3. Lucifer
Chapter 3
Lucifer
I’m calling in my favour.
World’s worst apprentice:
Rude.
I’ll just tell your sister you’re being a prick.
World’s worst apprentice:
Tell Alice anything and I’ll set fire to your secret glitter supply.
I’m busy. What do you want?
Trust me, it’s not a want, it’s a need.
And you’re not gonna like it…
P ushing through the crowd of The Drunken Beast, Lucifer tried to ignore the need to dance. To lose himself in the beat of the music, and the surrounding energy.
It had been two years, five months, three weeks, six days and fifteen or so hours since the chains that had tied him to the Nether had been broken.
Not that he was counting.
He was no longer trapped in the darkness, only allowed out in the light when summoned. But each night he still forced himself to stare at the stars, purposely reminding himself that he was free. That he was no longer a slave to the same magic that had shaped him into what he was.
Black magic had tainted him over the years, corrupting parts of his soul that he’s been fighting to get back. So he made sure to live in the moment, doing what he wanted as long as it gave him that rush he craved. Little things that reminded him that he’d somehow made it to the other side whole. Well, as whole as could be.
Waving to Payne and Sam over at the bar, Lucy moved with Titus towards the stairs that lead up to the glass office. Jax was already sitting on the balcony, waiting. He was the last Guardian to find their mate, and the last to break his curse. And while Lucifer was ecstatic, he couldn’t help but feel left behind.
Lucy swept out his arm, making sure his bow was overdramatised. “After you, big boy,” he said, using the nickname Thea, Jax’s mate, liked to use.
Jax grunted, shaking his head before entering the office without bothering to knock.
Riley and Xander were already huddled over the table, pointing to a tablet showing the map of London. Pieces of paper, as well as several guns and knives were scattered across the wood.
“Is Axel still at the scene?” Riley asked, his expression tense when he looked up.
Lucifer clicked his tongue, wondering when the last time he’d seen Riley so exhausted. He was the leader of the Guardians, with Xander his unofficial second-in-command. At one time they would have killed him on sight just for being a Daemon, and now Lucy both worked and lived with the testosterone fuelled fuckers.
How times have changed.
“He’s waiting for the cleaners,” Titus confirmed, looking between the others. “What’s happened?”
Guess it wasn’t just Lucy that could sense something was wrong.
Riley pinched the screen, zooming in on the map. “Two more places have been hit.”
“What, right now?” Lucifer asked, sitting his large frame into one of the chairs. “As in, right this second?”
Riley nodded. “Skulls attacking at exactly the same time. Sythe and Kace have dealt with it, with Alice and Rae securing the scenes.”
Titus stiffened at the mention of his mate, seeming to forget that Rae may be human, but she was also a motherfucking assassin. And Alice, well… she was literally the Horseman’s War.
“Did their Skulls disappear too?” Lucifer asked, kicking up his feet so he could rest them on the table.
Xander ran his fingers through his pale hair. “What do you mean disappear?”
“As in we turned up to a call about attacking skeleton painted freaks, and found nothing but hounds and a power hungry, barely pubescent Daemon,” Lucifer said, knowing they’d probably already been updated with the details, but felt the need to explain anyway.
“It’s been months of silence,” Xander muttered. “So why now?”
“Maybe Gideon’s recovered from Jax’s beast biting off his arm?” Lucifer gestured to where Jax had taken a seat beside him. He raised a brow, but remained silent as he usually did unless asked a direct question, or when he wanted to be an arsehole.
“Can Daemons even regrow limbs?” Titus asked, deciding to stand.
Lucy shrugged. “Wings, yes. Arms? No idea, and I’m not willing to be your guinea pig to find out.” He shuddered at the thought.
“What about your cock?” Jax asked, a shadow of a smile curving his lips. Thea was definitely having a positive effect on his usually stoic brother.
Lucy craned his neck to the side. “Fuck you and your suggestions.” Lucy had already lost a bet, and gotten pierced in places there should be no piercings. Luckily he was into a little bit of pain with his sex, but it had taken fucking weeks to stop thinking about Titus and a needle near his junk. Total mood killer. “Look, I know how impressive my cock is, but can we get back to the situation at hand?”
“Not that impressive,” Jax added with his quiet sense of humour, and Lucifer pointed a finger at him in warning.
“We all know I’m a grower.”
“Enough.” Riley wracked his knuckles along the table. “We’re here to discuss Gideon, and our plans to take him down. Not to compare whose.”
Lucifer picked at his nails. “Ah, well then in that case, I think we may be fucked.”
“How optimistic of you,” Xander said, his pale blue eyes piercing when they steadied on him.
Riley pushed at Lucy’s boots, forcing his feet to slam against the floor. “What makes you say that?”
“Well… disappearing Skulls is a cause of concern, don’t you think?”
“Luce…”
Lucifer straightened in his chair. “I don’t think we’re powerful enough to take Gideon down.” The Guardians shared a concerned look. “A Daemon drifted in, barely a year ascended. But he was strong, much more powerful than he should be. It was as if he was stuffed with power, like a balloon ready to pop.”
“There’s been no record of any ascensions from the Order,” Riley said, looking down at some of the scattered paperwork. “Not that they’ve ever been entirely honest with us.”
