hold her up.
“It’s made of glass, kids. We can see you,” Lucifer said, but I hardly registered it.
“Just let them have a minute,” Cory said. “It’s been a rough go for them.”
“So I just let them defile my bus stop?”
“As opposed to when you decided to add a pet?”
“Shut up, you microscopic demon.”
I kept kissing Anna. I didn’t know how much longer I’d get with her, and the only thing keeping the pain from swallowing me whole was being close to her.
Chapter Thirty-One: Pulse
Anastasia
I woke up in Hell already crying, even before my eyes opened. When they did, they met with a small woman. Everything about her looked sympathetic to my plight, as if she already knew what I’d been through.
“Annie? You like to be called Annie, right?” she said. “I’m Cory. Lucifer asked me to take you somewhere.”
“Back to purgatory?” I asked, hearing how drained of life I sounded.
“No. I’m supposed to wait with you until he’s ready.”
I almost didn’t hear her words, too overtaken with misery. I sat on the bench and sobbed.
Cory sat beside me, and I felt her small hand on my back. “I know. Lucifer told me what you did and… well a good bit of everything else. Just trust me, okay? Come with me.” She took my hand and led me through the gates.
We turned a different direction than I thought we would.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“Lucifer wants you to wait in his castle.”
“Not with the dead antichrists?”
“No.” She had a tiny smile on her lips.
Cory led me through the wasteland and up to a massive castle. She pushed the doors open, and I peered around. It looked beautiful and elegant. Figures that Lucifer would live here.
“This is where the Fallen live. We don’t really like it topside,” Cory told me.
I knew why. Caroline told me stories about the Fallen losing families that grew old and died. It made them want to stay down in Hell. Topside reminded them of the loss.
She brought me to a room with a TV in it and a handful of people. They all sat on couches.
Cory sat me on an empty couch. She sat next to me and put her hand on my knee. “I know it seems really bad now, but don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried,” I said honestly. “I’m miserable. I just killed myself and died in the love of my life’s arms. Three hours after I slept with him for the first and only time.”
Her eyes filled with sympathy for me. “I know your story. Lucifer caught me up on most of it.”
“Great. I’m glad I’m the talk of Hell.” I crossed my arms.
“Not a lot of people escape, and, not a lot of people can get Ezra to talk or be nice. He’s not very friendly, so I’ve heard from the only person down here he likes.”
“Caroline?”
Cory nodded. “Can I see her? I know I’ll be back to cleaning for her soon.”
“Um, I’m sorry but no, you can’t see her right now. I’m sure you’ll run into her from time to time.”
“What? Why can’t I see her?”
“I can’t tell you, but you’ll know soon.”
More torture. Cuz I needed that right now.
My mind went crazy. I felt guilty, and scared, and regretful. I knew I did the right thing, but I hated that I did it.
I knew Heaven would be the light at the end of this tunnel, but I didn’t want it anymore.
We sat there, and I didn’t talk. Not that Cory didn’t try to get me to. I tried not to be rude, but it didn’t work out. I felt hollow, and I didn’t want to talk about it.
Cory perked up and took my hand. “It’s time.”
“For?” I asked, not really caring.
She smiled warmly. “You’ll see.”
She closed her eyes for a second, and when I looked up, I saw a cage. It disappeared as we approached. Ezra stood there
. In front of me. I called his name and ran to him.
I jumped into his arms and pressed my face to his shoulder. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
“I didn’t,” Ezra said back to me. He started kissing me like he’d never get the chance again.
Ezra picked me up by the back of my legs and we started moving. I didn’t know where until he pressed me up against the bus stop. He moved against me, and I forgot for a second that I was dead.
“It’s made of glass, kids. We can see you,” Lucifer called out at us. I didn’t care.
“Just let them have a minute,” Cory told him. “It’s been a rough go for them.”
“So I just let them defile my bus stop?”
“As opposed to when you decided to add a pet?” Cory snapped at him.
“Shut up, you microscopic demon,” he snapped right back.
