Author's Note: I want to thank everyone for sticking with me, and for going on this journey with me. This may be the end of Lucifer's Legacy, but it's not the end of the story. I will say that real life has now put a huge stop on my fan fiction writing, and the next story in this series is a long way away. Once I get my original novel written, I promise I will continue this series. Just be patient with me. Also, I don't know what's going on with the site, but it isn't allowing me to italicize the internal conversations between the Mantles and host. So, I apologize now for any confusion.

Chapter 10

Rory starred at all three Mantles once the one inside of Sandalphon released its hold on her hair, but it still held her against him. Well, shit, this situation just went from bad to 100 fucking times worse. How the hell was she supposed to save not only her Dad, but her Aunt Sara and Uncle Jophiel as well? Killing one Mantle would have been easier than killing three. Her gut told her the plan she and Jolenda came up with days ago would work when the Mantle was still inside Dad, but would it work against three Mantles and without Jolenda?

"Rory, trust me. This is the safest way to free your Father without harming him."

"I agree, but are you sure you're strong enough to do it? May I remind you the Mantle inside Dad is made up of hundreds of your kind while you are a single entity, Jolenda."

"Yes, I am well aware of that fact, Rory. When the time comes there will be enough of us inside of you to destroy the ones holding your Father."

Except without Jolenda, she now had no way to reach out to the other Mantles in the Universe. Not only was she royally screwed, but so was the rest of her family. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I have other plans for today."

"We know all about your date with your Aunt Azrael. She cannot come for you if she cannot find you."

Great…that's just bloody wonderful! "She's very good at her job. If she's meant to collect me today, she will find me."

"And we are very good at hiding what we do not want others to find."

"You know when I offered to switch places with my Dad, this wasn't what I meant." Rory shifted her weight trying to put some distance between their bodies. " I really am in no mood to be your play thing."

The Mantle inside Aunt Sara laughed and shook her head. "These mortals and Celestials are all the same, Brothers. They only think with one body appendage. We have no body so our pleasure does not come from sex. We detest the act altogether. We receive pleasure from the screams we can rip from our host."

"Perhaps your next host should be a male, Sisters. We find much pleasure in sex," the Mantle inside of Uncle Jophiel said a slow smile spreading across his face as his eyes undressed her.

Oh, God, she was going to be sick. "Well, I'm not into guys, so you both are out of luck."

"We have no intention of forcing ourselves onto you, Rory. But we have not yet experienced all that a female body can provide to us. You will be our first."

Oh, she really didn't like where this was going. "I will resist you with every ounce of my being."

The Mantle inside of Sandalphon smiled and nodded his head. "We know you will, and we are excited for the challenge. L is, hold her steady but keep your fingers to yourself."

"We you wish, Brothers"the Mantle inside of Uncle Jophiel said grabbing her arms and pulling her away from the Mantle inside Sandalphon.

"Perdyna, do you have the vessel that will sustain us?" The Mantle inside Sandalphon removed a strange dagger and held it out to the Mantle inside of Aunt Sara.

"Yes, we have it, Drydyn. She is not a full blooded Celestial, Brothers. She may not be strong enough to complete the task." The Mantle called Perdyna set an urn like container down on the coffee table then looked up at Drydyn.

"She is the strongest of the three of us, Perdyna. Why do you think we choose her? Strike fast with your Demon blade once we are free of this ancient husk. He knows of our intentions and will try to kill her."

Perdyna reached for the dagger raising her eyebrows. "Are you so weak Brothers, that you allowed this ancient husk to read your thoughts?"

Drydyn growled closing his hand around the dagger then wrapped his other hand around her throat. "We are not so weak yet Perdyna. We could easily kill your host with the flick of our wrist then kill you with the dagger of Athera."

Perdyna frowned grabbing at the hand around her throat. "Peace Brothers," she wheezed. "We forgot our place."

"Perhaps you did Perdyna, but we cannot take that chance. Goodbye Sisters," Drydyn said thrusting the dagger into Aunt Sara's stomach.

"Aunt Sara," Rory screamed pulling against Onis's iron grip. After the arrows had been removed, she had regained most of her strength and the bleeding had stopped.

"You can stop screaming, Half Breed. Your Aunt will be fine as long as Drydyn does not snap her neck like a twig. The dagger of Athera cannot kill Celestials."

