Chapter Two:
"Welcome back, Chloe."
"Why am I here, Linda? Again?"
"Lucifer thought that we should talk. Again."
"Is that why Maze is guarding the door to your office?"
"No, Chloe. Maze lives in my office."
"She lives here? Why does she live here?"
"Because she has nowhere else to go." Linda sat back in her chair and gazed at her office door. "I offered her to come live with me, but she declined. She would rather be alone but at the same time, she also wants to be close by. Maybe, she could go back home with you."
"No! I mean…. No. I don't want her near Trixie. I don't." Chloe stared at her feet and then shifted her weight on the couch. "Maybe, she can go back with Lucifer."
"They would need to first resolve their issues." Linda stared at Chloe, but she looked away. "Chloe. Look at me." Linda waited patiently for Chloe to meet her gaze. "Maze will not hurt you."
"She's a demon, Linda."
"I know, and we've been over this. She will not hurt you, but I can understand why you are uncomfortable with what she is."
"I'm not uncomfortable."
"Aren't you, Chloe? I can tell you're irritated about something. Lucifer even senses it, but you won't tell him what it is."
"It's nothing. I mean…. My whole world changed, Linda. Everything changed, everything that I perceived has changed."
"And that bothers you?" She watched Chloe nod. "It makes you question everything?"
"It does. I believe strongly in rationalizing, and now…. I don't know what to think, and it's not fair to Lucifer."
"What's not fair?"
"What if I'm the reason that he is staying here?"
"Chloe, he loves you."
"But what if that's not enough? What if he has to go back?" Chloe's cell phone rang. "I'm sorry. I have to take this." She answered the call. "Hello? Okay. You got the lab results. Okay. I'll be there soon." She closed her cell phone and then looked at the office door. "Am I free to go?"
"Sure, but let me ask you one thing, please."
"Okay."
"What if you are the reason that Lucifer is staying here? Why is that such a bad thing?"
"I don't know," Chloe said.
"Then, think about it, and if you need me, you have my number."
"Thank you, Linda," and Chloe left her office.
"Should I follow her?" Maze stuck her head in the office and looked at Linda. "Just to make sure that she's okay."
"She's not okay," Linda replied. "She needs time, time that I hope that she has." Linda let out a sigh. "You hungry?"
"I can eat," Maze replied. "Steak?"
"We did that yesterday. How about a salad?"
"You can eat that, and I'll get a steak."
"Okay. Let's go," and Linda left her office with Maze.
…
Lucifer stepped out of his elevator. He looked over at the bar and then toward his bed. He thought of Chloe. He turned toward his bar and poured himself a drink. He looked down at the glass in his hand, still thinking of her, wondering if he had somehow upset her. He gulped down the brown liquid and then checked his watch. The lab should have the results by now. He started to move back toward the elevator, but a shadow flashed behind him. He turned around and hurried out onto the balcony.
Lucifer stared up into the sky. He wondered, if his brother was around, but it was quiet. A wind stirred against his face. He shook his head, cursing at his imagination for playing tricks on him, but then something caught his eye. He walked toward the edge of the balcony and knelt down. His hand fell upon something soft but hard. It was blood, dried blood on a white feather. It was his, one of the feathers that he had lost during his fight with Pierce. There was no reason for it to be here, but it was. Someone was sending him a message, and Lucifer's eyes glowed a faint red.
