Lucifer (Book 3, The Redemption Series) (23 page)

“
Your eyes,” he says staring into them. “They’re glowing blue.”

Malcolm’s words act like
a splash of cold water on my body. I sit upright on his hips.

“
Glowing blue?” I ask, hoping I misunderstood what he said.

“
Yes,” he replies, continuing to stare at me.

It’s only then that I realize what it is I’m really doing to Malcolm. I’m simply using him to satisfy a
sexual hunger I feel. I wasn’t viewing him as my lover but simply a means to satisfy my physical urges.

“
I’m sorry,” I say, fully realizing what I was doing.

Malcolm reaches up and cups one side of my face tenderly. I close my eyes and try to reconnect to the real reason we make love.
Before that moment, I was simply trying to gratify a baser need, but that wasn’t right, not with the man who held my heart.

I open my eyes and look at the man I love
again with a clearer perspective.

He smiles.
“That’s better.”

Malcolm rolls me over onto my back.

Each kiss he plants on my face is a gentle reminder of how much he loves me. I ride the wave of his love to bring me back to who I really am.

“
Malcolm,” I say. “Make love to me.”

I feel him smile against the base of my
neck.

“
I have every intension of doing just that,” he assures me.

With every touch of his hands and his lips on my body, Malcolm reminds me that what we have with one another should never be reduced to just sex. The connection between us
is so much deeper than that.

As Malcolm brings my body to the brink, I feel myself free
-fall into the warmth of his love for me. Something I vow never to take advantage of again.

Afterwards, I lie in
Malcolm’s arms, grateful for the comfort he selflessly gives me.

“
I’m sorry,” I tell him again. “I’m not sure what happened to me.”

“
I have to admit I found it pretty sexy at first,” he says. “But I knew something was wrong. Your eyes simply confirmed it.”

“
I’ve heard people say that the eyes are the windows into the soul,” I say. “Do you think it means mine is changing?”

“
Absolutely not,” Malcolm says with conviction, but it sounds more like he’s trying to convince himself than me.

I don’t make mention of
my suspicions to him. I just hug my husband close and silently promise to keep hold of who I am for as long as I can.

I pull back and kiss his lips.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell him. “I just need to go to the bathroom.”

I crawl out of bed
and go into the bathroom. I immediately look at myself in the mirror just to confirm that no trace of my alternate persona is visible anymore. Thankfully, all I see are brown eyes that look familiar and all mine. I’m not sure what change Belphagor’s seal has made in me, but I vow to fight against its effects. I turn my back towards the mirror so I can see the third seal there. When I turn my head to look at my reflection, I hear myself gasp in surprise right before a deep-set anger grabs hold of my heart.

I see no third seal on my back. Yet, the pain I felt when Belphagor supposedly gave me his seal was real. How did he cause such
agony yet retain the seal for himself?

I feel angr
y, and I feel betrayed, two emotions that make for a dangerous combination.

When I look up into the mirror to face my reflection
again, I find myself staring at blue glowing eyes.

Chapter 21

I decide to keep Belphagor’s treachery to myself for the time being. I don’t want to cause Malcolm anymore distress than I already have. He’s dealt with enough of my drama for one day. I will myself to calm down and stay in the bathroom until my eyes go back to their natural color. When I do finally emerge back into the bedroom, Malcolm is already up and getting dressed.

“
Are you hungry?” he asks me.

“
I am actually,” I say, feeling the gnaw of hunger in the pit of my stomach.

Malcolm walks over to me and pulls me to him.

“I’ll go make us something. Would you rather eat up here or do you feel like being with everyone else?”

“
I would rather have our family around me right now,” I tell him.

“
Then family time it is,” he says, kissing me in a way that makes me think he would much rather we just stayed in the room alone the rest of the afternoon.

“
Come down when you’re ready,” he says, forcing himself to leave me.

After Malcolm goes down to the kitchen, I go ahead and dress in my white leather outfit so I’m ready when Jered comes to get me. I grab my
baldric and sword to have it close.

If I’m being honest with myself,
I’m looking forward to the fight with Botis. I feel in need of the physical combat to get rid of some of my built up anger before I confront Belphagor and force him to tell me what he really did to me. I have a feeling whatever he did is responsible for my behavior with Malcolm earlier. I can well imagine him laughing at me the whole time he worked his magic. He was able to deceive me once, but I would be damned if I would ever let it happen again. The more I think about his deception the angrier I become.

