Hello hello everyone!
A big thank you for your support! It's great to see so many people behind me. Thank you, thank you, thank you XD
Here's the new translated chapter with our dear Chloe. I hope you'll like it as always.
Happy reading!
WANNA BET?
She was running.
Over and over again, her breath reducing further with each new stride. The branches and the foliage beat against her arms and face.
She couldn't see anything. Neither before her nor behind her.
She was still running, however, frightened by what was hunting her.
The sole of her bare feet suffered from the hard contact of the ground with her quick strides, the skin scratched against the stones and the scattered branches. Her heart was strongly beating between her ribs, a sharp pain was causing twinges in her left side.
She had to run. To hide. To run away.
She stumbled and fell on her knees, a groan of pain coming out from her lips. She remained motionless there, lamentably lying on the ground, panted and exhausted. Her limbs shivered with fatigue and fear. An intense and numbing fear. It screamed her to move. To crawl directly against the ground to get away from this thing that was after her.
She couldn't move anymore, exhausted.
A cold, strong breeze lashed the foliage and bushes around her. A terrifying breeze. She tensed, her eyes widening with terror and her heart missing a beat. Still lying against the cold, uncomfortable ground, she looked very slowly over right her shoulder which was shivering uncontrollably.
Her blood turned to ice in her veins and she felt other shivers running through her entire body.
He was there.
Right there.
A powerful and frightful growl resounded around her. She felt him, more than she saw him, rushing towards her without hesitation. A howl of terror crossed her lips as she moved her hands before her face.
Chloe suddenly opened her eyes, sitting up sharply on her seat.
It took her a while to remember where she was. Distraught, she looked around her, strongly panting. The typical noises from the police station resounded to her ears well before she registered the other visible details. She watched absent-mindedly the cops going down the mean staircase or walking around the corridor near her desk. Her erratic heartbeats gradually softened with the comforting phone rings and the guttural laughs from the kitchen.
She was at the precinct, at her desk.
Chloe inhaled deeply and closed her eyes briefly. A chill went all over her spine, making her briefly shiver, too. She eased her breathing hitherto short and rubbed the back of her neck.
She'd fallen asleep for a moment. It was nothing.
Yet, that dream...no. This nightmare had upset her. She could still this intense fear inside her. That same terror that had given this strange dream its tempo. A very odd dream. Far too real, too tangible and yet so blurry. Dreams weren't known for being really detailed, but even so...This one was really singular. Chloe couldn't remember having ever had the same kind of dream up to now.
It was so intense. So real. So... terrifying.
Another chill went all over her back, the detective slightly tensing her shoulders with this unpleasant sensation. She sighed deeply with spite.
It was just a bad dream.
It was stupid from her to stay focus on it because of disturbing details. It was a dream a little too much realistic, that's all.
Chloe had other fish to fry, anyway. Or rather other archangel to fry, in that case.
She sat down more comfortably on her seat and came closer to the computer. She had to focus. The young woman browsed the various links proposed by her search on the Web. She chose the first one and began to read the information offered.
" The Angel Michael
The angel Michael is one of the three most famous archangels.
He's also the Prince of the Seven Archangels forming the pillars of the Creation. Michael is one of the three angels who refused to follow the rebellious angel towards God: Lucifer. "
Chloe couldn't help but smiling by reading this name.
Imagine Lucifer rebelling against his siblings and his Father...
No need to imagine anything there, actually. That was just like him, since the beginning of time. Always trying to bring people near him to answer to their deepest darkest desires. For better and for worse. Bring them to live according to their own principles. Whether they wanted this or not.
She kept reading.
" These three angels were called Gabriel, Raphael and Michael. Michael is undoubtedly the most famous archangel quoted in the Bible. And is also the most powerful one. He fights as the Protector of the Faith. Michael is the leader of all the good angels and represented the forces of Heaven, the celestial army.
In Christianity, he's described as the Lord of the Angels who doesn't hesitate to use violence against adversity. He's the Angel of Remorse, of Rectitude, of Mercy and Sanctification. "
Of course, there was no useful information to get her teeth into. Well, it was a foregone conclusion. Mankind knew pretty much nothing about celestial and demonic powers ruling this world. She didn't even believe in these powers two weeks ago.
Two weeks.
