Demon King (Claimed By Lucifer Book 1)(15)

When we got out of the fourth car, Lucifer asked, “Would you like to drive one?”

“Really?” My pulse raced as I looked up at him. “You have no idea how much I’d like to drive one. Or maybe you do.”

He chuckled softly. “Then choose your car.”

I went with the hot pink Ferrari, not because it was pink, but because it was a freaking Ferrari. I’d probably never get another chance to drive one of those, and I wasn’t missing out on that. Once again, Lucifer strapped me inside, and gave me a brief rundown of everything I needed to know. Nervous energy raced through me, and I almost talked myself out of doing it, but then Lucifer got in the passenger side of the car and nodded at me. I couldn’t back out now.

I gripped the wheel, shifted gears, and put my foot to the pedal. The car shot forward, too slowly at first, but soon I grew more confident and kicked it up a notch. Pure adrenaline raced through my veins and exhilaration ripped a laugh from my lips as the car zoomed around the track, hugging the road like nothing I’d ever experienced before. My poor beat-up Honda could never compare to this.

Lucifer let me take lap after lap until a man's voice told me to come in over the intercom. I was low on fuel. When I stopped, I let out a long breath as the excitement faded away. Then I practically tumbled out of the car, halfway pulled out by Lucifer, while my body still felt like it was moving at hundreds of miles an hour.

As Lucifer helped steady me in his arms, I looked up at him with a smile. “I felt like I was flying.”

Something dark crossed Lucifer’s face at those words and he glanced away. Maybe it was rude to reference flying to the guy who could grow his own pair of wings at will. Or was it something else?

While I chugged water in the shade, Gadreel and Zel took a turn on the track, opting to go at the same time so they could race. Standing back, I watched in delight as Zel kicked Gadreel’s ass, but then let out a startled cry as something—no, someone—dropped from the sky at breakneck speed. I jumped back as charcoal gray wings filled my vision as another of Lucifer’s henchmen landed hard in front of us. Sam, I remembered. The one who was investigating Brandy’s disappearance.

He’d obviously flown here in a hurry. Sweat gleamed on his shaved head as his dark wings tucked behind him and then disappeared completely. Whoa. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to that.

“What is it, Samael?” Lucifer stepped forward, while Zel and Gadreel leaped out of their cars and rushed over.

“I found them,” Sam said.

Now that the shock of seeing another winged man was over, I rushed forward, my heart pounding, scared to ask the question that sprang to my lips. “Is Brandy alive?”

Sam drew himself up and nodded. “Yes. And Asmodeus too.”

A huge wave of relief washed over me, so strong my knees nearly gave out. Alive. Alive! Thank god she was alive. Although maybe I should be thanking Lucifer, since he’d done this, at least indirectly. I closed my eyes as the dread of worrying she was dead lifted from me.

“Where?” Lucifer asked.

“They’re being held captive at an abandoned motel out in the desert,” Sam said. “By demons. Shifters, I believe.”

And just like that, the worry was back. “Is she hurt? Why did they take her?”

Sam turned his dark gaze back to me. “We haven’t determined that yet.”

“Well done.” Lucifer clasped Sam on the shoulder with something like affection. “I knew you’d find them. We’ll mount the rescue tonight. Samael and Gadreel, you’re with me. Azazel, stay with Hannah and make sure she’s safe.”

Zel and Gadreel glanced at each other with raised eyebrows. “You’ll be leading the attack, my lord?” Zel asked, obviously surprised.

“Yes, I’ll be handling this personally.” Lucifer cast me a quick look. “I swore I’d bring Brandy back, and I always keep my promises.”

I stepped toward him. “I want to come too.”

Lucifer removed his sunglasses and pocketed them. “Though I applaud your bravery, I can’t allow you to do that. It isn’t safe. You’re human, after all.”

Gadreel nodded. “Let the demons do the devil’s work.”

I shot him a defiant look. “None of you would even know about this if I hadn’t brought it to your attention.”

“And we thank you for that, but there’s nothing more you can do.” Lucifer rested his hands on my shoulders and pinned me with his intense stare. “Trust me, Hannah. I will handle this with all haste, and soon you’ll have your friend back. I will not fail you.”

