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Chapter thirty-five

I felt the heat of the sun first. When my vision cleared, dull beige sand surrounded me. The sounds of a bustling city could be heard off in the distance. Towering buildings with glistening rooftops radiated sunlight like a beacon.

“Seriously?” Lilith commented, dusting off her leather fighting clothes, clearly annoyed with the abundance of sand.

“Where would you have chosen?” asked Talia, seeming unimpressed. “A mystical garden?”

“Ha, ha,” Lilith replied, rolling her eyes.

“Anyone want to clue me in on where we are?” I asked.

Talia’s eyes narrowed on me. “Mizraim.”

“It’s Cairo now,” Lilith corrected.

“Cairo?” Talia spat, turning to look at the city. “What a peculiar name. Regardless, this was my home long ago.”

“Yes, well, thankfully we won’t have to stay in a stable for the night,” Lilith taunted.

“Why would we stay in a stable?” asked Talia.

“Stable … manger …”

Talia gave no indication she knew what Lilith was talking about.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” the demon sighed. “Just follow me. Hopefully we can get some rooms for the night.” Lilith stormed towards the city, leaving Talia clueless behind.

We traveled on foot for an hour until we reached a hotel within the city limits. I felt like I was going to die. The fighting leather I wore clung to my body like a torture device, making it impossible for my skin to breathe. I was a drenched mess by the time we got to our rooms. All three of us went different directions, needing our moments of peace.

I showered, changing into a thin white cotton dress. My hair curled and frizzed from the heat. My skin seemed to glow, enjoying the drink of sunlight. After a moment to clear my head, I went down to the café on the first floor and was surprised to see Talia and Lilith already sitting at a table, ignoring one another as they sipped on their drinks.

“Starting without me, are you?” I said, trying to break the ice.

“What is going on?” asked Lilith. “Someone better start talking, or I am out of here.” Always to the point, that one. The waiter came over, placing a glass of something cold in front of me. I thanked him and took a sip.

“I thought you pledged your services to the little tribrid,” mocked Talia.

“I did,” replied Lilith, anger brightening her eyes. When she got like this, I could see how she and Satan were perfect for each other.

“I vowed to protect her,” Lilith replied, “I’m not interested in playing games. Obviously, she trusts you. Stupid decision on her part, but I’m not one for telling people how to live their lives.”

“You trusted me once,” Talia said nonchalantly.

“And look where that got me,” Lilith snapped with aggravation. “What in the hell is going on?”

“We need your help,” I said. “But everything you learn here tonight stays between the three of us. Nothing can be repeated. That includes to Satan … and Deus.”

Her eyes bored into me like lasers. “I don’t like this,” Lilith said.

“Neither do I,” I agreed, “believe me.”

“Start talking,” she ordered.

I told her everything. What I had learned, the plan to kill Lucifer, the sacrifice Talia and I were willing to make—everything. If I had any chance of getting the space required from Deus when the time came, I needed Lilith to know the entire plan. Plus, she deserved the truth. If I was going to trust her with this, I had to trust her fully. This was my way of showing her I did.

“Why are you telling me this?” Lilith said, showing no reaction to my admission that I was going to sacrifice myself.

“Because I need your help,” I answered. “When I go to make the final blow, Deus will try to stop me. He will figure out what I am about to do, and he will intervene. I need you to activate a barrier spell, locking me and Lucifer inside, making sure no one can get in or out.”

Her eyes widened. “You want me to act against Asmodeus, trapping his mate inside a magical barrier so she can kill herself?” She paused, processing the words. “If you want me dead, Seren, just do it now.”

“He will understand,” I replied. “It will be hard, but afterward, when the world continues to live and those who we love are happy … safe, he will understand. He must.”

“Why can’t Talia do it?”

“Once I am in range, Talia will use her gate to get to Hell, where the cage will be waiting. As soon as Lucifer is dead, leaving the earthly plane and returning to Hell, he will be sucked inside. To lock him in, she needs to feed her lifeforce into the cage. She won’ t have time to do both.”

“Why me?” asked Lilith.

“Because, next to Talia and me, you are the strongest. Deus’s brothers won’t act against him. I can’t trust them. But you … you I can trust. You can understand the need to do anything to save your mate and the ones you love.”

She looked down for a long time, not saying a word. “Asmodeus will never forgive me,” she whispered.

I reached across the table, taking her hand in mine. “Maybe not, but at least he will be able to live a happy life on earth. He won’t have to return to Hell.”

“You really think he is going to find any type of happiness once you’re gone?” she said. “Have you learned nothing about the effect of the mating bond and what losing one does to the other?”

