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Chapter forty-two

I n the distance, a wounded Giana held Gor while he tried to stand. Belz was pulling an unconscious Mammon from the battlefield while fighting off the demons who tried to feed on their flesh. Levi and Deus flanked Lucifer, hammering him with everything they had, but it still wasn’t enough.

Lucifer blasted Levi back into a rock wall, cracking his head into the hard surface, leaving him unconscious. The force caused Deus to lose his footing, sending him sprawling. Deus unleashed his rage, a red gust of magic brushing past Lucifer, burning the side of his leg. Lucy let out a scream of pain, slamming his hands towards his brother. Before the attack could nail Deus, Lilith appeared in front of her friend, using her magic to shield him.

Lucifer began to laugh, looking between the two of them with disgust. “Always such a pathetic excuse for a warrior,” Lucifer said to Lilith. “And now look at you … mated to a demon while fucking your way through his brothers. How pathetic.”

“Shut your fucking mouth,” Lilith growled. “You, of all beings, are the least qualified to pass judgment when it comes to defining a pathetic excuse for an angel.”

Lucy arched his eyebrow. “You are a demon, you whore,” Lucifer spat. “ I own you. Mate or not, I could have you in a second if I wished. I am your king.”

Lilith held her head high. “You may have fooled me in the garden all those years ago, but make no mistake; you are not my king, Samael. You never were and never will be.”

Lucifer took a moment to examine the woman who spoke as if she knew him from a former life. He huffed in amusement and then shook his head, smiling. He looked to Deus. “Harboring Lilith of Samaria, all these years. Did you know?” he asked. My mate did not reply as he stood to his feet. Lucifer turned his eyes back to her. “Clever, clever little bitch.”

Red and purple thunder clouds began to form overhead. Lightening snapped and flashed high above, causing the earth to shake. The storm erupted violently, heavy rain falling from the sky as the sound of clashing metal rattled in the near distance.

I turned towards the far-off echoes to see a horde of muscular demons twice the size of any man lining the upper ridges of the territory. Each bristled with at least a dozen weapons. These creatures were built for war.

My heart sank as hundreds of new demons approached the battlefield. We were already outnumbered, but this new addition tipped the scales in Lucifer’s favor. I watched, unable to look away while the creatures began to pick up their pace. They remained eerily calm as they entered the battle and then … to my surprise, the demons rushed the field, passing our legions to deliver fatal, strategic blows to Lucifer’s forces.

A massive force tore through the air accompanied by a purple haze of fog. Before the smoke faded, a massive hammer swung forward, smashing straight into Lucifer’s beautiful face.

“Do not speak to my mate,” Satan roared, taking a protective stance in front of Lilith. Tears fought to fall from my eyes, relief filling me as I allowed myself a moment to breathe.

Lucy lifted his bloody head to Satan. An unsettling laugh escaped from his lips. “I underestimated you it seems, brother. Creating the first demon born of a human, who just happened to end up as your mate. Father does have a wicked sense of humor, doesn’t he?”

Enough. I was done hearing him boast about himself. He had just murdered Orion’s mate, and he was going to pay. The power inside of me roared to life. I let the streams of his magic free. My fire, once white and pure, now raced across the terrain in a thick ooze like tar, melting and eating anything it touched. Lucifer tried to dodge, but was too late. The substance leaped at him like a wolf springing on its prey. Lucifer screamed as the flames lapped at his face, melting and searing his skin.

Deus and Satan used his moment of weakness to attack. Both brothers rushed him from either side, slamming their power into him over and over. Lucifer took some of the hits, but was able to regain his footing. Lilith focused her magic on the demons that rushed to Lucifer’s aid, incinerating any that got too close.

I snapped my shadows forward, slashing into Lucifer’s skin, taking chunks out of his perfectly sculpted body. Then a deafening hum triggered, starting high and then dropping to a low tone before a blast of pure demonic power struck us, knocking us to the ground. Sand and dust wafted in the air as my ears rang from the blast.

I felt hands on me; the four women of my family stood above, hauling me to my feet. We were together. Lucifer had been weakened. It was time for the final step in our plan. His final demise … and mine along with it.

I nodded to my family, stealing four seconds to study each of their faces and committing them to memory. Deus still struggled to get up, his power exhausted from battle. I took in every detail of the man who had brought me back to life. Who had shown me a love worth fighting for.

Deus’s body stiffened as he slowly turned over his shoulder towards me. In that moment, I let my walls fall. I let him feel and see all that I had so carefully hidden from him for all these months. I let him into the deepest parts of my heart, so he could see just how completely I loved him. I would move Heaven and Hell to save him, so he would never suffer at the hands of his brother again.

