Chapter Seventy-Two #2
Mal felt the air in her lungs grow thin.
She was unsure of why, but this last part was a lie.
Perhaps a part of her soul still recognised the way Lucifer could twist his tales, shaping them into a new reality.
Whatever the truth was, Mal knew it was not this.
Thanatos had not chosen to separate a part of his soul.
He had probably been forced to. And if Lucifer was lying, then Mal was almost certain that for whatever reason, the demon standing before her was to blame.
‘Hades attempted to free you from this place,’ Lucifer went on, ‘but even he could not undo the prison your enemies had built. Thanatos, however, tried another path.’
Lucifer’s smile deepened.
‘He asked for your memory to be wiped clean. He hoped that if you forgot what he had done, you might be able to live again without the weight of that betrayal.’
Mal’s fingers trembled slightly against the hilt of her sword.
‘And he hoped,’ Lucifer added softly, ‘that the fragment of his soul he had hidden away would one day find its way back to you.’
Mal’s entire body shuddered.
‘But the Sun God discovered what Thanatos had done,’ Lucifer said. ‘He found that hidden fragment.’ Lucifer gestured vaguely towards the empty sky above them. ‘So he took it. And he placed it inside the womb of a queen.’ His smile widened. ‘And from that womb… a child was born.’
Mal’s mouth felt painfully dry.
‘Ash,’ she whispered.
Lucifer clapped his hands once in delighted approval.
‘Yes. Very good, child.’ His voice softened with amusement.
‘So you see, Ash Acheron is the mortal half of Thanatos, the piece he hid away. The purest fragment of his soul.’ Lucifer spread his hands slowly.
‘But they are still the same being. Darkness and light. Death and life. One cannot exist without the other.’
‘So I cannot kill either of them,’ Mal said.
Lucifer tilted his head thoughtfully.
‘Well… you could,’ he replied with a careless shrug. ‘But it would not truly solve anything regarding your curse.’ He paused, his lips curling slightly. ‘However…’
‘What?’ Mal ground out through clenched teeth.
‘You could always sacrifice yourself,’ Lucifer said lightly. ‘Allow your daughter to end your life.’
He waved a hand dismissively, as though brushing away an unimportant thought.
‘But you will not do that,’ he added, studying her with unsettling clarity. ‘I can see it in your eyes. Gods are dreadful creatures, after all. So very selfish.’
Mal’s jaw tightened.
‘I do not want to become Hecate,’ she said. ‘I do not want to hunt my own child. Nor do I want her hunting me.’
Lucifer’s smile deepened.
‘But you would, would you not?’ he said softly.
‘Your mother did not sacrifice herself. Instead, she spent centuries searching for ways to destroy you, to ensure you would never become the God-Killer.’ His pale eyes sharpened.
‘You, however, could break the cycle. Allow your daughter to kill you. You are the origin, Mal Blackburn. If you die…’ His voice lowered almost to a whisper. ‘You would be doing it out of love.’
‘I am the God-Killer,’ Mal replied. ‘I cannot be killed.’
Something shone through Lucifer’s white eyes, something very much like amusement.
‘Oh,’ he said lightly. ‘Well then, I suppose you are all doomed.’ He shrugged. ‘But you still have many years ahead of you. Perhaps in that time one of you will discover some clever little loophole.’
Mal frowned.
She was almost certain he knew more than he was willing to say.
Part of his tale had been twisted and modified to suit Lucifer. But Mal was unsure of why. What was it that the demon did not truly want her to know? Why had he changed the truth of why Thanatos had separated his soul?
‘We are all connected,’ Lucifer continued casually. ‘You. Ash Acheron. Thanatos. Hecate. Hades. Hadrian.’ His smile widened. ‘Me. Nyx. And the Sun God.’ He gave a small, almost delighted laugh. ‘Triangles everywhere. Funny, isn’t it?’
Mal did not find it amusing in the slightest.
She kept her mouth firmly shut.
Around them, delicate flakes of snow began to fall, drifting slowly through the dark, silent air.
‘We should hurry,’ Lucifer said.
Mal did not understand why haste suddenly mattered, but she found herself agreeing all the same. The sooner she left this place, the better. Every moment spent in this ring felt like standing too close to something ancient and watchful.
‘What are you willing to sacrifice for this deal?’ Lucifer asked.
‘Anything.’
His lips curled into that wicked smile again.
‘Are you quite certain?’
‘I need Persephone removed from that throne,’ Mal said firmly. ‘I must become Queen of the Underworld. It is the only way to save my world.’
Lucifer gave a small shrug, as though he neither agreed nor cared enough to challenge her belief.
‘Very well,’ he said at last. ‘I will trap Persephone here. Consider it… a small act of revenge for what she did to you.’ His pale eyes gleamed. ‘In return, when your daughter is marked by the curse, she will come to claim the Underworld, to become its rightful heir.’
Mal’s breath slowed as she listened.
‘And you,’ Lucifer continued, ‘will come to Hell. One of the two empty rings awaits a new king.’ He smiled faintly. ‘You will become one of us.’
Mal stiffened.
She hated the bargain instantly.
Yet she knew it was the correct choice.
If she remained imprisoned in Hell, the God-Killer could no longer threaten the world. The curse might finally break its endless cycle. Her daughter would be free of it and would one day take the throne of the Underworld without the shadow of her mother looming over her.
It was the right decision.
And yet her twisted heart rebelled against it.
‘When your daughter hears the bells of Hell,’ Lucifer said, extending his hand towards her, ‘your time will have come.’
Mal looked down at the offered hand.
Then she clasped it.
Lucifer laughed, clearly delighted with the bargain that had just been sealed.
The snow began to fall harder around them, thick white flakes swirling through the frozen air.
Behind her, Mal heard a sharp crack echo across the lake.
The ice was breaking.
‘Curious, is it not?’ Lucifer asked.
Mal’s patience was beginning to wear thin, but she forced herself to answer. ‘What is?’
‘Your name.’
She frowned. ‘What about it?’
Lucifer’s pale lips curled slightly.
‘In the old tongue, the one once shared between witches and wyverians, your name, Mal, carries a rather unfortunate meaning.’ His white eyes sparked with quiet amusement. ‘It means something wrong. Something… evil.’
The smile widened as he watched the shock appear across her face.
‘How curious,’ he said, ‘that such a name would be chosen for you.’
Lucifer laughed.
‘Run back now.’
Mal spun around just as the frozen lake began to splinter.
The ice cracked violently, jagged fractures racing across its surface. Shards lifted upward like knives, sharp edges thrusting into the air as the frozen sheet shattered.
She ran.
Mal did not look back, nor did she listen to the echo of Lucifer’s laughter chasing her across the frozen expanse.
She was halfway across when the ice beneath her boots suddenly gave way.
With a sharp crack, the surface collapsed.
Mal plunged into the dark, freezing depths below.