Sophia's Chronicles

Chapter 21: The Unforgiven

"What's going on, Sophia?" Lucifer had his arms crossed and he was frowning.

"You tell me. What's up?" I flipped the page of a book. I was sitting in the library on an armchair with my legs pulled up under me. "These Gnostics are very esoteric, aren't they?"

"I can't believe I'm asking this, but what did you do to my demons?" He pulled up a chair to sit opposite me.

"I don't know what you're talking about, and since when did you care about your demons so much?" I flipped another page, remaining in my nonchalance.

"You sent them to Minnesota and somehow you took them out. I mean, the Whore of Babylon wasn't supposed to kill the demons! I know you did it." He seemed pissed off, and that pissed me off. Why was this an issue?

"Then why are you asking?"

He sighed. "Why'd you do it? Those demons were part of my inner circle and carried important intel! Is there something I'm missing?"

"I don't know, are you missing something?" I asked, bored.

Another sigh. He rubbed his chin. He leaned forward and grabbed the book from my grasp, gently setting it on the table. Slightly vexed, I simply stared down at my empty hands, until he took them in his own hands. "Honey," he began. "You gotta help me out here, alright? I don't know what's going on with you."

Suddenly all my grievances popped to mind. Things I hadn't even considered to have bothered me before. I wanted to pour it out right there and then. "Where do I even begin? I-"

"Sir?" A demon popped his head around the door.

"What is it?" Lucifer asked, annoyed by the interruption.

"There has been a call, sir. It's Mercury. He says that your vessel is trapped in a hotel with other pagan gods who are plotting against you."

Lucifer rolled his eyes. He turned back to me. "I am so sorry. I'll be right back and we can continue this."

"No."

He tilted his head. "No?"

I stood up. "I'm coming with you."

"I wish I had my blade right about now," I told him while we flew to the hotel.

"They're just pagan gods. We can take 'em down with our bare hands."

Elysian Fields Hotel, a neon blue sign read. The lounge was decorated with white furniture on mahogany floor. Stationed beside the fireplace was a counter that held two computers. It was obviously too fancy for a roadside motel. The scent of magic was thick in the air. Lucifer tapped the bell on the counter. "Checking in."

Mercury, dressed in a servant's attire, turned around to face us. "Lucifer," he smiled wryly. "Thanks for coming." His gaze fell on me. "Sophia." He nodded. I stood with my arms crossed next to Lucifer.

Lucifer placed his palms on the counter. "Oh, you did right calling me."

"It's just... The way the talk is heading in there, it's... it's insane!" He smiled nervously.

"You know, I never understood you pagans, always fighting, always happy to sell out your own kind. No wonder you forfeited this planet to us. You are worse than humans. You're worse than demons. And yet you claim to be Gods." Mercury looked dejected, and then his face contorted into one of shock. Lucifer used a finger to slowly add pressure to Mercury's neck, and in a swift flick of the wrist, broke it, leaving Mercury to fall limp on the ground. "And they call me prideful."

We proceeded to walk towards the ballroom, but we were bombarded by the most powerful of these pagan gods. Odin appeared before us, in the form of a balding man wearing a white fur coat. "I got him." I rushed forward as Odin brandished his Gungnir and raised it to strike. With a single hand I blocked the strike and disarmed him. "You should sacrifice the other eye for Wisdom too," I taunted as I used the spear to pierce his skull through his intact eye, and pushed him to the ground. As he fell, Ganesh charged at us. While I choked Odin with my foot and broke his neck, Lucifer extended his hand and ripped Ganesh apart before he could come any closer. Ganesh let out the shriek of a dying elephant as his blood was sprayed all over the wallpaper of the corridor. As Lucifer spotted the door to the ballroom, Baron Samedi appeared and tried to throw a punch at him, but Lucifer caught it and tore off his wrist, breaking his arm in the process. He collapsed onto the floor, face pale with shock, and tried to squirm away. I watched as Lucifer calmly knelt down and placed his hands on both sides of the pagan god's head. With a jerk he severed his neck, silencing the grunts of flickered as we both stood in the corpse-ridden corridor. A group of henchmen rushed toward us from behind. "Go. I'll hold them off," I stood poised for a fight.

