Page 57 of When Monsters Fight
We stepped through the portal together. The world tipped, and when it righted itself, we were on stone floors surrounded by thick metal iron bars.
“Don’t move!” A male in armor jabbed his spear at us through the bars.
Two others joined in, jabbing at us to keep us away.
No. No more. I was done. Rage born of exhaustion bubbled up inside me. “Enough! Back the fuck up. Now! Where is she? Where is Lucifer?”
The door at the far end of the room swung open, and Lucifer filled the frame, her chest heaving as if she’d run.
Her gaze settled on me and lit up in triumph. “Let them out. We have work to do.”
Chapter 28
MICHAEL
The doors to the audience chamber open to admit me, and I feel the Dominion’s presence before they speak. Their voice, their light no longer pains me because I too am filled with light, and I’m seething.
“Two days.” My tone is clipped. “You made me wait two days for an audience when the information I have is vital to the?—”
“We know about the conjunction.”
They know? “Who told you?”
“You are not our only operative in the field.”
They sound amused. How dare they sound amused? Maybe I should rethink standing down from taking over. Maybe they should be brought to heel.
“There is no need for you to worry, Michael,” they say smoothly.
No need to worry? “Time is of the essence. If you know about the conjunction, then surely you agree we need to find a way to send sentinels through it. You say you’ve beensearching for a way into Gehenna, a way to Lucifer for almost a decade, and now we have one. If we don’t act, then Rue might find Lucifer first. You said we didn’t need to worry about the relics if Shem was in our control, but things have changed now. If Rue has all the relics and gets them to Lucifer?—”
“Enough!” The word is a reverberation. “We have given you power. Status. Some knowledge of our plan. But that does not give you permission to question us. We have processes in motion. If Rue does find her way to Lucifer, then it will be in our favor, and if she fails, then that too will be in our favor. There is no loss on the horizon for us, but for you…You can be stripped of the gifts we’ve given you.”
Stripped? “You said I was restored, connected to the same font of power as you.”
“Oh, Michael, did you honestly think we’d give you power that could not be taken away?”
Yes. Yes, I had. They’d tricked me. They’d fucking tricked me.
“You are blessed as long as we wish it, and as long as we continue to be blessed. If the Dominion falls, so do you. And not just a reduction of power, but true mortality.”
They had me. They had me completely in their clutches.
“Now, Shem’s body has been transported to the hub already, but we would like you to go there and prepare.”
I want to argue, but I don’t have any leverage. Not any longer. I take a breath and compose myself. “Prepare for what?”
“For our next arrival.”
Chapter 29
RUE
Lucifer led us down a stone corridor, boots clipping against marble. Her sword sat in its holster across her back—an epic weapon with a jeweled hilt that seemed to exude power.
The air smelled of incense, a smoky, woodsy scent that was pleasant and should have been soothing, but the moths in my belly refused to calm.
We were here. Physically in Lucifer’s fortress. We’d made it. So why did I feel so on edge?
