Chapter Fifteen
“Nice to see you too, Alesandro.”
“Do you know him?” Isabella asked as she watched the huge creature. She’d never seen anything so beautiful in her life. Huge white wings fluttered from his shoulder-blades. She ran her eyes over his hairless body and gorgeous face.
“I’ve had the pleasure,” Alesandro answered.
“Don’t be modest,” the demon said. “He and I go way back, Miss Denning.”
“You know my name?” Isabella asked.
The creature nodded. “I make it a point to know the names of all God’s beautiful creations.”
She was the product of an Egyptian master vampire and a voodoo mambo’s daughter. She didn’t think God had anything to do with her conception.
The creature stopped before her and Alesandro and bowed. “The name is Lucifer.”
Isabella took a step back.
“Surprised?” Lucifer asked smiling down on her.
The look made her feel all tingly inside. “Not really,” she replied. “I’ve seen a lot in my short lifespan.” She eyed him back curiously. “I’ve never met an angel before, especially one who would associate with Alesandro.”
Lucifer laughed. The sound filled the cemetery, startling the birds and pigeons nesting in the stately oak trees. Some flew from their hiding places, squawking before settling down again. “He is one of my finest creations but he does take a little getting used to.”
“I think my feelings are hurt,” Alesandro replied, eyeing her curiously. “So, why are you here? Hell’s not hot enough for you?”
The angel reached down and touched Alesandro’s cheek tenderly. “Don’t tell me you haven’t figured it out yet, beautiful one. I’ve come to end the world.”
Isabella frowned, not knowing what grossed her out more…Lucifer’s statement or his flirting with Alesandro. Either way could prove disastrous.
“Why?” Alesandro asked.
The angel removed his finger from Alesandro’s cheek. “Because it’s time.”
“It’s all the reason I need,” Isabella replied.
Lucifer turned slowly to face her. “Why are you so anxious to die, Isabella?”
Her name rolled melodically from his lips. He had the voice of an announcer—eloquent and deep.
“Like you said, because it’s time.”
Alesandro shook his head quickly at her behind Lucifer. “She doesn’t know what she’s saying. Isabella’s a baby carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.”
Isabella gazed at the vampire and then noticed Lucifer watched both of them. Alesandro’s words shocked and confused her.
Lucifer looked equally surprised. “I believe this is first, Alesandro.”
What does he mean?
“Surprised the hell out of me too,” Alesandro admitted. “But never mind about it. Is there anything I can do to change your mind? I kind of like this place.”
“I’m afraid not,” Lucifer answered, moving away from them. “The Apocalypse has already started.”
Birds fell from the trees and landed at their feet. “A bird kill?” Isabella asked.
“For starters,” Lucifer replied sadly.
“Now it all makes sense. The bodies popping up all over Louisiana for no good reason, the earthquake in Haiti, the tsunami in China and Japan, the flooding of Australia, the snowstorm in New York…”
“Hurricane Katrina,” Lucifer finished for her. “The preamble. I have been trying to warn mankind but no one listened.”
“How much time do we have?” Alesandro asked.
“You have until midnight, December 31, 2012 and not a minute more,” Lucifer answered.
“That’s less than five days away,” Alesandro whined.
“That’s my answer. This world is corrupt. There have been too many murders, too much drug peddling, and unnecessary wars. It’s too much even for me.”
“What if I can get it all to end?” Alesandro asked.
Lucifer chuckled. “How can you perform a miracle? It took six days to create this world. You can’t save it in five. There is too much evil and not enough good.”
Isabella cleared her throat. “I’m a little confused. You’re a fallen angel, if I’m not mistaken. Shouldn’t you take delight with the way the world turned out?”
Lucifer shook his head sadly. “Don’t believe everything you’ve read about my disgrace, my ousting, and the evil I have done. I was kicked out of heaven because I disagreed with the way God chose to placate humans and put them on pedestals. Mortals fascinated me. I even mated with a few but they’re not above angels. Surely I have caused my share of travesties over time, and might be the reason why the world has turned out this way. It’s why I’ve decided to end it. Maybe God can start over and create a better world the next time.”
