Chapter 29 Lucifer
LUCIFER
Lightning flashed, reflecting off the mist, and filled the gateway with violent splashes of color.
Luc clashed with a guard and fought to strike past her shield. Ash caught hold of another guard and threw him into the mist.
“This is pointless,” Luc bellowed as he dodged a blow. “Fighting serves no one.”
“Then leave.” Malachi’s voice echoed.
Someone caught Luc from behind, and strong arms around his middle dragged him to the ground. A shadow loomed over him, and hands wrapped around his throat, crushing him.
Onyx appeared at his side and blasted the attacker off.
He held out a hand to Luc. “We have to stand firm. They can’t kill us without breaking their own rules and bringing the chaos they accused us of sowing onto their own realm.”
Luc clasped Onyx’s hand and strengthened his shield. It was time to deliver the final truth.
“Falling was never wrong,” he screamed at Malachi. “Magic and mortality have always been interwoven—”
Red lightning hit Luc’s chest. Malachi’s power obliterated Luc’s shield, stopping his heart. No. Luc had to lay out the consequences for ignoring them. They had a failsafe.
A second wave of power knocked Onyx back, leaving Luc alone on the ground.
Malachi stepped forward, shocking Luc before he could recover. “Stop this nonsense, Lucifer. No one wants to hear it.”
Luc received another shock, and he couldn’t speak. If his claims were nonsense, why bother silencing him?
Two figures appeared in the mist, one with white wings, the other black. The mist parted, and they stalked closer. Luc was trapped, unable to move as the two beings he’d hoped to never see again closed in.
His mother and father.
Isabella and Cenric had sat on the council for thousands of years before Luc had been born. They were less senior than Malachi, but their presence chilled Luc in a way Malachi never could.
“Lucifer.” Cenric gazed down at him with glowing eyes. “How disappointed we are.”
Malachi delivered another shock to Luc’s system. For once, Luc wished a stopped heart prevented him from hearing those around him.
Cenric continued as if his son hadn’t been harmed right in front of him. “Falling wasn’t enough? Disgracing us and this realm wasn’t enough? You had to ruin the magical order further, and now you have the audacity to return?”
Luc fumed. He’d be screaming if he had control of his body. How could they stand there after hearing the truth Dex had discovered? How could they condemn him? How could any of them hear this truth and not want to honor it?
Had they known all along, or were they that afraid of the unknown? So self-obsessed, they wouldn’t risk losing power, no matter the cost.
Isabella bowed her head. “It would have been better if you had never returned.”
A scream tore through the air, and a flash of blue streaked across the sky.
Malachi shocked Luc, turning toward the blur, but it was too late. Onyx landed on Malachi, plunged his hand into Malachi’s chest, and ripped out his heart. Malachi’s body went rigid and toppled, hitting the ground with a crack, dead until he regenerated the vital organ.
Onyx landed beside Luc and threw Malachi’s bloody heart at their parents’ feet. “You know, the only things I never missed about this realm were you, Father, and you, Mother. You think your disapproval means anything to us?”
“So you never longed for home?” Cenric cocked his head, hands raised as if to placate Onyx, but his gaze was knowing. “You never regretted your foolishness?”
Onyx winced, and Luc shot to his feet.
He growled, his voice bordering on the edge of incoherent. “Onyx is not a fool. You’re the fools for never loving him like he deserved.”
Cenric seemed not to have heard him. He was good at that. Acting like no one else existed. His raised hands glowed, and a satisfied smirk twisted his fine features.
The pull of the Eternal Realm tugging on Luc’s chest lurched, the intensity skyrocketing.
Luc screamed. It was as if all his innards had been ripped out. He clutched his stomach and looked down, but everything was intact. The tug of the Eternal Realm cut through his soul.
Onyx collapsed, writhing on the ground, his mouth open in a silent scream. Luc’s pain was physical and thus bearable, but Onyx had longed for home for two thousand years.
Luc dropped to his knees, reaching for his brother. “Stop it! You’re monsters. He’s your son. Stop!”
“Leave and we will stop,” Isabella said with maddening calm.
Luc patted Onyx’s chest uselessly, grabbing frantically as if he could save him.
There was nothing he could do. He couldn’t even sense the spell torturing him and was unable to counter it.
Luc’s breaths grew shallow, coming too fast. His head spun.
No. They couldn’t torture Onyx. He didn’t deserve this.
Luc was sinking. He didn’t know what to do. He was losing everything.
A squelching sound caught his frayed attention. Cenric screamed, and a blade erupted from his sternum. He collapsed, his heart destroyed just like Malachi’s.
Isabella gasped, but Luc had eyes for no one but Onyx. He’d stopped moving.
“Onyx.” Luc shook his brother, unable to stop himself.
The tug on Luc’s chest faded to a dull ache. Thank all that was damned that it had stopped.
“Fuck,” Onyx groaned, clutching Luc’s hand, and Luc sagged in relief.
“Traitor!” Isabella’s scream cut through the air.
Luc whipped around, not letting go of his brother.
Hollis stood over Cenric with a bloody sword, chest heaving. “It’s true, isn’t it? The sacred balance is a lie.”
Isabella fumed, but Hollis didn’t give her time to respond.
