Page 5

Chapter Five

Of all the bloodsuckers in the universe, it had to be her.

Deidre .

The ex-best friend who’d stabbed me in the back so fast, it’d been a miracle she hadn’t dislocated something in the process.

Her crimson eyes locked with mine, and for one single moment, the world stood still. Then, without so much as a word, she lunged. I barely had time to brace myself before she slammed into me, her momentum driving me backward until I hit the nearest wall. The impact shook loose a shower of dust and debris from the ceiling, coating us both in a fine layer.

Damn, she was fast. Faster than I remembered. Or maybe I just wasn’t used to fighting hellspawn anymore.

Eliza positioned herself to the side, crossbow raised, her finger moving toward the trigger. I couldn’t let her take the shot, though. Not yet. I had too many questions that needed answering first, and I’d never get them if we killed her now.

I took control of the fight and slammed my elbow into Deidre’s ribs, pushing her away from the wall. The satisfying crunch of bones breaking spurred me on, and I drove her backward, my fists pummelling every square inch of her—and deservedly so.

Rage and hatred, festering for years from her betrayal, boiled over. I kicked her into the opposite wall with enough force to crack the stone, then dashed forward and pressed Inferno’s Kiss—already vibrating from the heat of my fury—against her throat.

If I applied enough pressure, I could cleave her head from her body, and the panic in her eyes told me she knew it. She froze, as though weighing her options, before growling and driving her knee into my gut. I absorbed the hit with a slight hiss of pain, then seized her by the throat, pulled her away from the wall, and slammed her back into it. Her skull ricocheted off the rock, hard enough to rattle the ceiling.

Her hands flew to my wrists, nails digging deep as she twisted and clawed, trying to free herself.

“What are you waiting for?” Eliza called out, her voice echoing in the tunnel. “Kill her already!”

Oh, I wanted to. I owed her so much pain. My muscles burned with the desire to end her. I wanted nothing more than to push Inferno’s Kiss through her throat until the blade bit into the rock wall behind her. Her death would be justified, but I forced the urge down and leaned in, my face inches from hers.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Deidre?” I demanded, my voice venomous.

Eliza’s footsteps paused behind me. “Wait—you know this vampire?”

“Unfortunately,” I grumbled, my eyes never leaving Deidre’s face.

Deidre, ever the actress, smiled sweetly. “Lily, what a…pleasant surprise.” Her voice oozed false sincerity, her lips twisting into an insufferable smirk that only stoked my rage.

It took every ounce of restraint not to cut her head off right here and now. In all of existence, no one deserved a more violent and brutal end than her. Well, maybe Lucifer himself, but Deidre was a close second.

“Okay, well, regardless of how you two know each other, we need to kill her,” Eliza continued. “So get on with it.”

“Give me a second,” I bit out, my voice steady despite the tempest of emotions tearing through me.

“No, kill her now,” Eliza said, exasperated. “Vamps are slippery bastards—give her an inch, and she’ll rip your throat out.”

She wasn’t wrong. I’d fought enough hellspawn vampires to know their tricks. Earthbound vampires were dangerous, sure, but they were puppies compared to the monsters my father forged.

“I’ve got this,” I said, my gaze locked on Deidre. “Just give me a sec to talk to her first, okay?”

Eliza growled low in her throat but agreed, the tension in her steps evident as she grudgingly backed away.

Deidre’s smile only widened, despite my blade digging into her neck. “How sweet. Nice to see you’ve made friends, Lil. Though, that didn’t work out well for you last time, did it? Doubt it will this time, either.”

Before I could stop myself, I pushed my blade’s sharp edge into her throat, splitting her skin. Blood slicked her throat, and, for some reason, the sight of it appeased the storm raging inside me.

Deidre had been my only friend in Hell—a sad reflection on my life, I know. Hell wasn’t exactly a friendly place. Its residents preferred disembowelments over tea parties. But Deidre had been different. I’d trusted her, bonded with her, shared all my secrets with her. And how had she repaid me? By selling me out to Lucifer faster than I could say “eternal damnation.”

I was missing a lot of memories, but sadly not the one of her standing next to my father, cold and detached, as my world crumbled around me. I’d only recently uncovered the prophecy—the one that claimed I’d destroy Hell and my father. And like a trusting fool, I’d confided in Deidre, only for her to scurry off and whisper all my secrets to Lucifer. Turned out, our so-called friendship had been a lie from the very start, a sham orchestrated by my father so he could keep tabs on me. She was his spy, her loyalty to him and him alone.

