“You’re not serious,” Uriel started coming closer. “You can’t fucking do this Eve.”
“Keep our secret,” she pleaded with another two steps away from them. “I don’t want Lucy to go crazy thinking I’m here and he can’t get to me.”
Con grew angry and jealous. “It’s always about Lucy. What about us?” He wanted to take the words back but didn’t. Fuck that. Why not him? Why not Uriel? They could love her just as much as Lucifer did. “You’re asking us to betray our brothers by keeping this secret.”
“It’s the lesser of two evils,” her wings fanned out, the color of her feathers no longer a dove grey, but a shade darker. Or maybe that was just Constantine’s thoughts that were turning a shade darker.
Eve raised her chin, “I’d rather keep Lucifer in the dark than torment him with hope.”
“And damn us in the process?” Uriel snarled. “Fuck, you’re a cold-hearted bitch, Eve.”
“Then hate me,” she stumbled backwards trying to put more space between them. “Hate me, Uriel.”
That’s what she wanted. She wanted them to hate her so they’d not love her. Fuck, she was really serious about this all or none bullshit. Constantine stopped Uriel from getting any closer to her. “Let her go, Uri.”
Eve spun around and took off running towards the jungle with her wolf sprinting alongside her. They watched her disappear into the wild, and never told a soul about…
Constantine blinked and realized a second later that he must have just recited that story out loud. Lucifer was staring at the floor, his hands balled into fists, his jaw clenching. Uriel glared at his boots in shame. Reggie cursed. Sara and the others looked gob smacked.
Time for damage control. “Luce, we’re so sorry.”
“Get the fuck away from me.” The Devil looked around the room and roared, “Everyone get the fuck away from me!”
More of Hell’s walls crumbled. The Hounds and Reggie left first. Next went Uriel.
Finally, Constantine decided to say one last thing. “You aren’t the only one who loves her, Lucifer. And you’re not the only one who’s lived in a Hell all this time.” If he got his throat ripped out for this, so be it. “We chose you. All of us chose you. If you couldn’t have her, neither would we. Hate us for hiding these stories from you if you want, but know that we all chose to protect and honor you. Even if we all died inside making that decision.”
Constantine slammed his shoulder into Lucifer as he stormed past him.
Chapter 9
Lilith looked up from her charts when Sari pushed open the double doors to her chamber and stumbled through them.
“Sari!”
His feathers were falling out of his wings and his well-groomed chestnut hair was drenched and stuck to his face. No words came out of his mouth. Only black spittle as he stumbled forward and slammed to his knees.
The closer Lilith got to him, the realer the situation became.
Sari dropped his hand from his throat and reached out to her.
Lilith immediately went into protective mode. Applying pressure to his stab wound, she checked out the rest of him. “Shhhhh, I’ve got you. You’re going to be okay.”
That was a lie. Sari was infected. She could heal his wound with magic. But the infection? She didn’t have enough purity left in her to cure this. The darkness was spreading swiftly, eating him up like wildfire under his skin.
“Sari,” Lilith kept her voice calm, “you have to fight this. Don’t let the darkness in. Find your light. Find your good.”
He gripped her arms and squeezed, his jaw clenching so hard, his teeth cracked. “Fuck… y-y-y-you.”
She slammed her forehead to his. “Please, Sari. Focus!”
“F-f-f-fuck y-y-you,” more black spittle came out of his mouth. “Everyone… should… d-d-die.”
Lilith screamed for help. Her hope that he could fight the infection blew six ways to Sunday when Sari snapped his teeth, furiously trying to take a chunk out of her and infect her too. When he couldn’t munch on her, Sari tried to feed of Lilith in another way. He tried pulling the energy out of her.
But Lilith was made of tough stuff. She was conditioned for power struggles and never gave in. Kicking him square in the chest, she drove him backwards, breaking their connection and called out for help.
Anthony rushed in, fresh from the training fields. “Lilith, Sari, what the—” his eyes widened, “Ohhhh shit!” The warrior charged in and swiftly dragged the infected Angel back and away from Lilith. “What’s happening to him?”
