Jack's Back ((Ascension: Book 2)) (13 page)

Escape Plan

Shelly had a plan. It wasn't much of a plan but she had little to work with so it would have to do. There were no windows to escape through. The door was pretty impenetrable. So she had only one way out. Lure Lucifer inside, then somehow get past him before he knew what was happening. She knew it was destined for failure but she wasn't about to just quit.

She pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it on the dirty floor. She unclasped her bra and let it join the shirt. She pulled her shoes off and then her pants. She was now naked and cold but that was the point.

She called out as loudly as she could and waited for the sound of approaching footsteps. When none came she called out again. Still nothing. She went into a stall and banged the toilet seat up and down. She yelled as loud as her hoarse voice would allow.

Finally she heard a door slam shut and sensed someone getting closer.

A voice from the other side of the doorway said angrily, "What the hell do you want?"

"I need to see you."

"Say what you have to say through the door. I don't have time for this."

"
Please. I need to see you."

She heard Lucifer mumble, "Jesus fucking Christ," right before he opened the door.

Shelly had never seduced a man before so she simply tried her best not to come off as clumsy or desperate. She was leaning against a cold sink, chest pushed out, hips cocked to the left, as Lucifer popped his head through to see what all the commotion was about.

If she could just get him to walk towards her, she could use the element of surprise and get away. She just had to be quicker than he was. When she felt his magnificent presence, she knew her plan would fail. But she had to try
anyway.

Taken by Surprise

Lucifer wasn't expecting the girl to be nude when he opened the door. He shut his eyes against the glory of her flesh but he couldn't maintain such enormous control over his urges.

He threw the door wide and strode towards her. She was everything he wanted in life, and then some. Just as he was within a foot of her he noticed the fear hiding within her expression. He didn't want this girl to fear him. That wasn't the plan.

He embraced her in a hug. She was cold to the touch and trembling. She started to cry in his arms.

He whispered, "Put your clothes back on. You're free to go."

She looked into his eyes and he felt
his heart ache. Then she began kissing him. He couldn't help himself anymore. He took her head in his hands and kissed back. His senses reached their limit and he could control himself no more.

Prophecy Fulfilled

Shelly thought, well that wasn't how I imagined losing my virginity: To Lucifer on a cold bathroom floor
in a church.

And yet it was so much better than anything she'd ever imagined for herself.

The initial plan had gone to shit immediately and then an unnatural urge propelled her into his embrace. She no longer thought of escape. If anything, she now wanted the opposite: To never have to leave his side.

She knew there was a bigger picture, that something immense was pulling her strings but it didn't matter now.

She thought, does this mean I'm pregnant now? Am I carrying the child of Lucifer.

Rather than dread, a feeling of completeness enveloped her.
She not only felt overjoyed, she felt a sense of purpose in life that had evaded her for so long.

Tempered

Jack whimpered like a baby. The fire brought back memories of hell. It was like he was reliving the past year of torment but all at once. It was too much to bear.

He begged, "Please Dick-eyes, stop," but the fire kept rushing him, crashing into and through his very soul.

And then, all at once he felt a calm wash away all his fears. The fire became familiar, like stumbling upon a long lost teddy bear
in a box in the attic or reuniting with a childhood sweetheart.

He stood
up as wave after wave of flame hit him with increasing ferocity. He turned to face the flame and welcome it. He felt home here.

Just as he was hoping it would never end, it of course did.

He instantly felt the cold air tickle his skin, but it was different than before. He could feel it, but it didn't affect him in any way.

He watched as his mottled red and black skin crackled and hardened into something
resembling cooled lava. His eyesight was going out but then he realized it wasn't that; the remains of the broken house were in flames. The smoke billowed thickly and made it impossible to discern anything more than a few feet away.

Dick-eyes mov
ed his huge head towards Jack but Jack was neither afraid nor angry. He knew now what had to be done. Dick-eyes had hardened him for battle by reminding him of what Lucifer had forced him to endure for the past year.

It was an obscene form of tough love but Jack appreciated it.

Torn

There was a very real part of Lucifer that wanted nothing more than to say fuck the apocalypse. He desperately wanted to run off with Shelly and forget all of his old hatred and vendettas.

But at the same time, he knew it was a trick. God's prophecies had a way of making something fated seem like an act of pure, luck driven chance. And the very notion made Lucifer sick
to his stomach.

He thought he'd managed to escape the influence of God, but now he'd allowed himself to get reeled right back in.

He was torn so he did the only thing he could think of doing. He locked Shelly back up in the bathroom. He had to get his head back in the game and the girl was an unwanted distraction. But that wasn't exactly true: He did want her. He wanted her again, right now.

He distanced himself physically, hoping that the feeling
s would diminish as he walked away. He took the stairs two at a time and was breathless by the time he reached the top, but not from the exertion of climbing the steps, it was from fighting his impulses to return to the woman of his dreams.

But he had to force those feelings away for now.

It worked, but it was bittersweet. He no longer felt like she was his whole world, but the absence of that feeling saddened him.

He shook his head. He had to get a grip. He was acting like a lovesick teenager, not the mighty fallen angel, Lucifer.

If his plan worked, God would soon enact the apocalypse and then the chess
match would begin. And Lucifer only played to win.

Just as he was congratulating himself on his mastery over his base desires, he found himself outside the bathroom door again. He didn't know how he got there. He didn't remember descending the stairs or deciding that this was an acceptable idea. Before he could steel himself against opening the door, his hand reached out of its own accord, and opened it up. He was back in the room even as his thoughts screamed, run dammit, run.

Shelly ran to him and jumped into his arms. His thoughts evaporated, replaced by a joyous bliss he didn't think he even deserved.

He kissed her and she said, "I knew you couldn't leave me here."

