Steal My Soul

“Luc, would you like to listen in on the conversation from in here?” Lou called out, amusement laced through his deep tone.

My head snapped to the library entrance where Luc hesitantly appeared from around the corner, a sheepish grin on his face. That little…

He strode his way into the room and sat down in the chair next to me crossing his arms. I shifted around in my seat so that my back was facing him. I still had yet to forgive him for earlier when he hadn’t even bothered to try and save me after that one pathetic attempt. Plus he had eavesdropped on our conversation meaning he had probably heard the things I had said. So, yeah, at the moment I was not happy with him at all.

“Great!” Lily smiled clapping her hands together. She had taken her place beside Lou on the couch once more. “Now we can move on to plan when the ritual should occur!”

“I object!” I blurted out shooting my hand into the air. Everyone looked at me in confusion. Hell, even I had to mentally facepalm myself for that outburst.

“What I mean is,” I chuckled nervously as I lowered my hand and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “Before we do any…demon soul bonding stuff…wouldn’t it be more appropriate to become properly married first?”

“What’s the point? We’ll be toget—”

I shot a glare over at Luc from the corner of my eye causing him to instantly shut his mouth.

“You have no right to tell me anything right now. So just sit over there, shut your piehole, and look friggin’ pretty, ok? The grown-ups in this room are trying to talk,” I snapped at him. Lily bit back a smile while Lou raised a silver brow in approval.

Luc clenched his jaw tightly shut and jerked his gaze away in anger.

“So, would that be ok?” I reiterated, my mood switching from murderous to concern within a matter of seconds. It seriously made me feel bipolar, but I just really didn’t want to deal with Luc’s smartass comments right now.

Lily’s soft soprano laugh filled me with warmth as her sparkling dark brown eyes met mine.

“Of course, sweetie. That would be fine. I understand that you probably want to do your own things in the mortal realm before you become officially bonded together with our son,” she agreed.

“Plus, having you two be married and living together for a short time might just make you regret that offer you turned down just now,” Lou winked.

Probably, I sighed to myself.

Instead I just laughed. “Don’t worry, sir. I can handle your son quite well,” I assured the Devil.

“Oh I have no doubt about that. My concern is can he handle a mortal such as yourself. I think he picked a fine soul and couldn’t have chosen a better mortal to bring into our family,” Lou acclaimed watching me through swirling metallic eyes.

I laughed quietly to myself. How strange that I was being complimented by Satan himself. Hell, who would have ever thought I’d be having this sort of conversation with the first fallen angel? It just completely blew my mind.

“So when should we plan the wedding?” Luc chimed in ignoring the glare of death I sent his way.

Lily looked up to her husband who frowned.

“Well,” he began. “Time works much differently in Hell than it does in the mortal realm. Here, we don’t have night and day. There is no concept of time in Hell. That’s part of the torture,” Lou winked in my direction. I nervously chuckled as many different images came to my mind of what possible torture he was speaking of.

“For example, it feels like you have only been here for, what? Possibly an hour at most? Give or take a few minutes?”

I nodded in agreement.

“Back in the mortal realm though, a day could have already passed.”

I shot up from my relaxed position in the lounge chair panicked. “What?!”

“Oh, calm down. Don’t get your knickers in a twist. He’s merely giving you an example. It’s only been an hour or so in your realm,” Luc sighed irritably.

“My son is right. Although we have no concept of time in Hell, we do know when day and night begins in yours. So we typically run on the same time as your realm. Makes it easier for us demons to, well, kill or capture souls,” Lou clarified.

Even though I was beginning to relax back into my seat, his last words made me tense up. I kept forgetting I was talking with Satan.

“And I’m sure you would like to notify your family about the wedding?” Lily chipped in noticing the sudden look of nausea that swept across my face at Lou’s words.

“Um, yes, please,” I exhaled in relief smiling at her gratefully. “I don’t want to just pounce it on them either. If you wouldn’t mind…might it be ok if we didn’t actually plan to get married for another month’s time or so? That way I can become more acquainted with your son and still have plenty of time to notify my family about the event?” I questioned, my gaze darting back and forth between the tall, British demon and his petite wife.

“That should be fine. Plus it will be quite a while before we are able to set everything up for the ritual,” Lou confirmed.

“And that means we can go dress shopping!” Lilith squealed as she bounced excitedly in her seat.

“Mother, please,” Luc grumbled scrubbing a hand down his face.

