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“No, he’s not. He likes to talk like a human.”
“That’s a bold assumption,” said Lucifer. “What if they like to talk like me?”
“What do you want, Lucifer,” I repeated, my tone forceful and direct.
Lucifer grinned and waved his finger at me. “There she is, there’s that Lightbringer. The only one who could’ve come out the other side of Hell and still be an angel. Well, color me impressed. I would’ve lost that bet.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” he asked, shrugging. “That was a test.”
“A test?”
“Absolutely. Why wouldn’t it have been?”
“You threw me into the Pit.”
“I know, you’re welcome.”
“That was after you told me you were going to obliterate humanity because you have nothing but contempt for them.”
“I don’t think I used quite that verbiage, but it does sound like something I would say.” He tapped the side of his nose with his finger. “I mean, it was so long ago, I’ve almost forgotten that whole night. It’s like, first I get a visitor for the first time in a billion millennia, then one of them frees me, then two others walk in so suddenly I’ve got company to entertain! There was—oof—just way too much going on for me to keep it all straight, you know?”
“Are you trying to convince me your memory of our first meeting is hazy?”
“What do you want me to say? There was little to do in my prison cell but contemplate the past, but out here—it’s so exciting on Earth. So much to get on with, so little time.”
“Do you always talk this much?” Hekata put in.
Lucifer gave her his attention, his eyes darting over to her in an almost menacing manner. “Rude. This is a private conversation,” he said. With a downward gesture of his hand, Hekata plummeted to the ground as if gravity had suddenly decided to impose itself on her.
I wanted to rush to her aid, but there was nothing I could do; the speed at which she fell was maddening. She hit the sandy ground with a thud that made my stomach churn, but I knew I couldn’t go after her. The moment I turned my back on Lucifer was the moment I would lose my head.
“You didn’t have to do that!” I roared.
“Your affection for her is touching, really, but in my defense, she was being rude.”
“You’re a fucking monster.”
“I’ve been called worse.” Lucifer sighed and pouted. “Look, I know you and I probably got off on the wrong foot.”
“The wrong foot?! You threw me into Hell!”
“Yes, I did, but there was a point to that.”
“A point?”
“Yes, a point, and I would tell you if you stopped interrupting me!” He took a breath and ran his hand through his hair before continuing, “I did it so that I could get to know you better.”
“Why on Earth would you want to get to know me better?”
“I wanted to see what you were made of, Sarakiel. And I couldn’t very well do that with the big oaf hanging off your backside, could I?”
Abaddon?
Nothing he was saying made any sense. In Heaven, he had told me that I was only useful in bringing Abaddon to him, now he was telling me that it was actually me he had wanted. Had Abaddon disappointed him somehow, or had he actually planned this all along? It was impossible to know, but the thought brought a new concern to the front of my mind—if he did, ultimately, want me, did my reappearance put Abaddon in danger?
“What have you done to him?” I barked.
