Autor's note : Hello dear readers! I am glad to present you this new chapter. We'll have some action. Thanks to everybody who commented on my last chapter, it is always a fuel to my writing. Now place to the story, enjoy!

Chapitre 27

The Beast

Chloe woke up in the middle of the night to find herself without his warmth. Lucifer had rolled over his back, out of her arms. She felt bereft, even though he was laying just beside her. After all those weeks away from him, she felt that he could never be close enough.

They'd made love for hours, trying to make up for all of that lost time. After their first rough lovemaking, Lucifer had considerably cooled down and been gentler in his passion. Gentler, but no less ardent nor intense. Their physical union had been an incredible experience that turned her soul inside out. Now all she wanted was to get back to making all consuming love to him again.

She lifted herself on her elbows to look at him in the dim light. He looked worn out, spent, but oh so beautiful with his long hair fit for a king. Her king! She smiled adoringly at the sight. As much as she wanted to wake him up and make love again for the rest of the night, she knew he needed rest. He'd made war for over three years and was apparently exhausted, if the bags under his eyes were any indication. The fact that he'd been the one to fall asleep first also indicated that he wasn't at his best.

Reluctantly, Chloe thought that she could also benefit from the rest. After all, she was nine weeks pregnant and still in that more tiresome first semester. She needed to be careful with her energy. She was glad that Lucifer didn't notice or comment on her lightly swollen abdomen. It wouldn't have been the right time to drop the bomb of a coming baby. After having felt his… darkness…, for a lack of other words, she wasn't sure that Lucifer was ready yet.

They might both need rest, yet it didn't mean she couldn't kiss him in his sleep like she used to do before. The urge was too strong to resist, she was missing him too much even with his close proximity. So she kissed his lips, ever so lightly.

In the blink of an eye, the world turned upside down.

One moment she was kissing the love of her life and the next, she was flipped over on her back with a fiery sword resting against her throat.

All she could see were two burning pits of fire looking down at her.

Chloe panted with the rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins. She kept as still as possible, not exactly sure what was going on, but unwilling to make it worse.

"Lucifer?" She asked hesitantly. There was no way he could be plainly conscious of what he was doing. She had to snap him out of it slowly.

It only took a heartbeat for him to release her and throw his sword through the room, away from her.

"Chloe… I'm so, so very sorry. I… I reacted unconsciously. I don't know what to say to express how sorry I am." He looked mortified.

"It's… it's okay, Lucifer," she mumbled.

Lucifer sat up straight into bed. "It's okay? There's nothing okay about that! I almost killed you!"

"But you didn't. You would never hurt me." She tried to express all her confidence into her words.

"I'm not so sure about that anymore…", he whispered.

With that, he stood up and reached for his robe.

Chloe grabbed the sheet to cover herself and sat up in panic. "What are you doing? Please come back to bed with me."

"I won't be able to sleep anymore tonight. As well go and get myself a drink. Go back to sleep, Love," he added decisively without looking at her.

Before she could think of something to say, Chloe found herself alone in the bedroom, the door closed behind him.

Lucifer felt completely defeated, as if he'd just lost a war.

He wasn't good enough for Chloe anymore.

Could he ever be again the man that she loved? He couldn't be a danger and a deception to her. He just couldn't! And he who thought that his Father's gift would make all his problems go away, and make him live happily ever after with Chloe. How could he impose this new dark persona to her? He knew perfectly well that the moment he used his Father's gift, Chloe would see him, all of him, all of his darkness, and flee. So he couldn't use it until he felt more like himself, if he ever did… And in the meantime, could he really stay close to her even if he was a danger to her wellbeing? It sounded extremely egoist on his part if he did.

Lucifer thought of going down to Lux, fleeing, would be a fitter word, but he couldn't show himself like this to his employees and patrons, with his tattoos of old days. It would raise too much questions. Hopefully, his hair would grow enough for him to get out of the penthouse at the end of the week. Anyway, it was probably best for him to stay out of human's way in the state he was in at the moment. He could be a danger to anyone.

So he stayed at the penthouse and drank one bottle after another.

