“What is it? What are you not telling me?”
“I wasn’t here for Emma.”
Naomi let out a rush of air. “She’s going to live.” She was so relieved. Why was he telling her this now?
“Yes, I believe so.”
“That’s why you helped her?”
He nodded.
“So you were here for Megan’s aunt.”
“I wasn’t here for her, either.”
Dread washed over her, and she fought against the voices in the back of her head that told her the answer.
“Who?” her voice was barely above a whisper.
“Chuy.”
17
The chamber was exactly the way Rachel had described it. A lake of lava surrounded Lash, licking his feet, blackening the tips of his toes.
A narrow path lined with fiery liquid and barely a foot wide led straight to where he hung chained against the wall. That was the only way to him other than flying...if an angel was able to get into this nightmare of a place.
When Sal and the evil twins brought him in, even they were not immune to the powers of the Lake of Fire. The pit of Hell sucked the life source out of anyone who entered it.
Sal had stood back while the twins struggled to fly over the lake. Once they crossed, they had stripped Lash of his clothes and chained him to the wall. It was like Rachel had said. In the pit of Hell, even the strongest angel’s powers were diminished, even those of the fallen.
The twins had barely made it back to land after they chained him. Sal had thrown him one last look of disgust and then they left him alone.
Lash took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and tried for the hundredth time to break free from the heavy chains strapped to his chest and waist. As he strained, the ropes of red-hot steel pressed against his naked body, scorching him. He screamed in agony, the sound echoing through the vast tunnels surrounding the Lake of Fire.
His head lay limp on his chest, lolling back and forth. The fiery heat of the lava and the burning steel that was cinched to him like a snake of death sapped every ounce of his strength. Minutes passed feeling like hours as the chains continued to burn his skin. He tried not to move, but even that didn’t work because all the while the walls cracked, allowing lava to ooze through the fissures onto his back and wings.
In between the haze of pain, he thought of Uri. Was this what it had been like for him? Skin charring right before his eyes with each passing minute. The inescapable pain made worse with the slightest movement. But what was worse, much worse, was the fear that Naomi would come after him and see him like this, the way Rachel had when she went after Uri.
He prayed that Jeremy would keep his word and watch over her. Why wouldn’t he? Jeremy would finally have what he’d wanted since even before he had memories of her. With him gone, Jeremy had Naomi for himself.
The image of Jeremy holding Naomi was seared into his mind, and he winced at the excruciating pain in his chest, not from the chains but from Naomi loving someone else. As much as it pained him, at least he knew that she would be loved the way she should be and not by some screw-up like himself.
He let out a staggered breath. It was for the best. For some reason, Lucifer wanted him dead. Maybe Lucifer was using him to antagonize Michael. Or maybe he thought he would lure the other angels to the lake to save him. Lucifer was an idiot if he thought it’d work. No one would come for him. He wasn’t important enough. It wasn’t like he was Gabrielle or even Uri. He was just a lowly seraph.
The only one who would care was Naomi. And as long as Jeremy kept his word, she was safe and would never set foot in here. He’d rather die than have her in harm’s way.
“Naomi,” he moaned, needing to say her name. It was his only comfort. He was dying, and he knew it.
He closed his eyes and concentrated on the image of her face, the only thing that could keep him sane.
He thought of the way she’d looked at him the last time they were together. Soft lips like rose petals kissing him gently. Lips that brushed his ear when whispering words of love. Lips that curled into a smile whenever he entered the room.
He remembered holding her in his arms when he first told her that he was an angel. The way her body molded perfectly into his. The way her fingers gently stroked his jaw and how she reached out to kiss him. And then the torment of him pulling away from her, afraid to kiss her because once he did, he wouldn’t be able to let her go. And the blissful moment when he finally did kiss those lips and discovered that he had found home in her arms. She was his destiny, his soul mate.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor, and for a moment, hope leaped into his chest.
“Ah, Lahash. You are a sight.”
Lash slowly lifted his head, wincing at the movement. “Lucifer.”
“Please, don’t move on my account. It’s a great hardship for me to see you in such...discomfort,” Lucifer said. “Saleos, excellent work. Did I not tell you, ‘Where the girl is, the boy will follow’?”
“That you did. Although I’m still not convinced that your plan will work,” Sal replied.
“Ah, ye of little faith. Let’s see about that, shall we?”
“What...” Lash gasped as a wave of lava splashed against the wall, sending droplets of searing heat onto his feet. “What plan?”
Lucifer sauntered around the edge of the lava as he spoke. “I have a proposition for you, my son. It’s one I’ve made to you before, remember?”
A memory of Naomi lying in his arms on the top of Shiprock flashed through his mind.
“I didn’t go with you then, and I won’t now. And don’t even bother going after her. She’s already an archangel in training. The others will look after her until she grows in strength.”
Lucifer stopped and looked at Lash, his lips curling into a smile that made Lash’s hair stand on end. “Ah, but it is not Naomi I seek. It is you.”
“That’s a lie, and you know it. You had Sal hunt her down. There’s no reason why you would want me.”
“Come now, my son. Surely, by this time, you know why.”
“Stop it! Stop calling me that!” Lash tugged on the chain and screeched in pain as it singed his skin like a branding iron.
“Calm yourself, Lahash. You’ll only do yourself more harm by struggling. Perhaps now is the time for me to tell you a story about Raphael, your mother”—his lips curled into a wicked smile—“and me.”
“I don’t want to hear it,” he moaned.
“How do the humans like to start their stories? Ah, yes...once upon a time there were two devilishly handsome, excuse the pun, archangels. They were the best of friends—not unlike you and Jeremiel.”
Sal laughed. “If you can still call them that.”
“No interruptions, Saleos. You know the story. Now it’s Lahash’s turn to hear it. Now where was I? Ah, yes...the best friends decided to journey to Earth for a spell. You see, the golden-haired angel fell in love with a woman on Earth, and his friend, well, let’s just say he didn’t want to limit himself to just one woman. Now, the golden angel lived in marital bliss with the woman, and they had a son, a son who looked just like him, a perfect replica. One day, the golden angel was away with his perfect son...he was so proud of his progeny, wasn’t he Saleos?”