That was the day I learned to trust no one.

Fury broiled my veins. I wanted to shove my sword up her ass and roast her like a stuck pig. But again, I couldn’t. Not yet anyway. First, I needed answers.

What was she doing here? And more important, how had she gotten here? I couldn’t ask either question with Eliza in earshot. I also wouldn’t get any answers if I shoved my blade through her mouth. At least, not right away. Obviously, Deidre was the hellspawn Mason had spotted, but that didn’t explain how she’d opened the portal in the first place. Looked like checking out the Legislature grounds had just climbed to the top of my to-do list.

I gave Deidre a rough shake. “You have five seconds to tell me what you’re doing here before I remove your head. So, start talking.”

“I kind of need my head to talk, Lil. Do you want answers or not?” Deidre commented casually, as though this was an everyday occurrence for her. Then again, it probably was . It certainly had been for me when I’d lived way down south. Violence was the way of life there.

Deidre lifted her hand and touched the blood at her throat. Hunger ignited in her eyes, and while holding my gaze, she licked her fingers clean. Her mind games wouldn’t work on me, though.

“So help me, Deidre?—”

She rolled her eyes. “Would you believe me if I said I missed you?” When my expression flattened, she burst out laughing. “Guess not.”

“You have two more seconds,” I said. “And then I start chopping things off.”

“Oh,” she said, mimicking a shiver. “So scary, Lily. Guess you really are daddy’s little girl, after all.”

Guess she needed some motivation.

With a snarl, I wrenched Inferno’s Kiss back from her throat, even though it pained me to do so, and stabbed her right through her chest. Before she could so much as choke out a curse, I grabbed two of my daggers and drove them through each of her hands, pinning her to the wall like a butterfly. I silently thanked my infernal blades and their otherworldly strength, then stepped back and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Ready to talk now?” I demanded.

“I…guess that’s one way,” Eliza muttered, stepping up beside me. She lowered her crossbow as she studied Deidre. Her gaze then shifted to me, and she eyed me oddly, as though she was seeing a new version of me and trying to decide how she felt about it. Had I not been so angry, I might have laughed. Eliza wasn’t seeing a new version—she was finally seeing the real me. Someone I hadn’t let out in ten years.

Deidre’s bored gaze flicked down to the blade lodged in her chest, then quickly snapped back to my face. Her smile didn’t so much as waver. Instead, she raised her brows as though to say, “Really?”

“Time’s running out,” I told her. “The next blow won’t be something you can survive.”

She gave a melodramatic sigh. “I forgot how uptight you can be.”

“Deidre,” I warned.

“Fine. I’m looking for you, obviously ,” she said, rolling her eyes. For someone with a blade through her chest, she was awfully glib.

“Why?” I demanded.

“Why?” she repeated, her gaze boring into mine. “Take a wild guess, Lily. I’m sure you’ll only need one.”

I frowned. Deidre was a hellspawn. She literally lived in Hell, under Lucifer’s rule. Really, there was only one possible reason she’d be here.

“My father sent you,” I surmised.

“Good girl,” she said, her tone dripping with condescension.

I shot Eliza a sidelong glance. I wanted to shake all the answers out of Deidre, but I had to tread carefully. If Eliza learned my identity—well, let’s just say, I would be the only one walking out of here. And I didn’t want that. I quite liked the siren.

“He’s been searching for you for a long time,” Deidre continued. “I’m sure Luc?—”

Instinct kicked in, and I ripped Inferno’s Kiss free from her chest. Deidre choked on a gasp, then coughed up a mouthful of blood. Good. Coughing meant she couldn’t talk, and as long as she was coughing, she couldn’t speak Lucifer’s name.

Deidre sagged forward as far as the daggers pinning her hands would allow. None of these wounds would kill her, but they sure wouldn’t feel great either. When she straightened, her eyes met mine before sliding to Eliza. Understanding smoothed Deidre’s features. “She doesn’t know, does she?”

“Know what?” Eliza asked.

“Nothing,” I retorted.

“Oh, that’s rich.” Deidre’s crimson eyes locked on Eliza, and amusement flared within. “I could really have some fun here.”

