Chapter 44

44

S abre watched in horror as Brax fell to his knees beside Styx. There was a gaping wound in his chest and dark blue blood everywhere. Where the sight of Z’s blood gave her satisfaction, the sight of Styx’s made her want to vomit.

“Styx! Styx, come on, boy!” Brax shouted, shaking Styx. When he received no response, he looked at Eric and Gage. “What the fuck happened?”

“One of Z’s minions punched a hole in his chest right before Z forced us all to freeze,” Eric gasped out, tears streaming down his face. “Styx was affected by Z, too. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t heal.”

“No! Wake up. You’ll be okay. Styx, please …” Brax spoke brokenly, hugging Styx’s body to his chest.

Sabre was peripherally aware of Mikhail ordering people to gather up Z’s remaining followers. There was a lot to unpack about how things went down. She wanted to both shake and hug Jinx at the same time. But her priority was currently a dead hellhound and the broken heart of her mate.

“Step back. Quickly now,” Sabre ordered, pushing past Gage and Eric. Brax’s head whipped up, and the hope in his amber eyes made her tear up.

“You can bring him back?” Brax questioned.

“I don’t know. I don’t know, Brax,” she repeated, kneeling beside Styx’s still-warm body. “I’ve never tried to resurrect an animal before, let alone a beast of Hell.”

“But you’ll try,” Brax stated desperately.

Sabre smiled gently, cupping Brax’s cheek. “I’ll try,” she promised. And with that, she released her grace.

When Sabre entered the place of waiting, she didn’t see Styx. And that was bad. Whenever she went into angel mode to retrieve a soul, they were always right there. Right where they took their last breath.

Sabre looked around the different dimension. It was a direct reflection of Purgatory, right down to a blade of grass. She could see her family and friends in various forms of distress as they awaited a miracle. A miracle she had no chance of performing without a soul. Where Styx’s soul-body should have been, there was nothing but an empty patch of dirt.

“No,” Sabre murmured. “No, damnit! Styx! Here, boy!” she called, even though she knew it was pointless. “Styx! Please!”

She began to run, looking everywhere. She was damned if that fucker Z was going to take another thing from Brax and Mikhail. Z may have done them a small kindness in the end by killing himself and alerting them to Styx’s predicament. But she had no room in her heart for forgiveness. He had caused too much damage, too much trauma. Jinx, bless her stripped butt, was likely the only one with a heart big enough to offer Z one last chance of redemption.

“Fucking Jinx …” Sabre muttered ruefully. She was so proud of her.

“Sabre …”

She spun around quickly, her wings fanning out behind her as she took a defensive position. The only individuals she ever spoke to in the in-between belonged to the souls she was retrieving.

“Whoa,” Lucifer said, holding his empty hands up. “No need to get stabby. It’s just me.” His light eyes looked over her shoulder, and he whistled. “Check out your wings. Those are a thing of beauty. And the halo you’re sporting? Impressive.”

Sabre didn’t give a rat’s arse about her wings or the glowing ring floating above her head. “Lucifer? Again? What the fuck are you doing here?”

Lucifer’s dark brows rose. “I live here.”

Sabre frowned. What was he talking about? “You live in Hell.”

Lucifer looked around, a smile quirking his lips. “And where do you suppose this is?”

That gave Sabre pause. She walked the short distance to him somewhat cautiously. “This is Hell?”

“Sure is,” the other angel confirmed. “What did you think it was?”

“I don’t know. The in-between. The space between spaces. The time without time,” she explained.

“Well, you’re not wrong,” Lucifer allowed. “But each in-between is a part of one of the four realms, simply in mirrored form. It’s just not accessible to the living.” He tipped his head in Sabre’s direction. “Unless you’re an angel in the business of souls, like you and me.”

That was news to Sabre. And at any other time, she may even have found it interesting. But she was too worried about Styx and her man. “So, this particular space of in-between happens to be in Hell. Why?”

“Because the soul you’ve come to retrieve belongs here,” Lucifer replied calmly.

Sabre’s hand fisted at her sides. “He belongs with Brax.”

“I’m sorry. I truly am,” Lucifer said softly.

Her stomach lurched. “Why are you sorry? You don’t need to be sorry, Luca,” she said, using his nickname. “Just tell me where he is so I can fix him.”