Deus’s mouth dropped open, his head shaking from side to side. His eyes filled with tears as he dragged himself towards me, shock and horror filling his expression.

“I love you,” I mouthed, unable to find my voice. “Forever,” I said in our minds, “no matter what plane or time … I will love you. No matter who else you take or where you go … I will always be yours.”

“Seren, no!” he screamed, fighting his tired and broken body to get to me. “No! You can’t! Seren!” I turned to Lilith, unable to look at him a moment longer.

“Do it,” I told her. Lilith nodded, shifting from corner to corner, placing stones around the perimeter. She recited a spell and a dome of raw, natural magic encased me, my family, and Lucifer inside, leaving everyone else out, including my mate.

“Don’t leave me,” he cried in my mind. “Please, my love … please. Not again. I can’t live without you.”

“You will live. You will live a beautiful life, free from the leash of this monster.” I turned towards him as he banged on the barrier, fighting to get inside. “Everything I do… I do for you.” And then, I shut the door to our bond, detaching myself so I could focus. The painful sting in my heart radiated throughout my body, but it had to be done. I had to do this without him. I had to do this for him.

“Well, well,” Lucifer’s voice echoed in the dome. “I didn’t see this coming. You sacrificing yourself to me on a golden platter. Though, I must say, I do like the dramatic exit. Providing your poor mate a front row seat to witness your death … how very wicked you are, little Seren. Seems we’re more alike than I had anticipated.”

“Does he ever shut up?” spat Frankie.

“Doesn’t seem like it,” answered Aunt Thora.

“How about we shut him up then,” Nonna said, beginning to cast a spell.

My mother pulled me in, kissing me one more time quickly before the five of us dispersed around the circle just as we had planned. Powers flared and lashed while we dodged and dove around Lucifer’s attacks. My shadows lashed out with barbs, slicing and tearing into him. His blood coated the ground around us. I fought against my own injured body, feeling the burns and wounds I had endured these past hours.

Lucifer flung his hand out, knocking Frankie and Thora against the shield. He sent a tunnel of wind towards my mother, but she ducked just before it could touch her. I flung another wave of my black flames in his direction. Fear flashed across his face. He dove out of the way, crashing into the ground. My mother placed a hand on my shoulder, siphoned some of my magic and twisted her hand, snapping and breaking bone after bone in his body.

Lucifer let out a roar of anger while his body broke and healed and broke again. Before he could stand, Nonna appeared, placing the restraints we had created from the rope Judas had hung himself with on either of Lucifer’s wrists to bind his powers. We had weaponized our own relics for this very purpose.

Lucifer sat up on his knees, laughing in amusement as he looked at the restraints. My family flanked my sides, looking down at the devil who had destroyed so much of what we had loved.

“You really think these can hold me?” he said boastfully. “You do not have the means nor knowledge to stop me you, foolish witches.”

“No,” a female voice said from behind us. Talia stepped around Nonna, locking eyes with her mate. “But I do.”

Lucifer’s face fell. Talia smiled, reveling in the moment.

“Impossible,” he whispered in disbelief. “I searched every corner of Hell for you.”

Talia knelt in front of him, fearless. “Well,” she whispered, “here’s a little secret, Ahuvi. I was never in Hell. I sent myself to Purgatory, biding my time until your Father had finally had enough of your little temper tantrum.” She paused, turning her attention to me. “And then he sent her … the final piece of your demise.”

Lucifer looked from Talia and then to me, then at the cuffs. He pulled at them, trying to free himself. Talia stood, walking back towards us.

“Don’t bother, Luc,” Talia said, standing at my side. “They’re infused with your daddy’s blood, along with our magic. There’s no getting out of them.”

“No,” he said, looking down at his wrists in disbelief. “No!”

Talia looked me in the eye and nodded. “It’s time,” she said softly.

I nodded back and my family got into position. I faced Lucifer directly. Aunt Thora and Frankie stood next to me, and then my mother and Nonna at the ends, forming a V.

We cut our palms, clasping hands for the last time. Nonna and Mamma looked at one another and nodded before placing their hands on either of his shoulders. He fought, but Talia used her power to hold him in place. The magic swam through each of us like the midnight waves of the ocean. My power laced and danced with his, filling my body with a heat and desire that craved more.

I breathed deeply, trying to control myself until it was time. Lucifer weakened, no longer putting up a fight while we siphoned his life force. Talia nodded at me one last time and then disappeared, heading to Hell for the final step in the plan. I focused, my body boiling as I approached my limit. Frankie and Aunt Thora began to shake, but we held firmly to one another; we knew this wasn’t going to be easy. My head felt heavy, and my scorching blood felt like it would melt layers off my skin, if only to escape the agony of my body. It was almost time.

