Night Fae by Meg Xuemei X.
Chapter 15
Thunder rumbled in the gray clouds, and red lightning speared across the sky. While it was midnight in California, London was enjoying daylight. That was also one of the reasons I chose to be in front of the Veil near the London supernatural market.
Who would want to meet a demon at night? And Asmodeus wasn’t just a demon. He was the terrifying dark prince of demons.
I squinted up at the sky. Suddenly, the clouds split open, pouring down cold sheets of rain, as if they had a personal issue with me. I was drenched instantly.
“What the fuck, Asmodeus?” I cried out in anger. “What’s your problem? And how do you have elemental air magic? Don’t you live in Hell?” I shook my wet locks bitterly. “I was only summoning you for a brief talk. This isn’t a date! But no, you had to be a pompous ass and throw a fit. I’m leaving if you don’t show up in the next second!”
I was bluffing. I wouldn’t leave without getting some answers. But showing your attitude was important when you wanted to bend your opponent’s will.
The thunder, lightning, and stupid rain stopped, but the sky remained overcast and depressing.
A breath later, an enormous specter of dark mist appeared in front of me, hellfire sparking inside like dozens of lit lanterns.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not impressed, and I’m even less scared, Asmodeus. Just come out; I don’t have all day!”
An unfamiliar power, stronger and more formidable than anything I’d encountered, ripped the fabric of the air.
“Asmodeus?” I called nervously.
This was not how he’d shown up last time, and I didn’t recall him having such a power. I hoped that I hadn’t summoned another archdemon instead of him by mistake. I’d pronounced his name very clearly when I’d cut my palm and fed the soil my warm blood.
My heart jumped into my tight throat when I spotted a giant male stepping through the mist of dark fire. When the mist thinned, I caught a glimpse of jagged black mountains spewing a river of lava in the ominous backdrop.
Damn, could the mist be the portal to Hell?
I stepped a few paces back as the giant towered over me, regarding me.
He wasn’t Asmodeus. I could easily tell the archdemon’s power signature, whether he took a humanoid or a demonic form. This male was way more powerful than the dark prince of Hell. Actually, the Hell giant’s power was mightier than any being I’d ever met.
My pulse spiked. Icy fear pumped into my blood, although the superior being was also the most gorgeous male I’d ever seen.
He was more than perfection, and he wasn’t from this world.
His skin bore a flawless tan, his mouth was fantasy incarnate, and his eyes shone so deep and blue that if you stared at them for more than a nanosecond, you’d lose your soul.
Words couldn’t describe his glory, and even my Fae eyes had a hard time perceiving him or his true essence. A mortal would turn to stone or be burned to ash after one glimpse.
But he wasn’t God.
While he looked divine and dark and light and sensual, he dressed like a mortal. He wore a midnight-blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to show his muscled forearms. A pair of classy trousers without a single wrinkle hugged his powerful, long legs yet left enough room for movement, especially fighting maneuvers.
He rode the wheels of hellfire, and a brilliant star glowed over his head. I had to squint a few times to get a better look at him.
Could the star be the legendary Morning Star? Should I ask about it?
Lucifer was called the brightest Morning Star before his fall.
“Who…who are you?” I stuttered, then demanded. “You can’t be Lu…Lucifer. The Devil wouldn’t answer my call. He—he’s a very important figure in history.”
Humans from every religion were fascinated with him. I bet it was because everyone was a liar, and they were afraid of Hell in the depths of their consciousness.
My mouth had never been so dry, and my throat was parched with desert fire.
“Sir, I…I didn’t summon you!” I blurted out while the superior being just studied me with amusement and curiosity. I almost slapped myself for calling him sir. If he was indeed Satan, one didn’t just call him sir.
His power was too much for me. I hoped he’d just leave before I trembled in my boots or worse. I didn’t want to embarrass myself further.
“Am I too much for you?” he asked, his voice the richest baritone. So rich and beautiful it hurt my entire being. I wanted to cry.
And he could hear my thoughts.
Despite my fear, I didn’t back down. I stood my ground.
