Ethereal

Phillip's POV

Close to midnight, I paid my tab. The Lighthouse wasn't doing it for me.

The walk to the parking spots, behind the bar, was short.

Hairs on my neck stood.

Leaning on my bike, wearing knee-high boots and ridiculously tight pants and top, was Samantha.

"Leaving before last call?"

"Piss off, Sam." I barked, thinking up ways of removing her from my Ducatti, without breaking her neck.

Heels clicked on pavement as she neared me, smiling foxily.

"You should drink a little more. Turn that gray into yellow. Sadness into happiness?" She was talking auras. "You were nicer to me when you were drunk."

"Don't remind me," I hissed. The only time I'd managed to get drunk—last summer—I'd screwed her.

"Mean," she fake-pouted, strolling the distance between us. "Hell really did a number on you." My spine straightened at the H-word. Sam looked infinitely pleased with the reaction, poking my left peck. "We want to find out just how much is left of you. How much isn't damaged goods."

Tiny flames emerged from beneath my fingernails, clawing their way up my arm. She saw it, but didn't look the tinniest bit concerned. Unless that Succubus turned her into a fire-proof blanket, I suggested she backed up.

My blazing hand froze inches from her neck.

Up close, I could see the edges of Sam's brown eyes turn white. Power crowed the street—hers. Tendrils of unease scaled their way from the pits of my stomach, patching up a heavy bitch called dread, the size of wrecking ball. It swung into me from all possible sides, along with a strong smell. A very aggressive smell of sweat.

I faltered a step under her laughing eyes.

The urge to fight back died when shapes took form. Tainted shadows moved in on me, making guttural sounds that caused my ears to bleed—like they were inside my head.

"You're seeing it yet? What you're scared of?" She asked, as if chatting about the weather. "You're looking a little pale, Phillip. You should sit down, enjoy the fresh air."

Her cooing made me ignore the lurking shadows and—I gasped when a shadow turned bone and flesh. My blood screamed revenge at the sight of brown hair, granite eyes and sharp chin.

My first week into Hell, Romeo had been my torturer. He'd put me through things R-rated movies wouldn't show, things that put serial killers to shame, things that made me want to rock in a dark corner and wait for death.

The crooked smile on his lips killed any self-control.

I gave myself over to Power. Flames engulfed me in a cluster. They jumped like killer Shepard, aiming for the Cambion. More shadows shaped up, into Tapeworms, Hounds—even animals, like the giant spiders.

With all the red jutting from me, I lost Sam. A Demon streaked across the fire, unharmed, backing me into an ally wall. How the—?

Chest cramping in pain, I gasped. Romeo came out of the sea of flames like it didn't touch him. My brain told me "look for Sam". But why? Why would Sam be in Hell? Because I was in Hell—paying for my brother's life.

"No where to run," Romeo shrugged the smirk away. His mouth opened in a snarl before jumping me—biting my neck. A vicious acid filled my insides, rushing to every vein, artery. My knees gave out as Cambion poison hit me good. "I missed this game. Didn't you?" He wiped blood off his mouth, grinning.

I touched my neck, where pain lanced. This was a game to him—my life. He was going to let the poison infect me for about three hours. Then feed me the antidote and do it all over.

"I keep forgetting, which one goes first? Liver or lungs?" A heavy stomp on the ribs made me scream. "Whoops, I think something broke. Now," he kicked me over, keeping me pined with a foot. "Answer me, liver or lungs?"

All I did was think the answer. That same second, I sputtered blood. It was the liver. But... it was too soon. This shouldn't be happening yet—

"It's not real," a voice broke through the shudders and blind hurt. "None of this is. It's all in your head, Phillip. Snap out of it."

"Is it?" I heard another female voice. Sam's!

The sweaty stench got so bad it made me want to barf.

Hot-spots of pain flared, making me hold my stomach. Organ liquefaction. Not cool. Blobs of saliva fought up my throat, I spit out gooey redness with bits of entrails. Fear went off like a nuclear bomb.

A wave of tingly heat spread around me. There were shouts, whispers in my ears, I couldn't make them out. But they were scared.

