Or should I go to Limbo and try to find him? Could I get any of the occupants of the underworld to help me? Lilith, maybe?
The sun was turning Sacramento a lovely lilac color as I took to the sky. I had cloaked myself so I wasn’t visible to humans, and I set off for Clegg Cycles, where Lilith lived with Quinn. I waited on the roof of a building across the street for her to appear.
What were my options, really? Could I accept that Jay and I were no more? How strong would the bond remain, or would it completely go away? The pain in my chest told me that wasn’t possible. I ached for Jay to be sitting by my side.
I enjoyed the jobs we’d done on behalf of the Celestial Council and Lucifer. They weren’t fun, but Jay made them feel that way. Patrolling supernatural beings and spirits was hard, but with Jay, it didn’t seem like work.
I was certain I couldn’t do the job alone, and I definitely didn’t want another mate. In my heart, it was only Jay.
Just as the sun came over the horizon, Lilith stepped outside the motorcycle shop and waved at me. I quickly jumped down and followed her to her fancy car. She unlocked it, and we sat inside.
“White lighter, what can I do for you?” She backed out of her spot and headed toward the street leading to Trent’s weird little shop.
“I’m surprised you haven’t heard. Jay summoned the powers of Hell. He’s now somehow a member of Lucifer’s family.”
Lilith slammed on the brakes. Thankfully, nobody was behind us.
Lilith’s head swung around. “He didwhat?”
“Yeah. We’re no longer a balanced pair. Beelzebub took him to Hell. I’m stuck here.”
Lilith and I weren’t exactly friends, but we had no issues with each other. Friendly acquaintances was more our vibe. We each had a reason for existing, though I wasn’t sure if I cared anymore.
“Honey, I don’t think that can be undone.”
“If I pledge loyalty to Lucifer and give up my place as a protector, can I go to Hell to be with Jay?” The tears came easily as I considered that option.
She pulled into the parking lot behind The Mystical Palm, turned off the car, and swiveled in her seat. “Why did he summon the powers?”
“It was that stupid warlock we talked about when you were at Jay’s place with Beelzebub. His powers were previously bound by a holy man, but someone broke the binding spell, and the warlock was immune to Jay’s powers. Suddenly, Jay remembered Lucifer telling him about calling on the powers of Hell if he got into a situation where he needed help, so he did it.”
“What were you trying to find out?”
I wasn’t sure if I should tell her, but I was quickly running out of options. “As we mentioned the other day, we were looking for confirmation of which prince fathered the demon before we went to Lucifer with the news. De Vil told us it was Lucifer himself. He went on to tell us that Lucifer claimed Vagar wasn’t intentional so he couldn’t be a prince of Hell.”
Lilith rolled her eyes. “Sounds like something Lucifer would say, but I don’t think it actually works that way. My children aren’t princes of Hell, and Lucifer is their father. I think he decides who gets to be a prince of Hell. I don’t think just because he fathered the demon it gets to be a prince. The bigger issue is why would he seduce or allow himself to be seduced by Apate? She’s the batshit crazy daughter of Nyx. Lucifer really doesn’t have the patience to deal with that much crazy. I think if she opened her mouth and pissed him off, he’d have eliminated her.
“Michael destroyed Vagar and ate his remains so he couldn’t be revived. The only person who seems to know who did the deed is the actual father, Apate, and the warlock. I think maybe there’s more to this story, angel. Don’t lose hope yet.”
That was easy for her to say.
Chapter Seven
Jay
“Welcome brother!” Verrine, the epitome of envy, greeted me enthusiastically. Belphegor, the sloth, gave a half-assed wave.
“Hey, guys. I guess you heard.”
“The whole place shook. It was so cool. Nobody’s ever been stupid enough to summon the powers before.” I turned to Beelz, who nodded that Verrine was right.
“Nobody?Ever?”
It was hard to believesomeonehadn’t done it before me. It had seemed like a brilliant idea in the heat of the moment.
“Yeah, well, I’m a risk-taker that way.” I left off the part about being an idiot. That part was implied in Verrine’s comment.
“So, what now? A meet-and-greet with my new daddy and then back to work with my mate?” No way did they miss the hopefulness in my voice.
