Grace
I gasp for breath and jump up to find myself in Lucifer’s throne room. I touch my throat and find no sign of damage. My body is whole and unblemished, and I’m dressed in one of my usual half-there outfits trimmed in lace.
“I trust you learned a valuable lesson.”
I look up at Lucifer on his throne. He’s smoking another cigar, just like the one he gave to Corbin. The one that almost blinded me. My stomach turns.
“Yes, I have,” I say. It’s true. I consider myself a changed person. I’ve finally met someone beyond salvation. “When you sent Josh to corrupt Cam, he was still reachable by me, even though it was a long shot. This…monster was already beyond my—or any Angel’s—reach. How did stopping him from getting to that wedding do you any good?”
Lucifer grins. “Smart girl, Gracie. It’s true. Corbin was always going to be mine. But if he’d made it to the wedding and actually witnessed it, it would have put him over the edge. He would have killed his beloved that night and been caught. What fun is that? This way, he’s had practice and will continue on to kill hundreds of women. And he’s starting tonight with his very same beloved. Sometimes patience pays off.”
My stomach turns again, and I fight to keep myself from vomiting in front of him for a second time. Hundreds of women will go through what I just went through?
“Now that you’ve learned your lesson,” Lucifer continues, “will you cooperate?”
I nod. I’m no idiot. If I say no, I’ll just be tortured until I finally comply.
“Excellent. While you were otherwise occupied, however, your ex-boyfriend nearly murdered your brother. If you’d listened to me in the first place, I wouldn’t have had to punish you and you would have been available to go to Josh as I'd planned. Then he wouldn’t have intervened with Noah, and instead, Josh would be here with us now. I consider this your fault, Grace. You’re going to have to make it up to me. Understand?”
I swallow, my mind spinning. Josh almost killed Noah? How—why? “Is Noah all right?” I ask.
“Yes. He did a nice job on Josh as well. He’s going to need some comforting. But just in case that doesn’t work? Keira!”
Keira crawls out from behind Lucifer’s throne, and I gasp. Her face is gaunt, her eyes dull. She raises a trembling hand and reveals something both horrible and familiar all at the same time. I step back. I know what it is—and I don’t want to touch it.
“That’s the knife that almost ended Josh. It’s that dagger you gave Cam. The one that can kill Demons and Angels,” I say. If I keep talking about it, maybe someone will come to their senses and get rid of it.
Keira lowers her head, and Lucifer speaks. “It is another like it. Keira here likes to collect them. The irony, you see, is that she will soon be ended by the very same weapon. But first, I want her to join you up on Earth. You will seduce Josh. If he resists your charms, Keira will end him. Do you understand?”
My mouth hangs open, but I know I must speak or face worse than the horrors I’ve just been through. “I understand,” I say.
“Wait.”
I freeze while Lucifer descends from his throne. “I don’t trust you, Grace. I don’t trust that you’ll do your job. I have little trust for Keira, as well, but I’m giving her this one last chance. Keira, stay hidden. If Grace tries to stop you, kill her as well. This is your one and only chance to save your miserable existence. I do know you, Keira, and I know you won’t put anyone before yourself, especially not these two.”
“Yes, Lucifer.” Keira speaks with her head down.
“Josh will likely try to approach Noah again.” Lucifer paces before us. “So I also want you to stay near Noah without his knowledge.”
“Yes, Lucifer,” we both chant. My mind races. This is all happening too fast. I can’t process it. Not while I keep reliving my own murder.
“That means you will go to Los Angeles tonight. You have ten hours to reach the big press conference the Beverly Hilton hotel is hosting for Noah, because I am certain our soon-to-fall Angel, Josh, will be tempted to make an appearance. I’ve found it necessary to speed up the schedule.”
He snaps his fingers and disappears from view. Keira rises and tucks the dagger away in a sheath beneath her blouse.
“Are you going to do it?” she asks me. “Seduce him?”
“Are you going to kill us?” I ask in return.
We stare at each other for a full minute. I don’t want to believe that the Keira I’ve come to know would do such a horrible thing, but I can’t ignore her past choices or what she is. And I certainly can’t be sure she’s strong enough to fight Lucifer’s will if I’m not even sure I can. I want to trust her, but I’d be a fool to do so. Still, I can’t lose the woman my brother loves.
“Thank you,” I say, “for trying to help me before. I’m sorry you were caught.”
“I did it for Noah. Josh was supposed to help him, not almost kill him. That was the deal. So don’t be surprised if I do stab him.” And there’s the arrogant lift of her shoulders and the spark in her eye that used to make me doubt myself. But I know what’s underneath now, and it’s far less intimidating than when I first found out what she was.
What we are.
“We have hours. I’ll meet you there,” I say.
“Where are you going?” She grabs my arm, afraid I’m going to warn Josh or something, I guess. She’d never survive if Josh knew she was coming for him. He could kill her with a touch. But that’s not it. I have something else I have to take care of before I can even contemplate this mess.
“I have a human to kill.” I wait for her to laugh or tease me. Instead, she drops her hand and looks sad.
“I’ll come with you, then. I wouldn’t want you to sneak off and do something stupid.”
“So you’re not coming to watch?” I ask.
“Maybe that, too.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.
I take her hand, and we appear in the lobby of the Vegas hotel, where we head straight for the glass elevator.
Inside, I lean against the clear wall and stare down at the empty enclosure. “Where’d the tiger go?” I ask.
