Lucifer (Book 3, The Redemption Series) (20 page)

The screen goes black and I turn to Gladson.

“Well, if you didn’t have a target on your back before you certainly do now,” I tell him, surprised he showed his face in the video so directly.

“
Everyone knows my political views anyway,” Gladson says with a nonchalant shrug. “Our movement needed a spokesperson, and I was the best choice.”

“
As soon as I’ve completed my mission,” I tell him. “I’ll be standing right beside you.”

“
No,” Gladson says with a small shake of his head. “It will be I who stands beside you as your supporter. You’re the real leader of this movement, Anna. When the time comes, you’ll take the reins and lead us where we need to go. I’m simply your placeholder for now.”

“
It won’t be too much longer,” I promise him. “But as it is, I don’t think you should go back to Cirrus anytime soon.”

“
Agreed,” Gladson says. “Even if Levi doesn’t try to kill me, some of the overlords in the video might. No one wants their dirty laundry made public.”

“
Where will you stay?” I ask.

“
He’ll be bunking down with my people for a while,” Barlow says. “He has a place with us for as long as he wants.”

I look at Gladson’s right hand.
“What about your personal transporter? They’ll be able to track you with it.”

“
Which is where our brilliant engineer here comes in,” Gladson says, looking over at Travis. “He’ll be removing it from me today so I can go into exile. But, I have people stationed in all the cloud cities to watch for any new supporters. Hopefully, people will demand change, and I won’t have to stay hidden for very long.”

“
I think we should run this video at noon every day until something positive is done,” I tell them. “People have short memories. We might even need to make more videos and let them hear from real down-worlders about the conditions they live in.”

“
It might be hard to find down-worlders who would come out and speak directly against their overlords,” Gladson says.

“
If we have to,” Barlow says, “we can just use my people in their place. They can act out the parts. It’s only a small lie to protect those who can’t protect themselves.”

“
It sounds like you have it all figured out then,” I say, wishing I could do more to help bring about reform in the way the down-worlders are treated. “As soon as I gain complete control over Cirrus, we can show the other cloud cities what they should be doing to change things. It will take some time to bring them up to speed with our technology, but I think most of them are up for the challenge. In the end, it should help production of almost everything down here. The more we prosper, the more likely the other cloud cities will follow our lead.”

Malcolm and I
soon return back home with Lucas and Vala, leaving Gladson and the Stokes to handle what needs to be done for the beginning of our restructuring of the down-world.

Since
it’s lunchtime, we all head to the kitchen. We find Jered sitting at the table with Luna in his arms. Since Lucifer gave her to me, Luna has grown to almost twice her size. I knew it wouldn’t be too much longer before she was a full-grown hellhound and wondered what people would think of me having such a pet. As soon as I returned to Cirrus to take back control, I planned to change the law that forbade people from having real animals as pets. Such a disconnect with nature simply wasn’t healthy.

“
I saw the video while I was in Cirro,” Jered tells us. “It caused quite an uproar.”

“
Good,” I say sitting down at the table with him while Malcolm goes to see if Millie needs help preparing lunch. “That’s the sort of reaction we wanted to provoke.”

“
I guess we’ll see what happens,” Jered says absently as he strokes Luna’s fur.

“
What’s on your mind?” I ask him, sensing he’s not here just to have lunch with us or chitchat about the uprising I hope the video instigates.

“
I think I might have a way for you to take care of Botis and still get what you need from Belphagor,” Jered says unexpectedly.

I sit up straighter in my chair at this news.

“How?” I ask eagerly.

“
I think we should exploit Belphagor’s weakness,” he says, as Malcolm comes to stand near the table to listen to Jered’s proposal. “He’s always been the most cowardly of the princes and not particularly smart. Since we know they can give you the seals voluntarily, I say we make a deal with him.”

“
What kind of deal?” Malcolm asks stiffly, already sounding skeptical about such a plan before Jered can even explain his intentions.

