Soul Conquered (14 page)

Bolstered by the effect, I stalk toward him. Now I see
the shock and fear finally register as he props himself up on his elbows.

“Apparently I
can
fucking touch you. Should we
try it again?”

Man, that felt good.

Noah recovers and gets into the kind of position you
see at the beginning of a race. I brace myself. I know what’s coming this time.

He flies toward me, and I dodge to the side, grabbing
him with my hands. He runs faster, but my grip pulls him around in a circle.
When I finally let go, he crashes into the nearest parked car, and I fall on my
ass. I smirk despite the pain, because based on the car’s blaring alarm and the
Noah-shaped dent, I’d say he got the worse end of the bargain.

Now he’s pissed. Welcome to my world, kid.

He runs at me again, but feints the wrong way when I
lunge for him. I’m off balance when he stops short, smacking me in the back
with both hands.

My body arches in pain as I fall forward. I roll to my
side, and he kicks me in the stomach, sending me into a car this time. The hood
of a pickup truck. The tires deflate beneath the pressure, and I lie there for
a second, stunned.
Ow
.

I get up just in time to dodge his fist, which sends
the car down into the road, flattened.

We circle each other, planning our next moves.

“This can only end one way,” I say. “You can hurt me,
but you can’t kill me. I’m an Angel. You, on the other hand, are still just a souped-up
human.”

I can’t get in trouble for killing the Antichrist,
right? This punk needs to die.

I throw myself at him, taking him to the ground. We
roll I-don’t-know-how-many times, wrestling as though our lives depend on it.
His does. We hit a car and come to a stop. He’s on top and takes the
opportunity to punch me. Over and over, his knuckles smash into my face. The
bones in my cheek and face crack, sending unbearable pain through me. I reach
blindly forward, finding skin and digging in with all my strength. Warm,
viscous liquid spills over my hand, but I keep going.

I may not be able to die again, but I can feel my
consciousness slipping away. The punches are letting up, though. Screams fill
my ears, and I force my good eye open enough to see what I’m doing. My fingers
are knuckle-deep in his shoulder. Blood is everywhere, and Noah’s face is pale.
His eyes sunken. His screams torturous.

My breathing speeds up. I’m killing him. I’m killing
Grace’s brother. I’ve become my old self—the Demon Josh who doesn’t think
about anyone but himself. There has to be another way to save Grace and this
kid who she loves so much.

This isn’t it.

I remove my hand and let him fall to the street, half
conscious. I place my hand on his chest near the wound.

He whimpers as a warm glow surrounds the area, and
soon he’s healed.

I stand, and he props himself up, hate in his eyes as
he clutches his upper arm.

“Let me guess,” he breathes. “You did that for Grace.”

“No. I did it for myself. Despite what you said, I’m
not the murderer here.”

The warm and comforting glow of Heaven surrounds me,
drowning out Noah’s shocked expression, and for the first time I see Lucifer
observing us from behind one of the smashed cars. His glares at me with murderous
rage that turns my blood cold, but he disappears quickly from view.

I’m deposited in my own living quarters, where I drop
to my knees, feeling like my entire body has been through a lawn mower.

I hope I did the right thing. Sometimes it’s so hard
to know.

Noah

“How could you just stand
there like that while he nearly killed me?”

Lucifer transported us back to my bedroom, and I let
the rage I’d unleashed on the Angel change focus to Lucifer.

“I wouldn’t have let him kill you.” His smile is easy
as he takes a seat in
my
throne. “It’s curious, though. He shouldn’t
have been able to touch you at all.”

“
That’s
what worries you?” I ask, pacing before
him. The Angel might’ve healed me, but my shoulder still hurts like a mother.
“What about the whole plan almost going up in smoke? What about the fact that I
had to kill Emily?”

There it is, the pain I’ve been covering up with all
my anger. And suddenly I feel defeated, not angry. At least, not at the Angel.

I never meant to hurt her. Not like that. Yes, I’ve
killed before, but Hale deserved it. Emily didn’t.

