P.S. Whelp, my laptop died and took almost everything with it. To say that I was not pleased was an understatement. It would be more accurate to say that I was emotionally devastated. And as a result I did take some time to grieve. However, the show must go on and as I told my academic advisor last year: I'm too close to finishing to stop now. So apologies for this last final delay. Thank you all so much, and we'll see you in the next installment of the Obsidian Throne series.
"Love and Peace",
Mint Tea and Skulls
Chapter 43: Queen to H4; Checkmate
Maze was strict but fair, enforcing both first aid and basic food requirements before Natalie was allowed to rest. In return, Natalie assured Maze that none of the humans would remember the incident, keeping suspicion off Lucifer and Maze.
"So, is Decker human?" Natalie asked bluntly.
"Yes. I've lived with her for a while and she is human through and through. Other than her effect on Lucifer's immorality and whatever last night was, she's never done anything strange." Maze paused thoughtfully, "That and come up with creative ways to nearly die. It's rather frustrating."
"Yeah, the humans are like that. Any ideas?"
"Lucy's Daddy's Go-go boy happened."
Natalie paused and looked at Maze confused, but the eating demoness didn't clarify. Natalie took a moment to try to call Evan, however the call went to voicemail.
"Hey Evan, it's me. I'm with Maze. Everything is okay, I'll talk with you soon." She said warmly before hanging up.
Once the food had been cleared from her plate, Natalie was allowed to rest. She made herself comfortable in Lucifer's oversized bed. Sleep came easy once her head touched the pillow. It was the addition of extra weight in the bed that woke her again. One dazed eye opened to spy Lucifer trying to slip into the bed beside her. The darkness made it hard to tell time.
When he noticed her waking, Lucifer rested a gentle kiss on her forehead before bringing the blankets up to her shoulders again. A soft warmth bloomed in her chest. Her hand came out and curved over his waist. The skin was bare until the waistband of his pants. She felt rather than heard his intake of breath.
Now fully awake, she watched his eyes darken as she slid her hand down to his hip. A single finger trailed inside the band before it was pinned beside her head. His grip was tight, but not painful. It caused her thighs to rub together. He leaned over her, sliding his knee between her legs to press against the warmth in her core.
"Now, now. You're on bedrest." He muttered into her ear.
Undeterred, she raised her hips to grind against his knee. The groan that came from him only encouraged her to do it again with more force.
"Natalie." He growled out in a warning.
Her other hand came up to cup his face and guide him into a kiss. Once they broke away for air, she changed tactics.
"Please." She whispered against his lips.
A deep, rumbling groan came from the bottom of his chest. It was the only warning she had before his lips fell onto hers again. The pressure was urgent with nipping bites against her lip. Her nails dug into his scalp as she tried to pull him close enough that air couldn't pass between them.
Her skin itched to feel the warmth of his hands against her. Her free hand slipped from his hair to his back, clinging to him. The roll of his hips against her caused their kiss to break when her head dropped back. A breathless moan left her. A soft chuckle from above her followed it.
"The night we argued about the Madam," he started quietly, "why were you so aroused?"
"I like it rough, and you are gorgeous when you're pissed." She said shamelessly.
The chuckle turned dark and the grip on her captured wrist tightened. The world shifted as he picked her up and flipped her over. Now trapped on her knees, ass in the air, and face pressed against silk, her thighs pressed together of their own accord. The trapped wrist was held firmly at her lower back. Warmth spread across her shoulders as he leaned over her.
"I'll ask again then. What is it that you desire, Natalie?"
"You." She responded in a quiet voice.
"Me?" He repeated playfully. "I'm right here."
"Don't tease me."
"Be specific. What do you want?"
She was only quiet for a moment, building up her willpower.
"I want you to ruin me. I want to figure out what this is between us."
His free hand came up to her chin and turned her to face him. She could feel the blood rushing to her face. She was admittedly a bit nervous about acknowledging their strange relationship. However, his face was warm and inviting. A simple smile had overcome him.