“He will need to—” I stopped, swallowing down the pain that enveloped me. “He will need to continue on … even after I am gone. Hell depends on it. The world depends on it.” She wouldn’t look at me. “Lilith … think of Satan, of the years apart, of all you’ve sacrificed. After Lucifer is dead, you have the rest of eternity to make up that time. To live happily … together.”

She pulled her hand from mine, her face absent of emotion. “I’ll do it,” she finally whispered.

“Oh, thank the Father,” mumbled Talia, calling the waiter over. “Now, we can begin drinking.”

I reached back, squeezing Lilith’s hand. “Thank you,” I said, a tear running down my face.

“This will destroy him,” she replied. “Utterly destroy him. You know that, don’t you?”

I nodded. “But the others will live. The world will continue to live. This is what I was designed for. My destiny was written long ago. I’ve tried to fight it. I’ve tried to change it, but my fate was decided before I even existed.”

“What can I get you?” the waiter said in Arabic.

“Three glasses of your strongest liquor,” Talia requested.

“Just bring the bottle,” corrected Lilith. “We’re going to need it.”

That night, the three most deadly and powerful women in the entire existence of mankind sat around a small wooden table drinking, arguing, and debating until the sun set and then rose again. Three women, mated to the three strongest Princes of Hell, finding similarities between each other even though we came from different time periods.

I managed to get a few hours of rest. It was hard to sleep in an empty bed, but the distance was necessary. I had completed the last part of the puzzle … getting Lilith on board to make sure Deus remained alive.

Talia appeared at my door the next morning. I stepped aside, allowing a deadly predator to enter my room. Her beautiful, silvery white hair was pinned away from her face, allowing her elegant features to shine brightly.

“Are you ready to return?” she asked, going to the window overlooking the vast desert.

“I don’t really have a choice,” I replied, “but I do miss Deus.”

“Naturally.” A moment of silence passed before I joined her.

“Do you miss your time?” I asked, noticing how her eyes scanned the horizon.

“Not particularly. This time … this era has an easiness to it. Yet, at times, I do miss the stillness of my millennia. Here, everything is so loud and fast. Mankind overlooks and takes for granted the beauty and quiet that surrounds them. What is the point of living, if you ne ver take time to enjoy it?”

I grinned. “That’s why I enjoy my home with Deus. There’s just … silence. Everything stills and comes to a halt. Especially in the winter.”

She tilted her head towards me, seeming to assess my being. “I find it curious how such a passive creature such as yourself is not only mated to a demon prince, but contains a part of the most evil creation ever to exist.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Imagine the inner conflict I deal with on an hourly basis.”

“That’s the problem,” she said, turning fully towards me. “In order to overcome this instability, you must stop fighting yourself and allow the darkness in. This—our—power is not innately evil, but it is all consuming. Luc and I chose to use our magic for evil, but that was our choice … our free will. You can choose a different path, but you need to embrace it. Like it or not, it is a part of you.

“You can allow the gift to consume you, or become one with it. Either way, the choice is yours on how you wield it. To defeat him, you will have to use every single ounce of power you have. You can’t afford to fight the devil and yourself at the same time. If you reject this part of yourself … he wins.”

I mulled over her words, trying to make sense of it all. “It just feels … wrong.”

“And what were your feelings at first about Asmodeus, when you discovered his true identity?”

I thought back to the first time I heard the words ‘demon prince’ slip through Nonna’s lips after our encounter in the woods. “Scared … unsure … dangerous.”

“And now? ”

“Peace,” I said without thinking.

“Exactly. You embraced him entirely, something others fear. Someone others don’t understand or even attempt to get to know. Once you opened yourself to the possibility that he was not evil, that you could trust him, you found your destiny. This will be the same revelation once you embrace all of yourself and stop fighting what has always been there.”

I nodded, feeling I understood at least a bit more. “You’re a good teacher.”

Her eyebrow arched. “I prefer the title dictator, oppressor, tyrant even; but teacher, I am not.”

“Well, I beg to differ.”

She smirked for a quick moment before her stoic, fearless mask resumed.

A knock came at the door. I opened it, allowing Lilith to barge in with a greeting.

“Time to go,” she barked harshly. “I refuse to stay another minute in this god forsaken land out of my own free will.”

I smiled, making my way to her side. “Ya know,” I said while we circled up. “Mal was a lot more joyful to be around than Lilith.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Yes, I am aware of how spectacular my acting skills are. It just shows I am capable of anything.”

Talia huffed in amusement. “Except preventing your memories from being erased.”

Lilith glared at her as we completed the circle. White fog overcame us as the shift home began. “Bitch,” Lilith said with a sneer, then we shifted home.

