Days of New: The Complete Collection (Serials 1-5) (58 page)

“Master barely knows her. She could be nothing more than a traitorous harlot.”

“Don’t speak about her like that,” Lucifer said the words slowly and carefully, his tone sending a chill down Maya’s spine. That was the voice of an angel who could torture someone in his bloody dining room.

“But, Master—”

“Emim,” Lucifer growled, “choose your words carefully.”

Maya’s grin returned. She wanted to fist pump the air, but she was worried the angels would hear her movement outside the door.

“Master, we mean no harm, truly…”

“…We only want to help you, Master.”

“Maya isn’t up for discussion. She’s not here to hurt me.”

“We understand, Master. She is very pretty…”

“…For a Nephil. But how well do you really know her, Master?”

“Master, we are just worried that she’s using your…”

“…
Emotions
against you.”

“What are you saying?”

Lucifer’s quiet question broke Maya’s heart. No wonder he thought himself a devil with these assholes around.

“Master, we are merely concerned…”

“…About the truth to her affections.”

Lucifer paced some more, making the silence stretch out. Maya’s legs were aching from her crouched position, but she didn’t dare move. Her eyes were dry from the lack of blinking; her ear hurt from the rough grain of the door.

“You don’t think she likes me?”

“Master…”

“…How could she? She’s merely a Nephil…”

“…And you are
Lucifer
.”

“Let us talk to her, Master. We will uncover the truth about her intentions.”

Maya couldn’t hold back her shiver. She knew what the twins’ “talk” would entail. Torture. She would come out looking like Camille. Thinking about Camille being tortured in this very house had Maya grimacing. She wasn’t here to hurt Lucifer or weaken him. And she did have true feelings for him. But she wouldn’t let anyone hurt Clark, Zarachiel, or Camille. And if the twins were ready to take them out for Lucifer, Maya had to warn Clark. That was a better option than trying to convince Clark that the twins wanted Lucifer’s old position in Hell. Surely a threat against Clark would be enough to get Michaela and Gabriel to take care of the twins. But how could she implicate the twins without hurting Lucifer?

“No,” Lucifer said. “I’ll talk to her. You two stay away from her. She doesn’t care much for angels.”

“Of course, Master…”

“…Whatever you desire.”

“I appreciate your concerns,” Lucifer said, his voice softening. He let out a long sigh. “I just don’t know what to do these days. These headaches weigh on me. I can barely sleep. Nothing makes sense anymore.”

“We understand, Master…”

“…You’re under a lot of pressure. Let us help you.”

“With what?”

“Let us keep an eye on the safe house and the marked one…”

“…Let us reach out to some fallen angels. If we talk to them, we can figure out the extent of Gabriel’s control over the legion. With a few subtle pushes…”

“…We might be able to crumble his reign right out from under him.”

Maya heard the creeping smile spread across their faces even from the other side of the door. Lucifer sighed again.

“Fine. You’re right. That’s a good idea.”

Not bothering to listen to anymore, Maya rocked back on her heels, her body tucked into a tight ball. She wondered how Lucifer could be so oblivious; these angels were clearly trying to steer him in a direction that would most likely end in his death and their advancement into leadership over Hell. Maya shivered. This was worse than she thought. She had to find a way to warn Clark right away. Not just about the threat against him, but also Gabriel. The twins were much farther inside Lucifer’s head than she or Dante had realized.

Thinking Dante might be able to help her, Maya rose and turned away just as the office door swung open. Irin and Emim stepped out, followed by Lucifer.

“Oh! Hi!” Maya fumbled. “Good morning. I just came down to see if you wanted to eat breakfast with me,” she said to Lucifer, talking much too fast. “But I heard voices and assumed you were in a meeting.” She waved her hand in the air like it wasn’t a big deal. “I can come back later.”

“Stay,” Lucifer said. “I need to talk to you.”

