Lucien's Hell Bound Angel (Hell Bound Series) (27 page)

Lucien
groaned as her pure energy seared through the evil embedded in him. Sucking in a hard breath, Lucien tried to stay focus.

“I love you.” He whispered in her ear hoping she heard him.

                                                        Chapter Twenty One

             
                                        
 
The Ultimate Sacrifice

Lucien placed his lips on Athena’s, and kissed her with everything he had. The love he had for her was dripping through his very pores. Her lips were frozen and unresponsive, something he damn sure wasn’t used to. He was hoping to break through her haze, but it didn’t seem to be working. Going to let her go, he felt her hands grip onto him for dear life. That was all he needed. Looking her in the eyes, he saw that they were now violet again.

“Lucien?” she whispered
, visibly shaken.

Her body was trembling, and he grabbed her as her knees began to buckle. She was breathing heavily and tears were now coating her face. Lucien hated seeing her cry
, and he’d seen it too many times over the past few days.

“I got you
, princess.” He said pulling her close to him in his warm arms.

“I’m sorry.” She cried into his shoulder as he caressed her.

“Don’t be sorry. Don’t you worry about anything.” He coaxed as he ran his hands through her long dark hair.

Looking passed him, she saw the portal was open and evil spirits were soaring out. Dread swallowed her whole as she began to panic even more.
Before she truly got to react, Lucien growled in pain as he nearly buckled. Shoving Athena back, he grabbed his head.

“Lucien what’s wrong?!” Athena shouted concern trying to grab him but he moved away.

“Stay away from me Attie. I can’t hold him back anymore.” He shouted through clenched teeth.

Staring at him, she saw his eyes go red and
she stumbled before placing her hand over her mouth in shock.

“No—” she mumbled shaking her head in disbelief.

“Lucien.” She cried as she fell to her knees.

“Lucien’s not home right now. Would you like to leave a message?” He barked stalking to her and pulling her up by her hair.

She screeched as he yanked her upward and stared out at the closing portal.

“
I’m getting tired of being nice.” He snarled. “Open it back up!”

“Never!” she shouted, going to punch him but stopped before she actually
made it to his face.

Breathing heavily, she began to cry even more as she stared into Lucien’s eyes. Chuckling, Samael saw the torment in her
glare. Lucien had been more than right. Athena would have never willingly hurt him, even if she had to. Taking over the world with her by his side was going to be easier than he thought.     

“You can’t
hurt the man you love, can you?” he smiled evilly.

As much as she hated the smug bastard, he was right. There was no way she could hurt the man who saved her life over and over again. He was constantly sacrificing himself for her, and it only made her love him even more.

“I can!” Vulcan replied, startling them and grabbing Samael by the arm before spinning him around.

“Vulcan—”

Samael’s sentence was cut short by Vulcan hitting him in the face. Pain exploded through his mouth as blood spurted out. Samael barely had time to react as Vulcan hit him again.

“You killed my maker!” he shouted pulling a blade out.

“I
am
your maker, you idiot!” Samael shouted.

Lucien stared over at Athena and winked. In that instant, she knew his plan. The idiot wanted Vulcan to destroy him.
Tussling with each other, they fought until they got to the very edge of the mountain.

“Lucien, don’t!!” Athena screamed, but it was too late.

Vulcan plunged the blade deep into his ribcage, penetrating his heart. Twisting it, Vulcan had shredded his heart with more than good measure. Lucien felt the blood pouring through his chest as the blade went deeper every time his heart pumped. Gasping, Lucien stared at Athena for what seemed like forever, before stumbling backwards and falling from the cliff into the portal.

“No!!” Athena shouted running over to the edge of the cliff before jumping.

“Thea!” Chance shouted, releasing Muriel.

Jetting to the edge, a few rocks skidded off the
side as he fell to his knees. Looking down, he spotted Athena. Her wings were free and she was flying deep down into the pit after Lucien. Tears fell from Chance’s eyes as the portal closed shut, swallowing them both whole. That was not the plan. Lucien hadn’t meant for Athena to go with him.

Muriel struggled and charged for Chance, only to be frozen in place
against her will. She couldn’t move a limb even though she really wanted to. Michael was standing in front of her, and was unpleased to say the least. Vulcan spotted the angel and slunk from the mountain top unseen. Samael had warned him about Michael’s power. Michael was one being he was not willing to battle, his name known for throwing Lucifer himself into the pit.

“Michael…” she replied speechless as she kneeled before him.

“Save your words for the council.” He replied placing a hand on her head.

“You don’t understand!” she shouted looking up to him.

“I understand completely. You have betrayed your brethren and now you have to answer for it.” He said as a white light surrounded her before she disappeared.

Chance dried the tears from his face as he fell onto the ground
, flat on his back. Shutting his eyes tight, his world crumbled for the second time in his life. How many times was he going to let his best friend down? Maybe if he had his wings he would have been able to save her. Sitting upright, he saw Michael standing over him. He was just as he remembered him. Long golden locks, muscular physique, and a heavenly glow. Chance didn’t know what to do. As a human he technically wasn’t obligated to bow before him, but being a former angel he felt he needed to.

“It has been brought to my attention that my ruling over you may have been—incorrect.” He
declared, and Chance wanted to fall flat on his face.

