to use your powers to get exactly what you want. And speaking of that store on Rodeo Drive, I wanted that cashier and boy did I have her.” He wiggles his eyebrows, and I pull my shoulders back, ready to hit him with another blast of energy. Julian said Lucifer might actually be afraid of me because I have the power to hurt him.
And I just did.
It was like stabbing a giant with a toothpick, but if I can make him bleed, I can make him bleed again. And this time the cut will be deeper.
“I suppose I could get it dry-cleaned,” he muses to himself, still obsessing over the tiny stain on his jacket.
“You…you can’t really see it,” I supply.
“It doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.” He holds out his hand. “Now, come on.”
“No fucking way.” I hit him with another wave of energy, not hard enough to hurt him again, but hard enough to prove my point. I’m capable of defending myself, but I need answers.
Like why in the world he wants to take me away. Why he’s holding out his hand, waiting for me to willingly go with. Why not just reach out and grab me?
“Staying here will be a death sentence, and I don’t think either of us want that right now, do we?” He wiggles his fingers. “Clock’s ticking.”
“I’m not going anywhere without Lucas.”
“Fine,” Lucifer huffs, rolling his eyes so dramatically it gives Eliza a run for her money. “But first…” He turns, silver cufflinks catching in the moonlight. “Who’s a good girl?”
Scarlet plops down, rolling over for a belly rub. I stand there, wide-eyed, with my familiars around me. They see it. I see it. And yet it’s so hard to process.
The devil is in my backyard, fussing over and baby-talking to a hellhound.
A hellhound that sleeps not only in my house, but in my bedroom. And sometimes in my bed. She’s been loyal to me, but only because Lucifer told her to be. Can he tell her to turn on me now?
“Why is staying here a death sentence?” I ask, taking a tentative step forward.
“Because of that blast of energy you just sent out. I do wonder who pissed you off that much?” He looks at Lucas, lying motionless on the ground. Michael put everyone in the room to sleep when he came to heal me, and they were just fine.
Lucas will be fine too. He has to be.
“Trouble in paradise already?” Lucifer asks, giving Scarlet one last pat. He stands and brushes fur from his clothes.
“No, we’re happily married,” I snap. “There was a werewolf and—no.” I conjure ball of energy in both hands. “What do you want?”
“Can’t we have a little family bonding?” Lucifer slowly steps over Lucas and tips his head to the sky, wincing. “They’re onto you, kid. You let loose some mega powers there.” He smiles at me, eyes glimmering. “It’s just as impressive as that right hook you got there.”
“Oh yeah? Ready to be impressed again?”
He laughs and keeps walking to me. “I’d say yes if we weren’t in a time crunch. But we have to get out of here and…” He trails off, hand going to his face. Long fingers tap his chin, and I hate how I feel comforted to be near him, just like I do when I’m around my father.
Lucifer is an angel, after all. A fallen angel, but an angel nonetheless.
“I’ll take the rap for this one. Throw ‘em off your trail.”
“Throw who off my trail?” I ask, though I already know the answer. Lucifer knows I know too and just gives me a pointed look. “They can really sense me?”
“With that blast that resonated through the whole town? Uhhh, yeah. Though I’m curious, niece, what did this werewolf say that pissed you off so much? Did he make fun of your clothing choice?” He points a finger at me. “Because the black works for you, but come on, cliché much?”
“Hey! I just happen to like black and it has nothing to do with me being a witch. It’s a flattering color!”
“I think you’d look good in red.” His eyes flash like hot embers in a fire and he strides even closer. “So, he didn’t insult your look, then what was it?”
My lips part, and for some reason, I want to tell him the truth. To spit out everything and maybe for once actually get some answers. But I shouldn’t.