Come morning, Chloe hadn't get any sleep since Lucifer's departure. She had turn and turn into bed, hoping he would come back to talk it out with her. She guessed he needed time to process what happened and she was willing to give it to him. She knew it wouldn't be fair to force him into talking about it if he wasn't ready. So she waited, and waited, but he never came back. Sometimes she could hear sounds of clinking bottles, so she knew he was still there. A small comfort for her nerves. What state he was in though, she couldn't say. She just hoped he would have calmed down a little and was now more open to talk. She waited until the sun started to rise before taking a peek into the living room.

He was sitting at the same chair she was in last night, overlooking the rising city. She walked to his side to stand by him.

"How are you feeling?" She kept her eyes on the city below.

He sighed loudly. "I don't know. Angry at myself?"

She nodded slowly. "We both knew your return wouldn't be easy, Lucifer."

He looked at her in surprise.

Chloe looked back at him calmly. He looked a mess!

"Don't tell me you thought we would pick up where we left off and would live happily ever after," she started. "It doesn't work like that, Lucifer. Things happed to you down there. Bad things. I don't know what exactly but I knew it would change you. I was ready for that. I still am. You had to adapt to Hell and now you'll have to adapt again. You'll need time for that. And I'm there for you. Always! When you proposed to me, to live the rest of my life with you, for me it meant for better or for worse. If this period is the worse, I'll gladly go through it with you, Lucifer. Just let me in, please. Don't push me away!"

Lucifer closed his mouth with a snap, rendered mute by her speech. It took him a moment to regain his voice. "I'm not pushing you away. I just…" He closed his eyes, shook his head. "I needed to be alone."

"I know that. You needed some times of self-loathing for endangering me. Now please stop hating yourself for that. I'm okay, I'm not traumatized, and I'm here for you." She rested a hand over his shoulder to convey all her support.

"But I could have killed you!" He couldn't get over that.

"I really don't think you could have. And from now on, just in case you have an other episode in the middle of the night, just make sure you don't sleep with your sword close at hand. It would help greatly." She smiled cockily.

He chuckled briefly. "Olds habits I guess. I've been sleeping with it under my pillow for over three years now, and it saved my life numerous times."

She smiled sadly at the thought of the dangers he'd been through. "I understand, but maybe you don't need it that much now that you're not in Hell anymore."

He smiled his first real smile. "Maybe!"

Chloe walked around the chair and sat in his lap with her arms wrapped around his neck. She leant her forehead against his. "Now are we okay, Love?"

He exhaled deeply and closed his eyes, a little more at peace. "We are."

Chloe kissed his forehead, lingering there. "Good! I've missed you deeply for the rest of the night."

"I missed you too," he admitted.

She kissed him again, this time over the lips, tenderly. Then again, and again.

It didn't take them long to be all worked up again and back into bed. Make up sex with Lucifer was… intensely magic. They made passionate love for the rest of the morning, taking advantage of Maze's and Djalliah's absence. The girls probably partyed all night long and would certainly be sleeping until afternoon.

In between rounds of lovemaking, they talked and caught up with their respective lives. Lucifer already knew some of what happened on earth, thanks to Chloe's prayers, whereas most of what Lucifer went through was a complete mystery to Chloe. Chloe told him of their search for the demons escapes from hell, of their deal with the FBI and the military and of Lilith being still at large. She kept to herself the visit of God since there was no way to talk about it without telling him about the baby, and he wasn't ready yet for that. Or was it her who wasn't ready? Anyways, she also made sure not to say anything that could hint at her new powers.

Lucifer was particularly proud of her handling of the authorities as Queen of Hell, so much so that he had showed her just how proud he was…

After that unambiguous demonstration of pride, and another fulgurant orgasm for Chloe, she was particularly interested in asking him about his deal with his Father. She still couldn't understand why he'd prefer to stay in hell instead of escaping with Maze when she went there to save him.

Chloe snuggled up against him and kissed his shoulder. "So, what is this mysterious deal you made with your Father?"

Lucifer looked a bit taken aback by the question. "Well… To make it short, He wanted me to bring order to Hell in exchange for my freedom to walk the earth as I wish during a lifetime with you."

Chloe was appalled. "You went to war for me?"

Lucifer caressed her hair and gazed at her softly. "Of course, Love! I'd do it all over again a hundred times if it meant I can be with you."

