Fallen Angel

Chapter 36.1

Lucifer went straight to the Dream Realm to get some answers from that windbag, Morpheus, but when he arrived, he found the palace reduced to ashes, the gardens destroyed, the slaves dead, and the man himself nowhere in sight. The same went for the Blood Countess. He promptly returned to the Circles, expecting to find Bathory in her chambers, but she wasn't there either. He went from door to door until he came upon little Kitty Howard.

"Katheryn, have you seen Bathory?" he asked.

"Yes, she returned some time ago with Lucrezia Borgia."

"What, with Borgia's sister?"

Katheryn nodded. "I found it strange since you hadn't told me you were planning to reunite Cesare with her, so I followed Bathory afterwards. She entered the Angel of Death's chamber. He came some moments later. I lingered to see if they came out, but they didn't."

Lucifer immediately left to check on his son, but found his room empty. He did notice the bloodied dagger on the table and the arrow shafts on the ground. Bathory must have been wounded in the fight at the Dream Realm after all. But why come to Samael to lick her wounds?
Suddenly, Lucifer noticed the sheets and pillows in disarray on the bed. Had Samael... with Bathory? Surely not! Then a terrible thought occurred to Lucifer. Did she know who Samael truly was? Was she planning something, using his son to get to him?

Damn that witch! What did she do to you, Samael?

When Lucifer tried to summon Bathory to him again, his amulet burned his chest. He hissed at the sensation. Someone was calling out to him. He gasped when he heard Margaret's panicked voice ringing through his mind, as clearly as if she were standing next to him, pleading urgently for help. Lucifer did not waste another second and opened a portal that brought him straight to her. His wife stood outside a hovel and ran to him as soon as she saw him. 

"Lucifer, thank God you came!" She fell into his arms. "I've been calling Samael, but it was taking too long! I didn't know what else to do!"

Lucifer shushed her and glanced around. What the hell was Margaret doing at Pergamum?

"Marina, how did you get here?" he asked. "What's going on?"

"It's Joan. Her water broke; she's in labour. Lucifer, we cannot let her give birth here. You have to take her away right now."

"You know it's dangerous to move her once labour starts. I arranged for Joan to give birth here, so you should have everything you need. You can —"

"Lucifer, listen to me, please," insisted Margaret. "If you let the baby be born here, it will become a vessel for darkness. Look around you. Everything that grows here lives in utter decay."

"Marina, this baby is a raw force of pure goodness. If Joan delivers at any random place, that energy will wipe out everything in a five-mile radius. The forces here will balance that energy."

"If that's the only reason, then why not the Circles?!"

When Lucifer opened his mouth to speak, he came to realise something. Why not the Circles? That had been the plan, hadn't it? Six hundred years ago, when he learned of God's intentions for Gabriël and Joan (which had regrettably also led to the quick disposal of the spy he'd placed on Adam's Peak), he had carefully designed every aspect. Gabriël was always the soft one, letting his heart lead him. It was only a matter of time before he would be drawn to Joan and she to him. To immortal beings, time meant nothing. Time and patience were all they had.
It had been such a simple plan; once the two came together, he could set the pieces in motion so Michael would be forced to take action against his best friend and confidant. Joan and Gabriël would be taken to the Circles the moment they set foot on Earth, and God's perfect family would become the weapon of Michael's demise. So when had that changed? When had the most important part of the plan been altered, where the sweet lovers would forever be tied to him and the Circles through the birth of their child?