enough to keep my mind busy as we passed through space and time.
We were back in Chicago and standing on my front lawn before I knew it. The sky was gray and swirling, and lightning crackled to the east, above the lake.
Lucifer stared in the direction of the lightning, his face revealing nothing.
“Let’s take a walk,” I said to him.
Everyone protested in their predictable ways, but I silenced them with a look. Nathaniel and J.B. led the parade inside the house, and Lucifer and I were left alone in the snow. I led him onto the sidewalk, still unshoveled. The snow had been tamped down in a slippery path by dozens of feet. I wondered whether escaping humans had passed by here, or whether the path had been cut by Therion’s roaming vampire brigades.
“Is Alerian causing the storm?” I asked.
Lucifer seemed unsurprised that I knew about his brother. “What else did Puck tell you?”
“More than I wanted to know, really,” I said. I watched his face for a reaction. “And so did Evangeline.”
There was a tiny spark there in his endless eyes, nothing I would have noticed if I hadn’t been looking for it. And then it was gone.
“I’m glad you brought up Evangeline, because I have a task for you,” Lucifer said.
“I’m not interested in your tasks,” I said. “I want you to help me get rid of the vampires in Chicago.”
“If you would ask a boon of me, then it is churlish to refuse one that I would ask of you,” Lucifer said.
“You’re going to ask me to do something that’s disturbing, wrong and probably illegal,” I said. “You always do.”
“Human laws don’t apply to me,” he said.
“Magical ones do,” I said.
“Which is why I need your assistance,” he said smoothly. “You can do that which I cannot.”
“First help me get rid of the vampires,” I said. “You have the power to wipe them all out with one fell swoop.”
“Yes, but I am not permitted to do such a thing. I can’t interfere in the doings of humans in such an obvious way,” Lucifer said.
“You are not permitted to cross into the land of the dead and impregnate your dead lover, either,” I said angrily, stopping and turning toward him. “You don’t mind breaking the rules when it suits you to do so.”
“I don’t break them, exactly. Just bend,” he said. “What did you do to Nathaniel that revealed Puck’s spell so soon?”
“How do you know I had anything to do with it? And don’t change the damned subject,” I said, my face coloring.
“Ah,” Lucifer said. “And my grandson hardly cold in his grave.”
“It’s not like that,” I said.
“What’s it like, then?” he asked, his eyes dancing.
“I don’t have the time or the inclination to explain it to you,” I said. I could hardly explain it to myself. “And you’re hardly in a position of moral authority.”
“I had thought you would seek comfort from Amarantha’s son,” Lucifer mused. “You didn’t seem to like it very much when I sent Nathaniel to you as your bodyguard.”
“I didn’t,” I said, feeling I was losing ground here. I’d meant to stand my ground until Lucifer agreed to help me, not become embroiled in a conversation about my not-a-romance with Nathaniel.
“Still, this could be useful,” Lucifer said. “He obviously has affection for you, and Puck’s revelation could hardly have been welcome. It would certainly be handy to have Puck’s son on my side.”
“I’m not going to help you manipulate Nathaniel so you can piss off Puck,” I said. “I don’t want to get in the middle of your sibling rivalry.”
“My dear, you are already in the middle of it,” Lucifer said.
I shook my head. “No. I’ve got enough to do. Now, if you won’t help me by blasting all the vampires into oblivion, will you at least tell me what I have to do to get rid of them, short of raising my own army?”
Lucifer stroked his chin thoughtfully. “You did not completely unleash Nathaniel’s power, did you?”
“I told you, I don’t want…”
“This is relevant,” Lucifer cut in. “You want to know how to defeat the vampires, yes?”
“Yes,” I said cautiously.
“You need to finish what you began with Nathaniel, and the solution will be revealed,” Lucifer said.
“I’m not going to bang Nathaniel for your amusement,” I said.
“Nobody said anything about ‘banging,’” Lucifer said. “But if that’s your preferred method, then who am I to argue?”
“I’m not discussing this with you anymore,” I muttered. “Are you saying that once Nathaniel comes fully into his power, he will be able to get rid of the vampires?”
“No. I am saying the solution will be revealed to you,” Lucifer said.
“Why can you not just help me?” I shouted in frustration.
“If I did, then my enemies would descend on you like ravening wolves,” Lucifer said seriously. “You need to demonstrate that you are capable and strong, that you do not require my assistance.”
“Haven’t I done that already, over and over and over again?” I said, my anger draining away and leaving exhaustion behind. “When do I get something out of this relationship besides misery?”
“I have offered numerous times to make you my heir and you have refused,” Lucifer said.
“Yeah, that doesn’t really seem like a gift to me,” I said.
“But it is,” Lucifer said. “If you were my heir, you would also have the benefit of my protection. Those who seek to destroy you or your child would be subject to my retribution.”
“So you’re saying that this blood relation confers all the disadvantages and none of the benefits unless I am recognized officially?” I said.
“In a manner of speaking, yes.”
It was tempting. Oh, so tempting. It would be a blessing to throw off the weight of responsibility, to live a day without feeling hunted. But on further examination, that apple Lucifer held out to me looked a lot more like a cage. Temptation was his first and best skill.
“Thanks, but no thanks.”
“I can wait,” Lucifer said easily. “I think my offer will appeal to you sooner or later.”
“Keep dreaming.”
Lucifer smiled in a way that made me nervous. “Now that we have answered your question, it is time for my request.”
“You don’t make requests,” I said. “And I’m not feeling inclined to help you.”
“Too bad you do not have a choice,” Lucifer said, and he didn’t sound as though it was too bad for me at all. He sounded like he was quite enjoying himself. “You can either carry out my task under your own power, or you can do it under the compulsion of the Hound of the Hunt. And believe me, you will not be able to resist that compulsion. If I order you, then you must obey.”
Lucifer looked triumphant. He’d boxed me in again. A part of me had been expecting this ever since Lucifer had made me the Hound.
“What is it that you want me to do?” I asked, knowing the answer, dreading the words.
“I want you to fetch Evangeline and my son from the land of the dead and return them to me, of course.”
15
“NO,” I SAID AUTOMATICALLY. “NO, I WON’T DO THAT.”
“I told you, you haven’t a choice,” Lucifer said silkily.
“I don’t even know how to get to the land of the dead,” I said desperately.
“You’re an Agent of Death,” Lucifer said. “The ways are within you, even if you are not aware of them.”
“I’m not an Agent anymore,” I said.
