Soul Conquered (4 page)

There has to be a way around the prophecy. There just
has to be.

Noah

Lucifer is beginning to
irritate me about as often as he freaks me out. If this is what it feels like
to have a father’s doting attention, then I’ve been after the wrong thing all
this time. The dude won’t even leave me alone long enough to play basketball.
It’s all, “practice manipulating this person”, and “learn about the politics of
this region”, and other boring bullshit.

“Can’t you just zap the knowledge into my head or
something?” I ask, shutting the door to my magic closet behind the pizza delivery
guy. I toss the grease-stained box onto the coffee table and flip it open so I
can dig in.

“You should be interested in these things, Noah. You
can’t rule without understanding who your subjects are.”

“Pizza?” I offer, my mouth full of pepperoni.

Lucifer wrinkles his nose in disgust. “No. Thank you.
I’ll tell you what: if you can name every country in the Middle East, I’ll
treat you to lunch in Italy.”

I sigh. “Look, I get it, okay? I’m not stupid. I know
this stuff is important, and FYI, I do know my geography, but I want to do
something proactive already. I’m going stir-crazy cooped up in here.” I move to
the window and glance out at the same old neighborhood, the same old street I
grew up staring at. It’s not that I literally want to spread mayhem or rain down
terror or something like they used to teach us in Sunday school, but there are
fun parts to ruling, too, right? Like getting the final say and having people’s
undying devotion. If I were king right now, I’d spend the day impressing Keira
by having the world’s greatest artists make a diamond statue of us while we
dined on steak and wine. Then we’d—

“I suppose you’re right,” Lucifer concedes, and I have
to turn around to make sure I heard him right. “You really are my Earthly
counterpart, aren’t you, Noah? I, too, felt that way when I began Hell. I knew
it was time to
do
something and not just let chaos reign.” He comes over
and puts an arm around my shoulder.

I try not to flinch away or cough from his
overpowering cologne. Earthly counterpart? I’m not really anything like him.
But maybe that’s not what he means. Maybe he means I’m his equal? I start
paying more attention to what he’s saying.

“I believe it’s time for step one. We must get you into
the public eye. We must start some
buzz
, as it were, about what a great-all-around
guy you are. People have to trust you implicitly before you can wrench away
their free will.” He pats me on the back.

“Sounds good. How do we do that?” I ask, licking the
rest of the pizza sauce from my fingers. It’s a step in the right direction,
anyway. And if our ideas of what ruling Earth means are more different than
Lucifer expects, then I’ll just have to deal with that when we get there. I
don’t even want to contemplate what kind of mischief he has in mind right now. This
is
me
we’re talking about, not some evil mythological character.

Lucifer grins again. “Let’s start with becoming governor,
shall we? It’s small, but a good stepping-stone. I’ve fixed it so that no one
knows your real age.”

“Governor, huh? Okay. I’m game.” That could be cool. Now
we’re getting somewhere. That’s a position of power.

“There’s a Memorial Day parade this weekend. Let’s
recreate the Kennedy situation. The governor will be riding in a 1963 Dodge
Convertible.”

“What? So you want me to shoot him from some window
like the guy who assassinated President Kennedy? How’s that going to make
people like me?”

Lucifer finally unwraps his arm from my shoulders and
backs up a step. “Not you.
You’re
going to save him. Or ‘try’ to.” He
makes little finger quotes around the word
try
. “Obviously he needs to
give up his seat, and that’s the easiest way.”

“So who’s going to do it, then?” I ask.

“Who do you hate—besides Grace?” Lucifer asks,
sitting down in my throne.

I don’t bother to correct his assumption that I hate
my sister. I’m not sure exactly how to describe what I feel toward her, nor do
I want to. “Hale. But he’s dead already.”

“You don’t want revenge on anyone else?” he asks,
leaning forward, urging to me to think further.

