Page 89 of Endless Terrors
I took one look at Lucifer and knew something was wrong. It felt like his pain was a current that traveled from his heart to mine. Not one muscle in his face moved. I found myself wanting to ask what had happened. I bit my tongue, hard. Don’t say a word, Fortuna. You don’t care about his problems.
Lucifer still hadn’t looked up. When he finally spoke, his tone matched his expression—detached. “They called me Light Bearer. The Shining One. Now I am the Destroyer. Lord of Filth,” he said.
You don’t care about his problems. I walked over to the ledge and peered down at the street. It was finally starting to get quiet down there. To fill the silence, and also to stop from asking Lucifer anything regarding his personal life, I heard myself say, “I like the painting in the library. It’s beautiful.”
Lucifer didn’t seem caught off guard by my comment. As his thoughts shifted to the portrait several floors below our feet, a soft light entered his eyes. “Her smile was more dazzling than the sun on its youngest days.”
“What was her name?” I asked. That sounds like a personal question, Fortuna, the little voice in my head remarked. I ignored it.
“Her name was Persephone.” Lucifer paused, as if saying it out loud affected him. Lines had smoothed out in his face when he regained his composure. He raised his gaze to mine and added, “She was one of the first humans, and she came before Eve.”
My curiosity stirred. I couldn’t stop myself from saying, “Persephone was real? And there were humans before Eve?”
Lucifer finally got down from the wall. He reached beneath his shirt, exposing a chiseled abdomen as he undid the straps that secured his wings. A staff member scurried forward to take them, a demon species with thorns growing out of her face and arms. I hadn’t even noticed her up here, and as she passed me, I realized why—beneath the thorns, the demon’s skin was the same texture and color as the pillars. She could camouflage to match her environment.
“The world didn’t begin with two humans,” Lucifer said, bringing my attention back to him. “It began with several. Beings formed of different genetics and traits. Unfortunately, their names have been lost to time.”
“Interesting.” It actually was. I hesitated, then said, “The tattoo on your wrist. It’s her name, isn’t it?”
I half-expected Lucifer to deny it, or evade the question. “Yes,” he said simply.
I wanted to ask more questions, but we were already in dangerous territory. This felt too much like a civil conversation, and unless I was tricking Lucifer into something, there was no reason for it. I couldn’t forget who I was talking to, or everything he had done.
Before I could turn toward the elevator, Lucifer shifted closer to me. He kept his eyes on the horizon as he asked, “Have you ever wondered why they call it the Battle of Red Pearls? Angel blood is bright. Blinding. Not the red, sticky mess humans make.”
I hesitated. Walk away, Fortuna. Stick to the plan. “I’m guessing it has something to do with Persephone.”
“Yes.” A muscle bunched in his jaw. “It was her blood that splattered over the gates first. Her blood that began the war.”
“What happened?” My voice was soft. Lucifer’s power was so strong, and now that I could smell him, it was getting more difficult to think.
But the devil didn’t answer. He tore his gaze from those distant flickers of light and looked at me. “Weren’t you planning an excursion this morning?”
“It can wait an hour or two,” I said. It was the truth, I told myself. I could still leave the tower anytime I wanted. The city would be quiet for a while, now that most of the souls and demons had retreated into the darkness. I looked back at Lucifer as if I had all the time in the world. “What happened to the woman in the painting?”
He held his hand out to me. “See for yourself.”
I frowned at first, confused by the gesture. Then I understood, and I felt my face clear. Lucifer was an original angel, which meant he probably had the ability to communicate mind to mind. If I touched him, and lowered the walls around my thoughts, he could show me his memories.
That was about as personal as it got.
I tipped my head back and met Lucifer’s gaze. He waited patiently, and something about his expression reminded me of the game we’d played last night. I heard the question as if he’d asked it out loud, his husky voice in my ear. Truth or dare?
I took his hand.
He went to the Garden because he was curious.
It had been years since their creation, and his siblings hadn’t stopped talking about them. The humans. One of the Maker’s favorite designs. All His designs were wondrous to comprehend, but there was something about this one that seemed to enchant everyone. Heilel wanted to see what all the fuss was about … and maybe he was a little jealous, as well.
Until the arrival of the humans, he had been the Maker’s favorite.
Heilel arrived quietly, hiding himself in the trees and the shadows. The air was thick with magick, he noted. He could see one of his brothers standing at the gates, ready to deter any of the wild creatures wandering this new world. Humans were too weak to fight them off, and they’d be extinct in no time if left to their own devices.
The guard was proof of the Maker’s interest in humankind, Heilel thought as he turned away. Why protect them at all? Why not let them die or thrive on their own, as the Maker had done with so many others?
Today, he would find out. He knew humans liked water, and the Maker had built their bodies to be dependent on it.
That was where Heilel found them.