He put her down and said, "Shelly, I need you to know that I have something big going on right now. I want you, but that will have to wait until my plan has reached fruition. Can you help me stay focused on that? Afterwards, I promise you the world, and then some."

She nodded her head eagerly. She said, "Are you planning to destroy Jack? Because I think you should reconsider. He's not that bad."

Lucifer didn't mean to, but he laughed right in her face.

She looked pissed so he explained. "Jack is a mere mosquito to someone like me. I am going to destroy God."

It was Shelly's turn to laugh but she stopped when Lucifer glared at her without a hint of compassion.

He said, "It is my purpose. He created me, loved me, and then disowned me. My punishment demands retribution. I will have my revenge even if it destroys me."

Now Shelly looked aghast. "I can't watch you die. I only just met you."

She felt like an idiot for giving in to her desires so easily but it felt so right.

"Then help me win."

"What's the plan then?"

"For now I can only hope that God doesn't call my bluff. If he believes that I have ascended to the throne as Devil and that I have unleashed the apocalypse, then he has no choice but to enact the Rapture. With all the good people gone, I'll breed an army of damned souls here on earth."

Shelly shook her head. "
I still don't really get it."

"It's a numbers game
. Once I have bred enough, I'll fight him. Until then, God's hands are tied. He can't fight me until I wage the war."

"Are you sure about that?"

"It is the doomsday prophecy. It is vague about when it will happen and who will take the throne but it is otherwise an ironclad prophecy with little room for interpretation. It will come true."

"I'll help you any way I can."

"For now, just help me from falling further in love with you. There's a suspicious part of me that thinks this was God's plan; to put us together to disrupt my process thereby derailing my plans."

"I sure hope you think more of me than that. I'm no one's pawn."

"Shelly, I fear we may both be his pawns. But you can win a chess match with two pawns if you're smart enough and make all the right moves."

Shelly realized she had every reason to hate God. Maybe not as much as Lucifer
, but still. God had sent a horde of sex starved angels after her to rape her. Wasn't that reason enough to want revenge? She was starting to think so.

She said, "I'll
do whatever it takes."

Time to go

The house was crumbling to pieces around them. Jack made for the stairs but Dick-eyes stopped him and beckoned for him to hop on.

Jack laughed heartily and was more than eager to ride a fucking dragon out of the decrepit house. He climbed what was left of the cinder block wall and then jumped up on the dragon's back.

Dick-eyes flapped his wings once and shot straight up into the
air. The smoke swirled around in twin tornadoes before settling once more.

Dick-eyes came down gently on the lawn. Jack heard screams off in the distance and a cacophony of approaching sirens. His minions were waiting for him on the lawn.

Jack said, "You fuckers know where to meet us. Don't get caught, and kill as few civilians as necessary."

The werewolf howled and took off. Jack knew it wouldn't adhere to his command. It would probably kill every single civilian it came across.
It might even go out of its way to rack up some extra kills.

The Goatraffe said, "Fuck off," then turned and m
eandered away. Jack didn't think the freaky creature would make it very far but he also didn't care. He hated that guy.

The cat jumped on the tiger's head. At first the tiger tried to buck it off but the cat clawed it's eyes and so it eventually relented. It too turned and took off at a run, the cat holding on for dear life as it went.

Mr. Pickles, the python sized caterpillar was wrapped around the hyena's neck and body like a grotesque scarf. The hyena didn't appear too pleased about its unwanted passenger but it too turned and wandered off, following orders.

Jack turned and looked up at his magnificent new steed. He was about to address it as Dick-eyes again but he now knew it's real name.

It was his loyal companion Cerberus, the guardian of the gates of hell.

He said, "Take me to him, Cerberus," and then he ran and jumped at the beast. He didn't quite make it to the top and he sure hoped he didn't look like a doofus scrambling up the last couple of feet. It was undignified for a person of his stature but at least he didn't fall flat on his ass.

Cerberus simply waited patiently for him to get situated. Then in a clear voice he said to Jack, "You can call me Dick-eyes if you still want to."

"No. And I'm sorry for that."

"No need. Lets go get Lucifer. I've always hated that
punk. He ruined my home and he'll pay for it." As he spoke, little tendrils of smoke escaped from between his razor sharp fangs.

Jack was simply giddy to have this new warrior on his side and he felt like a chump for not realizing what was staring him right in the
face this entire time.

Cerberus took flight and Jack had to hold on for fear of falling.

He could now see the strobing lights that accompanied the sirens of the police cars. They'd obviously be called by frightened neighbors but they were too late.

Lucky for them.

As Cerberus climbed higher into the clear blue sky, Jack thought, this is nothing like how I imagined this as a kid.

As a child he'd often daydreamed about owning a pet dragon and flying it away towards some new quest or battle. The reality was that the dragon was a true monster from hell that seemed to care little for his safety as it swooped up and down and around,
smoke that trailed from its mouth was hitting Jack directly in the eyes, stinging them shut, and the quest might end up spelling his doom.

It was funny; earlier today, this huge beast had perched atop his head as a grotesque, but small enough spider, and now he was riding it into the
sky, holding on with all his might. Quite the role reversal.

Finally he had enough
of the swooping and daredevil flying maneuvers and he bonked Cerberus on the head with his meaty fist.

He said, "Slow down God damn it."

The dragon let out a hearty laugh, shot fire ahead of them, and then flew forward even faster.

"Fucker," Jack whispered.

Cerberus' voice fought against the howling wind. He said, "Your enemy is an angel with wings. How can you hope to fight him if you can't stand to fly?"

"I won't let him get off the ground."

"Good luck with that tactic," Cerberus said sarcastically.

Jack said, "Whatever dude. If you drop me I'll beat the crap out of you."

Cerberus laughed again which just pissed Jack off.