I peeked my eyes open. Wincing took a brutal amount of will. This time... it really felt like this was it. I was going to die. In a flicker, though, I saw Romeo's sadistic smirk blink out. His body and the Demons returned to their former inky shapes.

They left.

Same happened with the pain and the blood I'd coughed up.

Sam was possessed by a Succubus, it hit me. I wasn't in Hell, I was on Earth. Everything had been in my head, a bad memory. She'd spiked my fear pheromones or whatever.

Freaking whacked out bitch.

"She's gone," a soft voice called, rather annoyed.

"It doesn't matter," another, mature and self-assured, said. My head snapped quickly. No way. "He's going to be okay now, that's what matters."

It couldn't be, but it was. And hell if I cared how she was here.

"Serena?" I croaked, pulling myself up, rubbing my head. I had a gash. Must've hit my head on a wall.

Summer-sky blue eyes slashed through the darkness of the parking lot. Not even my memories could make justice to those eyes, they were singularly beautiful.

Not breathing a word, she edged closer, until we were at arm's length. I'd seen her in a dungeon, dirty and bruised, still, I'd known her soft cheek lines, full lips and candid skin were outwardly. Now, her hair was a healthy color of gold, her cheeks had more life and...

I was staring at her like an addict stared at a bag of heroin.

"Wow," I breathed, once slender, yet strong, arms hugged me. "That's a pretty good bear hug you got going." She chuckled. I hugged her back, trying not to suffocate her.

A sweet vanilla scent made my heart kick. I mentally punched myself. I was acting like such a girl.

"How are you here?" I grabbed her shoulders.

"That's not really important," Serena said. "We have to leave before someone comes out back." She nodded at a parked car. Its tires were melted rubber, and scorch marks painted the parking lot spaces.

"Damn," I bit.

"You went nuts." She spun around walking a few feet into the street, where a silver Kia was parked. The passenger's window was rolled down. A young girl with black hair stared at us. "That's Jade."

"Nina's friend." Serena nodded, then, stopped. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she looked at me. "There's something I have to tell you, something Jade told me."

"Okay," I smacked hair from getting into my eyes. "What is it?"

"There's no easy way to say this," she paused, looking to the teen, who nodded. "Lucifer is inside Cameron's body. I know I didn't complete the ritual—but the last part was just guiding the soul into the new body. I'd already extracted it! And... the circles of blood connected them, so Lucifer found his way—"

Serena's words choked to a stop when I laughed. Loudly. Looking like a mad-man, I tossed my head back still in a fit of laughter. I expected Serena to pop a smile and join me. She didn't. Her gaze was all serious and terrified.

Slowly, I got a grip. Maybe now she'd break her shit's-about-to-hit-the-fan face and say "gotcha!".

"You're kidding?" I asked. When nothing about Serena changed, I glanced over to Jade. "She's kidding, right?"

The shy girl let out a no.

Ah. Shit.

"But he's been fine." Well, moody as hell. It didn't mean he was Satan.

Serena's hand grabbed my jacket.

"Listen. Jade can see Soul Threads—connections between souls. She saw two Threads coming from Cameron! That's only possible if there are two souls inside of his body." I didn't know what to be more surprised by. The fact that souls had connections or that my brother was the Devil.

Okay, number two.

"He's been normal."

"Because Lucifer's soul was weakened. He had to enter Cameron's body on his own, that's what I was telling you about. If I'd done the last part, Lucifer wouldn't have been exhausted. He would've been stronger than Cam and taken over that same instant." Her fingers dropped away from my sleeve. "I thought it hadn't worked until Jade told me... I'm so sorry, Phillip."

Rubbing a hand across my brow, I reached inside a jacket pocket. What now?

"It's Nina," I slid my thumb over the green. "Hey, I was just about to go home—he's gone? What do you mean? Are you sure he didn't go hunting..." My eyes never left Serena's as I listened to my brother's girlfriend. Nina was panicked. Almost like... "I'm leaving the Lighthouse, okay? I'll be there soon. Don't leave the house."

"What happened?"

I was already heading for my bike when Serena's voice caught up.

"Cam's missing." Throwing a leg over the red bike, I wasted no time starting it. "I have to get down there."

Serena ran to her Kia, "We'll follow you."

