A/N: Welcome back my lovelies! Here we are with another chapter and, oh boy, it's getting more and more tense! Be sure to grab some popcorn, listen to the atmospheric music if you like it, and enjoy the read!
Recommended Songs:
CO AG Music - Wake Up In the Dark
ReallySlowMotion - Pandemic
Prometheus Studio - Grimdark Cathedral
Aprocryphos, Kammarheit, Atrium Carceri - Ones Atop the Unknown
Chapter 23 - Sacrifices
Lucifer is happy.
He feels comfortably warm, watching Chloe and Trixie and even Dan being close at his side.
They are equipped with wings.
Dan has fluffy light brown ones, Trixie's are a ridiculous bright pink with tints of purple and Chloe's…
He swoons.
They're golden and are shimmering heavenly in the sunlight.
A smile spreads on his face and a soft hum vibrates over his lips.
"So beautiful…"
Turning to look over his shoulder, he gasps at seeing a set of massive white wings adorning his own back, majestically spanning out from behind him, and lightly trembling from the rush of air that blew along them.
A strange sound gets caught in his throat, a whimper that half-dies and transforms into a sob of relief. The sudden pressure of happiness that floods through his body is overwhelming him.
"They are back! I can feel them! Move them!"
He's ecstatic.
Tensing his muscles in his shoulders, he feels into his wing arches down into his membranes where the wind gets caught from his feathers.
He's flying.
He's soaring.
And suddenly… he can't breathe.
Confused, he reaches for his throat, feeling that something is holding his face, but he finds nothing there.
He tries to shout out towards Chloe and the others, but no sound leaves his mouth.
His heart hammers with a jolt of fear and he struggles, starting to feel dizzy. The strength in his wings flap becomes less and less until he can't keep himself in the air anymore.
He watches in horror as Chloe, Trixie and Dan fly away, unaware of his struggle and despair and a sharp pinch goes through his heart as he thinks that perhaps they are aware but simply don't care.
It's then that a tug on his left ear breaks into his thoughts, into his feelings of suffocating.
Eyes flying open in shock, Lucifer inhaled frantically through his nose, heard pounding with a frightening crescendo thrumming in his ears.
That was until he became aware of the hand on his mouth.
His sight sharpening, the blurriness of his tired eyes fading, he spotted Maze bending close to him. One of her hands was pressed against his mouth, the other pressing a forefinger to her lips. Her dark brown eyes flickered down and up to his again, making him mimic the motion to find the Detective's spawn sleeping soundly in his lap still. Upon looking sideways he saw Chloe, ocean-blue eyes wide as well, with Amenadiel silencing her in the same manner like Maze had done with him.
Huffing in quiet protest, his brows narrowing with annoyance, he reluctantly nodded at Maze in understanding, before the demon withdrew her hand from him.
A shiver ran through his core and he tried not letting it show, both for the sake of keeping the urchin asleep and for not showing just how much his dream had rattled him.
Looking back at Chloe he saw that she followed his example, nodded in quiet understanding and a silent promise to keep calm as to not wake her daughter. He questioned her with his eyes on what to do with the sleeping bundle splayed out across them and Chloe motioned for him to lift her and bring her to her room.
[CO AG Music - Wake Up In the Dark]
Complying wordlessly, he carefully swooped the child up into his arms, noting how Trixie's head automatically rested peacefully against his chest. He moved with ease and grace through the living room over into her room, thankful she had left her room's door open when she had sought comfort from her mother and him earlier this evening.
The blanket still lying drawn back and crumpled at the side on the bed, he lowers the peacefully sleeping girl down and tucks her in lovingly, securely positioning Miss Alien back into her arms. "Sweet dreams, urchin," he whispered ever so gently and placed a light kiss to her head, hoping that the content of her previous nightmare would not return to her.
Standing still next to her, watching her take deep, calm breaths, he figured that the key parameters of her dream had logically weaved their way into his subconsciousness, triggering his own nightmare. Returning wings, quality time with his loved ones and a staggering fall accompanied by a feeling of despair and abandonment.
He missed them. He actually really missed them.
