CHAPTER 13
Nate Garrett
I considered removing the writing, but that wouldn’t be good if someone discovered what I’d done. People would become suspicious, so I left it where it was and went to help with any blood elf or Hole prisoners who remained defiant and just wouldn’t die.
It turned out I didn’t need to worry: the fighting had already finished by the time I left the villa. Cerberus and a platoon of his people were mopping up the last of them. “Leave one alive,” I said to the nearest soldier, who was about to kill a kneeling elf.
He looked at me as if I had lost my mind, but nodded and punched the elf in the face instead. To be fair, punching prisoners who want to eat your face isn’t very upsetting. It’s a bit like punching Nazis. I can’t bring myself to be bothered about it. They’re just inherently punchable.
I continued on and found Selene, Sky, and Zamek talking to Cerberus and Hyperion.
“They’re dead, aren’t they?” Hyperion asked.
I nodded. “I’m sorry. Abaddon was here. She had some help from Atlas.”
“Son of a bitch,” Sky said.
“I knew Atlas was unstable, but I didn’t think he’d help murder his own people,” Hyperion said.
“They vanished. I don’t know how. Oh, and someone wrote For Hellequin in blood on Cronus and Rhea’s bedroom door.”
“They’re really doubling down on the ‘Hellequin is responsible for all of this,’” Selene said. “You okay?”
I shook my head. “Not really. Cronus was crucified and Rhea beheaded. I think Abaddon was in there for a while before all the fighting started out here.”
I saw Grayson coming toward us, and I ran over. “How’s Charon?”
“He’ll be fine. I’ve left him with some of Cerberus’s people. I think it’s time we all had a chat.”
We walked back over to the rest of the group.
“Lucifer, is that you?” Hyperion asked. “It’s been a long time.”
“Well, that deals with the ‘How do you tell everyone who I really am?’ part of the day,” Grayson said, and shook Hyperion’s hand. “It’s been a long time.”
“I’m sorry, I feel like we’ve overlooked something,” Sky said. “He’s Lucifer? As in the devil? The opposite of God? You know, the whole Bible thing?”
I stared at Grayson for several seconds. “Lucifer? You’re real?”
“Let’s go somewhere a little less crowded, and I’ll explain,” Grayson promised.
No one wanted to go into the villa, and as Hyperion already seemed to know that Grayson and Lucifer were one and the same, he went to deal with his friends’ bodies. It was a task I didn’t envy him for having.
The rest of us walked into a small nearby house, which, apart from having the contents trashed, was devoid of anyone living or dead.
“This was Atlas’s house,” Sky said, the anger radiating off her in waves. “Although now I guess it’s the house of a traitor.”
I picked up a wooden chair and sat down in it, crossing my arms and waiting for Grayson to tell us whatever it was he was about to say.
“I am Lucifer,” he started. “A few things. I’m not a suave, womanizing nightclub owner. I’m not evil. I’m not the Prince of Darkness. I have never met God, or an angel, or demons. I’ve never been to hell. I have no idea if heaven and hell are real. I am not the Prince of Lies. My last name isn’t Morningstar. I am not a dragon. I have not once accepted souls from someone at a crossroad in exchange for anything. Ever. I do not know anyone with the surname of Winchester. I am not the devil, or Crowley, or Satan, or any of the other dozen or so names that person possesses.”
“Well, that summed up a lot of my questions,” Sky said. “And all sarcastic questions, too.”
“So, what are you?” Selene asked.
“Thousands of years before any of you were even born, when humanity was in its infancy, when warlords roamed this planet, and murder and destruction were all they cared about, there were those who wished only for conquest. These people would later become revered, worshipped by people who didn’t know better. The gods before even the Mesopotamians, Egyptians, or Titans were anything but the future. Those people created us.
“Magic was dark and powerful back then. Sorcerers were rare, and many quickly discovered that blood magic was capable of feats of power that instilled fear in those who followed. I do not know whose idea it was to create me. I never met him.”
“Why were you created?” I asked.
“There were seven of us. Each one conceived and born during a blood-magic ritual. The sorcerers discovered that taking the blood of various species and performing the magic with it had certain effects on the conception and birth. I don’t know how many humans were used in these rituals. I know that those performing the rituals used as many different types of human as they could get hold of. They roamed the lands, looking for people to capture. I don’t know if they tried it with people who weren’t human, but I do know that the seven of us were born from different sets of human parents. Each of us gained some of the power from the ritual and the blood used, but it was power on a scale no one at the time could possibly imagine. I barely think anyone even now would be able to understand it.”