“Yes. It is unfortunate. We may have been able to
corrupt her if she’d gone to prison. But as I said before, I’m willing to
sacrifice a soul or two to Heaven to get my way.”

“She shouldn’t have died.” I say the words so loud
that they echo off the walls. The blue flames in the torches shoot sky-high,
and I don’t know if I was the cause, or if Lucifer reacted to my outburst. I
don’t care. “I panicked. He had glamour, too, and he used it on her. She attacked
me. I knew I had to do something. It all happened so fast.” I collapse onto the
couch and bury my face in my hands.

“The question isn’t whether you did the correct
thing,” Lucifer starts, leaning down toward me. I feel him more acutely than I
can see him through my fingers. “The question is, are you really the One?”

I stand. “What? Are you fucking insane? Of course I
am.”

Lucifer is in front of me in less than a beat of my
heart. His hand closes around my throat, and he lifts me into the air, choking
me. I reach for him, my hands flailing until I find his arms and push with all
my might. Lucifer falls backward at the foot of the throne, and I rub my neck,
gasping for breath.

Lucifer stands quickly, fixing his jacket and tie,
eyes wide. “It would appear you are indeed,” he says.

He opens his mouth, about to say something else, then
shuts it again and glares at me, sizing me up. I stay still and simply stare
back, trying not to appear completely freaked out that Lucifer just tried to
kill me.

For the first time, I feel like I’m in over my head. I
long for Keira’s arms. I need her to tell me what’s real.

He continues as though his attempt on my life never
happened. “You made the right choice, Noah. I’m proud of you. What was she? She
was just a simple human. Nothing. She was nothing compared to you or I. Don’t
make the same mistake they do upstairs. Don’t start feeling like they’re
equals, because they aren’t.”

“She was better than you and me put together,” I say,
remembering the way Emily used to smile when I told my goofy jokes to her and
Grace. They always made time to hear them, even when they were busy.

Or Grace did, at least. Emily burned me after Grace
died.

I sit on one of the leather sofas again. I’ve never
felt so conflicted. Is this what it means to be the Antichrist? I wanted a
crown and respect, not innocent blood on my hands.

“The news should contact you soon for interviews and
statements. Remember that even though
I
can’t physically harm you, I can
easily make others do it for me. So make it good.” Lucifer flicks his wrist and
disappears.

Grace

What Corbin’s done to me is
inhuman. It’s something I can’t imagine any real person going through. That’s
how I feel—like I’m fake. It’s the only way to keep from losing my mind
since, whenever I start to pass out, I’m woken with smelling salts and a sharp
smack or pinch.

I don’t know how long I’ve been here. It can’t have
been long, but it feels like an eternity. The sting of the madman’s blade is
familiar now. He’s worked his way over me, from toes to fingers and between,
slicing and pricking, just enough to make me cry out in pain, but not deep
enough to kill. Still, the blood’s pooled all over my body, making me feel like
the girl in that movie where the bucket full of pig’s blood falls on her at prom.

Only it’s my own blood.

When he cuts my shoulder, he leans in, whispering in
my ear about how she hurt him. I can’t believe I ever felt bad for him or cared
about the story behind his love.

The fuzzy sensation of unconsciousness hovers over me,
but he digs his nails into one of the wounds on my leg, and I cry out again,
fully awake.

“I wanted you to see what you’ve done first,” he says,
tapping the now-red blade against my cheek. “But the only thing left to decide
is whether to take your eyes before or after I finish.”

Despite everything I’ve gone through, his words still
fill me with fear. He blinded all the pictures. He keeps threatening to do the
same in different ways. I’m truly frightened, and I want my strength back so I
can crush him and his evil. For the first time, I’m convinced of the existence
of pure evil in a human being.

I close my eyes, whimpering, begging Lucifer to let me
go now. I feel the tip of the blade, so familiar, now poised over the center of
my right eyelid. I want to shake my head, but if I move a millimeter…

He waits, and I wait, terrified beyond anything I’ve
felt before. The pressure increases the most miniscule amount and stars burst
into my vision. I moan, trying to beg or snap him out of it or something.
Anything.