While he showed towards Chloe how much he struggled with his emotions concerning this Dad-forsaken Butcher, he had so far held back on revealing just how much it affected him to be wingless. Not only had he been mutilated and robbed of them in a horrific slaughter. He had been forced to see them mounted on an innocent being, sewed onto odd flesh in some grotesque Frankenstein fashion. And then, above all, he had been forced to burn them, watching as the flames disintegrated the brightest wings in existence into nothing but coals and ashes.
The dull pull and surprising sting that rushed through his shoulder blades every now and then still remained. A cold, bitter aftertaste of the terror he endured, and a keening of his own body, mourning the anatomy part of his very species that was missing.
He wasn't sure if that would go away.
Just like he wasn't sure if they would ever grow back.
He felt the emptiness, the missing weight when he reached into the plane of light, and felt his throat close with a painful swallow.
Yes, he missed them. Dreadfully so.
Pulling himself away from the sleeping child, willing his sorrow away by focusing on his anger instead, he quietly closed the door behind him, seeing that Maze, Amenadiel and Chloe had moved over to the kitchen.
His eyes fell on the opened med kit on the counter, then on the bloodstained tissues, gauzes and pads and eventually on Maze whose hands were busy wrapping a banding around herself while also keeping pressure on a bleeding wound on her left flank. "What the—" he breathed, surprised. "I suppose the family reunion didn't particularly go as planned, did it?"
"Oh no… It actually went more or less as expected," Maze remarked with a casual shrug, narrowing her eyes when Chloe took over the bandaging, but accepting her help nonetheless.
"Really? You expected getting two big holes pricked into your side?" Chloe asked sceptically.
Lips pressed together in a thoughtful pout, she shrugged. "I mean… It could've certainly been worse if I had run into Alastor."
Both Lucifer and Chloe stilled.
"He's not in Hell then?" Lucifer probed, his muscles tensing up.
"No. He's definitely here on Earth. I bet all my money on him being in that scumbag's body."
It was not really a surprise and yet, he had somehow still hoped that he had been wrong, that it wasn't Alastor. He had hoped that there would be another way to deal with Glover and the demon inside him. If it had been just another Lilim, he was confident he would've been able to order it back to Hell, but Alastor… not so much.
[ReallySlowMotion - Pandemic]
A buzz against his chest, pulled him out of his thoughts. Fishing his phone from his jacket, he glanced at the display before answering, ignoring the slight tremble in his right hand. "Hello Ivy," he flatly greeted his dubious contact. "I'm reluctant to hear what information you are bringing me this time…"
Ivy answered hesitantly. "Sorry, Lucifer, you were clear in your instructions to inform you if there were any new indicators and I thought—"
"It's alright, Ivy," he cut her off, pinching the bridge of his nose with his other hand. "What is it?"
"Well, recalling the recent events of what happened at the church, I had my eyes and ears open on the streets for anything suspicious going on at other churches," Ivy began to explain. "I've heard of some gathering going on at St. Lawrence of Brindisi in Watts… Some religious talk about there being a sign from God and that…"
But Lucifer wasn't listening anymore. Ivy's voice faded into a void, and, without even thinking about it, his finger had pressed the display, ending the call. Something must've happened with his face, because Chloe stepped up to him in an instant, her hand gently capturing his, squeezing it.
"-ifer? Lucifer, what is it?" her words softly called out to him, her eyes wide and imploring him with worry.
Blinking, he looked back at her, grounding himself with her voice, although he couldn't help the cold creeping into his limbs. "We need to leave now," he croaked, his chest aching from the maddening race of his heart.
He knew what was happening. Knew the insanity that was rapidly unfolding. It was only a matter of time before the chaos would grow into a highly explosive cocktail that could blow up through the most irrelevant action.
It was literally vital that they acted quickly. There was no time to waste.
"What? Why?" Chloe asked, her tone pitching with a hint of tension. "Where? Lucifer, what is it?"
"I will tell you on the way," he responded shortly, turning towards his brother. "Amenadiel, I need you to fly to the St. Lawrence of Brindisi church. Keep people away from the church and try to keep them calm."
"What? What do you mean? What's going on?" Amenadiel stammered confused.
