Page 16 of Dearly & Lovesick Lorraine (Dearly and The Departed #6)

Chapter Fifteen

Keir

The screeching sound silenced all of us as I followed Dash’s line of sight to see the multitudes of dark spirits converging upon us. The one unmistakable fact—Nyx wasn’t among them.

She’s not here!

Dash’s eyes cut to mine, and he nodded in agreement. Those spirits on our side moved toward the darkness as it came closer to us, Scotty in the front. He stopped the first dark spirit he came to, and everything stopped moving. It was the ultimate good versus evil battle.

“Bobby, I should have known you would use this opportunity to hurt me for the last time.” Scotty’s back was stiff, which was a sign he was quite upset, as I’d learned by getting to know Scotty when he worked with me.

I glanced at Dash. That’s the former lover, right?

Dash nodded.

Scotty picked up Bobby, ripped him in half, and swallowed him. Wow!

Suddenly, Dash turned toward the back of our supporters and grabbed my hand. “Double-sided attack.”

The two of us rushed through all the spirits who were there to support us. Can you hear her? Dash took my hand and stopped us amid the forward surge, spirits rushing around us as they attacked the darkness threatening to envelop us.

Above the onslaught, I could see Erebus, his head held proudly. There, next to him, was Nyx in all her dark glory. They suddenly separated and began knocking white spirits out of their way, left and right, the spirits incinerating as they flew through the air. Those souls didn’t know what hit them.

The smothering darkness was looming ahead, engulfing the rear of our supporters. I had a feeling if it continued advancing, it would meet the darkness from the other side and engulf all of those who were on the side of light, including Dash and me.

I couldn’t let that happen, so I pulled my hand from Dash’s and began running toward the rear without care for my safety. I had seen my beautiful daughter, and she was alive. I had every reason to believe that if this fight took my life, I would live on through her. I would ensure she had a world of light and love as she grew up.

“Hey! Nyx! I’m over here!” I was shouting, though I didn’t know if she could hear me over the carnage.

Dash grabbed me from behind. What are you doing, Dearly? Get behind me. He raced ahead of me and skidded to a stop.

His arms extended to stop me, and as we faced the darkness, Dash’s voice echoed in my mind. I love you. I will die for you. I beg you to always remember that.

The roar that arose from him drowned out the shouting behind us as he advanced on Erebus, the two of them engaging in a battle that would surely end with one of them ripping off the other’s head. Nyx crossed her arms and smirked, observing the fight.

The moves were so fast, it was like watching a superhero showdown in fast forward. Dash was snarling in a way I’d never seen and moving so fast it was hard for my human eyes to keep up with him.

A hand touched my shoulder, and I turned to my right to see my father. “Only you can stop her, Keir. Go now. Have faith in yourself.”

I hugged him and moved toward her, stopping a few feet away. “Why? Why are you doing this?”

“Because I can. I will rule the Human Realm. There will be no more death. All will continue to live for eternity. No more wars. No more starving children that greedy profiteers show on television to coerce cash donations they use for their own covetous ends.”

Dash and Erebus were still going at it, seemingly even matched. It was all a blur for the most part.

“But why? Part of being human is knowing that life is fleeting and not wasting the time you have. That each experience is unique. Every day is a new chance to help someone, learn something, or love someone. Do you love Erebus?” It seemed like an easy question.

“Love? That’s a foolish human emotion that causes more harm than good. You and the Key are emotionally and physically bound. Under human circumstances, if he ceased to exist and you didn’t, you’d spend the rest of your days on earth with a crushing loss. Why is that something you’d want to experience?”

Listen to your heart. It was my father’s voice in my head. Knowing how much he loved my mother, I couldn’t imagine growing up without seeing that love expressed for each other every day.

“Have you never loved anyone or anything? You have children. Don’t you love them?” Why I was appealing to her motherly instincts was really a laugh because she probably didn’t have any.

As expected, she offered a hearty laugh as the only answer to my question. Suddenly, I had a pain in my stomach. I frantically turned around to see if someone had stabbed me, but there was no one there. I glanced to my left to see Dash on the ground. The cooler!

Heaven only knew where it was, but we had actually brought the damn thing along. How could I have been so careless not to keep track of it?

There was a tug on my jeans, and when I looked down, a small black creature sat on top of the cooler. Everything was so surreal. I was off-kilter.

The creature jumped off the cooler and opened it, so I reached inside and grabbed the bag of blood, making a run for Dash. Love, I’m here! I tried to get to him, but I was airborne and slammed into the sand in the blink of an eye.

I instinctively knew I couldn’t physically defeat Nyx because she was a supernatural being. She was a higher-level demon, and she was only toying with me for her own entertainment. I had to outsmart her.

Meanwhile, the battle raged behind us.

Dash began rolling toward me as Erebus tore through the white lighters who were trying to support Dash. I had just enough time to toss the bag of blood to him before he was picked up by his legs and flung into the murky waters off Omaha Beach.

I remembered how Dash’s journey to becoming the Key had begun—off the coast of Italy as he was on a speedboat headed for an island. It was almost as if our lives were spinning in a circle with different elements thrown in to add variety. We’d both evolved for this very moment.