"Oh, Natalie. This is whatever you'll let it be, darling."
His smile turned into a smug smirk.
"As for 'ruining' you," He paused, his hand releasing her chin to smack her firmly across the bottom, "I thought you'd never ask."
0-0 0-0 0-0
In the early rays of the sun, Natalie's phone rang. The familiar ringtone snapped her awake and she nearly fell out of the bed in her enthusiasm to answer.
"Evan, hey, I'm sor-"
"Hello, Natalie."
"Marcus." She responded in a tone like ice. "If you've hurt him, I really will kill you this time."
"Hahaha, Oh, I'm counting on it. But maybe if you're quick, you can still save him."
The line went dead. For a moment, as she looked over her sleeping bedmate, she considered waking him. However, she did not want him involved in what came next. Lucifer made his stance on her second life very clear. She doubted he'd want to see it up close a second time.
Decision made, she only stopped to kiss his forehead on the way out. The "Sinnerman" had declared war. She might have let the hunt go, but she would teach him why no other person in the entire underground ever considered targeting Evan. If it was death he wanted, she would make sure to deliver. As she returned home to arm herself, she promised herself she'd make him regret the day he stepped foot on her continent.
0-0 0-0 0-0
Lucifer was awakened by Maze jostling his shoulder. He reached to his side, but found the bed empty other than himself. A sinking sensation filled his heart.
"We have to go if we're going to catch up." Maze said once he seemed aware of his surroundings. "I've only seen her with an expression like that one other time, and it involved that 'Sinnerman' guy. This might be our chance to find out who he really is."
Lifting his naked body from the bed, he made his way to the closet and donned one of his least favorite suits. He had a feeling it was going to be a long and trying day. He glanced back at the bed before he left. Maze directed him to start heading toward Natalie's flat. His convertible roared to life as they took off to find their once again missing dragon.
They pulled up in time to see Natalie leave the front door of her building. Before they could approach, a crowd of men in matching outfits poured out of a nearby van. They hollered at her about surrendering. Natalie stared at the group and sneered.
"SLEEP!" She commanded in an ethereal voice.
Those that didn't submit to the command were knocked out by the force of a voice not intended for their ears. Natalie stepped over them. Beside him, Maze frowned.
Natalie made her way to the van and after poking her head under the steering column and poking around under the hood, the van roared to life. She sped off, pushing the van as hard as she could. Lucifer hurried to follow. Despite the superior upper speed and handling of his convertible, it was still difficult to follow behind as Natalie tore recklessly through the city.
When she finally came to a stop the van skidded over the gravel in front of another dilapidated industrial building with its own collection of cars out front. Maze and Lucifer were close enough behind to see her fling open the back doors of the van. The thugs that had tried to jump her had come armed to the teeth. Armed with her knives and a few pistols, she stomped toward the building with a gun in one hand and a knife in the other. Her foot struck the middle of the outer door, collapsing the entire door inward.
Ripped from its hinges, it made a loud scraping sound as it slid across the floor. One arm came up to the side and fired three times, then she disappeared into the building. Lucifer and Maze followed as quickly as they could. Inside they found only death. A trail of blood and bodies and the sounds of fighting from farther inside the building.
As they followed the sounds, they came across a large room. In the center of the building was an open space that went from the basement to the top floor. The safety railings were filled with cheering goons. In the basement pit was Evan and Devin. However, they weren't alone.
Circling the couple was a group of small Pale Ones. Evan stood protectively over the bleeding Devin, a desert eagle tight in his grip. The gun glowed a familiar blue as he used it to block a strike from one of the beasts. Pushing it back, Evan turned his hand to level the gun at the eye and fired. As that one fell, he dodged another strike as he blocked the next.
It was a deadly dance. Evan moved with a speed and grace Lucifer had never seen the young man use before. A floor up, one of the thugs was thrown from the railing as a struggle broke out. From above them, Lucifer and Maze could hear Natalie shouting out to Evan.