I swallowed and stamped down my stubborn determination. Though it pained me not to go with them, I knew they were right. What could I do against demons? A few hours ago I didn’t even know they existed, and it’s not like I was a fighter or anything. I ran a flower shop, for fuck’s sake, and he was the devil. There was no comparison.

And for some reason, I did trust him. It made no sense, but every fiber of my being told me he was telling the truth, and that he would bring Brandy back safely.

I nodded mutely and stepped back. Lucifer reached up to cup my cheek, gazing into my eyes, as his large black wings extended behind him with a rush of wind. Samael’s charcoal wings snapped out next, followed by Gadreel’s pale gray ones. Without further word, the three of them launched into the sky, blocking out the sun with great flaps of their large wings.

Zel watched them go, her mouth tight. “Come with me. I’ll take you back to The Celestial.”

But I wouldn’t budge. Not until their dark forms were just pinpricks against the bright blue sky, vanishing in the distance and leaving me with only a heavy dose of fear and worry. And not just for Brandy either…but for Lucifer too.





10





Lucifer





The ground shook under my feet as I landed outside the motel and cracks formed in the cement, fanning out into the hard-packed earth of the surrounding area. Dust kicked up around me as the wind whirled, the elements in tune with my barely constrained anger.

Dozens of my Fallen soldiers landed behind me, many of them carrying Lilim—incubi and succubi—in their arms. The lust demons had volunteered as soon as they’d learned one of their own was being held captive. Asmodeus was well-loved among his kind for running the strip clubs many of them used to feed safely, and they were incensed by his kidnapping. Though many of them were strong fighters, their race didn’t have wings, and thus they were relying on my Fallen for covert transport tonight.

We were in the middle of nowhere Nevada, far enough off the main highway that no one would see us. Dim lights were on inside the motel, but otherwise it looked truly abandoned, with broken windows, peeling paint, and a sign hanging on for dear life proclaiming it the Desert Paradise Motel. An empty, cracked swimming pool sat in the middle of the courtyard, half-filled with tumbleweeds. But I knew the place wasn’t as empty as it seemed.

The October night air was lovely and cool, and I breathed in the darkness, my closest companion for centuries now. Though I’d once been a soldier of the light, I was truly the Lord of the Night now. I drank in the power of darkness, letting it fill me with strength.

With Gadreel on my left and Samael on my right, I stalked toward the run-down motel with fury burning inside my veins. One of my most loyal demons was being held there, along with Hannah’s best friend. They had better be fucking alive, or there would be hell to pay.

Oh, who was I kidding? There was already hell to pay, and the devil was here to collect his due.

Before I reached the door to the motel lobby, it flew open and two men ran out and began shooting at us. Guns, really? How pedestrian. I raised a hand and enveloped the bullets in darkness, fading them into the night before they could hit me or the fighters behind me.

The two men then let out a roar as their bodies grew and changed, growing fur and claws. Bear shifters. Demons of passion and wrath, who should be loyal to me.

They charged forward, and other demonic bears, wolves, and even hellhounds emerged from the motel’s various doors, crawling through windows, jumping through rotten walls, and leaping off the roof. My Fallen angels and Lilim immediately charged into the fray before any of the shifters could get near me, and I growled at the sight of demons fighting demons.

“Enough,” I bellowed, my voice bouncing off the surrounding mountains with a crack like thunder and echoing back to us. “Bow to me, your King.”

None of them backed down, and the fight continued all around me. I gestured for Samael to go inside and he charged forward with his sword raised, with a few angry, gorgeous Lilim at his heels. Gadreel fought a huge bear beside me, using his sword and shadow magic to subdue the beast. With a great slash, Gadreel rammed his sword through the bear’s chest, then wrapped darkness around his throat until the shifter slumped in defeat. Gadreel may have looked like a cheerful angel, but in battle he was truly ruthless, a rival for any bloodthirsty demon.

Other shifters foolishly tried to attack me. Their sharp claws and gnashing teeth glanced off my skin without leaving a mark. All of the anger I’d been trying to keep hidden, to protect Hannah from, spilled out of me at the complete disrespect for my power. Perhaps it was time for a reminder of who I was.