Lucy, Fallen (8 page)

“Off of your knees Dev, we’re equals now. Yes, I will be your eternal bride,” I said pulling him to his feet.

He grabbed me by the side of my face and kissed me passionately. I knew that we had more pressing matters at hand, like finding Keilyn and I needed to save the last of us so if we were going to do this ceremony we would have to do it quickly.

“M
icah, I know what we do on our end, so I think we should let them go first. It’ll help me heal faster to do our part of the rituals last,” I said.

“Agreed. Arissa? Hadrian? Which of you will be presiding over the rituals representing the devils?” He asked looking at them in turn.

“May I?” Arissa asked Hadrian. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he replied with a smile.

Arissa smiled and closed her eyes.  When she reopened them they were the a shade darker than the ice blue eyes Deveraux had when he attacked the Thunderbird. She looked to the ground and with a small ball of fire that had suddenly appeared in her hand, she cast a circle around us. The flames were intensely hot and burned brightly. Hadrian had pulled Micah safely out of the circle and handed him an athame.

“Who do you bring inside the fire of the hells for all eternity to be your one true bride?” she asked Deveraux in dual vocals.

“My most precious, sweet Lucy,” he responded gently shoving me toward Arissa.

Man these devils are scary when they’re ... devilish.

Arissa took the athame that Hadrian handed her and gave it to me, “Do you accept the fire of the hells? Do you accept this Elder devil as your groom? Do you accept and submit to all of his will and desire?”

“Yes,” I said.

She placed the athame in my hand and asked, “Who do you bring inside the fire of the hells for all eternity to be your one true groom?”

“My heart. My love. My master. Deveraux,” I replied as he took his place next to me.

Arissa then took the athame out of Micah’s hand and gave it to Deveraux: “And do you accept the fire of the hells? Do you accept this sovereign angel as your bride? Do you accept and submit to all of her will and desire?”

“Forever,” he answered.

“Present your left hand to your groom,” she said to me.

I held my hand out and Dev took the athame and drew the blade across my hand, drawing blood. Arissa directed me to do the same to him. Then she reached for the flames surrounding us and took them back into her hand.

“By the fire of the hells, I sanctify this ritual in blood and fire,” she said as she placed our hands on top of each other and engulfed them in flames.

The flames became so bright that I leaned back and folded my still healing wings as far back as I could so they wouldn’t catch fire. When the flames died down, I opened my eyes again and saw Arissa smiling, her eyes normal again, with Hadrian behind her and Dev looking at me with a grin.

I looked around for Micah who was standing by himself, opposite the three of them, behind me looking somber.

“I can’t believe I just witnessed that,” he said quietly.

“It’s what needs to be done, my friend,” I reassured him softly.

He looked at the devils, “Our part of the ritual will take place in a few hours, when the shadow dawn has risen.”

I watched him walk away alone, and I felt his sadness. He knew that even though it was what needed to be done that I would most likely be stripped of my titles and now it would be harder than ever for me to be able to go home. My heart hurt, but not for me. It hurt for Micah, whom out of all of us in the sky was my dearest friend.

“I’ll go keep him company,” Hadrian said as he walked by me.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll find some food and shelter for us then,” Arissa said as she walked in the opposite direction.

I stood there with Dev who was looking at me, still with the same grin, but also with curiosity.

“Sovereign?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

I blushed and nodded.

“Of which?”

“The ninth. It’s the Enigmas and Mysteries and it was given to me.”

“So does this make me... you know?”

“Yes, while I still have it,” I responded.

“Take me?”

I looked at him. There was nothing left to see and the place was probably riddled with Thunderbirds and...

Oh my God.

“You’re brilliant Dev, brilliant!” I yelled.

“Usually yes,” he said with a laugh, “but what are you talking about?”

“We have to get Micah to perform our half of the marriage ritual now. I know where they’re hiding Keilyn,” I excitedly.

“What? Where?” he asked confused.

“Above,” I said softly.