“Last time we fought Gideon, my arcane barely damaged him,” Lucifer continued. “I had a direct hit, one that should’ve at least knocked him out, and yet he brushed it off like it was nothing. I don’t think we’re going to be enough.”
“Seven Guardians trained specifically to destroy Daemons, and a Daemon himself isn’t enough?” Xander asked.
“Seven Guardians who were designed to take down one Daemon at a time. Not to mention you guys will be split between fighting the Unhallowed and the Skull fuckers. Even if we all combined, and there were no distractions I don’t think we’re going to be enough. Black magic is by far the strongest energy, and other than Titus, you guys can’t command it.”
Riley frowned. “Then what do you suggest?”
“We need to match him, power for power.” Lucifer fidgeted in his seat, excited by the prospect. “Chi’s are designed to stretch to accommodate power surges.”
“We can’t hold as much chi as a Daemon,” Riley said. “It’s why my father cursed seven children, rather than just one.”
“Exactly, you can’t.” Lucifer met Riley’s gaze, holding it even when the edges of his irises shimmered to his beast. “But maybe I can.”
There was a pause, Riley’s brow furrowing. “You want to expand your chi.”
“Temporarily, yes. I want to syphon from other Daemons.”
There was a pause, and Lucifer continued before they could argue.
“If I can syphon and hold the excess, I may be able to hold Gideon back long enough that we can take him down.” He was the only one that could handle that much power without immediately succumbing to it. In theory, at least.
“Yeah, I don’t fucking think so,” Xander said. “You’re not going to kill yourself on the off chance this will work.”
“That amount of black magic is dangerous,” Jax added. “You won’t be able to recover.”
“This plan’s too risky,” Riley said, his tone ending the conversation.
“It’s the only plan that may work, and you know it.” Lucifer was too frustrated to sit, the chair screeching as he pushed back, almost toppling over if Titus hadn’t had caught it. “You didn’t feel this Freshy’s power, Ri. He was pumped up by that fucking chalice. If that’s only a fraction of what Gideon is...” Lucy let his words drift off.
“Everything dies,” Riley said.
“Yeah, well I’m worried he won’t.” The resulting silence was full of strain, Lucifer vocalising everyone’s thoughts. “Not unless someone like me takes him head-on,” he added quietly.
“You’ll never be able to hold more than one other syphon. No one can without killing themselves.” Riley’s body remained a thing of granite, his jaw tense and his eyes glittering silver.
Lucifer could feel the rage of Riley’s beast, but they all knew he was right. They were running out of options, as well as time. The longer they waited to take Gideon down, the stronger he would become.
“Then I’ll syphon to just one,” he said, Riley’s expression hardening at the lie. Luckily, none of the others caught it. “Let me hunt down another Daemon, and between all of us we may be able to take Gideon down before he becomes invincible.”
Riley pursed his lips, and Lucifer tensed.
Hundreds of years Lucifer had survived not caring about anyone but himself. Having a family was a pain in his arse, even if he chose them. He didn’t need their approval, but it would make it so much easier if they were all on the same page because there wasn’t anything Lucifer wouldn’t do to protect them.
“Fuck, you all need to see this right now,” Titus said, looking at his phone. Without another word he tapped the screen, and the TV on the wall sparked to life. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”
Gideon appeared, his smile self-assured as he stood between two Skulls.
“I’ve been patient,” he said with the confidence of a politician. “I asked for a seat amongst the Council. Something I, and my Breed deserved. And now, I am done waiting.” He stood with his wings on full display, as well as his horns.
Xander moved closer to the TV. “What the fuck? Is this live?”
Titus looked down at his phone. “He’s streaming on all channels.”
Riley shot up, moving to his computer. “Can we pinpoint the feed?”
Titus didn’t reply, already tapping away on his phone.
“From this point on, there is no Council,” Gideon continued. “There is no government, human or otherwise.”
The camera panned closer, until only his head was visible.
“There is only me.”
The feed cut off, leaving nothing but static.
“Well,” Lucifer said with fake enthusiasm. “He’s definitely not hiding anymore. But at least we now know Daemons can’t grow appendages back.” Gideon stood with only one arm, his dark clothes made from the strongest hides only found down in the Nether.
Riley continued to stare at the static, his shoulders rigid. “Tell me what you plan to do?” he asked, directing the question to him.
“Find another Daemon, and make them agree to share their power with me.”
“And do you think they will?”
Lucifer hesitated. “I think there’s got to be at least one other that doesn’t want to be under Gideon’s reign again.”
Riley turned to Titus. “Ti, what do you think?”
Titus was the only Guardian to have been forced through the Rite, making him the only other Daemon in the room.
“Lucy’s right, he’s the only one able to handle the syphon for an extended period of time.”
“Would it kill him?” Riley asked. “If he expands himself, even temporarily. Would it kill him?”
“Isn’t that a question you should be asking me?” Lucifer growled. “I can handle the power.”
Titus shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“I can handle it,” Lucy repeated, flopping back down into his seat. “You’re going to have to trust me on this.”
Xander sighed. “Daemons aren’t exactly open with their whereabouts, and any activity has disappeared along with Gideon.”
“So the plan’s a go?”
Riley clenched his jaw. “It’s an option.”
Lucifer grinned. Gideon may have been the king of Hell, but up here in the light, Lucifer was the motherfucking king slayer. “I know how to track down other Daemons.” He turned to face Xander. “But I’m going to need your Kyra.”