“What happened to you after you were born?”
“We were sent to another realm to train and become warriors, but something happened and it took us a millennium to get back. In the meantime we conquered our new home, honing skills and slaughtering our enemies by the thousands.
“Eventually we managed to find a way back to the Earth realm, and by then people like Nergal, Cronus, and Ra had taken their seats of power. It would still be hundreds of years before the Olympians came to power, and thousands before Merlin and his Avalon. And we set about conquering this realm, like we had the last one. Unfortunately we didn’t expect the resistance we received, and we were defeated. The pantheons of the age decided to take each of us to use as a sort of deterrent. We agreed to pledge ourselves individually to that pantheon, and in exchange we’d live like the gods.”
“It was an ancient cold war,” I said.
Grayson nodded. “No one made a move against the others, because each group had one of us. There was a kind of stalemate until our leader organized a rebellion. His name is Asmodeus, and he was the first and strongest of us, thus we made him our king.”
“What is he?” Selene asked.
“A vampire. Possibly the first—we’re not sure. We assumed there were vampires before him, because the blood magic must have used them to create one, but we were never able to find information one way or the other. Anyway, that doesn’t matter. What matters is that he is a vampire in the same way that a space shuttle is a method of transport. He’s so much more powerful than you can possibly imagine. He’s essentially a sorcerer with the powers of a master vampire.”
“What happened to him?” Zamek asked.
“Asmodeus’s rebellion rose up and fought against the pantheons. They killed some, destroyed so much. Murdered so many that the streets of towns were slick with blood and death. The dwarves, elves, and pantheons of this world rose up to fight as one, and after much bloodshed, Asmodeus was driven into a realm. The gate was destroyed. Each devil who had taken part in the rebellion was sent through a different realm gate. Those who said no to his offer, who fought against Asmodeus, were spared under the promise we’d never contact the other devils again.”
“How many were spared?” I asked.
“Two. I was one, and Beelzebub was the other. She hated me for not joining Asmodeus and hated herself for not joining him. I figured out too late that she’d been working as his spy, sowing discord along our ranks. She vanished from this realm not long after.”
“And you never saw any of your kin again?” I asked. “Is ‘kin’ the right word?”
“We were not blood. Abaddon and Asmodeus were in a relationship for at least part of our lives together. They were a fearsome couple. If she’s come back, it’s either to bring Asmodeus with her, or because she knows where he is and wants to free him. Either of those options would result in the destruction of a large part of this world. Humanity has grown in numbers in the millennia since the last war, and even back then the casualties were high.
“As for your other question, yes, I saw one of them. Our powers are linked, so the use of our powers in the Earth realm is like a shining beacon to the others. I’ve purposefully not used my power at anywhere near full capacity for thousands of years. I used a little bit here and there, only enough to help out at the time. If the others knew I was alive, knew I was here on the Earth realm . . . they might all try to find a way back. Even so, I spent a long time hopeful that none of them would ever make it back here. One did. Sathanus. He was an incubus. A cruel, vile man with a taste for inflicting pain on people and making them enjoy it.”
“You killed him, didn’t you,” I said. It wasn’t a question.
Grayson nodded. “I did. I killed him and burned his body until it was ash. I saw him before he saw me, and I watched him. It was a thousand years ago in Eastern Europe. He used his power with impunity, reveling in the chaos and pain he caused. Every time he used his power, it drew me to him, and I killed him before he ever knew I was there. I regret a lot of things in my life, but not killing Sathanus. He was one of those who truly deserved to die for his crimes. For the evil acts I knew he’d performed over his life. If there is a hell, I really do hope he’s burning in it.”
“If you can tell when one of the devils is using their power, why couldn’t you sense that Abaddon was here?” Sky asked.
“She’s blocking me somehow. I don’t know how.”
“Dwarven runes,” I told everyone. “She used them in the house. She could use those to block her power from being detected.” A horrible thought came to my mind. “Or, like you, she hasn’t used her full power yet.”
“That is possible. She is exceptionally powerful, and I cannot imagine that her power has diminished over the years.”
“So, could she be behind the My Liege cabal?” Zamek asked.