"Evan! Devin! Hold on, I'm coming to help!"
"No!" Called back Evan, "You have to stop 'Sinnerman'! This is just a distraction! He's gonna release them all over the city!"
As another Pale One falls to Evan's hand, they hear Natalie shout back "Be careful!"
"We should split up. One with the kids and one with Natalie." Maze muttered.
Lucifer nodded, but felt transfixed as he watched Evan move. Despite the different weapon, he could see the shadow of Natalie's fighting style. She must have taught him. Which led Lucifer to a slew of other questions. Could Evan remember the Pale Ones? Had he gained some kind of immunity to the ethereal voice the beasts used? Did he carry a piece of Natalie's power? Surely that was the source of the glow.
Lucifer didn't realize how much time his thinking took and was shaken from his thoughts by the sound of buzzers. In the arena below, the shuttered gates opened and a flood of Pale Ones surged into the open space.
0-0 0-0 0-0
Natalie's hand crashed into another nose, sending the human attached to it tumbling back. A stack of thugs fell over like jumbo-sized bowling pins. She launched herself up the stairs. Rage strummed through her body. It took all of her concentration to keep the tinge of energy from seeping to the surface.
At least she now knew who had been keeping Pale Ones like pets. Oh, she was going to throw that bastard off the roof when she got her hands on him. Hallways blurred together as she sprinted to the top of the building. Her boot connected hard with the final door. It was flung from its hinges and tumbled across the floor.
Within she found the current bane of her existence. The "Sinnerman"; Marcus Pierce; Ella's motorcycle-loving, dirty cop boyfriend. In his traitorous hand was that fucking spear. The spike of hatred that rolled through her when she saw it nearly pushed her hand. Rather than attack, she opted for the slow clap.
"Well, you wanted my attention. You've got it. Did you even intend to pay the hit money, or was it just bait?"
"Cocky right up to the end." He countered, slowly spinning the spear. "I knew nothing would come of it. It was more about softing you up. I wanted you to be amicable to discussion."
"Is that why Evan is in a deathmatch for your amusement?"
"The boy was just a means to an end. Truthfully, I was surprised he lasted this long. Love is a powerful motivation. Or maybe someone helped him learn." He paused to stare at her. "But I don't want to talk about him. I'm more interested in you. You, who is outside the influence of the Silver City, are what I've been looking for. My curse will continue forever, never being able to leave this hellish existence, unless your power comes from a different source. Of course, I can't leave something this important simply to you."
Natalie considered interrupting, but the next bit of monologue stopped her.
"So, I had you bring me the spear. If you can't kill me, we'll see if it can kill you, and then I can turn it on myself. You're either my salvation or the perfect lab rat."
Her breath caught in her throat as a slew of faded memories swam to the surface.
Sitting in her favorite cove, sharing snacks of berries and roasted beans, her new guest turned friend told her of an immortal human who walked without end. Cursed by his father, the immortal could never leave this realm.
Hiding in a crowd, watching in horror as her best friend is stabbed. The long blade of the spear buried into flesh. The yowling of protestors and jeers of witnesses echo in her ears and the burning need for revenge fills her. The whispered request that night to stay her hand as she watched him pass from this world.
Realization poured over her like a bucket of rain water. This was no normal man at all and to kill him would bring the wrath of them upon her. Heaven's greatest warrior would find her, and if she couldn't run fast enough, this time he would surely kill her. She grit her teeth. She couldn't stay in California now.
A new plan quickly formed. She'd knock him out, destroy the spear, grab the boys, and run. To where? She didn't know yet, but she hoped Devin loved Evan enough to come with them. Her train of thought was knocked loose as a blur of movement came toward her. Marcus lunged with the spear at the ready.
Frustration boiled within her. A quick step to the side put her out of harm's way. Her fist came up to catch across his jaw. The solid thud when he landed against the concrete wall helped a little. She pounced on him, bringing her boot into his side.
