by Lisa Oliver
“What can it do?” He asked, turning his hand where the beetle sat proudly.
“Anything you want it to, within reason.” Stefan was working on another hummingbird, a mate to the one he’d made on the plane. He straightened his back, flicking his hair out of his eyes. “Without magic, they’re pretty mechanical toys.” He motioned to the finished ones he had lined up along the desk that included bugs, beetles, butterflies and moths. Then he pointed to the dragonfly he’d used in Cairo. “You just have to be careful. This one is already on a job, so to speak. If I gave it another command now, that second spell would totally wipe out the first.”
“Can someone else put a spell on the dragonfly while it’s working, wiping out what you want it to do? Like, maybe someone who has stronger magical powers than you?”
Stefan shook his head. “No. I created it. I’m not sure how it works, but it’s like a part of my essence is in the mechanics too; at least, that’s what my father taught me. He said there was part of his energy in every clock he sold. You could probably change out the spells on my collection, because our magic is connected, but no one else could.”
“But how do they do the stuff you want them to?” Lucifer studied his own beetle again. “I know you were telling me earlier, they can eavesdrop on conversations, shoot fire on command… they’re so tiny.”
“That’s the beauty of them.” Stefan smiled as he started packing his things away. “Tiny things go unnoticed, especially bugs and birds. Inside, outside, it doesn’t matter. If you set your beetle to track someone for example, then it wouldn’t let anything stop it. It would use its tiny pincers to cut through walls or a roof, it can crawl up ninety-degree surfaces, and cling to a ceiling if it had to, just like it’s natural counterpart. And the one you made can fly, so even if a person was traveling in a car, your beetle wouldn’t lose it.”
“They are truly incredible.” Lucifer added his beetle to Stefan’s collection. “But then, so are you. Did you fancy something to eat and then I was thinking… maybe an early night?” He waggled his eyebrows in what he hoped was a suggestive manner and Stefan laughed.
“Yes, I think…”
Stefan didn’t finish his thought because Lucifer’s phone chose that moment to ring. Lucifer was tempted to ignore it – Stefan had been relaxed and happy all afternoon – but years of habit had him reaching for it. He scowled when he saw the name on the screen. Flicking his finger, Lucifer accepted the call and activated the speaker button.
“Abdullah?” Lucifer flicked a worried glance at Stefan who’d stilled but didn’t say anything.
“Lucifer. Thank the goddess.” Abdullah sounded frantic. “Lucifer, they’re after me. They must have found out I talked to you…” Static interfered with the line and Lucifer frowned at his screen. The call was still live. “…visions… fire… blood…” and then the line seemed to clear. “He’s coming for me. He’s coming now. I’ve seen it.”
“You’re not making sense,” Lucifer barked into the phone. “You told me the danger’s here, in Greenford. You specifically said I needed to get people together – our friends – for a huge showdown with Technic here in like three days.”
“I know and you do. Times running out. You have to get in touch with the twins now.” Abdullah was sobbing over the phone. “But something’s coming for me… I can feel it…” More static on the line.
“Well, make up your mind. I can’t be in two places at once.” Lucifer stared at his screen, but the call had dropped. When Lucifer hit the button to call Abdullah back, the call rung once and immediately went to answerphone. Tossing his phone on the desk, Lucifer looked at Stefan. “What do you make of that?”
“Deceiver’s remorse?” Stefan tapped his fingernails on the desk. “He is a seer. It is possible he’s had a vision about us going to him with our suspicions. That whole ‘coming after me’ theme – that could be us his magic is warning him about. From what I know about seers, they can’t see specific details about their own lives. If he’s already feeling guilty about what he’s caught up in, that might be why he’s running scared.”
“Either that or Technic, or whoever this guy is who’s after us, knows Abdullah’s the only one left alive to warn us.” Lucifer wasn’t sure what to do. If Abdullah is innocent…
“He’s still pushing for you to contact the twins and their anchor. In fact, he seemed adamant about that.”