Ezra kissed me for another minute or so before setting me down. “You left me,” he said while his fingers brushed hair from my face.
“I had to. You’d be tortured if I didn’t. I wanted to save you.”
“You didn’t,” he said quietly and full of more sadness than I’d ever heard.
“Kids?” Lucifer called again. “We have things to discuss.”
Ezra hesitated, but he took my hand and led me over. He didn’t let me leave his side.
“I’m not leaving her here,” Ezra declared. “It won’t happen.”
Lucifer took a long breath. “I imagine not.”
Cory elbowed him. “Hop to it! You can’t drag this out much longer. We have a ton of shit going on.”
Too busy to deal with us… of course.
“What happens now?” I asked.
Lucifer looked to Cory and then to me. “You’re dead.”
“Yeah…” I drew the word out.
“And,” he said, “there is no way to make a dead person human again. Your body is gone. All you are is a soul. Hardly even physical.”
“Come on!” Cory stomped her foot.
“All right!” Lucifer yelled, and a bird that had been on the bus bench take off. “Children, I’ve been watching you. And I have an offer for the little witch.” I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but I couldn’t help it. “I said I couldn’t make you human again, but I can make you something else. I can make you a hellion.”
Ezra squeezed my hand. “Why would you do that for us? You wouldn’t call off her hit, but you’ll do this?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “She wasn’t right. She came back only half alive. There was no fixing that. Not even my hellfire would have fixed her. She needed to die. Her soul was mine. Now that it’s back here, I can choose what to do with it.”
Cory stepped forward. “That’s why he pushed Rupert to get on you. She needed to die again, one way or another. There was no way around it.”
“But,” Lucifer cut in. “Since the Fallen escaped, he’s been depleting my numbers. He killed a hellion and I need a replacement for her. Anastasia’s little talents make her unique. Someone who would be helpful to have around. So, I think it would be in my best interest if I kept her around.”
I couldn’t believe it. I got to stay with Ezra. I’d get to be alive again. With him, forever.
“How long have you had this planned?” Ezra asked.
“Hmm.” Lucifer looked to the purple sky. “A week or so. Once my hellion died, I was sure of it.”
A week of torture… I tried to not be mad. We’d been through Hell itself, but we’d get each other.
“Anastasia.” Lucifer looked to me. “Your assignments will be few and far between, but they will be specific. You’re a witch. You still will be when you’re a hellion. Your cases will be different than Ezra’s. Exotic, almost. I’m sure it’s nothing you can’t handle. I should know, since I pretended to be a witch for one Hell of an afternoon.”
Cory rolled her eyes at him. “I still don’t think that was funny. You had them really freaked out there for a minute.”
I shut my eyes, taking a deep breath as I decided to pretend I wasn’t putting pieces together. That was the last fucking time I went into a witch shop. Damn evil demon man.
“It was hilarious,” Lucifer said before glancing back to me. “Anyway. What do you say? But first, surely you know what you’d be giving up. Heaven. A chance at a quiet rest. You’d be damned to Hell should you die. You lose your friends and family forever.” He nodded to Ezra, “Is he worth it?”
I looked into his green eyes and saw all the pain of the world. He put his hand on the back of my neck and kissed me once. “Goodbye, Anna.”
How could he think I’d leave him behind? I almost laughed at the absurdity.
I looked back at the Devil. “Of course he’s worth it,” I said with unwavering confidence. Nothing could be offered to me that was worth giving Ezra up. Not a goddamn thing.
“I thought you’d say that,” Lucifer said. “Now, since you’re so recently dead, you’ll need a new last name. Pick one,” he told me.
“Hayes,” Ezra said quickly. “Her last name is Hayes.”
I looked up with confusion. “Whose last name is Hayes?”
Ezra held me to him. “Mine. My name is Ezra Hayes.”
“And now…” Lucifer held his hand out, “Her name is Anastasia Hayes.” A large folder appeared in his hand and he gave it to Ezra. “Well.” Lucifer smiled and I felt a chill. “Actually, the paperwork has been official since this morning. Thought I’d prepare for the inevitable. Anyway, everything you need is in there. Passport, ID, a new social security card, debit card, your marriage certificate, etcetera.” He waved his hand.