Keira joins me. “No idea. Maybe it died.” She shrugs.
The elevator doors open, and we head for the room. It was the last place I saw him. The place he killed me.
We nearly walk straight into a very out-of-breath Randy, who grabs me and holds me like he’s seen a ghost. “Oh my Lord, Grace! Is that really you? I thought I saw you in the elevator, so I ran up the stairs. The police said it was you, and I thought it was because you climbed in there the other night. But… Oh, thank goodness.”
I stay very still and wait, hoping to make some sense out of what he’s saying.
“What did you think was her?” Keira asks.
“You didn’t hear? Someone fell in the tiger enclosure. It wasn’t pretty. She got ripped to shreds and was partially consumed.” Randy lets me loose and looks like he’s about to be ill. “They took the tiger away after that. But the body… It had curly, blond hair and, well…” He gestures to me. “I’m just glad you’re all right.”
“It was me,” I say to Keira, not caring if Randy hears. “It’s how he disposed of my body. That would have covered his tracks.” I’m shaking, but not with fear. This time it’s with rage.
At least I wasn’t conscious for that part.
“What is she talking about?” Randy asks Keira, pulling her aside.
She glances at me sideways then looks him in the eye. “You won’t remember running into us here. Grace is dead. You will go downstairs, leave, and go on with your life.”
Randy nods and strides into the elevator.
“I guess that means he cleaned up after himself,” I say. Just to be sure, I check the room, forcing the door open. There’s not a drop of blood. That’s why he put down the tarp. And the carpet is red anyway.
“Come on,” I say, storming back out the door.
“Where are we going now?” Keira asks. I guess she’s hoping I’ll give up my search.
“My room.” I stare at the empty enclosure as we descend. Yellow police tape crisscrosses the area from one banister to the next. Several onlookers mill about, pointing and chatting. A streak of brownish red is still smeared on the smooth side facing the elevator.
My blood. My blood from all the shallow wounds he inflicted so painstakingly across my flesh. I can still feel the knife pressed against each spot, including my eye. I shiver. Did he gouge out my eyes after? I grab my stomach and sink to the bottom of the elevator. Keira presses the STOP button and kneels next to me, smoothing the hair from my face. It doesn’t make me feel better—he did the same thing.
“It’ll pass. The memories will fade with time. You can drown them out by focusing on something else. Think of Josh.”
I shove her away and pull myself back up so I can press the RESUME button. “You want me to think about seducing him? So we can all live happily ever after as Demons, tortured to death again and again by the Devil while we ruin other people’s lives?”
Keira backs into the corner, mouth hanging open in a little O, eyes wide. The elevator arrives at its destination, and I storm out. I stride down the hall to the room, feeling my eyes burn red. I lift a palm to the door and shove. The whole thing bursts inward, raining splinters.
Corbin looks up from the desk where he sits with his knife, which is still darkened with my blood. He’s been cutting more eyes out of pictures. I stroll over, ignoring his dumbfounded face, and grab one. It’s someone new. A redhead this time, with curly hair.
“Your next victim?” I ask, tossing it aside.
He nods, scanning me up and down. “I left you in pieces with a hungry tiger.”
“Yeah. That was a mistake.”
“You’re a ghost.” He stands awkwardly, backing into the desk. “You’re only a spirit. You can’t hurt me.”
“Far from it,” I say. “I’m real. I can touch you all I want, and you’re going to burn in Hell.”
“I’ll just keep killing you,” he says, holding out the knife. “It was amazing. I’ll do it over and over again. I’ll keep you here, tied up, and I’ll kill you every day by cutting you up in some new way.”
“Actually, I’m going to cut you now. Last chance for repentance.” I offer him the choice, but I hold no real hope he’ll take it. Some people don’t want to be saved. He laughs.
“Here, kitty, kitty,” he says, angling the knife at me. “Wanna play?”
I grab his wrist and twist. He drops the weapon, which I pick up while still holding onto him. I hold the knife to his throat, and my stomach squirms at the fear in his eyes. It feels exhilarating but also sickening.
Do it fast, I tell myself.
Keira appears at my side and puts her hand over mine on the knife.
“Grace, it was Lucifer who did this to you. You know that, right?” she asks.
I respond with self-assurance. “Lucifer tells the truth. He said that this sicko is going to kill hundreds of women. Hundreds of people tortured, cut, their eyes gouged out… He can’t be allowed to do that to anyone else. Not one more person.”
“Then let me do it,” she says, unsheathing the cursed blade. “You won’t have to live with this forever if I do it. It won’t bother me. I’ve killed before.”
I consider it. It would be easy to let her. But that’s my problem, isn’t it? I let too many other people fight my battles while I go on being morally superior.
“You might try to kill me later, but now you’re protecting me?” I ask with a snort. I keep my eyes fixed on Corbin, who watches me silently, hunger in his eyes. A single bead of sweat at his hairline betrays his fear.
Keira steps back.
“Sometimes there is no right or wrong.” I’m saying it out loud to convince myself. “Sometimes there’s only the best you can do with the information and abilities you have. Killing is wrong. But letting you live is like killing hundreds.” I steel myself and pull the blade across his throat.
I jump back out of the way as he falls to his knees, spurting blood and making that horribly familiar gurgling sound. I watch as the life drains from his face and he stills on the carpet. Then I drop the knife and walk back toward the door. I’m lightheaded with both relief and disgust.
“Come on, then,” I call behind me. “We should pick up a few things for tonight.”