The Devil's Wife (33 page)

      Exactly seven seconds later, the door opened, spilling seven Demons out onto my white carpet.

      "Thank the fucking stars—"

      My seven Angel guards took their stances around me, and the Demons scrambled to their feet as the Archangels lifted their swords, ready to defend me. The seven hitDemons let off seven shots from their seven guns. There were seven thumps as my guards fell to the ground, seven pools of blood staining my pristine white carpet. Armed with swords, they had no chance against the Demons.

      "Was that really, truly, seriously necessary, Samyaza?" I asked. "I just cleaned the carpet, you know."

      The Demons ignored me, stepping out into the white of the room and leveling their seven guns at me. I was affronted to note that while Lucifer didn't have a gun, the Demon next to him—curiously familiar, but decidedly unfamiliar—was holding two instead, making it only six armed Demons.

      Samyaza's jaw tightened and I looked at him, lifting a perfectly-sculpted eyebrow.

      "What's wrong, don't you like your name?" I said sarcastically, careful to accentuate the seven words as I smirked, taking another dig at his pride. "I named you Samyaza, not pretentious 'Lucifer.'"

      "Samyaza is not my name now, you pathetic, incompetent atheist," he snarled at me. "I want nothing more to do with you than to see you dead, like my Clarissa!"

      I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands. "You did not just call me 'atheist!'" I screeched, losing my illusion of cool.

      "I did, you stupid bitch," he snarled, stepping forward, closer toward me.

      I remained at my desk, though my temper was growing rapidly.

      "And I'll call you a lot worse until you release my wife from her coma, Yahweh."

      I stood up, resting my knuckles on my desk. I was careful to stand so that seven knuckles made contact with the wood. He knew I hated that name, with only six letters to it. Six was not a good number, six was a bad number. As was five, in 'Allah'. 'Jehovah', however, was perfect, my seven sacred letters revolving through my mind.

      I hated being called a bitch almost as much as I hated being called Yahweh. My ire was at the surface, requiring just one more tug to pop.

      "Oh, sorry, Your Holiness," he said with a sneer, looking down his nose at me. "Was that going too far? I was sure that, as it was your original name, you would love the name 'Yahweh'."

      I stepped out around the table, taking seven steps. "You can take that back now, Samyaza!" I screamed, my hands curled into fists. "Take that insulting word back right now!"

      Samyaza laughed, stepping out in front of his Demons a little further. The Demons lowered their guns.

      "Or what, you'll cry?" he asked, making the Demons

behind him laugh.

"No, I'll—"

      "Run to Daddy?" he asked me, and I growled in frustration, my fingernails biting through my palms. "Guess what, you child, your father is a washed-up Egyptian god trapped in the Rift! Right where you're about to end up. You can say hi to him for me." He spat at me, the disgusting fluid landing on my foot.

      I didn't even realize what I was doing. I mean, I was God, wasn't I, the most powerful being in the universe? So why was I running across the room in seven steps, tackling Samyaza to the ground and punching him seven times in the face?

      The Demons around us were silent, watching as I hit Samyaza in the jaw. The Demons cheered Samyaza on as he tried to punch me. I caught his hand and latched onto his wrist with my teeth, wrapping my own hands around his throat.

      I heard the Demons start a betting pool, and I tried to tune them out, yelling as Samyaza bent my finger backwards. I yelled in pain, my jaws opening enough for him to pull his wrist free, and he punched me, sending me flying back a bit.

      I noticed Michael and Raphael in the crowd, and their appearance stunned me long enough for Samyaza to wrap his own hands around my throat. I used the same trick on him that he'd used on me, and he cursed, one hand coming free. I quickly did the same to the other hand and kicked him away from me, ignoring the crowd.

      "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

      The chant was picked up by the crowd as they encircled us.

      "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

      Samyaza was on me again, swinging his dagger down at me with one hand and crushing my throat with the other.

      "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

      I grabbed his wrist, stopping the knife, and he slashed my arm with it instead. I managed to punch him in the chin, sending him sprawling, and stood up, looking around for another knife.

      "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

      Samyaza leaped at me again, and I grabbed his wrist, trying to use my weight against him. Samyaza was almost a foot and a half taller than me, however, and he was better able to position himself to throw me down.

      "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

      I made a quick decision and skipped out from underneath him, holding my shoulder where he'd stabbed me as he fell forward.

      "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

      I shook my head and held my uninjured hand out, manifesting myself a dagger with a blade that was longer than Samyaza's.

      "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

      Samyaza leaped at me, swiping his dagger at my neck. I was a terrible fighter, and moved just a little too late to dodge the blow. He sliced his blade deep into my throat. Lucifer stood over me as I collapsed, bleeding too profusely to be able to heal myself in the time I had left.

      With the first real ounce of fear I had ever had, the Darkness descended on me, and I was no more.

Lucifer Morningstar

      I stood over God's body, staring down at the woman. She was one of the most dangerous creatures in the world— the most dangerous creature in the world—and I killed Her.

      "Boss?"

      I started, dropping the knife. I backed away from God's body, staring at the blood on my hands.

      "Lucifer, are you all right?" Beelzebub asked, looking between God's body and me, staring at my hands.

      "What did I do?" I whispered, backing away from the body, flattening myself up against the wall.

      All the rage I had before, all the pain, the emotion, the bloodlust, it was all gone, replaced by an empty hollowness. There was nothing there, nothing but what looked to be the cold darkness of eternity.