“What?” I yelped.
“Well, you share a last name, you’ll be living together, and working together. I thought it made sense. You’re legally married now. Congratulations! Perhaps I’ll get you a blender.”
“Oh my God…” I said as the shock set in. I was married… and Ezra had a huge smile on his face. “I’ve been married all day and didn’t know it…” What the fuck?
“Yeah.” Lucifer shrugged. “What’s a few extra hours?”
Like this was just… nothing… he’s insane… A sick, sick man… Oh God… He planned all of this like a game of chess. Every line had been predetermined. “All right then. Good luck with the rest of your shit,” Lucifer said in the second before purple fire surrounded me. It blazed everywhere, but it didn’t hurt. I felt it doing something to me, but I didn’t know what. My chest tightened and I breathed heavy.
When the fire died, we stood in Ezra’s loft. I looked around and everything seemed different. My vision had improved. A lot. I could hear… everything. I didn’t know if it was real for a moment or two. Not when everything about the last ten minutes felt so surreal.
My hand went to my chest as I breathed. Then I felt something move. My heart. It beat in my chest.
Tears of joy poured from me, and I looked at Ezra. “Feel this.” I took his hand and put it on my chest. “It’s beating.”
“It is.” He smiled. He pressed his lips to mine, and my heart felt like it would blow up.
I moved back, and started jumping up and down. “It’s racing!” I grabbed Ezra’s head and pressed his ear to my chest. “Do you hear it?”
He put his hands on my hips and said, “It sounds beautiful.”
I hugged him as reality set in. I wasn’t dead anymore. And I got to keep Ezra forever. Somehow, this all worked out. It shouldn’t have.
“What’s that?” I asked when I spotted a red velvet box on the dresser. I walked over to it and saw my name on a note beside it.
Anastasia,
You’ll be needing this.
-L
I opened the box as Ezra read the note. Inside, laid a dagger about two-thirds the size of my forearm. The handle was black with a red stripe wrapping around the length of it. The sheath was black and gold. I picked it up to look at it.
“So, this, all of it, is real…” I said.
“It is, my little wife.” Ezra took the dagger, a
nd picked me up with both arms.
“We’re not married,” I said.
He laughed. “We are. The paperwork is official.”
“It doesn’t count if it’s only legal. I never said I do. We didn’t choose to do it. It was done for us.”
“So?” He brought me to our bed and sat me down.
“So, it doesn’t count.”
“It does,” he sounded as stubborn as I did.
“It will if we had some kind of ceremony, or even decided between us that we wanted to be married.”
He rolled his eyes in frustration. “We had a whole conversation about our fake lives together. Now that we can have it, you don’t want to be married to me?”
“No, I didn’t say that.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“I’m saying.” I took a deep breath. “We’ll be married when we choose to be.”
“All right then. Marry me.” He smiled.
I stayed silent for a few seconds. “We’ve been together like four hours. And I was dead for one of those.”
“That doesn’t matter. We’re in love. Don’t you wanna make an honest man out of me?”
I laughed. “Wonder Woman’s lasso couldn’t make an honest man out of you.” I stopped when I realized what he said. He admitted that he loved me. I already knew, but I liked the confirmation.
I stared at him for a second before I said, “I love you.”
He smiled at me like I was his favorite thing on the planet. “I love you too, Anna.”
I pounced on him, and Ezra landed on his back with me on top of him. He grunted, and I realized that I was a lot stronger now. I’d need to be careful.
He pulled my face down and kissed me again. It was the first time we’d had any peace in our relationship. No hostility. No fear. Just joy and triumph.
Ezra rolled us over, and his hand went up the side of my leg. I felt my heart racing again, and I couldn’t get enough of the sound.
“I’m sorry,” I said to him. “For what I did. Everything I’ve done to you, actually, but especially what I just did.”
