Page 81 of Lucifer's Redemption

The smoke stepped in front of me, now holding the shape of a person. It chuckled menacingly, throwing its head back in laughter. The screams of the children in the surf lessened as the waves continued to crash down on them. I tangled with the wind, as the invisible wall squeezed me tighter. The blackened clouds cracked, and deep red hues filling the cracks in the sky had me shaking my head in disbelief.

Where is Luci?

Animals from the forest scattered on the beach, each one pummeled to the ground by an invisible force. They cried in pain as they tried to flee the invisible entity holding them hostage.

“Stop!” I screamed, feeling the heat of ash falling around the beach, covering the beautiful porridge-colored sand that now looked like a dusty gray.

“What do you want?” I screamed. The smoke formed into a perfect, tall shadow. Deep red eyes bore into me as it crept closer.

“This!” Its thunderous voice echoed in the wind. The black hand pointed to a fuzzy scene of Earth: millions of screams, flashes of countless buildings toppling to the ground, people—men, women, and children—running for their lives. Mothers held their babies to their chests as they begged for mercy. The entire Earth realm was collapsing before my eyes.

“Make it stop!” I sobbed. My tears were sucked in by the smoke as it chuckled darkly. “How can I make it stop?” It drew closer to my face. The heat of the entity and its sulfurous breath made me gag.

“You can’t,” it taunted. “It will happen and once it does…” it paused as the wind let go of my arms.

I stared at my fingers; the scorching heat turned them black as it crept up my arm, slowly engulfing me up to my elbows. The wind pushed my fingers fiercely, catching the ash on them in its wake. The further the black soot covered me, the more my body disappeared.

“Stop!” My hands waving into the air only made them disappear faster. I was wasting away.

“No more innocence on Earth, therefore no need for a goddess,” it growled again. Lightning flashed, revealing my feet disappearing into the ash below me. I continued creeping up my body until only my head remained visible.

“Luci!” I screamed until it all faded to blackness.

Lucifer

Holding onto Uriel as she slept, I kept one eye open. Even if we were on an island with only the two of us, I continued to keep guard, never knowing if the evil after her would come. My nose went to her neck, tickling her, remembering her smell as her curves melted into me.

She was so perfect, such a wonderful surprise that I never thought I would encounter. My heart did not beat heavily with guilt and shame as it did before. Uriel accepted me for who I am, and she loved me.

I thought I would only ever know a parent’s love, more specifically my mother’s. She saw me for who I was. She saw how much I fought the darkness inside, and I never wanted to disappoint her. My finger brushed Uriel’s dark hair from her face. We both still lay naked in the mountains of pillows and blankets.

Her body stirred, and her brows furrowed as she gripped my waist. The hums exiting her were discontent as she began moving her body away from me—I wouldn’t let her. Being a selfish bastard, I held her tighter.

Can’t let her go now. Not ever.

She continued to wrestle, calling out my name several times before I decided to wake her. A bad dream must have infiltrated her mind, and I, being an idiot, did not realize it.

“Uriel,” I shook her, kissing her cheek to wake her, but her eyes stayed closed tight.

“Uriel!” I shouted again until those golden eyes looked back at me.

“Luci,” she breathed, putting her arms around my neck. Her heart pounded and beads of sweat now formed on her head. “I couldn’t find you!”

“Find me?” I questioned, pulling her away to study her beautiful face. “I’ve been here the whole time.”

Biting her lip, her head leaned back into my shoulder. “I must have had a bad dream,” she whispered, pulling me tighter. “A terrible nightmare. I woke up, and you were gone, and there was a storm over the ocean. Some black shadow-man made me disappear into the wind.” Her voice came out rushed as she gripped me even tighter.

“What happened? Tell me everything!”

Her words had my body constrict as she explained the nightmare down to the very last detail. My fists tightened, furious that I could not even protect her from a dream. Dreams are held in high regard in the supernatural and Celestial realms; they can predict the future, have deeper meanings, or could be used by a god to send a message—even to other gods.

“We’re going home,” I growled. “We need to stay within the confines of the palace until we can figure this out.”

Uriel didn't complain. She didn’t mind that we were leaving the place that she had wanted to visit for so long. Now her view of the ocean, the beach, the sand, and the time spent together was tainted by that damn nightmare.

This being, this shadow that loomed over her, it was the evil threatening her. It had to be. It was an obvious message announcing that it was coming for her. To destroy her. Along with it, humanity would be destroyed as well.

I knew I would not bring this destruction.I am not the impending evil, because my heart could never bear to hurt my Uriel.

---