Once I
’m dressed, I go to the bathroom to check my eyes and see that they are glowing blue with anger. It takes me a good ten minutes to calm down enough to have them return to their normal color. I don’t even bother to walk down to the kitchen. I simply phase there because I feel an overpowering need to have my family close around me. They’re my tie to sanity in an insane world, and if there was ever a time I needed to keep a clear head, it’s now.

“
Just in time,” Malcolm says when he sees me. He moves away from the stove with a bowl of soup in his hands and sets it on the table in front of my regular seat.

“
Mommy!” Lucas yells, standing up from his spot on the floor where he was playing with Luna. He lunges at me and hugs me around the waist. It feels like the best medicine to soothe my growing ire towards Belphagor.

Luna comes up to me
and nudges my leg with her muzzle wanting attention too.

I lean down and pick her up, realizing she’s grown quite a bit since I
last held her.

“
How are you feeling, Anna?” Vala asks me from her spot near the table.

“
A lot better now,” I reassure her.

And
it’s the truth. I do feel better with my family near, more like my true self. I try to push the image of my blue glowing eyes to the back of my mind. I don’t need to think about that right now. I need to concentrate on my family and gain clarity through their love for me.

Millie and Giles join us for lunch making the table complete.

After we eat, Malcolm and I take Lucas and the dogs outside to play in the courtyard. Lucas and I build a snowman while Malcolm plays fetch with Luna. I can’t help but smile at the sight of Malcolm playing with my little hellhound pup. Who would have thought such a miracle could happen? Considering Malcolm’s track record with Luna’s species, it was odd to watch him play with her like a person would any pet they cared about.

It had been a little over a month since Lucifer gave her to me, and in that time, she had become an integral part of our lives, especially for Lucas. Where you saw one, you saw the other. They were practically inseparable. I wasn’t sure if Luna’s sweet
temperament was due to nature or nurture though. Lucifer did tell me hellhounds started out like all living creatures, innocent to the world. I had to believe the love Lucas lavished on her, and the strict code of behavior Vala imposed daily was helping to shape her personality.

When Jered finds us that afternoon, I know playtime is over. There’s work to be done that only I can do.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Malcolm asks.

I shake my head.
“No. If I need to be invisible, I sincerely doubt there will be anywhere to hide someone as large as you. I’ll be fine. He’s no match for me. You know that.”

I neglect to tell Malcolm I intend to confront Belphagor about his double cross after I dispose of Botis.
I don’t want him to worry about me any more than he already is.

“
Don’t underestimate him,” Malcolm warns. “He’s an expert swordsman. And he has the ability to switch bodies almost instantaneously.”

“
What do you mean? He can transfer his soul to anyone at any time? Is that a special ability?”

“
Most of the time it takes them a while to recover from forcing a soul out of its body. Botis has always been able to jump bodies at will. It’s why he was able to assume Emperor Rui’s form right after he left Horatio’s body.”

“
Will he try to take my body?”

“
You would be able to kill him before he could even try.”

“
Then we have nothing to worry about,” I tell Malcolm, leaning up to kiss him on the lips. “I’ll be home before dinner.”

“
You make it sound like you’re going off to work,” Malcolm says, looking like he finds it odd that I would take this particular battle so lightly.

“
I am in a way,” I tell him. “This is my job. It’s what I was made to do. I’ll be fine, Malcolm. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“
And it’s my job to do just that,” he tells me. “Just be careful, Anna.”

“
I’ll be back soon,” I tell him, leaning up and kissing him before I join Jered.

“
Just let me get my sword,” I tell Jered, phasing to a now empty kitchen to retrieve my sword from beside my chair.

I quickly return to Jered’s side.

“Make yourself invisible,” Jered tells me. “Then I’ll phase you to where you need to go.”

I wish myself to disappear from sight and take hold of
one of Jered’s arms since he can’t see where I am anymore.

Jered phases us into a large room made completely
out of glass. A recessed pool of steaming clear water sits in the center of the room. The room seems to be situated at the top of the castle in Cirro, which is a modernized take on an ancient Chinese palace called the Forbidden City. White clouds can easily be seen outside the glass walls of the room, effectively shielding the occupants from prying eyes.

“
As soon as Botis is settled in the bath for his daily soak,” Jered tells me, “Belphagor will get the guards out. After that, you’re welcome to pick a fight with him.”

“Ok, Jered.”

“
Anna,” Jered says, a tinge of worry in his voice, “be careful.”

“
I will be. You and Malcolm worry too much about me when you really don’t need to.”

“
We worry for good reason,” he says. Jered hesitates like he wants to ask me something. Curiosity seems to get the best of him. “Have you noticed anything different about yourself after absorbing Belphagor’s seal? Any anger issues?”