“You said ‘hate.’ I want revenge on plenty of people.”
Emily’s face swims in my mind. The girl who pretended to like me only while my
sister was alive. Grace’s best friend. But I can’t say it out loud. I mean,
girls don’t shoot governors. Not girls who are so smart they go to college early
and have never been in trouble.

“Why not?” Lucifer says.

“Wait. I didn’t say anything. Can you read my mind?”
Shit. That’s not good.

“No,” Lucifer leans back in the chair, which suddenly
feels higher than it was before. “But I can read human desire when it involves
one of the big sins. I can see gluttony, greed, and lust, for example. I know
you’re considering someone. Just give me a name.”

“Emily,” I say.

“Perfect.” Lucifer stands and snaps his fingers. Emily
appears in my room with a scream. She spins in place, making her long brown
hair swirl out behind her. She’s wearing the same jeans and tank top that she
had on when I watched her get in her car and leave without a backward glance.
She settles down, staring at me with wide eyes hidden behind thick, plastic
glasses. She’s still pretty, but she’s nothing compared to Keira.

“Hi, Em.” I sit down and grab another slice of pie.
“Pizza?”

“How did you—where am I? What’s happening? This
is kidnapping.” Her pale cheeks flood red, and she shakes with both anger and
obvious fear.

Lucifer snaps again and she freezes in place, flyaway
hairs floating like seaweed around her face.

“I can’t interfere with her moral judgments or make a
deal with her without her asking me. So this is your job, Noah.” Lucifer leans
back like he’s ready to watch a movie.

“Wait one damn minute,” I say, stepping around Emily
and getting closer to Lucifer. “What do you expect me to do?” This is his show,
not mine. I’d rather leave Emily in the past with my old self, just like Grace.

“You have power now, my boy. It’s time you see what it
feels like to use it. You can will her to do whatever you want. Go ahead, have
fun. It doesn’t count against her mortal soul if she doesn’t choose it, but
I’ll let that go in this case since she’s making such a noble sacrifice for
us.”

I glance back at Emily, uncertain. I’ve seen Keira
glamour people. She even taught me to manipulate people without glamour, but in
this case I don’t think that’s possible. I wish she were here. She makes me
feel more sure of myself.

“Just catch her eye,” Lucifer says, and snaps her back
to life.

Emily spins, shocked to find me suddenly behind her,
and lets out a little squeak. “Please let me go. Noah, you don’t want to do
this, whatever this is. Just let me be.”

She’s begging me? That means she knows I’m in control here.
I look into her eyes. She’s sincere. She really wants my permission to leave
and go back home. Maybe I should pick someone else.

“Please,” she says again. “If Grace were here, she’d
never let you get away with this.”

Grace. And there it is. It’s still all about her. My
decision is made. “Emily, shut up.”

Her mouth snaps shut. The fear grows deeper in her
eyes. Her pupils shrink like they’re trying to escape. My heart beats faster. I
can tell her to do anything.

“You hate my sister.”

The fear turns to cold hatred. I smile. “You would do
anything to win me back, but sadly you can’t. Losing me has driven you so
insane that you’ve decided the only way to get my attention is to do something
drastic. Something no one would ever expect you to do.”

I glance over at Lucifer who nods in approval.

“This weekend, before the parade, you will take your
father’s hunting rifle and bullets, and you will hide in the bushes near the
starting line. You will shoot the governor when his car passes by. Do you
understand?”

“Yes.” She’s calm now, focused completely on me. I
can’t help myself. I reach out and brush the hair away from her face. She leans
into my hand as I pull away.

“You won’t remember that we met like this or spoke at
all. As far as you know, we haven’t spoken since you moved.”

I back up, and she disappears before my eyes as Lucifer
sends her back to where she came from. One second she’s there in front of me.
The next, she’s gone.

“Well done,” he says, rising and slapping me on the
back again.

“Thanks.”

I grab another slice of pizza and sit in the vacated
chair. It was weird, the feeling of total control, but I can’t say it wasn’t
nice.

