Page 50 of True Sacrifice
The knights stopped in front of the large red velvet pillow mass at the base of the throne, where Jax and Jasper had seated themselves already. Jax was on the far left, with plenty of space between him and Jasper. Mor took a seat next to Jasper, and I filled the place on her right. Jax would apparently stay on his island, as the three of us were close enough to touch thighs.
Lucifer looked over and smiled once the knights left. I had only been summoned in front of Lucifer a handful of times, and it was always when you reached a new demon milestone, like getting your runes. They brought only the elite before him for these kinds of things. Many common demons have only gotten a rare glimpse of him. It was always so shocking to look up at my grandfather and see just how beautiful he was.
Lucifer wasn’t a demon; he was an angel. Angels and demons both had celestial bodies, but the magic worked differently. They didn’t need to regenerate their power. It flowed through them as endlessly as the universe itself. They were made from the purest of power when time first began, and in that moment, all the original angels were born. Lucifer was an original angel.
He righted himself slowly, still somewhat leaned against the back of the throne rather than simply sitting. “My, my, my,” he began thrumming his fingers together rapidly. “So, you are the pack everyone is so worked up about.” He shot to his feet, before lazily walking down the four marble steps to where we sat on the giant mat. His eyes raked up and down each one of us like we were being scanned and evaluated. Lucifer’s mouth turned up into a grin.
“What’s your name, sweetheart?” he said softly, looking straight at my fox.
“I am Morrigan Hall…” she frowned, looking deep into Lucifer’s gaze. She nodded, “I am Morrigan Hell’s Princess,” she said firmly.
Their gazes remained locked together as the entire room stayed silent. This was strange, even for Lucifer. Moments turned into minutes as they silently stared at each other. I couldn’t help but look around slightly, noticing others doing the same. Lucifer broke first with a smile, before he clapped his hands together and looked up to his children to encourage the same. A chorus of applause burst out around us, and I exhaled in relief. Whatever just happened, happened in our favor.
Lucifer raised both arms above his head, and the applause ended. “My wonderful family,” he began, taking a few steps up and centering himself. “It warms my heart to see how strong you all are.” Lucifer encouraged a round of applause.
I’m going to kill him, and his wife, and all his children.
He smiled again, looking directly at Mor and winking. “Yes, powerful, you all are indeed. But…” he paused like the dramatic creature he is, “she’s way more powerful than any of you, which makes her my favorite.” Lucifer stuck his tongue out at all the shocked demons, who were no longer lounging. Many of them took to standing with looks of outrage. I noticed Lilith walk out and leave.
Fear rolled off Jax so powerful I could taste it on my tongue. I turned to look at him, but was distracted by the look of pure shock on my fox’s face.
“Get up, Princess Morrigan. I have one more present for you, then I’ll let you resume your time with your mates. I’ve heard how exciting that can be,” Lucifer smiled at Mor. Her eyes went wide, like she was begging him not to. He gave her a wink. “On your feet, little demonling.”
My fox stood proudly; she did a hell of a job of masking her feelings when she needed to. Lucifer jumped down the steps, landing directly in front of her. He grabbed ahold of his vest and shirt, ripping them both off in one quick clean swipe. I saw her momentarily flinch as buttons sailed all around them. He stood in front of her, muscular chest bared. Golden lines crossed his tanned skin, marking his angelic runes. He dug into one right above his heart, swirling the ink to grab just a line of the power to bring forth and place on Mor’s skin. The golden line wiggled and twisted beneath her skin, forming into the letter L in elegant font.
I heard my aunts and uncles collectively gasp. Lucifer had put his mark on my fox, something he has never given to any other demon.
My fox was examining the new mark. It sat in the valley between her breasts and barely even resembled an L. It shimmered in the light. “What does this mean?” she asked confidently.
“It means you are protected by me personally. Your entire pack. You’re all my favorites now.” Lucifer said simply, looking over at me and smiling. “Stand, Justice Prince of Greed and claim your mark.”
I stood immediately, offering him my chest as he grabbed another line of power. When the magic hit, it felt like a tidal wave threatening to knock me over. It didn’t seem to give me any more power than I had, but it felt like there was a pocket of power kept locked away by the sigil. Maybe it was a onetime use kind of protection.
Jasper went next and then Jax. Jax didn’t hesitate to stand when asked, and he never flinched when Lucifer put his hand on his chest. Lucifer took his time applying the power to Jax, holding on to the end with his hand on Jax’s bare chest. The smile told me Lucifer was doing it on purpose. I wonder how much the old bastard really knew.
Lucifer finished, then took a step back and grinned while clapping erratically. The other elite didn’t join in, and I wondered if a fight to test the boundaries was about to go down.
“No?” Lucifer asked, looking around at his children. “Did you all have something you needed to say?”
Jax’s dad cleared his throat. “Father.” No surprise there. That demon always wanted more, more, and more.
“Yes, my son. Please ask your question.” Lucifer pinned him with a stare. Rumors said that Lucifer could yank your soul right out of you from where you stood.
“Father,” Beelzebub began again, lowering his tone, “I was just wondering what this would mean concerning the thrones, and the newly appointed favorites. Do they have a new title now, or additional responsibilities?”
“Titles. Bleh. You and your titles. I’ve never cared about those things.” Lucifer exaggerated his disgust. “Now responsibilities, yes, yes, I am afraid that does come with the deal. Very hard, very difficult tasks really. Honestly, I don’t expect them all to survive. Quite nasty work, it is to be my favorite.” Lucifer flopped back onto his throne, sounding entirely bored with the conversation. “I need my sacrifice squad, I mean, my favorites, to get powered up if they even want to stand a chance. I mean, to be prepared for their arduous task. I will call for you when I feel you are ready. Until then, I expect everyone to leave you alone so that you are not disturbed.”
With the flick of a wrist, Lucifer dismissed us. I took my fox’s hand, pulling her to get her started for the door. “We’ve been dismissed, we have to leave now.”
She looked up longingly toward Lucifer and I wished for the millionth time today, I could just feel what she was fucking feeling, so I could understand what was going on with her.
Thank you,she mouthed, and Lucifer winked in reply. I was missing a chunk of this story and I needed to get my fox back to our wing so we all could discuss what the fuck was happening.
Mor finally turned and followed me as I headed straight home, Hell helping along, making the journey a quick one. Jasper and Jax followed along with us silently. The consensus seemed to be, wait until we were home.
Without a word shared, we all filed into the room and took our seats, looking apprehensively at each other. A glass of bourbon appeared in front of Jax, which he downed at once. Our eyes all shifted to Mor as our hearts calmed and the reality of what just happened settled amongst the group like a heavy blanket of fog.
Shhhhh. Everything will be alright tomorrow.