I turned toward Nyx in time to see her eat the small demon who had brought the cooler, and guilt encompassed me. “Why did you do that?”

“He was an annoyance. I want to hear more about why you believe your life is so fulfilling that you refuse to consider what I have to offer.” She still wore that smirk.

“Don’t you crave a connection?”

Again, with the loud laugh. “No. That is a human weakness I plan to remove. Your lives will be much easier, and you will worship me for making them so.”

“What about that good feeling you get when you help someone or pet an animal? That feeling when you meet the person meant for you? The thrill of an accomplishment you worked hard to achieve?” I thought of things my dad had taught me to do and how my mother had helped the families of our guests when they were in the darkest hours of their lives.

Remembering those things gave me a warm feeling inside. I truly wanted to be there when Grace said her first word or took her first step. Watching Dash teach her to ride a bike would be the most beautiful thing in the world.

There was a loud roar as Dash flew into the air and tackled Erebus. My husband looked rabid as he tried to bite the demon anywhere he could. Erebus was spinning and trying to get Dash off him, but my husband held on tightly.

“Gatekeeper, when the Key dies, you die with him. Who will care for your daughter then? You may have broken the spell, but it won’t matter when you no longer exist. You won’t be one of the lucky ones who is reborn. Or maybe they’re unlucky. I suppose that depends on the level of torture they enjoy.”

Nyx was smug, and I hated smug people.

“Why do you believe your way is best? Didn’t the Creator intend for us to have free will? To make our own choices? Hell, you chose to pick this fight. You could have just stayed in your corner of the underworld and gone about your business, but clearly, you wanted something else.”

Nyx shook her head. “You’re right, but my fight has nothing to do with you. Your Human Realm is inconsequential. My fight is with Lucifer. He scorned me and refused to allow me to rule by his side. We could have made a great team, but he was selfish. He wanted all the power for himself.”

I wasn’t well-versed in theological history, but I remembered going to a Bible school camp when I was a kid. “Lucifer was an angel who fell, right? You’re a created being, so you were never his equal, were you? You may have his equal desire to rule, but you aren’t one of the fallen, are you?”

There was a booming laugh followed by a stunning silence that was even louder in my ears. Even Dash and Erebus had stopped fighting.

From the ether appeared Lucifer, Beelzebub, Jay, and four other demons with raven-black wings. Lucifer and his sons. Behind them appeared Michael, Jophiel, and several other angels, all with gleaming white wings. Behind them was another row of light and dark beings. I was stunned speechless.

Dash appeared by my side, his body in better shape than I expected. Those fangs were something else. Are you okay?

He grinned, the fangs retracting. “I’ll be just fine, Dearly.”

Nyx turned her attention from me to Lucifer. “This goes against the bet. You vowed to stay out of the fight.”

His booming laughter must have been heard throughout the galaxy. “You cheated. The bet is off.”

It was Nyx’s turn to laugh. “Cheated? I skewed the odds in my favor just as you’d have done. Humans are playthings, Lucifer. You’ve said so yourself on many occasions. What did I do that you believe was cheating?”

“You forgot you were my creation. Your mother was created by me after the fall. It was never intended for me to have an equal. I was cast from the Celestial Realm because I believed I was the most beautiful, the smartest, the most equal to the Creator. I was given the underworld to rule, and so, in the spirit of the choice the Creator gives every being, you can choose. I’ll end you, or you’ll take your followers and that pitiful thing you share your power with”—Lucifer pointed to Erebus—“and you’ll return to Droh. You have thirty seconds in human time.”

Everything was dead silent until a ticking clock echoed across the beach. I wasn’t sure who was making the sound, but when I looked at Beelzebub, he winked.

Dash took my hand. You think she’ll bite? Think she’ll go quietly?

Nothing about her says she’ll easily accept his terms.

A bell dinged as those who fought with us and those who fought against us separated into two groups as we all awaited Nyx’s decision. Erebus stood next to her for an instant before she turned to give him the eye. He stepped back, showing all of us who wore the pants in that relationship.

Lucifer, who was scary as fuck, laughed again as he studied Nyx. “Your time is up.”

“I’ll take my followers back to Droh.” Her expression showed she wasn’t happy with the ultimatum.

Beelzebub walked through the line of white lighters and stopped before me. “You’re on, Gatekeeper.”

He pointed his walking stick toward Nyx, and the angels and demons before me parted to give me a path. I took Dash’s hand. “Together, love.”

We slowly strolled through the gathering and stopped in front of Nyx. Suddenly, she jerked Dash from me, holding him around his chest as she squeezed. Her other hand wrapped around his head, and she began turning his neck as if unscrewing the lid on a bottle of water.

“No!” She tossed Dash onto the sand as I ran at her, touching her forearm before she batted me away. I flew into the sand near Dash as she disappeared.

Lucifer took Erebus and held him in his fist. “She’s gone for eternity.” Lucifer opened his mouth and engulfed Erebus in one bite, and the crowd cheered.

Lucifer turned to the dark beings and smirked. “Come, children. Let us go home. Followers of Nyx, I will listen to your begging before I decide if you will spend eternity in Hell with me or be destroyed. Sound like fun?”

He then turned to Dash and me with his evil smile. “Tell your humans the lesson they should remember by these actions—never make a bet with the Devil.”