The Devil You Know by Shawna Romkey

Author:Shawna Romkey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Shawna Romkey
Published: 2019-02-16T00:00:00+00:00

17. Despair

I think I screamed forever. My voice hung in the air, ripped from my throat, and only stopped when I had no more breath in my lungs. Then I collapsed to the ground, denying what I’d seen, wishing it away, praying it wasn’t real.

Mike let out a war cry, which ceased immediately.

What had Lucifer done now? How could I hide from it? How could I ignore what was happening around me? I owed it to Luc to stay with him. Not to turn away from him, though he said he didn’t want me to see him beaten and broken. I would not ignore his suffering.

With every bit of strength I could muster, I straightened my back, stood tall, and met Luc’s gaze.

“What are you talking about?” Tim asked. “What did she make him do?”

“Nothing,” Belle defended me. “It’s all lies.”

Lucifer held Mike back with some kind of force push. He stood frozen as Lucifer’s hand stretched out in his direction.

Tears streamed down Luc’s face, and he slowly shook his head. “Don’t look, Lily. Don’t listen to him,” he said.

“Lily made him into this,” Lucifer went on. “Lily is the reason he’s here. Lily was supposed to be safe at home in bed, but here she is. This poor angel has sacrificed everything for her. He’s been beaten and brutalized…disfigured.” Lucifer tsked and scrutinized Luc with an expression of disgust. Then he released his hold on Mike, and walked around Luc like he was some freak in a sideshow, his blade pointing at him.

Mike fell to the ground, gasping to breathe. A sob escaped from Kara. “Don’t hurt us, please.”

Lilith worked on in my peripheral vision. She busied herself with the spell. I had to get it together and stall him as long as I could. Stall whatever horrors he had in store for us. Most importantly, I had to be strong for Luc.

I pushed myself up to my feet, and dusted the ash from my jeans. I straightened out my Batgirl T-shirt and took a deep breath. The tears still streamed down my face, but I kept the begging and the wailing at bay.

Images of Luc flashed in my mind. Flack jacket Luc with long, shaggy hair. Renaissance Festival Luc, getting dressed backstage in his ruffle shirt. Luc climbing in the window of Sean’s van. Luc on the hood of my car with the light shining behind him. Luc carrying me to safety after the explosion as I saw his angelic wings for the first time. Luc asking me to prom in the hallway. Luc fighting demons in the field. All of those images of Luc, happy, strong, and whole filled me up.

I must have stood taller, more defiant somehow. Mike got to his feet beside me and put a hand on my forearm. “Easy, Lily.”

“Get away from him,” I said, quiet but without a tremor.

Lucifer laughed, and poked at Luc with his sword. “But you haven’t seen his best trick yet, flower.” Luc tensed as Lucifer called me by his pet name.

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