Satan's Queen

3

The door clicked shut behind him.

Lucifer stared down the hallway. Never before had he felt so uncertain about so many things. So powerless. It was laughable. To be so powerful and yet so weak. He glanced down at his hands, then at the door. He could watch her if he wanted.

But it hurt too much.

He found himself walking, his feet taking him in a direction he could only follow.

He entered Jacob's cell. The angel appeared as exactly as he'd left him, though no longer crumpled on the floor. He was lying in bed.

Face smeared with dried blood, he sat up. 'Come to beat me some more? Go ahead. You're only wasting your time.'

His nose was clearly broken but it didn't seem to bother him. Jacob had always been tough as one of the Fallen and it seemed he was just as tough as a mortal. It was annoying.

'You want her?' Lucifer said.

The angel raised his eyebrows. 'More than anything in the world.'

'I will kill her, once I have what I need.'

'No, you won't.'

'Presume to know me at your risk, Jacob.'

The angel pressed his lips together. 'Are you going to take me to her?'

Lucifer turned away. Why was he even here? That annoyed him even more—not knowing his own intentions.

'It's over, Lucifer,' Jacob said before he could leave. 'She's no longer yours. She never truly was. Your prophecy was incomplete. A mere tool for a much greater plan.'

Lucifer turned back. 'What are you talking about?'

Jacob gazed at Lucifer patiently. For a moment, Lucifer thought he saw a flash of emerald green, then Jacob blinked and it disappeared.

'It's not the right time,' Jacob answered, and he said it in such a way it was as though he was talking to himself.

Lucifer glared at him. Turning, he left the door open behind him. He heard Jacob's footsteps as he followed. It wasn't long before they stood before Kaitlyn's bedroom door.

'I should have destroyed you utterly,' Lucifer said. 'Then she'd be mine.'

'Perhaps. But you would have lost something much greater.'

'Speaking in riddles, as usual. Let me guess, you're not going to tell me what.'

'You'll find out soon enough.'

Raking his fingers through his hair, Lucifer turned to the angel, studying his squashed nose and the blood on his face. Mortal—and yet Jacob's all-to-knowing eyes seemed to tunnel right through him.

Lucifer flicked his finger and Jacob grabbed at his face. He pulled his hand away in surprise, wrinkling his nose tentatively. It was unbroken. Even the blood was gone.

'Go then,' Lucifer told him.

Jacob seized his arm. 'It's not over for you, Lucifer.' Again, Lucifer thought he glimpsed a flash of angel brightness in his eyes—but that was impossible. His immortality was gone forever. God had made sure of it.

Lucifer wrenched his arm away. 'Go. Don't tempt me to throw you in the fires again.'

Shaking his head gravely, Jacob opened the door and closed it behind him. Lucifer waited a moment, then followed, stepping through the closed door like a phantom, invisible to mortal eyes.

Kaitlyn looked over. She sucked in a breath. 'Jacob?'

'Kaitlyn.' Jacob seemed to sigh her name. He held out his arms.