Chapter Seven:
Chloe clung to Lucifer. Her mind still spun from the attack. The front door had erupted, and she and Trixie were knocked off the couch. Before she could even reach for her gun, she was slammed in the face by a hard fist, and she went down fast, clinging to consciousness, listening to Trixie's screams. She could see someone dragging Trixie out of the house, but her vision blurred. And everything went black.
"Lucifer, where is she? Where's my daughter," Chloe cried.
"We'll find her, detective. I promise you. We will find her," and Lucifer wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so sorry, Chloe. This is my fault. All my fault. I should have gone back to hell, but I couldn't. I couldn't leave you."
"I don't blame you, Lucifer."
"Well, you should." He stared down at her, pushing a strand of hair away from her face. "I put you and Trixie in danger."
"Lucifer, I'm a police detective. I run the same risk."
"Not with a killer angel, Chloe. You're not safe with me."
Chloe was about to answer when her cell phone went off. "Hello? Trixie? Don't you dare hurt her."
"Put Lucifer on," Juniper demanded.
"You're on speaker," Chloe said.
"That will do. Now, listen to me. I don't want to hurt the kid, but I will, if you leave me no choice."
"We're listening," Lucifer said. "What do you want?"
"For you both to meet me."
"No. I'll meet you."
"No, Lucifer. Both of you, or the kid dies."
"No," Chloe said.
"Okay. Where," Lucifer asked.
"Where you returned to hell before your father sent you back. I guess he wanted you to save the detective." Lucifer and Chloe looked at each other. "One hour." The call ended.
"Is she talking about the airplane hangar, where Malcolm Graham shot you?" Lucifer didn't respond. Instead, he moved away from her. "He did kill you." Still, no response. "You reached out to your father to send you back, to save me. Lucifer, look at me." He didn't. "Lucifer," and Chloe struggled to her feet. Her head was still foggy, but it was slowly fading. "You went to hell, but then you came back for me."
"I did." Lucifer finally looked at her, and a tear slipped down his face. "I also died and went to hell when you were poisoned by that professor."
"And that's how you got the cure. You did all that for me." Chloe reached for his hand, but Lucifer pulled away.
"I love you, detective. It took me a long time to admit that, and then I wanted to tell you. It took me a long time to do that too, but nobody's watching over hell. If I don't send her back and stay there, what if someone else escapes? What if I put you and Trixie in danger again? I couldn't live with myself, if something were to happen to either one of you."
"Haven't you learned anything yet?" Chloe grabbed his hand and drew him closer to her. "You're not strong enough to do this alone. We're stronger together. You and me, and we'll stop her. She'll go back to where she needs to be."
"And afterward? Detective… Chloe, ever since you woke up this morning, you've kept your distance. You've been angry. Can't you tell me why?"
"I saw your face this morning. Your real face. It scared me, and then I was angry at myself for being so scared because that's not your real face." She touched Lucifer's human face. "This is. This is your real face. This is who you are, and you don't need to punish yourself anymore, Lucifer. Let someone else watch over hell."
"Like who, detective? It has to be me. It's what he wanted."
"Are you so sure that you know what he wants?"
"No," Lucifer said. "After all, he gave me you. I don't know what to do."
"We get Trixie back. That's what we do, and then you and me will figure out together what to do next. I'm not scared anymore, Lucifer, and I don't want to lose you."
"And I don't want to lose you." Lucifer kissed her. "Come on. Let's get Trixie back."
Lucifer and Chloe rode in the car in silence. They glanced at each other and smiled. Neither one spoke, but their minds turned, rolling over several worried questions. What waited ahead of them? Would they be able to stop Juniper? Would they survive, or would one of them die? Chloe and Lucifer looked at each other as if they both heard that question, but neither one answered. And Chloe continued to drive as Lucifer watched her, trying to silence his fear and worry, but he knew that only one of them would walk away from this tonight.
It was like stepping into the past. The airplane hangar. Malcolm Graham. Lucifer dying and going to hell. Chloe knew that he had died that night. She just rationalized it, making herself believe that she didn't see what she saw, and then there was Trixie. Chloe was able to get to her daughter the first time, telling her that they would play a game to give Trixie a chance to hide, but there were no games tonight.
"Do you smell that?" Lucifer sniffed the air as he got out of the car.
"Yeah. Gasoline." Chloe stepped out of the car. Trixie stood before them, and Chloe looked at the puddle that Trixie was standing in. "Trixie!"
"Chloe, wait," and Lucifer grabbed her by the arm.
Juniper stepped out of the shadows. Her long, blonde hair flowed over her shoulders. Her brown eyes were hard and cold. Her white skin was pale, and so were her lips. She slowly slid beside Trixie, looking down at the puddle around the child's feet, and she reached into her pants pocket, pulling out a match.
"Let her go," Chloe demanded.
"No. Not until we finish this," Juniper said, waving the match at her.
"Mommy," Trixie cried.
"It's okay, monkey. Just listen to my voice, and close your eyes. Okay? This will be all over soon," and Chloe watched Trixie close her eyes. "Get away from her."
"I'll stay. Just let them go."
"Lucifer," Chloe said. "No."
"She makes you vulnerable. I can't have her leave. Not yet."
"So, what? You're gonna burn the kid? Haven't you learned your lesson yet?"
"Oh, I have, Lucifer. Nobody's innocent not even kids." Juniper looked down at Trixie.