The detective in her suspected that there was more to what he'd been willing to say, but Chloe was so happy to learn that he would be with her for her lifespan that she didn't make too much attention to that little voice. They would be together! Nothing else mattered.

After that, they didn't talk much anymore, so intent were they at celebrating the beginning of the rest of her life together.

Around noon, they were interrupted by the arrival of Maze, Djalliah and Amenadiel. Lucifer growled in annoyance at this second interruption in less than 24 hours. He would have loved to have Chloe all to himself at least for a whole weekend, if not for an entire week, but apparently, it was too much to ask. Lucifer kissed Chloe one last time before parting from her. He smiled at earing Chloe growl too at the loss of him.

They exited the room together, dressed in their bathrobes, hair tangled and lips swollen from too much kissing. Maze and Djalliah were already sited on the couch whereas Amenadiel was still standing.

"Brother! It's so good to see you." And with that, Amenadiel took a step and hugged Lucifer forcefully.

"Happy to see me are you? Not too happy I'm hoping," Lucifer added cockily while returning the hug.

Maze didn't wait to hear Amenadiel's outraged answer. "Now that you're finished banging your Queen, I'm hoping you'll retake custody of your baby demon. I had enough of babysitting her. I had my hands full taking her in line at Lux."

"I can guess that much," answered Lucifer with a smile while disentangling himself from his brother.

At the same moment, Djalliah stood up with her dagger out, threatening Maze. "I'm not a baby! I'm the King's bodyguard."

Maze answered nonchalantly, still slouched on the couch. "Yeah, yeah, yeah! I heard that one before."

Before it could get ugly, Lucifer intervened. "Girls! I'll have none of that! You are siblings, and as such, I expect you two to make an effort to get along."

Chastised, both demons looked away and rolled their eyes in a similar way. Djall deflated noticeably and retook her place on the couch.

After that, they all took a place in the living room, Chloe and Lucifer still glued together, holding hand in hand. With a shake of her head, Chloe subtly informed Maze and Amenadiel not to talk about the baby. They quickly understood what she meant and kept themselves from saying a thing about it.

Since Chloe had already brought Lucifer up to speed this morning, for the most part, it was Lucifer's turn to explain the events leading to his return to Earth. So Lucifer told how he and his fallen brothers won the war against the demon kings, killing them or winning them over one by one. Now that Semyaza, his most trusted sibling down in hell, was his regent, Lucifer would have the lux to stay on Earth for very long periods of time. Semyaza would pray to him only if something came up that he couldn't handle, but it was unlikely to happen soon. The peace had been secured, with the remaining demon kings in line and Baal as their general, and it was without talking of his 200 other brothers who actively made sure that the peace would stand.

After Lucifer's story and the questions that ensued, it was his turn to have questions.

"What I wonder is why you haven't found Lilith's lair yet?"

Maze looked ashamed. "We made rounds with Doom over the city without getting a scent of her. She has to be outside town, and the witch she kidnapped might be helping to dissimulate her."

Lucifer lifted an eyebrow up. "So you got no lead whatsoever?"

Maze fidgeted on her seat without answering.

Lucifer pursued his line of thought. "What about those human followers who work for Lilith?"

Maze narrowed her eyed at this. "What about them?"

"Don't tell me you haven't a clue who they are?"

"There's no way to find them. Even Doom can't feel them you know it." Maze started to get irritated.

Lucifer sighed dejectedly. "Don't you know that Lilith has had followers here on Earth for thousands of years? It's logical to think that she would use them at the first opportunity."

Maze face palmed mentally. "Damn it! I should have thought about it sooner."

Chloe lifted a hand to stop them. "Wait a minute! You're saying that Lilith could have a sect or something, here in LA?"

"She could very well do, and those people would be completely dedicated to her," acknowledged Lucifer.

Chloe got up and retrieved her phone to make a search on the net. It didn't take her very long to find something. "The Church of Lilith."

"That's it!" Lucifer confirmed confidently. "We're going in tonight!"

It turned out that most of Lucifer's wardrobe was completely useless due to his new stronger frame. So he had to call in his mode designer to get some new clothes that fit him. It took him the entire afternoon to refill his wardrobe and take the measurements for some designer cuts.

