Uprising (Alternate Earth Series, Book 2) (12 page)

“Are you just going to stand there and stare at me, Jessica, or are you actually going to speak?”

I step up to the bars because if there is one thing I don’t want to appear as in front of Lucifer, it’s weak.

“I didn’t expect you to be awake so soon,” I tell him.

“A hearty metabolism can be a benefit sometimes,” he tells me, rolling over onto his stomach and wrapping an arm around his pillow as he considers me. “Drugs don’t normally stay in my system for very long. They had to keep administering sedatives to me on an hourly basis in their little chamber of horrors.”

“You look a lot better than when we found you,” I say. “Though, you could still use a bath.”

“Are you offering to give me one, Jessica?”

When I look at Lucifer’s face, I find him grinning devilishly at me, letting me know he’s teasing me with his question.

“I didn’t come down here to fulfill one of your juvenile fantasies,” I tell him. “I have something more important to discuss with you.”

“Do tell…” Lucifer says, his eye narrowing at me with intense curiosity. “I guess I should have known you only rescued me so I could do something for you.”

Did I imagine it, or did Lucifer actually sound hurt by my possible motivations?

“Do you think I’m that kind of person, Lucifer?” I ask, realizing I care what he thinks about me. “Do you honestly believe the only reason I would help you is so you would do what I ask?”

“So you’re not going to ask me to do something for you?” he asks, daring me to contradict his assumption.

“Of course I am,” I say, not wanting to deny the fact. “However, it’s not the only reason I went to get you. I was planning to anyway, even before I needed your help. It just took us a while to figure out where they were hiding you. Otherwise, I would have been there sooner.”

Lucifer stares at me for a few seconds, as if he’s trying to determine if I’m telling him the truth.

“What is it that you want from me?” he finally asks.

“Did they tell you what happened after the fourth seal was opened?”

“Yes. They were quite pleased it all seemed to work out so beautifully, even though you tried to stop them.”

“Did you know Ravan was Lilith when you first saw her at the party?”

“No,” Lucifer says, and I know he’s telling the truth. “I didn’t recognize her at the time. Odd that she should still be alive here, though. She’s almost as old as the Earth itself. By all rights, she should be dead.”

“Do you know how she’s been kept alive all this time?”

“I have a guess,” Lucifer says hesitantly.

“Does it have anything to do with Faust? Is it djinn magic?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“And ruin your figuring out such a juicy mystery for yourself?” Lucifer says, appalled by such a notion. “Absolutely not. You’ve always been rather resourceful, Jessica. I feel sure you’ll be able to figure it out on your own soon enough.”

“Do you know what Lucian wants her to do for him?” I ask. “He doesn’t seem like the type who would keep anyone around without having a purpose for them.”

“Of course he wants her to do something for him,” Lucifer says, sounding bored with the turn of the conversation. “That’s painfully obvious.”

“How does he intend to use her?” I ask.

“Do you want me to spoon-feed you everything?” Lucifer says irritably. “You’ll just have to figure it out. Besides, I’m curious to know if what he plans will work. I don’t want to be the cause of it failing.”

“Why? Do you plan to use what you learn here on our Earth when we get back? We’ve hidden your partners in crime, remember? I doubt you’ll see any of them for a very long time.”

“I can be an extremely patient person when I have to be,” Lucifer says, pulling his pillow under his arm and propping his head against his fist. “Instead of wasting your breath asking me questions I’ll never give you the answers to, why don’t you ask me this favor you want from me?”

I take a deep breath and say, “Can you release the souls of the people who were infected by the birds?”

“Ohhh, discovered that nasty little surprise, did you?” Lucifer says, sounding impressed. “I wondered how long it would take.”

“Can you help them or not?” I ask, becoming irritated.

“Honestly? I’m not sure,” Lucifer answers with a small shrug. “It’s not the same thing as what I do to the princes when they disobey me. The principle is essentially the same, but I wasn’t the one who cursed the infected. I have no way of knowing if my power will be enough to release their souls from their bodies. I would need a test subject.”

“Would you be willing to at least try?”

“Of course!” he says a little too enthusiastically. When he smiles at me, I’m totally prepared to hear, “For a price, of course.”

“What do you want?” I ask, bracing myself for his demand.

“Oh, my,” Lucifer says, tapping his index finger against his lips as he pretends to consider all of his options. I’m pretty sure he’s already decided what he wants from me. “This must be what it feels like to make a birthday wish.”

With those words, Lucifer’s eyes light up with an idea that I’m sure I won’t like.

“Speaking of which, I know exactly what I want from you, Jessica.”

Lucifer doesn’t say anything. He just smiles at me, his sparkling blue eyes twinkling even brighter.

“Are you going to tell me, or are we going to play twenty questions here?”

“I only have one simple request,” Lucifer says, as if what he wants isn’t asking me for much. “Every year, on your birthday, I want you to spend one hour alone with me, until the time comes when you have to leave our earthly plane.”

I feel my forehead furrow in confusion, and the only thing I can think to say is, “Why?”

“Are you refusing me?”

“No,” I tell him. “It just seems like an odd request.”

“Then … are you agreeing to my terms?” he asks with a note of hopefulness.

“I need a minute,” I say, turning away to find Mason.

“Don’t take too long,” Lucifer calls out behind me. “This offer expires in five minutes. Take it now, or forever wonder if I could have helped all of the unfortunate little monkey souls you’re so concerned about saving.”

I walk out of the box to find Mason pacing back and forth a couple of feet away. He stops in mid-stride when he sees me. I close the door behind me and lean against its coolness.

“Are you all right?” Mason asks, walking up to me.

“You’re not going to believe what he wants…” I say, having a hard time believing the condition Lucifer just set for his cooperation.

