A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews and follows! I'm pretty sure the next chapter will be the last. I hope you like this one!
Kayla's let herself get complacent. What with arguably the oldest, most powerful being on Earth being at her side more often than not, she's began to let some of her paranoia drop and she's not been protecting herself the way she used to.
This is why she is chained to a chair inside a ring of unlit holy oil, guarded by two strong armed men and an angel. They're in some kind of dank basement and she bitterly realizes how similar her situation is to the night she met Lucifer. Except she can't wiggle her way out of this one.
The room is covered in demon traps but not angel wardings and it doesn't take a genius to work out she's bait.
Lucifer won't fall for it. She hopes he won't fall for it.
She tries very hard to not focus on Sam, remembering the uncomfortable experience in the parking lot. The guys are talking about their "plan" or whatever – yeah, like a tiny bit of holy fire is going to be enough to kill the devil – but the angel is staring at her, head tilted, eyes squinted like he's looking at the sun. She stares him out, because damn if she isn't going to get through this with a little dignity.
"Dean." His voice is like gravel as he interrupts the conversation. "She's not human."
Dean lets out a triumphant "I knew it!" as Sam squints in confusion.
"What d'you mean, Cas?" Sam's voice is stirring that magnetizing pull in her again, and she fights to keep her breathing steady and her body still.
The angel – Cas – crosses the room to her, placing his palm on her forehead. She squirms away from the touch. "Hey, hands off the goods, pretty boy."
He ignores her, of course, and then she can feel him searching through her head, and it's the weirdest fucking thing. Worse, she doesn't know what he's seeing, it's like she's wearing a blindfold inside her head, and yeah, that makes so much sense.
Cas steps back towards Dean, still studying her. "She doesn't remember who she is."
"Excuse me?" The words fly out of Kayla's mouth before she can stop them, because she most definitely remembers who she is. Except the words have struck a chord in her somewhere, but she doesn't know why.
They take no heed of her. "Like…?" Dean says slowly. Cas nods. Irritatingly cryptic. "So we can't even get any info outta her."
"She knows very little."
Kayla disagrees, but given the situation she decides this would be a good time to keep her mouth shut and play innocent.
Dean sighs. "Figures. We'll stick with bait then. C'mon, we'll take demon watch up top. Sam can guard our little guest."
Kayla snaps to attention at that, because fuck, sitting with Sam will be worse torture than anything they could have inflicted on her. She curses the bit of Lucifer's grace inside her that wants so desperately to be inside Sam instead.
She'll just have to not look at, speak to, or listen to Sam. Great.
Lucifer, if you can hear me, you know this is a damn trap. Stay the fuck away. She projects the last part extra loud, 'cause hey, she's still kinda pissed about whatever that was in her dream.
Sam clears his throat as Dean and Cas go upstairs – Dean parting with, "The place is soundproofed, no screaming," earning him an eye roll, because she doesn't really do 'damsel in distress' – and Kayla can see Sam's movements in her peripheral vision. He's shuffling awkwardly, rolling his shoulders and clenching and unclenching his hand around his gun. Maybe she's not the only one that's uncomfortable.
There's silence for a while, and then Sam says, "It's Kayla, right?"
She cringes inwardly, because what kind of kidnapper strikes up small talk with his prisoner? She keeps her eyes firmly trained on her shackled ankles. "If maintaining a first name basis with your hostages helps you sleep at night, then sure, I'm Kayla."
He huffs a little, and she chances a glance - the pull is still there, but much weaker than before. She lets out a laugh at his expression; he actually looks pained, like a kicked puppy. "God Sam, are you sure your Luci's vessel?" Kayla shakes her head a little. "Don't think you've got the bite for it."
He grimaces. "Good."
They've been in silence for a long time, only broken occasionally by Kayla's chains rattling every time her body jerks uncomfortably to Sam's presence and Sam clicking the safety on his gun on and off, when Kayla feels Lucifer's presence. Lucifer, no, she thinks, a millisecond before he materializes in front of Sam. "You stupid son of a bitch," she groans, and he turns towards her, raising an eyebrow, before facing Sam again.
