Claimed by Light (22 page)

“It’s Theo.” She closed her eyes. “
Merde
. He got the Artifacts, but in doing so, triggered something. Lucifer’s coming.”

The ground shook with the force of a devastating earthquake. A splice opened directly behind Lena, and Theo appeared, reaching for them. “Come.”

Slade stepped into the splice—and into chaos. They were in the dungeon again. Votar was nothing but ash, but the blood still glistening on the concrete walls spoke volumes.

“Is Addie safe?”

“I spliced her and the baby to Beckett’s.” Theo waved to Justin and Yvonne, and they all filed up the stairs. “Votar was quiet because he knew what would happen when I extracted the Artifacts. Either way, he knew his fate, he just chose to try to take us down with him.”

“What?” Lena said as they broke through the stairwell into the next level. It was a gym and another small kitchenette. “What did he know?”

Sadie burst through the doors, breathing heavy and holding a bag. Zander was close behind. “Got it!”

Theo opened the bag. “Once I pulled the last Artifact out of Votar, Lucifer was summoned. He said that we’d all die at Lucifer’s hand just before he turned to ash.”

“Then the earthquake,” Justin said, grabbing the Thata. “I’ll take this one.”

“I guess I don’t get a trinket.” Yvonne frowned as she peeled off her sleeves and unzipped her pants so she was in nothing but a tank top and shorts.

“You’re the trinket,
szép
.” Justin smiled. “And sexy in that skimpy leather outfit.”

Yvonne winked as she pulled off the last glove. “Let’s go kick some ass, then you can help me out of it.”

Slade couldn’t believe the joking going on. Lucifer was here, and none of them may survive this. How could—?

“They’ve been doing this for centuries. They know their calling, accepting it whether they die or not.”

“And you?” Slade asked, noting the tightness in her voice.

“Me, too, but I’ve only just found you, so I have no intention of dying anytime soon.” She pressed a kiss to his lips. “I intend to rock that hot tub with you many times, frat boy.”

Theo reached into the bag. “I’ll take the Sword, Sadie the Ring, Halena the Bracelet.” He held out the Necklace and a box with the Gem in it. “Slade, you get these. Connect the two and put it around your neck.”

“Hurry,” Sadie said. “We only had minutes the last time we realized Lucifer was topside.”

“And I just got this house the way I like it!” Lena slid the Bracelet on and stepped to Slade.

He slipped the Gem into the setting, and a flash of light ignited, melting the gold to the Gem. “This might be a one-use-only weapon.”

The Necklace hung heavy around Slade’s neck, the Gem pressed against his chest like a forty-five-pound dumbbell. The earth shook, and Lena’s grip on him tightened.

“Well, we might have to rebuild that hot tub first.” She smiled, but a wave of unease filtered through their connection. Everyone here had experience in battle. Sadie was the youngest, but she was a master black belt mated to the eldest Gatekeeper on the planet. So yeah, she had an edge.

Slade was just a college kid who happened to be an Oracle.

“Okay, guys. If I’m understanding the things Sadie read, Lucifer has probably been dragged here against his will.” Zander cleared his throat. “So he’s going to be pissed.”

“No more seductive smiles and handsome looks?” Yvonne shivered. “I’d rather work with pissed off than confusing any day.”

“You’ve got to form a circle around him. The Artifacts act as a cage. Then you let Slade through to touch him and say the binding spell. You remember it, Slade?”

“I got it.”

Zander nodded toward Theo. “You should splice everyone to an open area so you can surround him from a distance and close in. I don’t have any idea how much of a leash Lucifer will be on. He was summoned, but I don’t know if whatever brought him here holds him here or not.”

“Just protect Slade at all costs. His words and his touch are the only way to bind Lucifer,” Lena said.

“And Yvonne—The Great One knows Lucifer can’t be killed, so my guess is, he won’t die if she touches him. But something will happen because of his reaction to her last time.” Zander nodded to Yvonne and smiled. “It’ll be interesting to see what it is.”

She cracked her knuckles and stepped toward Theo as he waved them closer. “Halena, far northwest quadrant of your property okay?”

“Sure. Just stay away from the hot tub.”

Chapter Thirty

The wind whipped, and fat raindrops pelted Halena in the face, stinging her eyes. Minutes earlier it had been sunny.

“Guess Lucifer really is mad,” Theo said, looking over his shoulder. “This could get messy.”