“Not bad, Ileana,” he said mildly. “Even the archangels don’t stand a chance in my presence when I look like this.”
He knew my name. He’d come for me. And he’d just tested me.
“Then will you dim the light a little?” I asked. “Your star shines too bright, worse than a high-voltage searchlight beaming directly into my eyes.”
The morning star vanished above him.
“Better?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “Thank you?”
Then I wanted to slap myself again for thanking him. He was the one who’d caused my discomfort in the first place. I wasn’t my usual tough self when I talked to this being. His power bore down on me, too great for me to think straight, let alone carry an intelligent conversation.
My nerves were strung out, but to show him that I wouldn’t let him intimidate me, I straightened my spine, my dagger flashing before me, only to realize how silly it was to display the magical dagger in front of such power. It was a toothpick to him.
“You’re welcome,” he said, smiling enigmatically.
“Uh, let’s review what I said earlier,” I murmured, gazing up into his eyes, as if being compelled by him to look. But I didn’t fall into their endless depths and lose my soul as I’d dreaded.
In fact, I just got used to his power, for it became somehow familiar. He drew me in like a magnet as a dark part of me surfaced to answer the echo of his supremacy.
You were lost for too long. I read the meaning in his unfathomable eyes.
After summoning enough courage, I threw out my next demand. “Hey, I didn’t call you. I was hoping to talk to Asmodeus. Maybe you could help get him here?” I then added in a hurry, “Please?”
“Why do you need Asmodeus when you can have me?” he said, his eyes laughing now. It seemed he enjoyed conversing with me, but the feeling wasn’t mutual. He still unnerved me. I could tell that by the cold sweat breaking out on my palms. I tried damn hard not to wipe them dry on my pants. “Asmodeus is one of my minions.”
I blinked. So this was indeed Lucifer. Only one being outranked the dark prince of Hell, and that was the King of Hell. Asmodeus held the rank of prince, yet he wasn’t Lucifer’s son. They were fallen angels of different ranks.
“Asmodeus has been sneaky and naughty lately,” said the King of Hell. “For his ambitions, he has been stripped of his dark prince title. He’ll repent long and hard in the seventh dungeon in the realm of Hell.”
I dared not ask where the seventh dungeon was located.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. I might even mean it, since I was mournful that Asmodeus couldn’t come and provide intel for me.
“Don’t be.” Lucifer flashed a white smile. “He desired to use you and make you his pawn while I was away having another quarrel with Heaven.”
I stopped myself before I could ask him how his quarrel with Heaven had gone. I should mind my own business, and now, I urgently needed to get more intel on the Wild Hunt and my evil sister.
Anxiety knotted my stomach as I started to feel my mates’ panic through our mating bond. They must have realized that I had left Claws, Fangs, and Fiends.
“I’m probably the most misunderstood being in Heaven and Hell.” He stared at me intently, and I wanted to squirm under the powerful laser beam of his attention. “While the Church calls me Father of Lies, they feed their sheep the doctrine that the puny humans are God’s only chosen, and that I’m so jealous of them being the chosen that I devote every second of my time to countering God’s moves and trying to steal human souls. It’s laughable to see a mote of dust claiming to be the center of the universe. Humans need to feel like they are significant and that there’s meaning and great purpose to their existence, so they lie to themselves and make up stories. The truth is, I don’t give a rat’s ass about their stupid, dim souls.”
“You sound a bit bitter,” I said.
He gave me a look.
I forced myself to stand rooted.
Mythology said Lucifer had once been the brightest Morning Star and was now the darkest being after his fall from grace.
“Mom likes to go to church,” I said, looking slightly guilty. “But I’m not really religious. I don’t usually pay attention to what people say, either. Uh, Lu…Sir Lucifer, I’d love to chat more under different circumstances, but I’m in a hurry. I was hoping to get Asmodeus to tell me more about Brigantia, the current Dawn Queen, and altogether a terrible person. I need to find her weak spots. She’s about to thrust me into the Wild Hunt to finish me off, and I want to make it out of the hunt in one piece, since I’m still young and there’s so much to live for, you know.”