I need Josh. I can’t help myself: I pray for Josh to
come and save me. Just like he did with Cam. Even though I know this is
different, even though I know he can’t and shouldn’t intervene, I need
someone—

The door to the bedroom slams open. Could it be him?
My heart leaps just as Corbin jumps off of me, taking the knife with him. I
open my eyes and lift my head enough to see who’s come to save me.

Keira?

“You sick bastard,” she says, sauntering toward Corbin
with only a sideways glance at me. He’s covered in my blood, too, a byproduct
of lying over me while he cut. He wanted the intimacy of my pain. I shudder.

“Another bitch. But you aren’t my type.” He flicks the
bloody knife backward and forward as she reaches him. “Still, I can have fun
with you, too. Put you all out of your misery. But I set a trap to prevent
unwanted visitors. How’d you get past my little contraption?”

Keira shrugs off the leather jacket she’s wearing. I
now recognize it as Noah’s. Her halter-top is slashed open on the side and some
blood trickles down her bare midriff. “I deflected most of the blades. But this
is going to cost you.”

She reaches for his wrist and cranks it backward. I
hear the
snap,
and the weapon drops to the ground. Corbin screams, and I
can’t help but take pleasure in his pain.

He falls to his knees before her, and she tosses him
to the side of the room where he lies whimpering and cradling his hand.

Keira comes over to me, cringes in distaste, and snaps
open the bonds holding my wrists and ankles together. She pulls the makeshift
gag out of my mouth.

“Look out!” I yell.

She lifts one hand without so much as a backward
glance and hits Corbin in the nose, sending him back to the ground.

“Ugh. You need to get cleaned up. You look like a
bottle of ketchup threw up on you.”

I throw my arms around her and hug her, crying into
her shoulder. She stiffens beneath my touch and then raises her hands to my
back, where she pats me awkwardly.

“Thank you,” I gasp between sobs.

“Come on, let’s get you out of here.” Keira helps me
to my feet, supporting me with her shoulder, and we turn toward the door—

Only to find Lucifer standing there, silhouetted
against the doorframe. Smoke curls from the cigar in his mouth, and I cringe
painfully, clinging desperately to Keira. But she’s shaking now, too.

“So. Keira, what do you think you’re doing?” Lucifer
removes the cigar from his lips and flicks some ash onto the carpet before
moving forward.

“I came back to…to see how Grace was doing with Randy
and found her here like this. You didn’t want her to be here, did you, Boss? I
can put her back.” She drops me back on the edge of the bed where I can do no
more than curl up. It hurts everywhere when I move.

“Oh, I think you know very well what I intended.
Keira, Keira, Keira. I thought I was getting through to you.”

He’s right in front of her now and lifts a hand to
caress her face. I’ve never seen her look so afraid.

“You’ve really fucked this all up, haven’t you?” he
asks. “You will pay for that. I had such high hopes for your future. So sad.
But not everyone is cut out to be a Demon. Our friend here had the right idea,”
he says, indicating the unconscious monster on the floor. “Let’s take our time
before the final blow. Shall we?”

He snaps his fingers, and both Keira and I are each
bound with our wrists and ankles tied together, lying helpless on the bed.
Corbin stands over us with his knife. Only now it’s a bigger knife, new, shiny,
and clean. He’s supernaturally frozen in place, staring at Keira. Lucifer
strides behind him and whispers in his ear, considering Keira as she struggles
on the bed next to me.

“You captured the intruder. You can teach them both a
lesson now. Do your worst.”

He turns on his heels.

“Wait,” I say, weak but finally able to speak. “Leave
me. Keira didn’t do anything. She really didn’t know, Lucifer. She couldn’t
have.”

Without a word, Lucifer flicks his cigar so that the
ashes fall on my stomach and sticks it in Corbin’s free hand.

“I’ll see you both in Hell.” Lucifer blows us a kiss
as he leaves the room.