30. Chapter Thirty

Iflopped backwards into the mat, completely and utterly exhausted. I ached all the way down to my bones and there was a dull throb behind my eyes.

“Well done, Lori,” Edwin said from his spot next to me. He sat cross legged on the mat, his chest heaving from the exertion.

“Thanks.” I said with a tired smile.

Edwin had seriously put me and my magic through the ringer, but it was totally worth it. I felt so much more comfortable with my magic. I knew I hadn’t mastered it completely, but I’d definitely gotten better at accessing it and controlling it.

“How are you feeling?” Edwin asked, his eyes watching me from under a dark pair of brows.

“Tired but good. Closer to feeling whole at least.”

He fixed me with a hard stare. “It’s not about forcing the magic to do what you want. You’re a conduit. You must let the magic flow through you and the ask it to do what you want. Treat your magic as a living thing and you’ll be alright.”

I nodded. “Thanks. This has helped a lot.”

“Good. It’s kind of been a crash course but I’m here to help if you need it. It’s not every day you get to train a Shadow Mage.”

“I can believe that,” I replied with a laugh. “Would you train me?”

His expression turned serious. “Yes. I would. We are so few that it’s important to learn as much as we can.”

“What about the other Shadow Mage? Where is he?”

“No idea,” he said bitterly.

“You know him?”

“Yes. You could say that. Well, as much as Tobias would let anyone know him.”

He said the words with such venom that I knew there must be more to their story, but I wasn’t going to ask. Edwin didn’t look like he wanted to talk about it.

I jumped to my feet. “Come on, let’s—”

It’s nearly time, little one…

I froze and my stomach dropped.

“Mordecai,” I gasped.

“Lori?”

I looked at Edwin, his eyes narrowed with concern.

“I can hear him. He—” A sharp pain speared my mind as an image of a cemetery burst into view. My knees crumpled beneath me, and I fell to the floor.

The mark on my chest burnt hot as I felt Lucifer trying to reach me.

The vision of the cemetery flew by, as if I were travelling through it at great speed. Oh, God. I was going to hurl.

A blast of air hit me followed by a rumble of large wings. Edwin yelled and there were some thuds, but I couldn’t see anything other than the mausoleum the vision had brought me to.

A huge weeping angel watched over the mausoleum, her face buried in her hands and her wings were folded and drooping behind her. My heart lurched. Pain. I could feel so much pain. But not mine.

It was Mordecai’s.

There was no name above the entrance. There had to be something to recognise where this was. Something that I could relay to the others.

But the vision started to blur and disappear.

See you soon, little one.

Mordecai’s voice faded with the vision and the training room came back into focus where Lucifer had Edwin pinned beneath him.

He looked magnificent. His wings were spread wide behind him as he knelt over Edwin who, to be fair, was putting up a good fight. Edwin’s shadows wrapped tighter around Lucifer, creeping slowly up the Devil’s arms as he held him back.

“Let him go, it wasn’t him.”

Lucifer snapped his eyes to me, fire burning brightly in them. “Then why are you in pain?”

Anger roiled in my stomach as I said the one name I was really starting to hate, “Mordecai.”

“What’s he done now?” Lucifer said as he released Edwin. The mage stood up and dusted himself off, scowling at the Devil.

“Let’s get everyone together and I’ll tell you.”

The common room was crammed full of people: Cassian, Saskia and Jasper sat on one sofa, Fenris and Torsten were stood by the fireplace, Rae was in a deep conversation with Alec and Edwin and Lucifer was wrapped around me like a snake. I think the incident in the training room had him worried.

“A cemetery?” Jasper asked. “That’s what you saw?”

“Yes,” I replied. “He showed me a particular mausoleum.”

“Which one?” Cassian said, his ice blue eyes sparking with anger.

“I don’t know,” I replied, feeling a little useless.

Lucifer pressed a kiss to my temple, and I sank further into his embrace.

“It’s okay,” he said, “just tell us what you saw. We can help figure it out.”

“Okay. It was a large cemetery,” I said, pulling the vision to the forefront of my mind. I described the angel and the feeling of pain and sorrow that still lingered with me.

“Was there a name or marker?” Saskia asked.

I shook my head. “Not that I could see. The plaque where a name should be was blank.”

“I wonder…” Lucifer mused.

I looked up at him, his brow furrowed over his dark eyes.

“Wonder what?”

His eyes found mine. “Elspeth.”

Realisation hit me like a freight train. “Of course. That explains the sorrow and pain I felt.”

Fenris looked at Lucifer and replied, “Do you know where her grave is?”

“No,” the Devil said with a shrug. “It could be anywhere. I never knew her burial place.”

“How did she die?” I asked.

Lucifer looked down at me, a sadness in his eyes and his jaw tight with an expression I couldn’t decipher. “Their love was complicated. It was pure in the beginning, and I was happy and proud that Mordecai had found her, that they shared something I didn’t, but as the years passed, Mordecai’s thirst for power grew. His mind darkened and soured his love for her. She despaired and pleaded with him to change, but he wouldn’t. His obsession clouded everything and eventually, it drove her to a desperate end.”

“She jumped off a cliff, didn’t she?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said slowly. “How did you know that?”

“I shared a dream with him once. A memory, but I don’t think it was a real one.” I remembered the way she’d fallen, the way Mordecai had screamed and the almighty, soul-consuming grief that Mordecai had felt. “I think it was from his torture down in the Pit.”

Lucifer hummed in thought behind me. “It’s possible.”

“If he was mad before he went into the Pit, what does that make him now?” Cassian probed.

“Unpredictable and unable to be reasoned with.” Lucifer held me tighter. I didn’t think he even realised he was doing it.

Jasper fixed his eyes on mine. “It makes him incredibly dangerous. We need to come up with a plan.”

“Yes,” I said solemnly, “but there are still a few things that I don’t understand. Like which Celestial is involved? And what are we going to do with the Witch Queen. Alec is right. She should pay for what she’s done.”

Lucifer’s body temperature rose behind me, his anger coursing through our bond. I risked a look back at him and, sure enough, his eyes were blazing.

I cupped his jaw and brought his gaze to mine. “Talk to me.”

“I never meant for any of this to happen. I just wanted the loneliness to stop.”

Tears welled in my eyes as I caught a glimpse of his vulnerability beneath all that rage. “I know. It’s not your fault, but we do need to stop him. We can’t let him destroy everything.”

“I know,” he replied bitterly.

“Let’s split into two teams,” Jasper started. “Alec, Lori, Rae, Cassian, and I will visit the Witch Queen. Lucifer, you take the others to the Upper Realm. We need to know what’s going on up there.”

“Are you giving me orders, Vampire?” Lucifer drawled.

“Yes. Now move your ass.”

“Ooh, are they going to fight,” Saskia stage whispered to Rae.

My best friend giggled. “Shall I get popcorn?”

I shot daggers at the pair of them. “Jasper, it’s a great plan. We can divide and conquer.”

“Fine,” Lucifer growled. “For you Lori, I will go. I will also talk to my brother Michael to see if he knows anything.”

“Good,” Jasper retorted.

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever happened to you two getting along?”

Saskia and Rae sniggered.

Lucifer pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “Stay safe, please.”

“I will.” I kissed him back quickly, then he was gone.

“I still can’t get over that,” Rae said with a smile.

“What?”

“That you’re with the Devil!” she said as she strolled forwards. “Whatever happened to the cocktail waitress who liked simple things?”

Jasper huffed a laugh. “She got kidnapped by a vampire.”