Page 50 of To Crave Deeply
Lucifer draped himself onto one of the wing-backed armchairs in front of the fire, already more at ease now he wasn’t straining himself to stand.
“I suppose you’re all wondering why I gathered you here. Well, let me put you out of your misery.” He turned those dark eyes towards me and indicated the chair next to him. “Please, sit. I think you will be more comfortable sitting down.”
I did as I was bid, knowing full well it wasn’t a request.
Satisfied I was doing as I was told, Lucifer continued. “The truth of the matter is that I need your help. Iveri has regained control and taken Torsten to go and retrieve the original witch and I am in no fit state to follow after them.”
I knew it. My instincts were never wrong. “When did they leave?”
“A few hours ago.”
Saskia groaned. “They could be anywhere by now.”
“The circles of Hell aren’t easy to navigate. You have to go on foot because portal jumping isn’t an option,” Alec commented. “They can’t have gone that far.”
Lucifer nodded and I pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration.
“There’s no time to lose. Alec, can you navigate us through the Seven Circles?” He knew this place better than any of us and I was counting on him to be able to get us there faster than Iveri.
He jumped to his feet and nodded. “Yes, I can do that. I’ll be able to track them down there as well if I shift.”
“Do it,” I ordered. We had no time to lose. I wanted to find her. I wanted to find her now.
“It’s all very exciting to watch you jump into action, Jasper, but I can get you straight into the Fifth Circle and to the River Styx. From there you will, as Alec so aptly put it, have to follow on foot.”
I turned back to Lucifer and found him lazily smiling as if he knew all the secrets. I sometimes wished he would just speak plainly instead of leading us all on this merry dance of riddles and enigmas. What Lori saw in this guy, I will never know. He was so fucking temperamental. My inner beast grumbled at the thought, and I sighed. He was right. If Lori trusted him, then we should, too.
“How?” I uttered, not trusting myself to speak politely.
A supercilious eyebrow arched over the Devil’s eyes. “I will send you. Under normal circumstances, I’d send you all the way to the Pit of Hell, but my power does not seem to be a willing partner at the moment.”
“Is that wise?” I instantly regretted the question. The fire in Lucifer’s eyes brightened as I questioned him in front of my team. He may not live topside, but he was still my King, and I’d just doubted his power publicly.
“I’m not dead yet, vampire. Your concern is touching but you would do well to remember your place. Or do you need a reminder?”
I felt something curl around my lower limbs and gently nudge at the back of my knees. He was showing me how easy it would be to force me to the floor before him. I knew he was powerful; even in this weakened state, he had more power in his little finger than I did in my entire body.
I shook my head. I didn’t want to piss him off even more, and we needed to get moving if we were to catch up with Iveri.
“That’s what I thought.” I felt his power recede and he took a deep breath. I hoped that sending us to the River Styx wasn’t going to cost him too much. He already looked like he was at Death’s door. I didn’t want this trip to push him through it. For all our sakes.
“Now, you will each need one of these obols if you wish to have Charon ferry you the stretch to the sixth circle. He does not allow anyone to cross without payment,” Lucifer explained as he handed us all a small copper coin. It was barely a centimetre in diameter and depicted the face of a man on one side, and a torch on the other.
Lucifer caught me looking at the two sides of the coin. “It’s a symbol of the light to illuminate you on your journey through the afterlife. Without the obol, you’re doomed to wander for eternity in the shadows.”
“Why don’t I get one?” Rae asked petulantly.
“Because, my dear, you are going to help me with a completely different task. I think a witch of your calibre might be able to help restore some strength into the wards around this place.”
She preened under the praise from Lucifer, and I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes. Who knew the way to a witch’s heart was through their ego?
Lucifer stopped in front of Alec, and I could feel the tension between them. It was clear that Alec still hadn’t forgiven Lucifer for murdering him in front of Lori when he first kidnapped her. I was surprised that Alec was showing so much restraint, to be honest. In his shoes, I don’t think I’d be quite so reserved. But out of all of us, he was probably the only one who really saw Lucifer as a King. He’d worked down here, chasing wayward souls for centuries. This had been his home, and he’d have been part of whatever court Lucifer had run back then.
Alec lowered his eyes in deference and Lucifer chuckled.
“Old habits die hard, don’t they?”
Alec brought his eyes up to Lucifer’s, but I didn’t miss the defiant glare burning in them as he stared resolutely at the Devil.