Sam's body is alert, every muscle tensed. His eyes flick towards the stairs.
"Dean and Castiel? Oh, they're a bit busy. I brought some friends," Lucifer says lightly, and Sam looks torn. "Sam, you're not part of this story anymore. I don't need you. We'll leave and you'll never see us again." Sam actually looks as though he might be considering it, and he puts his hand on Lucifer's shoulder, much to both Kayla and Lucifer's surprise.
Lucifer lets his guard down, unsuspecting, and Sam takes his chance. He pushes against the angel roughly, and Lucifer falls backwards inside the ring of holy oil.
"Sorry, Lucifer," Sam says, as he drops a lit match and runs upstairs to help his brother. The holy fire springs to life, encircling Luci and Kayla.
"I will never understand that boy. Every time I think I've got through to him…" Lucifer tails off thoughtfully.
"How many demons did you bring?"
Lucifer frowns. "All of them," he says, like it's goddamn obvious.
Kayla curses at him as he makes short work of the chains and shackles and she stands and kicks the chair out of the circle in anger – she mostly wants to kick Lucifer, but she doesn't fancy a broken foot – and the chair skitters across the room, unharmed by the fire. Kayla stares at it thoughtfully. She's not an angel either.
Lucifer catches Kayla by the wrist before she can follow through on the thought. "My grace inside you – I don't know what would happen."
Kayla hmphs and spins to face him. "Okay, what the hell? Why did you come here into a trap and why would you bring all the motherfucking demons into a trap and why did you leave before –"
"Kayla," Lucifer says. There's a dangerous edge to his tone.
"No! There's all kinds of shit you're not telling me and –" her eyes narrow as she remembers Cas' words. "Do I remember who I am?"
Lucifer's expression is always calm, but Kayla's become an expert at reading it. He looks like she's just punched him in the gut. "What?"
"Do I remember who I am?" She repeats, every inch of her challenging him. "Am I who I think I am?"
Lucifer's expression becomes resigned; cold. "No."
"Then who am I?"
Lucifer sighs, and places his palm on her forehead, his fingers curling into her hair.
Kael knows the battle is lost when her comrades start falling around her, but she won't give in.
She wrenches the sword out of the lifeless body of her opponent, leaving the corpse on the battlefield as she ducks around the angels engaged in battle, seeking a new target.
She freezes when she stumbles out of the writhing mass of bodies into a perfect clearing of calm; the eye of the storm. Michael and Lucifer are circling each other; the battle raging on around them. Lucifer's once beautiful wings are lifeless, dragging in the dirt behind him. He's badly injured.
They don't see her.
"You will not win this, brother," Michael screams over the din of war. "Our Father supports me; you cannot hope to overpower Him."
"You think I want to overpower Him? You think I want to overpower you?" Lucifer laughs coldly. "Michael, this fight is not about you, or Him, or any of us. This is about them –you know I cannot kneel to them."
"Our Father commands we serve them."
"Our Father has gone blind in old age! You've seen them! They're hateful; they kill their own kind –"
Michael stops circling, his sword lowered slightly. "Brother," he says sadly, "look at yourself. Look around. How many of our own kind have you killed because of your pride?"
Lucifer stands opposite him, mirroring his stance. "Brother, join me, I beg of you. Stand with me and this will end. I never wanted any of this."
Michael lifts his sword. "Lucifer, I cannot. I can hardly recognize you anymore."
Reluctantly, Lucifer shifts into battle stance. "Then so be it." His voice is thick with sadness, and Kael pains for him, before one of Michael's angels barrels into her from behind and she resumes the fight.
There's a deafening clap of thunder, and then she's falling.
She screams; her grace is on fire, wings turning to ash, tumbling through the air towards the Earth, God's last perfect handiwork.
It goes on forever.
When she lands, she's in a field of golden wheat under an azure sky, sunlight streaming on to her body. It's her first time on Earth, and she is astounded by the beauty of creation surrounding her. She wonders vaguely if this is maybe not so bad a place to die.