"No time to explain. Do it!" he grunted, already rushing towards the door. "Maze, finish up the bandaging, leave a note for the urchin in case she wakes up and then follow us. We might be in need of some additional demon-power." Turning to look at Chloe, seeing her follow him, he added without taking another breath, "I'll drive, Detective."
Chloe grabbed her gun, badge and jacket, and quickly headed out the door behind Lucifer who was already jumping into the corvette. The engine roared to life as she flung open the door to the passenger seat and the moment she sat down, Lucifer had put the gear in and backed up from the driveway.
He jerked the steering wheel to the right, causing the door at Chloe's side to slam shut by the sharp turn of the car. He manoeuvred the car to the main road and headed straight towards the destination of imminent chaos and crime.
Her hair an utter mess by the wind blowing against her as they sped past a red traffic light, Chloe gripped onto the topside of the dashboard, once again feeling the power of the Corvette's engine combined with Lucifer's extraordinary driving skills. "Okay… Lucifer…" she began, briefly squeezing her eyes shut as Lucifer drove through the small space in between two trucks. "What's going on?!"
Teeth clenched, his eyes stared at the road ahead of them. "Tamiel's wings are on another human victim," he pressed out with a tight tone, his jaw hurting from the pressure he put on it, but he preferred it this way. Better to feel pain now and ease into the shock he was sure to feel upon laying eyes on yet another victim, than to be tossed into the icy pool of utter horror without any preparation.
Chloe felt the information drop in her stomach like a cold, heavy stone. The church. His sister's wings. Another human victim. Chaos spreading because of the divinity emitted from the wings and endangering countless more lives.
Scenes from the previous church crime scene flashed in front of her mind's eye. People protesting, falling to their knees, praying, shouting and crying in sheer panic, the officers that were overwhelmed with emotions as well, shots being fired…
She shuddered.
It was just past 3am. She didn't dare to imagine what hell would break lose when more people were awake and roaming the streets.
They needed to be quick.
Tightening her grip onto the dashboard and anchoring herself deeper into the seat, she looked over at Lucifer. "Drive faster."
They reached the church in just under eight minutes. Needless to say Chloe's heart was beating up to her throat and she was shaking when she climbed out of the corvette. Still catching her breath, she saw Lucifer rushing towards a small crowd of people, with a stressed Amenadiel in the centre.
"Stay back, everyone," Amenadiel called, hands outstretched to the people surrounding him. "There's nothing for you to see… Nothing you could comprehend anyways…"
But the crowd was in a manic uproar.
"Don't you feel it?! The end is near! God is calling us to repent! There is no time left, if we don't do it now!" a man said, his clothes worn out, torn and dirty. "We are all paying for our sins!"
"His angels are coming to judge us! This is the sign!" another one called, holding up a cardboard reading 'JUDGEMENT DAY HAS COME!'.
A woman's voice pitched out from the mass. "Will nobody think of the children?! Save the children! Save them so that they are allowed to go to Heaven!"
"We're all doomed!"
"We know the proof is inside the church! We know it!"
Lucifer pushed his way through the crowd with persistent elbows and grumbles. "So much bloody nonsense in one place…" he grumbled under his breath. "Brother? What the hell are you doing?! You were supposed to bring them away from here!"
"I'm trying, Lucifer!" Amenadiel shot back, struggling with holding the group at their place.
But the mere use of Lucifer's name resonated in a whole new level of panic among the bystanders.
"Lucifer?! He's the Devil! The Devil is here!"
"We're too late! The Devil has come to take our souls!"
"HELP!"
"No! Stay strong in the face of temptation!"
"He's here to make us run! We have to resist! Stay and resist!"
"Fight back the evil snake!"
The excitement of the mass shifted from terror to anger in a matter of seconds.
A powder keg.
Pushing the people backwards as best as they could, Chloe managed to get closer towards them, although showing her badge and keeping her weapon holstered ready did little to make them form a corridor for her. "Goddammit," Chloe grumbled and raised her voice. "LAPD! Step away from the church!"
But again the people didn't listen.