Chloe made some more researches about possible other churches that could worship Lilith, but found none. Lucifer's logic was sound. It made so much sense now that he'd said it. She wondered how she'd not think about it before. Lilith had already a small army of human worshippers at her disposal, so why not use it?

They left around 9 pm. They had no idea what to expect, either it would be closed and they could search the place for clues, or there could be a reunion and then it could become very interesting…

The church was in fact an undisclosed building with no advertising whatsoever. Chloe parked her car a certain distance away from the main door, and they waited. They were a bit crowded in the car, the five of them, but they figured that their communication would be more efficient if they were all together. Lucifer was sitting beside Chloe while Djalliah, Amenadiel, and Maze were in the back seat, the angel between the girls acting as a buffer. Those two demons behaved as cats and dogs most of the time, bickering at each other at the first opportunity.

It didn't take more than five minutes of waiting for Djalliah to get antsy. "This is boring!"

"Of course this is boring, it's a stake out!" Maze replied testily. "What did you expect?"

"I don't know, but not that! The way Lucifer talked about his work with the Detective it sounded exciting."

Lucifer clarified his sentiment on the subject. "It is exciting, when it's not boring."

"Okay guys! Eyes on the building. I just saw two people entering the church. So please focus!" Chloe started revaluating the wisdom of having taken only one car. Maybe they should have separated Maze and Djall after all.

They all focussed back on the church and soon realized that more and more people were entering the church at regular intervals, sometimes alone, other times by groups of two or three.

After a time, a man approached the church with a quick pace.

"Damn it! This is the guy who drugged me at the bar," Maze said with a growl.

Djall couldn't miss that chance. "You got drugged? This is so humiliating!"

Before Maze could raise to the bait, Lucifer thundered. "Enough, Djalliah!"

"Yes, enough, baby demon!" Maze said anyway, it was too tempting.

"You too, Maze! You're both behaving like teenagers. I had enough of that. Behave, or go back to Lux," the Devil threatened.

Chastised properly, both demons sighed dejectedly but shut up.

After a certain time without any new followers getting inside the church, it was Lucifer's turn to get restless. "We've waited long enough! Let's barge in!"

"Wait a minute! Chloe cut in. "We should probably call the FBI to make proper arrests."

"You can call them after I take care of them," the Devil promised somberly.

Lucifer was already out of the car, followed by the others.

"Damn it!" Chloe didn't like acting without a warrant, but followed anyway. Furthermore, they'd seen at least twenty people enter that church since they were parked. There could be so much more in there, and yet the company she was with were extraordinary people.

When they got closer to the church, Maze exclaimed, "there's at least one demon in there. I can feel it."

A few meters closer and they could all feel it, even Chloe.

They got through the front door with their weapons at the ready, Chloe with her gun, Lucifer with the flaming sword, and the others with demonic daggers. The man at the front desk jumped out of his skin at seeing them. Lucifer knocked him out quickly with the hilt of his sword before the guy could utter a single word.

The first thing they noticed was the low chanting coming from further into the building.

They followed it, on their guard. The feel of demonic presence was getting stronger as they advanced towards the singing. They didn't cross any guards, which was saying a lot about the poor professionalism of the organisation.

They finally got to a big circular room full of people all standing in a circle around an altar. On the altar was lying a woman draped into a white dress and seemingly asleep. Beside her stood a man who seemed to preside the assembly. He was presently holding a ceremonial bowl above his head, chanting with the assembled followers. They were all wearing ceremonial outfit with the hoods up, so it was impossible to say which one, or ones, was the demon they could feel, if he was even wearing his demonic face, that is. The leader was a logical possibility, of course.

The said leader was the first to notice them.

"Intruders!" He bellowed.

Automatically, thirty something people turned to them as one, while drawing out their ritual daggers.

"Well, well, well!" Chanted Lucifer, as he marched towards the center of the room calmly, clapping his hands at the same beat, Djalliah following him. "What have we got here? Lilith's followers it would seem!" He answered himself. "You know you could have chosen a better being to worship."

"Like you, Satan? Prince of lies!" Spit the leader of the circle.