D
ev looked at me like I had lost my mind. I knew what he was thinking that there was no way that the Thunderbirds would inhabit the Above, but I knew in my heart that’s where they were.

“Don’t you understand? That’s the last place that we would look for them. It’s the perfect place to take her. After they attacked your home looking for me, they saw I was protected by devils and know that the Above would be the most dangerous place for me to go. I know she’s there, Dev. I just
know
it.”

“There’s no way I’m letting you go up there, you know that don’t you?”

“Damn it Deveraux! This is not the time to do this! That is
my
territory and I know how to navigate it better than they ever will. You’re not going to keep me from going to the Above to save Keilyn. This will probably be the last time I ever see it and I’m
going
whether you go or not. Now I’m going to get Micah and we’re going to do through our half of the marriage ritual so that I can heal and I
am going back to the Above!
” I finished with a shout.

He looked hurt for a moment but conceded and went with me to the sulphur springs to where Micah was sitting with Hadrian and Arissa. The two of them were sitting there while he told them stories about things he had seen since the dawn of time. They looked like young attentive children as they sat there enthralled by his stories. He looked up when he saw me and smiled, but it quickly faded when he saw the look of determination on my face.

“Perform the ritual. I don’t have time to explain. Just perform it,” I said.

Micah nodded and stood up, telling Hadrian and Arissa that they would need to stand as far away from us as they could or be badly scarred from the ritual. Curiously they looked at him and then me, before heading to the edge of the springs and watched as Micah blessed the springs then asked Deveraux and I to step into them. He stood on one of the boulders directly in front of us, with his wings spread and blessed us together before he began. I could hear Dev growl slightly next to me.

“May the heavens rejoice and bestow Thirteen and Deveraux with the gifts of the Ninth Heaven of Enigmas and Mysteries. May they reign together in pure harmony and peace and know no sorrow, no pain, and no loss. Join hands,” he instructed us.

He blessed us again which caused Dev to flinch and growl again, “Deveraux, this Sovereign of the Ninth Heaven is giving her heart and soul to you in the purest of love. Do you accept her as she is and swear to love only her? Do you swear to be by her side always and never behind or in front of her? Do you swear to give her yourself in the purest of love, heart and soul?”

“Yes,” he said his vocals starting to show signs of duality, which clearly meant possession.

Again, Micah blessed us before he started, “Thirteen, this Lord of Hell is giving his heart and soul to you in the purest of love. Do you accept him as he is and swear to love only him? Do you swear to be by his side always and never behind or in front of him? Do you swear to give him yourself in the purest of love, heart and soul?”

“Always,” I replied squeezing Dev’s hand to let him know it was almost over.

Micah spread his wings and his arms to the skies, “May the Above bestow blessings on you both and this union until there is no life left on either plane. The Above, Earth, and The Below. May you both find the true love in the light and blessings of the heavens.”

Micah closed the ritual by blessing us again and Deveraux lost it. He lunged at him and Hadrian had to pull him off. I knew it wasn’t his fault. As a devil, being blessed as many times as he was just now and standing in a spring of blessed water... he was bound to attack one of us.

“Easy, Dev,” Hadrian said as he gripped him firmly around the chest and pulled him toward the edge of the springs. “It’ll stop soon and you’ll be okay. Easy.”

I looked at Micah with worry but he shook his head to let me know that he harbored no ill will toward my groom. I heard Dev behind me growling loudly in dual tones, fighting against Hadrian and Arissa, and I refused to look at him. I could only imagine what a devil looked like in this state and that was enough for me.

“Micah, I know where they’re hiding the little devil girl,” I said taking this opportunity to let him know my plan.

“Where?” he asked rubbing his neck.

“The Above.”

Micah gasped and looked up, “Why didn’t I think of that? Of course they would! Because that would drag you out of hiding and they assume that you’re the last angel alive. Thirteen, this is going to be dangerous. Beyond dangerous. You have my sword. To the end.”

“Thank you my friend.”

“There’s something you should know first,” he said looking at me uneasily.

“Go ahead.”