Chloe would have thought it been longer than that. Much longer. Everything was coming one after another so fast, lately. From that night until Lucifer's revelations a few days ago.
Alastor. Michael. His wings. Hell...
It was a lot to deal with and to assemble into a coherent chart for her. The time when she tore her hair out to put a murderer in jail missed her so much. Now, she had to deal with cosmic crisis with possibly global consequences.
Nothing stressful.
She sighed, leaning against her desk and rubbing her painful temples with her fingertips. It seemed to her that this situation became more and more complicated by the hour. And so many questions obstructed her mind already impeded by other questions. Some answers and clarification would have been welcome. These websites with incomplete and unverifiable information were not. It just brought even more questions. Chloe had to turn to another source of information.
A five-foot nine's source with black hair, a stunning smile and former Lord of Hell.
A source who didn't show up for a few days.
These days seemed so long to her. An eternity to wait for news, information and talk.
Another talk...
They had to talk about this, though.
About that... kiss.
About what this meant. To her. To him. To them. This talk was all the more essential given the current situation. Given this threat hovering above their heads. Because what threatened Lucifer also threatened her. They were a team, whatever they have to deal with. A criminal or an archangel: it made no difference to her.
Well...Except that an archangel would be much less sensitive to her slugs, but...Whatever...
She wouldn't let Lucifer face Michael alone.
Chloe didn't know if she could help somehow but desiring to help was important to her. As human as she was.
A deafening noise resounded near her, making her flinch. Again. She'd begun getting used to this for some time, she thought. The detective turned to the source of the noise, staring with puzzled eyes the bulky stack of files that had suddenly appeared on the corner of her desk. She turned her gaze then slightly higher, meeting her ex's eyes. Daniel slipped the monstrous stack of files across the desk, bringing it right in front of the young woman.
" What the hell is all this? ", she asked him as she opened the first file of the stack.
Daniel came closer and sat on the corner of her desk, which had been previously assaulted by this mysterious collection of files. He folded his arms before lifting the veil on the mystery:
" All your solved cases of the past year to classify and archive... before tomorrow morning. "
" Tomorrow morning? ", she repeated, hoping she had misunderstood him.
Daniel just nodded in response. Chloe closed the file overhanging the stack, which seemed bigger by the seconds, before strongly sighing with resignation. She felt exhausted even before starting this wearing paperwork.
It was a part of the "detective-thing ". Do some paperwork after each investigation. Being buried under a mountain of files to archive in less than twenty-four hours...
She loved her job, she loved her job, she-…
" What's this? "
Daniel's voice over her shoulder brought her back to the reality. Her ex-husband was watching the article still opened on her screen. Chloe quickly sat up on her seat and tried to close the web-page.
" The angel... Michael ? ", he read aloud, rising his eyebrows with surprise. " Are you hiding me something? Like a sudden desire for spiritual conversion? ", he teased her as he straightened up behind her.
Chloe finally managed to close the website and shook her head.
" What? No! No way. I don't believe in all these nonsenses, you know it. It's just...for a case. A murder with some spiritual goal, maybe... ", she explained quite clumsily.
Daniel pinched his lips, seemingly skeptical about her explanation but didn't rise to it. He came back to sit on the corner of the desk and browsed one of the files on the stack. Chloe watched him, waiting for another question from him. There would be another one. It was usual to him. Subtlety wasn't his thing at all. Since always. Daniel closed the file and put it back on the stack before getting started.
" Shouldn't you be working on this with your partner? I think he's pretty fond of all of this mystic stuff, isn't he? ", he asked her, referring to Lucifer. " It's been a while since I've seen him here, by the way. You're-… "
Chloe sighed angrily as she rose from her seat. She cut the stack in two smaller parts while looking daggers at her ex.
" We're what? ", she replied more aggressively than she wanted.
Daniel put his hands before him as a gesture of peace, unwilling to annoy the young woman.
" You're still partners or-…? ", he asked innocently.
Chloe briefly pinched her lips, regretting her outburst and the ridiculous deductions that Daniel would made from it. She didn't want to talk about this with him. Especially not with Daniel. It was between her and Lucifer, if this one deigned to show up one day! As for the " murderous archangel/ threatened Satan " problematic... It would be better to let him out of it. Matter of mental health!