“I know, which is worrying me. This could be another ruse to separate us from Darwin and Monty. On the other hand, it’s equally possible he’s in contact with the twins and knows I haven’t called them before now. If this is just a push by them in that direction, with what you’d told me before…” Lucifer trailed off, annoyed with himself more than anything. He’d never been indecisive before, but then it wasn’t as though he had that many deceptive friends, and Abdullah was now top of that list, closely followed by Alexi, Levi and Jasmine.
“What’s your gut telling you to do?” Stefan prompted quietly. “You know more about dealing with the dangerous side of life than I ever would. Leave out Technic, me and our suspicions about him. If Abdullah had called before in a blind panic, what would you do?”
“I’d go. He’s a friend, or was...”
“Then we go.” Stefan stood, stretching his back, reminding Lucifer of all the other things he’d hoped they’d do this evening. “The flight from here to there is roughly twelve hours, right?”
“Straight through, yes.” Lucifer nodded, reaching for his phone to call the pilot.
“Then Abdullah won’t be expecting us until tomorrow.” The smirk on Stefan’s face was so damn sexy. “I suggest we have a bite to eat and then translocate to Cairo. We’d get there a whole lot faster that way.”
“Translocate?” Lucifer was immediately intrigued. They could be in Cairo in a matter of seconds, well before they were expected, possibly catching Abdullah… or whoever else was involved… in the act of whatever they were doing. But Stefan’s words from earlier were still fresh in his brain and Lucifer hesitated. “Stefan, I don’t want you to think…”
“It’s my idea.” Leaning over, Stefan rubbed their noses together. “We’ll have the element of surprise, and if this is a ruse to leave Darwin and Monty helpless and unprotected, we can zap back here just as quickly.”
Relief. The tension left Lucifer’s shoulders, and he slid his hands around Stefan’s waist. “You think of everything,” he grumbled softly, pecking small kisses across Stefan’s chin.
“I’m thinking about food,” Stefan teased, lifting his chin a little higher. “I’d rather eat before we went to Cairo and I need you to think of somewhere we can translocate to, without being seen. Oh, and it might pay to call the pilot and get him to take the plane to Cairo anyway, just in case anyone is watching that.”
“Beauty and brains.” Lucifer moved his hands further around Stefan’s back, pulling him closer. “I got damn lucky when the Fates picked you for me.”
“I didn’t do so bad out of the deal either.” Stefan’s chuckle warmed the hairs on his chin as Lucifer went in for a proper kiss this time.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The night air around the pyramids had a chill, and there was a stillness as if the spirits knew something big was about to happen. Stefan immediately had the urge to hug himself as they materialized, and not for the first time wished Garrick were with him. The security lights around their landing area pierced a starless sky but left deep shadows where the light couldn’t reach. Stefan reached out, wanting to take Lucifer’s hand, but the bigger man was already striding in the direction of Abdullah’s café. Stefan quickened his pace to catch him.
“We need something, magic, some way of seeing who’s in there,” Lucifer muttered as Stefan caught up with him. “But that could give us away. You mentioned you felt wards when we were having coffee there. The wards could have an alarm element, giving away our surprise.”
“We can use one of our bugs.” Stefan did reach out now, tugging Lucifer to a stop. “The
re’s still a good eight hours before he’s expecting you. A bug won’t trigger a ward if it’s spelled the right way.”
He could tell Lucifer was hesitant, even after the afternoon they’d shared. But Stefan gave the man credit – he considered it. The urge to just burst in and face Abdullah was evident in the tightness of Lucifer’s jaw and the flex of his shoulders. “How does it work?” Lucifer asked urgently, keeping his voice low. “Can you spell it so it can see, give us audio? What can it do?”
“Whatever you want it to do.” Crouching in the shadows, Stefan reached into his waistcoat and pulled out the dragonfly previously spelled and a smaller version of the scarab beetle Lucifer had spent the afternoon making. “This little fellow can carry the dragonfly. If the killer is anywhere near, the dragonfly will let us know and do what it needs to do, which is track him. If not, then the scarab will simply carry him back.”
Stefan clicked the legs of the dragonfly into small slots in the middle of the scarab’s back. “Now, what do you want him to do?”
“You’re using male pronouns when I’m sure that scarab’s female, riding around with bling like that on its back,” Lucifer said drily.