I raced down the snowy roads on auto-pilot. I got my long awaited wish. Serena was here. Only her presence was the messenger of doom. I couldn't wrap my head around it. Lucifer inside Cameron?

Fuck it.

How hadn't I noticed? Sure mood changes were typical, but headaches—the frigging headaches in the middle of class? My head was so far up my ass.

Doing a left that was entirely too risky for someone without helmet, I rode into the garden full force.

The front door that weighed a ton, seemed to weigh nothing as Nina threw it open, running down the wrap-around porch. She came towards me, eyes moving over the silver car in a wild run.

"Jesus," she blew out. "Did you fly here?"

"Something like that."

Car doors smacked and both girls met us. Nina was almost knocked on her ass by the petite teenager.

"Jade? How...?"

"How doesn't matter, right now. They told me that—"

"Lucifer is in Master Cameron's body!" Jade yelled, pulling back, but keeping her arms around Nina.

My Ex's mouth opened and closed. She looked like a deer, struck by big, fat headlights.

"But you already know that, don't you?"

"I..."

"You didn't tell me."

"I didn't know how—I wasn't sure you could—how you'd handle it!"

Nice.

Nina was afraid of my mental health. And after what Sam managed to pull out of me... she was right.

"Are you seriously going to fight about this now?" Serena must've seen my head-strong glare.

"How do you know he's not hunting?"

"Because he said he wasn't going out tonight. Because I..." clasping a hand over her star pendant, she closed her eyes. "I had a dream. I think Cameron's in trouble."

"When isn't he?" I muttered, earning a scowl. "What kind of trouble?"

"Is it losing his body enough trouble for you?" Nina actually shoved me back a step.

"Calm down, both of you." Serena said.

Jade hovered Nina's side while I breathed fast. Deeply.

"Can you do a locator spell?"

"I can try."

Darting inside, I looked for a local map, spreading it on the coffee table. After Nina cleared it, that was. Serena took off the crystal pendant I always saw around her neck. It was a six-sided hematite, at least two inches long, wrapped in silver wire.

"Give me your hand." I did, and the next minute a jackhammer pounded my heart into overdrive. I looked down, hiding the flush creeping over my cheeks. "Having someone blood related or something personal helps the connection. Just relax and think about Cameron." Hard to do when she was holding my hand.

Serena let her crystal fall over the map. A strange tingling started at the tips of my toes, following up my legs and stomach, reaching my head. It was gone one second, back the next. Like a scanner.

No one else looked like they were getting probed.

Was this what Magic felt like?

The black crystal moved left, spinning quickly. It's point dove for the map, then dragged across it, forcing Serena's hand to move. Her concentration was impeccable. When the pendant flattered, I actually forced myself to think about Cameron. But it didn't move again.

"He's close," she whispered, eyelids scrunching shut. "But there's something... I can't get a clear read on him. There's Magic blocking me."

Serena blinked, putting the necklace back. The on-and-off prickle vanished when her hand slipped from mine. A slender finger pinpointed where the crystal had stopped.

"I'm not sure where, but he's in the forest."

"Can you trace the Magic?"

"I..." Serena's gaze fixed itself over my shoulder. I felt it. The presence in the room. The same I'd felt all my life.

Nina's POV

I bolted from the couch, breathing a sigh, right before steely gray threw me back. With tousled black hair, falling over his forehead like a curtain, Cameron stood in front of a wide open door. Everything about him, physically, was there.

All but the eyes. Those were cunning and laughing, I decided. And absolutely not black.

"Cameron," I pushed myself to whisper.

A beat of silence later, his head cocked.

"Wrong guy, I'm afraid." The ground dropped from under me.

"Lucifer," a voice just like Cam's popped from beside me. Phillip.

"In the flesh." Cam's face twisted in a slick smile. "Well, in borrowed flesh, but still."

Phill popped up before Cameron—Lucifer—grabbing him by the neck, tossing him aside. He bounced off a wall panel, denting it. Not giving him time to shake off, Phillip immobilized Cam—Lucifer—seizing the back of his head, sinking it into the carpet. He kicked Cam's back—Lucifer's back—my head was beginning to hurt.