“Aw, come on, Lucifer, for all the good times. Can’t anything save the mortal world?”
“The only thing that can save them is you two,” Lucifer answered.
“Meaning?” Alesandro asked.
“Meaning a compromise has to be reached in five days. You need to find the best creature in the world and the worst creature in the world and get them together. They have to genuinely agree to work together for the good of mankind. The effort of you two will bring forth a change.”
“That’s it?” Isabella asked.
Lucifer nodded. “What better way to show compassion for the world?”
Isabella gnawed on her bottom lip with her teeth. It did not make sense to her. Even if she had the desire to save the world, where would she find those two beings? How would she get them together.
“The answer to those two questions is closer than you think,” Lucifer told her.
Great, another mind reader.
Lucifer laughed. “She really is special, Alesandro. Enjoy her while you can.” He disappeared before Isabella could rebut.
“Wipe that look of anguish from your face,” Alesandro said to Isabella, putting his arm around her. “Lucifer is only teasing.”
“About what? Ending the world or you enjoying me?”
“Does it matter?” Alesandro asked. He kissed the top of her head.
“Not really since I’ll die either way.” She moved out of his embrace and walked toward Otto’s van.
Alesandro followed her. “What do you mean by that?”
“Either way, I’m screwed.”
* * * *
“Lucifer who?” Collena asked after Isabella returned to the office and Alesandro flew back home.
“How many angels named Lucifer do you know?” Isabella asked her.
Collena sat down at her desk. “This is a little too much. I know I’ve seen some strange things since forming PAK but a fallen angel? No, let me rephrase, the fallen angel.”
“It makes sense,” Isabella said, pouring both of them a cup of coffee. She added cream and Splenda to hers and nothing in Collena’s since she preferred her coffee black. Isabella handed Collena the coffee and sat down across from her.
“What the f*ck did we do to piss off Lucifer?”
Isabella gasped. “Such language!” She chuckled even though the situation was far from funny. “Apparently we’ve done some royal screwing up if the baddest of bads is sick of us.” She paused. “He did mention something about how messed up the world has become.”
“This doesn’t make sense,” Collena said as she sipped her coffee.
“What doesn’t?”
“Him coming here to warn Alesandro. By the way, you still haven’t told me how the two of you ended up in the cemetery together.”
Isabella sipped her coffee. She’d been expecting that question. “I don’t know. He just showed up.”
Collena put down her cup. “I’m a lot of things, Isabella, but gullible isn’t one of them. So, why don’t you tell me the truth?”
Isabella sighed. “He heard me scream and came to my rescue.”
“Was he nearby visiting another grave?”
“No,” Isabella answered. “He was at home.”
“Let me see if I can get the calculation correct. He lives about a half-hour’s ride from the cemetery and he heard you scream over the din of the city?”
Isabella nodded.
“How come?” Collena asked.
“Because of my blood,” Isabella finally confessed.
“He bit you?” Collena asked, almost falling from her seat.
“No!” Isabella answered quickly. The look on Collena’s face floored Isabella. She’d never seen her boss so shaken. “He shared blood with my father. Since Darius and I share the same blood Alesandro tapped into me that way.”
“Sneaky bastard,” Collena spat out. “How dare he?”
How dare he indeed? The truth of the matter was the connection between them at times was very confusing. It was good to know that Alesandro had her back, even though it came with strings attached.
“Anyway, I’m more concerned about the low jack Lucifer has on Alesandro. Why did he show up when he did and how did he know how to find Alesandro?”
“Evil follows evil,” Collena answered.
“You can’t compare the two,” Isabella said in Alesandro’s defense. Why she did so she didn’t know.
“Like hell. Alesandro is a killer and if Lucifer knows him by name then the two of them have hung around together.”
Arguing with her boss over Alesandro’s faults wasn’t getting either of them anywhere. “Let’s not argue. What can we do to stop the end of the world?”
Collena raised her cup of coffee again. “It’s simple. We have to find the best person in the world and the worst person in the world in five days and get them together. Or, you have to screw Lucifer and get him to change his mind.”
Isabella frowned. Either way she was screwed.