Lucifer growled. This was not going fast enough and it wasn't safe for any one of them either. "That's enough! We don't have time for this!" Positioning himself right in front of the crowd, he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. The warm brown in his eyes made way for burning coals. "The Detective said for you to STEP AWAY FROM THE BLOODY CHURCH!" his voice roared in a tone not from this world, his hellfire licking threateningly behind his eyes.
That rung through into people's minds and terror spread among them once more. Scurrying backwards, the crowd stumbled onto the empty street, begging and screaming for their life to be spared from God's wrath and the Devil's malice. Cowering in fear, intimidated, they held their distance.
"Why not do so in the first place?" Lucifer sighed, his voice and eyes turning back to normal, before he rushed towards the church's main entrance. Chloe and Amenadiel followed along, keeping an eye on the people. "We have to be quick. The little Devil-display won't keep them away for too long."
"It won't?" Chloe asked, surprised. "Usually it shocks people for days if not for life. No offence."
"True, and thank you, love, but the long-term pull of the divine energy is stronger than the short jump scare they got from my eyes," he explained, pushed open the heavy, wooden door and stepped inside the church.
[Prometheus Studio - Grimdark Cathedral]
Eyes focused straight ahead, Lucifer's feet came to a heavy stop, almost making Chloe and Amenadiel run into him if they hadn't managed to make a quick step to his side.
His blood froze, each and every cell of his body aching, feeling heavy and anchored to the spot.
He didn't notice how his hands were shaking at his thighs, didn't hear Chloe and Amenadiel both letting out a quiet 'Oh god…' next to him, or noticed how Chloe took out her phone and called the station.
Nothing else was important as his mind was taking in the horrifying picture in front of him.
The pain he had given his jaw was a mere drop in the bucket compared to this. A little twitch, lost and long forgotten in a sea of pain.
The picture that unfolded in front of him was so complex to comprehend, standing out so exceptionally in the most loathsome way, that his brain didn't even kick in to make him move further. Instead, he stared towards the altar, at the young female hanging above it on sets of ropes, and the set of massive, green wings spreading out wide from behind her.
Green was the most prominent word that rang in his head. Both the woman's hair and the wings were shining in a breathtaking gradient of greens— A dark pine green, a rich forest green, a soft fern green and a radiant may green that all seemed to melt into each other. The hair of the woman was dyed into almost matching greens, just mildly lacking in intensity and shine.
The shoulder-long hair hung mostly lose, the bangs half-covering her face from the sides. It was somewhat difficult to make out her expression, especially on the distance.
Again his eyes shifted towards the wings.
Tamiel's… he thought and his throat produced an unwanted croaking whimper.
They were utterly beautiful, in his opinion much more beautiful than his own, shimmering in a glow that was similar to the multicoloured metallic shine of certain fish or beetles.
They looked absolutely stunning.
Even in this horrific display of them being forcefully spread out and affixed by ropes he found himself in awe for a brief moment.
And then… something in his head clicked.
Hands twitching at his sides still, he was thinking he had seen or heard something about the shape that was wrong. Different somehow. It took another two seconds, before he believed he noticed something again, but couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was.
Squeezing his eyes, intrigued, he finally moved. His strides wide and fast, he downright stormed past the pews along the aisle until he reached the altar.
"Lucifer! Wait!" Chloe's voice rang from behind, but his focus did not waver.
Hands pressing on the altar, he pushed himself up, the woman's body now dangling at his height.
He looked at her then, taking in her features up close, and felt his skin crawl.
By Dad, she's so young…
He estimated her age around seventeen or eighteen, nineteen tops.
A girl…
Her skin was light but not pale, her hands folded at her chest in a praying gesture. The curve of her jaw was delicate, her lips full, slightly pursed and parted. She had a lovely button nose with light freckles reaching out to her cheeks. Her eyes were shut softly, but as he looked more closely, he saw that her eyelids actually were just drooped and hooded.
And that's when he noticed the softest of sounds coming from her. A faint, almost inaudible whimper.
His heart hammered against his rib cage.
She was alive.
She was breathing.
In a split second, the memories of his own torture flashed through him and with it another realisation hit him.
She was in unspeakable pain.