“That is also possible. I haven’t seen any of them for several thousand years, so yes, maybe. But she was never the type to hide in the shadows for long. She likes to show off too much. She likes people to be afraid of her. If she’s the one behind it all, I imagine she’ll make a very large move soon.”
“And if Asmodeus is back?” I asked.
“Then we will know soon. Asmodeus will lay waste to this realm in the pursuit of whatever he’s after. Humanity is nothing but a nuisance to him, and Avalon will be little more than something to crush. He’ll make it an example. Either way, they are not the kind of people who want to work for someone, not if previous experience is anything to go by. People do change, though, and it’s been a very long time since I last spoke to them.”
“How likely is it that Abaddon is here to bring the rest of the devils alongside Asmodeus?”
“Highly. There’s something else you should know. The method they used to give us our power was used by the Olympians and other pantheons. Together they used this method to create the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They were created, at least in part, in case we ever resurfaced. A weapon to counteract us. But it’s said that the Horsemen were killed to stop their continued plague on humanity. They’d discovered their true origins and took it out on humanity, hoping to drag their creators into a war to stop them. They wanted to destroy humanity, make the world an example for their anger and hate.”
“History repeating itself,” I said. “You remember what I told you back in Basingstoke? Erebus said I was created to be the same thing. I was born to be a weapon. Did you know that?”
“Yes. But I only figured out after you told me about the dwarven realm and the vision of the pit of blood. I think they tried something new with you. Mordred, too. They tried to create you to be less unpredictable. I’m not sure it worked.”
“So much has happened. I’d barely had time to sit and think about it, but we were experiments.”
Selene reached out to hold my hand.
“My mother said she loved me, but we were creations of people who wanted to play God.” I was sure I should have been furious at being conceived and born while a blood-magic ritual took place, but it just seemed like getting upset about it would achieve nothing. It happened, I couldn’t have stopped it, and without the power it gave me, I probably would have been killed a hundred times over throughout my life.
“You okay?” Selene asked me.
“Yeah, oddly enough, I am. I’m not sure how I’m meant to feel at being told that I was created to be a weapon for someone, but calm wasn’t what I’d expected. If my mother was a Valkyrie, does that mean my father was from the Norse pantheon, too?”
Grayson shrugged. “The ritual they used to create me was called From Burning Blood.”
“Catchy,” Zamek said.
“It was called that because those humans who did not manage to conceive were set alight, and their throats slit to allow more blood to pool.”
“That is one of the most disturbing things I’ve been told recently,” Sky said.
“So, when the pantheons created the Horsemen?” I asked. “They used that same ritual?”
Lucifer shook his head. “Over the centuries many people lusting for power used a version of the original ritual, but they rarely worked. And the few who did manage to survive the ritual did not go on to live long lives once we discovered their existence. As for the attempt made by the pantheons, they called it the Blood of Shadows. The original ritual has long since been destroyed. Trust me, I checked. Those who created us weren’t in the habit of sharing information, and they were all killed as soon as we were able to kill them. No one knows how it truly worked.”
“So, this second ritual was based on guesswork?” Zamek asked.
“Mostly, yes. I don’t know the particulars, but I do know that it was decided not to use humans. Humans were too hit-and-miss in the original. Thousands had to die before it worked, and it took years to get there. The pantheons theorized that using people who weren’t humans should speed it up. And it did just that. Unfortunately they hadn’t taken into account the mental and physical suffering of having people born with a ready store of incredible power, and once they were told how they came to be, it broke the Horsemen.”
“And me?” I asked.
“The ritual used was called Scorched Shadows. I don’t know why exactly, except that the ritual called for various magical elements to surround the pit at all times. It was thought that maybe those elements would help contribute to the power given to the child. I know it was carried out on another realm, although I don’t believe the original conception was carried out in the dwarven realm you visited. I think it was done elsewhere.”
“I don’t need to know where I was conceived,” I said. “What else do you know?”
“Like you said, you were born to become a weapon. For what purpose, I do not know.”
“That’s why my mother took me to the dwarven realm, to limit my power. Mordred, too. We were never meant to have the level of power they’d given us at such a young age. We were a just-in-case scenario that they really hoped never happened.”
“If it was anything like us, your power would have made you the most dangerous teenager on the face of the planet. The first time my magic activated, I leveled a house. They presumably put those marks on you so when your power activated, you wouldn’t kill half a dozen people with a sneeze. If you were anything like we were, the power came through in a rush. It took us all a long time to learn how to control it, and we hurt people to get to that point.”