"You son of a..." Phill's words were mute by a bark of laughter. Chilling and extremely familiar. But it wasn't my boyfriend laughing. It was the evil inside of him.

"You can punch, kick, torture," he began. "I've lived too many lifetimes for your little heads to understand. I've been through it all. Done it all. You can't actually hurt me, Phillip."

With that, Lucifer sprang from underneath Phill's hold. A grand tiger escaping a hunter's trap. He punted Phillip's leg and twisting an arm, forcing the rusty haired boy onto one knee. Phill's mouth parted in a silent wince.

Lips brushing Phillip's ear, the possessed Cam whispered, "You and I may have the same amount of Power while I'm using your brother's body, but don't think for a second we're on the same level. I know how to tap into its full potential. If I were you, I wouldn't try this again."

With a hand push, Phillip kissed the floor. Cameron's body straightened. He looked at me.

"Little star," he taunted, just like in the dream. "It's nice to see you again. I'm dying to get down to business."

"Cameron's going to come back any minute." I stated, pretty darn confident. "There will be no business."

"Huh," he mussed. "That's where you're wrong. Cameron isn't coming back."

Staggering, I felt Jade behind me, shaking.

"What?"

Smiling at the stammer, he gave Phillip a passing glare before walking closer.

"What I said. Dear Cameron isn't coming out. Unless I let him. You see, the Witch was supposed to guide my soul inside, instead, I had to waste my own energy. Thank you for that, by the way." He sneered Serena's way, who was stoic-still by the coffee table. "It took a little more time than expected,but I finally managed to knock Cameron's stubborn soul from control."

"That can't be..." I muttered.

"But it is." He smiled widely. "Hello there, little one." When his gaze locked on Jade my body was swept by an array of emotions. Protectiveness among them.

"Don't even try messing with her, you hear? I swear I'll hurt you." I growled.

"I've heard that one before." For a slice of time, melancholia filled Cam's features along with an ironic grin.

It was gone too soon.

"You're crazy."

"Definitely," Lucifer agreed.

Phillip launched a fireball at Cam's back. Lucifer's back. God!

Showing no more than a cringe, Lucifer worked out a kink on his neck, taking off the smoking shirt. Suppressing a blush—because no matter who was in control, those rippled abs never changed—I felt speechless. The brunt skin healed up in a pinch, faster than Cameron had ever done it. But it left something behind. Not the immaculate golden complexion.

A tattoo.

Not the crescent moon on his left shoulder blade. That had been untouched.

In the middle of his back, in pure black ink, was the design of a cobra. It was curled up some; its head was lifted high, it stared ahead at us with ruby eyes.

"Oh, no." Serena's gasp broke the silence as Lucifer dropped the tattered sweater.

"Oh, yes." A strange glee in his pupils. "I hope you don't mind the artwork. It's temporary, once the seal's lifted, it'll be gone."

"Seal?"

"He's locked himself in Cam's body. Doing a spell to pull him out would damage Cam's soul permanently. If it even worked." Serena explained, arms dropping in a helpless gesture.

"You do know your Magic, little Witch." Blue eyes slit on him. "I had to take precautions before coming home. Wouldn't want you to ruin all my hard work. Or Romeo's."

Phillip stiffened at the name. He always did that.

"After all, he's been sending so many Demons here. What? You thought so many of them were coincidence? No." Color me surprised sideways. Another evil master plan. "I needed Cameron's defenses down, needed him weaker and since Cameron couldn't say no to Demon clean-ups..." He shrugged, rubbing both hands.

"Romeo's here?"

Lucifer spared no side-glance as he climbed up the stairs. What the hell was happening here?

"He's been here for quite a while. I'll see you all in the morning, that sealing spell was nasty." With a lazy tilt of head, he regarded all of us before going down the hall. "Night, sleep tight."

Door closing in the distance, I stood there, completely shaken out of my wits.

"Did the Devil just wish goodnight?"

"I... yeah."

While Serena and Phillip looked like morons, thinking about Satan having manners, I did my best not to scream.

Or cry. Or both.

Not even Jade's hands, on my arms, steadied me onto reality. Not when the thought crossed my mind.

Cameron's gone.