He dismissed the twins, who both gave a slight bow. Only Maya saw their mocking smirks and the way they cut their eyes toward each other as they bent at the waist, like pretending loyalty to Lucifer was their secret joke. Maya gritted her teeth.

The twins straightened and brushed past Maya with a slinking grace that sent chills down her spine. She stepped back against the wall to put as much space between herself and the angels as possible. Their black wings fluttered as they walked away, casting hulking shadows in the narrow hall. Only when they were out of sight did Maya turn her back on them and look at Lucifer.

“What did you need to talk to me about?”

“Something has come up. You better come inside.” Lucifer stepped back and gestured into his office, holding the door open with his hand.

“What’s happened now?” Maya asked, stopping in the center of the room, which was paneled with dark wood against an entire back wall of windows. Maya imagined Lucifer sitting behind the behemoth black desk that took up most of the space in the room. The darkness could have been oppressive, but with the morning sun trickling through the windows, his office felt safe and separate from the rest of the world.

Lucifer’s mouth tucked into a half-hearted smile. “Is it a Nephilim predisposition to always assume the worst? A Darwinian survival-of-the-fittest trait passed down from years of being hunted into near extinction?”

Maya rolled her eyes at him. “I can tell you’ve been with them all morning.”

“Who?”

“The twins.”

Lucifer frowned. “How do you know that?”

“I can guess. You wouldn’t say something like that to me if you’d been around me all morning.” Maya paused, watching as Lucifer blinked, his eyes clouding with pain. “Headache coming on? That’s a shocker.”

Lucifer rubbed his temples. “I can tell you’ve spent time with Clark St. James. You’ve picked up his penchant for smart-ass comments.”

“Don’t you curse in front of me,” Maya said. The only angel she would take any shit from was Camille, and she wasn’t here. Her reprimand surprised Lucifer enough that when he smiled this time, she knew it was for real. “Now, what is the problem?”

His smile disappeared. “The Descendants’ compound was bombed.”

Chapter Five

“W
hat do you mean the compound was bombed?”

“I don’t know much else, but early this morning, a group drove a truck into the middle of the refugee camp inside the Descendants’ walls,” Lucifer said; Maya put a hand over her mouth, “and set off a large amount of explosives. Most of the refugees are dead, but, to the best of my knowledge, there aren’t many Descendant or Nephilim causalities.”

“Who would do such a thing to defenseless people? There were children living out there,” Maya whispered the words, her hand fluttering down to her throat. She swayed, feeling like she might fall to her knees any moment.

“We don’t know yet. But I’ve sent Irin and Emim to investigate. They’ll track the group and figure out their intentions.”

“What about Clark and Camille? Zarachiel? Michaela? Have you checked on them?”

Lucifer stepped closer and put a gentle hand on her arm, his fingers stroking the delicate skin on the inside of her elbow. She shivered. “I told a few demons to go check on the cabin. They should be back soon, and we will know.”

Maya nodded and leaned further into his touch. She wished he would put his arms around her and pull her close against his chest; she imagined his cashmere sweater would feel nice against her cheek. A whimper built up in the back of her throat, and she began to tremble. “All those poor people…”

As if he’d read her mind, Lucifer pulled her against him, and his sweater did feel nice on her skin. She fit perfectly in the little niche below his chin, so that he could lean down and completely envelope her. She felt shielded from the world in his embrace. “I’ll make sure your friends are okay,” Lucifer whispered, his words ruffling the little hairs beside her ear, “but I promise that I’ll keep you safe here. Nothing will happen to you while you’re with me.”

“I know.” Maya had never known anything more certain than the truth that he would keep her safe. She felt the assuredness in a place deep inside her heart that she hadn’t even known existed. She sighed and flexed her hands against his chest as he squeezed her closer.
This is the best place in the world
, she thought.
Nothing can touch me here but him
.

“I won’t be back in time for dinner, but I’ve left instructions with Dante to serve you promptly at seven.”