"But we can assure that Perdyna kills her if you continue to resist us, Rory," Drydyn said looking over his shoulder at her.

"All right…You win! I'll go willingly with you, Drydyn. Just allow my Aunt to live." Rory immediately stopped resisting Onis's hold on her.

Drydyn smiled twisting the dagger still inside Aunt Sara's stomach. He turned his head back toward Aunt Sara whispering something she couldn't hear, but her Aunt's face paled even more and she shook her head. The next second she screamed as Drydyn ripped the dagger from her body. Golden light exploded out from the wound as Drydyn continued his whispering and walked in a circle around her. She appeared completely frozen except for her eyes.

"We love watching this part,"Onis said chuckling.

"What's happening to them?"

"Perdyna is being forced out of your Aunt. Drydyn is casting an enchantment on your Aunt so that Perdyna cannot cover the wound with her hand."

"So, he's letting her…I mean them live?"

"No, he is doing quite the opposite. We can normally live anywhere we choose to live be it the blackness of space, or any planets or moon in any Universe."

"I sense a but in that statement."

"But the Mantle bonded with your Uncle in the Silver City banished us from living here on Earth without a host. Being exposed to Earth's gravity for too long rips us apart."

Rory bit her lip seeing the last of Perdyna's golden light leave Aunt Sara before she crumpled to the stone floor. She took a step toward her fallen Aunt only to have Onis pull her back. She expected to see her Aunt's blood spreading across the stones. Except there was no wound or blood on the her Aunt's stomach. She tore her eyes from Aunt Sara watching Drydyn come to a stop pointing the tip of his dagger at the golden light, and began speaking different words she didn't understand.

"Why isn't she being ripped apart?"

"With Drydyn's first enchantment, he forced Perdyna out of your Aunt and into an invisible cage."

"Why would he do that?"

"You will see."

Drydyn's words grew louder and the blade of the dagger began to glow. A sick smile spread across his face as Perdyna's light pulsed with energy. Seconds later, the energy exploded out of the center of Perdyna's light and entered the glowing blade. Rory's jaw dropped as Perdyna's light disintegrated into black ash falling to the stone floor.

"The dagger sucked out Perdyna's power, and left only ash behind. Had she been inside my Aunt at the time would her body have done the same thing? Is that how she could've killed my Aunt?"

"No, that would not have happened to your Aunt. What would have killed her would have been the build up of Perdyna's energy inside of her. That much energy inside an unchanged Celestial would have caused her to explode leaving nothing behind but Perdyna."

Drydyn smiled, replaced the dagger into its sheath, then walked toward them. "It is time for us to leave. It will not take long for your Aunt to regain consciousness."

Rory closed her eyes feeling Drydyn's arms wrap themselves around her body. What felt like a second later she sensed they were in a different location. She opened her eyes to find herself standing in the ruins of an ancient castle. Drydyn released his hold on her then stepped away from her. She watched him fully expecting him to chain her up or even torture her, but instead he and Onis left her standing at the door to the castle.

What the hell was he playing at? She shook her head then looked around the entrance hall. She knew all castles had dungeons even this ruined one. She just had to find it and free her Dad. If he was still alive. No, don't go there, Rory.

Dad was stronger than Drydyn gave him credit for. She spotted a staircase off to the left and after one last glance in the direction the two Mantles went, she took off down the stone steps. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, the sell of burned flesh hit her nose causing her to gag. Rory frowned as she stepped deeper into the dungeon breathing through her mouth. Dad was invulnerable, so no mortal weapon should be able to hurt him.

She rounded a stone corner and came to a complete stop. There hanging by his arms was her Dad. White feathers from his severed wings were scattered across the floor covered in his blood. His dark hair was soaked with sweat revealing the natural curls he tried to tame every morning. He wore nothing but his black trousers.

His breathing was labored and his body trembled uncontrollably. She rushed to his side her eyes filling with tears. Heat radiated off of his skin in waves. She knew the signs of a body fighting an infection having gotten sick herself as a small child. But Dad should be healing not succeeding.

She looked over her Father's bruised, battered, and burned body looking for the cause. She soon spotted angry streaks spidering its way up his chest from the waist of her trousers on the right side of his body. She glanced over her shoulder expecting either of their captors to come walking around the corner at any moment. Not hearing any approaching footsteps, Rory returned her focus on her injured Father.