“Focus,” I snapped. I grabbed Deidre’s chin and pointed Inferno’s Kiss’s tip at her throat. “My father knows exactly where I am. He’s the one who sent me here. So why would he be searching for me? You’re lying. And I don’t like it.”

A frown puckered Deidre’s face. “What are you talking about? Your father didn’t send you here.”

“What?” I demanded. “Of course he did, he?—”

“No, he didn’t,” Deidre said. “Trust me. I’m the one who’s spent the last ten fun-filled years searching for you.”

That didn’t make any sense. Who else could have exiled me? And how? Lucifer knew everything that happened in his kingdom, his domain. Nothing escaped his notice. My father was many things—cruel, calculating, tyrannical—but never careless. If he’d cast me out, he wouldn’t have lost track of me, let alone needed Deidre to find me.

Unless she was lying. But why? What would she gain? It changed nothing.

I’d assumed Lucifer was responsible—who else could it have been? But maybe I’d been wrong all along. And if I was wrong about that, what else had I gotten wrong?

The ground seemed to shift beneath me, the foundation of my reality crumbling yet again . And, just like before, Deidre was here to witness it.

I forced my thoughts back to my arrival on Earth, desperately trying to piece everything together. But, as always, the second I did, agony speared my brain. I pressed a hand to my throbbing temple, trying to block out the pain. If I pushed any harder, I’d regret it. I’d tried once and had woken up two days later with a bitch of a migraine that had lasted a week.

“Lily, are you okay?” Eliza asked.

Blinking, I pushed the pain aside and focused. “You said my father is searching for me. Why? What does he want?”

“To drag you home, of course.” Deidre’s laugh was sharp, grating, and entirely too amused for someone in her current predicament. “He’s been quite distraught without you.”

Distraught, my angelic ass. “Bullshit.”

She snickered, her eyes gleaming with dark delight. “Okay, maybe distraught is a slight exaggeration. But it doesn’t change the outcome—you’re going back, whether you like it or not.”

“Not happening,” I said.

Deidre smiled, her fingers twitching slightly as she tested the daggers keeping her pinned. I knew she could free herself if she wanted—no blade could hold her for long. That she hadn’t already meant we were all unwitting players in one of her twisted games. “Bet I can change your mind.”

“I highly doubt that.” I levelled a glare at her. Nothing could convince me to return to Hell. I quite liked Earth and its luxuries—the few I could afford.

“Don’t you want to know what’s been happening back home while you’ve been here playing human?” she asked, her voice a soft purr.

I kept my expression neutral. “I don’t care.”

“Oh, but you should,” Deidre said with mock sweetness. “Because while you’ve been here, others have been paying for your defiance. You left quite the mess behind, Lily. And you know your father—someone had to pay the blood price. He made sure of that. And the lucky winner is someone you know very well.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Enough games, Deidre. Say what you came to say, or I’ll finish this right now.”

Deidre’s smile twisted, her eyes glinting with malicious glee. “I’m not playing any games, darling. Just telling you the truth.”

“You don’t know the definition of the word,” I spat.

She chuckled darkly. “Touché. But for once, I swear—no lies have passed my lips.”

I frowned, mulling over her words. Hell wasn’t a place for close friendships—as evidenced by me and Deidre. No one down there fit the description of someone my father would care enough about to punish in my place. She was trying to get under my skin. I wasn’t about to let her.

“No guesses as to who?” she taunted, her grin growing sharper, more wicked.

Snarling, I pressed the blade harder against her throat. A thin line of blood trickled down her skin, but she didn’t so much as flinch. “Enough stalling. Out with it.”

Her eyes gleamed with triumph, her smirk triumphant. “Rathiel.”

The name hit me like a slap. I blinked, stunned. Then a sharp, disbelieving laugh escaped me. “You’re lying.”

“Am I?” Deidre’s smirk deepened. “Your father got his hands on him not long after you disappeared. Poor Rathiel—he never saw it coming.”

Her words made no sense. Rathiel was one of Lucifer’s favorites, a fallen angel who had cast Heaven aside to join my father and the eight others who fell alongside him. But he wasn’t just a fallen angel anymore—none of them were. My father had turned them all into something far worse. Because that was what he did. He took things that were pure and beautiful and twisted them, corrupted them beyond recognition.

