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“Okay, so we have the bullet moulds, Maze and I will go down and give them to the smith.” Lucifer extended his wings and gathered Maze into his arms.
“Amenadiel, how long do you think it will take them? Never mind.” Said Chloe.
Lucifer and Maze reappeared in the same spot they had left seconds ago, this time carrying a large wooden crate between them.
“This will do to start but I have the smith working on another box, should we need them,” Lucifer said as he and Maze set the crate down by the bar.
“Any new information regarding why this group of demons have left hell?” Asked Chloe.
“No. The rest of them are either too frightened to talk or not frightened enough. I didn’t want to waste time finding out which it is. I think we need to speak to the demons who have made the trip up here and confront them.” Lucifer sat down in one of the large tan leather chairs and took the drink Maze passed to him. “Amenadiel, can you and Maze take the crate down and put it in Chloe’s car? We’ll join you shortly.”
When they were alone Lucifer got up to go sit by Chloe’s side. “I think you should stay here, detective.”
“What? No way, Lucifer. I’m going with you.” What the hell did he think he was playing at?
“Dan will be there.” Lucifer put his glass down on the coffee table, then took both of her hands in his. “What if something happens to you, to both of you? What would happen to Trixie?”
“Dan and I have both been cops for a long time, Lucifer. Long before I met you. We know the risks.”
“Agreed, detective, but the odds of you both getting killed have shortened considerably in recent days.”
“With the hell forged ammo we have an advantage, Ella, Dan and I can stay further away from the action and still play a part. I’m not letting you fight them without me, Lucifer and that’s final.” Chloe pulled her hands away and folded her arms.
“Very well, detective. If something happens to me, I …”
“It won’t,” interrupted Chloe.
“If it does. You know the only place for me to go is hell. I’m not sure I would be able to come back, not in this form anyway.” Lucifer grabbed her hands again and squeezed then tighter than before. “I might be trapped down there forever.”
“Then you’d better make sure you don’t get killed.” Chloe pulled her hands away again and placed them on his face. “Don’t make me do something worthy of damnation just to stay with you, Morningstar, okay?”
“I’ll do my best, detective. Call Dan and have him and Ella meet us in the parking lot as soon as possible.” Lucifer knew when he was beaten. They kissed, briefly, then went down in the elevator to join Maze and Amenadiel.
--0--
The five of them drove out into the hills to the spot where Maze had tracked the demons. It was secluded and the track leading towards the spot looked seldom used. They could hide out there for quite some time, unlucky for them Maze was an amazing tracker.
“They’re holed up down there.” Maze pointed towards a small river valley. “I counted thirty- two but I’m pretty sure there were more of them further into that stand of trees. I couldn’t risk getting closer to check, didn’t want to let them know I’d found them.”
“Okay, good work Maze. So, what do we do now?” Chloe turned to Lucifer for guidance.
“Nothing. Amenadiel and I will go down there and talk to them first.” Lucifer rolled his shoulders and produced his wings, his brother followed suit.
“What!” Maze asked astounded. “They’re demons, what the hell are you going to talk about? The weather?”
“You’re a demon too, Maze,” Lucifer reached up to gently touch her cheek. “I think we should at least give them the chance to go back to Hell of their own volition.” He’d had enough of killing and if there was a way to end this peacefully he would. He nodded at Amenadiel and they flew off together towards the valley.
Maze turned to look at Chloe, “This is your fault. You’ve changed him too much. If he gets himself killed down there, friend or not, you’d better start running.”
Chloe nodded at her. “Trust me, Maze. If he dies you won’t need to do anything.” Chloe was pretty sure that if Lucifer fell the world was done for. If she ran, it would only be as far as Linda’s house to be with Trixie.
Dan and Ella walked towards them carrying the ammo box and guns. They each took a weapon and spare bullets and sat down on the top of the ridge to wait. What seemed like hours later Amenadiel and Lucifer landed beside them.
“How did it go?” Dan was the first to ask.
"Well, it was confusing, to say the least,” Amenadiel replied.
“It would seem they want to claim refugee status, they say all they want is to stay away from people and out of trouble.” Lucifer sat down on the ammo box.
“Do you believe them?” Asked Chloe.
“No.” Lucifer shook his head, he didn’t know what they wanted but living peacefully in a wooded valley in California was certainly not it.
“Well, at least that’s something, you two were down there so long I thought you were inviting them back for beer and pizza!” Maze spat the words at them.