“Is that why you became a doctor?” Sky asked. “Because of all the people you hurt?”
“Maybe,” Lucifer said. “Mostly it was a desire to be far away from where my magic would be used. At least to be begin with. Over time I came to enjoy my job, and I became good at it. I liked being able to heal and not just destroy. Which is something I excelled at.”
“So, Lucifer,” I said, finding the name at odds with the person I’d known for so long as someone else. “Lucifer. What are you?”
“I’m a sorcerer. An exceptionally powerful one. I no longer have to use elemental or omega-level magic, at least not in a way you know them.”
Omega magic was the second level of magic for any sorcerer. Sorcerers could learn two forms of omega magic, just like they could learn two elements. In my case it was shadow instead of light, but I didn’t know what my second omega magic would be—or even if I’d ever discover a second one. The choices were mind or matter, and over the years I’d considered the positives and negatives of both.”
“So, what do you have?” I asked.
“I can combine my magical forms into pure magic. It’s a pure destructive force. There’s no shield, or defensive use, for pure magic. It’s what those prisoners who were turned into bombs use.”
The memory of trying to contain that much magical power immediately came back to me, and I wondered just how powerful Lucifer really was. “Why can’t people like Merlin or Zeus use it, then?”
Lucifer shrugged. “I’m not sure. We never did a lot of research into it. I believe it’s the manner of my birth that allows me to use it, or at least allows me to use it before many sorcerers reach that level of competency. Other than that, I’m unsure just how many people are genuinely aware of its existence. Pure magic doesn’t create glyphs on your arms and hands like normal magic, and the color is different from person to person. Mine is a light blue; Asmodeus’s was purple. Pure magic isn’t something taught to young sorcerers. It’s something that is probably best left forgotten.”
“But you know,” I said, keeping my tone as neutral as possible.
“I understand your anger at the fact I kept that knowledge from you, but I have seen what sorcery unchecked does. I am sorcery unchecked. They created the story about nightmares being evil monsters who cause nothing but destruction, because sometimes they are just that. After centuries of everyone being told that nightmares were evil, telling the world what I knew would be quickly shot down by Merlin and Avalon, and it would reveal who I was. It’s why I couldn’t tell you, Nate. I couldn’t reveal my true identity. Not without having to answer too many questions. I’ve spent thousands of years hidden from view, ensuring I stayed away from anything that might force me to use my power. Telling you who I really am would have put you all in great danger.”
“You told Olivia,” I said. “She knows who you are.”
“Yes, she knows, although I didn’t tell her. I worked for her predecessor, and when she took over the job as head of the Winchester LOA branch, I was already there. She didn’t take the news brilliantly. Mostly because she’d heard the rumors about my past and it took me a while to convince her I was on her side.”
“You could have told me,” I said. “I’d have understood.”
“I couldn’t take that chance. Do you remember a few years ago, I went with you to Netley to see that old couple? The griffin that was there flew off, terrified?”
I nodded. “I remember.”
“Pure magic has a certain scent that griffins can detect.”
“Griffins can detect magic?” I asked. That was news to me.
“In small doses, yes. But with pure magic, there’s no small dose. Even readying a small amount forces the power to come off you in waves. Griffins don’t like pure magic—it triggers some deep-seated fear, because it’s the only type of magic that can hurt them. It bypasses their natural defense. They tolerate me in Tartarus, but that’s about as far as it’ll ever go.”
“Who else can use pure magic?” I asked. “Of the seven devils? I mean, if they’re all back, what are we dealing with?”
“Asmodeus can. His vampire abilities include an affinity to pure magic. I’m not sure, but he seems to be the one person with the most varied abilities. Mammon is a dragon who can breathe a type of pure magic. He makes Tiamat look like someone’s lovable pet.”
“And the others?” Sky asked.
“Belphegor is an alchemist, Beelzebub is an empath who can manipulate feelings of hatred and anger, and you already know about Abaddon, the necromancer. She might be more powerful than even Hades. It’s certainly too close to call. I don’t think the others are here, not yet. We’d be seeing even more widespread carnage if they were.”
“At least there are only six now,” Sky said.
