Ruthless (The Seraphim Series Book 2) (25 page)

“Lilliah, calm down.” Rebecca pulled her into a hug, wrapping her arms around her tightly. “It’s okay now.”

“No. Lucifer’s coming.”

Chapter 20

Derek downed his glass of whiskey and refilled it immediately. “What happened back there?”

“She betrayed me, but it doesn’t really matter now, because she’s dead.” Caleb stared down at his glass. It was the first time he’d spoken since they’d gotten back from Jean’s apartment. They had returned to the crappy building they had stayed in the night before.

A few hours had passed since they’d left the house with the Holy Grail. Derek and his guys had swarmed the apartment, getting her, Iris, Benedict, and Caleb out within minutes. Lilliah hadn’t asked what they had done with Jean’s body, and she really didn’t have it in her to care. Caleb, however, didn’t seem to feel the same way.

“What did you expect me to do?” Derek held out his arms. “Ask nicely for her to let you go? Ask nicely for her
not
to call Lucifer?”

The room fell silent again, all of them in deep thought. Jean was just another name on a long list of traitors. Everyone they turned to betrayed them, always siding with Lucifer. They couldn’t trust anyone.

“I can’t keep my guys on this for much longer,” Derek said. “My bosses are asking too many questions.” He sat next to Benedict on the sofa.

They were all sitting around the Holy Grail, drinking whiskey and planning their next move. Lilliah had no ideas. No matter what they did or how hard they tried, Lucifer was always one step ahead of them, and now they were losing Derek.

“It’s fine. You’ve done all you can. Thank you,” Benedict assured him as he swirled his drink in his glass.

Iris was sitting on the floor, refusing to drink and barely speaking to anyone. She held her legs to her chest tightly, occasionally letting out a little sniffle. Lilliah had tried to comfort her, but she hadn’t wanted that. She’d flinch whenever anyone would get too close.

“You can all stay here as long as you need. There are always men based here, but I will be taking the bulk of them with me.” Derek finished his drink and stood to leave. “I really am sorry, guys.”

No one spoke as he left the room.

Sebastian picked up the Grail, turning it upside down and examining it. “It looks very plain. Not how I imagined it at all.”

“Plain or not, it’s still very powerful. We just have to find a way to use it.” Benedict took it from Sebastian. “It’s not a toy.”

“Are we sure it’s even the right one?” Lilliah crossed her legs and rested her elbows on her tights, not looking at anyone in particular.

“We showed it to Iris and she nodded.”

Iris looked up slightly when Benedict said her name, but didn’t speak. She looked exhausted.

“I don’t really think Iris is in the right frame of mind at the moment.” Lilliah endeavoured to smile at her friend, but Iris stared back at her emotionlessly. “All I’m saying is that Lucifer knew we would be there. Why didn’t he take the Grail?”

“It was a trap. He’d left it there to lure us in.” Benedict put the Grail back in the middle of the table.

Lilliah wasn’t convinced by any of it. “But Jean could have just said it was there and we would have had no way of checking to see whether she was telling the truth. Why leave it? Why give us an opportunity to get it? It makes no sense.”

Lucifer’s actions didn’t make any sense to her anyway. He was the Devil, a fallen angel, yet he was back on Earth, and what was he doing? Taking Azrael? He had said he’s wanted to take revenge on Michael; why hadn’t he?

“I bet that us actually getting the Grail never entered his head. He thought he’d kill us and that would be that.” Rebecca yawned and rested her head on Sebastian’s arm.

“Maybe.” Lilliah still wasn’t buying it, but looking around the room, she could tell how tired everyone was. It wasn’t even eight o’clock, but fighting the Devil on a daily basis was tiring. “I’m shattered. I’m going to bed.”

Everyone stood apart from Iris, who remained on the floor. They all filtered out, muttering their goodnights.

Lilliah sat next to Iris. “I don’t know what you saw today, but I’m sorry.” She waited for Iris to talk, but when she didn’t, she nervously continued. “I was trying so hard to get my power to work, for that blue stuff to come out of my hands, but it just didn’t work. I don’t know why, and I am so sorry.”

Lilliah jumped when Iris’s cold hand grabbed her. “None of that was your fault, Lil.”