"Dad, can you hear me? I need to get you out of here."

"We are afraid we cannot allow you to take him from us."

Rory rose to her full height and spun around. She starred up into the smug faces of both Mantles. Shit, how the hell was she supposed to protect herself and her Dad at the same time? "What did you do to him you, bastard?"

"We did nothing to him. Sandalphon set a trap for us, and we walked right into it."

"Sandalphon's once told me he planned to kill my Dad in order to force you to bond with him. And it clearly worked, but why haven't you healed Dad yet?"

"We did not have the ability to heal him once we left his body."

"I don't understand. Uncle Amenadiel can heal others with his Mantle. Why can't you do the same?"

"There is only so much we can heal while inside our host. If we had stayed with your Father, we would be dying just as he is."

"And that's why you haven't done whatever it is you're planning to do. It's also why you let me walk around unsupervised. You wanted me to find my Dad and heal him."

"Yes, that is our desire, Rory Morningstar."

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but I'm not God. I don't have that much power. You need Uncle Amenadiel not me."

"Your Uncle is in the Silver City where this body cannot go. You have the power of Divinity within your wings. That has the power to heal him."

"And so do you, Drydyn. You are inside another Celestial, but you know that all ready." Rory nodded her head as things fell into place. "You've all ready tried to use one of Sandalphon's feathers, and it didn't work did it?" The expression on his face spoke volumes. "The Divinity in our feathers can't heal poison."

"No, but you can."

"No, I can't, Drydyn."

"You must or your Father will die."

Rory sighed and nodded her head. He was right. If she didn't do something soon the poison going through her Dad's veins would kill him once it reached his heart. She knew Drydyn wanted her for some reason. But would he be willing to risk his life to save her? There was only one way to find out.

"Hold on Dad, I'm going to have you feeling better real soon."

"Leave my Daughter out of this, Drydyn. She doesn't have the power to heal me." Dad slowly lifted his head smirking over at Drydyn.

"She is stronger than you think, Lucifer. It will not be long before we are once again controlling you."

"You won't if I have anything to say about it," Rory whispered locking her dark brown eyes with her Dad as she laid her hand on his bare chest.

Dad looked down at her frowning. "What are you doing, Rory?"

"I'm making you better, Dad. Please shut up so I can concentrate."

"No, Rory, let me go."

"NO! Mom would never forgive me, and I would never forgive myself if I let you die."

"Rory, please don't do this."

"I know what I'm doing, Dad. Trust me."

"I'll always trust you, Sweetheart. It's him I don't trust."

"I love you, Dad. Keep your promise. Don't abandon me."

"I won't intentionally abandon you, Rory. And I'll make amends with Michael."

"Good," Rory said nodding her head. She closed her eyes, lowered her head, and concentrated on her task.

She heard a hiss of excitement come from Drydyn, and a shocked gasp from her Dad. The very next second he began pulling hard on his chains in an attempt to pull away from her. Rory opened her eyes, and lifted her head before locking her eyes with her Dad's matching eyes. He was shaking his head, and pleading with his eyes for her to stop. That was something she would not do. The first part of her plan was working, and she hoped the second part would work as well.

"Rory, stop…please."

"No, Dad, it's working. This is almost over…I promise."

She glanced down at her arm and smiled. It showed no signs of the poison she was currently pulling into her body while ridding it from her Dad. She had felt a sharp pain ripple across her lower abdomen when she began tapping into her self actualization power. So, Sandalphon must have stabbed Dad with a blade covered in the poison. Drydyn then healed the stab wound, but was unable to rid Dad's body of the poison that was now running through her own veins.

She lowered her sweat soaked brow and closed her eyes again. She was growing weaker with each passing second. The more poison she drew into her body the weaker she became. Her gut told her if she left any of the poison in her Dad it would just start infecting him all over again. She took a shuttering breath as a cold chill travelled down her spine leaving her tee booing uncontrollably. As the last of the poison entered her body, her knees buckled dropping her to the cold stone floor.

"RORY!"

"Well done, Rory. We knew you had the power to heal your Father."