"See you in a bit." Lucifer went off.

One by one the mythological warriors fell. Did they not know that their powers were just cheap versions of ours? More and more blood sprayed everywhere. At some point I had to get my hands dirty and they were absolutely caked in the stuff. I heard footsteps. They shuffled towards me and then abruptly stopped.

"Oh no, it's her!" I heard a voice say. It was Kali. She was with the Winchesters. I could see the fear in their eyes as they scanned the crimson surroundings and rested on me.

"And where do you think you're going?" I slowly walked towards them, carefully stepping over the bodies on the floor. The lights flickered with my every step.

Kali's shoulders tightened as she held onto Sam. I thought gleefully of creative ways I could end her. Dean stretched an arm slowly, facing his palm towards me. "Stop. Don't do this," he pleaded.

"And why shouldn't I?"

"Y-you're not like Lucifer, right? You don't want to kill everything you touch? Just let this one go, okay?"

"Do you see this hallway? You don't know what I want." I noticed that he was holding something in his hand. Something… curious. "What's that?"

Dean's eyes flicked between the item and me, and then he held it closer to his chest. "Uhh… can't a man keep his films to himself?" He smiled wryly.

I reached out and summoned it forward to my grasp. Dean flinched. "Casa Erotica number 13?" I read out loud. Getting a whiff of it, I detected magic. Archangel magic. As the thoughts clicked in my head, I recognized the magical signature. My eyes widened with both excitement and a sense of foreboding at the prospect. "Gabriel!" I exclaimed. I slammed the DVD into Dean's chest, and dashed past him into the ballroom.

As I neared the open doors, I saw Lucifer, facing my direction, talking to Gabriel. But it was an illusion. The real Gabriel approached Lucifer from behind, ready to to strike. As soon as he spotted me, he was distracted for a single second. And that second was all that mattered. Gabriel's innocent stare caught mine just as Lucifer spun swiftly, grabbing his brother's blade and stabbing it through his abdomen. "No!" I yelled, feeling my screams dissolve into nothingness. In that moment I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces. I leaned against the door, realising I was too late. I would never forget the shock on his once-sanguine face as his hands encircled the handle of the blade. Despite the pain, he continued staring at Lucifer, betrayal clear in his childlike eyes. Gabriel grabbed both his brother's hands and growled in agony as Lucifer drove the sword deeper into 's head turned for a moment to see the illusory version of Gabriel disappear. He subsequently took note of my presence, looked back at his brother, and rested a palm on his face.

"Here. Amateur hocus pocus. Don't forget, you learned all your tricks from me, little brother." Lucifer sounded cold. My grip on the door weakened and my heart sank as Gabriel let out soft groans of pain. With no semblance of mercy, Lucifer jerked the blade upwards, releasing the dying light of Gabriel's essence. Tears blurred my vision as Gabe screamed one last time and fell lifeless to the floor.

I rushed to his side, causing Lucifer to step back. As his wings burnt, I held Gabe in my arms and cradled his head close to my chest. Why did this have to happen? As his vessel grew colder in my arms, I felt a part of myself dying as well. It was the part that was influenced by Gabriel's jovial and stealthy nature, the part that grew when we played together as young little archangels, the part that took respite in his friendship. All appearance of his mischievous and light-hearted self was now stolen from him in death, in this prophesied war of archangels. My mind kept replaying the last moment I shared with Gabriel, when he told me he was leaving Heaven. He wanted nothing more than the fighting to stop, a reasonable wish, and it burdened me to think that what we had done drove him away from his own home and family.

He had told me that he wouldn't hold it against me that I tried to help Lucifer the best way I could, but that the conflict between Lucifer and his brothers was beneath me. I didn't pay heed to what he had said back then, but now, gazing upon his dead body, I realise what it truly meant. I didn't have to play along with this. Gabriel surely didn't – it cost him his life. How much more could I bear to lose because of this eternal grudge between Heaven and Hell? It just hurt me so much. I felt myself seething with rage. This was so unnecessary. I looked up accusatorily at Lucifer, tears streaming down my cheek. I saw his guilt-ridden expression and heavy breaths of sorrow for the loss of his brother. After what he had done, that did nothing more than to anger me.