“
Botis obviously knows that you want to do away with him,” Jered tells me, glancing in Lucas’ direction. It’s obvious he didn’t want to say ‘kill’ in front of my son. We hadn’t really told Lucas what was going on. We didn’t want to frighten him, and he was simply too young to fully understand the ramifications of the situation. “Botis has surrounded himself with so many guards that it’s almost impossible to get to him. Even if you did, you would end up having witnesses. Belphagor is the only one who can get him alone and have it not look suspicious.”

“
Why would he help us?” I ask.

“
Because he wants to be sole ruler of Cirro. It’s why he took over Empress Zhin’s body. Rui was practically dead, and the people of Cirro wanted Zhin to assume power. It was a perfect situation for him. He would have had sole rule over Cirro and not have to deal with a spouse or a child. Now, with Botis inhabiting Rui’s body, he has to relinquish power to someone he considers lower in rank than him. I have a feeling if we go to him with this offer he’ll accept.”

“
And what if he double crosses us?” Malcolm asks. “What if Anna gets rid of Botis, but Belphagor doesn’t live up to his end of the bargain and decides to keep the seal?”

“
Then I’ll take it from him,” I say.

“
I think Belphagor will agree,” Jered says more to Malcolm than me. “You know he’s always been the weakest link among the princes. If he can save his own skin and gain more power without much effort, I don’t see any reason why he would refuse.”

“
What about Lucifer?” I ask. “He won’t be happy with Belphagor if he helps us.”

“
I suppose that’s a risk Belphagor will have to take. It’s either face Lucifer or you. If he has any sense at all, he won’t choose to go against you.”

I look up at Malcolm.
“I think we should at least try it. We won’t be losing much and could possibly gain everything. I would like to be able to keep my promise to Olivia and take care of the person who harmed her husband.”

Malcolm sighs heavily.
“I don’t like making deals with someone who isn’t trustworthy. But, it does sound like our best way to deal with both of them.”

“
So, should I set up a meeting between Anna and Belphagor?” Jered asks.

Malcolm nods.
“Yes. Set it up for tomorrow in the desert. I don’t want that thing in my home, and we’re not going to step foot inside Cirro until a firm deal is made.”

Jered
sets Luna on the floor and stands from his chair.

“
I’ll go make the arrangements. Any particular time tomorrow?”

“
In the morning,” Malcolm says. “The sooner we get this done the better.”

“
I’ll come back after I talk to him,” Jered tells us just before he phases.

Malcolm walks behind my chair
and rests his hands on my shoulders, massaging the tenseness that's suddenly developed there.

“
Well I don't know about any of you,” Millie says, turning to the table with a platter full of thinly cut meat, “but I'll be glad when this whole mess is over with.”

“
Amen,” I say, closing my eyes as I enjoy Malcolm's touch.

“
How come I can't know what's going on?” Lucas asks. “I'm a big kid now, you know. I can take it.”

“
Not just yet,” Malcolm says to him. “We'll tell you when the time is right. I promise.”

Lucas doesn't look pacified by Malcolm's promise
, but it just isn't in his nature to argue with his father.

Just
then, Kyna waltzes into the room on the arm of her beau. Brutus looks so happy it brings a smile to my face. Their love for one another is naked for anyone near them to see.

“
Well I guess we don't need to ask how the two of you are doing today,” Malcolm says to them knowingly.

Kyna smiles shyly, glancing over at Brutus
out of the corner of her eyes.

“
We're doing quite well, thank you very much,” she replies. “But I'm starving. What's for lunch?”

“
You sure do eat a lot for someone so small,” Lucas comments innocently.

Kyna laughs.
“I've always had a high metabolism. My father used to say I was lucky he had so much money, otherwise I would starve to death.”

“
Well there's plenty here to eat,” Millie says, setting down a loaf of freshly baked and sliced bread.

We soon have plenty on the table to make sandwiches for our meal. While we eat, Kyna tells us
about Brutus trying to teach her how to be a blacksmith. Something she's obviously not adept at, at least not yet.