Under Lucifer’s command, Rathiel had merged with a sanguinarias demon and become the progenitor of all bloodsuckers. The first bloodsucker. That darkness had cursed him with a relentless thirst for blood, a hunger that made him one of my father’s deadliest—and most devoted—creations.Rathiel was my father’s weapon, his soldier, his loyal enforcer. Why would Lucifer turn on him?

I shook my head, trying to piece it together. “Nice try, Deidre. But that doesn’t track.”

She tilted her head, her smile widening. “Believe what you want, Lilith. But I’ve sat through a few of your boy’s torture sessions. I’ve heard his screams myself. Watched your father rip him apart again and again. I’ve seen parts of him no one should ever see. Heard sounds no one should ever hear.” Her tone was light, conversational—completely at odds with the horror she described. “And do you know the best part? It’s all because of you.”

Her words struck a nerve. I clenched my jaw, refusing to let her see how they rattled me. Rathiel and I weren’t friends—not by any stretch of the imagination—but I wouldn’t wish that kind of torment on anyone. No one deserved to be torn apart like that.

This had to be another one of Deidre’s games. A lie meant to unsettle me, to throw me off balance. It was what she did.

But… what if it wasn’t? She sounded so certain, so assured, and the image of Rathiel screaming under my father’s wrath clawed at the edges of my mind. My pulse quickened, and a weight settled in my chest, twisting my stomach in knots.

I refused to let her see it.

Deidre’s sharp gaze scanned my face, her smirk faltering when she found no reaction. “Really? No threats? No tears? Nothing?” She studied me a little longer. “You’ve changed, Lilith. The Lily I knew would never let someone suffer because of her.”

“You don’t know me. Not anymore,” I growled through gritted teeth.

Deidre laughed again. “Sweetie, no one here knows you better than I do.”

As much as I loathed to admit it, she wasn’t wrong.

“You forget, old friend,” she continued, “I can hear your heart racing, smell the fear on you. Even now, you’re wondering what if . Maybe I’m lying, or maybe I’m telling the truth. Guess the only way you’ll find out is if you return home.”

Ah, there it was. The trap. Her entire game finally laid bare. All of this—every word—had been a ploy to lure me back to Hell. Why she thought Rathiel was the right bait, I couldn’t say. Maybe because there weren’t many that I cared about in Hell—if any.

“Nice try,” I said, congratulating her. “You almost had me. But we both know my father would never harm anyone in his inner circle.”

“Except, he is,” she said. “Your father takes your punishment out on Rathiel’s flesh every single day.”

I narrowed my eyes, refusing to give her the satisfaction of a reaction. “Do you honestly think I’d believe a word that comes out of your mouth?” I asked. “You’ve been messing with my head this entire time, and I’m done listening. I shouldn’t have listened in the first place.”

Deidre’s smile faltered for the briefest moment as I pressed my blade a little harder against her throat. Eliza’s instructions were clear—the bounty was dead or alive. And guess which option I was leaning toward?

I readied myself to end her miserable existence.

“You can kill me, but that won’t stop your father from getting what he wants,” Deidre said, her words stopping me cold.

“What are you talking about?” I demanded.

Deidre laughed, satisfaction gleaming in her eyes. “I have something for you.” When I didn’t move, she jutted her chin toward her front pocket. “Go on, have a look.”

I hesitated, weighing my options, but that damn glint in her eye had me questioning everything. I slid my unarmed hand into her pocket, my fingers brushing against something eerily warm.

Slowly, I pulled the object free, revealing a small, obsidian orb.

“The Infernal Eye,” Deidre purred. Then she leaned forward and whispered, “Daddy can see you now.”

As though the inanimate object could hear her, it suddenly cleared, and a pair of crystal blue eyes peered out at me. The instant those horrifyingly familiar eyes blinked at me, my heart lurched into my throat. A chill raced down my spine, and my grip on the orb tightened. It felt wrong—wrong in a way that made my skin crawl, as if the very air surrounding it pulsed with dark power.

My breath quickened into shallow gasps, and without thinking, I hurled the orb against the farthest wall with all the force I could muster. It shattered on impact, shards of obsidian and metals raining down on the dirt floor. A thick, black mist oozed from the broken fragments before dissipating into the air.

For a heartbeat, there was nothing but silence. But then Deidre’s laughter echoed through the space. The sound was so haunting, so chilling, it might as well have been Lucifer’s.