"I had no choice, Sophia." He spoke gently.

I shook my head. "There is always a choice!" I shouted. My voice became choked with grief. "He wanted no part of this." Looking down at his face, memories of better days battered my conscience and filled me with rage. Gabriel never deserved this.

"Sophia-"

"I don't want to hear it." I stood up. Lucifer approached me and tried to rest his hands on my arms. I pushed him away. "Don't talk to me," I told him through gritted teeth, avoiding his gaze. He took a step back and we stood in silence for a moment. While I remained in that dishevelled ballroom, inhaling the odour of charred angel wings, he left me alone with my thoughts.

The moon was waning that night, and I got to admire it amidst the cool sea breeze.

"Something on your mind?" Shemsiel approached with a bottle of liquor and two glasses. We both sat on the beach. I took off my shoes and immersed my feet in the sand. His frosted tips shone white in the moonlight as he poured a small amount of whiskey into both glasses.

"Pour me more," I requested. "How much do you suppose could get an archangel drunk?"

He obliged and filled a little over half the cup with the liquid. "That bad?" He handed me the cold glass. "I don't think I have enough!"

I took a sip, savouring the sinful taste of alcohol. Normally, I wouldn't ingest such a harmful substance – harmful to humans, that is. I wanted to keep my vessel healthy and free of such toxins. But that night called for the occasion. "How did you do it?" I kept my gaze fixed on the reflection of the moon in the rippling seawater. "How did you deal with losing Zaphiel?"

Shemsiel swallowed a sip. "I couldn't. It still hurts. But it's the memories of our time together that keeps me going, you know?"

"I do." I took another sip.

His fingers twitching, he took off his sunglasses and hooked them on the collar of his shirt. "Slaughtering our own kind," he began. "If it wasn't right for the sinners to do it, then it isn't right for us either."

Unable to control myself, I teared up at his sorrowful remark. It sounded so innocent, as though any part of my existence had ever been so simple. But it seemed absurd to be too much to ask. As I wiped the single tear off my cheek, I saw that he too had damp eyes. Shemsiel may have a jovial and aloof exterior, but underneath all that was someone deeply riddled with sadness and loss, something he once held me responsible for and I can't say I didn't understand. We both simply finished our drinks in silence. Soon enough, we finished the whole bottle. Thanking him for the drink and the talk, I went back to Hell.

I arrived in the armoury to find Lucifer awaiting me at the balcony. He looked at me with concern. I felt Zara's thoughts calling to me. You can't avoid talking to him forever.

"Watch me," I replied. With a green flash of the eyes, I retreated into her unconscious mind, leaving Zara to face Lucifer.

(Zara's POV)

Feeling returned to her limbs. She was here again. She was always here, but it had felt more like an unusually vivid dream than reality. Now that the archangel had given her possession of her own body back, she was free to move, free to act, all without her human limitations like hunger, thirst or fatigue. She glanced down at her hands and her body, and then looked back up to see a downcast Lucifer looking back at her.

"Is she serious?" He asked nervously.

"She really doesn't want to talk to you right now." Zara felt sorry for him. "But I'm sure she'll eventually come around." It didn't seem to help.

Recognising the awkwardness of the moment, Zara walked towards a row of short swords and picked one up, feeling its weight and texture.

"Do you know how to use it?" Lucifer tried to exude his typical demeanour, masking his grief. "I could teach you, if you want."

Zara looked at him with excitement. "I'd like that, but do we really have a time for a crash course?"

"Time passes much more slowly in Hell." A faint smile reached Lucifer's lips. "Plus, you got the theory covered."

"Huh?" Lucifer placed two fingers on her forehead, imbuing her with all the knowledge he wished to teach her on different types of combat.

"Time to practice, princess."