“He’s infected.”
Anthony cursed, “He’s draining me, Lilith. Do something!”
She ran over and grabbed a book from her shelf. Frantically flipping through the pages, she said, “Hold him down. Just... give me a second to find the right spell.”
“I don’t know how long I can hold him. Hurry!’
Trembling, Lilith stepped forward with the book in one hand, her other outstretched to Sari. “Let him go on the count of three,” she ordered. “One, two, three!”
Anthony released him and Sari sprinted to attack Lilith as she said the incantation.
A jolt of purple shot out of her fingertips and hit him right in the chest. He went airborne about ten feet and smashed into a pillar. Lilith kept the painful magic locked on him and Sari screamed like a stuck pig. Another incantation immobilized him completely – but it wouldn’t hold for long.
“We must chain him, Anthony. Lock his wings down first.”
Anthony ran out of the room and returned moments later with the ancient enchanted chains. “You sure about this, Lilith?”
No, she wasn’t. But she needed to act fast before Sari was either eaten up by the infection, or he robbed her and Anthony of their divine light.
They shackled and collared Sari. Lilith knew what this looked like and dreaded what others would say when they found out. But now wasn’t the time to overthink. A leader needed to take actions that sometimes were hard to accept. “It’s not just for his own good,” her voice was gravelly. “It’s for the good of all of us.”
Anthony didn’t say a word.
Sari roared and fought against his restraints. The madder he got, the harder he fought, the faster his infection took over. Watching the once pure of heart, level-headed guardian turn evil made her stomach twist.
He unraveled so fast. Turned… so fast. It was their worst nightmare come to life – A Guardian Angel was officially infected with Hell’s toxic impurities. Lilith stood back and watched Sari twist into an angelic version of a malanum right before her eyes.
“Lilith,” Anthony called out her name, trying to snap her out of the enthrallment. “Lilith, move!”
Detached, she took a graceful step back.
There was terror in Sari’s eyes as the last angelic part of him darkened - she watched his blue irises turn to black glass.
Had she allowed it, her heart would have broken right then and there. But Lilith refused to shed a tear. War was at her door, and this was only the first pawn who would be sacrificed. Snatching her sword from the table, she calmly walked over to the spitting, snarling, monster in chains.
Without saying a word, Lilith raised her blade and cut him down.
She couldn’t have told you how long it took – a minute, an hour, a day. She’d gone numb and lost track of her sensibilities. All she cared about was survival. Lilith hacked and sliced and chopped Sari into pieces.
“What have you done?” Anthony’s face was twisted in horror.
She dropped her sword and stumbled back. “He wasn’t savable.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do, and if you’re going to say otherwise, you’re only lying to yourself because you’re too weak to face the truth. We’re in grave danger.” Covered in black blood, Lilith spread her arms out, “There is nothing I will not do to ensure our survival here, Anthony. Nothing. Understand me?”
He nodded.
“Get him out of here,” she ordered.
Anthony didn’t budge.
“Get him out of here!” she screamed.
He got three inches from her face and growled, “You can clean up your own fucking mess, Lilith.” He stormed off and left her to pick up Sari’s pieces by herself.
“I had no choice,” she cried. “I had… no choice.”
Gabriel’s ass dipped down on the corner of Lucifer’s bed. His mind raced in so many directions, he felt like Hell itself was spinning. Too much was happening way too goddamn fast.
And too much wasn’t happening fast enough.
Of his three brothers, Gabriel was the closest to Lucifer. He might not have spent that much time in Hell like Uriel, but Gabe and Lucy had a relationship that didn’t require regular meetups. They were two males cut from the same cloth – always holding their wrath close, always feeling guilty for what they couldn’t control, always trying to do something for the greater good of mankind and divinity. Just as Gabriel would lay his life down for those he loved, so would Lucifer, without hesitation.
Until now.
