34. Chapter Thirty-Four

Iwas stood beneath an old oak tree, the gentle breeze tugging at my hair. There was something about this place that felt… familiar.

“Hello again.”

I spun around and found an old man sitting on a bench under the tree.

“Do I know you?”

He smiled, his eyes warm and kind. “We’ve met before.”

“Why don’t I remember you?”

“I created it that way. I’m supposed to be a construct, something for everyone. If I had a face that everyone knew, it wouldn’t be the same.” He chuckled and patted the seat next to him. “We have some things to discuss.”

I eyed the bench warily. What was I doing here? How did I even get here? What was ‘here’?

“You can trust me, Lori.”

As soon as he’d spoken the words, I knew them to be true. There was something pure about them, something honest. So, I sat down.

“We make an odd picture,” I said, looking at him dressed all in white and me in all black.

He laughed at that. “We do indeed.”

The heat of the sun settled on the back of my neck and a pleasant hum left my lips. How long had it been since I’d just been still?

“I’m sorry for they way things have turned out,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

“Why?”

“My only goal was to right a wrong, but I think I went about it in the wrong way.”

“You’re talking about Lucifer, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” The old man tilted his head back and closed his eyes, taking a moment to enjoy the sun like I was.

“You’re him, aren’t you? The Divine.”

He turned to look at me, his face full of sadness. His mouth was turned down, like it was too much effort to smile. “He was always my favourite, you know. I shouldn’t say that, apparently, I shouldn’t have favourites, but he was my first, and there was an honesty and purity about him that shone as brightly as the sun.” He took a deep breath, and I felt his sorrow as he exhaled. “But he never seemed satisfied. He was always looking for more.”

“So, you cast him out.”

“I had to,” he said with tears in his eyes. “He was challenging the very fabric of my creations; things were starting to unravel so I gave him somewhere he could create. Somewhere he could express himself as he truly wanted to. I never meant for him to feel unwanted, or unloved.”

“He feels rejected,” I said softly. “Some days he feels it keenly, especially when he’s with Michael. He feels unworthy of your love.”

“That’s not the case, Lori. But I am so glad he has your love. I can see it, you know. Here.” He pointed to where the mark sat on my chest.

Something clicked. “This is your magic, isn’t it?”

The old man smiled. “Yes. Only a true soul mate can make a mark like this appear. It was the most powerful and precious gift I could give him.”

“I do love him,” I said. “We had a rocky start but that was Lucifer being Lucifer, I guess. But, despite all his faults, or maybe because of them, I love him.”

The old man’s smile shone brightly, and tears of joy pooled in his eyes. “Thank you. Now, I’m going to give you some advice. I shouldn’t, because it could be upset the order of things, but I need to atone.”

“What do you mean?”

He gripped my hands tightly. “The key to your survival is harmony and balance. You are in three parts. You need to be one. Being a Triune is about balancing those three elements of yourself until you don’t know where one begins or the other ends. Remember that.”

The wind picked up around us. Time was running out. “Wait. What about the scintillam vitae? How do I use it?”

“Ah, the spark of life. It’s the gift only a Triune can wield, and you can gift it to a person only once. It takes power, focus and love, Lori.”

“But how do I—”

“It will come when you need it. Can you give Lucifer something for me?”

“Of course, anything,” I shouted as the wind began to howl.

The old man pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “Give him that, and tell him he is loved.”

Then he was ripped away from me as the world disappeared, torn apart by the wind, and everything went black as I was thrown back towards reality.

Ilanded on my feet inside the circle, the impact jarring my knees. I patted myself down to make sure everything was where it should be.

“Lori!”

I turned around and found Jasper staring at me with a thunderous expression on his face.

“Are you out of your fucking mind? Why the Hell did you jump?”

“I thought it was a good idea. And look, I’m fine.”

He sighed in exasperation. “Not the point. You can’t just jump into danger and hope for the best. I don’t care how powerful you are, you could have been killed.”

He was right, but in my defence, I thought his reasoning was sound. Wasn’t going to tell him that though. He might never voice an idea ever again.

“You’re right and I’m sorry. Let’s table this and talk about it later. Right now, we need to figure out how to save Iveri.”

He nodded but I knew he wasn’t going to let this go. I walked around Iveri, taking in every detail of the vines curled around her arms and legs. They looked solid and I touched the edge of my scythe to one. Sparks flew off the blade when I tired to slice it. Okay, the scythe was out so I sent it back to the shadows until I needed it again.

I held my hand over them. Perhaps my magic would react, but nope. Nothing. I could feel the magic, but I couldn’t make any sense of it.

…focus, power and love.

The words circled my brain like a whisper, and I closed my eyes, trying to reach out and remember more but they were gone.

“Of course,” I gasped.

“What?” Jasper said.

“I know how to save her.”

Jasper raised a dark eyebrow. “And it just came to you, like an epiphany.”

“No,” I said, “like Divine inspiration.”

I rushed to Iveri’s side and dug deep into my core. This was likely going to take everything I had and then some, but I had to try.

“What are you doing?” Jasper panicked as he walked around the circle until he stood opposite me.

“I’m going to try and used the life spark.”

“No. Absolutely not. You’ve no idea what you’re doing.”

I didn’t have the first clue what I was doing, but something inside of me said I was going to be okay. That this would work.

“Hold on,”I said to my demon. “This might be a bumpy ride.”

I’m with you,she said, and I felt something squeeze against my hand.

“Lori, stop!”

“This is the only way. Don’t you see, Jasper? The siphon is draining the magic that is keeping her in this state. If I can change it, make her mortal, then the siphon will stop.”

“I don’t like it,” he grumbled.

“I know,” I said earnestly, reaching for my magic and asking for its help, “but I have to try. Just be ready to catch us.”

“Wait, what?”

I didn’t respond. Instead, I pulled everything I could to the place behind my solar plexus. I could feel the power building, growing bigger as I focussed my energy on channelling the magic, the power of the Sin Reaper and my vampire strength into it. My whole body hummed with electricity, every cell vibrating and making my body tingle to the point of pain.

Sweat peppered my brow, my head felt like knives were slicing against my skull and still I poured more into it. Until all the magic and power was swirling like a giant fireball in my chest. Then, I fuelled it with love. I thought about my men, their smiles, their love for me. How blessed I was, how fucking lucky that I got to share my love with them…

Then, I exploded. It burst from me like a sonic boom, and I couldn’t hold back the scream that ripped from my throat. White light filled the room, blinding in its brilliance. My knees buckled, too weak to keep me upright. But I kept going. I slammed my hand onto her chest, above where her heart should be and I pushed the light toward Iveri, channelling it into her until it was all gone.

The vines fell away from her, the circle runes flashed and flickered, then died. Iveri dropped to the ground with a thud. I followed her down, my chest heaving, my breaths the only noise in the dark room.

Then I heard it. A slow, resolute thud. I felt it beneath my fingertips, the echo vibrating through her chest. I lifted my head, holding my breath, not even daring to move. There it was again.

“Holy shit,” Jasper whispered, no doubt picking up the sound of Iveri’s now beating heart. “You did it.”

Then he rushed to my side, cupped my face, and kissed me for all he was worth.