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

him and his pet demon. Who, incidentally, is obviously listening in on this whole conversation.”

At that, Belial turned away and walked back to the table. Odysseus had just gotten a fresh beer when Belial arrived.

“We have to go,” said Belial.

“Why’s that?” asked Odysseus as he stood.

“Belial!” Anael’s scream echoed throughout Eden.

Odysseus sat back down. “I’ll just wait here and finish my drink. Seems you’ve got other things to worry about.”

Belial groaned and turned to face Anael.

“And what are you doing here?” she asked.

“I’m working with Mr. Black now. He came here for—”

“Don’t. Bullshit. Me,” she said. “I’m being jerked around lately by you, by Uriel, and by your boss.”

“As I said, my boss is Mr. Black right here—”

Anael slapped Belial hard across the face, the blow shattering his sunglasses. Normally he would have struck back, but he decided to restrain himself.

“I’ve had enough,” she said. “Where is Lucifer now?”

“Hell,” said Belial.

Anael looked stunned. “He’s gone back to take the throne?”

“For his powers,” said Belial.

“Well, would you look at that?” asked Uriel, entering the conversation as he approached the pair. “After months of Anael failing to get anything done, I manage to do the job she was sent here for in about ten minutes.”

“This doesn’t concern you, angel,” said Belial.

“If it happens under my roof, it’s my business,” said Uriel. “Now, I’d like to ask you both to leave.”

Anael blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” said Uriel. “Now that you’ve failed your mission, I have no further use for you. It seems clear that your relationship with Lucifer was unnecessary. And you—” he looked at Belial, “I don’t care who you say your boss is, you’re really here on Lucifer’s behalf. And you have no business in this place, period.”

Uriel turned his back on the pair and started walking away. “You both have ten minutes to leave. If you fail, then you will be forced to leave. It’s up to you how much of a mess you want to make.”

Belial looked at Anael, whose face still bore the shock of Uriel’s dismissal. “Anael, if it’s any consolation—”

In an instant, Anael’s expression changed to anger and she turned her incensed gaze on the demon. “Pass on a message to your boss for me, demon. Tell the Adversary that the both of you can fuck off.”

She turned and entered the elevator and it was Belial’s turn to be shocked. Odysseus came up beside him and patted the demon on the back.

“Well, that escalated quickly, eh?”

Belial sighed. “Let’s just go.”

13

When Lucifer finally woke, he was bathed in darkness. He had to blink a few times just to confirm that his eyes were actually open. The place he found himself in was so dark, he even wondered if he still possessed his eyesight.

He moved his hands over his body and confirmed that he was still in one piece. There were no bruises or wounds he could detect by touch alone and he certainly didn’t feel anything other than some mild discomfort in his back. Nor did it seem like he was physically restrained in any direct manner—no chains, ropes, or bindings of any kind. No sword, either. His only means of defense was gone.

The ground was rough, hard, and dry, with cracks and small holes in random places. Lucifer moved along the ground slowly, feeling ahead with his hands. He came to a wall and followed it up. The texture matched the floor. He could not reach a ceiling, and judging from the lack of a breeze, that led him to believe there was one, but it was too high to touch. He continued to explore the wall. It had a soft curve to it, not a sharp angle, so that suggested it was a natural formation. But he couldn’t find any sort of opening. He wasn’t even sure if he had completed a full rotation around the area.

A cave seemed the most obvious explanation for where he was. That didn’t exactly narrow things down. It could have been a cave out in the Badlands or located within one of the demon realms. Now the question remained—should he be grateful or worried?

The last thing he remembered was trying to take control of the dragon. He fell off and before he hit the ground, there was a flash of light and then he woke up here. He didn’t know how much time had passed. And how did he get here? Was Mara able to save and then teleport him? Was it one of their pursuers?

Another thought occurred to him, too—did his powers somehow come back? Could it be that simply returning to Hell had indeed restored him and all he needed was the right trigger?

Lucifer held out his hand and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and tried to focus his energies on his open palm. In his mind, Lucifer visualized a spark forming and then slowly growing into a swirling sphere of light. The image in his mind was so vivid, it felt real. He was certain that once he opened his eyes, he would see a pulsating sphere illuminate the cave and show him the way out.

But when he did look, he still saw only darkness. He brought his hand right up to his face, wondering if it was a problem with his sight, yet he couldn’t feel a thing. His powers were still gone, which meant the question of how he got here remained unanswered. And he was also left to wonder whether he was in the hands of friend or foe.

I won’t just sit back and wait for whoever’s behind this to show themselves, he thought. Lucifer found the wall again and felt around for a handhold. Seemed the only way left to explore was up. He reached above his head and found purchase. Lucifer tested the hold a few times before he pulled himself up. His foot found a small insert to latch onto and he could steady himself enough to bring up his free hand, seeking out another