She let go and crawled over to the table. Lilliah was about to disagree, but instead she watched as Iris carefully picked up the Grail.

“This is the real deal.”

“That’s good, then. One less thing to worry about. What did you see, in the house? You screamed so loudly, but I couldn’t help you.”

Iris ran her fingers over the Grail. “I saw death. So much death.”

Lilliah went cold. “Whose death?”

Iris didn’t meet Lilliah’s eyes. She was too busy examining the object in her hands. “Everyone’s. Lucifer will kill everyone, and we can’t stop it. Not alone.”

“Did you speak to the angels? Did they show you this?” Lilliah stood, her chest feeling heavy. She needed to get out. She needed some air.

“No, but I saw us all lying there with everything burnt around us. Me, you, Rebecca, Sebastian—all of us.” Iris put the Grail back on the table and stood. For the first time, Lilliah could see the dark bruises under her eyes.

“That’s not going to happen. It just can’t.” Lilliah had no idea who she was trying to convince more, herself or Iris.

“We can try and use the Grail to get Azrael back, then we can find a way to send Lucifer back to Hell. But all we can do is try. We’re flowers in a hurricane.”

Lilliah was speechless as Iris left the room. What had happened?

Grabbing the Grail, she stormed into her bedroom. Rebecca and Sebastian were cuddled on the bed, filling the room with their soft snores and Rebecca’s occupational snort. She grabbed her nightclothes and settled on the sofa. Iris still wasn’t back. Lilliah stared at the ceiling and waited for the door to open, which it did half an hour later.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” Iris slid under her cover, not bothering to change.

“You didn’t.” Lilliah lay in the dark, knowing she should say something, anything, to help Iris not be so afraid, but she just couldn’t find the right words.

“At first it terrified me, seeing everyone like that, knowing it was a possibility, but I’m not afraid anymore.”

“You’re not afraid? I am.” Lilliah squeezed her eyes shut, tightening her grip on the quilt.

“If we die, then we die. At least we tried to do some good. You never know. We might get to go to Heaven.”

Iris’s detachedness shocked Lilliah so much she couldn’t respond. How had Iris accepted her death so easily? How could she have possibly come to terms with this?

“I hear Benedict had tried so many spells,” Iris went on, “trying to find the right one to send Lucifer back to Hell. I guess we’re running out of options.”

Lilliah let the words sink in. She knew Benedict had been trying spells, trying to find the right one to defeat Lucifer, but the thought had never occurred to her that maybe there wasn’t one.

“I think all of this is for nothing. Lucifer’s going to kill and burn everything and everyone. No angels are going to come swooping down to help. It’s just us,” Iris said simply.

“Lucifer isn’t undefeatable. The angels sent him to Hell before, and it will happen again. It has to.” Lilliah wet her lips. She had no idea how to voice the tidal wave of emotions she felt when she thought about Lucifer. “You know, I’ve never really thought about faith before. Even when I found out I was an angel, I wasn’t particularly religious. That’s not what I believe in. I believe in people, and the good they can do. I get that there are so many bad people out there, but there’s also good. And the thought of all of those good people not existing anymore, well, it’s just unthinkable. So, we don’t really have a choice to win against Lucifer or not. We have to win; we have to win for all those good people out there.”

She could hear Iris turn in her covers, but she didn’t say anything. Lilliah put her hand over her mouth, muffling her sobs until eventually she drifted to sleep.

Lucifer stood in front of her. “It’s about time you got here. I was starting to worry.”

Lilliah jumped, her whole body shaking. “No, you can’t be here anymore. You can’t do this.”

She looked around, her heart missing a beat when she recognised where they were.

“Azrael’s apartment is very lovely.” Lucifer turned and headed for the living room sofa, leaving Lilliah standing in fear. “He also has an extraordinary collection of whiskey. I’d never tried it before, you know. I have your love to thank for introducing me to it.”

Lucifer turned his back on her and grabbed a glass from a nearby coffee table and poured himself a drink. Seizing the chance, Lilliah ran for the door and pulled on the handle—locked.

“You didn’t really think I’d leave the door open, did you? You constantly offend me, Lilliah.”

She turned to face him once more. He was sitting down, his feet resting on the table.

