Sword of the Gods: Agents of Ki (Sword of the Gods Saga) (33 page)

"Light…" Lucifer mumbled from somewhere under the cover of his snow white wings. "Turn it off. Please."

"I'll let your eyes adjust, Sir," Eligor said. He shifted a couple of bottles of liquor to obscure the light. The amber liquid gave the room a warm, cozy appeal, a little bit easier on the eyes when you were short on sleep and seriously nursing a hangover.

"What time is it?" Lucifer asked.

"Late afternoon, Sir," Eligor said. The scent of vomit wafted his way as Lucifer unfurled his wings. "Zepar said you haven't been feeling well, Sir."

Zepar had said no such thing, but Eligor wasn't about to admit that
he
was the one who'd been worried about their boss. Worry wasn't an emotion he was used to feeling.

"My head hurts," Lucifer groused. He threw his arm over his eyes, blocking what little light Eligor had cast into the room. "What day is it?"

"Fifth-day, Sir," Eligor said.

Lucifer stiffened. "What month?"

Eligor's mouth grew dry. Lucifer didn't know what month it was? "Eleventh month, Sir."

"What's the date?"

Eligor told him.

"Only seventeen days, then," Lucifer whispered.

"Seventeen days?" Eligor stared at the disheveled ball of feathers which lay sprawled out on the bed. Funny. When they'd hauled his sorry tailfeathers back from his grand coup d'état in front of Parliament eighteen days ago, the poor bastard's wings had been practically burned off, but then somehow Lucifer had miraculously grown a brand new pair. Now … the feathers had a dull, almost thin appearance, as if Lucifer had aged overnight.

With a groan, Lucifer rolled over and took his arm off of his face. His eerie silver eyes reflected the amber from the liquor bottles, for a moment giving the illusion he had iridescent golden eyes like the Emperor. Eligor had only ever seen those eyes in pictures, but it made him hesitate.

What
was
Lucifer?

"Eligor?" Lucifer's voice was small, like a little boy's, questioning, and vulnerable. Some said Lucifer was the brightest and most beautiful of all the Angelics, but he didn't look so handsome now, dark circles under his eyes, chalk grey complexion, dry hair and even duller skin. Now that he looked closely, he could see Lucifer had lost significant weight. If Eligor didn't know any better, he'd swear Lucifer was dying of old age.

"Are you okay, Sir?" Eligor asked.

Lucifer's hands shook as he took the glass full of water Eligor had drawn from the faucet at the bar. Delirium tremors. Eligor had been researching it after he'd begun to get a sneaking suspicion Zepar was shooting him up with something, the syringe he now held in his hands.

"What I
really
need is a drink," Lucifer gave him a wry, weak grin. He meant an
alcoholic
drink, not the water Eligor had just given him.

"Let's get this down first, Sir," Eligor said. "You don't look so well."

Eligor stared at those eerie silver eyes, pondering what Zepar had said about the gene that carried the bizarre trait also carrying another defect. He'd been keeping track of things, trying to make sense of the chaos on his own. Zepar's revelation that the Prime Minister carried a congenital form of mental illness sure made things add up … all tied up neatly in a bow.

Too
neatly…

Lucifer paused mid-drink to stare at his surroundings, as if he wasn't certain about which of his many rooms he was waking up in.

"Where are we?"

"Earth," Eligor said.

Lucifer's hand froze, and then he sucked down the rest of the glass of water the same way he always downed a shot of liquor. "Now I know I've
gone insane," Lucifer closed his eyes. "Did I really just hear you say we found Earth?"

A surreal sensation akin to being in a funhouse staring at your own distorted image through a series of warped mirrors worked its way into Eligor's gut.

"Yes, Sir," Eligor said. "We're orbiting it right now."

Eerie silver eyes glanced up into his ordinary blue ones. "Eligor, was there a human … man?"

Eligor hesitated. How much did
'the princess'
remember about what had happened down on the planet? He glanced over to where the little chieftain's shawl had been mounted on Lucifer's wall as if it was a trophy.

"Yes, Sir," Eligor said. "He tried to kill you."

Lucifer shut his eyes as if trying to remember what he'd seen. "That's not what
-I-
remember. I remember … falling. And a dark-skinned man caught me. He called me … he called me his…" Lucifer did not finish his thought. His eyes shot open, his expression softened.

Eligor knew the exact moment Lucifer spoke of. He had turned the chieftain from an enemy into an ally by teaching him how to shoot a pulse rifle. Like most primitives, the man had fallen for that old trick, the reason Hashem didn't let his hybrids dick around with pre-sentient species. It was too easy to impress them with technology! But then Lucifer had experienced one of his weak spells. The personality he and Lerajie called the 'good twin' had emerged, only for a moment before Zepar had shot him full of the shit in the syringe.

"What is wrong with me?" Lucifer asked softly.

"You're sick, Sir," Eligor said. "Zepar sent me to give you your medicine."

"This isn't just a migraine," Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose. "I shouldn't be losing track of time like this. Zepar won't let me see a doctor."

That
Eligor knew was true. Zepar never allowed the ship's doctor anywhere near the man.

"Let me give you your medicine, Sir," Eligor pulled the syringe out of its case, "and then you'll start to feel better."

"I don't like that stuff," Lucifer grumbled. "It makes me not feel like … me … anymore." His expression hardened. "What I really need is a drink."

"Isn't it a little early," Eligor said. "You haven't even gotten out of bed."