It was great that Zara couldn't tire easily; the hours of sparring with Lucifer had been spectacularly exhilarating and educational. It didn't matter that she lost several times to him – he was… well, him, after all. She simply enjoyed gaining more control over her movements and learning to fend for herself. Soon enough, Lucifer ordered his demons to be her sparring partners. Surprisingly, she defeated her first demon within the first few tries. Practising for hours at a time for the next several Hell weeks (one week on Earth was three months in Hell), she soon became somewhat of a skilled fighter; she was a quick learner. It also helped that she had a few years of experience with fencing. Sophia had said nothing about this. She was uncannily quiet, although Zara could still sense her presence within her. It made her uncomfortable to think about it, but she didn't want to bring it up. Sophia would know, anyway.

In the third Hell month, a crowd had formed around her as she sparred with a demon who had a slightly larger build than she was used to. The eternally red sky cast a dull glow on the courtyard, while the ground was otherwise illuminated by the yellow lights put up around the perimeter. The clash of metal rang as the demons cheered. Some were placing their bets on her, and others on her opponent, a popular demon named Titus. Something Zara had learned was that demons loved placing bets – especially the lower-ranking ones in charge of menial tasks like housekeeping – and they paid up their bets in wooden coins engraved with runes. They in turn exchanged these runes for various services, like getting their preferred form of torture, the opportunity to torture newly received souls themselves, or even goods like drinks and trinkets. It fascinated Zara to discover that Hell was a whole world of its own, with its own marketplace of goods and even different climates.

Titus was a formidable opponent. Although he was large, he was moderately fast for someone his size. This posed a challenge for her. So far, Zara managed to dodge his strikes and keep herself intact. She did as Lucifer taught her – she took a deep breath and channelled her attention towards her sword and her opponent, feeling the sword as an extension of her own hand and looking for weak spots in him. Titus raised a broadsword to strike and Zara dodged, slicing him in the abdomen. He quickly spun about his hips to strike sideways at her and this would have nearly taken her head off, had she not ducked in time. Springing up with her ankles, she slammed her shoulder into his chest with all the energy she could summon, luckily knocking him off balance, even if only slightly. As fast as was possible for her, she switched her short sword from her right to left hand and slashed at his neck and chest as many times as she could, opening bloody gashes. While she still had the chance, she kicked him in the shin and punched him with her free hand, knocking him down onto the floor. Triumphantly, she placed a foot on his chest and aimed the sword at his face, the crowd noisy with both cheers and boos. Titus, face and torso smeared with blood, simply grinned and raised his arms in defeat. She took a step back and reached out a hand to help him up.

They both shook hands as a sign of good faith. "Well, well, you're learning fast," a female voice sounded through the crowd. The crowd parted, revealing Meg, with her smug expression, walking towards them. "But can daddy's little princess handle a demon who isn't going easy on her for the fear of Lucifer's punishment?" Meg took off her leather jacket, tossing it into the crowd. "What do you say, a little one-on-one, hand-to-hand? I promise I won't kill you, but I might come close."

She eyed Zara with a twisted desire that Zara didn't quite know what to make of, a kind of look that made her doubt herself. Accepting the challenge, she stood ready. The demons grew silent. Zara could feel her heart pounding wildly in her chest. But that wasn't all she felt – Sophia seemed to find this to be an opportunity to end one more demon that knew the location of the angel tablet. "I don't know if I can defeat her," she told Sophia.

I'll guide you. Once you get close enough, I will rise up and kill her.

"If you kill her, Lucifer will know."

It'll be too late by then. It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, is it not?

"I don't like the sound of this."

He won't hurt you anyway. Not while I'm here.

Meg and Zara circled each other slowly. Soon enough, Meg advanced to deliver the first blow. Zara dodged and grabbed her wrist and elbow, deflecting the blow to her side. Hand-to-hand combat was much more manageable, Zara thought. By simply directing the energy of the opponent away from oneself, one could be afforded much-needed distance and space to attack. Still maintaining her grip on Meg's arm, Zara attempted to twist it into an arm lock but Meg retaliated with a kick into Zara's shin and a punch to the face. Not seeing it coming from such a close distance, Zara was knocked back, feeling her cheek swell from the punch. Again, the two circled each other. This time, Zara attacked first, delivering a punch to the face, expecting it to be blocked by her opponent. When it was, she used her back leg to knee her in the abdomen and used the impact to get a clear shot at her face. This pushed Meg a few steps back, and she let out a hearty laugh. "Looks like she has some fight in her after all."