Halena held Slade close; if only the Bracelet would make them both invisible, but he needed to have the Necklace while the rest surrounded Lucifer.

“Fan out. Zander thinks Lucifer will have to come toward the Artifacts. Let’s draw him to us.”

“Good plan,” a voice bellowed from behind the group.

Lucifer blurred toward Slade, and the contact happened before Halena could jump in front of him. He shot twenty feet into the air, and Lucifer’s fist slammed into Halena’s chest.

She flew in the opposite direction. Up went Sadie, her honey wings sprouted, and she darted after Slade, reaching him before impact. At least she softened the landing. Justin used the Thata to splice in front of Slade, and Theo joined him shortly after.

Lucifer, and all of his evil, seven-foot-tall body, bore down on Halena, but with a thought she disappeared. Lucifer’s teal eyes widened as he scoured the area, looking for her. The wind and rain swept through his black hair until it looked like he actually had horns.

Halena grabbed a rock and chucked it at his back, and he whirled, roaring so loudly she swore her bones vibrated.

Oh yeah, he was pissed.

Draw him toward us,
Theo said.

She saw the team tentatively spreading out, lining up. If she could steer Lucifer in that direction, she and Yvonne could come up from behind and complete a circle around him.

Yvonne darted toward Lucifer, hands outstretched, and he sped toward the tree line, but Halena tackled his legs. Sharp talons shredded her back and lodged in her shoulders. They rolled, the ground slicing up her clothing and skin along with it, but she held fast.

“Lena!” Slade yelled, probably feeling her pain through their connection.

Finally the talons dislodged from her skin, and she faced off with the original Fallen Angel. His looks were deceptively handsome, but they held a hard, sharp edge. Evil to the core.

“You think to bind me? Never!” he yelled in Halena’s direction.

Lucifer crouched as Yvonne approached. She was backing him toward the rest of the gang. Halena crept up to Lucifer and said, “Boo!”

He swung, but she ducked. Too bad she landed on a branch, identifying which direction she’d gone. His fist met her face with astonishing accuracy considering he couldn’t see her.

She spun and landed on all fours, spitting blood. Damn jaw cracked on that one. She rolled to the side and hopped to her feet. Yvonne shifted more, directing him across the plush green grass and toward the group. He glanced around like a crazed animal.

Halena was curious now, too, what would happen when Yvonne touched him. If he didn’t turn to ash, what would be the effect?

He darted at Yvonne as he pulled out a knife.

Guess he didn’t like being cornered.

He ducked beneath her grasp, but sliced through her stomach on his pass by. Yvonne screamed and dropped to the ground. Halena blasted after Lucifer and sensed Theo had, too.

They had to beat him to the trees. He’d been summoned to this location, but was he caged here or could he flee?

As she ran, Halena tossed her Mavet at Lucifer’s thigh and managed to hit his calf. He stumbled, but it was enough for Theo to make contact at the waist. He tackled the ancient demon to the ground.

“Can’t. Splice,” Theo said between elbows to the gut and claws shredding his back.

Halena launched herself onto the two, burying her other Mavet in Lucifer’s chest, but at the same time she felt her own chest breached.

Instant pain and warmth encompassed her. A blade had cracked through her ribs and lungs. Each burning breath she took told her that.

“If I go, you go.” Lucifer licked the side of Halena’s invisible face.

Bile rose in the back of her throat. Rain stung every cut she had, and the moisture made it difficult to keep hold of the dagger in his chest. “Hurry, Theo,” she tried to say, but it was only a whisper.

Theo rolled off and plunged his Mavet in Lucifer’s wrist, pinning him to the ground.

The rest of the group ran toward them, keeping Slade close.
Hurry,
Lena said to him. This could work. She just had to hold on a little longer. Her control faltered, her image flickering.

Maybe the Artifact had been damaged.

Yvonne came into sight. Blood soaked her shirt, and her face considerably paled. She reached for the devil, and at this point Halena didn’t care if he did turn to ash, just that this be over.

An arrow shot through Halena’s shoulder, spinning her backward. A fiery sting formed in her thigh and shoulder. But what worried her most was her neck. It, too, stung. She had to release her grip on the blade buried in Lucifer’s chest and push away.

That’s when she saw five massive demons, bigger than she’d ever seen in her centuries of existence, march forward, bows in hand, cocked and ready.