“I ... I know where there’s a small group of angels hiding. It’s not all of the ones that have gone into hiding, but I know where they are and they said that if they could find one reason to go back in and reclaim the Above they would. If I rally them, we can charge the Thunderbirds, but I have to tell them the truth; that it’s to save a devil child.”

I looked at Micah. I was shaking. I couldn’t believe he had kept this from me and allowed us to fight just the four of alone, against Thunderbirds. I wanted to cut his wings off. I wanted to cut his hands from his body. I wanted to grab his sword that he promised to me and drive it through him.

Oh God, the devil ritual is starting to claim me. Deep breaths Luce, deep breaths.

“Where are they?” I asked quietly.

“In the city ruins. That’s why the Thunderbirds are keeping such a tight watch on this island because they know they’re here, they just don’t know where,” he said.

I took a deep breath and nodded. I turned finally and saw Dev sitting on the floor with his head in his hands with Hadrian and Arissa on either side of him making sure he was okay. He looked up at me and mouthed
I’m sorry
. I smiled at him and motioned him over to us. He looked at Hadrian who helped him up and held onto him while he walked over to us.

“Tell them,” I commanded Micah.

“There is a small group of angels hiding in the ruins here. That’s why the Thunderbirds are so active around this island. They’re searching them out to destroy them. If we’re going to storm Above to save the devil child, we’ll need their help. Especially since I’m not entirely sure that the three of you will be able to sustain the feeling of being up there.”

“Micah, I will not let my bride out of my sight. To tell me that you’re going to storm the Above to save Keilyn is quiet noble of you, but you must understand that you will need devils to help you as well. Let me send for a small faction from my house and then once both sides realize that we are working together, we will go up and get the girl. That is my bargain and that is what I will stand by. Accept it or Lucy stays here.”

“Then I don’t have much of a choice do I?” Micah said sarcastically. “I’m off to get the angels Thirteen, would it be okay if I took one of the devils with me?” he asked Dev.

“If they want to go yes,” he responded.

“I’ll go,” Hadrian said. He gave Arissa a loving, sweet kiss, before disappearing into the city ruins with Micah.

“Then I’ll go gather the faction, Lord Deveraux. I’ll return with a strong group, I swear it,” she said.

“I trust that Arissa,” he responded.

Nodding she took a deep breath and dove into the sulphur springs that no longer held the blessings of our ritual and disappeared.

“What do we do now?” Dev asked.

“Wait.”

A
rissa returned through the springs with a strong group of devils. Male and female equally and they looked like they were ready for a war. While we waited for Micah and Hadrian to return, Deveraux explained to them that there were angels on the way that were not to be harmed and were our allies. He also told them the good news of our eternal union. While the news of the angels made them uneasy, the news of our union made them all seem a bit happier about the situation. Micah and Hadrian returned a few moments later with angels from my realm. I was so happy that I ran to them and they all surrounded me happily shouting happily that I was still alive. Their combined rejoicing was enough to finish fixing the holes in my wings. It was when I stepped back and they saw them though that they faltered. Micah said he had explained everything to them and that Hadrian backed up the story. The angels accepted that their Sovereign was now joined with a devil, but the color of my wings still shocked them.

“We’ll have to carry them,” Zahara said looking at the devils.

Isaiah walked over to Deveraux and looked at him before lifting him to see if they would be able to handle the weight. I was obviously the only one of us strong enough to carry Hadrian, so by testing Dev it would give them an idea. He used his wings to lift them both off the ground and glided around the island with him a few times then brought him back.

“It’s doable. Everyone pair up with a devil,” he said.

“Wait,” I said as they began to group together.

Everyone looked at me expectantly.

“If this gets to be too much to bear I want you to leave,” I said to the devils. “And if it gets to dangerous, I want you to leave as well,” I said to my angels.

“Agreed,” came the mumbles.

I knew the devils were too proud to leave, and the angels were too angry to have been chased out of the Above to retreat without reclaiming it.

“You have to promise the same thing,” Dev said looking at me gravely.