“So we ‘persuade’ them to go back to hell.” Dan took out his gun and put on his vest, he handed one to both Chloe and Ella. He wasn’t sure how effective a vest would be against demons but they were better than nothing.
“Maze. A word.” Lucifer walked off to the side away from the others.
“What?” Maze was practically bouncing from one foot to the other.
“I know why you’re so angry, Maze, but you have to calm down a little, at least with us. We are all on the same side here, okay?” Lucifer reached out and took her hand. “I know how they treated you in hell and I know you see this as a way to settle old scores but going into battle, if that’s what we have to do, in this frame of mind could get you killed.”
“They came for Linda’s baby, they’ll drag both of us back down there and this time there’ll be no escape. At least not for me.” Maze pulled her hand away.
“Maze, I’d never let them keep you there, you know that. We protected each other in hell and we have to do the same thing here on earth. Dromos is gone and so are all his followers, these demons have a different agenda, I’m sure of it.”
“They are all still demons, the same bastards that hunted me for eons, never giving me any peace until I ran into you, Lucifer, they should be punished.” Maze waved her blades in his face for emphasis.
“You quite literally ran into me, you were a scrap of a thing back then.” Lucifer smiled at her. “Although, if I recall correctly, you bit me.”
“I did. I thought I was finished when I realised who you were.” Maze nodded at Lucifer, “Okay. I’ll play along with whatever plan you come up with.”
“Good. Thanks, Maze. Let’s get back to the others and figure something out.”
“If they want a fight, then I say let’s give it to them.” Dan moved to stand beside Lucifer. “We have the element of surprise, they don’t know about the hell forged bullets, they literally won’t know what’s hit them.”
“Agreed.” Lucifer turned to his brother and guided him a short distance from the group. “Amenadiel, I want you to promise to take care of Chloe if anything happens to me, don’t let her do anything rash or stupid. Do I have your word?”
Amenadiel nodded and took Lucifer’s hand in his. “You do, brother.”
Lucifer, Amenadiel and Maze made their way to the far side of the valley so that they could attack the demons at close quarters.
The three humans moved slowly down the hill towards the valley using the small trees and brush as cover, picking off demons as they went. The battle was bloody but short. Just as Dan had predicted, the demons never saw the bullets coming. They were disorganised, little more than a rabble.
“Like shooting fish in a barrel!” Dan shouted gleefully as he took out another demon with a perfectly timed headshot.
As the bodies piled up, a small group of demons made a dash for freedom towards the hills. Lucifer spotted them and flew ahead to cut them off. He landed in front of them and allowed his face to change, the group faltered and Lucifer took the opportunity to shout, “Go home now and I won’t pursue you, you won’t be punished, you have my word on that.”
At first, it seemed they might comply but then they rushed towards Lucifer. For a brief moment, they got the upper hand and swarmed over him but he fought back and eventually triumphed. When the last one lay broken on the floor Lucifer, bloodied and bruised, made his way back to the others.
Chloe rushed to his side. “Is that it, are they all dead?”
Dan placed a final shot into a fallen demon at his feet. “They are now.”
“Is everyone okay?” Lucifer spoke to the group. Everyone nodded.
“That was insane!” Ella threw her hand in the air and high fived Dan. “Now, what do we do with all the bodies? I suggest a pyre then a nice deep hole.”
As the others started to collect the corpses Chloe took Lucifer’s hand and led him to a fallen tree branch at the side of the valley. “Let me take a look at you.” She started to remove his jacket.
“I’m fine, detective.” Lucifer batted her hand away.
“I saw the way you were holding your side, Lucifer. I know you’re hurt.” Chloe touched his shoulder.
“Okay, just not here. Wait until we get home, I don’t want Amenadiel to worry.” Lucifer stood up using her shoulder to push against.
Chloe followed him as he made his way towards the others if he didn’t want Amenadiel to worry it meant there was something to worry about. He was walking far too slowly, she knew him well enough to see that he was in pain, real pain. All she wanted to do was take him home but she knew he was too stubborn to leave until everything had been sorted at the battle site. Several hours later, the fire had almost burnt itself out and all that was left were a few scorched bones and ash.
Ella fetched some body bags from her car. “It’ll take a while for the remains to cool enough to use these but then we can fill them up and dispose of them.”
The light was fading fast as Dan turned to Chloe, “This could take all night, why don’t you call Linda and ask if she minds keeping Trixie there for the rest of the night?”
