Again, with the loud laugh. “No. That is a human weakness I plan to remove. Your lives will be much easier, and you will worship me for making them so.”
“What about that good feeling you get when you help someone or pet an animal? That feeling when you meet the person meant for you? The thrill of an accomplishment you worked hard to achieve?” I thought of things my dad had taught me to do and how my mother had helped the families of our guests when they were in the darkest hours of their lives.
Remembering those things gave me a warm feeling inside. I truly wanted to be there when Grace said her first word or took her first step. Watching Dash teach her to ride a bike would be the most beautiful thing in the world.
There was a loud roar as Dash flew into the air and tackled Erebus. My husband looked rabid as he tried to bite the demon anywhere he could. Erebus was spinning and trying to get Dash off him, but my husband held on tightly.
“Gatekeeper, when the Key dies, you die with him. Who will care for your daughter then? You may have broken the spell, butit won’t matter when you no longer exist. You won’t be one of the lucky ones who is reborn. Or maybe they’re unlucky. I suppose that depends on the level of torture they enjoy.”
Nyx was smug, and I hated smug people.
“Why do you believe your way is best? Didn’t the Creator intend for us to have free will? To make our own choices? Hell, you chose to pick this fight. You could have just stayed in your corner of the underworld and gone about your business, but clearly, you wanted something else.”
Nyx shook her head. “You’re right, but my fight has nothing to do with you. Your Human Realm is inconsequential. My fight is with Lucifer. He scorned me and refused to allow me to rule by his side. We could have made a great team, but he was selfish. He wanted all the power for himself.”
I wasn’t well-versed in theological history, but I remembered going to a Bible school camp when I was a kid. “Lucifer was an angel who fell, right? You’re a created being, so you were never his equal, were you? You may have his equal desire to rule, but you aren’t one of the fallen, are you?”
There was a booming laugh followed by a stunning silence that was even louder in my ears. Even Dash and Erebus had stopped fighting.
From the ether appeared Lucifer, Beelzebub, Jay, and four other demons with raven-black wings. Lucifer and his sons. Behind them appeared Michael, Jophiel, and several other angels, all with gleaming white wings. Behind them was another row of light and dark beings. I was stunned speechless.
Dash appeared by my side, his body in better shape than I expected. Those fangs were something else.Are you okay?
He grinned, the fangs retracting. “I’ll be just fine, Dearly.”
Nyx turned her attention from me to Lucifer. “This goes against the bet. You vowed to stay out of the fight.”
His booming laughter must have been heard throughout the galaxy. “You cheated. The bet is off.”
It was Nyx’s turn to laugh. “Cheated? I skewed the odds in my favor just as you’d have done. Humans are playthings, Lucifer. You’ve said so yourself on many occasions. What did I do that you believe was cheating?”
“You forgot you were my creation. Your mother was created by me after the fall. It was never intended for me to have an equal. I was cast from the Celestial Realm because I believed I was the most beautiful, the smartest, the most equal to the Creator. I was given the underworld to rule, and so, in the spirit of the choice the Creator gives every being, you can choose. I’ll end you, or you’ll take your followers and that pitiful thing you share your power with”—Lucifer pointed to Erebus—“and you’ll return to Droh. You have thirty seconds in human time.”
Everything was dead silent until a ticking clock echoed across the beach. I wasn’t sure who was making the sound, but when I looked at Beelzebub, he winked.
Dash took my hand.You think she’ll bite? Think she’ll go quietly?
Nothing about her says she’ll easily accept his terms.
A bell dinged as those who fought with us and those who fought against us separated into two groups as we all awaited Nyx’s decision. Erebus stood next to her for an instant before she turned to give him the eye. He stepped back, showing all of us who wore the pants in that relationship.
Lucifer, who was scary as fuck, laughed again as he studied Nyx. “Your time is up.”
“I’ll take my followers back to Droh.” Her expression showed she wasn’t happy with the ultimatum.
Beelzebub walked through the line of white lighters and stopped before me. “You’re on, Gatekeeper.”
He pointed his walking stick toward Nyx, and the angels and demons before me parted to give me a path. I took Dash’s hand. “Together, love.”
We slowly strolled through the gathering and stopped in front of Nyx. Suddenly, she jerked Dash from me, holding him around his chest as she squeezed. Her other hand wrapped around his head, and she began turning his neck as if unscrewing the lid on a bottle of water.
“No!” She tossed Dash onto the sand as I ran at her, touching her forearm before she batted me away. I flew into the sand near Dash as she disappeared.
Lucifer took Erebus and held him in his fist. “She’s gone for eternity.” Lucifer opened his mouth and engulfed Erebus in one bite, and the crowd cheered.
Lucifer turned to the dark beings and smirked. “Come, children. Let us go home. Followers of Nyx, I will listen to your begging before I decide if you will spend eternity in Hell with me or be destroyed. Sound like fun?”
He then turned to Dash and me with his evil smile. “Tell your humans the lesson they should remember by these actions—never make a bet with the Devil.”