“Brigantia, my other daughter.” Lucifer frowned. “The one I despise, yet tolerate.” His eyes glinted darkly, hellfire and formidable power blazing inside, as they fixed on me again.
My heart sank to the bottom of an icy lake.
No, no, no. I can’t be Lucifer’s daughter.
Someone must have written a very bad piece of fiction. I couldn’t be a demon spawn! Yet I could feel the other half of my dormant power start swirling to life and rising in Lucifer’s presence.
It was like blood calling blood and power calling for power.
Lucifer smiled. “My blood courses in your veins, Ileana. It’s pointless to deny it.”
I’m nothing like him. I couldn’t accept it.
He arched an eyebrow. “You take after me more than you believe.”
No, thank you.
But my shoulders slumped in defeat. I came here to get the help I desperately needed, and I got this!
“It’s been nice talking to you,” I said, not wanting to offend him further. I was ready to teleport. I hoped I could make it fast. “I should get back.”
I had no intention of mentioning my mates. The last thing I wanted was for the devil to train his cruel eyes on my beloveds. It was never good to become Satan’s target, no matter what. And I would never tell the Fae kings about this unfortunate, unexpected encounter, either.
“I want you to survive, Ileana,” he said. “I’ll tell you what you came here for.”
I slid to a halt and glared at him. “You should have said that earlier.”
“I haven’t cared for any of my bloodline until now,” the devil said with a fatherly smile, yet he looked no older than me. It was unnerving. “All my children have perished save for you and your sister.”
So, Brigantia wasn’t my half-sister, as the kings had speculated, but had the same set of biological parents as I did.
Would I get one piece of good news by the end of the day?
But then, we all knew that bloodlines were overrated.
“For eons, I never interfered with my offspring’s dirty business. I never showed my presence to any of them. You’re the exception, Ileana. Your sister has never had the honor of seeing my face, though she’s conspired with two tribes of mine to gain more power. Overall, I let my children shove their free will wherever they want, even though I fought for mine and got tossed out of Heaven when I lost the divine war.” He sighed, and I blinked. “I also allowed my children to slaughter each other, as bloodlust and ambition lay in their nature, until eons later, when I saw your birth in a vision. I like what I see, daughter, and I have decided to make you my heir.”
My jaw dropped in horror. I had no intention of living in Hell. I doubted my mates would abandon their kingdoms and follow me to Hell, no matter how deeply they felt for me. I’d count myself lucky if they didn’t denounce me as their mate when they found out this side of my heritage.
I got why Lucifer wanted me. The devil was the last person in the whole universe to have an altruistic bone in his body.
Asmodeus’s words chimed in my head. “You’re the only superior being who was successfully bred and made perfect amid numerous arduous experiments. You’re the true heir who possesses and balances light and dark magic at once.”
I was the only one who could open the Veil, and Lucifer must covet my power. He wanted to send his demon force to invade Earth. Everyone wanted a piece of poor little Earth.
“As I said, I’m the most misunderstood being, even by the only daughter and heir I acknowledge,” he said. “Even though she knows absolutely nothing about me, she’s already judged me. No one knows what the devil wants, if you must call me devil instead of Father. No one knows my heart’s true desire.”
“Stay out of my head,” I said, frustrated that I had no shield against him. I couldn’t learn that fast how to block him. “And if you don’t tell me anything useful now, I’m leaving, and I’m serious.”
“Your sister would kill to be my heir.” Lucifer smiled brilliantly. “But you’re right. We don’t have time for a daughter and father chat at the moment. So, let’s prepare you, since even I can’t nullify the eons-old call of the Wild Hunt. First, you need to understand Brigantia’s true nature. She thrives on others’ pain and death and destruction. Her demon part needs to feed insatiably, as she’s a failed genetic experiment between Maeve and me.”
I swallowed. Queen Maeve was my mother, murdered by Brigantia.