      The floor tipped and swayed, and I heard screams as the sound of buckling concrete met my ears.

      "Lucifer, what's happening?" Beelzebub asked, then was thrown onto his side with the shudder of the floor cracking.

      "The universe is being destroyed!" Aspen yelled, making a run for me over the shaky ground. "The fabric of the universe is—!" He was knocked off his feet and I saw him fall between the cracks in the concrete.

      "Aspen!" I screamed, staggering to the crack holding out my hand, in case I could grab him.

      I could feel the power of God entering my veins, trying to fill me up. I let it, pulling on the magic to try to hold the

universe together.

I needed my Clarissa, and she was dead.

      The thought brought a fury to my mind that seared red-hot through me. With a growl, I physically heaved at the strings knitting the universe together and the magic literally repaired the fabric of the cosmos, closing the tear. The ground stabilized and I cursed, using the magic I could see glowing in my hands to pull Aspen back into Seventh Heaven from the Void. He was shaken, but looked okay.

      "Lucifer, are you all right?" Beelzebub repeated, stepping gently towards me, his hands up to show he was weapon-less, that he wouldn't hurt me.

      He touched me on the shoulder and I collapsed to my knees, crying. I put my hands to my face, sobbing into them, and realized that they were still covered in God's drying blood.

      I didn't hear anything from my Demons, but suddenly the six of them gasped. I felt my tail vanish, and I felt my hands change. I shook my head, knotting my fingers in my hair and pulling at it.

      Of course I would return to being an Angel.

      I'd lost everything.

      Again.

      I listened to the Demons as they marveled to themselves, exclaiming with delight about their wings becoming white again, their hair glowing again, their skin a light brown once more.

      Something dinged, and I continued to sob, my head bowed, as I hugged myself. I heard the sound of the elevator doors separating, but I didn't register them or the gasps that followed, not really.

      "Where is he?" a quiet voice asked, making me look up. I knew that voice.

      Standing between Jayce and Billy Dune was Clarissa, smiling down at me. She took a step towards me, and the next thing I knew, I was kissing her, holding her as tightly as she was holding me.

      The former Demons were smiling at us when I pulled back from her, though I didn't let her go. I just kept staring at her, until I realized that Clarissa's hair was glowing as well, giving it a halo-effect, and her skin was brown, whereas it had been pale white before. She matched the Angels around us, and me.

      "Thanks for that welcome, God," she said in a teasing tone, her arms around my neck. "It's wonderful to be welcomed into Heaven in such a manner."

      I smiled down at her, refusing to look away in case she vanished. "How is this possible?"

      She smiled at me, her blue eyes glinting. "Well, I died, didn't I? There was bound to be some sort of side-effect of that."

      My happy mood diminished. "So you're an Angel now?"

      She grinned up at me and kissed me. "Well, for about four seconds, I was a Demon, but someone killed God and took Her place, reversing that particular decree."

      I felt my lips curve up into a smile. "Then it was worth attacking Heaven to take out Jehovah. I got you back." I leaned in to kiss her again, but she held me back with one hand.

      "But there is one thing I need to speak to you about, Lucifer."

      The smile dropped from my face. "Like what, Issa?"

      "Oh, nothing big. Just the lies you told me about sleeping with Jehovah."

      My face grew red, the blush heating my skin. "I—I— um…"

      She looked to the Demons, who were gazing anywhere but at us. I could tell they were eavesdropping.

      "Hey," she said, turning my face back to her with two fingers on my jaw. "I just need to know that you won't do it again."

      "Lie to you? Of course not."

      Clarissa tilted her head, looking me in the eye. "Cheat."

      "Oh." I blushed harder, hearing one of the formerDemons snicker. "I won't. Why would I cheat on my perfect woman?"

      She looked me in the eye for a few seconds, then smiled. "I believe you. Don't disappoint me."

      "Issa, there's only one thing I won't do with all the power I now command: disappoint you."

      More of the former-Demons snickered. I ignored them, as did Clarissa, and she kissed me happily.

      "Good. Because if you do, even being the most powerful being on Earth won't save you from me."

      I smiled. "Issa, honey, if there's one thing I know, it's that you can be a really scary bitch when you want to. I haven't forgotten that you were a Hellraiser once."

      "Good."

      I hugged her tightly. "Hey, Issa, seeing as you're having my child, and I have no secrets left from you..." I hesitated, then pulled back from her, going down on one knee and resting a hand on the slight bulge in her abdomen.

      "Clarissa Juliette Avario, will you marry me?" I blurted out, looking her in the eye.

      Clarissa stared at me. I held her hand in mine and a diamond ring appeared on her finger. It wasn't extravagant, but I knew her tastes—she wouldn't like an extravagant ring. We'd already gone looking for one, before she became pregnant, and I knew the one she wanted.

      She didn't even look at the ring, throwing her arms around my neck and kissing me. I heard the Demons celebrating and laughing in the background as I held her to me.

      "Yes!" she yelled, pulling back and looking me in the eye. "There's nothing I'd like to do more than live for eternity as the Devil's wife."

Jehovah

Beneath the crust of the Earth, where men will fear to tread, a Rift awaits the curious.

A part of the Realms governed by both Lucifer and Men, the Rift is a sacred, unholy place, filled with the ghosts of all previous Rulers of Heaven.