Something terrifying began building up in Gabriel’s body. It was strong and unyielding. Deadly and dark. The world had a red haze to it and Gabriel wasn’t wearing rose-tinted glasses.
The black tendrils of malice felt like a parasite, worming tunnels in Gabriel. Choking his good and enticing his bad. Staring at the black threads curving around his wrists like shackles, Gabriel could do nothing to stop it from spreading. This darkness was a part of him. Like blood and bone, this was just one more piece of his Angelic makeup.
And that was terrifying to realize.
Lucifer leaned against the door jamb with his arms crossed over his broad chest. He looked even worse than Gabriel. They stared at one another until the silence turned deafening.
“Say it.” Gabe growled.
Lucifer didn’t bother to sugar coat his confession, “I just destroyed more malanum energy. In a fit of rage when I fell into Hell and failed to drag Eve in with me, I damned myself further. Looks like I damned you more too.”
Gabriel could feel the threads of magic tying Lucifer and him together as rulers of Hell. The bind was unbreakable, even if it was on a smaller scale for Gabe at the moment. The love between them… may not be as indestructible.
Lucifer sat next to Gabe and sighed. “You knew she was out there,” Lucifer’s tone was deep and raspy.
Jesus fucking Christ, to know that Eve’s been out there this entire time and none of them had said anything – they’d all let Lucifer believe she was dead. Why?
Oh wait, Gabriel knew why. White hot fury slashed its claws out and sliced Gabriel’s emotions to ribbons. And that precious jealousy he held near and dear to his heart decided now would be a good time to start strangling him.
Fuck Eve and her decision. Fuck Uriel and Constantine for keeping her secrets.
“How long have you known, Gabriel?”
He didn’t answer for several heartbeats. Then, slowly, he lifted his head from his hands and stared directly into Lucifer’s eyes, “I was the first to find her.”
That’s right, fuck Gabriel too, because he kept Eve’s miraculous survival a secret the longest and never said a word to any of them about it…
“Eve, you can’t be serious.”
“I’m dead serious,” she scowled. “You can’t say a word. Not yet. Maybe not ever.”
“Then be with me. Until we can figure all this out, be with me. I can protect you. I can love you.”
She couldn’t live in the conditions he’d found her in. Not even a jackal could survive for long like this.
“No,” she wouldn’t even consider Gabriel an option. It was infuriating.
Jealousy erupted out of Gabriel and he flipped over the table between them. “I started a war because of you! I’m responsible for the death of half the brotherhood because of my—”
“Your love for me had nothing to do with you raising your sword to your brothers.” She got all up in his face and shoved him backwards. “You have free will too, Gabe. That decision was all on you and had very little to do with me.”
He towered over her, his wings flexing out, “Seeing you get struck in the neck by that arrow was what made me swing my blade.” He saw red when her blood had spilled. All because she’d confessed her fucking purpose and an Angel wanted to side with Michael instead of Gabriel and Lucifer… a war had erupted and nothing – not even the human world – was ever the same again because of it.
“My death was the final act that made you grow a pair of balls,” Eve narrowed her eyes angrily. “You hesitated all the time Gabriel. And for once in your life, you didn’t overthink your actions. You didn’t weigh the consequences of them either.”
“The fuck, Eve?” It felt like she’d just stabbed him in the heart… and ego.
“If my being harmed that day was the catalyst that made you rise to your glory, then I wish it had happened sooner.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I absolutely do,” Eve kept her gaze locked on his. “You knew you were meant for great things, Gabriel. You were just too worried about everyone else around you and what your curses had done to them… you refused to accept that it was all for something bigger. Even bigger than us.”
“Us,” he hated how his hope flared to life with that one word. “Are you saying there’s a chance to have an us?”
“No,” she backed off. “But I hope there will be one day. Until then, it’s all or none, Gabriel.”
“That makes no sense, one is better than none, Eve.”
“No,” her mind was made up. She turned her back and crossed her arms over her chest. “How are they?”
