Lucifer Damned (Morningstar Book 3), Percival Constantine [electric book reader .txt] 📗

Lucifer narrowed his eyes at his companion. “Is there something you want to say?”

Belial shook his head and began walking from the living room back to the foyer. “I should go. I have work to do.”

“Somehow I doubt that Odysseus Black is sending you out on a job in the afternoon,” said Lucifer, walking after the demon. “If there’s something you want to say to me, then you may as well just say it.”

Belial was standing by the front door in the foyer. He stopped and turned around. “I have no desire to speak my mind.”

“Isn’t that what we fought for in the first place? Isn’t that why we rebelled? For the freedom to speak our minds?” asked Lucifer.

Belial had the door open and was about to walk through it when Lucifer called him out. He sighed and slammed the door shut, then turned to face the being he had once called his lord and master.

“Are you certain you wish to hear my words?” he asked.

Lucifer stood tall, raising his chin up to look the taller demon directly in the eyes. “I live my life according to my values, Belial. Speak freely.”

“Very well.” Belial folded his arms over his chest and stared down at Lucifer. “You’re a coward.”

A quick shake of his head signaled how taken aback Lucifer was by the response. “I beg your pardon?”

Mara stepped closer to Belial. “You’re out of line, demon. This is the Morningstar you’re talking to! The only one who had the courage to stand up to the Divine Choir!”

“All the more reason why I myself feel just how deep that accusation stings,” said Belial. “But Lucifer asked for my honest opinion. Or would he rather I keep quiet unless it’s in support of him?”

Lucifer’s teeth were gritted behind his lips. His fingers tightened, threatening to curl into fists. But he calmed himself and stretched out his hands. His jaw loosened and he spoke.

“No, Mara. I believe I stand for freedom, and so I need to actually live up to that promise,” he said. “Belial has every right to his opinion, just as I have every right to disagree with him.”

“Shall we examine the evidence?” asked Belial. “You know what you need to do in order to restore your powers. And this incident has shown that you are vulnerable. Others are already aware of your situation. In time, the people who know the truth will simply increase. It won’t be long before enemies are banging down your door.”

Mara sighed and looked down. It took her a few moments before she turned her gaze to Lucifer. “I hate to take sides against you, but Belial does make a convincing argument. These two were just the beginning. Destroying them won’t make a bit of difference—more will still come.”

Lucifer turned his back on the pair. “All I ever wanted was the freedom to satisfy my curiosity. To discover new things about the universe and about our nature. All I wanted to do was to learn. But at every turn, I’ve been denied that chance. I was convinced to become the leader of a revolt. I was coerced into sitting on the throne of Hell. Even after my abdication, I was dragged back into these old conflicts to capture the Cocytus escapees.

“But now? My responsibility for all that is gone. I’m just a human and the only responsibility I have is to myself.” Lucifer turned and faced the pair once again. “And yet, I still find others trying to push me back. To deny me the only thing I’ve ever truly wanted.”

“I would wish nothing more than for you to have your heart’s desire,” said Belial. “But what good is pursuing that desire if you’re destroyed before you can enjoy it?”

“That’s a possibility,” said Lucifer. “You’re right, Belial. I could very well be killed tomorrow. If not by Shem and Ham, then maybe by someone else—a more-skilled hunter, a demon wanting to make a name for themselves, an angel. Or I might just slip in the shower and break my neck. But if I die, at least I’ll go out pursuing the life I wanted. And that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”

“I don’t know if you realize what you’re saying,” said Mara.

“Of course I know, Mara. No need to patronize me,” said Lucifer. “I’m tired of being some pawn on a cosmic chessboard. If I have to throw down my life to escape that cycle, then that’s what I’ll do.”

He folded his arms in defiance and stared the two demons down. “Now the two of you have a choice. Either you can accept my decision and help me find these two assholes, or you can get the hell out of my house. What’s your choice?”

Mara and Belial exchanged glances with each other as a means of silent communication. Neither spoke for several minutes, weighing the choice Lucifer had thrown at their feet. Mara was the one to speak first.

“I’ll side with the Morningstar,” she said. “Always.”

Lucifer nodded in her direction. “Thank you, Mara.” He then looked to Belial. “And you?”

Belial lowered his arms to the side. He met Lucifer’s gaze with his own, but he didn’t open his mouth to speak. Rather than engage further, Belial simply turned his back and walked out the front door without a single word.

6

After Belial left without a word, Lucifer began the process of tracking down his would-be assassins. Just as expected, they weren’t clever enough to realize that the GPS in his phone could be tracked and all Lucifer had to do to find it was log in through the internet and the location was displayed easily on a map.

“They’re at a motel outside the city,” said Lucifer as he slid his chair back from the desk where the laptop rested. “Whatever organization they’re with, it looks like they don’t spring for the best accommodations.”

Mara came up behind him and looked at the monitor from over his shoulder. “Or maybe they’re operating without sanction.”

“Could