“How is this real? You can’t get in my head anymore.” She looked around the room, searching for anything she could use against him. The kitchen—there would be something in the kitchen.

“That Jean woman broke the spell, but of course she didn’t do it right.” He shook his head disapprovingly. “That’s why I am not in your room, not killing everyone you ever loved. But I can get into that pretty little head of yours.”

Lilliah ran into the kitchen and grabbed a knife from the set. She held it out and pointed it at Lucifer, ready to do as much damage as she needed.

“What exactly are you going to do with that?” He looked over at her, his voice laced with boredom.

“I’ll stab you with it if you come too close. Then I’ll kill you with my bare hands.” She moved to the back of the kitchen, needing to put as much space between them as possible.

“Once again, you offend me. Do you really think a knife can kill me? And besides, you can’t hurt me while we’re here. Just like I can’t hurt you.”

Before she could react or move, Lucifer was in front of her. He seized her wrist in one of his large hands and plunged the knife into his stomach.

Lilliah screamed and struggled to yank her wrist free, but his grip was too strong. She squeezed her eyes shut and fisted her free hand, trying her hardest to conjure up her power.

“That little magic trick of yours won’t work here.” Lucifer released her wrist, and Lilliah pulled it to her chest and cradled it. She didn’t care what he had said; dream or not, that was going to bruise. “I must say, I didn’t expect you to have such powers. It explains why Michael has kept you locked away for so long.”

He stepped back and sipped his drink, ignoring the blood staining his shirt and dripping on the floor.

“What do you want from me?” Lilliah was afraid of the answer, but the question was the only one she had to ask—the only one that mattered. Why didn’t Lucifer just kill her? Why was he constantly toying with her?

“I’ve told you before, I think we can work together. To prove I’m not always the bad guy, I have a little gift for you.”

Lucifer stepped aside. Azrael was standing in the living room, staring at her with cold, red eyes.

Lilliah didn’t move at first. His red eyes told her that he still wasn’t
her
Azrael. He was a monster.

“Think of this as a gift. A temporary gift, but a gift nonetheless.” Lucifer waved his hand and then disappeared.

“Lilliah?”

She looked across the space, unable to stop hope from fluttering in her stomach. Blue eyes were looking back at her—Azrael’s clear blue eyes.

Chapter 21

Lilliah sprinted across the space between them and threw herself at Azrael, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Is this real? Are you back?” She breathed in his scent, her body almost collapsing in relief when his arms encircled her waist.

“It’s me, Lilliah.”

They stayed locked together for a few minutes, holding each other.

Azrael eventually pulled back and cupped her face, holding her gaze. “I’m … I’m so sorry. I couldn’t stop any of it. I tried, but my body wouldn’t let me. I didn’t have control over anything.” He stared down at her intensely. “You have to believe I would never hurt you.”

“I know it wasn’t you.” She put her hands over his and caressed his skin. He’d only been gone for two weeks, but it felt like so much longer. So much had happened.

“I saw him hurt you. I saw him break you, and I couldn’t help. I could never—” His voice cracked and he looked away.

Azrael didn’t cry—it was something he just didn’t do—but Lilliah knew that if he did, he’d be crying now. She could see the heartbreak written on his face, in the way his eyes dimmed when they looked at her.

“No.” She pulled his face back to her. “Don’t let him do this. Don’t let him put this between us. There was nothing you could have done. Lucifer attacked us both that night.”

She didn’t want to spend this time going over things that neither of them could change, so instead of going over every painful detail and ruining their time together, Lilliah stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.

“I love you so much.” She ran her fingers through his hair, memorising the feel of it. She knew this could be it. This could be the last time she was ever this close to
her
Azrael.

“I love you too.”

Lilliah pulled him to the sofa and sat them down. If this was their last night together, she knew exactly how she wanted to spend their time.

“Let’s just sit here. I want to cuddle you and talk. I just want us to
be
together.”

Azrael pulled her close. She moulded to him, her head resting on his chest. Her hand didn’t stop roaming; she wanted to touch every part of him.

“How do I get you back?” Her voice broke mid-sentence. She sniffled and tried to cough through the lump in her throat.

“You’ve been amazing, Lilliah. You’ve been brave and strong. It’s all about you.”

