Broken Wings (Hidden Wings Series Book Two) (28 page)

Do I look at it?

Should I
not
make eye contact?

I had to look,
and then found myself whispering, “Thank you.” As soon as I did I turned away, and felt stupid. Samuel pulled me through the gate, chuckling.

“Was I not supposed to talk to it?”

“Well, I think you were the first, in all of existence, to tell the gate keeper of Hell ‘thank you’. I’m not sure he knew what to do with that.”

“Well, I was thankful he let us through so easily.”

I took a quick glance behind us to see if I could spy Malachi and Dom, but the cave was too dark. They were probably watching us enter the gate, thankful that they didn’t have to come and fight.

As soon as
we were inside, the Reaper slammed the gate shut. The sound of the metal clanging made my insides jump. He then turned and resumed his stance back at the front, and froze. 

Samuel
quickly led me down a rocky corridor that opened up into a huge cavern, which was almost circular. It was dark but beautiful. The walls looked like they were made of a black marble. There were carvings of gargoyles inset into the walls; each placed six feet from the next, and continued all the way around.

They were
creepy, and looked like they could come to life at any moment and attack us. Their stone eyes were glaring at us, their teeth and claws were razor sharp. I tried not to look at them, because they resembled the creature at the first gate. The creature that burned Kade.

T
here were three different passages around the room. One to our left, one to the right, and one directly in front of us.

“Come, Emma,” Samuel said leading me down the tunnel to our left. I wondered if
he knew where he was going. He was a Fallen member, so he must.

The corridor was
dark, and sporadically lit with torches. The ground was flat and easy to walk on. No more jagged rocks, which I was thankful for. We weaved our way through the tunnel, and went through another series of passages, traveling down deeper and deeper. Samuel seemed to know exactly where he was going, so I just followed. 

“
Why aren’t there any Fallen around here? Shouldn’t there be a bunch of them guarding this place?”

“
Not really. There are only a few Fallen that are allowed this far, and no one else has ever survived the five levels. For centuries, Lucifer has had no need to worry about intruders.

W
e will be reaching Lucifer’s dwelling soon, and that area will have guards.”

“Do we have a plan?”

“
No, but as usual, just leave the talking to me.”

“S
ounds like a good plan to me,” I noted.

There was no way I would ever doubt Samuel. I knew for a fact that he
wouldn’t do anything foolish to put our lives in jeopardy; he wanted to get out of here as much as I did.

I
really didn’t know what to expect. I’d heard so many horror stories about the Prince of Darkness, and had seen so many movies that depicted him as this evil, ugly creature that tortured and killed innocents. So, why would he listen to me?

We could only hope that the
rift between him and Lucian was enough to make him help us, and of course, the fact that his son was on a hit list. If Lucifer were as proud as they said he was, then I’d bet he was waiting for a moment of revenge. This would be the perfect time.

And then…
I realized something. Something that suddenly had my head spinning. Something that Samuel was almost executed for, and I meant to ask him earlier.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” Samuel said, stopping and turning to me.

“What is the whole story behind Lucifer and his Nephilim son? Kade told me that it was his brother’s son. Is that true?
”

“Yes,” he answered.

“And was his brother executed because of it?”

“Yes, he was.
Lucifer’s brother raped a mortal woman and she became pregnant. He tried to cover it up and went to Lucifer for help, but somehow word spread to Lucian. When Lucian learned of this, he immediately went to the rest of the Fallen leaders, and had them confront Lucifer’s brother with the law. In order for Lucifer to keep his headship, he had to hand his brother over to them. He was taken and immediately executed.

“Lucian sent others to
kill the woman, but she gave birth before they found her. Lucifer sent one of his personal guards to collect the child, and bring it to him. There was no law that stated that the child had to be executed, so Lucifer raised the Nephilim boy as his own.

“
Lucifer cannot bear children, as was one of the curses put solely upon him when he fell. Thus, this child, his brother’s son, is his only heir.”

“Oh,” I breathed. That was something
I never expected the devil to do. To take in his brother's son and raise him as his own. “But what if they find out that you are my father? What if they see the mark? You were supposed to be executed.”

“That’s just something we will have
to deal with when we get there,” he said.

“Y
ou can’t leave me,” I pleaded.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug. “I’m not leaving you. We’ll get through this somehow
. We just have to have faith. Faith is something I lost a long, long time ago, but since you’ve come back into my life, it’s slowly returned to me,” he said in a quieted voice.” I do have faith that we will make it back to Alaine. Alive.”

I agreed with him and
nodded.

“Onward
?” he asked.

“Onward
.”

He took my hand and we continued down the corridor. I could hear
boisterous laughs and voices, and glanced up at Samuel. His expression didn’t change, but he turned and smiled at me. It was reassuring to see that he wasn’t afraid. 

We soon entered a small room with six Fallen Angels who looked drunk sitting around a circular table. There were platters filled with all kinds of food, and large goblets of drink set in front of them. Behind them were two huge golden doors with hundreds of shimmering gems inset into them, in every color imaginable. I assumed that was the entrance to Lucifer’s dwelling.

As we entered the room
, Samuel held me back from taking another step further, and then he stepped in front of me. All heads turned toward us, and their roaring laughter turned to silence.

