Chapter 1
Her heart sank as he drank the wine. Not for the first time, Chloe questioned whether this was really the right decision. Kinley had implored her so. And clearly, he was the expert in the field. But maybe he was wrong? Maybe Lucifer wasn't the monstrosity Kinley kept insisting he was. But Kinley had also made sure Chloe knew that Lucifer was the King of Lies. Again, something that seemed contradictory, that didn't sit quite right with her, considering how she'd seen Lucifer so easily angered and upset by lies. But every time she'd debate the logic in her mind, the image of his face, all charred, brick-red, and menacing would jump to the forefront of her mind, and she'd stop.
The man who she'd gotten to know these last few years, the man who'd served alongside her for the good of Los Angeles, the man who'd become an additional father figure to her daughter.
The man whose closest friend was a literal demon.
The man whose brother was an angel.
Technically, Lucifer being the Devil made an awful lot of sense to Chloe.
Every loose end, every strange oddity, every event that seemed beyond the scope of humanity, all of them were satisfied by this simple fact.
But Chloe Decker was never one to dwell on the surface. She always strived for deeper meaning, for understanding, for every minute detail that explained why things were the way they were.
In this case, however. The details downright fucking terrified her. They did not help her to understand but only created more question, more doubt, more overwhelming confusion and reminders that she was but a speck of dust in the endless expanse of the universe. A universe she now had proper confirmation of that it was ruled by a divine being. Not just any god, but God. Capital G.
So naturally if her sense of religion and spirituality had been completely transformed, it had made sense for her to speak to a priest. And one from the Vatican at that.
Yet a small part of her still nagged to follow her heart and her gut. To trust and understand that Lucifer was still, well, Lucifer.
But she still felt betrayed. Betrayed that he hadn't been more transparent, that he'd actually put paid to what she'd assumed was nonsense spewing from his mouth earlier. So she could have run away and never attached, or found some way to process it long before she formed a meaningful connection with him. Because that was what was making this so difficult. Her feelings for Lucifer were clouding her judgement and creating a whirlwind of confusion. If he was some stranger, some criminal, some suspect, this would have been easy.
The trembling of her hand as she'd tipped the vial into his glass only manifested the doubt inside of her. It was a miracle it even made it in there at all. That was the other thing. She actually had no idea what she'd just poured into Lucifer's glass. Kinley had seemed to insist it had the power to take him down. Maybe it did? Maybe this was some biblical concoction containing some potent herb that was capable of killing the Devil or banishing him to Hell forever. She admitted that through all her research, never had such a thing come up. Or at least, not a logical answer to the question, 'What has the power to kill even the Devil, himself?' After all, didn't God have some kind of jurisdiction here? Or did the free will thing mean it didn't matter to him? Chloe didn't like not knowing exactly what she was doing. But a part of her seemed to be convinced that she knew why.
Because Lucifer was the Devil.
And the Devil belonged in Hell.
He smiled at her, the way he always did, his brown eyes gazing endearingly. But then those eyes widened. A gasp escaped his throat as he coughed. Then a little more violently. Placing a hand over his mouth, she saw the maroon liquid drip through his fingers. If one didn't know any better, it almost looked like he'd simply choked a bit on his wine. But as his hand came away, the viscosity and subtle smell made it abundantly clear to Chloe that this was no simple fumble. A thick droplet dribbled down his chin and the shortening of Lucifer's breath indicated he knew it too. As though being near the glass would hurt him more, he stood abruptly and backed away, teetering on his feet. The cough was more violent now, more desperate. Blood sprayed in tiny patters from his mouth, his skin becoming paler, almost blue.
"Detective…" He mumbled, the blood neatly streaming down his chin, eyes blinking rapidly before shutting gently. His tall frame made a large thud as he collapsed. Chloe let out a small whimper as she watched the back of his head knock what looked like the rather hard corner of the sofa, knowing that it would have hurt him because she was there. The sound of her panting filled the room, only accompanied by the sound of some nineties ballad playing softly in the background.
Tentatively, she kneeled, placing her quivering fingertips to the side of his neck. His skin was already tepid. Chloe let out a breath as she found there to be no pulse, no throb, no sign that Lucifer was alive. A shiver of guilt and realisation washed over her. Pushing the sensation down, she squatted, dialling Father Kinley's number.
"Is it done?" His ominous voice sounded.
"Y-yes." Chloe cleared her throat. "Yes. He's dead."
He hummed in approval, before hanging up. Within a few minutes, at least Chloe thought it had only been that long, she'd been stuck in a dissociative trance staring at his motionless body, the elevator dinged to indicate someone's arrival. She placed a hand to her chest, slightly startled as Kinley and another clergy member walked through. There was a smirk on his face as he and his associate walked to where Lucifer lay. The younger man knelt, immediately mumbling some form of prayer or chant. Chloe watched him sign his cross and reach into his pockets for something. She assumed it was holy oil or a pocket bible or something of that nature.
"You have done well, my child." Kinley's piercing eyes stared into hers. He was standing awfully close. Chloe felt like he was gazing straight into her conscience. "I know what you felt for him. But you must trust by the grace of God that this was necessary." She looked down at the floor again, still fixated by his body. His hand grabbed her shoulder and she gasped. "Necessary for the good of humanity, Chloe Decker."
Pivoting to face him, she nodded. "S-so what now? He's in Hell, b-but, he's still here. What do we do with the body?"
Kinley chuckled. "I almost forgot you were a police officer for a minute. Do not worry, we will take care of everything. For now, there is one final thing I need you to do, my child."
Her brow furrowed. Hadn't she done enough, already? She'd committed murder. It didn't matter that she knew that technically Lucifer was still alive, just in another realm. As far as Chloe knew, she had been the one to take his life. She was wholly responsible. But before she could protest, she felt a sharp jab on the side of her neck. A choked sound left her, as she desperately tried to grab Kinley, simultaneously fighting the perpetrator behind her. Her vision was already fading, brain becoming hazy, sounds becoming garbled.
"You are the Devil's one true weakness, Chloe Decker. So long as you are with him, he is nothing. You are doing God's work, my child."
The last thing Chloe saw as she tumbled to the floor was Kinley's face, stern and haunting, his words hanging over her like the shadows overtaking her vision.
