Requiem: Book One in The Apocalypse Trilogy

Chapter 12

“I was always taught that the Devil was crazy,” Lorelei said, taking a casual step to the side, one step closer to her pistol. “but I think it was underestimated. You’re a lunatic.”

“Perhaps,” Lucifer replied with a smile. “but I am not the one hanging off the side of a one hundred story building, am I?”

Before Lorelei could answer, there was a rush of air. She was suddenly at the edge of the building, her toes barely touching the ledge and her arm was suspended above her. Lucifer’s grip on her wrist was tight and painful and Lorelei knew if he squeezed any harder, he could shatter the bones in her wrist. A cruel smirk replaced his smile and his golden eyes twinkled as Lucifer kicked her toes away from the building.

Lorelei felt herself falling and a cry of panic and fear passed through her lips. Tears sprung to her eyes as the fall was abrupt and she stopped with a painful jolt. She felt a burning sensation in her shoulder, realizing it was torn from its place, and she looked up. Lorelei’s wrist was still tightly enclosed in Lucifer’s hand, but he was now crouched by the ledge, suspending Lorelei over the edge. She reached up, trying to grab onto the ledge with her free hand, only to have Lucifer extend his arm lower, keeping her from reaching the top of the building.

“Maybe you should learn to speak to the King of Hell with a bit more respect, don’t you?” Lucifer said. “Because I can assure you that you wouldn’t be in this position if you had kept your mouth shut.”

Lorelei looked up at him, tears glimmering in her emerald eyes. She tried to not move her gaze from him, knowing that if she was to look down, it would only cause her to hyperventilate. Being suspend this high in the air, knowing the person keeping her from falling to her death was Lucifer himself, kept Lorelei from saying a word. She was already terrified and the thought of him letting her go did not settle well with her.

“I should probably explain your situation in more detail, since it doesn’t seem like you’re going anywhere any time soon,” A sadistic chuckle passed through his lips and Lorelei only swallowed at his sick joke, knowing he could release her at any moment.
“When the Apocalypse began, there was a Prophecy written in Heaven that a child would be born with the powers to stop the Apocalypse and defeat yours truly. But you see, Lorelei, the same Prophecy was also written in Hell, that the same child could also destroy Earth’s entirety and perhaps, given the right training, could also burn down Heaven.”

Lucifer paused, letting all of this sink in, and Lorelei wished he hadn’t. She couldn’t be a Prophet. Lorelei was nothing more than the daughter of a preacher and a soldier of a miniscule town with the population of around three hundred people. How could she be destined to choose such a high responsibility? To be the Prophet of Heaven, save Earth, and defeat Lucifer or to be the Prophet of Hell, where she would destroy the Earth, murdering what was left of Earth’s population, and potentially destroying Heaven in the process. This was a terrible situation Lorelei found herself in.

“Here are your options, Prophet,” Lucifer said, his voice stern. “You could choose to fight with me and I will pull you back to safety. Or you could choose to fight for Heaven, but if you choose that, I’m afraid you become a liability and I will have to let you fall to your death. Can’t have you, as you mortals say, raining on my parade.”

As Lorelei dangled a hundred stories high, she realized she didn’t have many options to choose. It wasn’t like she could fight back against Lucifer, because he was the only one keeping her alive, for the moment. Lorelei was given two very clear options; fight for Heaven or fight for Hell. Neither one of them seemed very appealing, but the thought of falling hundreds of feet to her death didn’t seem very pleasing either.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lorelei caught her gun glimmering in the sunlight. It rested against the ledge of the building, just in reach. Lorelei knew then what she had to do.

“I’ll be a Prophet of Hell,” Lorelei said, her voice shaking and she didn’t sound too convincing to her own ears. She cleared her throat and tried again. “I’ll fight with you.”

A triumphant smile spread across Lucifer’s face, and he reminded Lorelei of a Cheshire Cat. “A very wise choice.”

As he started to pull her back to safety, Lorelei’s hand lashed out, and her fingers curled around the hilt of her pistol. Lorelei pressed the barrel of the gun between Lucifer’s eyes as her toes touched the ledge of the building once more. A look of betrayal flickered across Lucifer’s facial expression, but it was quickly replaced with a snarl of rage.

“I would never fight for you, Lucifer. Not even if my life depended on it,” Lorelei’s finger pressed the trigger.

The explosion of the gun made her ears ring. Blood, warm and sticky, ran down her earlobes and Lorelei fought the urge to wipe at the blood. She had bigger problems to worry about. Lucifer blinked a few times, a look of annoyance in his golden eyes as blood trickled down from where the bullet had entered his skull.

“Ouch,” Lucifer said as he reached up, digging the bullet out with two fingers and exposed it to Lorelei, blood and ichor covered the metal. “You’ll need much more than a pitiful human weapon to kill me, child.”

Lorelei barely had time to react before Lucifer threw her from the building’s rooftop. Her arms flailed as she plummeted down and she opened her mouth to scream, but she was falling too fast. Air was sucked from her lungs and Lorelei felt herself quickly suffocating as she fell toward the ground below her. Lorelei closed her eyes, waiting for the impact of the cement beneath her to come.

Her back slammed into something hard and at first she thought it was the pavement, until arms wrapped protectively around her. The sound of wings beating against the air filled her ears. Lorelei opened her eyes. She was still falling to the ground, but by each passing second, someone was slowing her fall. Lorelei turned her head around, her eyes meeting a pair of blue, shimmering pools.

“Archer!” Lorelei exclaimed, a happy sob building in her chest. She had never been so ecstatic to see him.

“Seems like you got yourself into quite the predicament,” Archer said with a smile as he switched their positions, turning Lorelei around so that she could wrap her arms around his neck and he moved forward, bringing himself into an upright position.

Lorelei gripped tightly onto him. His wings continued to beat against the air as they came to float inches above the pavement. Archer retracted his wings into his back and their feet hit the pavement. Lorelei still clung to him, her legs felt like jelly beneath her and her heart still beat in her throat. Adrenaline shot through her veins like fire and she waited for it to die down.

Clinging to Archer, Lorelei felt safe, even though her feet touched solid ground. She buried her face in his neck as she waited for her heart to slow and Lorelei found herself breathing in, taking in Archer’s scent. Lorelei had never noticed this before, but Archer smelled...clean. It was like the Earth’s natural scents were his own personal cologne; the crisp smell of pine trees, the salty tinge of ocean water, the sweet scent of apple orchards, and the refreshing after smell of rain all wrapped into one.

“Lorelei,” Archer carefully pulled away from her, placing both of his hands against either side of her face. “Are you okay?”

Lorelei opened her mouth to respond, but another voice cut through.

“Lorel!”

They both turned as Jadis came sprinting up to them. His hazel eyes were wide with fear and relief as he came to a halt beside them. He tore Lorelei from Archer’s grasp and hugged her tightly.

“What happened?” Jadis asked as he released Lorelei, his hazel eyes frantically searching her face.

Lorelei turned her eyes up toward the building. She had expected to see Lucifer standing at the building’s edge, but he was no longer there. Lorelei turned her gaze back onto Jadis who gave her an expectant glance.

“I’ll tell you when we get back to Haven.” Lorelei said and they all made their trek back towards the truck.