Lucifer shook his head. “You are a resurrection angel for people’s souls, Sabre. You have no power over the beasts.”

“Bullshit!” Sabre immediately yelled. “More than half the supernatural population are beasts . What about shifters? I’ve brought back plenty of them.”

Lucifer looked apologetic when he responded. “It’s not the same thing, Sabre. Shifter’s souls are inherently human. It’s their magic that allows them to become beasts. Styx has the soul of a hellhound.”

That was not what she wanted to hear. At all. And it sure as shit wasn’t going to be something she accepted. “Styx! Here, boy!” she shouted once more, moving past Luca.

“He’s fine, Sabre,” Lucifer shouted after her swiftly moving form. “I promise.”

Sabre halted abruptly. Her eyes kept scanning her surroundings, which were becoming less and less mirror-like of Purgatory and increasingly like Hell. There was still no sign of her favourite hellhound. She’d never had to hunt for a freshly transitioned soul before. Gage was the exception because too much time had passed since his soul left his body. And he had paid for that by becoming a living, breathing zombie.

She refused to turn when she felt a warm presence at her back. “I don’t want your promises, Luca. I want my hellhound.”

“Yours, huh?” Lucifer asked quietly.

Sabre looked over her shoulder, meeting the pearly eyes of the Devil. It was literally impossible to lie to him, so she didn’t even try. “Yes. Mine. And Jinx’s, Eric’s, Gage’s. Even that fuck-knuckle Draven. Styx is just as much ours as Brax’s because we all love him, too.”

Lucifer sighed. “You’re not wrong.”

Sabre faced forward again, biting her bottom lip. “I really can’t bring him back? There’s really no way?”

“You really can’t,” Lucifer responded from behind her. He hesitated momentarily before continuing, “But I would be lying if I said there was no other way. And we both know I’m incapable of lying.”

Sabre spun quickly, her feathers hitting Luca in the face. She ignored his yelp, studying his expression until realisation hit her. “ You can fix him. What are you waiting for? Do it,” she demanded.

Lucifer shook his head and frowned. “It’s not that easy. Styx wouldn’t currently be curled up on my living room rug if it were. He would be here with you. But it’s against the rules.”

“The rules?” Sabre couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She’d known Lucifer for a very long time. They were friends. Yet he was refusing to save a cherished life when he was the only one with the power to do so? “Since when do you give a fuck about the rules?” she shouted angrily.

“Always!” Lucifer shouted back. He pinned her with his stare, his ivory irises seeming to glow from within. “I have always cared about the rules, Sabre. It’s why I’m Hell’s King. You know better than to believe a bunch of bullshit rumours. I am not here because I broke the rules. I am not here because I am being punished. And I am certainly not here because I am fallen.”

Sabre’s mouth dropped open when wings began to appear behind Lucifer’s back. She watched as they rose high, well above his head, spreading over six feet to the sides. He flapped them once, creating a gust of wind strong enough to make her stumble. She scowled, regaining her footing quickly as she took in the incredible visage of Lucifer in all his righteous glory.

Lucifer’s feathers were glossy black, so dark and deep that they absorbed the light around them, creating the illusion that he was standing within a black hole. The only reason she could identify his exquisite feathers was because every second one was golden. Not to mention the monstrosity of a halo floating over his dark head. The thing was radiating enough light to illuminate half of Hell. And if that wasn’t enough, the charm he wore like a second skin now appeared to be leaking out of his fucking pores.

The Devil was spellbinding in his beauty.

And his arrogant smirk told her he knew all too well. Sabre shook off her momentarily lapse into a fangirl, replacing her wide-eyed look with a scowl. “Enough with the radiance bullshit. You’ve made your point. You’re a righteous angel. Yay for you.”

Lucifer maintained eye contact for a heartbeat before relaxing. The halo disappeared, and although his wings stayed out, they no longer dripped with his grace. He grinned at her. “Jealous?”

Sabre scoffed. “Of what? The fact that you’re an angelic lava lamp? Or those golden feathers? I have more.”

Lucifer’s mouth dropped open in disbelief before he looked pointedly at Sabre’s wings. “You do not have more golden feathers than me. Turn around,” he ordered. “Let me count.”

Sabre’s lips twitched in amusement. He was just too easy. “Never gonna happen,” she replied, tucking her wings closely to her back.