“I have some minions of darkness to check in on. You
deserve a break. Why not go out and find a girl? Do whatever you like. You’ve
earned it.”

“So I can have anything I want? Anyone I want?” I ask.

“Yes, of course you can.” Lucifer’s patience is
obviously thin at the moment, but I don’t care. I’m still high from my success
with Emily. It’s time to test my boundaries.

“Then I want Keira. Here. Now.”

Lucifer’s eyes light with blue fire. I was wrong.
Angry Lucifer is much scarier than grinning Lucifer. Still, I hold my ground,
remembering Keira’s lesson. He’s the one off balance here. That means I’m in
charge, at least for the moment. He needs me. He’s been waiting for the Antichrist
for centuries. Suddenly I’m more sure than ever that Lucifer can’t hurt me.

“You said anyone. You also said I can call any of the
Demons to me. You don’t lie.” I lean back in the chair and toss the rest of my
slice into the open box. I have to try and remember that Keira doesn’t want him
to know we have actual feelings for each other. She’s convinced he’d never let
us be together, but I’m not so sure. I just have to explain this in terms he
can get on board with. “I don’t get why you’re keeping her from me, or why it’s
such a big deal if I want to bang a specific Demon.”

The lines in his face grow deep and dark, making him
look like he’s wearing a war mask of some sort. The blue torches behind him on
either side flare like flamethrowers. His words are clipped. “I have my
reasons. I do not divulge everything when asked as though I’m some common
fortuneteller.”

“Fine.” I smile. “I’ll take care of it myself, then.
Keira!” I call into the air. She appears between us in a neon-orange bikini,
soaking wet and so beautiful I can barely stay in my chair.

She smiles at me, then turns to find Lucifer behind
her, and the joy melts off her face as she drops to her knees, shivering.

“Lucifer?” she asks. “What is your bidding?”

“I thought I told you I don’t like it when you suck
up, Keira.” Lucifer motions for her to stand, and she does, not risking a
glance at me. I wish she could feel free to be her usual snarky self, but I
am
enjoying the view of her backside in a wet bikini. I still can’t believe she
really does want me enough to go behind the Devil’s back and risk eternal
torment in Hell by sending me love letters. I smile. That won’t happen. Not as
long as I’m the Antichrist.

Lucifer clears his throat. “Your
other
boss
summoned you, Keira. It would seem that Noah here can’t keep his mind off of
you. So I will turn your mission over to our dear Grace while you serve his
needs.”

“Of course,” she says with a bowed head.

Lucifer disappears from view, and Keira runs into my
arms so fast I almost don’t make it out of the chair in time to catch her.

Then her soft lips are on mine, and her arms and legs
are wrapped so tight around me, I’m knocked back into the chair. We inhale each
other like we’ve both been underwater and just came up for air. She rips open
my shirt with her Demon strength, and my fingers undo the knot to her bathing
suit top.

“I was so scared I’d never see you again. I’ve missed
you,” she breathes between our kisses.

“I couldn’t take another minute without you,” I say,
holding her face between my hands and smoothing the pads of my thumbs over the
skin of her cheeks.

“How did you manage it?” she asks with awe.

“You taught me well. I simply exerted my will over
Lucifer. I am his equal whether he likes it or not.” It feels good to say the
words out loud to someone who will appreciate it.

But instead of more awe, it’s fear I see in her face. It
makes me think of the way Emily looked at me, and I don’t like it. I drop my
hands to my sides.

“You don’t think I can handle him?” I ask.

“I don’t doubt you or your abilities,” she says, this
time smoothing the hair from my face and leaning in so that the spicy scent of
cinnamon teases my nose. “But this is no human we’re talking about. He’s Lucifer,
King of Hell. I’ve seen him destroy so many souls. I just don’t ever want to
lose you.”

I soften at her words and draw her the rest of the way
to me, my hands splayed across the firm skin of her back. “You never will,
Keira. I promise you that.” Thunder roils somewhere above us then, and I close the
small distance to her swollen lips.