“I did it,” she crowed, her voice dripping with devotion and reverence. “I found you and completed my mission. I did it for him. I do everything for him.”

I couldn’t listen to another word. My heart pounded and adrenaline flooded my veins. Without another thought, I gripped Inferno’s Kiss’s hilt with both hands and swung. My blade sliced through her neck without any resistance, and her head toppled from her body.

Just like that, it was over. Deidre was dead. After ten long years of desperately dreaming of this, I had finally killed her. And yet, I had absolutely no idea how to feel about it. Deidre had betrayed me, yes—but she had also been my only companion in Hell, my only friend.

I’d contemplate my mixed emotions later. Right now, I needed to get out of this mine, away from the stench of her blood. I moved forward, gripping the daggers embedded in her hands, and yanked them free. Her body, finally released from the wall, slumped heavily to the ground, lifeless and silent.

“Wow,” Eliza murmured behind me.

I startled, having nearly forgotten about her presence here.

“I have so many questions,” she continued.

Of course she did. But I couldn’t answer any of them. Hell, I couldn’t even answer my own questions. I just knew I needed to get out of this damn mine.

I wiped all three weapons on Deidre’s shirt, then slid them back into their sheaths with trembling hands. The blades would need a proper cleaning once home, but for now, this would do.

“Let’s get out here,” I muttered, my voice steadier than expected. “We have a bounty to collect.”

“What? No. Hold on.” Eliza stepped in front of me, blocking my path.“You’re not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell just happened. That vampire—who was she? And how did you know her?”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, side-stepping her.

“Don’t worry about it?” Eliza barked a laugh. “I deserve to know what happened here tonight.”

I met her gaze, my expression hardening. “Eliza, it’s safer if you don’t know.”

“Safer for whom?” she demanded. “You? Or me? Because that vampire had blood-red eyes, and I’ve never seen that before. What does that mean? And what was all that talk about bringing you home to your father?”

“Eliza—”

“Lily!” she yelled, her voice echoing off the mine walls. “It feels like I just walked into something way bigger than I signed up for. Clearly, you’re not who you say you are. Your swords, this vampire, your father—you owe me answers.”

I sighed. And this was why I’d spent the last ten years keeping to myself. It was simply safer for everyone if I kept to the shadows. A lesson I’d apparently forgotten.

“Listen,” I said, “She was just…an old friend. Old enemy, more like. She betrayed me. And now she’s dead. What you saw here tonight was personal. Too personal.”

Eliza’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not good enough, Lily. Who are you?”

I shook my head. “I can’t tell you.”

“Why the hell not?” she snapped, frustration clear in her voice. “I’m not stupid. You’re obviously more than a bartender. So?”

“No,” was all I said.

Eliza balked. “No? That’s it? Just, no?”

“Yes.”

I stepped around her and headed toward the mine entrance, then froze when Eliza suddenly gripped my arm.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she demanded. “We aren’t finished here.”

I glared at her hand, then lifted my narrowed gaze to hers. “Take your hand off me.”

Eliza’s focus shot to Deidre’s lifeless body, then she quickly withdrew her hand.

“I can handle the truth, Lily,” she said. “You can trust me.”

“It’s not that simple,” I said, voice low. “If I tell you, it puts you in danger. More than you can imagine. The less you know about me, the safer you’ll be. I’m begging you, Eliza. Don’t dig into this.” Because she would regret it if she did.

Eliza’s expression darkened as she weighed my words. I thought she might press me further, but then she finally exhaled sharply, shaking her head in frustration. “Fine. But this isn’t over, Lily. I’m watching you. I don’t like secrets, and I sure as hell don’t like being kept in the dark. Sooner or later, I’ll figure out the truth.”

“You’ll wish you hadn’t,” I said, hoping it didn’t come down to me or her . Because I knew who I’d pick. No questions asked. “Now, can we get out of here? I’d rather not stick around longer than we have to.”

With a reluctant sigh, Eliza reached into her pack and pulled out a plastic sheet, wrapping Deidre’s severed head before tucking it into a leather bag. “I’ll send someone to clean up the body later. We can’t be seen pulling a headless corpse out of a mine.”

Nodding, I cast one last glance at Deidre’s lifeless body before following Eliza out of the mine. But as we made our way to her car, unease twisted in my gut. Deidre was gone, but something told me my problems were only just beginning.