Lucifer stopped a meter from him. Everyone in the chamber held their breath and watched the confrontation.

"Oh! I see you know me. Good, we'll skip the presentations then and get straight to the part where I rip your heart out. As for your question, I'm certainly not into being worshipped myself. It's my Father who has a quirk for it in the family. And secondly, I never lie!"

Come to think of it, if that guy didn't know that the Devil never lied, maybe he was only human. It was common knowledge among demons that Lucifer only told the truth. Then if that man was indeed human, where was the demon?

As if to answer Lucifer's silent question, a scream came from behind him.

Lucifer turned and froze into place. A demon was grabbing Chloe from behind with a dagger at her throat.

Amenadiel and Maze were close to her, but they could do nothing without endangering the Detective.

"Now, now! Not so confident anymore, are you, Lucifer." The demon wore a proud smile on his demonic face.

Lucifer thought that he recognized him, definitely one of Lilith's. "Release her, now!" His voice boomed with power.

The demon flinched, but didn't make a move. His fidelity to Lilith was too strong to overpower it with a simple command.

"All I want is to get out of here alive. I know you won't do anything to endanger your consort. She is your weakness."

"Not my consort, my Queen! And if you arm her in anyway, you'll get my full wrath down on you." The Devil roared, and in a flash, he became the image of nightmare that illustrations in books made of him. His giant leather wings flapped angrily behind him.

The demon took a step back, dragging Chloe with him. "Just don't push me to arm her then." Then he raised his voice to address the whole room. "People of Lilith! In her name, take them down!"

A few of the followers were too impressed by Lucifer's appearance to make a move, while the majority started attacking them without any hesitation. They were no warriors though, and the demon had to know that. Nonetheless, the sheer number of the human followers rapidly overpowered them. It took everything for Lucifer just to make his way back to the entry of the chamber, punching and kicked them one or two at a time, hoping he wouldn't be too late… Djalliah instinctively took her place behind him to protect his back even though the normal daggers the humans were using could do no arm to the Devil. He'd ordered Djall to never kill a human and he hoped she would still remember it in the thick of action.

Amenadiel and Maze were as much outnumbered and fighting with all their might to get to Chloe. The Valkyrie couldn't use her whip in so close combat, but she had her daggers. Both she and Amenadiel tried not to kill anyone, settling for knocking them up on the head with the hilt of their weapons or punching and kicking them. Maze got cut a couple of times though, yet nothing vital was hit.

Lucifer finally reached the corridor where they came from. Chloe was nowhere to be seen. Panic rose inside him with the fear of losing her. Lucifer scolded himself for not giving Chloe his Father's gift before. If he had, she wouldn't be in danger of dying right now. He wouldn't be on the verge of losing the love of his life!

The moment Chloe was grabbed from behind, she knew it was a demon. She cursed herself for not feeling it approaching. He had to have come from a side door. In an instant, she had a dagger at her throat and had to put down her weapon. There was nothing she could do, neither could Lucifer nor her friends. The demon was holding her firmly against his body, with the tip of his dagger a breath from piercing her skin.

While Chloe chastised herself, the demon and Lucifer were talking.

"Not my consort, my Queen!" Lucifer roared with a trembling voice. "And if you arm her in anyway, you'll get my full wrath down on you."

Then something she didn't see coming happened.

Lucifer became the incarnation of the Devil!

He looked exactly the way he was sometimes depicted in the books, with demonic leathered wings and his body ravaged by the fires of Hell. She'd already seen his burnt body, but the wings were new and terrible, and he looked bigger and stronger, Hell made. She was speechless for a moment, wondering what the Hell happened to him. Had he done this to himself by self-loathing alone, or had it been a necessity for him to evolve so, as to survive Hell? After her first shock at seeing him so, Chloe mentally cried for her Devil.

When mayhem started, the demon dragged Chloe towards the corridor they had come from. She understood that he had no intention of fighting, she was his insurance polity and he would probably leave this place with her or kill her after escaping. Seeing that her friends were outnumbered and obviously incapable of saving her, Chloe figured that she would have to save herself.