"You're a really shitty piece of work." She muttered.
When a loosely thrown hay-maker connected with her shoulder she was thrown back. After a brief tumble over the chair, she righted herself and really took in his stance. As far as fighting form, it was practically perfect. However, Natalie was very well versed in fighting against spear wielders. Her hand landed on the handle of a sheathed knife.
A simple tug freed the blade so she could swing it down into the path of the spear. Sparks rained from where the two weapons made contact. Cursed Immortal or not, he was still just a human. She threw her full weight behind the blade and pushed her opponent back. Rather than let him recover, she charged after him.
Three swift strikes tested the block speed of the spear. She tried to move the edge of her blade to hit the same point in the shaft. The fourth broke through. As the head fell toward the floor, she twisted to grab it. Her boot connected with his side again as she kicked him back away from her.
With a hateful smile, she held up the spear head. Letting the energy within her rage through the skin of her palm, the metal head warped into a useless ball of slag. As it became more pliable, she crushed her fist around it. The look on his face as she opened her hand to relieve meer dust would have been comedic if she weren't so angry. As the cherry on top, she blew across her palm to empathize her point.
The look on his face turned dark and unreadable. He stood and pulled a small remote from his pocket.
"You think you're clever? We'll see if this motivates you." He sneered.
With the press of the button, nothing seemed to happen. She looked around and then back at him like he had truly lost his mind. After a moment she heard it. The whispering screams had been faint, tone changing as Evan struck down Pale Ones. However, the tones changed, and the volume increased too quickly.
She turned on her heel and darted back to the railing that led to the makeshift arena. A flood of Pale Ones swarmed the area. Evan turned in a circle trying to fire on them all. She had a perfect bird's view of what came next. Even as one of the Pale Ones made its way into a gap in Evan's defenses, she had already jumped the banister.
Devin saw it first. The brave idiot stood up and shoved Evan out of the way as a talon came down. No sound left him as the talon pierced through the center of his chest. The eye wasted no time in swinging around to feast on the newly harvested soul. Evan choked out a cry as he turned his weapon onto the monster.
Rather than fight on, he dropped to his knees, his eagle abandoned at his side. He pulled his love into his arms, holding him tight as a second Pale One came up behind him. It only took a few seconds to join his beloved. Natalie's voice caught in her throat for a moment before it tore through the air of the building.
"NO!"
The world stilled as Evan fell, the Pale One descended on him. She landed with a boom, a wave of blue energy pouring out of her. The creatures dissolved under the wave with muted screeches of panic.
With the distractions handled, Natalie fell to her knees and collected Evan's body in her arms.
"No, no, no, no, no, no! Evan, Please, Please wake up! Evan!" She cried out as tears poured down her face.
0-0 0-0 0-0
Natalie shook Evan, and pulled him tight against her as she screamed out. The energy around her began to rip apart, atom by atom, the bodies of Evan and Devin. She clung to him, even as his body dissipated. Until all that is left is just Natalie holding herself. The screaming continued, her rage and pain poured out in an ethereal storm.
Outside of the swirling walls of wind and water, Lucifer and Maze had been pushed back to the outer walls. Although both of them were soaked, the water became a lesser worry as various items left behind by the panicking humans were being picked up by the wind. They took cover behind one of the concrete pillars. Lucifer cupped the side of his face and peered back into the center of the storm.
Natalie's hands fisted into her hair as she screamed. Her hands drift to tear at the skin above her heart and her cries taking on an edge of hysteria. Every ethereal scream brings images of Evan. From the age of 11 through till what she had imagined that his wedding would look like.
Amongst the storm, another body lands behind Natalie in the eye of a literal hurricane of her grief. Lucifer's vindictive glee for the Sinnerman's end comes to a halt and he stands back up and brushes off the fall that should have left a human dead. A new kind of dread fills him as he realizes that the Sinnerman is actually Cain.