Honestly, I
was only listening to half the conversation. For the past few days, my thoughts kept returning to the last of Lucifer's memories. By the end of the meal, I know what I have to do. I lean over to whisper in Malcolm's ear.

“
Do you know where my parents lived?” I ask him.

Malcolm immediately looks troubled by my question
but nods slowly. He seems to already know what my next question will be.

“
Would you take me there?” I ask.

“
Are you sure you want to go?”

I nod.
“Yes.”

Malcolm sighs in resignation.

“Then finish up your lunch,” he says to me. “And I’ll take you.”

I place one hand on Malcolm’s thigh closest to me and squeeze
it gently.

“
Thank you.”

Malcolm nods, accepting my thanks and continues to finish his meal.

I’m not really sure what I expect to find at my parents’ home, except for a sense of who they were when they were together. All I know is that I need to feel closer to them, and there isn’t any place better than the home they built together…

Chapter 18

After lunch, Brutus and Kyna volunteer to take care of Lucas while Malcolm and I are gone. I don't want to take him with us because I'm not sure what effect being in my parents' home will have on me. If it made me emotional, I didn't want him to see me breakdown.

“
Are you sure about this?” Malcolm asks me, looking worried about taking me where I want to go.

I grab a
purple wool coat with a fur collar and shoulder cape out of the walk-in closet in our room, knowing that anywhere we go in the down-world will be cold this time of year.

“
I saw a little bit of the home while I watched Lucifer's memory,” I tell him, pulling my hair out of the back of the coat to let it fall freely around my shoulders. “I just want to see it for myself.”

“
I haven't been there since before you were born. The last time I went there was to get your mother after Lucifer abandoned her. I didn't want Amalie to be all alone while she was pregnant with you,” Malcolm says. “I'm not sure what sort of shape the house will be in after all these years.”

“
As long as it doesn't look like it will fall on our heads, I would still like to see it.”

Malcolm holds his hand out to me and I take it.

I soon find myself standing in front of the two story home that once belonged to my parents. It's built deep within a forested area where I can't imagine many people would just wander across it. The exterior is overgrown with vegetation after being abandoned for so many years. A thin layer of newly fallen snow covers it, giving the house an ethereal appearance. With Malcolm holding my hand, we walk up the path to the front door. I reach out and grab the brass doorknob to find it unlocked. I gently push the door open, letting it swing inward the rest of the way on its own.

Sun filters through
a naturally made skylight, and the interior is dusted with a blanket of newly fallen snow. We walk in and see that sometime over the years a tree has fallen on the house, breaking through the roof and second floor to land in the middle of the entryway on the ground floor. The house is completely silent, bringing a sad and empty quality to the surroundings. I look over to my left and see a space that was once a living room. The few pieces of furniture left there has decayed from exposure to the elements over time and most likely animals looking for a warm place to stay.

I let go of Malcolm's hand and walk over to the room. There's a fireplace with a mantel on the outside wall facing the front of the house. I walk over to it and run my hand through the snow that's accumulated on top of it.

“Ouch!” I cry out, as the palm of my hand runs across something sharp hidden beneath the snow. Droplets of my blood spill onto the object. Malcolm is by my side in less than a second, taking my hand to examine it.

“
It's not too deep,” he says, studying the cut. “Wait here. I'll be right back.”

Malcolm phases and I
return my attention to the mantel to see what was sharp enough to cut me.

Lying just under
neath the snow is a shattered picture frame. Cautiously, I reach out and pick it up, letting the broken glass fall out onto the mantel.

It's a picture of Lucifer and my mother standing in front of this house in happier times. They're both smiling and
look like the most content people in the world. Lucifer has his arms wrapped around my mother's waist with his hands splayed over her stomach. Her belly doesn't even have a bump showing that she was pregnant yet, but you can tell by their expressions I was already within her womb when this picture was taken. It had to have been before they understood my conception was a death sentence for my mother. Otherwise, they wouldn't look like they had the rest of their lives ahead of them.