His mother stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. “You never let me have my fun, Lucy, but I know your fiancée is just as excited,” she proudly claimed locking eyes with me.

“Um, yeah!” I chuckled clapping my hands together in fake excitement.

“I apologize for cutting this conversation short,” Luc began standing up from his seat. “But I need to return Leighra back to her own realm. She has schoolwork she has to finish and we have things to discuss on our own,” he told his parents.

My mouth dropped open at his words. He was seriously telling his parents that we had to go because I had school when I had told him the exact same thing only to have him ignore me and drag me here anyways? Not only that, but….we had things to discuss? What could he possibly have to say to me? The only thing he should be doing is falling to his knees blubbering with his apologies otherwise I could care less as to what he had to say.

Luc glanced over at me as if silently telling me with his eyes to stand up alongside him so his parents knew we needed to leave. I rolled my eyes and slowly stood to my feet. Lou and Lilith mimicked our gestures.

“Well, it was nice meeting you,” Lily smiled wrapping me in her embrace. She gave me a quick squeeze before moving away to allow her husband to make his way over to me.

He brushed his fingers along my neck making me flinch from the bruises I could already feel forming. His mouth turned down in a frown. He waved his hand in the air, a small container of a deep blue liquid appearing in his hand. He placed the container in my hands.

“This will help to heal the wounds I have caused you. I once again apologize for acting out against you,” he grumbled stepping away from me.

“Thanks,” I gently smiled at him. “You know, a lot of people have a huge misconception about the kind of person you are, Sa—I mean, Lou,” I corrected myself scrunching my nose when I realized I almost called him Satan again.

Lou put a finger to his lips. “Let’s be sure to keep it that way, hmm?” he said in a hushed tone winking.

“Sure. Who would believe me anyways?” I laughed nearly tripping over my feet as Luc grabbed my arm and tugged me towards the door.

“Hold on, Luc. We would like to talk with you first,” Lou commanded making Luc stop in his tracks. He gave me a gentle shove forward out the door.

“Meet me in the foyer,” he whispered before firmly shutting the door in my face. I blinked a few times wondering if maybe something I had said had gotten him in trouble again.

I hesitantly found my way back to the foyer and shook the blue liquid Lou had given to me. I wonder if it would burn once it touched my skin. Surely Lou wouldn’t give me something that reacted like acid on my skin. I slid the small container in my pocket hoping the lid wouldn’t twist off.

I glanced back toward the direction I had come from. Even though I was mad at Luc, I still couldn’t help but feel worried for him.

I hope everything is ok…

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~Luc’s P.O.V~

“Come over here for a second, Lucifer,” my father demanded from behind me. I turned away from the library doors to face my father. His white hair fell over his shoulders like a waterfall of purity. I remember how my hair had been as pure and white as his until I hit puberty when it had changed to black. For that, I had been eternally grateful.

I strode over to stand toe to toe with my father. He stood a good three to four inches taller than my own stature of 6’3”. Those piercing silver eyes bore into my own uniquely colored blue eyes. It was the silver white hair and steel gray eyes that gave him away as to what he truly was before the fall. A fact that my father despised more than anything else in the world, but my mother kept him from changing it since she found them to be a mesmerizing look on him. She had honestly been his saving grace after he had fallen.

I had nearly laughed when Leighra had told my father he wasn’t what everyone claimed him to be because he had, in fact, been exactly what everyone claimed him as. Only when Lilith came into the picture did his heart soften and begin beating again. Something I hope to never experience.

My father firmly embraced the side of my neck with his palm and brought our heads together until our foreheads touched. I clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“I am very proud of you, my son,” he commended. “For a mortal, she is…very beautiful and has a pure soul that I think will be of great comfort to you in the end. She definitely is not afraid to speak her mind.”

A smile crossed my face when I recalled how she had nearly bit my head off for merely opening my mouth to speak. She was indeed a feisty woman for one of her size.

“I am pleased to find she gains your approval. That is a hard thing to accomplish,” I teased.

Lucifer stepped away from my, his hand still clasped on my neck. His fingers subtly dug into the sensitive flesh as his silver eyes flashed black.

“I still do not approve of you stripping away her soul unwillingly, but because she accepted in the end…I will overlook your transgressions. And, trust me, I will be having a serious talk with Raphael later on as well about this.”

I rolled my eyes scoffing. “He’ll deny any involvement.”

“Let me take care of your brother,” my father growled.