Lucifer can't hear him over the wind, but the frantic movement of hands and his exuberant expression gives Lucifer an idea of what he could be saying. As he babbles at Natalie, the energy within the eye settles, limiting itself to Natalie's skin. Slowly, she turns and stares at Cain over her shoulder. Even through the wind and rain, Lucifer can see the unbridled rage. In fact, he very much remembers the last time Natalie looked like that.
She had been in her pajamas, saving Maze and himself from an unexpected Pale One. Much like that time, the energy around her passes through her hair to give it the same fluid ethereal look she had then. Slowly, she rises, turning to face Cain. Her hand lashes out, taking hold of his chin and forcing his talking to stop. The storm seems to amplify, rather than drown out, her voice when she speaks again.
"You will regret begging me for death."
Cain still seems excited as Natalie's other hand raises, still coated in rogue electric sparks. The crack of his bones as she drives the energy through his right arm is like a crack of thunder in the storm. Another crack follows the first, and then another. For a moment Cain's joy reaches them through the storm.
"Yes! Yes, it's working!"
But soon, the joy turns to fear. Like all humans, Lucifer knows that Cain has a base instinct to survive and that drive finally begins to show itself as the realization truly sinks into his mortal mind. He tries to run or crawl away, but Natalie drops her hands down to catch him, holding him in place while she continues to pulse energy through him. Once the cracking sounds stop, the energy begins to rip the very flesh from his bones. Screams carry on the hellish winds until Natalie clenches her hand around his throat and rips out his larynx. Slowly, the flesh is torn to shreds, bones splintered, and organs liquified.
Where there was once the longest living human was now a red smear against the pock-marked pavement. Lucifer looks to Maze, who looks pale as she looks at Natalie with a look of shock, bordering on horror.
"I have to help!" Lucifer shouts over the storm.
Maze's hand catches him and she shakes her head, unwilling to let him go. He pries her hand away.
"Natalie would never hurt me. She can't, even if she wanted to."
"I don't understand the weird relationship you two have, but that's not Natalie anymore."
Lucifer looks back at Natalie, who is busy tearing any piece left of Cain into nothingness.
"You're right, she's never been in this much pain before."
That makes Maze pause. Her look of horror softens, replaced by concern. Her nod is tiny and she yells for him to be careful. With a nod, Lucifer turns his focus on to the wall of wind and water between him and Natalie. With a deep breath, he pushes against the wall.
He can feel the shards of ice that cut through his guise. His suit is left in tatters and his facade torn from any of the skin that becomes exposed. However, other than the pressure of the wind, he's left unharmed as he fights his way through. Natalie is so lost in her rage and pain, that she doesn't even seem to notice him when he finally breaks through to the eye of the storm.
With no hesitation, he throws his arms around Natalie. For a moment, she stands still, as though she doesn't recognize him. A shudder goes across her shoulders. He lets her turn in his arms so she can hug him back. She only allows herself a moment to cry before she quiets.
"You have to run, Lucifer. There are going to be some very powerful beings coming for me. They'll be here soon. You can't let them catch you. I won't be able to save you this time. You have to run."
Lucifer held firm to her shoulders. His mouth opened to argue with her, when he felt the dilation of time. He looks up to see his brother standing across from him. Amenadiel looks very angry.
"Lucifer, if you had anything to do with Cain's death, I swear to Father I'm going to-" Amenadiel's rant paused when he saw the woman standing with his brother. "YOU!" He hissed.
"Run." Natalie whispered, one last urgent time.
The curve of a bladed wing sent gleaming feathers straight at the two of them. Natalie stepped forward and swept her knife through the air to knock them off course. She tried to dart to the left, but Amenadiel's hand caught the collar of her shirt. Natalie dropped to her knees, slipping from both the shirt and the harness of knives. Half a second after she had scrambled away to sprint for the stairs, Amenadiel's fist cratered the ground she had been kneeling on.
