Chapter 19: Chasing Shadows
Lucifer stared at the phone in his hand in shock. "She actually hung up on me." He said aloud. With a scoff, he changed lanes to take the road to tend to a few errands of his own. Such as a saucy judge's wife that was in need of consoling. With the assumption that Maze would eventually call him back, he flicked on the radio dial and refocused his thoughts.
A couple hours sex turned into an afternoon of booze and debauchery before Lucifer strolled back to his convertible. A glance at his phone told him that there was still no word from Maze. He loosed an exaggerated sigh and made his way to Lux. Somewhere along the way, working Tuesday night so that Maze could get into trouble had become normal.
It was a little after ten in the evening, on his way up to the penthouse with the Brittney Squad, that his phone rang. With a smile, he stepped away to answer Maze's call. "Finally."
"Did I leave my spare key ring at Lux?"
"What? I don't know, did you find out anything from your lovely little informant?"
"Ugh. Don't get me started. Just check around behind the bar. I know you're still at Lux. I can hear the playlist Nat set up running in the background."
As Lucifer approached the bar, Patrick waved him down. In Patrick's other hand, were Maze's keys (strange bird key chain and all).
"Yes, they're here. You have to tell me something, Maze."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there in a bit to pick them up."
Once again, his phone clicked off. An annoyance that neared anger washed through him. He took the keys from Patrick with a thank you and exited Lux. It only took Maze ten minutes to come from where ever the two had been. She stepped out of her car and held out a hand for the keys.
"Something, Maze?"
It was Maze's turn to sigh and roll her eyes. She marched around the car and snatched the keys from his grip. "We're breaking into the morgue so that Nat can get a better look. She has thoughts but won't share them till she knows more. Believe me, I tried all afternoon."
"You're going to what?"
With a second eye roll, Maze reentered the car and was gone. Lucifer ran his hand over his face a couple times, muttering under his breath about the sudden lack of control over his minion. Before he could further ponder the obviously horrible influence Miss. Varquez was on Maze, one of the Brittneys had found him and tugged him down into another kiss. He supposed whatever shenanigans the two were getting up to could wait till he fulfilled his promise to the lovely women in his current company.
Another couple hours of acrobatics, and Lucifer briefly re-showered before hopping into the convertible again. Just as he was picking up his phone to call Maze, the demoness in question rang him.
"Hello Maze, how did your foray into the cooler go?" He answered with as much sarcasm as he could manage.
"Something just tried to attack Ella, Nat bailed after a 'pale one'- what ever the shit that is-, and I can't keep this dead thing dead!" She shouted back at him.
He could hear gunfire and people yelling in the background. Before he could respond, his phone notified him of a second incoming call.
"One moment Maze."
She protests were cut off as Lucifer switched lines.
"Detective?" He answered.
"There's been an attack on the station. I don't know all the details, but I'm on my way there and I can't get a hold of Maze, can you watch Trixie for me till Dan gets there?"
For a moment, Lucifer's mind raced. He chewed his lip for a second while he choose his next words.
"Maze is at the station, she's trying to hold off the attacker. I'll watch Trixie," He had already made a high speed U-turn into the lane that would take him to the detective's house, "Be careful, it's giving Maze a hard time, so it must be very dangerous."
"I will be. Thank you, Lucifer." She tone carried an emotion that Lucifer could quite identify.
He switched back over, pleasantly surprised that Maze was still there.
"The detective is on her way. She has asked me to stay with Trixie until Daniel gets there."
"URG, What ever. Fine. Look, Nat said something about this thing only stopping when the pale thing is dead. I'm pretty sure she took off after it. Once you're off munchkin duty, find her. I'll keep this thing busy."
"I will." He assured before ending the call.
It was a short drive back to the detective's house at the speeds he was traveling at. As he pulled into the driveway, Trixie open the door to greet him.
"Hi, Lucifer. Dad just called, he said he'd be here in twenty minutes. Wanna see what I learned this week at aikido?" She ranted in one big breath.
"I would love to." He responded with a smile.
The child dragged him into the living-room. He had to admit that she was studious in her newest hobby. The ferocity in her mock attacks reminded him of Maze. He suspected the demoness was giving lessons on the side.
True to his word, Daniel appeared in twenty minutes. Thanked and hugged, Lucifer bid Trixie a good night and returned to his car. He had told Maze he would find Miss. Varquez, so he made his way toward her apartment on a hunch.
He was roughly halfway there when he heard an otherworldly screech. With a jerk of the wheel, the convertible cut into the exit ramp, barely slowing down. Lucifer drifted to a stop, the immediate area was completely devoid of humans. As he looked around to observe the strange phenomena, he caught a glimpse of a long, sickly pale limb. Once he blinked to try to focus on it, the vision faded. The eerie silence was lifted by the sound of heavy rainfall. Lucifer pressed the button to bring the car top back up as he exited the vehicle.
His attention was drawn up the street again as Miss. Varquez walked with the storm front across the boulevard. Dressed in loose jeans, simple boots, and a jacket, his eyes fell on the great-sword that rested against her shoulder. A strange energy radiated from the sword . The sensation made his skin crawl the longer he looked at the blade.