“Where are you going?”

“To help Irin and Emim track down the group. I should be out there with them.”

He released her and stepped back, a chill quickly replacing where his warmth had spread across her body. Of course, he was going with Irin and Emim—the evil twins, who wanted nothing more than to get Lucifer to do their dirty work before they swooped in and took Hell from him. Maya scowled. “When will you be back?”

“No later than nightfall,” Lucifer said, turning to straighten up his desk. He paused. “I’ll come check on you, and if you’ll permit me, possibly lay beside you again. I…” His voice trailed off, his words so quiet that Maya had to lean closer until she was nearly touching his back to hear. “I haven’t slept as well as I did last night in years. With you beside me, I dreamed of Heaven and flying with white wings.” He turned around and faced her, his eyes roving over her face as if he was pleading with her to understand. “It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever felt, the most peaceful.
You
are the most amazing thing.”

Maya opened her mouth, but a knock sounded on the office door. Without waiting for Lucifer’s permission, the door opened and Emim and Irin appeared in the doorway once again. Maya hadn’t heard their approach and guessed they’d been listening in the hall, just like she had been moments before. “Master,” Irin began, his voice sending a chill through Maya.

“…are you ready to begin our search?” Emim finished, black eyes skimming over Maya as if she wasn’t even standing there, inches from Lucifer’s embrace. She had to fight back the urge to bear her teeth at the twins and step in front of Lucifer.

“Yes,” Lucifer answered. “I’m ready. Let me just go change first.”

Irin and Emim stepped back from the door and Lucifer left the office. Their footsteps echoed down the hall, and Maya was alone, standing in the darkly decorated office. Though the furnishings were a little ominous, Maya liked the room. It felt warm and enveloping, like a womb, like if she was sealed inside, she could be the last person in the world. The room was such a contrast to the rest of the house that Maya knew Lucifer must have felt the same way, like this room was his shield against the world. Like Lucifer was her shield.

Like she was his.

Maya growled and raced out of the room. She wouldn’t let those twins sink their teeth even further into Lucifer. She would stop this now. She would bind herself irrevocably to Lucifer. She would get so close to him, so under his skin, that even distance wouldn’t be able to separate them because she would become a part of his soul. She would climb inside his heart and never leave. She would save his soul if it was the last thing she did.

In the foyer, she caught sight of the twins waiting outside with a clutch of demons. She slipped past and headed up the stairs without drawing any notice. At the top of the staircase, she turned right instead of left down the hall toward her room, and hurried to the opposite side of the manor, where Lucifer’s master suite was situated. She’d never been to the room, but she’d seen the dark wooden door during the house tour.

The doorknob was cool beneath her hand, heavy iron with an elaborate, old-fashioned keyhole that she could have bent down and peered through. She shivered at what she was about to do. But it wasn’t fear that curled the nerve endings throughout her body, making them fire like lightning during a southern summer storm. It was excitement and nerves and all the best things that made her belly warm and her thighs ache. She took a deep breath and twisted the doorknob. It was unlocked.

The door opened with barely a whisper, but Lucifer looked up from where he stood in the middle of the room, a loosely woven shirt in his hands. His chest was bare and startlingly pale in the dark, unlit room. When he looked at her, Maya’s stomach dipped and bottomed out, as if she was falling from a great height. She imagined the sensation was similar to what the angels felt when they stepped off the ledge in Heaven, sweeping down to earth at great, terrifying speeds.

This is what it feels like to fly
, she thought.
No wonder Camille loves Clark so much
.
This is the best feeling in the world
.

Lucifer didn’t ask what she was doing; he knew. He lowered the shirt onto the dresser without folding it and faced her, but didn’t advance. His gaze was shadowed in the darkness, but she caught the flicker of the pulse in his neck and the bob of his throat. His hands flexed into fists and then relaxed; his breathing was slow and quiet.