In all of his years as an angel, Chance knew Michael had never admitted to being wrong.

Ever.

“I have decided to give you a second chance, but you must earn your wings. They cannot just be given
to you.” Michael made clear.

Chance didn’t know what to say or how to feel. He’d grown accustomed to being human, but an offer at becoming an angel again was something he’d longed for.
But now that it was being offered, he didn’t know if he wanted to accept. Too much time had passed, and so much pain had been felt over the years. It left him at a loss. Seeing Athena again, and on Earth none the less had thrown his world into high gear again, and it left him even more confused. Watching her struggle over the past few days made him question whether or not he would be fit to be an angel again.

“I don’t know where my place is.” He said truthfully.

“I know you have been lost over the years. I have kept a watchful eye on you.” Michael answered truthfully.

“Then why put
me through this?” Chance probed at a loss.

“That
is something I cannot answer.” Michael responded. “What is your choice?”

“I need time to think.” Chance replied truthfully.

“So be it.” Michael replied turning to leave.

“Wait!” Chance shouted, stopping him.

Turning back, Michael waited to see what he wanted.

“Bring Athena back, please.” He pleaded.

Michael stood silent for a moment as if he was pondering his request. Turning back, he walked away before vanishing.
All the hope in Chance was gone the moment Michael disappeared.

Vulcan slithered down the hallway and spotted Hazel. She was freeing the last of the females who were imprisoned by Samael.

“Run!” she yelled warning the girl who had obviously been through the ringer.

Without hesitating, the girl took off in the opposite direction as Hazel stayed behind. She refused to let anything happen to the women she’d been able to free.
She trembled with every step he took toward her. A smile teased his lips as he finally stood in front of her.

“I won’t let you hurt them.” She said trying to be brave, but she had no doubt that he saw through her ploy.

“You’re going to save them from me, are you?” he chuckled as she nodded.

She’d grown accustomed to him during her days of dating Dezmon. He was the one always carrying out his dirty work. So she knew firsthand what he could do to her if he wanted to.

“If I have to.” She whispered as he circled her.

“You have no idea the power you could possess if you stuck with me.” He offered.

“Power?” she asked looking down at the floor.

It was something she longed to own.

“Yeah, no one will
ever walk all over you again.” He said placing his index finger under her chin and making her look up to him.

He was smiling wickedly.

“What do you want from me?” she asked still staring up to him.

“
Why don’t you tell me what you want so I can make all your dreams come true.” He offered.

Hazel sucked in a breath as she took a moment to think. How could she even consider the offer thrown her way? She didn’t know. But there was just no way she couldn’t pass it up.

“Okay.” She replied taking his hand and biting her bottom lip. “I’m in. But only if you promise to give me everything I want.”

“What is it that you want?” he asked.

“I want to be feared and domineering. I want people to cringe at my power and I want Dezmon to pay for what he did to me.” She barked.

ATHENA flapped harder
as Lucien plunged deeper into the fiery pit. Ignoring the demons that were pining for her, she descended faster. She needed to catch him before it was too late.

Lucien knew that he was bound to hit the ground and break every bone in his body. So be it, if that’s what it took to keep Samael trapped. At least his planned worked. Tricking Samael to possess him, just to free his brother and save Athena
had gone just the way he had planned. Vulcan had showed up just in time to exact his revenge, just as Lucien knew he would. Even though he hadn’t planned for Athena to open the gate so early, it was open none the less.

Taking Samael back to Hell
, and keeping him bound inside of him was the only way to save everyone. And only Athena was going to be able to send him there. The spell they’d seared into is arms prevented him from being dragged back at any moment. So it had to be Athena. He knew she would never willingly do it, but all in all he was glad it worked. The bastard was trying hard to gain control of his body, but Lucien was holding on as long as he could. He needed Dante to lock him away in the depths of Hell before he succumbed to Samael.

Bracing himself for the impact, he sucked in a breath. But instead of slamming into something hard, he felt arms catch him. Fluttering his eyes, he tried hard to see who had caught him
but wasn’t so lucky. He could barely keep his eyes open. Death was taking hold of him literally. As a demon he never thought he would truly die, but he felt the cold creeping through him. Samael was definitely going to have his body for eternity.

That sucked.

Breathing in, he caught the scent and a smile teased his lips as everything went still. He knew that smell anywhere. It was Athena. If she had come to take him to Heaven, he was overly pleased. The thought of him in Heaven was laughable, he was sure that the tiny glimpse he got would be the only time he saw it. Trying to chuckle, he groaned instead as he felt her hands caress his face. This had to be a very vivid dream or maybe he’d made it to some sort of afterlife, one where Athena was with him forever. To be permanently stuck in an alternate universe with the woman he loved would be paradise if he couldn’t have the real thing.

“Open your eyes for me
, love.” She begged and he willed them open.

Seeing her face had made everything worth it. Glancing around,
his world came crumbling down even more. He realized he failed once he saw they were in Hell. Trying to shake his head, he realized his worst fear had been fulfilled. It was no dream; Athena had followed him into the pit. He wanted to shake sense into her, but he could barely move. Pain rocked through his body as he struggled to breathe. Tears coated her face as she cradled him in her arms.

“You’re going to be fine.” She smiled
fakely, and he knew it was only wishful thinking.