She glanced up at Drydyn watching his smile vanish as she lifted her shirt. Without even looking down, she knew black streaks were racing across her body toward her heart. This plan had to work. Come on you Bastard take the bait.

"What have you done, Rory?"

She dropped her shirt and struggled to her feet smiling up at him. "I did what you wanted me to do, Drydyn. I healed my Father."

Drydyn shook his head as she took a step toward him. "But you have killed yourself in the process. We have plans for you, Rory Morningstar."

"Then I suggest you find a way to heal me, because once this poison reaches my heart…"

"Onis, bond with her."

"What? Brothers, you know we do not have the power to stop this poison. You would be sending us to our death right along with her."

"We need your strength to slow down the poison before it reaches her heart." Drydyn took another step backwards putting some distance between all of them. "We will reach out to our brothers and sisters. With your and their combined power she can be saved." His eyes danced from Onis to her then rested on her Dad.

"Call them first, Drydyn. We are not as foolish as our host."

"She doesn't not have that kind of time, Brothers. You must bond with her now or all is lost."

"As you wish, Brothers," Onis said sighing.

Rory held her breath as Onis's golden light left Uncle Jophiel's body. Once it was free, he crumpled to the stone floor in a beep. Having seen Aunt Sara do the same thing, she knew he'd only fallen unconscious. She could hear Dad on the other hand still struggling to break free of his chains. She took a startled breath feeling Onis enter her body then waited for the battle over her body to begin. She must have frowned because Drydyn began laughing.

"Rory, were you expecting Onis to fight you for control of your body? They are the weakest of us. They were only able to take control of your Uncle because of his feeble mind. You are much too strong for them. They will slow the poison long enough to give us time to call the others." Drydyn took another step backwards and closed his eyes.

He was still reachable if she took a few steps forward. She could finish this now, but Rory forced herself to remain unmoving. With Onis inside of her scowling the poison, she felt some of her strength return. She knew if she showed her hand too early all she'd do was make a bigger problem for her family after she died. She used her renewed energy to put a wall between herself and Onis. She didn't want him knowing what her plan was.

Having learned from LeMec that he'd been listening while Dan was inside of him, she knew Onis would do the same thing. She glanced up seeing several balls of golden light enter the dungeon. They swirled around Drydyn then combined into one large body. Drydyn smiled suddenly, and she held her breath again as the Mantles shot forward slamming into her chest.

Rory bit her lip her eyes drifting shut. She clenched her hands into tight fists putting up as many walls as she could as fast as she could. She quickly realized there were too many Mantles inside of her making blocking them all an impossible task. Her eyes snapped open hearing Drydyn walk toward her. New beads of sweat popped up on her brow and rolled down her face. The new Mantles clawed and ripped at her conscious mind demanding for control of her body, but she refused to let go.

Her knees buckled dropping her once again to the stone floor. Her body arched painfully as electric fire traveled down her spine ripping a scream from her throat. Her breath hissed out of her mouth and she wiped her sweaty brow once the pain stopped. She struggled to her feet. That simple task left her breathless. She took a step toward Drydyn and smiled.

"I'm still in control of my body, and I'm still dying, Drydyn."

"Our Brothers and Sisters will save you, then we will start our plan."

"And I will fight you just as I'm fighting them."

"You are strong Rory, but we are stronger."

"Prove it," Rory said swaying slightly on her feet.

In one quick motion, she unfurled one of her wings and swung it around removing Sandalphon's head from his body. Drydyn's golden light rushed out of him seconds before his body crumpled to the stone floor. She stumbled backwards, rolled her shoulder, and furled her wing. The Mantles inside of her renewed their efforts setting all of her nerve endings on fire. She bit her lip so hard she tasted blood, but she remained on her feet and in control. The second Drydyn shot toward her Dad, she stumbled in front of him forcing Drydyn to enter her body instead.

"Time to finish this," Rory said stumbling over to Sandalphon's body.

She rolled him over retrieving the dagger of Athera from its sheath. Pain suddenly exploded in her head dropping her to her knees. She fell forward catching herself with her hands, bile burning her throat, before coming out of her mouth in waves. She took a ragged breath once the dry heaves ended leaving her weak and trembling.

"You do not know how to use that dagger, Rory. Stop fighting us," Drydyn hissed in her head.

"I don't have to know how to use this dagger, Drydyn."