One of them stood, and was
about seven feet tall. Huge muscles bulged from his arms and his legs. His skin was tanned and slightly dirty, like he’d recently been in battle, or hadn’t taken a bath in a while. His hair and eyes were raven black.

He st
epped toward Samuel and stood about a foot over him. His huge fingers brushed the handle of his sword.

“What do we have here?” his deep voice asked. He was referencing
Samuel, but glaring at me.

“She’s with me, and we are h
ere to see Lucifer,” Samuel answered.

The Fallen Angel turned back to the rest. “He wants to see Lucifer.”

There was a moment of silence before they all burst into laughter. I could feel my temperature rise as I wa
tched them make fun of Samuel, but Samuel remained calm.

“You look familiar. I’ve fought alongside you
many years ago.” One of the other Fallen stood from the table and pointed at Samuel, confused.

“I’m sure you have,” Samuel said.

“Wait. Aren’t you the one that -” he paused and looked at me, and then back at Samuel.

Oh crap. I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be good.

“Yes! You are the one. He was supposed to have been executed for mating with a mortal!” he yelled.

All eyes steeled on me.

“Is that your abomination?” he growled.

“She is not an abomination, you bastard,” Samuel growled through gritted teeth.
All eyes in the room went pure black.

“
You dare bring your abomination down here?” Another one of them stood and reached for his sword.

Samuel backed up and reached for th
e handle of his sword but didn’t unsheathe it.

“I didn’t come here for
any trouble. I came to speak to Lucifer.”

The huge Fallen Angel took another step toward Samuel, and all of the others stood
and drew their swords. My pulse started to race. Was this really happening? There was nothing I could do.

“
Samuel?” My voice was shaky.

“Go back, Emma,” he said, turning to me.
“Now.”

“I’m not leaving you,” I said
.

“Emma, please.”

His words pierced my heart. He wanted me to go because he didn’t want me to see what was going to happen to him. Six against one. It was going to be a slaughter, but there was no way I was going to leave him. I was prepared to stay and fight alongside him if I needed to.

I grabbed the handle of my
dagger and slowly unsheathed it.

“You shouldn’t have come here. Now
you and your filthy spawn will die,” the largest Fallen yelled.

He
suddenly raised his sword and charged toward Samuel. Samuel charged back at him, and quickly ducked under the Fallen’s sword. With a quick flick of his own sword, Samuel sliced right through his wrist. Within seconds the large brute was dismembered. His hand, along with his blade, fell to the ground.

He looked confused, staring
at his bloodied stump. He was drunk, and much slower than Samuel, so maybe we did have a chance.

“
I don’t want to fight you,” Samuel urged. “I just need to speak to Lucifer. It’s regarding his son.”

I suddenly felt
lightheaded and dizzy, like I was going to faint. My world started to spin a feeling of warmth and euphoria shot through me.

“And what of his son?” A voice called from behin
d us. As soon as I saw him, my world went spiraling into complete confusion.

Red eyes.

Fiery red eyes steeled on mine, the same eyes that recently haunted my dreams.

He
stepped into the room and the rest of the Fallen stepped back. Whoever he was, he was young and very beautiful. He was about the same height as Kade, but his skin was tanned and muscles framed his lean figure in all the right places. His features were dark, as was his ebony hair which was drawn back.

“
Ethon,” the largest Fallen spoke, grasping his bloody wrist. “This Fallen has broken the law and committed a crime. He should have been executed for spawning with a human, and that thing standing in front of you is his abomination.”

Ethon
came and stood next to me, so close that my body reacted. Heat and dizziness coursed through my veins. The air felt like it was alive and buzzing with electricity. I felt magnetized to him.

What the hell was happening to me, and who was this person?

“Azza
h, I suggest you pick up your limb and tend to your wounds. Let me deal with this,” Ethon spoke in an authoritative tone. “The rest of you can resume whatever it was you were doing.”

The other fiv
e Fallen took their seats at the table, but kept their swords drawn. The large one, who he called Azzah, bent down and picked up his severed hand and sword, and then proceeded out of the corridor with a look of defeat smeared all over his face. 

“So, what is this
business you wish to speak to my father about?” he asked.

My hea
d snapped up to look at him, and he smiled a wide smile. He knew I was surprised to find out who he was, and I felt my face flush with heat. I quickly turned toward Samuel.

The
person who was haunting my dreams was Lucifer’s son.

Samuel regarded him with a nod
.

“Ethon, we’ve come to as
k for help. Lucian is out there wreaking havoc.”

“So what else is new,” he laughed.

“He has sent out a decree for all of his members to seek out and execute every single Nephilim. He has succeeded in killing all but three. You, my daughter, and one other,” he said sadly, looking at me. He must have meant Alaine, and then I quickly realized that they could never know that she was my mother, although Lucian and his crew might have. 

“So, t
here are three Nephilim left, huh?” Ethon responded with a grin.

“Yes,” Samuel agreed.

“So, my fellow Nephilim, may I have the pleasure of your name?” he asked.

“Emma,” I answered.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Emma,” he said, holding his hand out to me.

A
s I placed my hand in his…

BAM!

Electricity surged through my arm and traveled through my body. The same exact feeling I felt the first time I touched Kade.