“Men are just as capable of carrying bling,” Stefan looked up and winked. “Buy me some and I’ll show you. Now, come on. You’re dithering.”
“I want to see in there, I want to hear Abdullah snoring, I want to know what type of wards Abdullah has up and if he cast them himself or if he had help. I need to know if anyone else is watching the café or if there are any surveillance methods in place – magic or technical - and if your little beetle can find a written outline of the bad guy’s plan, that would be fucking amazing. But I’d settle for knowing if Abdullah is even in there.”
“Magical doubters.” Stefan scoffed lightly, before he held his free hand over the mechanical pair. He felt them flutter as his magic flowed through them. Muttering a few words, Stefan opened his hands and the scarab took off with its pretty passenger, heading straight for the café.
“How long will it take?” Lucifer started pacing, his long coat flowing around his calves. “How do you even know they’ve got anything? We can’t stay out here for too long.” He reached into his pocket for his phone, checking the screen, presumably for any messages from Darwin. The conversation between the brothers had been terse before they left, but Darwin promised on his honor he’d contact Lucifer if anyone came onto the estate.
“Just watch my back. I have to concentrate,” Stefan said, more to give Lucifer something to do than anything else. Settling cross-legged on the ground, he created a small sphere of perfect white light, smiling softly as he saw the view in the ball bob up and down. He’d never cared a lot about his magic – it restricted his life choices and had landed him in uncomfortable situations more often than not. But when his magic combined with the skills he remembered from his father’s knee as a child, it truly was… magical.
“Tut, tut, tut. Abdullah should really fix that crack,” he murmured as he watched his little beetle gain access to the cafe. Just as it’d been instructed, the scarab did a circuit of the café before heading out to where Stefan had sat having coffee with the pretty Egyptian.
“There are no wards or surveillance equipment in the café itself,” Stefan kept his voice low. “Our little bug is now… ah, he’s hit the wards out the back… and he’s through.”
“What does she see?” Lucifer crouched down beside him.
“See for yourself.” Stefan scanned the rows of icons that flashed on his magical viewing ball. “There’s none of Abdullah’s essence in the ward around the back room. But the dragonfly reacted.” Looking away from the ball for a moment, Stefan shook his head in Lucifer’s direction. “Whoever set the ward in Abdullah’s shop is the same person who raped and drained that young boy.”
“Technic.” Lucifer’s lips twisted into a snarl.
“Not necessarily.” Stefan looked back at the ball. “Ooh, wait a minute. Our little bug has found Abdullah, but he’s not snoring.” Waving a hand over the ball, he reached up and touched Lucifer’s ear. “Listen. He’s talking to someone on the phone.”
“…and I told you to stay away from here. We had a deal!” Abdullah wasn’t just talking, he was screaming at someone on the other end of the phone. Watching closely, Stefan could see the once handsome face was now pale and drawn, with puffy eyes and tear streaks down his face. “I kept my side of the bargain. I gave Lucy the whole song and dance about my supposed vision, the importance of seven and all the other shit you told me to say… I had to improvise, I didn’t know he’d taken another anchor for fuck’s sake and besides, five is the number for chaos. If I’d mentioned that, Lucy would’ve known something was wrong…
“No, you listen… What the fuck? The young blond got away? How?” Stefan watched as Abdullah looked over his shoulder, tugging his hand through his hair as he listened to whatever the caller was saying. “You’re a damn fool. That’s no ordinary anchor… of course, I fucking read him when he came in. The man following Lucy like a devoted puppy dog is… will you fucking listen!”
Whoever was on the other end of the phone ranted for a good minute before Abdullah sighed, and through his bug’s eyes, Stefan could see his body slump in defeat. “You know damn well Lucy’s on his way – he thinks I’m in trouble, so of course he’d come. The arrogant bastard thinks he can save the world with a wave of his hand and now he’s got his anchor back, there’ll be nothing stopping him. Besides, your lousy demon told me the plane left about two hours ago… why didn’t I tell you? Try answering your phone next time I call. I’m freaking shitting myself here. Our deal was that this would go down in Greenford, well away from me. I set up the time and place… all you had to do… No. Just stay away from here, okay. Stay. Away. I’ll send Lucy back home. He’ll be back in plenty of time. No, I won’t have you… Damn it!” Abdullah threw his phone at the wall where it smashed before falling to the ground. Clearly, he’d been hung up on.