Lucifer chased after the two. His calls to his brother were ignored as the enraged Hand of God attempted to hunt down Natalie. She maintained a lead by knowing the building better, ducking in and out of hallways and stairways. It was only when the door at the top of the stairway opened up to the sky that Lucifer realized she had been going upward. His attention then went back to Natalie.
His heart stopped as he watched her run straight to the railing. He darted forward intent on stopping her. She jumped onto the top rail. One hand slipped into her boot and pulled out a long, thin knife. She twisted to throw it at Amenadiel and dived off the edge.
He was about to jump after her when Amenadiel grabbed his arm. His eyes looked over the edge, frantic to see her fate. A familiar blue energy engulfed her shoulders and a pair of membranous wings formed. They curved around her to let her quickly speed up, before unfurling and changing direction to take off.
"Now I've lost her again! I could have finally ended this, but you, Lucifer… What are you even doing with that monster?!"
"You can't keep up, but I was always the faster flier." Lucifer commented loosely.
He shoved off his brother's hand and took off after Natalie. She had a lead and was rather quick. However, he wasn't known as the 'Lightbringer' for naught. When she finally stopped at a small rock outcrop, he landed not far behind her. At the sound of wings, she turned, already dropping into a guarded stance.
The stance dropped and she stared, mouth agape, eyes darting from one wing to the other. Her hands shook as she raised them to cover her mouth. Tears momentarily started up again as she shook her head back and forth. Lucifer reached out to her for a moment before returning his hand to his side. The ache in his chest from this morning returned, and felt even heavier.
"Natalie." He said, keeping his voice as level as he could.
"No, stay back. You're one of them!"
"You knew I wasn't human! What, exactly, did you think I was?"
"Well, it was never supposed to be my problem. I don't know how your nonsense works. I thought you were some demon making use of an infamous name for a good time! People use demon and devil interchangeably, I didn't know you meant The Devil! I didn't know you were one of them!"
"So what?! I'm still me! Why does any of that matter?! It doesn't change anything between us!" He shouted back, stepping closer.
"Oh, you beautiful moron." She cooed, "It changes everything. I've been hiding for centuries. You really think they won't use you to find me? Do you believe yourself so independent from them? That you are untouchable by their influence?"
Lucifer opened his mouth to answer and then paused. Uriel had almost killed the detective. Azreal had brought Ella into his life. Amenadiel... Well, he couldn't deny that she had a point. As those glorious storms passed across his face searching for an answer, he could only sigh. He roughly rubbed his hand against his face as he tried to think of how to convince her to stay.
'Oh my blackened throne... I want her to stay.' He realized.
He came to a full stop and looked down at Natalie. Her eyes almost seemed to swirl as the traces of tears edged around the rims. There was a resolution in those eyes. Nothing he said was going to change what came next. Instead, he gathered her up in his arms and kissed her furiously. She clung against him, a faint wetness running down her cheeks.
"I'll always find you."
It was his last whispered promise before he watched her leave. His brother was quick to follow. Although angry to be stopped in his pursuit.
"What in Father's name do you think you're doing?!" Amenadiel asked as he landed. "Do you realize who that is?!"
"Natalie is-"
"That monster killed Remi!"
0-0 0-0 0-0
As the sun set, Natalie leaned on the railing of the ship she had barginned her way on to. The sun was warm at her back as she watched the coast line drift away. She reminded herself to breathe. Now that she had nothing but time, and the tiniest moment of privacy, a shaking hand came up to cover her mouth. Silent tears flooded down her face.
She grieved for her lost family, her lost love, and the blissful ignorance she had lived in. Deep down, she knew what she should do next. However, that was overshadowed by the specter of death that had befallen her. She knew she shouldn't, but she wished so much for Lucifer to be here. Through watery eyes, she looked to the coast line once more.
-Fin-
End Note: Thank you for going with me on this journey. Stay tuned for its continuation Chains of Judecca.
The full explicit version is currently being released to Archive of Our Own. It's a second edited version, so the main story is the same - just more polished.
"Peace and Love",
Mint Tea and Skulls