As she's slipping, waiting for the last of her grace to be consumed, she hears him. "Kael!"
"Luci?" Where do angels go when they die? She will find out, soon.
Then his true form is kneeling over her, cradling her head. Through a haze of pain, she sees the sunlight glinting on his form, lighting him up brighter than any star. The ache in her eases a little, and she smiles up at him. "You're beautiful, Luci."
He doesn't smile back, his entire being twisted in concern and pain. She notices his wings are still injured but intact. "Your wings…"
"They'll heal."
"Oh," Kael coughs on the ashy remains of her grace. "I won't." She grins weakly, then sobers quickly. "We lost the war. You've fell."
Lucifer leans over her, cradling her form with his own. "I don't care. Kael, I'm so sorry, I should never have let you fight –"
"If you had commanded me not to, I would have ripped off your wings myself." Pain makes her blunt, but he gets the point. "How would it have looked to your soldiers if your lieutenant had not fought?"
He smiles in spite of himself. "They would have said I was going soft on my bondmate. They believe you a better fighter than I, some say I should have stepped down, given you command."
"I assume they said that behind your back, knowing how easily your pride is wounded," she teases. She reaches around to her wings, but instead of feathers she pulls away a handful of cinders and burnt bone. They both can't suppress a choked sound of horror as the ashes crumble in her hand and fly into the wind. "Not so good a fighter, anymore." She winces as the remnant of her grace gives a painful pulse, desperately trying to hang on to life.
Lucifer looks as wounded as her for a moment, but then his expression changes; becomes resolute. "There is a way I can save you."
"I think I'm a bit beyond repair," she says weakly, but understands when she sees his unwavering expression. The realization horrifies her. "Lucifer, no."
"Where is your sword, Kael?" he says sternly, and she's not in any position to fight.
"I don't have it." His eyes widen.
"You went into battle without your sword? Are you deluded?"
"Give me some recognition, Luci. I disarmed one of Michael's side and killed him at the beginning of the fight; I kept the sword. I must have lost it when I fell though."
"But… why didn't you have your own?"
Kael sighs. "I gave it to Gabriel." When Lucifer looks confused, she elaborates. "When he left."
"Gabriel spoke to you when he left? Why?" His angered expression exudes the unasked question in his mind: Why didn't he come to his closest brother instead?
"He knew I could help him get away without anyone noticing for some time. He was too young for his own sword – I wasn't going to send him out unarmed," Kael shrugs. "Luci, you saw what the fighting was doing to him – and that was before the war even started. He couldn't turn to you or Michael – both of you would make him stay and choose a side. It was making him insane; he loves you both too much."
Lucifer softens. "Then I suppose I should thank you for ensuring his safety. He is safe?"
"As far as I know."
Lucifer nods, and turns back to the matter at hand. "I can use my own sword – but it's more powerful. It could kill you."
"Lucifer, don't do this, don't make me into one of them," she spits the last word with vehemence, but he shakes his head.
"I don't have any other choice."
"You could let me die."
Lucifer looks affronted. "I could not," he says softly. "With your grace so weak, you will not be born for a millennium. But I will find you again, I promise."
Kael fixes him with a hard stare. "You would turn me into an animal? Lucifer, if you do this, I will never forgive you. I can assure you that will still be the truth after an age."
His voice is barely audible as he whispers, "I would rather you alive and hateful than dead." He poises his sword over his own chest.
Kael starts at the sight, flinching with the pain of the movement. "Luci, what are you doing?"
"I promise I will find you," he says solemnly. His eyes never leave hers as the point of his sword sinks into his own grace. He cries out with the pain of it
It all happens too fast – Kael doesn't have time to protest before he carves out a slither of his grace and cuts out her own. He fixes his grace to her body – now rapidly deteriorating into a soul without her own grace keeping her angelic.
Lucifer's voice saying "I'll wait," is the last thing she hears before consciousness leaves her.