"Hey Meg!" A demon called out. "Lucifer's calling for both of you. You can continue this later."

"Later, then," Meg stood up straight and got back her jacket from a demon in the crowd, and Zara put on her own jacket. Both of them walked side by side, following the demon who called for them. Zara couldn't ignore the diabolical smile on her face. In a low tone, Meg whispered, "You were good back there."

Keeping her eyes straight ahead, Zara responded, "Thanks."

"Must be tough hosting an archangel huh? Especially when the both of you have different relationships with Lucifer and everyone around here."

"I think I can manage it."

"What do you say, you ditch the archangel and I take you out for a drink? We could even see where the night leads us."

Uh oh. Zara could feel herself losing feeling in her limbs. The anger that Sophia had repressed at Lucifer came bubbling to the surface in a fraction of a second. Sophia was reaching – no, grabbing – for control again. Her eyes glowed strongly and remained that way as Sophia pushed Meg up against the wall, choking Meg with her forearm.

"How dare you speak to her that way, you demon whore!" Frustration was evident in her voice.

"What are you… gonna… do?" Meg asked through a strangled voice. "Kill…me?"

"It would be like stomping a cockroach," Sophia spat. The demons surrounding them looked on with fear and anticipation.

Meg laughed. "In front of all these… eye-witnesses? Didn't work out so well for you… with father… when you plotted against my colleagues. You're his bitch… just like us."

Sophia's steel gaze bore into Meg with ire. Was it worth it to upset Lucifer over this? Perhaps. She raised her free hand to strike the demon. "Sophia, stop!" Her hand froze mid-air and then dropped to her side. Pressing her forearm more strongly against Meg's throat for a while longer, she finally let the demon go. Meg fell the ground, coughing and heaving. Her hardened gaze met Lucifer's for the first time in days. Red sores had reappeared on his vessel. The hallway full of demons was deadly silent as they stared at each other for a few seconds. And then, Sophia retreated back into Zara's mind. Her irises turned back to brown and Zara reached for the wall as feeling returned all too quickly to her body. Taking deep breaths, she straightened up to face Lucifer and walked with weak legs past him towards the demon who would lead her to the throne room. Lucifer kept his eyes fixed on her, his face marred with anger and concern. It was probably the most nerve-wrecking walk of her life.

Her heart beat so hard she was worried it would pop out of her chest. As soon as she neared the table, Lucifer grabbed her elbow and turned her around to face him. His other hand trapped her between him and the table. She gasped, grabbing onto the table with a free hand. "What the hell was that?" he demanded to know.

"I don't know!" Zara's voice was meek. Her fingers twitched nervously. She was afraid of being caught in the middle of their dispute and that was exactly what happened.

"No, not you. I'm talking to her." He stared deep into her eyes. "I know she can hear me." Feeling her tremble under his touch, he let her go.

The other demons, including Meg, walked in. Meg eyed Zara with hostile suspicion, rubbing her bruised neck. They all stood around the table, while Lucifer laid out his final plan. "We're coming really close to the final battle so I need to make sure that the remaining horsemen do whatever they can without interference. I'm going to assign all of you to personally oversee the operations of Pestilence and Death. Zara and Timothy – head over to Pestilence's Nevada operation now. The rest of you are with Death and you will be moving out shortly after."

"Pestilence has already sent for a virus to be distributed via a pharmaceutical company and get this – they're distributing it as a vaccine for the recent outbreak of swine flu," Timothy briefed Zara as he drove. "We just need to make sure that the demon in charge, Brady, who's helping execute the operation, is managing it properly."