“Dear? The thing you wanted to give him?” Lily reminded her husband.

“Right,” Lucifer sighed smiling down at the petite woman. He reached into the pocket of his sweats and drew out a small black box. My father took my hand in his and placed the velvet container in the palm of my hand before wrapping my fingers around it.

“Do things the right way and don’t push her away with your cocky attitude and harsh words. Let yourself feel for once,” he said, a hint of pleading laced within those words. The first time I had ever heard my father plead anything from me. Shocked and unable to find my voice, I merely nodded in agreement.

“Good,” he sighed in relief letting his hand fall from my neck. “Now go.”

I jerked my head in a curt nod before pivoting on my heel to head for the library doors. I had barely taken two steps outside the library when I felt my mother’s cool hands slide around my wrist. My footsteps slowed to a stop as I glanced curiously down at her. She clasped my hand between both of hers.

“I can see the love you have for her that you’re holding back, my dear Luc, and I know that you are frightened of being left alone and heartbroken,” she whispered up at me. My eyes widened at my mother’s words. If she knew, then did that mean father knew as well?

“But…for once…forget about the fact that you are a demon and she’s a human and just live in the moment. Breathe it in and experience what it’s like to feel something so strong, it takes your breath away and makes you feel like you’re soaring through the clouds,” she urged tightening her grip on my hand for a moment.

“But—”

“No buts,” my mother scolded shaking her head. “Stop acting like you can’t love her because you feel like it’s a forbidden love. Instead, open your eyes so you can see the love this girl clearly has for you, but holds herself back because of you. Both of you just need to forget about your differences and let go of your emotions. Please, son, can you live as just a man in love with a woman? For me?” she quietly begged gazing up at me through her large, chocolate brown eyes.

I glanced away with a nod. My mother wrapped her small arms around my waist in a quick embrace before stepping away. She waved her goodbyes then disappeared back inside the library. I shook my head at her silly romantic babblings as I headed for the foyer. For a demon she sure was big on the whole being in love thing. She really needed to stop watching all of those ridiculous romance movies. It was clouding her judgment on things.

I pulled myself away from my thoughts lifting my head up as I approached the foyer. I stopped in the shadows of the short hallway under the arch just watching Leighra gaze in amazement at all the little decors inside the foyer. Her dark, loose curls framed the delicate, softly rounded structure of her face beautifully. Those glistening honey brown eyes glancing absentmindedly around the room like she hadn’t yet found the thing she was searching for. Her small, soft hands were shoved deep into the front pocket of her skinny jeans as she slowly paced in circles around the room.

I stepped out of the shadows to approach the beautiful human that had rejected the offer to reclaim her soul so she could stay with me. The moment the light washed over me, her eyes locked on with mine. I watched as those brown eyes lit up with excitement before darkening with a mixture of sadness and anger. My mother had been right. Leighra was battling with herself when it came to knowing how she should feel about me. I wanted to chase away all those doubts and transform that heated glare into one filled with passion.

I approached Leighra, taking notice how her body tensed with anger when I came nearer. She was definitely not happy with me after what I had done. Or hadn’t, in this case. I reached out a hand to stroke her soft skin, but she slapped me away.

My blue eyes gazed down at her apologetically. “Leighra…I’m sorry,” I whispered hoping she could hear the sincerity in my voice and not think I was mocking her.

Her brown eyes widened just enough for me to know that she could indeed hear the honesty of my words.

“Let’s just…go,” she mumbled turning on her heel for the door. Realizing that this was my chance to hold her in my arms again, I rushed up behind her and swung her up into the cradle of my arms twirling her around. That angelic laughter hit my ears like a tidal wave of pure bliss causing a smile to sweep across my face.

“Since we’re going back through the Shadow Realm, I don’t want to lose you,” I said flashing my signature cocky smile. She rolled her eyes in annoyance, but I watched her teeth bite down on her lower lip to hold back the smile.

“Whatever,” she answered folding her arms across her chest. I opened the door to the Shadow Realm and starting making my way through the blackness.

“Just so you know,” her soft voice rang out through the empty darkness. “I’m still mad at you.”

I bit back the smile that threatened to break out across my face. Maybe I could allow myself to forget that I was a demon and just play the part of a man that was beginning to fall for a woman. But…just this once. Not for my mom like I had promised, but for Leighra. So she no longer had to doubt herself anymore. So she could see that being right here, in my arms, was the exact place she needed to be. Even if at first that’s not what she had planned on happening.