“They’re lost without you,” he didn’t even try to hide how pathetic that sounded. It was the truth. “Constantine has frozen all of us out. He disappears for years at a time and is obsessive with things that make no sense. Uriel’s head is clouded with a shit-ton of PTSD. He spends half his time in Hell, the other half of his time walking around the human world, in another kind of personal Hell.”
“And Lucy?”
Gabriel rolled his shoulders and took in a deep breath. “He’s the worst of all of us. Being cut off from everything has turned him more feral than ever. Between mourning over you, containing the evil souls, and keeping his powers controlled in a glorified fucking cage, Eve, he’s a goddamned mess.”
He hoped the truth hurt to hear. He hoped it haunted her nights and darkened her fucking days.
Anger devoured the air between them…
Gabriel could hear Lucifer grind his teeth. He knew Lucifer just lost his capability to speak. It was a weakness the Devil hated more than his existence – another secret Gabriel had kept for eons.
Had Lucifer the ability to speak, he’d probably tell Gabriel to fuck right off. Had he the capacity to make words come out of his mouth, he’d tell Gabriel what a lying, lowlife, piece of shit he was. He’d say that he hoped Gabriel’s guilt ate him alive every day. He’d tell Gabriel he hated him. He’d curse him, too – Luce knew how to make a few good ones stick.
So maybe the Devil’s inability to speak right now was a damned good thing. A fucking blessing, some might say. Because once said aloud, words cannot be taken back. They can’t be swallowed and lost. And they could not be unheard.
Words, like swords, cut deep and ugly and left nasty fucking scars.
In the darkest places of his mind, where Gabriel’s guilt and insecurities always tried to break down the last of his defenses, the Angel kept a torch. That sucker saw him through the worst of what Michael forced him to do in the Brotherhood of Angels. It was the same light that saw him through every day since the first war of the Angels. It was the same light that glowed right now, flickering feebly, that said all of this wasn’t for nothing. Gabe carried that torch for as long as he could remember.
This wasn’t for nothing. The betrayal of keeping Eve’s life a secret. The curses he placed upon entire bloodlines. The fall of the Brotherhood of Angels.
The infection of malanum now plaguing mankind. Even the destruction of the only family he’d ever known…
Gabriel bent over and wretched. Blackness spewed out of his mouth, along with his lunch. “Fuck,” he swiped his mouth with the back of his hand. They both stared at the black pool of vomit on the stone floor.
“You and I are more connected now, Gabriel. That negativity, that festering icy feeling in your veins is the evil trying to spread in you.”
Lucifer had centuries to build up a tolerance for this toxic energy. Gabriel hadn’t been in Hell for more than a week. And with Lucifer’s lash out just now in the prisons, the evil pulsing in their energy fields felt magnified. Lucifer could barely keep himself together, and now Gabriel was unraveling too. Damn, how bad was this going to get before there was no hope of recovery or retribution?
He couldn’t do much now that he was stuck down in Hell until someone else took the reins, but he could at least explain a little about Eve. Maybe that would be enough to put out the flames threatening to burn the shaky bridge between him and Luce.
“I wanted to tell you,” Gabriel sounded like such a douche. “I begged her to let me tell you.”
“And instead of breaking her trust, you what? Risked breaking mine by lying to me? Then sent my ladies to Hell for me to fuck? Did that ease your conscience, brother? To know I fucked all those women because I was too weak to control myself any longer? That I could so swiftly become unfaithful to the only one who ever loved me?”
Gabriel stood and loomed over Lucifer. That I could so swiftly become unfaithful to the only one who ever loved me. Fuck him if that’s how this was going to be. Did that ease your conscience, brother? To know I fucked all those women… Rage boiled in Gabriel’s veins as he played Lucifer’s words over and over in his head. Instead of breaking her trust, you what? Risked breaking mine by lying to me? Lucifer didn’t know shit about shit. And if that motherfucker’s knee-jerk reaction was going to be put-the-blame-on-Gabriel, then fuck him. “Is that really what you think, Lucy?”
Raise the Dead Page 8
