Damned If I Do (Lucifer X MC)

Chapter Eleven - The Full Moon

"Hello?! Come on! I know you're listening!" The confidence boost coursed through me as I stood alone in the desolate street.

A few seconds passed with thick tension. And then - fire. A ripping sensation clawed it's way from the pit of my stomach up to the core of my throat, burning. Demanding to be felt. Demanding my pain.

I hadn't noticed I'd fallen to the floor and was violently hissing from the excruciating feeling, trying with everything in me not to call the attention of every demon in a five mile vicinity. When the pain finally dulled down to a dull aching just a few seconds later, it had felt like a lifetime.

"This is not good. This is not good." A panicked voice suddenly filled my head.

"Y-you think?!" I spluttered, still choking and clasping at my neck in a feeble attempt to make the simmering feeling subside.

"MC, I- I didn't realise... I am doing everything I can to learn of what will happen to you now. But listen to me carefully-"

"What will happen to me?! Are you f*cking kidding?" The burning was only fuelling my rage further. I wanted to kill him. My lungs scorched with the fire of a thousand suns as I stumbled back to my feet.

"Listen, this has gone beyond what I first intended for you. I just needed a human to go into the portal- I- I thought it would have no effect..."

"Z. Get your shit together and tell me, coherently, what you mean."

"Okay. Well..." The silence was worse than the dull fire still smouldering through my veins. If I was going to die, I need to know now. I need to at least tell my Mom that I- .... I need to say goodbye to my family.

"Last night you entered a Malareed Portal. They are the most- one of the most powerful types of magic here in the Devildom. They only open in random locations on nights with a 100% full moon. They are fatal to demons without the granted permissions to go through one..."

I took a jagged breath. "So you used me to mess with the most powerful magic in this whole place?"

"I had no idea it would have any effect on the human species. From what I knew it would only disorientate you."

"Well that's clearly not the case, now is it? Are you gonna find out what's happening to me? Am I going to die?" The urge to cry flushed over me like a wave in the ocean. I didn't hold it back. It felt oddly soothing to have the salty crystals tumbling down my cheeks.

"I- I don't know." Z sounded hopeless. Lost. His voice was thick with an emotion I couldn't quite place. It was almost anguished.

"But wait... Mammon followed me into the portal. Is he gonna be okay?!" The rage inside me turned to pure panic. If anything happened to him... I would never forgive myself.

"The seven brothers are exempt from the portal's lethal edge given their status here in the Devildom. He may get quite sick in the next few days, but he will ultimately be fine."

My heart calmed down.

"But MC... Whatever you do, don't let them touch that paper. There's a curse on that letter I made you take that will turn any demon who touches it without permission, to dust. The portals may not be fatal to them... but the magic inside that paper... will be."

Recollection of the piece of paper sitting in the back pocket of my jeans dawned on me. I'd completely forgotten about it with all the commotion. What was inside it? What kind of magic was Z speaking of? This must be what he was after this whole time. If it was powerful enough to even turn the brothers into nothing but ash, it just be something excruciatingly dangerous. But I couldn't bring myself to worry for myself anymore right now. I was numb.

"Don't open it yourself just yet, either. I am going to observe you closely from now on. The portal shouldn't have caused you any side effects. Go home, and get some rest."

I slowly began to inch forward into a tediously slow walk, but the fear of the unknown possibilities that had been written out for me in that very moment threatened to freeze me in place, rendering me a statue of despair.