Lucifer nodded thoughtfully. “Like I said earlier, there were others who were created after us. Before the Horsemen. Some will be names familiar to you, but most wouldn’t be. People have always lusted after power and will do anything to get it. That includes creating destructive and dangerous weapons they barely understand. They mistake their ability to control as their right, but most of the time that control isn’t total and catastrophe happens.”
“So, just to be clear, there could be more people born in the same way as you guys and Nate?” Sky asked. “Because that sounds like something we need to look into.”
“Most were killed over the years,” Lucifer said. “Merlin, Zeus, and the rest of the more powerful members of Avalon didn’t really like the idea of people like myself running around. One in the sixteenth century called himself Satan. I think he thought it was a good idea, or maybe he thought he was clever. Zeus took his head. He did it personally—I saw it happen. Those beings born and conceived during blood-magic rituals can become incredibly powerful, but we’re not immortal and that power is something we have to learn to use. I heard of no others until Nate and Mordred were born. And five others.”
“Wait, there were seven of us?” I asked. “Where are the others?”
“I don’t know. But they’re out there somewhere. All born in similar times, in the same manner. I do not know why this was decided, or whether the children were meant to be the protectors of a pantheon, much like the seven devils did after our defeat. I only knew that you were born and you were out there. If I’m being honest, I didn’t expect to meet you unless you tried to conquer the world. It’s nice to see you skipped our mistakes.”
“And made a whole new set,” I pointed out. “Okay, so a few last questions.”
“Sure.”
“Did you know what I was?” I asked.
Lucifer shook his head. “I had no idea until a short time ago. I’d heard that the dwarves had helped various pantheons re-create the seven devils, but I had no idea where those children had been taken, or even who they were. Like I said earlier, I had no idea one was you, Nate, not until you told me about the memory of the pool of blood in the dwarven realm.”
“How did Abaddon and her people get into this realm?”
“No idea.”
I paused and thought of the last few seconds before she had vanished. “She touched Atlas while they both went. She had something on her wrist—she touched it. Could they have created a bracelet version of that tablet that Kay was using?” I turned to Zamek, who had been quiet for the majority of the time we’d spent in the house. “Is this possible?”
“In theory, I guess. I’m not an expert on the tablet. I’ve only been studying it for a few years, but if you could get someone to create those runes on a bracelet, it could be possible. The runes wouldn’t last, though. Nabu said that they tried making the tablets with metal or wood and the runes would just vanish after being used. The stone was the only thing they could get to keep the runes for more than a few trips.”
“What about Mara?” Selene asked. “She could do that. She made the tablet.”
“She’s locked up, isn’t she?” I asked.
“So was my brother,” Selene said.
“Okay, well, I don’t know where Mara was imprisoned, but I’d really like to make sure she’s still there. I need to contact Olivia about it.”
“Did any of the bodies we searched have those bracelets?” Sky asked.
Zamek shook his head. “I don’t know. I didn’t look for them.”
“We’ll search the bodies,” Lucifer said.
“I had the same idea Nate had,” Sky said. “I was curious how so many had come here. There were hundreds of attackers in this realm. Unless they all held hands and had contact with this Abaddon woman, which I genuinely can’t see happening, they came here some other way. A second realm gate would be the most logical explanation, but there isn’t one. Which doesn’t exactly leave us with a lot of options I can think of.”
“A way to transport hundreds of people through realms at the same time?” Lucifer asked. “That’s something we should be very afraid of.”
“Considering the list of awful things we should be afraid of is already massive, I really don’t want to start adding to it. If those bracelets allowed this to happen, we need to find out where they’re being made and stop it.”
“One last question,” I said to Lucifer. “Why did you run off from Tommy’s just before we left?”
“I needed to figure out what I was going to do next. I needed time to come to terms with the idea of having to confess everything I’ve been hiding for so long. I was never going to run, or not back you up, but I have notes at home about what the devils had done. Maps, drawings, writings about what we did. I needed to remind myself of exactly what we face if they’re unleashed.”
“I’d like to see that info,” I said.
“When we’re done here, it’s all yours.”
Before anyone could say anything else, Cerberus entered the house. “Not to interrupt or anything, but you’re going to want to hear this.”
“Hear what?” Sky asked.
“One of the prisoners we kept alive has been very chatty, but he can only say the same thing. Over and over again.”
“My Liege?” I asked.
“No,” Cerberus said, clearly unnerved by what he’d heard. “He’s saying something else. Shadow Falls.”