Chapter 24 #2
“No, darling. That was simply a side effect of my charisma. Free will isn’t something angels are encouraged to push for.
But it is something well worth fighting to keep.
” He heaved another sigh, suddenly looking exhausted.
“And those who fell with me were lost. I’d been the face of our little revolution, so they turned to me expecting answers and direction.
I couldn’t abandon them. Not when I knew just how deeply that sort of injury cuts. ”
“So you ruled out of necessity, not selfishness?”
“All the best leaders rise to the occasion. Never trust someone who desires that much power over others.”
“And now?”
“What?”
“Do you enjoy stealing souls and ruling the damned?”
He smirked. “I don’t steal anything. If a soul finds its way to me, it was freely given. Once again, that pesky free will comes into play.”
Now I was thoroughly confused. Was he right? Was God oppressing the angels the cause of all of this? Were we all working for the wrong side?
“I have another question.”
“Of course you do,” he said, but he didn’t seem annoyed. More like he was resigned.
“If the whole point of this apocalypse is to get some sort of revenge for casting you out, how do you justify all the casualties? You claim you’re different from Him. That you are not the callous leader you make Him out to be, but aren’t you sort of doing the same thing you’re accusing Him of?”
“I have never forced any creature to do my bidding against their will.”
I cocked a brow.
“Okay, maybe I have a time or two, but it was for a good reason.”
Shaking my head, I walked away from him. “You’re a hypocrite, Lucifer. Your mission may have started in a noble place, but you’ve turned into someone worse than He ever was.”
He’d caught up to me, clearly not ready to let this topic drop. “How can you possibly say that? I make people’s dreams come true.”
“You trick them into giving up their immortal souls in exchange for trinkets. If they understood what they were giving up, they would never agree.”
“Don’t be so sure about that.”
“Fine. We’ll set that point aside. You claim you’re a hero, but when I look at what you are doing, the destruction you’ve already caused, there’s nothing heroic about it. You are worse than any dictator or awful leader I’ve ever read about by a freaking landslide. It’s not even close.”
He went uncharacteristically quiet but continued walking the path with me. We strolled in silence a long while, until we reached a beautiful brook, the water silver in the night as it bubbled over stones.
“What would you have me do, Merri?”
I looked at him, his expression earnest. Pure sincerity radiated from every word.
I wished I could truly believe he had the capacity for change, but he was the devil.
The antithesis of goodness. “Stop it all. Put an end to this destruction and death. Give the world back to the humans and put aside your hatred of them.”
“I don’t hate them. Not anymore.”
“Then how can you do this to them?”
“I’m setting them free.”
“No. You’re not. You’re killing them. And if you get your way, you’re going to be the meteor that renders them extinct.”
Hurt flashed in his eyes. “So that’s it then. I’m nothing more than your villain.”
“You could be so much more, Luc. If you let yourself remove the mask of vengeance. You spoke about how heavy masks are. That the true gift is in setting them aside. I bet if you actually sat down and thought about what you truly wanted, this path you’re on isn’t it. Not anymore.”
His expression changed from one of openness and honesty to cruelty almost in an instant.
“You know nothing about what I truly want. Why shouldn’t I have vengeance?
My existence as I knew it was ripped from me simply for stating my concerns.
The one person I trusted above all threw me away like so much rubbish.
You’ll do the same if I give you an inch. ”
I didn’t even know what to say to that until suddenly, I did.
“How can I throw away something that isn’t even mine?”
He dropped the mask of indifference as quickly as he’d adopted it and stared at me again with raw vulnerability. It made my pulse race and my stomach tighten in anticipation.
“Merri . . .” he whispered, looking into my soul. “Don’t you understand? I could be yours. All you have to do is let me.”
My heart lurched. That was a powerful statement, and one I never expected to hear from him. Being mine was very different from knocking me up. How had I gone from being rejected by the four horsemen to having Lucifer practically begging me to let him be mine?
He reached for me, his fingers brushing my cheek as he moved to close the distance between us. Something inside wanted the contact, craved the kiss I knew he was going for. But I couldn’t give in. Not now.
I tore myself from the dream, coming to with a sputtering gasp as I sank into the now-cool water of my bath. I sat up with a start, sending bubbles and water flying.
“Holy. Fucking. Shit.”