"Sure." Zara took a sip of water from a bottle in the car. The cool rush of liquid down her throat eased her tension a little and she focused on the road ahead, which was illuminated solely by the headlights of the vehicle. When she signed on for this, she didn't expect the drama. She would have just thought she would be riding shotgun while Sophia took all the control. Either way, she felt herself becoming someone else, like Lucifer and Sophia had stripped down all of her that was conditioned to be a good, normal person in the world and what was left was someone with no restrictions and freedom to explore anything. This was what she had craved her whole life and this was it, complete with relationship problems. Soon enough, they entered a city area with brick buildings flanking the streets. They stopped in front of Niveus Pharmaceuticals.

A flight of stairs led to the entrance, two glass doors with a header that was illuminated with yellow light. Inside was a reception desk, standing in front of the elevators. It looked like a typical lobby of a business establishment, until the two of them approached the entrance. Their relaxed pace evolved into a rush to enter the scene as they spotted a dead receptionist through the glass door. Their heels clanked on the marble floor as they briskly approached the counter, where they found yet another dead person lying prone on the ground. Both of them had their throats slit, and their shocked expressions were preserved in death. "Shit," Timothy muttered under his breath. He pulled out a gun and handed it to Zara. "Be on the lookout." Zara nodded.

They both took the elevator up to a higher floor. As they exited, the hallway of dead demons sprawled on the floor further alarmed them. Before them, the doors to Brady's office were wide open. They ran forward into the office. No one was there. The building was dead silent. "Brady's not here. We have to report this immediately." Timothy paced around the room, looking for clues. Zara inspected the door. She knelt to look at the handle and lock region. There were splinters protruding from the sides of the door, as though they had been forced open. Looking around at the floor outside the door, she found traces of blood that were fresher than those of the demon corpses lying around. Standing up, she dug a hand into her pocket, suddenly finding a lump in it. As she pulled the object out, she found that it was a silver coin, with strange markings on it.

He can't be serious, Sophia thought to Zara.

"What now?"

It's a tracking coin. Lucifer's stalking us. He must have put it in your pocket just now. Zara thought back to the meeting. The arm that Lucifer used to trap her at the table was pretty close to her pocket; he could have easily slipped it in then.

Before she could make something of what she found, Timothy exited the office and paced past her, beckoning her to follow him. "We need to contact the local intelligence."

They drove through the busy streets and stopped by a local bar. Getting out of the car, they entered the bar and walked to the back room. Timothy gave a nod to the bartender, who happened to be a demon. There, they walked down a flight of stairs to enter another room, which was more lavishly decorated than the bar itself and was occupied by about six or seven demons. They lounged about and had drinks of their own, while their work-related items lay strewn on the desks and were hung up on the walls. Timothy and Zara entered briskly, causing the demons, who were playing poker, to look up.

"Timothy, buddy!" A female demon stood up to greet them. "What, did the higher-ups give you time off? Well, you're just in time to start a new round!" She then eyed Zara. "Stuck on babysitting duty? Sucks to be you."

"Not now, Lisa. We just got back from Brady's office." Timothy spoke with an urgent tone. "He's gone."

"Whaddaya mean he's gone?" A gruff-sounding voice boomed from behind Lisa. The other demons had risen from the table as well.

"I mean he's missing. Like abducted. And it looks recent, like in the last hour or so. How far could he have been taken?"

Lisa rolled her eyes. "First, Crowley. Now, this? Can't seem to catch a break."

"Crowley?" Zara asked. She recognized that name from her time with the Winchesters.

"Yeah, he's been causing a lot of trouble lately."

"My reputation precedes me." A deep voice with a British accent sounded behind them. Timothy and Zara turned around to face the smartly-dressed demon with refreshingly amiable features. Timothy immediately stepped in front of Zara, extending a protective arm around her.

"You came to the wrong party, pal." Lisa stepped forward and threw a punch at him. Crowley simply caught her fist, kicked her in the abdomen and then punched her with more force, sending her flying across the room.

"Just leave Brady and me alone!" He exclaimed. "We want none of what Lucifer is offering! That's right, we're lovers in league against Satan!"

The cozy room suddenly became a mess as tables were broken and papers were strewn everywhere. Timothy had led Zara to the back of the room as his colleagues were felled one by one. He then rushed towards Crowley himself. "Brady has bad taste in men," Timothy uttered.