I turned to Deus, needing any comfort his presence could provide. The shield in front of him was covered in blood as he slammed his hands and body into it over and over again. His eyes were full of anger and desperation, his face saturated with tears.

The last bit of magic that I needed slithered into my body from the blood ties of my family. I felt it ripping every inch of me apart, fighting to escape. The power … the force … it was all too much … I was ready. I let go of my aunt and cousin’s hands, the energy gathering in my center as I tried to force it into a single stream of power.

“Now,” I managed to say, dazed and sick. “Get back!” I ordered. I closed my eyes, willing the force inside of me to obey. I fought to command it, just as Talia had instructed. A white light appeared at the center of my chest while the wind lashed around us. I focused, knowing what needed to be done. I took a final breath and then—

Hands latched onto my own. The power I had worked so hard to gather and focus began to drain from my body. I opened my eyes, trying to rip my hands away, but there was no use; I was trapped.

At my sides, my nonna and mamma siphoned the magic from me with a speed I had never known possible. The white light in my chest faded, the heat in my blood cooled and my mind became steady as I tried to process what was happening.

Both Nonna and Mamma began to shake ferociously. Knowing what the power would do to them, I fought to break the link between us, but with the stolen power, they were too strong.

I felt them expunge the last of Lucifer’s lifeforce out of my system. They let go of my hands in unison and then joined hands with one another, facing Lucifer. I fell to my knees, completely drained. Then … everything made sense.

“No,” I whispered, trying to crawl towards them, but I was too weak. They had taken everything. “No! No!” I screamed.

Two white lights blasted from their chests into Lucifer as my mother and nonna stood firmly hand in hand. Their bodies extended towards their target while the power billowed from within their souls, burning through their lifeforces and the magic they had siphoned from me. I reached for them but was restrained by Aunt Thora as she wrapped her arms around me.

A massive explosion knocked us back. The white light expanded, blinding everyone. Silence; a pure, peaceful moment where all existence seemed to cease. As the white light faded, one last loud bang sounded. The earth shook, the sky cracked and then….

My ears rang and head swam from the impact. I fought to push myself up from the ground, but failed. Hands were instantly on me, moving my hair away from my face in a firm yet loving manner. I opened my eyes, my tears clearing my sight. Deus knelt in front of me, his face wrecked with fear and worry.

His bright smile flashed before he pulled me into him, pressing my head against his chest. I folded my arms around his strong frame, taking in this moment I thought I would never experience here on earth again. As the dust settled, I pulled away from him, looking back where Lucifer had been shackled. His body was gone, but on the ground in front of us lay two motionless forms.

Thora was up and moving faster than I could process. Her sobs echoed through the quiet desert as she took in the bodies of her mother and twin sister. I crawled over to them, still dazed and weak. Frankie knelt in front of Nonna, hesitant to touch her. Thora cradled my mother against her chest, rocking her forcefully as she sobbed, screaming and crying from the pain her heart felt. She had lost her sister. Her best friend. Her soulmate.

I looked at Nonna, tears welling behind my eyelids. I reached out, touching her soft skin, now stiff and cold. Her eyes were closed, and her face was at peace.

“What … what went wrong?” asked Frankie, still in shock.

“It was supposed to be me,” I whispered.

“What are you talking about?” she replied.

I struggled to find my words. “I found out how to kill a Prince of Hell. But to do so, I had to sacrifice myself in the process. I told Nonna of my plans, knowing I would need all of us to absorb Lucifer’s power so I wouldn’t prematurely burn out but … but they siphoned the power from me instead, at the last second. They struck the final blow … saving me in the process.”

I looked between the two dead women who I loved entirely. My emotions welled as the thought of a life without them became my new reality. Tears fell uninhibited and I buried myself in Nonna’s chest, trying to think of a way to bring them back, to save them, but none came. I turned to my mother, still wrapped in the arms of her sister.

Aunt Thora murmured randomly while she wept and mourned. Her eyes turned to me as I stared helplessly at my mother: a woman I had only just begun to know. I reached out, brushing the back of my knuckles against the bridge of her nose that bore the freckles we all shared. And then I fell to pieces.

Everything inside of me let go. I was alive, but for that to be so, they had to die.

I don’t know how much time passed or when it was that I came back to reality, but once the last tear had fallen and my body was exhausted from the violent cries of sorrow, Deus scooped me into his arms and shifted us back to Castle Salvo.