Chloe nodded and took out her phone. Trixie was having a great time playing with Charlie and seemed more than happy to stay until morning. Lucifer had moved away from the group again and was sitting on the grass holding his side.
“Let’s go home, Lucifer. The others can deal with this now. Please.” Chloe offered her hand and Lucifer let her help pull him to his feet.
“Soon.” Lucifer walked over to Amenadiel. “Can you finish up here?”
Amenadiel nodded. “Go home, Luci.” He hadn’t missed the awkward way Lucifer was walking either. He waved at Chloe as she helped Lucifer climb the hill back towards their car.
--0--
A quiet groan escaped Lucifer’s lips and he screwed up his eyes in pain.
“I should go. You’ll heal a lot quicker without me here.” Chloe helped Lucifer walk across the penthouse towards the bedroom.
“Please don’t leave.” Lucifer reached out and took her hand. “Please.”
“Okay. Let’s see if we can get you out of these clothes and into the shower.” Chloe very gently started to undress him. He was covered in wounds, one particularly vicious looking cut slashed across his right side, it was deep enough to be a real concern. “If you won’t let me leave you, then maybe we should get Linda over here to take a look at that, you might need stitches.”
“As Linda is fond of telling me, she’s ‘not that kind of doctor’, detective.” Lucifer checked out the wound on his side. “I’ve had worse, give me a few hours and I’ll be fine, even with you here. It’s already stopped bleeding.” He leant heavily on her as they made their way to the bathroom.
“I need to pee.” Lucifer turned towards the toilet, he tried letting go of Chloe but soon realised he needed her support in order to stand. “Sorry,” he apologised.
Chloe simply shook her head and let him rest his weight on her as he relieved himself. When he was finished, she put the lid down and sat him on the toilet and then took off her clothes. Once in the shower, Chloe quickly and efficiently washed his hair and body. She ran her hands over his sides checking for broken ribs and any other injuries.
Lucifer gently moved her hands away. “Don’t fuss, I told you I’ll heal.” He turned off the water and let her help him dry.
Chloe helped him put on pyjama bottoms and get into bed. “I’ll be right back.” She left him, briefly, to grab a top and pair of sweatpants from her drawer in the dressing room.
“I can’t do this anymore, detective.”
Chloe felt as if someone had poured ice water into her veins, she held her breath waiting for him to continue. When he didn’t, she felt compelled to press him even though she was terrified of what he might say. “Do what?”
“Rule hell, protect the earth, be The Devil…all of it. I can’t go on. I just can’t.” Lucifer brought his arm up and covered his eyes. “I’m done.”
“You’re tired, Lucifer.”
“I’m beyond tired, Chloe. We only won by the skin of our teeth this time, due in no small part to Daniel and his hell forged bullets. If the demons try again if they continue to challenge me, especially if they do so in greater numbers, I’ll have no choice but to change back, to allow my full powers to return.”
“I don’t understand.” Chloe sat on the bed and took his free hand in hers.
“It’s true what they say about absolute power. Eons ago I felt myself changing, the power corrupting me and so I started to dial it back. So much so that now, I am pretty much on a par with the angels or demons.”
“But you are an angel, aren’t you?” Chloe was beyond confused.
“No, not exactly. I’m an archangel and as such am much more powerful, or I was. It’s not who I am now and I never want to be that again. I quit, do you hear that dad? I quit.” Lucifer reached out for Chloe with both arms and held her to his chest. “I’m not playing his games anymore, let someone else dance for him from now on.”
Chloe stretched up and kissed him gently on the cheek. “I agree, you’ve done enough, you deserve a rest.” She moved to the side and pulled him into her arms, letting him rest his head on her breast. She slowly ran her fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp just the way he liked.
“Mmm, that’s nice.” Murmured Lucifer. “I’m afraid I’m not in the mood for much else, though.”
“I’d be more worried about you if you were,” Chloe kissed the top of his head. “Get some sleep and if you wake up during the night and feel a little better I’m sure I can do something to improve your mood.”
“Okay. I’ve been thinking that it might be nice to get away for a while, maybe Europe, just you, me and Trixie. We can talk about it in the morning.”
The balcony doors suddenly swung open and a strong wind swirled around the room.
“Bollocks.” Lucifer looked up at the night sky as a sudden flash of lightning illuminated the room. When its light faded a dark figure stood in the open doorway.
“Hello, Samael.”
“Hello, dad.”