Cresting the top of a small hill, red filled my vision when I spotted Lucifer sitting a hundred feet downhill from us onmythrone. River’s brothers were with him. I knew then that he’d taken the thrones from Hell with the intent of baiting me into a fight I wasn’t prepared for. Before River entered my life, he would have succeeded, but she had calmed me and made it so I at least paused to think before reacting. Even if I did want to fly at him in a rage, I would not leave her unprotected.
River lifted her head and released a startled cry before stumbling forward. Pulling her back, I clasped her firmly against my side when she wriggled to break free of my hold.
“Bailey,” she whispered. “Gage.”
“I will get them back,” I promised. “But you are to stay by me.”
Her body tensed to spring forward, but she stopped fighting my restraining hold. From closer than ever before, the roar of a drakón sounded through the day. The shadow of one darkened the ground between us and Lucifer when it flew overhead. My teeth clenched when I realized that they hadn’t been hunting as they moved across the Earth; they’d been following us.
Blue fire trailed from the bones of the drakón as it soared low over the trees behind Lucifer and disappeared. Between us, green grass rolled down the hill toward Lucifer as no bodies or blood marked the land. I doubted Lucifer felt any regret over what he’d done to the humans and settled here because he couldn’t stand the reminder their bodies provided. He’d chosen this place because the breeze carried the stench of the carnage away from here.
“Remember, you must help Raphael when it becomes necessary,” I said in a low voice to River.
She nodded, but flames flared across the tips of her fingers instead of sparks, and I could feel the fury rolling off her.
Lucifer smiled and waved his hand at us in a beckoning gesture. “Come! Come!” he called excitedly.
“Ihatethat guy,” Hawk stated.
“We all do,” Magnus replied. “It’s why he’s trying to kill us.”
We’d lost the first part of this battle, but I would not leave here until this was ended. Either Lucifer or I would die today.
Lucifer’s grin widened as we neared. Resting his elbow on the arm of my throne, he set his chin on his fist. He draped one leg over the other arm and swung his foot idly back and forth while he gazed at us.
Behind Lucifer, the rest of the angels descended from the sky to form a line. Beside my throne sat River’s; her brother Gage was seated on it. A barta demon stood behind Gage. Its clawed hand curled around Gage’s thin shoulder, pinning the child against the back of the throne. Gage’s brown eyes followed his sister. His freckles stood out starkly against the pallor of his skin, but like his sister, he remained stoic in the face of fear.
“That’s far enough!” Lucifer declared when we were twenty feet away.
I glanced behind me to the wall of demons and Hell creatures lined up to block our retreat. River tensed against me when Lucifer rested his hand on top of Bailey’s blond head. The young child sat before Lucifer on the throne, his blue eyes filled with tears and his fist in his mouth as he sucked on his hand.
Pulling his hand from his mouth, Bailey shouted a garbled, “River!”
The child tried to leap down, but Lucifer held him back.
“Don’t!” River shouted.
I held her close when she lurched toward her brothers again. Tears slid down Bailey’s flushed cheeks as he tipped his head back to gaze at Lucifer before looking to River. He shoved his hand into his mouth once more.
“You’re in no position to tell me what to do, daughter, and apparently,niece,” Lucifer hissed through his bared teeth.
“It’s okay, B,” River said. “It’s all going to be okay. How are you doing, Gage?”
“I’ve been better, Pittah. Yourself?”
“Seen better days too,” she replied.
Gage glanced at Lucifer and a crack in his brave façade showed as his hands trembled. “Did you see… ah… did you see everyone?” he croaked.
“Yes,” River said. “Did you?” Her fingers dug into my flesh as she uttered the question and she didn’t breathe.
“Only some,” Gage whispered. “When they were dro…” Gage cleared his throat. “Dropped.”
River’s grip on me eased only slightly. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to get you both out of here soon.”
Lucifer pressed his lips against Bailey’s ear. “My siblings lied to me too. Don’t believe anything she says,” he said, and more tears streamed from Bailey’s blue eyes. “She’s descended from one of those liars, but which… one… is… it?”
With each of those last four words, he turned Bailey’s head back and forth in a jerking motion. Fire flashed over River’s fingers and up to her wrists. Gage gawked at the flames and Bailey sobbed harder.
