Chapter 21 Kai
Lucifer sent me to the river, and I knew why even before I got here. If it were anything else, he or the others could have come and handled it. The only reason he would need me to handle it is Ruin.
The annoying angel who I can’t seem to get rid of, though I guess on my part, I haven’t tried very hard.
I appear at the edge of the river, as far as teleportation can take me, and see him across the way.
Pacing back and forth as he waits for me.
“Kai, Rome came to the shop,” he says in a rush, even before my feet touch the ground.
“I’m not surprised; he was bound to come looking for something, and that was about the only place he could go and hope to get answers.” He would have come to the same conclusion if he had stopped for a moment and thought about it.
The problem with Ruin is that he doesn’t. He often lets his emotions rule him, has for as long as I can remember, which often gets him in trouble.
“He wants Aeri.” Again, obviously. That’s why we brought her to Hell to begin with.
“And?” If he came down here for this, I’m going to kill him.
What a waste of time.
“What do you mean, and? He’s never going to stop; you know how Rome is. What are we going to do?” He stops pacing to look at me, and I see how much this is eating at him.
Ruin might be ruled by his emotions, but this is bad even for him.
“Asta already told you there’s no we. You can’t come here any more than Rome can, and for now, that has to be enough. We’re looking for a way to break the contract if you want to help look into that.”
“I did. There’s nothing helpful.”
I had a feeling he was going to say that. Heaven isn’t really about breaking bonds; that would be something bad, so it would be reserved for us lesser beings.
“Rome said he was going to force her to come back to him. Push her harder, whatever that means.” Ruin watches my face, and I know what he’s looking for, but somehow I can’t manage to keep my face blank.
“What happened? What does that mean? Is she okay?”
“One question at a time,” I grumble, rolling my eyes, debating if I should just leave or not.
“What did that mean?” He settles for his words bordering on a growl.
Lucifer chooses that moment to reach out.
‘One of you needs to get back here.’
The thought is accompanied by a glimpse through his eyes of Aerilyn, asleep in his arms, looking worse for wear.
Fuck.
Clearly, Rome isn’t wasting any time.
“What was that? What did you see?” Ruin asks a second before I blink away the sight of her, and my mind is once again only mine.
“Nothing,” I tell him, knowing he can’t handle this.
“It didn’t look like nothing. Was it about Aeri?” He pushes, never one to let things go.
“Yes,” I grit out, hoping to give him something to satisfy him.
“Is she okay? What happened?” He moves forward into my personal space, and I resist the urge to move back.
To simply go back across the river and leave him standing here with all his questions.
“Kai.”
Fine, if he wants to know so badly, I’ll tell him or show him.
I show him the vision Lucifer had pushed to me, of Aeri sleeping in his arms, tear tracks on her face, dried blood on her forehead and cheeks, and scratch marks covering every inch of her throat and chest that can be seen.
I watch as pain twists his features and instantly regret it. Ruin might drive me crazy 99.9% of the time, but despite my annoyance with the girl, I know he has feelings for her, feelings I’m not sure he even understands yet.
He runs a hand through his long hair, and I see his form flicker for a moment. It’s the closest I’ve ever seen him come to losing control, ever. His divine powers are so close to the surface that it’s as if he’s battling himself and he’s losing.
“He’s simply offering her comfort,” I tell him in an attempt to pacify him, but when he meets my gaze again, he seems confused.
“I came to warn you all about Rome’s threat, but it appears I’m too late.”
Huh, I guess I was wrong. I’d expected him to be jealous of Lucifer, but if he is, he doesn’t show it; instead, his worry still remains on the mortal.
“There is no way we know of to stop him from causing her pain; he invades her dreams, and more often than not, she doesn’t even know who we are.
At this rate, I might just put her under and stop her from dreaming.
The others can continue to look in the meantime.
” It’s not something I want to do. It will take an enormous amount of power.
Could days or even weeks like that be dangerous? Do I care?
I’ll have to discuss it with the others.
“I need you to convince Lucifer to let me see her with my own two eyes. It would be simple for him to allow me access the same way he did for Aeri.”
“Why would I ask?”
“Because he’s more likely to say yes to you,” he tells me as if it’s the most obvious thing.
It’s not. Lucifer isn’t fond of anyone, really. He might dislike me less because I’m a demon, but honestly, I think he would appreciate seeing Ruin squirm.
I sure as hell would.
“Ask him yourself.” I move back across the river, done with this conversation. Ruin isn’t offering anything I didn’t already know, and now I need to get back to Asta to ask him about possibly sedating her.
Ruin is always best tolerated in small doses, like poison.
“Kai.”
“If you won’t ask, I guess you don’t want to see her that badly.” Before he has any more chance to argue, I let my feet touch the dirt in the soil of Hell and teleport back to the castle, leaving Ruin there to do whatever it is he wants, alone.