Page 73 of An Unexpected Ascension
“Lynx—”
“Lucifer,” I growl.
“Hermes,” he corrects himself, “will be departing in two days' time?—”
“Tonight. I have to stop by the city,” I grumble.
“May I or would youlike to finish?” He chuckles.
“You’re coming with me.” I direct towards Briar without so much as a look.
Lucifer’s hands fold in his lap as he sits back assessing her reaction.
“Where are we going?”
That heartbeat fills the silence of the room again: buh-bum, buh-bum, buh-bum. But rather than anger, it’s fear that I scent.
“On a quest to find something. I’ll tell you all about it on the way.”
“Aren’t we just teleporting?”
“I’m sorry?” I snort, the word foreign to me.
“Like when you disappear and reappear somewhere else?”
“No. My abilities are merely borrowed and with use, it can diminish Lucifer’s energy quickly. Besides, there are blind spots in our worlds where even the Gods have no power. We’ll walk by foot. I hope Heaven hasn’t instilled a false sense of endurance in you because it’s a long journey.”
“You’ll be fine, Briar. Hermes will build a camp for when you need to rest.” Lucifer’s gaze snaps to mine as he says my name.
I shrug. “Sure.”
“Now leave us,” he dismisses.
There’s a hefty silence that fills the room again, and when I lift my head from sipping my tea, I find two sets of eyes boring into me.
“Me?” I scoff.
“Yes, you!” Lucifer laughs.
“You’ve always had too soft a heart, my God,” I mumble, obeying orders.
Chapter 24
The Angel
“This quest, there may be danger involved. The object we’re looking for isn’t well known, but it does exist here somewhere in Hell. From what I’ve gathered, it’s in the exact same place where the Tree of Knowledge sits, but parallel. Heaven and Hell are mirrored, two halves of a whole world but separated so thoroughly that they exist together on two different planes,” Lucifer explains. “Now, it’s only my assumption, but it’s a start. We don’t have long to collect this object before we strike our first act of war.”
“What does this object look like?”
“It’s something of bone, buried perhaps. We are not entirely sure. I was gifted a vision from the tree; an object with the power of everlasting death, but that’s where I lost connection.”
Slumped over my plate, I bite into a pastry, the flakey crumbs sticking to my lips.
“Why am I going?”
“Over the centuries, I’ve had visions. Some profound, others simple and meaningless, but visions all the same. Flashes of history, of creation, of secrets. All gifted from the Tree, seemingly endless. I believe you will have the same.”
“If that’s so, then why don’t you go yourself?”