“When Eternals hear this, everything will change. They’re already whispering that their mates could be trapped in Hell.” He jabbed his bloody sword in Isabella’s direction. “They could be trapped, and there’s no point? Those souls could be here! With their Eternal mates!”
“Shut up, Hollis.” Isabella was as cold as ice. “Those whispers are unfounded. None of this nonsense will ever get out. No one in the Eternal Realm will hear Lucifer’s lies. Know your place.”
All other fighting seemed to have ceased. Everyone watched, waiting for the next move.
Ash strode toward them, streaked with blood. “It’s already out, Isabella. There is no unringing this bell.”
Her nostrils flared.
Luc pulled Onyx to his feet, and Valac and Dante joined Ash, blood marring their skin as well. They all seemed unharmed, or at least healed.
Ash crossed his bulging arms. “Our message is coming to the Eternal Realm whether you like it or not—”
Isabella sneered. “Witches and vampires will never be allowed in. So, who’s going to spread your lies, hmm?”
“They aren’t lies.” Dante snapped his wings. “Humans will bring the truth about the realms with them when they die. They’ve always held the truth. Their souls are proof. It’s fitting that they’ll be the ones to tell the Eternal Realm how things really are.”
“Humans?” Isabella scoffed. Cenric stirred at her feet, body twitching, but she didn’t spare him a glance.
“Yes, humans,” Valac declared. “No matter what happens here, the truth of magic and mortality will spread through the Human Realm. We have humans, witches, and vampires ready to spread the message wide. Even humans who don’t believe what they hear will carry the knowledge.
When they die and enter the Eternal Realm, they’ll see it’s real and spread the word.
You can’t stop this. You will face the consequences of your lies no matter what.
Your own people will bring them to your door when they hear. ”
Isabella’s mouth fell open.
Satisfaction wound through Luc like a snake.
“It doesn’t have to be this way, Mother.
You can welcome this change. Be the one to bring truth to the Eternal Realm.
You can welcome witches, and then when humans come bearing news of the reality of mortality and magic, it won’t be a problem.
Their message will reinforce the change you facilitated rather than undermine your authority. ”
Malachi rose behind her, coated in blood. “No.”
“So you choose chaos?” Luc stared the massive Eternal down. “You choose to fight against what is real to maintain your power? You chose upheaval in your realm when Eternals hear the truth?”
“Your plan won’t work.” Malachi pushed past Isabella, who stood as if stunned. “Eternals won’t listen to humans. What do they know of the universe? Nothing will change.”
“That’s not true,” Hollis shouted, his eyes wide and flaming. “Eternals are already questioning the Realm of the Damned.”
“And you encouraged them?” Malachi strode to Hollis and gripped him by the throat. “Your duty is to protect the realms.”
Luc’s fangs pierced his smile. “Sounds like he has been.”
Malachi’s glare landed on Luc. “No. This ends now. Your message will not get through. All in the gateway will fall in line—swear unbreakable oaths of silence—or die.”
Gasps echoed around them, fear in the faces of guards and Luc’s supporters alike.
“Traitor,” Hollis choked out, fire burning in his eyes.
Luc tasted smoke. His fire burst forth and crackled in the air around him.
“Killing us changes nothing. Even if you slaughter us all, leave no witnesses, and hide your betrayal from the rest of the Eternal Realm by claiming any missing guards fell to Earth, the truth of magic and mortality is coming.”
“We’ll see about that.” Malachi’s burning eyes flared. “Well, you won’t.”
Permanent death. Luc had never believed the council would go that far. Maybe he was a fool after all. He’d had no idea what power he’d gone up against. He’d believed a sense of morality—fucking decency—sat at the center of everything, even if the council had been corrupted by power.
He’d been wrong.
It seemed the ultimate rule only existed when it was convenient. How many others had died and been wiped from the universe to uphold lies?
Fuck. Luc had failed. He’d lose everything.
His mate.
His chance to fully reconnect with his brothers.
But it was worth it. If he had to go, this way was better than any other. Malachi was wrong about one thing. Change was coming. Human voices would be heard even if Luc wasn’t around to see it. In the end, the truth would prevail.
Luc’s heart bled at the loss of his mate, but Dex would see this fight through when he passed through the gateway, and Luc’s damned soul warmed as he pictured it.
“Luc!” a faint voice screamed.
Luc’s heart stopped, and ice slid down his spine, cold cutting through his raging fire. No. He turned, gripping Onyx for support.
In the distance, Dex ran through the swaying grass, his face flushed and eyes wide. “Luc! I’m here. I stand with you. We can do this together.”
What?
Luc’s eyes filled with tears, the drops turning to steam as they fell. His fire burned too hot to stand. His mate was here. His Dex. Love shone in Dex’s wide eyes as he ran as fast as he could. He’d come for Luc.
But why?
Pamala ran beside him. Now they would die too. Luc’s gentle mate had forfeited his life.
Dex would die here and see his beloved parents sooner than he ever should have.
Like a snapping bowstring, Luc launched into the air. He flew to Dex and scooped him up. “My dear. My love. What are you doing?”
Dex clung to him. “Helping you. I couldn’t stay behind. It was like a nightmare. Not coming with you was wrong. I know it.”
With a blinding jolt, everything clicked into place, hitting Luc like lightning to the heart. His sob turned into a laugh. “You’re right. You’ve just saved us all.”