I pull the picture out of the broken frame just as Malcolm comes back with a
healing wand. I put the picture in the pocket of my coat as I hand Malcolm my injured hand.

“
I don't like seeing you hurt,” he tells me, running the wand over my hand to instantly heal the wound.

“
Thank you,” I tell him, leaning in to kiss him on the lips and wipe away the worry on his face.

“
Have you seen enough here?” he asks, tucking the wand into one of his jacket pockets.

“
I just want to walk through what's left for a little while longer.”

Malcolm nods and
lets go of my hand to allow me to lead the way. He follows behind me but not too closely, allowing me to soak in what remains of a home I’m sure was once filled with happiness, if the picture I found is any indication. I feel an immense sadness for my parents. Not only for losing the time they would have had here on Earth together if I hadn't been born, but also for the time they would never get to share with one another in Heaven.

I look over my shoulder at Malcolm. He's looking at something off to the side and doesn't see me studying him. My heart aches in
side my chest at just the thought of us being separated from each other after death. I saw firsthand what such a divide was doing to my mother. She was an emotional wreck, even though she was in Heaven. Being in such a place was supposed to bring everlasting joy. For her, it almost seemed like a prison sentence because it meant an eternity without her soulmate and only being allowed to feel his pain after her loss.

Malcolm must sense my gaze. He looks at
me and smiles, breaking my heart at the tenderness he holds for me in his eyes.

“
I love you,” I say.

“
I love you too,” he says back.

A sudden movement behind a door to my right draws my attention
. I walk over and swing the door open further to see what's inside.

As I stand in the threshold of the
room, I’m caught off guard by what I see. A well of tears blur my vision as I look at what would have been my room once upon a time.

The sun shines through the large single paned window behind a dilapidated crib.
A white dove sits perched on top of what's left of the wood frame, but quickly flies past me out of the room. My gaze is drawn back to what's painted on the window. It's a mural composed of a beautiful tree with a myriad of leafy branches, but something looks odd about the branches. I walk further into the room to get a better look at it. As I study the tree, I soon discover what’s unusual about it. The roots at the base of the trunk are painted in such a way that two names can be seen within their curls, Lilly and Brand. I follow what looks like natural bark lines on the trunk and see that they actually spell out two more names, Caylin and Aiden. I study the connecting branches and see a multitude of other names etched. I search the branches until I find the two names I'm looking for, Lucifer and Amalie. There is a branch stemming off it without a name that should have had mine if my mother had named me before her death. I run the tips of my fingers over my parents' names. The instant I do, an array of colorful holographic butterflies surround me, kissing my skin.

I begin to cry.

I feel Malcolm wrap his arms around me from behind. I turn to bury my face against his chest finding comfort in his embrace. My husband simply holds me tight without saying a word. In this room, I feel the missed opportunity of another life. What would have happened if my mother had survived my birth? Would we have been a happy little family living in this home where butterflies magically appear with just a touch? What other wonders would my parents have shown me if they had been given the opportunity?

It takes me a while to pull myself together. When I finally do, I lift my head and look up at Malcolm.

“Don’t cry, my love,” Malcolm says, wiping away my tears with the pads of his thumbs. “Every tear you shed tears a hole inside my heart.”

Of course, this just makes me cry even harder.

I wrap my arms around Malcolm’s neck.

“
Take me home,” I beg him.

Malcolm phases us back to our bedroom and simply holds me until I’m ready to let him go. I know what I want to do. I’m just not sure how well Malcolm will react to my idea.

I pull away slightly to speak.

“
I would like to do something,” I tell him, feeling nervous to give voice to my heartfelt wish.

Malcolm’s eyes narrow on me, obviously sensing my reluctance to say what’s on my mind.

“You act like this is going to make me mad.”

I sigh.
“It might.”

