Chapter 21

Elidra watched the truck drive away and kept her eyes on it until it disappeared from view, vanishing into the dust.

"Lucifer, I need a word with you." She said plainly and there was a flash of fire and her brother was standing in front of her, his beautiful face carrying a worried expression.

"What's the matter, El?" he asked.

"You want to explain to me what the hell is going on?" she asked, her brow furrowed.

"I honestly don't know what you're talking about Elidra." Lucifer said.

"Never thought you'd lie to me, Lucifer."

"I'm not lying. I really don't know what's going on." He said and she contemplated him for a while before discerning that he was telling the truth.

"Mahret and Allia escaped." She said finally and he sighed, his face worried again.

"Are they okay?"

"Besides being severely traumatized, they're a picture of health. That's not why I called you here though."

"Why, then?"

"After they escaped and I found them, several of your demons ignored the Rules of War and appeared and tried to claim them." She said and his eyes burned, his expression turning to that of fury.

"Excuse me!" he roared.

"I tried to tell them that once a POW escapes, that all claim on them is null and void but they wouldn't listen and tried to take them by force. They obviously had no idea who I was, or if they did, they didn't care."

"What did you do?"

"You see this blood on me?" she asked and he really looked at her.

"Yeah."

"Who's do you think it is?" she asked rhetorically, her eyebrow perked and he sighed. "What's going on, Lucifer? Why do I have demons blatantly ignoring the Rules of War and engaging me in fights?"

"I have reason to suspect that there is a coup being planned." He said.

"Who do you suspect is planning it?"

"Beelzebub." He said.

"Beelzebub, great. I never understood how you two always keep getting confused."

"What do you mean?"

"He's a sadist, and you're just pissed."

"Thank you for that glowing description." Lucifer said and she gave him a short smile before going back to the subject at hand.

"Why hasn't he made his move already?" Elidra asked.

"I think he's waiting for something. Every Demon and Devil down there knows that God has a plan for you, we just don't know what it is."

"No one does but dear old Dad." She said.

"So you tell me, War Strategist, what's his next move?" Lucifer asked. "You know Beelzebub better than most, what is he going to do next?"

"Nothing, for now. He's banking on Father's plan for me, banking on the fact that it'll be something big."

"Like what? A Weapon?"

"Possibly. Then after Father executes his plan, Beelzebub will take it from me, probably kill me for good measure and then enact his coup."

"Then what? Go after the Kingdom again?"

"No, he's not stupid. Think Lucifer, what's the one thing he could do that gives him a one-up on Heaven and weakens our Father?" Elidra asked and Lucifer thought for moment, then his face fell and his eyes widened.

"Son of a--"

"Yup, he's going to take on Earth. He's going to wage war against the humans."

"They're light years away from being prepared for something like that, they'll be slaughtered."

"And then Beelzebub will rule both Hell and Earth, it will make him strong enough to take on the Kingdom itself and he will win." Elidra said.

"I should kill him right now."

"Not yet, he's in your Inner Circle, you kill him now and it'll raise too many questions, but if you kill him while he's attempting to take away this possible weapon, then you can cite him for treason and kill him. No one will ask questions then." Elidra said.

"Okay, well us talking has probably raised some brows Above and Below so I'm going to get going." Lucifer said and she nodded.

"Thanks for giving me the heads up."

"No, thank you. My suspicions would have been only that if you hadn't told me about the Demons. I'll keep you informed on what's going on down there."

"And I'll let you know if I hear anything from my end."

"Okay, despite the circumstances, it was nice to see you again Elly." Lucifer said, giving her a gentle smile and she smiled back.

"It was nice to see you too." She said and they hugged. "I love you, Lucifer."

"I love you too, baby sister." He said and they pulled away. Lucifer vanished in a flash of fire leaving Elidra alone in the desert. Looking up at the sky, her wings emerged from her back and she took flight. Soaring through the air gracefully, heading back to the hotel.