" Yes, Dan. He's still my partner. Lucifer has just... other concerns in mind at the moment. Besides, we don't have to see each other or collaborate twenty-four hours a day! He has a life like me outside of this precinct! ", she replied in a convincing tone.
Daniel looked something over her shoulder and then oddly nodded. He squinted and smiled slightly as he moved away from her desk to pass in front of her, whispering to her:
" Right! "
The detective followed Daniel with her eyes, her gaze moving then to the mean staircase and the odd and sudden gathering in front of it. All the women of the precinct seemed to be teleported rapidly to this precise spot, giggling and grotesquely putting on airs. The center of that spot was none other than an easily identifiable man.
Well, not a man.
A fallen angel with a seductive smile at any time.
Chloe rolled her eyes and lifted one of the smaller stack of the files, holding it in her arms.
The Devil was here.
Chloe wedged as best as she could the heavy stack of files against her chest and moved away from her desk. She intentionally passed before the hill of groupies gathered around Lucifer, without a single glance at him.
" Detective! ", he hailed her with his deep voice.
Chloe smiled but kept walking to the back of the precinct, heading for the archives. He didn't really expect her to stop for his sake, did he? Four days without any news from him, torturing her mind to try to understand the all new cosmic angle surrounding her existence, to comprehend the arrival of this archangel...
And Lucifer only showed up this afternoon, surrounded by an excitable group of women sighing ludicrously with his charming smile?!
When she thought that they were colleagues...
In their defense, Lucifer was the Devil. It would appear difficult to resist to his charms. She had never been affected by him, however. She found him handsome and he had some qualities. And many faults, too. But she'd never felt herself caught by his tempting aura. Some very distinctive feelings of friendship had been appeared inside her over time and with the last events.
Chloe felt light-hearted near Lucifer.
She hadn't kissed him just like that. Not for nothing behind. Although, she still wondered where all this situation would lead them both. The young woman didn't know her partner's feelings about this. And how he wanted to deal with it in the future.
She heard his steps behind her as she opened the door of the archives. Chloe turn the light on and walked into the room blocked with many metal, dusty shelves covered of files more or less classified.
" Detective! Are you trying to take flight from me? ", he teased her, following her inside.
Chloe walked between the shelves, Lucifer right behind her.
" I'm trying to work, Lucifer. You should try it too, don't you think? Have you found a way to go back to Hell and defeat Michael? ", she asked, putting some files on a shake stack covered of cobwebs.
Lucifer leaned his shoulder against the shelving unit not far from her, folding his arms and sighing with boredom.
" Why should we always talk about work with you? I came in L.A. to stop working, you know! ", he complained with a sullen expression. " I'm already underfoot with my feathered angelic brother about this bloody mess! Leaving aside Maze who has itchy feet now! This little devil is so happy to return home... Even for a short time! Boring, boring, boring! "
" You should think about that before cutting your wings off and send them to Hell. ", she lectures him, putting another file further on the shelf.
" I'm the devil, Detective... I respond to desires and not to logic! You should know that. ", he whispered in her ear.
Chloe felt a chill of pleasure running down her back and she held back a sigh of satisfaction just in time. Lucifer was now behind her, his nose ruffling the skin of her neck and her earlobe. His warm breath ruffled then the back of her shoulder, causing other chills along her spine. The young woman closed her eyes briefly and tried to calm down her aroused heartbeats.
She turned to her partner, leaning her back against the metal surface of the shelf. Lucifer placed a hand against it, preventing Chloe from sneaking to the door.
" What do you think you're doing, Lucifer? "
" Nothing but respond to the burning desire inside you, Chloe... ", he explained quite naturally by leaning his face to hers. " We haven't had the chance to deepen our talk last night. That's surely not what I wanted, believe me. It's about time to rectify things... ", he whispered hoarsely.
Chloe saw his face came closer to hers, a gentle warmth caressing the inside of her belly as Lucifer's lips converged on hers.
" All right, then... ", she whispered in turn, Lucifer answering with a mischievous smile as he closed his eyes. " How old are you? ", she directly asked.
Lucifer stopped his move, then moving away from Chloe's lips. He stared at her confusingly. The young woman put the files still in her arms on the ground and repeated her question:
" How old are you? "
" Hah... I had to admit that I don't really understand. ", he exclaimed, burying his hands in his pockets, puzzled.
