Page 37 of An Unexpected Ascension
My blade faintly tears across the leathers protecting this chest.
“And you would be dead.”
“If I could die at all.” He chuckles, now working for a steady breath.
A minor misstep, a trip wire in my own brain rendering me invalid for all of two seconds while Lucifer’s razor-sharp blade glides across the side of my neck. Blood gushes, wetting me wholly, drenching my leathers and my hands, making it too slippery to bother fighting back.
The God of Hell sighs, halting while I hold the wound on my neck.
Within moments, the laceration clears, the skin zipping together, leaving a scar. Lucifer’s brow quirks in curiosity.
“Adds to my charm,” I explain, running a finger over the raised skin.
“You deserve that too. Get out of that head of yours.”
Dropping my weapon that now drips with crimson, it clanks against the concrete floor.
“Yeah, I’m working on it.”
The blood dirtying Lucifer’s blade vanishes before the sword itself disappears into the Aether. My eyes drift to the puddle of my making as he strips himself of his leathers.
“I know all too well what it’s like to become a victim to your own dark thoughts. I miss my life, Lynx. I miss the love that it once held. Every breath I take down here, every faux beat of my heart is torture knowing the reason for it all has been stolen.”
“I know,” I whisper, bringing my gaze to meet his.
Those dark brown eyes glisten with rage and hurt. I want so badly to make it all go away for him because the universe knows I will never have that opportunity for myself.
“Each meeting of our swords is another moment wasted; another moment my soul’s purpose remains captive.”
“I—”
“I don’t tell you this for your pity, just as a reminder that patience and practiced focus is necessary. This is Hell, there will always be another plague to infect you, but you must fight throughits hold.” His eyes rove over me and he chuckles. “Go clean up, you brute.”
I wave him off.
“You love the sight of it. What will you do once I get that new sword, huh?”
“I’ll win again. Unless your new weapon is inside that head of yours.”
Snorting, I stalk off down the stairs to clean myself off.
Chapter 13
The Angel
Isummon my internal clock, counting down the days to work off my penance. Must be a habit from when I was alive because the days do not turn into nights and the months do not turn into years. We merely just exist and I’m slowly getting used to it.
Without the need to sleep, there’s more time to repent. More time to hang out with Jessie and Will. To take jogs around the endless blocks with Anthony. Avoid Sarah May at the market who still insists I tour her new house. More time to let John blither away about all those terrible thoughts inside his head.
I found spending most of my time with the kids at the orphanage keeps me plenty busy. Watching them grow and learn, it almost makes me feel alive.
Over the last few months here – yes, I’ve been keeping track – I have seen a baby age into a toddler and a toddler into a child. It’s strange, watching time tick by in some magical form of life while everyone and everything else sits still.
I’ve managed to avoid Galsip Falls, also avoiding the demon, but a part of me yearns to go back if only to see my mother. My memorybank at home is like trying to sift through DVDs that aren’t in the right cases. Scattered and frustrating.
“Phillip, don’t climb on that!” I gasp.
Handing over the baby in my arms to Jessie, I nearly leap the entire distance of the room, catching the three-year-old boy as his foot slips from the bookshelf. He giggles as we both fall to the floor, him landing against my chest, my head bouncing off the ground.