"Detective?!" he called out over his shoulder, hands going up to the girl's face. "She's alive!" Carefully cupping the girl's cheeks, he brushed his thumbs along the corner of her lips. "Hey, dear. It's alright… We're here to help you… We'll get you down and—"
Another sound uttered over the girl's lips, silencing him in an instant, too afraid to miss something, and with it, there was something more.
Tilting his head, he leaned in closer to her lips, listening.
"-ll m…m-m…" she breathed, her voice beyond weak.
He swallowed, crestfallen. "I'm sorry, darling, I don't understand. But listen. Help is on the way, we will get you down from here and you'll—"
"K-kill… m-me…" she uttered with a heavy breath, "P-please…"
Her words kicked the air from his lungs and stabbed into his chest, burning like he knew Maze's daggers would. Choking on his words, tears welling in his eyes, he shook his head. "Hush, my dear, don't say that. You don't deserve to die. You don't deserve any of this pain. Please, hold on, just a moment longer for me. Tell me, what's your name?"
Her lower lip quivered. "L-Lea…"
"Lea… I won't leave you, Lea, you hear me? I promise, I'll do everything to help you through this… You just need to hold on for me." Turning to look back over his head, he saw Chloe and Amenadiel standing a bit behind and looking up at him. "We need to get her down!"
"I'll help you hold her steady," Chloe said, climbing up on the altar as well. "Amenadiel, can you somehow get up and cut the ropes?"
Looking up at the wings and to how they were affixed, Amenadiel grimaced, deeply unsettled by the gruesome display. "I can. Just make sure to be careful with the weight of the wings…" He waited briefly, watching as both Lucifer and Chloe carefully held onto Lea's shape, so that her whole body weight did no longer weight her down on the ropes. Once ready, Amenadiel shrugged out his wings and took a leap into the air. With a powerful blow of his wing from the side, he let his feathers tense, and the primaries easily cut the ropes left and right on both mounted wings.
Mindful of the sudden added weight, Lucifer took care of supporting Lea's back, feeling where divine met mortal flesh in a sickening assembly. He knew how it was done. He had seen how skin, muscles and tendons were sewn together with the incompatible anatomy of another human— Flora. Another female victim.
Lea groaned and his body shivered from a chill of horror.
"N-no… Please… I… I can't t-take… the p-pain…" she mouthed, eyes heavy and glassy.
"You can, darling. Hold on. mustn't let him win… You have to fight." Holding her upper body, he carefully took all the weight Chloe had been helping with, too. Salty droplets spilled down his cheeks, unhindered, dropping into the girl's green hair. "Please, Lea, hold on."
"Lucifer," Chloe spoke up, gently squeezing his arm. "We need to do something. She needs to get to a hospital. But with the wings…" She trailed off, frowning apologetically. It was not possible to help her this way. The wings needed to be taken off. Before, their human victim had been dead already, and Ella had been able to do the unspeakable task of disconnecting the wings from Flora's body. But now, now was different. She was alive and in pain. She was feeling what was happening to her. It was a miracle she hadn't passed out yet and died from a shock, neither one from the trauma nor from a hyperacute rejection like the one Flora had died from eventually.
Lucifer's heart pounded harder than he thought it ever did before. She was right. They needed to do something, free her from Tamiel's wings. But how? He couldn't simply rip them off like he had first thought to do with his own wings from Flora's back. This girl was alive. Metal plates were bolted into her shoulders, her flesh sewn together with celestial tissue. He couldn't just tear it from her or break it apart.
Breaking them would be better than leaving them on her completely… I could try break them above the conjunction, right at the start of the wing bone. If I'm careful enough then maybe it won't hurt her shoulders too much…
A wooden creak and slam, made them look towards the entrance. Maze had caught up with them with Ella and Dan in tow, both of whom Lucifer assumed had reached the church after a call from Chloe.
"People are going nuts again outside," Dan told them, his face riddled with concern, likely remembering the influence he had felt during his last church visit.
"Dios mío!" Ella called out, rushing towards the group at the altar. "No no no no! Not again!"
"What the fuck is—" Maze began, but stopped when she saw Lucifer and the girl he was holding. "Holy shit. Is she—"
"No. She's alive," Lucifer replied sharply, and, as a thought occurred him, extended a hand to her direction. "Your dagger, Maze! Quick!"