“You also need to understand what she truly wants from you,” Lucifer continued, musing. “By forcing you into the hunt, she can absorb your power when you breathe your last breath in that realm. In a nutshell, she’s gunning to take your power for herself before your Turning. After that, you might become too powerful for her. Only in the Wild Hunt, when she defeats and hunts you, can she drain you and feed from you.”
A chill slithered up my spine. The Winter King’s slip of the tongue had revealed Brigantia’s true intention, and now Lucifer had explained in detail.
I needed to take this intel to my mates, so they could prepare, but then I’d have to reveal my source and my true heritage. The Summer Court was especially keen on a mission to hunt and eradicate every darkfae, and now it turned out that I was a demon Fae, just like Brigantia. Only I got the best genes from Lucifer and Queen Maeve, and Brigantia received the garbage portion. So, she was even more desperate to take my power to fix her defect.
A hundred thoughts and doubts ran wild in my mind, leading to one conclusion: I would not deceive my mates. I’d reveal Brigantia’s demon origin and mine as well. I’d then try to persuade the kings that who had sired me didn’t determine who I was. If they wanted to snuff out my life, I’d plead with them to at least let me go through the trials of the Wild Hunt to save my brother. Whatever they wanted to do with me, it had to wait until after the game.
Angst and conflicting emotions tormented me. Yet I still decided to take a leap of faith and put myself in my mates’ hands. No matter what happened, I’d deal with it. I trained my gaze on Lucifer, no longer cowering. His power beat into me but no longer overwhelmed me.
“I’d appreciate your help in any form,” I said. “I must stop Brigantia.”
“Change every rule,” Lucifer said. “Be more merciless and ruthless than your sister. Cheat the cheaters, and most importantly—”
A hunting horn blared through the meadow. The sky tore open above me, shrieks boring into my eardrums. I looked up in terror as three faceless creatures with flaming eyes dove toward me.
“It’s not time yet!” Lucifer snarled. His left hand flew up, and the most terrifying hellfire shot up like a tidal wave of flames and engulfed the creatures, but it didn’t burn them to charred meat or reduce them to dirt as it should. No beings should be able to survive the fires of Hell like that.
“We’re the Furies of the Wild Hunt,” one of the faceless creatures shrieked, its lips formless. “We’ve granted the summons demanded by the Dawn Queen to procure the quarry and take her into the Wild Hunt. Technically, we didn’t break the rules. It’s time for Princess Ileana Evelina to be taken to the arena, as she moved to this location that has a time difference. Thus, it’s within our rights to bring her in right now. Even you, the fallen star, cannot dispute the rules of the Wild Hunt.”
I drew my Legend Heavy that came with 458 Lott cartridges and a four-round capacity magazine from the back of my leather jacket. Good thing I’d brought it and all the weapons with me when I teleported here. The elephant gun was designed to blow up a T-Rex, and I didn’t think these creatures had thicker skin than a dinosaur.
Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger. Lucifer nodded in approval. The bullets flew and hit the target, and I hoped they hurt like a bitch.
The creature on the left laughed, the sound a hideous shriek. “Love the spunk, Princess Ileana, but no human weapons can harm the ancient Furies of the Wild Hunt.”
The Furies dragged me up into the air in the next heartbeat, and my kicks to their formless faces did nothing to stop them. We were heading toward the open sky, which twisted in a violent sandstorm.
“Fem Tor Mayan Shawe Flave Von!” Lucifer shouted at me.
“Tell my Fae king mates—” I screamed.
The wind sealed my mouth. My mating bond snapped, my mates’ rage and panic reaching me for a fleeting second before our bond faded to black and turned mute.
The last sight I saw was my biological father’s terrifying, enraged face framed by an erupting sea of hellfire beneath me. Even someone as powerful as him couldn’t halt the Wild Hunt.
“Brigantia, you insulted me. You’re taking my heir before I finished my conversation with her,” Lucifer said softly, and his sleek, inhuman voice chilled me to my very soul. “You won’t be forgiven. I’ll make sure that my heir will take back her throne and sit on your ashes.”
Lucifer vanished from the meadow as the Furies hauled me into the lashing sandstorm.
