Caught in the Fire

Chapter XVI: Chains of Yesterday

Samael, I will wait for you.

Lucifer awoke as if he had been under a spell upon hearing the prayer. He looked around in bewilderment, finding himself back in that loft, crouched beside Cain with one of Mazikeen's blades sticking out of the former immortal's chest. He stood up, glancing down at Cain's body with red, glowing eyes. Once again, his skin had burned, and those grotesque wings had unfurled from his back.

"And that you belong in Hell where you would..." Lucifer continued, repeating it for the millionth time, but trailed off when he noticed the wooden frame on the floor that didn't belong in the loft.

He picked it up and was surprised to see the picture of Chloe and Trixie. He studied the photograph, taking in every detail of it. He noticed the ash caked on top and it served as a reminder that his soul was still trapped in Hell, and what he had to fight for. He wiped away the ash with his sleeve, finally seeing the Detective's beautiful face clearly, and the urchin's bright smile.

I'll talk to you tomorrow. Okay?—he remembered Chloe telling him on that fateful day—Because there will be a tomorrow.

Tomorrow—he had answered—It's a... date.

"Lucifer?" he heard her calling for him. He turned around, holding the photograph close to his heart. 'Chloe' was there, standing in front of those stairs. Once again, he saw the fear in her eyes as she backed away from him in abject terror. "It's all true," she repeated.

As she had done many times before, she called him the Devil, Satan, all while looking at him like he was some horrible monster. He wanted her to be the real Chloe, to reach out to her and tell her that she didn't have to be afraid of him, but he knew that she was currently beyond his reach. What he wouldn't give to see her again. What he wouldn't give to have the urchin paint yet another drowned, extinct unicorn on his face. What he wouldn't give for another game night with his ladies. He was so close to making that a reality. Mazikeen had found him. Michael was on his way. Chloe was waiting for him.

He gazed at the photograph in his hands, feeling nostalgic for what he lost so long ago, and his Devil face faded away and his grotesque wings retreated into his back. He pocketed the photograph, keeping them close to his heart. "You... You're not her," he whispered, wishing for the opposite. He watched as 'Chloe' ran up the stairs and disappeared, finally granting him some reprieve.

"Finally." Cain got back on his feet, pulling the blade out of his chest with a pained grunt, then put it away. "That went on forever."

"It looks like the loop has stopped for now," Lucifer said, "but the demons will be back, and then we'll be at each other's throats again."

Even though he was trapped in this Hell Loop reliving yesterday, he would do whatever it took to see another tomorrow and finally fulfill his promise to her. He would find the root of his guilt and convince himself that he didn't deserve to be punished. Then he would free the Detective of her guilt, and they could enjoy all the tomorrows they could get, together.

But he needed to get back to Earth and save the Detective from Hell. Nothing else mattered to him now but going through that final door to freedom. But he couldn't do anything until he figured out what he was feeling guilty about. Why was killing Cain his Hell Loop when he didn't even regret killing him? And what did it have to do with the Detective?

"Great," Cain said sarcastically, "That means you'll go back to stabbing me soon. Aren't you tired of that yet?"

"I will never get tired of stabbing you." Lucifer looked at the glass ceiling above the open area of the loft, in the general direction of Earth, wondering if she was looking down at him from his penthouse balcony. I am coming home to you, Detective, as soon as I figure out why I keep killing that ex-fiancé of yours. Whatever did you see in him anyway?