She might not have her gun anymore, but she was far from unarmed. She had her powers after all. She just had to figure out how to use it in her position. Come to think of weapons, she might have something else up her sleeve…

The demon's hold around her neck loosened a little while he was pulling her along the corridor. Chloe retrieved her demonic dagger at her hip and in a swift movement, planted it into the demon's thigh.

As she'd hope, the surprise prevented the demon from cutting her throat, thank God! He even lost his grasp around her. Chloe took the opportunity to punch him in the face with all her strength and a little bit of angelic power behind it. He fell straight on the floor, stunned for a few seconds.

She started wondering what to do with him when a resounding roar approached her from behind. She turned to an all enraged Devil.

Lucifer passed her by and got straight to the demon. He lifted him by the throat and squeezed it between his devilish fingers.

"You will die!" He roared.

Chloe recovered her wits about her and put a hand on Lucifer's shoulder. "Don't kill him! We need to question him."

Lucifer was seeing red! That despicable being almost hurt his Chloe. He could have killed her!

With a deep roar of fury, Lucifer threw the demon ten feet away, back towards the main room, only to get to him again and lift him up anew by the throat to drag him to the circular chamber. Once back into the room where the fighting was almost over, Lucifer lifted the demon in the air in front of the few humans still standing.

"Enough!" He thundered.

Everybody stopped fighting and the humans looked at him in fright.

"Tell me where is Lilith!" He questioned the demon.

The demon tried to speak but Lucifer's hold around his throat was too strong. Lucifer dropped him on his feet and released his hold just enough to let him talk.

"I'll never betray Lilith. I'd prefer to die than talk!"

Lucifer knew that kind of devotion too well. He'd seen it with Moz'gan back in hell. It had taken Lucifer days of torturing to get him to betray Lilith. He didn't have days to torture that demon this time. And beside, he could never torture someone with Chloe around. If he wouldn't talk, others would have to…

"Have it your way!" Lucifer spat.

Without missing a beat, Lucifer punched his way through the thorax of the demon and grabbed his beating heart. He ripped it out of his body before leaving the corps fall to the floor.

Lucifer lifted the heart in the air for everyone to see. He deliberately kept from making eye contact with Chloe. What the hell was he doing...?

He pushed that thought aside."This, is what I'll do to Lilith when I put my hands on her! You picked the wrong being to worship. Now, I want answers, otherwise I can't say what will come of you lot."

The threat was clear for all. A man who was still standing took the lead. "We don't know where she is. We only saw her once and since then she always sends one of her demons to collect our offerings."

"Offerings?"

"Yes, she requires offerings of people. She is asking more and more of them every time.

"You killed people for her?" The Devil growled.

"No! We only kidnap them and prepare them for the offering with a ritual of purification. Lilith never told us what she makes of them afterwards. Please, don't kill us. In return, we will worship and serve you."

"I don't need worshipers. But even if what you deserve is death, I will let you live. Yet you'll have to pay for your crimes."

This time, Lucifer turned to Chloe and asked, "call your FBI friends now so they can take them into custody."

Speechless, Chloe did as he asked.

While waiting for the FBI to arrive, they made Lilith's followers sit down in rows and took their weapons. At this stage, no one tried to escape. Lucifer's example had been enough to convince them to cooperate. The poor lady on the altar was still out of it, but breathing.

While Chloe continued to question the leader, Lucifer tried to calm down and reverse to his human appearance. The more he tried, the more he panicked, because nothing happened.

He was stuck in this hellish form!

He was too distraught to regain control. Too much had happened. He'd almost lost Chloe! She had seen him in his Devil's full form! And on top of that, he'd ripped the demon's heart out right in front of her! He was a beast! She would seen it. Had seen it!

He lowered his eyes to his hand, where he still held the heart. A bloodied heart…

Djalliah came to him and put a hand on his arm in a calming way. "It's gonna be okay, Lucifer!" She whispered for his ears only.

He didn't answer her. Because he didn't know what to say.

He waited until he heard the noise of the sirens before making a decision.

"Come Djalliah, we're leaving…"

Chloe turned to the now familiar sound of wings beating, only to find an empty space where Lucifer and Djalliah had been only a moment ago.

Author's note : I hope you enjoyed it. You're welcome to write me a comment if you did or leave kudos if you haven't yet. Thanks for reading!