Lucifer laughed. “You think I wouldn’t have planned for this situation?”

…

A fire so hot erupted in Slade’s chest at the sight of those five demons towering over Lena’s body. Why wasn’t she invisible anymore? Theo and Yvonne lay on the ground near Lucifer.

“Come on.” Justin held up the Thata as he clutched Slade’s shoulder. “Sadie, jump up and draw their attention. Slade, you’re splicing with me. We have a few stops to make.”

In a flash Slade and Justin reappeared behind two of the demons. Justin slashed one, and Slade followed suit. He got it in the leg, and as the demon crumbled back, he slid the blade across its neck.

Lucifer roared, but before Slade could get his bearings, Justin chucked him into a splice.

On the next stop, they landed beside Yvonne. Justin grabbed her and disappeared, leaving Slade there alone.

Three more splices with his Mate in his arms, and Justin managed to kill all but one demon, who now stood helping Lucifer to his feet. Lena still sprawled on her back, holding her neck. The arrows had been removed, but from what Slade could see, and feel, she was weak, unable to do much other than lie there.

Go invisible. Lena, please.

Drawing…his…attention.
Her voice was weak in his mind.

Lucifer stomped toward Lena. Justin looked up, then to Yvonne. She winked, and in a motion so fast, Justin threw his Mate at Lucifer.

She collided with the devil, and they rolled. Screaming, she seized his neck. Lena went invisible again. The demon that had been with Lucifer spun, black eyes searching for Lena.

“
Reverto ut Abyssus
,” Lena said, and the demon vanished.

Lena’s image reappeared, and she fell to her knees.

Justin sprinted to Yvonne, who still held on to Lucifer. Her touch didn’t dust him, but it sure as hell paralyzed him from the looks of things.

Sadie flew to Theo. Slade ran, faster than he ever had, and skidded to the ground beside Lena.

“I’m okay,” she gasped. “Hurry, help me up.”

The bloody and broken gang slowly rose, eyeing the demon paralyzed on the ground.

Only his eyes could move, and they darted side to side as the team shuffled around him. Lena leaned heavily on Slade as he guided her to a spot in the misshapen circle. They each took their place around Lucifer, except Yvonne, who was busy holding Lucifer by the throat.

It was weird to think that a simple touch held the king of Hades down.

“Go,” Lena said to Slade. “Do your thing.” She offered a faint grin. “Just don’t touch Yvonne.”

He kissed her lips, then her forehead. “Be right back.”

He faced the massive demon that lay in the middle of the Shomrei circle. Lucifer. The first Fallen Angel. The reason for all the evil in the world. The evil that had broken his sister and taken Grams.

With each step he neared the devil, his heart pounded that much more, and the Necklace burned hotter around his neck. This fucker needed to be put down. Hard.

Yvonne looked up from the ground as Slade approached. Her chest heaved; blood ran freely from her stomach. “Hurry,” she whispered. “Can’t hold…much longer.”

Lucifer growled, his fangs elongated. Slade gripped the pendant in his left hand as he fell to his knees beside the creature. The Gem burned, but Slade bit back the instinct to release the Artifact.

He placed his right hand on Lucifer’s forehead. Again, the burning appeared. In both palms this time, but Slade knew he shouldn’t release anything. Yes. This was part of it. This was needed.

“By the power of The Great One, I, His Oracle, banish you to the walls of Hades for evermore.” His flesh sizzled and smoke rose from beneath Slade’s hand. His palms burned as if the Gem melted the skin.

Lucifer roared, severing the connection between himself and Slade with a percussion of energy. Slade landed on his ass more than five feet away. He looked at his smoking palm. The mark of infinity had burned into his skin. Lucifer glared at him and let out a feral roar. The same mark was etched on his forehead.

Exactly like Slade’s hand.

“I will find a way out of this and…” His voice faded, as did his body. A crack of lightning split the atmosphere, the ground shook, and Lucifer was gone.

Slade dropped the pendant and pushed to his knees, gasping for breath and hands sizzling.

Lena closed her eyes briefly, then a smile worked its way over her features. “Addie’s awake. Beckett just contacted me.”

Unbidden, tears flowed from Slade’s eyes. He pulled Lena into his arms. Addie was awake. The binding on Lucifer worked. Best thing yet…everyone survived. The weight of all that had happened these past weeks tumbled off his shoulders as he hugged his Mate.

Time to rock that hot tub.