She lifted her head to look him in the eye. “Will the Holy Grail work?”

Azrael opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

Lilliah’s shoulders fell in defeat. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. “You can’t talk about that, can you?”

Azrael tried speaking, but again nothing came out. He clenched his teeth and threw his head back in anguish. “He’s using me like a puppet,” he said, spitting out the words.

Lilliah rested her head on his chest and drew small circles with her finger near the base of his throat. “He’s too strong.”

“But you’re stronger. You need to remember that. You. Are. Stronger.”

She smiled and pressed a quick kiss to his chest. Azrael would always believe in her.

She sat up. “We can’t talk about anything important—he’s clearly prevented that—so let’s just talk about something else.”

He gently leaned in and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “What do you want to talk about, angel?”

“Us. I want to pretend as if none of this has happened and that we’re just us again.” She knew how silly it must have sounded—the world was falling apart around her and she wanted to play pretend—but sitting this close to him, him actually being
him,
Lilliah didn’t want to waste their time. So instead of worrying and fretting over something she couldn’t change, she wanted to pretend that everything was okay. Just for now.

“I’m thinking about going back to college.” She lay down so her head was in his lap and she was looking up at his face.

“I think that’s an amazing idea. What do you want to do at college?”

“I’m not sure yet. I’d like to take English Literature again. That was one course I did like.” Lilliah closed her eyes and relaxed.

“I’m thinking about closing some of the clubs, or maybe giving them to someone else to look after.”

Lilliah frowned, not sure whether he was just playing along with her game or if he was being serious. Slowly, she opened her eyes. Azrael was still looking down at her.

“Really? Why?”

“It just doesn’t seem worth it now. I started my businesses to fill a hole inside of me. It was a way for me to exercise control, to have some sort of power. Being the last fallen angel just wasn’t enough. But now that I have you, I don’t need that other stuff.”

“You could still keep them, though? What’s the point in getting rid of them? Just let someone else deal with them.”

Azrael loved working, and Lilliah knew it. He loved making things and running them. The thought of him without his clubs just didn’t seem right. What would he do with his days?

“You’d totally need a hobby.” She bit the inside of her check to hide her smile. “Maybe you should take up tennis?”

“Tennis?” His body shook with laughter.

“Or badminton.” She shrugged. “It would be your choice, really.”

Azrael tickled her side and she squealed, kicking her legs and trying to pry him off.

She laughed. “I’m sorry! I was joking!”

“Can you really imagine me playing tennis?” He stopped his tickling, his face just above her.

“No. I can’t imagine you playing tennis.”

Azrael crashed his lips against hers, and Lilliah wrapped herself around him, her fingers plunging into his hair.

He pulled back so their lips were just grazing. “You always go for my hair when we kiss.”

“Is that a bad thing? I like your hair.” Azrael smiled down at her and ran his hands through her hair. He’d always loved her hair. He used to tell her all the time how he loved the length and how silky it was.

Lilliah kissed him again. “You know I was thinking of dying it brown? I thought people wouldn’t recognise me as much with different hair.”

Azrael sat back, putting more space between them. “Don’t change your hair. I love it just the way it is.”

“I know. I just thought they wouldn’t expect that. That they’d be looking for a blonde.” She tried to pull him back down to her, but he resisted.

“It’s not just your hair, Lilliah. They’d recognise you without it.”

She scrunched up her nose. “So no hiding then, I guess?”

Her mood had officially been ruined.

“When this is over, you won’t need to hide. I’ll make sure of that.”

“Well, isn’t this just the sweetest reunion.”

Lilliah and Azrael shot up from the sofa. Lucifer had returned.

“Stay away from her.” Azrael tried to push Lilliah behind him but she wouldn’t budge.

“I did tell you, Lilliah. This”—he waved a hand at Azrael—“was temporary. A small gift from me to you to show you how nice I can be.”

Realising what he was talking about, Lilliah reached for Azrael. She wouldn’t let Lucifer take him away from her again. But Azrael had already vanished.

“No!” She clawed at the air where he had been standing, ready to fight for her. “Bring him back to me! Bring him back!” she screamed as loud as she could, tears blurring her vision.

“I want you to see, Lilliah. I want you to see how good I can be, but how bad I can also be.”

