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

paused for effect before continuing. “Yes, I’ve heard about these rumors. In fact, Mara was the one who brought them to my attention during her most-recent report to her mistress. As Cocytus was built by me, I felt it was my responsibility to check in on it. But I prefer to travel in secret, because if these are simply rumors, then I don’t want to cause a panic.”

“Hmmm…” muttered Beelzebub. “Would make sense, I suppozzze…”

“Now you know why I didn’t want to go to Cross. If it proves to be nothing, then no one need know about any of this. But if it’s something, then at least I’ll have the element of surprise on my side. So what do you say? Are you willing to help me one more time?”

Beelzebub’s gossamer wings beat furiously and he returned to the head of the table. He steepled his long, thin arms together and focused his gaze on the Morningstar.

“Very well, Lucifer. Tell me what it izzz you require.”

11

Beelzebub’s aid consisted of a vehicle they could use and a small assortment of guards following behind for added protection. The vehicle itself was a carriage drawn by a basilisk—a ten-foot-tall scaly, six-legged creature with a head resembling an iguana and one giant red eye.

Outside, it had the same chitinous appearance as pretty much everything else in Beelzebub’s realm. But inside, it proved remarkably comfortable. There were padded benches at both the front and back of the cabin, and the cushions were soft enough to sleep on. One-way windows ran across the entire circumference of the roundish carriage, providing a 360-degree view of the terrain. There was a driver guiding the basilisk, seated on the roof of the carriage.

Lucifer looked through the windows at their escorts. Four demons, each of them clad in the same armor as the ones in the realm, mounted on giant flies. The Morningstar then focused his attention on the sword that rested in the corner in a sheath. Without the ability to manipulate hellfire, Beelzebub had also generously provided Lucifer with a weapon he could use to defend himself.

“You’re quiet,” he said to Mara, who sat across from him.

“There’s something I don’t understand,” she said. “You told me Beelzebub was loyal.”

Lucifer nodded. “The little disagreement he referred to.”

“You said he spoke out against you and then you knocked him unconscious,” said Mara. “That sounds like a tad more than a little disagreement.”

“To those unfamiliar with our relationship, sure,” said Lucifer. “Beelzebub can be trusted to be honest with me. He’s not some servile demon who will do whatever I ask.”

“When you need some assistance, is servile such a bad thing?” asked Mara.

“Perhaps not, but those other Hell Lords only showed that kind of submissiveness when I sat on the throne. Now that I’m no longer there, how can I trust that any of them would still do the same?”

“But you were confident enough that Beelzebub would.”

He nodded. “I was. Beelzebub is a friend, has been dating back to even before The Fall. He challenges me, yes. But isn’t that what a good friend is supposed to do?”

“I get what you’re saying, but I’m not completely convinced,” said Mara.

“You don’t have to be convinced. You just have to trust me.”

Mara left the matter at that and decided to change the subject. “Once we get to Cocytus, how do you think it will all go down with Erebus?”

“I’m not entirely sure. All of this is uncharted territory,” said Lucifer. “I was actually hoping just entering Hell again would restore my powers, but no such luck.”

“But you’re sure that Erebus can help you?”

“No, I’m not,” said Lucifer. “It’s a gambit. I just hope this won’t all prove a wasted effort.”

Mara avoided his gaze, directing her eyesight towards the window. Lucifer watched this and cocked his head slightly to the side.

“You can speak freely, you know,” he said.

“I know, but there’s nothing I have to say.”

Lucifer knew she wasn’t being truthful, but seemed better to let it lie for the time being. He too focused on the Badlands scenery—or lack thereof—as it passed by the carriage. Two guards flanked them on either side, and then one in front and one behind.

Something flew from the sky. It was a strange sensation, because to Lucifer, it was almost as if it moved in slow-motion. But he couldn’t react fast enough to stop it. And though he could see it coming, it still proved to be a shock when the burst of hellfire struck the giant fly the guard was mounted upon.

The guard was thrown by the impact against the side of the carriage, his body hitting the glass with Lucifer reacting by sliding away. The carriage rocked from side to side and the basilisk bellowed in a mixture of fear and surprise, with the driver trying to control the beast by tightening the reins.

“We’re being attacked,” said Mara, looking out the window.

Lucifer craned his neck to try and find the source of the hellfire bomb. Dark spots hung in the crimson sky, but quickly they descended, growing larger. As they came into view, Lucifer had a sinking feeling. They were demons, but mounted on something far worse. Large, serpentine creatures with massive wingspans who freely spat hellfire from their long jaws.

“Dragons,” he said.

“Can you see how many?” asked Mara, trying to look for herself.

“More than I’d like,” he replied.

“Shit.” Mara stood up and opened a hatch on the ceiling. She stuck her head out to speak to the driver. “Can you get us out of here?”

“What do you think I’m trying to do?” asked the driver.

Mara reached her hands up through the hatch and planted them on the carriage roof. She pushed her body through the opening and clambered out.

“What are you doing?” asked Lucifer, looking up through the hatch.

“Whatever I can.” Hellfire forged a bow in her hands and she raised it up, then drew back the string to generate a flaming arrow. Mara let it fly, with several others in succession.

The dragons grew