I thanked both of them and headed to my room. I opened the doorway to my connection with Deus, searching for his comforting presence, when I saw Nonna perched at one of the windows, watching the snow fall.

I approached her silently. Without turning around, she said, “Good morning, bambina. How was your retreat?”

“Nonna, I am so sorry about the castle,” I said, the guilt of what I had done settling in my chest. “I will rebuild it myself if I must. Whatever it takes.”

“Rebuilding has already begun, so there’s no need for that. Your attention needs to be focused on more pressing matters.” Her eyes finally turned to me. “I’ve been thinking about your little suicide mission.”

I stepped closer to her, looking around to make sure no one was listening. “Lower your voice,” I whispered.

“I am not daft, child. Do you think I would really be speaking with you about this if I thought someone of importance would overhear? Now, as I was saying … I’ve been thinking about Lucifer and his powers. It seems that even his mate is unaware of how deep his well of magic stretches.”

“What are you getting at?”

“You will need all of us,” she answered directly. “All the Salvo women to harness his power without burning out prematurely.”

“Have you found a way to pull that off without telling them what I am really doing?”

“I will tell them that I’ve come up with a teleportation spell that needs the blood ties of our ancestry. I will write some bogus words for them to chant to help with the illusion. Your mother and I will be at the end of either line, keeping Frankie and Thora closest to you. When it is time, the power will transfer from our siphoning power, through the girls, and then into you.”

“That’s brilliant,” I whispered.

“Yes, well, it will need to be a slow process to make sure you have time to absorb what you need. Thus, the blood tie providing a stable conduit.”

I took her hands, rubbing the tops of her soft hands. “Thank you, Nonna. Truly.”

She forced a smile across her tired face, reaching out to caress my cheek. “You are my heart, Seren. I would do anything for you.”

“Love,” Deus’s voice called from behind me. I turned to see his beautiful figure a few feet away down the hall. My heart leaped and a smile erupted on my face.

I turned back to Nonna. She was still smiling, a small tear running down her chin. “Go to your husband, bambina. Cherish each other … always.” She kissed me on the cheek.

I resisted the urge to run into Deus’s arms. As soon as I was in reach, his hands were on me, one latching around my waist while the other tangled in my hair, bringing my mouth to his. A rush of passion, comfort, and excitement filled me. God, the things this demon did to me.

He laughed, pulling away. “So, you like the things this demon does to you then?” he said with an arched eyebrow.

“Like there was ever a doubt in your mind,” I replied.

His face fell in a more serious expression. “Did you get what you needed?”

“I did. I feel much more in control.” I ran my hand down his smooth face. “Thank you for understanding that I needed time. I know it wasn’t easy.”

“I just want you to be okay,” he whispered, pressing his forehead to mine. “I just want you to be happy and safe.”

“I know,” I said, running my hands through his hair while I basked in his presence.

Mammon and Belz appeared beside us in a storming rage of dust and wind, slamming into the stone floor. They were out of breath. Mammon bent over, his hands on either knee, trying to calm himself.

“What is it? What happened?” asked Deus. Nonna coming to his other side.

“It’s not good, brother,” Belz said, shaking the sand off his clothing.

“The bitch was right,” said Mammon. “Lucy is in the Negev desert.”

“But as usually,” Belz added, “we are three steps behind.”

“What are you two talking about,” snapped Nonna. “What did you find?”

“He’s raising his armies from the earthly plane—” Mammon gasped.

“And from Hell,” finished Belz.

“Impossible,” Deus whispered, his grip tightening on me.

“It’s true,” Belz continued. “He somehow has evaded our spies. We only found out because Hashen was finally able to locate Victoria.”

“And where is my least favorite vessel?” I asked, trying to remain in control of my temper.

“Currently,” Mammon answered, “teleporting Lucy’s legions from Hell into Earth.”

“Little bitch,” Nonna spat, pursing her lips together.

“We can do that?” I asked with surprise.

“I am pretty sure they got the idea from you,” answered Belz. “You were able to transport Deus and Giana out of Hell using your gate, remember?”

“Crap,” I whispered.

“And from the looks of it,” added Mammon, “that is what he’s been up to all these months while we’ve been sitting on our asses doing nothing.”

“There are thousands of them, Asmodeus,” said Belz, already sounding defeated. “Possibly more.”

“Aradia, help us,” whispered Nonna.

“If Victoria can use her portal to bring demons from Hell,” I said, “then why can’t Talia and I do the same?”

“It’s possible,” answered Belz, “but it would take months to transport even a portion of his forces. Even with two of you.”

“We’ll start right away,” I suggested.

Mammon shook his head. “We have days, at best, before he strikes.”

The war had finally come.