Lilliah first noticed the change in the breeze. The coldness hit her immediately. They were outside, in a park. She looked for anything to tell her where they were, but there was nothing. Wet grass tickled her ankles and she could hear traffic in the distance. She was probably still in London.

“Where have you brought me?” Mentally, she was drained and didn’t want to play his game anymore. 

“Look over there. Such innocence, such sweet, young love.” Lucifer leaned on a nearby tree and folded his arms.

Lilliah looked at where he had pointed and her heart stopped. Jeremy—her best friend. He was walking with a girl—Sadie, she guessed—with his arm around her shoulders. They were laughing and talking, completely oblivious that they were standing so close to evil.

“What are you going to do?” Panic was building up inside her, and it only increased when Lucifer smiled. “Don’t you dare hurt him. Don’t you dare touch him.”

He pushed off the tree and clapped his hands together once. “I want you to see how bad I can be. I want you to really understand that I will take everything from you—your family, your friends, and your life if I have to. There is no winning against me. No happy ending. You’re either with me or against me.”

Lilliah watched her friend walk past them, her heart pounding in her chest. She would never side with Lucifer.

“This is your fault, Lilliah. Remember that.”

Jeremy’s body crumpled over as if someone had hit him in his stomach. He dropped to the ground. Sadie screamed and called out his name. Lilliah ran towards them as fast as she could, ignoring Lucifer as he laughed behind her.

“Jeremy? What’s wrong? Please, get up.” Sobbing, Sadie reached into her bag and retrieved her mobile.

“Jeremy?” Lilliah fell to the ground, next to his head. Blood was pouring from his nose and eyes, and his body twitched. “Can you hear me, Jeremy?”

Lilliah reached out to touch his head, but her hand went straight through.

“Oh, yes. He can’t see you.”

Lilliah tried again to hold her dying friend; she could see the life slipping away from him.

“Help him. Please, just help him. I’ll do whatever it takes. Just save him!” she cried out, trying desperately to touch him.

“Now you see, Lilliah. That’s just fear talking. As soon as the fear leaves, you will go back to plotting my demise. You need to sit on it and think.”

“Please. He’s dying!” Lilliah grabbed her hair.

Sadie was speaking to the paramedics and holding Jeremy’s hand. There was nothing she could do but watch her best friend since childhood die.

“He will die, painfully too.” Lucifer crouched beside her. “Don’t forget: this is only the beginning.”

Then he was gone, leaving Lilliah on the ground next to Jeremy and Sadie. She moved to stroke his hair, but her hand just hovered over his head.

“I’m so sorry. This is my fault. I’m so sorry. I love you.” Her tears spilled to the ground.

His chest moved up and down faster, his body still twitching.

The girl looked away and cried out, “What is happening?”

Lilliah bent down and whispered in his ear. She knew he might not be able to hear her, but it was all she could do.

She told him she was sorry. She told him she loved him and that his parents loved him. And she told him she would get revenge. She would kill Lucifer for this.

Jeremy looked at her, recognition flashing in his eyes, then he was gone.

“Lilliah. Lilliah, wake up.”

Her eyes shot open. Rebecca was looming over her.

“Jeremy,” was all she said before the tears flooded her eyes.

“Jeremy? What’s wrong with Jeremy?” Rebecca pulled Lilliah up and hugged her tightly.

“He’s dead! He’s dead. Lucifer … Lucifer killed him. I was there.” She tried to keep speaking through her sobs, but she couldn’t. All she could think about was Jeremy’s eyes and how they’d looked once the light had left them.

Rebecca rubbed her back soothingly. “It was just a dream. Jeremy is okay. It was just a dream.”

Lilliah shook her head. “It wasn’t. Lucifer killed him because he couldn’t find us. Jeremy’s dead because of me.”

Rebecca held Lilliah back, searching her face. “Sebastian!” she called out, getting up and running into the other room, leaving Lilliah to cry on the sofa. She didn’t want to talk. Even the thought of moving seemed too difficult.

Iris sat next to Lilliah on the sofa. “I’m so sorry.”

Lilliah didn’t answer her, or Sebastian when he ran in demanding answers. All she could think about was how Jeremy was lying on the cold ground, dead and alone.