"Rory, it is only a matter of time before you collapse. We will succeed. And we will make you watch as we torture then kill everyone you hold dear."

Rory rolled over onto her back shaking her head. She would never give up or give in to Drydyn's demands no matter how much he hurt her. "No, you won't," she growled looking up at her Dad.

"We will, Rory. We can promise you this. We will get free from this cage you have locked us in, then you will watch everyone you love die."

"NO!"

Rory held up the dagger of Athera and starred at it. Seconds later it began to glow with power. The energy flowed down the blade into the hilt before flowing into her body. Once the task was done she threw the dagger into the corner of the dungeon. She knew it would kill all the Mantles inside of her, but Drydyn was right. She didn't know how to use it. There was one dagger she did know how to use though.

"You should not have released your hold on that dagger, Rory. It offered you some protection from us."

"It's not the only dagger that can kill you, Drydyn," she said struggling once again to her feet and unfurling one of her wings.

"Perhaps not, but we did not believe you have the strength to end your existence."

"Watch me," she growled swinging her win against one of the chains holding her Dad pensioner. The chain shattered freeing one of her arms. She leaned against the cool wall, her knees threatening to buckle once more.

"You do not have the strength to hold us at bay forever. You will be our prisoner soon enough."

"GO…TO…HELL," Rory growled pushing herself off the wall swinging her wing as she stepped forward. The second chain shattered freeing her Dad's other arm. She grabbed him and eased him to the floor. He might be completely healed, but she knew he was still weak.

"We have no soul, so we will never become trapped in that place."

"Then cease to exist." Rory rose to her full heir by easily pushing her Dad's hands away from her. She took a step backwards, raised her hand in the air, and concentrated.

"Rory, please Sweetheart, don't do this. There has to be another way."

Closing her hand around the hilt of Aunt Azrael's blade, Rory opened her eyes. "I'm sorry Dad, but there isn't." She turned the dagger, and thrust it toward her stomach. She frowned and glanced down when her hand suddenly froze, the blade mere inches from her flesh. "No…Dad…please…help me."

"We may not have full control over all of you Rory, but we can still stop you as well as make you suffer for you disobedience."

She glanced at her Dad seconds before all of her nerve endings ignited sucking the air out of her lungs. Her knees buckled and she hit the floor landing on her back, but Aunt Azrael's blade remained locked in her hand. Her body arched and spasmed all the while she screamed in agony. Black dots dotted her vision, and she knew if she passed out that her plan would turn to shit once Drydyn assumed control over her body. She wasn't gong to allow that to happen. She quickly thrust the dagger down toward her stomach, and once again her hand stopped before the blade could pierce her flesh.

"You will never have the strength to kill us, Rory."

She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. Her hand and arm shook with the effort she was exerting to force it to come down. She gasped, her eyes flying open. Her Dad was kneeling beside her tears streaming down his cheeks. She glanced down and saw his hands on the hilt of the dagger. The blade was embedded deep inside her stomach.

"Thank…you…Dad."

"I'm so sorry, Rory."

She smiled and shook her head. "Don't be, Dad. You saved me again."

"I didn't save you, Rory. I just killed you." Dad let go of the dagger's hilt and shook his head.

She licked her dry lips and took a shallow breath. "No, you didn't, Dad. I haven't been born yet remember. Now you'll be able to spend time with your entire family…including Trixie."

Dad gently pulled her into his arms wrapping them around her trembling shoulders. "I will always be there for your sister. I love the Urchin as much as I love you."

"Good…because you're going to have to teach her how to fly."

Dad frowned down at her, brushing her sweat soaked bangs out of her face. "What are you talking about? Why would I need to teach her to fly? Trixie has no wings. She's a human."

"No…she's…not…Dad. She's…also…your…daughter."

"What?"

"Big…shock…I…know." Rory swallowed and took another breath. She could feel her heart slowing in her chest. Soon it would stop and her body would disintegrate into ash. "I…don't…have…much…time…left. Trix…is…strong…like…you. She'll…be…able…to…do…what…I…can…do…I'm…sure…of…it."

"Rory, please hold on. Amenadiel, get your Ass down here!"

"He…can't…save…me…Dad. Please…don't…punish…yourself. This…isn't…your…fault."

"Rory…"

I…love…you…Dad…"