to clear the edge. Busy with Baalth, I barely had time to cast a quick glance inside. The fluid was gone, apparently burned away, and what was left of McConnell was nothing more than ashes in the vague form of a person. There’d be no coming back this time.
As quick as I could, I clambered down and set Baalth alongside Poe. His skeletal features looked over at his mentalist, and I heard a gurgled sigh slip loose. The last vestiges of the muscles at his jaw tightened before he looked away, the murky pools of his brown eyes settling on me. He opened his mouth and licked his teeth, as though he were looking for his lips. It was strange seeing his pink tongue emerge from the grinning skull of his mouth. His oozing red and black hand reached out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me closer to his face. It was amazing enough that he could still move, but there was a hint of strength left in his grip. I didn’t resist.
“See tha-that,” he cleared his throat, sounding the hoarse rattle of a dying breath, and went on. His voice came out slightly stronger, “that Poe is taken care of. Take him to Marcus.”
“Of course,” I answered without hesitation. The fact that his first words, and quite probably his last, were spent on making sure Poe had a proper burial there was no way I could refuse. “I’ll take care of him. Now let me take care of you.” I went to stand so I could retrieve a new vial of Lucifer’s blood, but Baalth wouldn’t let me go.
He pulled me a little closer, shaking his head slowly. “I am beyond your help, or even that of Lucifer.” He knew what I intended and dismissed it. “Only God can save me now.”
The irony was a lead weight in my chest. “But-“
“I am lost, Frank.” His grip tightened on my wrist. “Salvage what you can, and prepare Hell for what is to come. This is what Lucifer would have wanted.”
I never thought I’d see Baalth like this. He’d been emotionally wounded by the excess of power he’d gained from Glorius, and he’d been furious when Lilith had kidnapped his men, his powers out of control, but I’d never seen him hurt; not truly. Here he was, the most powerful demon in our world, and he was dying, killed by his own power turned against him. For all our animosity and ego struggles, it was like losing yet another mentor to the storm unleashed in the wake of God’s disappearance.
Of all the horrible possibilities that could have arisen after God and Lucifer left town, Baalth had managed to hold the chaos down and keep it restrained, if only relatively. What was gonna happen now? Call him evil, a demon in truth, but Baalth was hardly the worst thing to happen to the world. What came after him could only be a nightmare in comparison. With a sigh, I met his eyes. I couldn’t let him die.
“Is this the end?” I asked.
He nodded without hesitation.
“What if I could offer you a chance?”
Baalth’s eyes narrowed as though wondering if I was taunting him on his death bed. “Truly?”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the summoning stone Hasstor had given me, grateful to see it hadn’t been damaged. “If you’ve got nothing to lose, it’s worth a shot.” Fingers circling the odd metal of the stone, I willed Jonas and Ethan to my side.
Not more than a few seconds later, Black and White arrived, appearing across from me. Dressed as they always were in their understated black suits, they looked like a couple of funeral directors. Sadly, it was kind of fitting. They stared at me with uncertain eyes when they saw the ruin around them.
I turned to the pale one. “Black, I need your help.”
He glanced at White, and then to Baalth, before looking back to me. “If you’re thinking we might be able to heal your friend, we cannot.”
“No, I was thinking you might be more useful as an ambulance.”
They both stared at me, no doubt clueless as to what an ambulance was.
I went on, no time to explain. “I need you to transport Baalth to Lucifer. He needs God’s help or he will die.”
“I’m not sure-“
“I don’t have time for this, Jonas. Hasstor told me you would deliver a message to Lucifer for me, if asked.” I pointed to Baalth. “ This is my message. You need to take him, now. Do you understand me?”
White snarled and knelt down beside Baalth. “We understand, Triggaltheron, but what you ask is not easy. Our world is many universes away. Wounded as he is, it is doubtful he will survive the trip.”
“And if he stays here, he’s dead. Seems the better of the two options to at least try, don’t you think?”
“That would depend on who you were asking,” Black answered, “but we will do as you ask.” He dropped down beside Baalth and the two started to lift him.
Baalth waved them off. “Wait…a moment, please. I would speak with Frank.” The two rolled their eyes, but they made room for me at Baalth’s side.
He met my eyes and I saw him swallow, as though he were uncertain of what to say. He sat silent only a moment before he began. “I have lied to you.”
A strange sense of vindication welled up inside me, though I couldn’t place its source. I stayed quiet and let him speak.
“It has always been Lucifer’s wish that you rule in his stead. Of that, I spoke only the truth, but there is more to that desire.”
My stomach sank into my boots. It felt like a crevice was opening up, threatening to devour me.
“Lucifer loved your mother as he has loved no other. He won her from Arol long before you were led to believe. It was Arol’s jealousy that fueled much of their later battles, Charlotte the prize between them. It was this jealousy that brought about your mother’s death.” He cleared his throat as I sat there numb. “Lucifer’s love for your mother is his love for you. It is his desire, as it has always been, that Hell be ceded to you, and thus he wills it through me. Embrace your true destiny, Triggaltheron, and make Lucifer proud…” He drew in a deep, pained breath. “…make your father proud.”
The word hit me hard, and I fell onto my ass.
Black didn’t give me time to think, let alone say anything. “We need to go, now. The longer we wait, the less likely he is to survive.”
A million questions crashed against my brainpan. I knew I had to let them take Baalth if there was a chance for him to live. I met the demon lieutenant’s eyes and mustered a tiny nod. Black and White reached out to grab him. He stopped them once more as they groaned in annoyance.
Baalth snaked a skeletal arm past them and laid his palm against Poe’s face. He stayed silent a moment, staring at his mentalist with sorrowed eyes, gently caressing his cheek. He whispered something I couldn’t hear, and eased his hand away a moment later. A quiet sigh slipping loose, he nodded. Black and White lifted him gently into their arms. They were gone before I could blink.
Alone, with only Poe’s corpse to keep me company, I felt the weight of the world fall over me. I lay back into the rubble as nausea, elation, repulsion, joy, and disgust washed over me all at once. I wasn’t just the goofy nephew of Lucifer who he’d taken a shining to, but I was the Devil’s own; his son.
I couldn’t even fathom how that made me feel. It sure explained a hell of a lot. Why Lucifer had always been so protective, so demanding I take on the mantle of the Anti-Christ. He had wanted to carry on his line, but no one would take me seriously as ruler of Hell, born to a human mother.
That word: son. It explained everything. Then why did I feel so lost?
In one instant, I’d gone from the happy-go-lucky nephew who’d been all about fucking around, and now I was the scion of Hell; its ruler. There was responsibility that came with the position, an expectation I couldn’t imagine living up to. My head throbbed just thinking about it.
I was the new Devil, nothing remotely the same as the old Devil.
And there was Karra. Shit. How would she take the news she wasn’t in a relationship with someone kind of related to Lucifer, but his own son? The guy who killed her father, who basically chased her out of Hell, was my dad. Thanks, Pops.
“What the Fraggle do I do now?”
There wasn’t anyone left alive to give me an answer.
Chapter Twenty-One