I find it curious that Jered should ask such a
question just then. My anger at Belphagor for deceiving me is slowly eating away at what little patience I have left.

“
Why do you ask?”

“
Because Belphagor’s seal was torment. It makes sense you might feel some of each emotion or purpose the seals serve. Don’t let your anger get the best of you in this fight. It’s a sure way to lose focus.”

“
I’ve got it under control, Jered.”

“
All right,” he says, not sounding the least bit convinced. “I’ll go back to New Orleans and wait there for your return.”

Jered phases and I simply stand and wait for Botis to show up. Thankfully, I’m not left tw
iddling my thumbs for very long. Botis swaggers in, looking rather arrogant about his own importance with six armed guards flanking him on either side. As they enter the room, three of the guards split off to line the right wall while the other three line the left. Botis, now hiding within the imposing figure of Emperor Rui, casts off his red silk robe and steps into the steaming pool of water. I hear him sigh in delight as the water envelops him. He closes his eyes and smiles as he begins to luxuriate in his bath.

I see Belphagor quietly teleport into the room. In his disguise as Empress Zhin, Belphagor is wearing a transparent
robe that leaves little for the imagination to conjure. With a seductive smile, Belphagor lifts a hand, which acts as a signal to the guards. They immediately transport out of the room to leave their empress alone with her husband.

After the guards leave, I wish myself visible again. Belphagor sees me instantly and waves a hand towards Botis as if offering him up for the slaughter to come. I don’t give away my anger at Belphagor. I plan to
unleash the full force of my wrath on him later. Right now, Botis needs to pay for what he did to Horatio Ravensdale.

I pull my sword from its sheath on my back, instantly igniting it
s flames.

Botis opens his eyes and sees me standing on the other side of the pool from him.

“I wondered how long it would take you to come after me,” he says, not looking in the least bit startled by my presence. “I’m surprised you left me alive for this long.”

“
I was waiting for the right time,” I tell him. “But I’m willing to give you a fighting chance. I won’t just assassinate you, even though that's what you deserve.”

“
Well,” Botis says, standing from the water completely naked, “isn’t that sporting of you.”

He steps out of the
pool and puts his silky red robe back on. Botis looks over at Belphagor who is all smiles, looking quite pleased with himself.

“
I suppose this was your idea,” Botis says knowingly.

“
It’s time for you to get out of my hair, Botis. Lucifer wouldn’t do anything to get rid of you, but his daughter is more than capable of doing what he refused to.”

Belphagor’s
choice of words bothers me. They make me sound like I’m more cold hearted than Lucifer, which doesn’t sit well with me given his past deeds.

Botis conjures up his large glowing blue
broadsword, holding it in his left hand.

“
I won’t be as easy to kill as you might think,” he tells me arrogantly. “I’ve had eons to practice wielding my sword. What have you had, a few measly years?”

“
Skill makes you more proficient,” I tell him. “Not time.”

Botis raises his sword and charges me. I presume
he hoped to catch me off guard, mistaking me for some amateur. I easily dodge his thrust and swing the edge of my sword across his back as he passes me, slicing it open from one shoulder blade to the other.

Botis turns around wincing.

“You got lucky,” he says, wounded physically and trying to salvage what’s left of his pride.

“
And you were overconfident,” I reply. “That was a dim-witted move.”

Apparently, m
y words do nothing but anger Botis further because he comes at me with a vengeance. I have to admit that he’s stronger than I would have given him credit for, but not formidable enough to simply use his strength to force me into submission. After a while, I finally back him into a corner, and he quickly realizes he doesn’t have a chance of defeating me.

“
I yield!” he says, throwing his sword to the floor.

“
There is no yielding in this fight!” I yell at him. “Pick up your sword and die with at least a little bit of dignity.”

“
No,” Botis says, looking confident that I won’t kill an unarmed man. “If I pick it up, you’ll just kill me. I don’t believe you’re a cold-blooded murderer. You’re not simply going to stab me through the heart when I’m defenseless.”

“
It would be a justified execution,” I tell him. “You killed Horatio Ravensdale and Emperor Rui. I made a promise to Horatio’s widow that I would exact vengeance in her name and make you pay for killing her husband.”

“
Then do it,” Botis taunts, lifting his arms to either side of him and raising his chin to bare his neck to my sword. “Kill me and be done with it.”

I stare at his throat, knowing I could
end his life with one swing of my sword. But in doing so, I would be committing murder.

I lower my
blade a notch in dismay. Botis begins to laugh.

“
Who would have thought the daughter of Lucifer would have a conscience? Too bad really, you could have ended this once and for all. Now you’ll just have to wonder whose body I’ll inhabit next.”