Maze obliged in an instant, pulled one of her daggers from their hiding spot at her lower back and sent the feather-shaped blade flying towards him in a powerful throw.
Catching the blade at the blunt handle, he aligned it at the very base of Tamiel's left wing and looked up at Chloe and Amenadiel who stepped back to their side. "Hold onto the wings." Then he gently spoke against Lea's ear. "I'll get those off of you now. It might pull a bit, but don't worry about that, alright? It'll be over in a moment. I promise."
Lea hardly reacted aside from a soft sob and whine as he softly leaned her head back against his chest.
Taking a bracing breath, Lucifer focused on the base of the left wing and with three powerful jerks from below, sliced through the cartilage and broke through the hollow bone. The wet crunching and churning sound broke through his core like the soft, pained cry from Lea. The weight of the wing dropped from her and into Amenadiel's and Chloe's hands who set aside the heavenly appendage before aiding with the right wing. The process was equally as unsettling as the previous one, only that Lea's eyes fell shut completely and she didn't react at all.
"Lea? Lea?!" Lucifer asked, anxiously.
Chloe reached to the girl's throat, quickly searching for that precious spot, feeling for life. "She's got a pulse, but it's really faint."
The cut had not caused more visible damage on Lea's back from what he could tell, but Lucifer knew the most damage was not visible on the surface and it was probably not physical damage at all, but the shock that she was feeling inside. The brutal black, acidic clot of terror that had been planted into her very core. He guessed that for this moment, she was lucky to at least be unconscious to her surrounding and he hoped that the darkness surrounding her would stay a comforting one and not one filled with horrifying flashbacks.
Lifting her slender body up into his arms, he looked at his brother. There was no other way. "You have to fly her to a hospital," he pressed and carefully handed Lea over into his arms.
"Luci, I… What about the stumps?"
"They don't emit that much divinity like the rest of the wings and the divinity that's still in the stumps is already dwindling. I just…" He sighed. "We have to hope that the amount that's still in them is too little to affect anyone. Now, go!"
"Wait!" Ella called in, "Hold up! Just give me a moment!" Equipped with her forensic bag, her violet nitrile gloves already on, she rummaged to find the few things she needed. "We need to get at least some evidence if we can." From a quick look over Lea, Ella immediately spotted her folded hands, sewn into position, and made a swift performance of cutting the thread. Just like she had thought, a piece of paper was placed between Lea's palms. Bagging the evidence, she went on and took scraps from under her nails, samples from her skin and hair, before taking one photo from her face that could be used to help locate family members. "Okay, got it!"
A loud banging against the door and a row of shouts from the outside made them all pause momentarily. "People out there seem to get quite a bit more agitated," Dan commented, concerned.
"Going by the last church experience, I'd say this will only get worse," Chloe remarked and turned towards the smaller side entrance. More shouting and slams against the door rang from the side.
"Amenadiel, window, now!" Lucifer urged his brother, pointing towards the stained glass windows in the back. "And be careful!" He was scared for her. Scared she might be gone too far. Scared that this abominable imbecile had ruined her to the core. That he had broken her beyond the point of repair and healing.
Nodding, Amenadiel stretched his wings. "Of course, Luci," he assured him and aimed for the windows. Just upon reach, he curled his wings, shielding the unconscious girl in his arms from the flying glass and splinters of wood, before unfurling them again outside and heading towards the nearest hospital.
The protest of people outside of the church was turning into a violent riot. The shouts had started to mix with screams and angry roars and the hinges on both entrances were beginning to creak and squeak from the pressure of the crowd's attacks.
"The doors won't hold forever and we can't go out with people being under the influence of the wings," Chloe pointed out, looking at Lucifer. She hated what she needed to suggest, but knew he would understand. He had done it before. Had gone through the blasphemous act to keep people around him safe. "We need to burn them."
He paused just briefly, the task of having to burn yet another set of wings gnawing at him. Releasing a heavy sigh, he eventually nodded and retrieved his lighter. "I hope this is the last time I'll ever have to do this." Tossing the Zippo onto the two severed wings, he watched as the rich green feathers went ablaze.