Malcolm crosses his arms in front of him
as if he’s bracing himself for my request.

“
I would like to invite Lucifer to have dinner with us,” I say quickly. So quickly, in fact, that I’m not completely sure it was intelligible.

But
, I can tell from the look of disbelief on Malcolm’s face that he understood all too well.

“
Are you serious?” He asks quietly. His calm, even tone is a little unnerving. It almost makes me wish he had yelled his question instead.

“
I know you hate him,” I say.

“
For good reason,” Malcolm states succinctly.

I reach out and place my hands on Malcolm’s still crossed arms
, hoping I can make him understand.

“
I need this,” I say on the verge of more tears. “I need to get to know him. If at all possible, I want him to become a part of my life. There’s a side of him that I’ve only been able to get glimpses of so far, Malcolm. I think my mother was the only one he ever fully shared himself with. I don’t think he’ll be that open with me, but I have to try. I need to know there’s a part of him that’s still good. If he’s completely damned, then what chance do I have to fight what the seals will do to me? You don’t know how close I came to killing Lorcan. I wanted to kill him. If you hadn’t stopped me, I would have and that scares me, Malcolm.”

“
You don’t know that for a fact,” Malcolm tries to argue.

“
I do know that,” I tell him. “I felt so drunk with power when I held his life in my hands that I almost let it take control of me. Lucifer is my father, whether you want to admit that to yourself or not. I may physically look more like my mother, but I also have my father’s blood coursing through my veins. I know you hate him. You have every right to from what I understand. But, it doesn’t mean I have to feel the same way about him. Maybe I have more empathy for Lucifer because I’ve seen how Helena is using his pain against him. I don’t know. All I do know is that getting to know him allows me to know myself better. Before I take Belphagor’s seal, I feel like I need as many ties to this life as I can get. We have no way of knowing what it will do to me, Malcolm. If I can have you both by my side, I feel like I have a better chance of surviving what comes next. Please, try to understand. I need this.”

I feel the tenseness in his posture dissipate as my words sink in. In a way, I feel guilty. I know I’m using Malcolm’s love for me to get what I want, but everything I said to him was true. I do feel
like bringing Lucifer into my life will help me endure the rest of my mission. My request is a selfish one, and I know I’m asking Malcolm to be completely selfless. Malcolm’s past with Lucifer seems to have been a murky one filled with pain and deceit. In time, I hope they can come to some sort of understanding and use me as a bridge to mend their differences. But right now, I’m allowing myself to be greedy in my request because it’s what I need to do to survive.

“
And when exactly would you want this dinner party to take place?” Malcolm asks, giving into my demand with his question.

“
As soon as possible,” I say, dropping my hands from his arms. “We’re supposed to meet with Belphagor tomorrow, and I don’t know what’s going to happen after that. Would tonight be all right?”

Malcolm sighs heavily and rubs his eyes with the heels of his hands looking slightly frustrated.

“Fine,” he finally says, placing his hands on his hips not looking the least bit happy.

“
Thank you,” I tell him. I don’t try to touch Malcolm because I feel like he’s on the edge. I know he’s only doing this for me. I suddenly think of an idea that I hope will make the evening a little less tense.

“
Why don’t we invite everyone else?” I ask. “That way you won’t feel the need to have to talk to him if you don’t want to.”

“
Fine,” Malcolm says curtly, looking away from me.

“
And…I need your help with one more thing,” I say, wondering if I’m pushing my luck with what I’m about to ask for next.

Malcolm looks back at me, his face completely blank as he waits for me to speak.

“I need your help finding him,” I say. “I could go back to Hell to see if he’s there, but I would rather check here on Earth first. Do you know of any places he might go to here?”

Malcolm just stares at me for a moment before he shakes his head
like he either thinks I’m crazy for asking, or he is for helping me. He holds one of his hands out for me to take.

“
Only for you would I purposely go looking for Lucifer,” he tells me. “I know of a few places we might be able to find him.”