Paradox

Chapter 31: Bad Moon on the Rise

Chloe ran to the elevator with shouts from Maze and Lucifer following her. She arrived at the level Lux was on and frantically looked around the nightclub for Trixie in case she had taken an Uber there. Her cell rang and Dan confirmed she was not at the beach house.

She kicked herself for not having checked her Uber account right away. There were no new charges on it. Trixie had not taken an Uber. Her breath caught in her throat as she frantically tried to figure out where to go next. She called the station and reported Trixie missing so they could put out an Amber Alert but discovered Dan had already beat her to it. A hand landed on her shoulder and she jumped startled to find Amenadiel there.

His brown eyes looked both sympathetic and worried. "How can I help?" the words were barely out of his mouth when Lucifer and Maze raced down the stairs. She realized the angel had used his wings to get to her so quickly while the others took the elevator.

"I want to return to the river, where the little boy's body was found and the other was found alive. There was a strange imprint in the soil, like a giant claw, but we couldn't figure out where it was from. Do any of you have an idea?"

The three beings in front of her all paled. "What!? Tell me!" she demanded.

"Asmodeus," Maze spoke up first. "Lucifer maimed him in battle, his leg was cut off at the knee he must have acquired a different appendage."

"What will he do to Trixie?" she asked faintly.

"Mum has your spawn, she commented how she always wanted a daughter," Lucifer informed them gravely.

"I'll fly you to the river it's faster," Amenadiel offered.

"Please," Chloe responded.

"We can take my car, I drive faster than my brother flies," Lucifer looked put out.

Chloe shook her head, and she and the angel were gone in a flash.

"Come on!" Maze urged the devil. He didn't need any additional prompting as they raced for the car.

All was quiet when they landed by the river. The full moon was just rising and it was a clear night.

"Are you alright?" Amenadiel asked.

"Uh, yeah. That was quite the experience." In a flash, the angel had scooped her up in his arms and with a rush of wings in what seemed like seconds they were at the river. She saw that he had broken out in a sweat. "Are you okay? How is the injured wing?"

"Painful but workable," he grinned for a second.

"Thank you," she said sincerely as she pulled a flashlight out of her coat that she had brought to the crime scene earlier. She lit the path down by the riverbank while Amenadiel stuck close.to her sniffing the air and scanning the trees.

"I don't know why I think she might have been brought here. One of the missing boys was found here and the other one was killed here. Some of the escaped souls had also been here. Then there was the scene with the missing carousel although I don't know how that ties in. A strange silt had been found at the site and it matches the silt from this river." They walked along the bank when Lucifer and Maze also appeared.

Lucifer was by her side in seconds. "Have you found anything?"

She shook her head, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I don't know it's just a feeling that something isn't right here."

They trudged along the riverbank for over an hour when the soft sounds of music suddenly reached them.

"What the hell is that?" Maze puzzled.