" Don't you want to deepen our last talk? Well, I still have a lot of unanswered questions in mind. Questions I wanted to ask you the other night, so... ", she explained innocently.
Lucifer sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair, frustrated by the turn of their conversation. Chloe thought it was quite funny to watch. And entertaining. It wasn't everyone who could perturbing the Lord of Hell like this! And she still had a lot of questions to ask, indeed. A very very long list.
" I begin to miss the time when you were thinking I was a hoaxer maniac... ", he mumbled to himself.
" I still do, actually. ", she teased him, a smirk on her thin lips. " Instead of being a human maniac, you're an angel maniac, now. So? "
" A former angel, Detective! And what's the gain for me? ", he asked in turn, playful.
Chloe gauged him for a moment before suggesting:
" One answer to one question for...one of your desires? I heard the Devil was fond of deals... ", the detective implied, casting Lucifer's gaze with hers.
She'd let him do so with pleasure for a single answer to every question she would ask.
It wasn't as if she felt forced to answer to his desires. She wanted to answer. More violently than she'd ever admit. Turning the situation into a game was funnier, more productive. She wouldn't bother her partner all the time with her many questions and he wouldn't constantly try to drive her in awkward situations according to her.
It was too fast.
Chloe still didn't know where it would lead them. She wanted to talk to him about this. Which was really a complicated thing to do with the Devil as a potential boyfriend.
Boyfriend.
Was she considering it that way?
Yes. Well... maybe.
Why not?
Was it even possible knowing his nonstandard status? And what about him? What did he expect from this new corner in their relationship?
That was other questions she might ask him right now if she had the guts to do so. And if he had the guts to sincerely answer. He would answer without lies. Chloe was at least sure of this.
Lucifer never lied.
Never.
He seemed to consider her offer very seriously before finally nodding.
Deal!
He came closer to her, their faces close again.
" Mmh... It's hard to exactly number my age. There was no real calendar in the Silver City, as you can guess. He should have thought about that tiny detail, by the way! Unqualified Divinity! I'm maybe five-...no, ten billion years old? Something like that...The Bible has a nasty tendency to decrease the time factor, I never understood why! ", he thought out loud.
" Just ten billion, huh? You still look good for a grandpa! ", she teased him, trying not to laugh.
" As I told you, it's quite subjective, Detective. If you prefer a more concrete age, on a human level, you just divide this number by five hundred million years. And I am not a bloody grandpa! These old remains cannot equal my incredible...vitality! ", he exclaimed outrageously.
" So... You're only twenty?! ", she exclaimed, surprised after quickly calculate this in her mind.
" More or less. Time doesn't go at the same pace for us, immortal beings. And as I say, it's a really subjective notion. ", he said casually.
" Awkward age... That explains a lot of things! ", she whispered.
Yes, that clarified a lot. Lucifer's fit of anger. His rebellion against any authority. The desire of autonomy...
It was disturbing to see Lucifer as a young man kicked out of the house than as a more or less – usually less - responsible adult owner of a posh nightclub. She had kiss a man much younger than her... From a certain point of view. A very disturbing one.
So disturbing.
Why did she ask this question, already?
Lucifer grimaced with her remark, annoyed, but quickly showed another mischievous smile. A forewarning of troubles for the detective. He gently moved his face closer to hers, their bodies almost touching.
" It's the age of carnal explorations, above all. Among other things... I don't want to seem vain but I have a far deeper knowledge of pleasure than a twenty-years-old banal kid, darling! That's the only and the best quality granted to the Devil. ", he boasted.
" Mmmh... A legend among so many others. I'd like to see this. ", she teased him, her gray eyes staring at her partner's darker one.
Lucifer came closer, their lips a few millimeters apart. His burning breath gently ruffled the skin of her face, Chloe quivering slightly with this really pleasant sensation. Lucifer's proximity didn't bother her.
On the contrary.
It was reassuring. Comforting. Chloe felt good that way. And she didn't want to move from that room and from that delightful embrace.
Before Lucifer deigned to take care of her lips, she heard him whisper:
" Wanna bet? "
TBC with... " That would be a first. "
Thanks for reading me. As always, let me know if you like the sequel so far and what you think about the future events ^^
Next publication will be the last chapter of "Le Diable n'a jamais peur "
Bye bye !