"She's done nothing wrong," Chloe said.
"Not yet, but I'm sure she will. At some point."
"She reminds you of you. Doesn't she?" Lucifer stepped forward. "So young and so innocent. That is until she gets her heart broken, and then who is to say what she would do?" He held Juniper's gaze. "I doubt though that she would murder random people that had nothing to do with your heart being broken or your wings being taken. Why did you kill those people?"
"Come on, Lucifer. Don't you recognize punishment? He loved his sister. She was the world to him like my wings were to me, so I killed her and those that were there that night. Funny enough, you didn't punish me with that guilt. Maybe, because I didn't feel any for what I did. I just felt guilty at falling for him, and you played that night for me in hell over and over again right up until he took my wings, but for some reason, that moment never repeated in hell. Maybe, it was me blocking it. Maybe, it was because I lost my wings, but the pain of having him so close over and over again burned me."
Chloe grabbed her gun and opened fire on Juniper. Her bullets ripped through her. Trixie opened her eyes and watched the unlit match fall from Juniper's hand and onto the ground. Blood poured down Juniper's skin, but Juniper remained standing. She looked down at the bullet holes in her flesh. Then, she stared up at Chloe, and as she did, the left side of her body began to twist and peel, becoming nothing but black flesh. The black flesh moved up the left side of her neck and spread across the left side of her face, and her blonde hair on that side disappeared, revealing half of a blackened skull. Her left brown eye vanished into an ugly, gaping hole, and the left side of her lips turned black. And black razor sharp nails ripped through her left hand, and Juniper swiped at the ground, creating flames, flames that raced toward Trixie. And Trixie screamed.
"Get Trixie," Lucifer yelled at Chloe. "Now! Detective, now." He lunged at Juniper.
Chloe grabbed Trixie as the flames reached her feet. Trixie fell forward because her shoelaces were tied together. Chloe struggled to get the sneakers off her feet. She finally did, leaving the sneakers behind, and they went up in flames. "Lucifer," Chloe screamed as she held Trixie.
Lucifer turned toward them just as Juniper swiped her claws at him, slicing into his stomach. "Run," Lucifer screamed. "Run," and he grabbed Juniper's left hand just as she went to attack him again. "Guess escaping hell wasn't easy after all," Lucifer said as he struggled against Juniper's grip.
"You think," Juniper snarled as she grabbed hold of Lucifer and threw him to the ground. "I saw you when you first returned there, and I watched you disappear. I knew it could be done, but it took forever to get out." She swiped at him but missed.
"Any more of you get out?" Lucifer quickly jumped to his feet.
"No. Malcolm helped me, but I kicked him aside just as we got close. I think your demons killed him."
"Shame that they missed you," and Lucifer punched her, knocking her back. He released an onslaught of punches, and Juniper suffered every one of them. But as he attacked her, he grew weaker, struggling to stand.
"What's the matter?" Juniper laughed as Lucifer fell to the ground. "Oh, wait a minute. If something's forged in hell, it could kill you. Right?" She stood over Lucifer. "Like my claws?" She swiped at Lucifer's chest, drawing blood, and Lucifer nearly screamed out in pain. "You want to know what the worst thing is than you dying fast?" Juniper leaned down, so that her lips touched Lucifer's ear. "Listening to Chloe and Trixie scream as I'm killing them," and Juniper stepped away from him.
"No," and Lucifer grabbed Juniper's leg, struggling to hold her. "No!" He couldn't hold her. "Please, don't hurt them. Please…" He watched Juniper walk away from him. "Please," but he couldn't move. His body was ice cold, and breathing was becoming difficult. He tried to form words, thoughts, but a cold blanket of death fell across him. "Please," he gasped one last time.
Juniper found Chloe and Trixie huddled in a corner of the hangar. Chloe wrapped her arms around her daughter, pulling her face into her chest. The tears falling down her face wasn't for them. It was for Lucifer. She knew that he was dead, and they were next. And just as Juniper raised her left hand, ready to swipe her claws at them, something pierced through her chest.
Juniper stumbled backward. She turned and saw Amenadiel standing behind her. She struggled to pull the knife out, but it was stuck. She coughed up blood and fell to the ground. "Why? You were my friend," she cried.
"I'm sorry." Amenadiel kept his distance. "Did you not think that I knew that you would be coming for heaven next?"
"I…. I wouldn't have killed you."
"Yes, Juniper. You would have," and he watched her die.
"Amenadiel." Chloe wiped her tears aside. "How…"
"Maze's knife."
"No. Her knife killed Pierce."
"Chloe, Maze had twin Karambit-esque knives, knives that were forged in hell."
"Lucifer…. Please, watch Trixie," and Chloe hurried away from them.
"Chloe, don't." Chloe froze at Amenadiel's words. "He's gone. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"No." Chloe looked at him. "No, he's not gone," and she hurried over to Lucifer. "You're not gone," and she grabbed at him, hitting him in the chest. "No. No! Lucifer, no."
Trixie stood nearby and started to cry. Amenadiel put a hand on her shoulder. Trixie turned toward him, and Amenadiel knelt down. He hugged Trixie as she burst into tears. He held her tightly and looked over at Chloe, who rested her head against Lucifer's chest, and she was crying too.
"I'm sorry, brother," Amenadiel said as tears fell down his face. "I'm so sorry."