"Only a little," Lucifer pointed at the amber bottle which distorted the light into the room. "Just enough to take the edge off?"

Eligor hesitated, then gave the Prime Minister what he wanted, filling the shot glass up a wee bit short of the shot mark. Lucifer sucked it down, his lip twitching as the liquor burned its way into his belly. With a sigh he closed his eyes and waited for the kick to take the edge off. Lucifer might be batshit crazy, but megalomania wasn't the
only
issue he suffered from.

"One of these days I'm going to clean up my act," Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose. From his pained expression, the stuff did little to alleviate his headache. "Go ahead. I feel lousy enough this morning to
want
Zepar's little magical cure."

Eligor lifted the syringe up to the light, tapped it, and squirted out the air bubbles. The plastic tube was full of a thick, putrid green liquid. He jabbed it into the trapezius muscle in the back of Lucifer's neck. Lucifer sat there, docile as a lamb, while he trusted Eligor to shoot him up with the fucked up shit Zepar used to keep the guy amped up. Could it
really
be just anti-psychotics? Shit? They only used those in the really hardcore cases, the ones gene therapy couldn't cure!

The lines in Lucifer's face softened as he closed his eyes.

"I kind of liked that man," Lucifer smiled as if seeing the image within his own mind. "Who taught him to speak our language?"

Eligor paused. The man had spoken Galactic Standard?

An eerie sensation, as if he was standing too close to the FTL drives in the engine room, caused Eligor's pinfeathers to rear up in their follicles. Lucifer grew stiffer. His wings flared out like a raptor about to swoop in for the kill. He tilted his head to one side, cracking his neck, and flexed his hand as though he was slipping into a well-worn glove. When he opened his eyes again,
'the princess'
was gone, replaced by the icy, calculating stare that had always made Eligor's blood run cold.

"Eligor," Lucifer gave him a false smile. "Zepar sent
you
today to help me dress. I wonder why?"

Eligor could sense the underlying question.

"Furcas and Pruflas had to go down to the planet with Ba'al Zebub," Eligor said. "Zepar explained about your … condition."

Lucifer touched his hand,
w-a-y
too familiar, and images danced into his brain. Testing. Questioning. What did Eligor want that Lucifer could give him? The same bullshit Zepar had done. Fuck he hated when they did that! It felt like the bastard was toying with him!

'Same shit as every other man on this crew wants,' Eligor forced the thought to the forefront of his brain. 'A couple of dozen wives like -you've- got. Maybe a nice crash-pad to go home to between missions. And not to have to put up with the Emperor's bullshit anymore. That would be nice.'

Lucifer gave him a predatory smile.

"Soon, old friend," Lucifer said. "Soon you will have all your heart desires. But first, I have some old friends I must call upon. And then, the planet will be ours."

"Yes, Sir," Eligor said. "Would you like me to lay out your clothing for you, Sir?"

"Not yet," Lucifer gave him a hungry look. "First … I require sustenance."

Lucifer stood up. Eligor had noticed this before, the fact that while Lucifer always strutted as though he owned the place, well, he
did
own the place, that sometimes there was a
heaviness
about it, as if there was suddenly
more
of him than there was at other times. Eligor realized he had stepped back … him … who wasn't afraid of hardly anybody.

"I'll order something from the kitchen, Sir," Eligor said.

Lucifer tilted his head, his eerie silver eyes picking up the amber light reflected through the liquor bottles. Just for a moment, it felt as though he stared into eyes filled with fire. Eligor's heart beat faster. This side of Lucifer had always frightened him.

'Eggs, over easy, with a side order of toast, some guar juice, and some fruit, yeah, some fruit. The Prime Minister looks like he's been working too hard. Get something into him that hasn't been fermented first…'

Eligor buried his fear beneath every breakfast food he could think of so Lucifer wouldn't pick up on his thoughts.

"That's not necessary," Lucifer gave him a brutally handsome grin that was so much like his biological father's that it made Eligor almost gasp. "My breakfast is already here."

Two sharp raps at the door made Eligor almost jump.

"Enter!" Lucifer called.

The door swung open. A terrified human female was shoved through wearing a primitive wrapped dress, followed by a second female and then a human male, all wearing shackles. Behind them moved Furcas and Pruflas. Lucifer turned to him.

"Thank you, Eligor," Lucifer said. He shut his eyes and inhaled.

What the fuck did the guy think he was? One of the Sata'anic lizards? Eligor masked his thoughts and focused, instead, on the human females. '
Hey, that dark-haired one has nice tits. Maybe Lucifer will find me one that looks like that? So long as she isn't stupid like the ones he's got stashed in his harem…'

Lucifer gave him a predatory grin.

"I'll see you soon, Eligor." Lucifer gave him an almost fatherly smile. He placed his hand on Eligor's shoulder. "Loyal servant."

"Sir," Eligor gave a noncommittal answer. He glanced at the three humans Furcas and Pruflas had flown back down to the planet to procure, most likely under stealth because the way General Hudhafah had acted when
he'd
been down there, the old lizard wasn't about to let Lucifer waltz in and take over … didn't matter
what
Ba'al Zebub said.

He was no longer wanted here … so he left.

He got as far away from Lucifer's personal quarters as he could, avoiding the greetings of the other crewmen, until he got back to his bunk. The moment he was alone, he dug out his little video game, the one he used to keep track of stuff, and opened up the encrypted program he'd been using to keep track of shit in his spare time.

'E' he typed into his calendar. The evil twin...

~ * ~ * ~