But it wasn't just him who stared in disapproval as the divine attachments were burning to ashes. Chloe, Dan, Ella —even Maze— stared at the flames in equal tension and horror.
"This, this is just…" Ella let out a shaky breath and wiped her arm over her teary eyes. "As if what's happened to your sister isn't bad enough already. Having to burn her wings… This is horrible… I can't even find words. I just hope that she's at a better place now…"
The mention of Tamiel's final journey stirred a unsettling thought inside of him. She had been a Fallen One. Like him, she had been cast out of Heaven for taking part in the rebellion. She had been doomed to stay on Earth ever since, robbed from her home, shunned by her pious siblings.
Where was her soul now? Had it faded into the void? Or was it condemned to suffer for its doings in a never-ending Hell-loop?
"Listen," Maze pulled him out of his thoughts, gesturing to pay attention. "They're calming down. No banging against the doors anymore, just… pathetic cries of despair."
"That's still not very good, Maze," Dan snapped back. "They will return back to normal eventually though, right?"
"Yes, I mean… I assume. Thankfully the exposure wasn't going on for too long. I think most people will be alright in a day or two," Lucifer said, watching as the feather's before him burnt away, revealing the sensitive membranes and the wing bones underneath. It would be best to dispose them, too, he thought gloomily.
Ella took the moment of waiting for things to calm down outside of the church to take a look at the samples and evidence she had been able to gather from Lea's body. "Well…" she murmured in thought, looking at the bags. "Can't say much yet, but one thing I can say for sure. He's really determined with the angel topic…" Holding the bag with the piece of paper she retrieved from Lea's hands, she read, "The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him."
"Revelation 12:9," Lucifer muttered through gritted teeth. As if they needed any more proof of the Butcher being driven by misguided religious hopes and fuelled by the rotten whispers of a demon. "This is nothing new. He's going after my fallen brothers and sisters. But now they know. They won't listen to whatever he's trying to convince them of." He trusted Kasbeel and his other siblings to not fall for the Butcher's tricks, to not listen to anyone who would try luring them to LA for whatever noble reason.
No. His worry was with Lea. She had to make it. She had to survive. He needed to see something —someone,who this bastard had not been able to tear from this world. Someone who defied him. Who stayed strong.
He needed to be able to save at least one single soul before he'd make sure for Glover to rot in prison and Alastor to cower in the deepest corner of Hell with no soul to torture for all eternity.
And for the first time in two years, ever since he had been bleeding to death in a hangar, he found himself praying to his Father.
Dad… I know You don't care about me, but… I pray that You care about her… That You care in not letting this evil bastard win… That You make her survive because she deserves to live… If You need a deal, then have my wings… Make it so they don't ever return… Just… just save her… Please.
"Lucifer? Are you okay?" Chloe quietly asked, looking him up and down with worry. She glanced toward the burning wings, the flames having subsided to small flickers, slowly burning themselves into the wing bones, cracking into them and turning them black.
He knew she meant well. She cared so much for his feelings, for his sanity. Without her he was sure he would have ended in the darkest abyss, unable to ever get out of it. It was only due to her help that he was alive in every way. "I… I was just…" He released a heavy sigh, a faint throbbing pain rushing through his shoulder blades. "I hope she makes it."
"Yeah, me too," she mouthed, "She's being brought into good hands now. They'll do everything they can."
"Hey!" Maze called from the front entrance. "Things have calmed down outside. Just… quiet sobs now and some muttering. Want me to open up?"
"Alright, but go slow," Chloe called back, giving Lucifer's arm a rub before she made her way over, one hand ready on her service weapon. She braced herself, her nerves alert. Dan moved to her side as well, equally prepared, and Maze went about to push away the pew-barricade with ease.
Maze, confident demon she was, grabbed both door wings and pulled them open, revealing that the crowd of people had scattered across the front of the church as well as the aligning sidewalk. Some people sat on the flight of stairs left and right, crying, shaking their heads, their looks filled with confusion and sorrow. Other people were standing a bit further on the sidewalk, talking, holding and supporting each other.