“Whatever,” Lucifer muttered grumpily.

They stood in silence for a moment, and Sabre was relieved to find it comfortable. She didn’t like it, but she understood following the rules and doing your duty—even when it was shitty. Hadn’t she spent a lifetime becoming the antithesis of her kind in order to fulfil her purpose? So, yes, she understood. But it didn’t lessen the pain of Styx’s death.

“Zagan is dead,” she revealed abruptly.

Lucifer nodded. “I noticed.”

Sabre narrowed her eyes at Luca before glancing around suspiciously. “Is that walking disappointment close? I could take out some of my aggression on him. Resurrect him only to kill him over and over again.”

Luca laughed. “It’s a fun idea. But this isn’t his Hell.”

“You’re going to torture him, right? Like, a lot?” she pressed.

“I promise he’ll have the Hell tortured out of him,” Luca vowed.

Something in his words, a double meaning perhaps, made Sabre’s wings twitch. But she let it go. “What will I tell Brax?” she murmured, looking into the distance where her mate and family were hazy as if behind a curtain. The veil between worlds did nothing to obscure the look of grief and hope on their faces, though.

“I’ll take good care of him,” Lucifer promised in response.

Sabre nodded. “I know you will.” She looked at her fellow angel with a small smile. “He’s a hero, you know. He fought so hard. I was really looking forward to seeing him as a father.”

“A father?” Lucifer tilted his head curiously. “Styx made puppies?”

“Yep. Found himself a hell-bitch in the Forbidden Forest. She’s about to pop,” Sabre confided.

Lucifer looked shocked. “Is she tame? What does she look like?” he asked quickly.

Sabre frowned, not understanding what he was talking about. “Who?”

“The female hellhound that Styx mounted,” Lucifer said, sounding exasperated.

“Why? How is that relevant? I’m in mourning here, Luca,” Sabre reminded him testily. “I don’t want to be discussing the mounting of hellhounds.”

Lucifer paced in a small circle, tugging on his hair agitatedly. “There aren’t many hellhounds around these days, even in Hell. And the ones that are can’t be domesticated. They’re wild, as they should be. It’s their nature. But sometimes, a special hellhound comes along with another purpose. Like Styx. He’s about as close to a pet as they come.”

“Okay. And?” she questioned. “Reminding me Styx is one of a kind, and a loving, loyal pet isn’t helping.” She sniffed, blinking furiously.

“Years ago, I found a hellhound pup in one of the lower levels. A female. She followed me around everywhere. Wouldn’t leave my side. She used to love playing with my minions,” he explained. “She went missing eons ago.”

“And you think, what?” Sabre scoffed. “That it’s the same hellhound? After years?”

“Years in Hell time. Not Purgatory time. Time moves differently between the dimensions,” Lucifer reminded her.

“Right,” Sabre muttered, rubbing her forehead. She was beginning to get a headache. “I hate the time warp between realms. It gives me whiplash.”

Lucifer shrugged broad shoulders. “When you straddle both worlds, you get used to it. Especially when you know there is no such thing as time. Not really.”

Sabre groaned. “Please. No existential crap.” She paused, her brain working overtime. “You really think it could be the same hound?” When Luca merely shrugged, she sighed and described Styx’s lady friend.

Lucifer’s whole face lit up, and his body began to glow again. “That’s Leila.” He laughed, spinning in a circle. “I can’t believe it. That’s Leila. The universe really is full of whacky coincidences, isn’t it?”

Sabre kept her face carefully blank in the face of her friend’s obvious joy. She also restrained herself from throat-punching him for the universe remark. She’d had enough of destiny to last a lifetime. She wasn’t proud of where her mind immediately went, but she still let the idea percolate for a moment without giving anything away.

But Lucifer was the King of Hell for a reason, and he paused, shooting her a disgusted look. “Really? You’re going to blackmail me?”

She didn’t pretend ignorance. “You bet your feathered arse, I am. If you want your hell-bitch, you give me Styx.”

Lucifer threw his hands in the air. “Damn it, Sabre! I’m not allowed to place souls back into their bodies all willy-nilly. I already told you that.”

“But you can ,” Sabre pushed. “You’re capable of it.”