“He never listens to me. Never. Fucking. Listens.” Abdullah stared up at the ceiling. “I hope your plane gets here fast Lucy. I will not have any shit going down in my shop, so you need to sort out who the hell is a danger to me and then get the fuck back home, so you can get your ass handed to you.”
“I never realized what a selfish bastard he is,” Lucifer muttered. “I think that’s our cue to make an entrance, don’t you?” Lucifer took Stefan’s hand, his magic tingling through Stefan’s hip as he stroked it and all of a sudden, Stefan found himself in the front part of the café. He had just enough time to click his magical ball away before Lucifer roared, “Abdullah, get your ass out here!”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Lucifer had a million angry questions buzzing around his brain like a swarm of angry bees, but he’d heard enough, thanks to Stefan’s skills, to know he’d been betrayed… again. And while the thought that it was Abdullah, someone he had helped a dozen times in the past, made the bitter pill hard to swallow, he pulled on his anger, blasting his power around the room.
As soon as Abdullah ducked through the curtain, Lucifer could tell he’d glamored himself. Hair smoothed back; eyes clear. But the shock was real. “Lucifer, what are you…? How did you…?” He glanced back behind him. “I… er… Thank the Goddess you came. Come on through. I’ll put the coffee on.”
“I think we’ll stay out here, and you can stuff your fucking coffee,” Lucifer snarled, pulling out a table seat beside him for Stefan who was resting his hand on Lucifer’s lower back. As soon as Stefan was seated, he pointed to the empty chair across the table from them. “Sit.”
“Lucifer!” If Lucifer had been stupid, he’d have thought the anguish on Abdullah’s face was real too. The man stayed hovering near the curtain. “We’ve been friends a long time. I don’t understand. I called you because…”
“You called me because you know someone’s gunning for you – coming for you, magic blazing and fire spreading, am I right? Is that what your visions are telling you?�
� Lucifer slammed his hands on the table so hard it rocked on its feet. “Guess who that person is, friend. Think long and hard. Who have you stabbed in the back lately?”
“I’m not like that.” Abdullah wrapped his arms around his chest. “You, of all people, know I do a lot of good for all magic users…”
“Except the ones that piss you off,” Lucifer roared. “Then they end up dead in an alley like poor Brutus or shot from the sky like Garrick. Or maybe for me you fancy a spot of abduction like Stefan was. What’s my fate going to be, friend? What little excitement have you cooked up with your other friend – the one who created the wards around your back room?”
“Lucifer?” Abdullah clutched at his chest. “How could you even think…”
“Stefan, babe.” Lucifer rested his hand on his mate’s shoulder. “Please call back your little wonder. He’s done an exemplary job.”
Stefan clicked his fingers on his left hand, and the tiny scarab came buzzing back through the curtains, narrowly missing Abdullah’s ear as it headed straight for Stefan. As it landed on Stefan’s palm, Lucifer noticed the dragonfly was gone and his heart sunk.
“You’ve been spying on me?” Abdullah’s glamor fell as he screeched. The circles under his eyes made him look as though someone had punched him there and the red rims were a new look too. “You had no right!”
He flung his arms out, sending magic crackling over the tables. Lucifer easily evaded it and Stefan didn’t even flinch. “After all I’ve done for you.” Abdullah approached, flinging out his magic like candy at a Christmas parade. “Lending you a shoulder, listening to your arrogant shit day in, day out. You always thought you were better than me, better than everyone. Fucking fight back you bastard!”
Because Lucifer wasn’t fighting back. He stood tall, keeping his hold on Stefan’s shoulder, his other hand raised, holding a steady bubble of protection against the feeble onslaught. “Did you want me to kill you, Abdullah?” Lucifer felt strangely calm and he had a sneaky suspicion that was Stefan’s doing. “Has the weight of the crimes you’ve committed and the deaths you’ve facilitated finally become too much for your shoulders to carry? Is that why your visions are fucked up? Have you been dabbling on the dark side for so long, you can’t recognize the truth when you see it anymore?”