With the calm of a summer breeze, Crowley pulled out a handgun from his black coat and shot Timothy in the head. To Zara's surprise, the bullet stopped Timothy and he fell to the ground, limp, although he clearly wasn't dead. Reciting some Latin words, he ignited all of the demons except Timothy, causing them to scream as they died slowly. The orange glow of the flames cast dancing shadows on Crowley's face as he straightened his coat, unfazed."That was hot," Zara thought, ignoring the feeling of Sophia rolling her eyes. As if on cue, Crowley's eyes snapped up and bore into her, instantly filling Zara with stood with her back against the wall,preparing to accept a painful fate at his hands. But then she remembered – she had an archangel protecting her. She relaxed her muscles and took a deep breath, easing the tension on her face. Maintaining eye contact with him, she slowly walked forward, placing one foot in front of another confidently. She held her chin up, not wanting to show weakness.

"That's impressive. Killing demons like that. I've never seen that before," Zara praised. She extended her hand. "Zara."

He shook her hand in response. "I know who you are. And seeing as the archangel inside you hasn't… struck me down yet, I'd say we're on the same side."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself now. I'm on my side."

"A strong, independent woman… I like that. Along with tall and mysterious men, of course." Crowley scanned her expression. "Word on the street is Lucifer and his lady are having marital problems."

"It's not my place to gossip. Anyway, it looks like I have to get back and report this… incident." Her arms gestured to the dead demons.

"Ah, you do that. And don't skimp out on the details, like the part about Brady and me."

"Okay, but I'm sure there are some things we can keep… to ourselves." Zara gently placed an arm on Crowley's shoulder and moved closer to him, resting the other arm at his waist, close to his coat pocket. She gave him a seductive smile and he grabbed her waist, pulling her closer to him. "I like a man who takes control," she whispered, the space between their lips begging to be closed. She traced his pocket and carefully placed the tracker coin in it.

Crowley smiled in return, enthused by the new opportunity presented. "Time's ticking. I'll keep in touch, love." With that, he teleported away.

Good thinking, Zara. I'll take over from here. Her eyes flashed green.

(Sophia's POV)

I looked down at Timothy. He had been shot with a bullet engraved with a devil's trap. Placing my fingers on his forehead, I concentrated and pushed the bullet out. In an instant, Timothy moved his limbs around and slowly got up. He looked at me nervously. "What was that? What were you doing with him?"

I placed a hand on his shoulder and flew us both to the throne room. Timothy landed on his knees, unused to flight. He scrambled to get up and dusted off his coat. Lucifer turned upon hearing the thud of Timothy's fall, previously engaged with a map of the United States. He looked at both of us curiously. "What happened?"

"Sir, Brady's office was empty and his team was slaughtered. We went to check with the local intel-gatherers but we were ambushed by Crowley. He and Brady are…" Timothy shuddered. "'lovers in league against Satan'… sir. He spared the both of us." He glanced at me questioningly, wondering whether to tell him about Zara's flirtatious encounter with Crowley.

Lucifer sighed and turned to me. "And you just stood by? Allowing them to be slaughtered?" He threw up his hands. "Of course you did."

"Well, if I didn't, I wouldn't have been able to get you his location. You're welcome."

"You know where Brady and Crowley are? Where?" Lucifer asked.

I turned to Timothy. "Leave." He looked to Lucifer. Lucifer nodded and the demon left. Now it was just us. I gazed at him, remembering the love between us. It was a love that endured billions of years and a lengthy separation. I used this thought to suppress my anger at what he had done. Nearing him, I placed my palm on his cheek, and healed his vessel once again. Holding my palm to his face, he gently kissed my wrist. "I found the tracker you placed on me." I kept my voice calm.

He paused. I dropped my hand. "There's an explanation-"

"I'm sure. But I doubt it will be a good one." Lucifer remained speechless. I didn't give him a chance to say anything. "And if you locate the tracker now, it'll lead you right to Crowley."

His eyes held a longing. It was the same longing I felt then. To be reunited with him, to become one with him. But it didn't feel right for either of us, and he knew it. With a hint of disappointment in his voice, he nodded and simply said, "Alright. I'll get on it."

The night was lonely.