“Of course, I can,” Lucifer muttered, scowl still firmly in place. “Pretty much the same way you can. I deal in souls the same as you.”

“Then do it,” she ordered. Her eyes narrowed on him as she considered something. “What kind of angel are you, anyway?” It was a valid question. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t asked before.

“None of your business,” he replied stiffly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sabre dropped it for now but made a mental note to beat it out of him in the future. Maybe when he’s drunk, she said silently. For now, she had a soul to barter. “ I’m allowed to bring people back to life all willy-nilly,” she pointed out. “Why can’t you?”

“Because you’re a resurrection angel who is a guardian to a direct descendant of Cerberus, the very first demon to leave Hell. You’re allowed to do whatever aligns with that purpose.” Lucifer paused thoughtfully for a moment before adding, “Although, it’s important to note that you really shouldn’t resurrect people for shits and giggles.”

Sabre rolled her eyes. Lucifer was beginning to sound like a drag. “It’s just one hellhound.”

“It starts with one hellhound,” Lucifer corrected her. “But the next thing you know, a human wants out of Hell before their soul is ready. Or a vampire wants their body back for more O Negative snackies. And before you know it, I have a bunch of souls at my door wanting to cut the line.”

“Before their soul is ready? Cutting what line?” Sabre didn’t understand. Wasn’t Hell supposed to be a place of eternal torment?

“Hell isn’t eternal,” Lucifer said, seeming to read her mind. “ Souls are eternal. At least, they’re supposed to be. When a megalomaniac isn’t determined to murder all of the ancestors of the founding fathers and fuck up the very fabric of the cosmos, that is. But now that Z is very dead, we don’t need to worry about that anymore. Good job with that, by the way.”

Sabre nodded, pointing out, “Jinx deserves the accolades more than any of us.”

“Very true. That woman is fine with a capital F ,” Lucifer said, rubbing his hands together.

“That woman is taken,” Sabre stated blandly. “By the King.”

Lucifer shrugged. “Meh. You win some, you lose some. How lucky was it that you had someone on your team who could resist Z’s mind-control legacy?”

“Right … lucky,” Sabre said slowly. That unexpected little gem needed further dissecting. Jinx’s only power was shapeshifting into a tiger.

Lucifer winked at her. “Ask Jinx. She already knows why. But we digress. The fact of the matter is, my job is important, Sabre. Just as yours is.”

Sabre closed her mouth with a snap. She mulled over her options for a moment before deciding to go big. “Excuse me,” she said, brushing past him. “I need to go and tell a very pregnant hellhound that her old master doesn’t love her anymore and is glad she got lost.”

Lucifer gasped, clutching at his chest. “You wouldn’t!”

“Oh, I would,” Sabre promised him darkly. “And while I’m at it, I’ll be sure to tell her that her old master has the power to bring back her mate but refuses to do it because he wants to see her and her hell-pups suffer for all eternity.”

Lucifer’s face darkened, and he growled at her. Literally growled. Sabre watched as he paced back and forth angrily, muttering to himself in a language she didn’t understand. She let him have his man-tantrum as her heart pounded wildly in her chest. She knew this was her last shot to get Styx back.

Lucifer stopped abruptly, thrusting an indignant pointer finger in Sabre’s face. “Fine! You win this time, Sabre. But one day, there will be a time when you won’t be able to blackmail or threaten or bribe your way out of a situation.”

Sabre snorted, knocking his hand away. “Then I’ll maim or murder my way out of it.” Luca rolled his eyes, his lips twitching, and she knew their friendship would prevail. Her triumphant smile fell, and she cleared her throat. “But for real, Luca. I know I can’t solve everything with violence. I fell in love, remember? There was no way to exorcise my feelings for Brax. Trust me. I tried.”

Lucifer threw an arm around her shoulders. “You didn’t try very hard.”

Sabre pushed him away with a scowl. “Just for that, you’re going to have to share custody of the pups with Brax. For all his bitching about having hell-pups, he’s already in love with them.”

Lucifer groaned, dropping his chin to his chest. “Great. Shared custody with Purgatory’s goofy ex-King and General of the Demon Horde.”

“Perfect, huh?” Sabre chirped cheerfully.

“A dream come true,” Lucifer muttered.

Sabre laughed out loud. Considering she’d been fighting an evil enemy just minutes before, she felt really damn good.