“What?” Mason asks with great deal of hesitancy.

I look Mason in the eyes and say, “He wants to spend time with me.”

Mason instantly scowls. “How much time?”

“One hour on my birthday each year until I die,” I say, realizing how absurd it sounds. “Why would he want that? How does that benefit him?”

“I don’t know,” Mason say, his scowl darkening. “But I don’t like it, Jess.”

Mason reaches for me. I mistakenly think he wants to bring me comfort. Before I know what’s going on, he pulls me away from the door and immediately reaches for the latch. I don’t even have a chance to ask what he plans to do before he steps into the box. All I can do is follow him.

“What are you playing at, Lucifer?” Mason demands.

Lucifer sits up on his cot and leans his back up against the wall as he considers my husband through the bars of his cell.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Lucifer replies, acting innocent of any wrongdoing.

“Why are you playing with Jess’ emotions like this?” Mason demands. “Against my better judgment, she considered you her friend before you threatened to, and almost did, kill her! Why would you want to spend an hour with her on her birthday? What advantage does that gain you?”

“I really don’t see what business this is of yours, Mason. Why don’t you keep your little angel nose out of Archangel business? This is between Jessica and me. I’m not really into threesomes, contrary to what others might believe about me.”

“I don’t trust you where my wife is concerned,” Mason says, punctuating his words by pointing an accusing finger at Lucifer. “Leave her out of any of your little deals. Find something else that you want, and ask for it.”

Lucifer sighs dramatically. “Alas, that’s all I want at the moment. I don’t think it’s asking for much, really. One hour out of a whole year. What could that hurt?”

“Her soul.”

Lucifer begins to truly laugh. “If you think her soul can be lost that easily, I’m surprised you let her out of the house. Or is that your plan? To keep her barefoot and pregnant so you can control her every little move and thought? I’ve always considered her quite smart for a monkey, but perhaps you don’t regard her intelligence in the same light…”

“Don’t even try to do that,” Mason warns before realization seems to hit. “Or is that your plan? Do you intend to use your time with her to try to pull her away from me? If that’s it, you’ve lost your damn mind.”

“Is her heart that fickle?” Lucifer asks in astonishment. “My, my, it seems that you don’t respect her as much as I thought you did. It’s amazing she’s put up with you for this long, Mason.”

“Stop,” I say, placing a hand on Mason’s arm to stop him from saying his next words to Lucifer. I can feel how tense his quarrel with Lucifer is making him. The argument they’re having is pointless and getting us nowhere.

“Do one thing for me,” I say to my husband. “I’m going to ask him a question, and I want you to tell me if he’s telling the truth.”

Mason just nods, though I can still see the anger in his eyes.

I look over at Lucifer. “Do you promise to do your best to help the infected? If it works, will you help as many of them as you can?”

“You have my word,” Lucifer says, raising his hand in the air, like a Boy Scout making a promise.

“I want a yes or no answer,” I tell Lucifer, knowing that the truth of such a statement can be subjective.

“Yes,” Lucifer says.

“Is he telling me the truth?” I ask Mason.

Mason nods, obviously not trusting himself not to say something else to Lucifer.

“Then I accept your proposal,” I tell Lucifer, which does nothing to lessen Mason’s tension. In fact, I think I just made it worse with my consent.

Lucifer stands up, letting the blanket completely fall away from his body, shamelessly standing in front of us stark naked.

“Where’s the first victim?” he asks.

I make sure to keep my eyes focused on Lucifer’s face, because I know he only did what he did to get a rise out of either Mason or me, or possibly both.

“I’ll bring her down in a little while,” I tell him. “I’ll also have someone bring you a bowl of water to wash up with.” I glance down the length of Lucifer and smile at him tight-lipped. “Obviously it’s cold in here, so I’ll make sure you get a fresh set of clothes, too.”

“Oh, well that’s just harsh, Jessica,” Lucifer says, but smiles and holds his hands on his hips, striking a superhero pose.

“I call them like I see them,” I say, taking my husband’s hand. “We’ll be back later.”

“Just don’t ask that big oaf to be the one who brings me those things!” Lucifer calls out as we exit the graviton cage. “All I need is for Malcolm to act like he’s doing me a favor.”

“I’ll make sure he’s not the one chosen,” I say before I close the door behind me.

Mason lets go of my hand and walks a few feet away to plow his fist into the nearest brick wall. I know he didn’t hit it with all his strength, because the house remains standing. For good measure, he makes a second hole in the same wall with his other fist.

“Mason...” I say imploringly, hoping he’ll understand my decision and be able to live with it for the rest of our lives. I know I’ve basically just given Lucifer permission to become a small part of our future, but I didn’t see any other way to get what we needed.

“It might not even work, Jess,” Mason says with his back still to me and his head hung low between his shoulders. “You may have made a promise to him for nothing.”

“It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”

Mason turns around. His face looks stricken by my words. “I don’t know if I’ll ever understand you where he’s concerned.”

“I know. I don’t quite understand it myself, to tell you the truth. But this is the right thing to do, Mason. I have to try. I have to do everything I can to help those people.”

Mason sighs. “I know. I love that about you, but it also drives me insane.”

I walk over to my husband and hug him around the waist. “Please don’t be mad at me.”

Mason wraps his arms around me. “I’m not angry with you, just worried for you. I don’t want him to play with your heart again, or your soul.”

“I’ll be fine,” I say reassuringly, even though I’m not sure which one of us I’m trying to convince.

Mason doesn’t say anything, just holds me. I think he understands my conundrum where Lucifer is concerned, and I feel lucky to have a man who loves and trusts me completely. It’s not a quality all women can find in the men they give their hearts to. I’m just one of the lucky ones who did.