It was a sad sight, Chloe thought, but she was happy there were no more apocalyptic aggression and utter devastation to the point of where people would use violence. "Reinforcements from the station should be here any minute," she said as the rest of her Lucifer stepped to her side. "We gotta process the scene and talk to the people. Maybe someone was here from the beginning and saw Glover."
"It's just been one day. He did this to Tamiel and Lea within a single day." Hands balling into fists at his sides, he ground his teeth. "I can feel that we are close, Detective… We mustn't loose time. He's fast and I'm worried he keeps up the pace if not increase it. He mustn't get away…"
"He won't," she assured him, taking note of his tensed state. "I could use your help, questioning these people. Is that okay?"
He nodded, offering her a small, thin-lipped smile. Again, she meant well, wanting for him to know that he was needed by her, that she wanted him involved and add his help where he could, and as a result have him feel better, reminding him that he was helping the case. "Of course. Let's get started right away."
[Aprocryphos, Kammarheit, Atrium Carceri - Ones Atop the Unknown]
He was tired. It had been a very eventful day.
Not only had he been preparing everything for the fallen angel, luring her in, taking the wings from her, giving her the ending she deserved and dumping her as a painful present for the Devil. He had also picked the human girl, had spent hours to prepare her beautiful body and another hour to clean everything up as usual before continuing with the demanding task of hanging her up in the church.
He longed for something to eat and a decent amount of sleep in his bed.
Slowing down as he approached his house, he immediately sensed that there was something different.
Looking carefully at the neighbouring houses and driveways, he saw nothing out of the ordinary… until he spotted the dark SUV on the other side of the street.
That should not be there. He knew the cars of his neighbours, of the family and friends… of the regulars. This SUV was not a regular.
Careful, Warren…
Hands tensing around the steering wheel, he looked at the speedometer. Just rolling at merely 10 mph, he took a shaky breath.
Don't look suspicious… Just drive, don't look around like a criminal… You're not one…
He did as the voice told him and increased his speed slowly to reach the speed limit of 25 mph in the street. Pulling his jacket's hood down, he took a quick side glance just as he reached the SUV and spotted a person sitting inside— black uniform, patch on the upper arm, badge on the chest.
Police.
They found you… They know who you are… Know where you live…
"Shhhit…" he muttered beneath his breath, foot pressing further down the pedal.
His pulse spiked as he drove down the street, staying as unsuspicious as possible.
You need to continue right away, Warren. You need to get another one of Lucifer's rotten siblings… You know where they live, have their names… Lure them with your knowledge over them… I'll help you…
"It's… It's so fast… I… I want the offers to Him to be perfect. Let me get some rest first and then—"
Oh, you think God is waiting for you? You think that He's a patient God? You're on a mission, Warren. A holy mission. You're purging the Earth from biblical Evil, from tainted, fallen angels who are tempting humans and making them fall from God's grace just like they did. There's no time now to procrastinate… No time to waste on such petty things like sleep. You don't need sleep anymore, Warren. I'm here with you. I'll keep you awake…
He blinked. His eyes felt tired and heavy, but he noticed that there was another force inside of him, keeping them from falling shut, keeping them focused. "W-What should I do?"
Get another pretty human first… Prepare everything… Then we will lure in the next of the Fallen ones… Think of your own beloved little angel… She's waiting for you, Warren.
"Of course, yes… I… I'll get right on it…"
The young one you picked… She was perfect… And you acted so quickly… I'll help you pick the next one… Have it be perfect for God again…
"Really? You'd do that for me?" he breathed, the tension inside him easing the tiniest bit. His redemption was a hard task. It wasn't easy to do this. But then again, he felt it was only fair. To do holy work for God, for His forgiveness and to be allowed into His realm, it was understandable he would need to put a lot of effort into it.
Of course… Angels— true angels, help those who're trying to do the right thing. Now… drive. Let's find ourselves another chosen one to come into the angelic ranks of God.
A/N: Another horrific crime scene! A girl that has been brutally mutilated is at the brink of dying and the Butcher is on his way to get yet another innocent victim! An eventful chapter for sure! Let me know your thoughts! I'm loving to see your reactions! Hold on tight! More chapters are prepared and it's gonna get more and more exciting! :D Love you lots! See you in the next chapter!
-Luni