Lucifer's Cage (After Dark Book 6) by Sarah Bailey (short story to read .txt) 📗

her battered and bruised by someone other than him. She was his to ruin.

“Weak? You think me weak?” He laughed, the sound echoing around the street. “Oh, Beleth, you really have no idea what you’ve awoken.”

A huge, long black whip appeared in his hand. He cracked it. The sound made Candace flinch back. Beleth’s fingers were still around her neck.

“I’ll tell you one last time, release her.”

Beleth’s eyes blazed with anger.

“No.”

Lucifer’s eyes began to glow red, his entire persona changed from light to darkness. His wings turned black, a halo of fire appearing atop his head. Black armour built itself around his chest, arms and legs, glinting in the moonlight. The dark angel he truly was sprung free. The Devil who had no restraints. There was nothing holding him back any longer and Beleth would feel the full brunt of his wrath.

Candace’s good eye widened slightly. Her expression wasn’t one of fear, but complete awe. If he had any doubts about how she felt for him, he didn’t any longer. She’d once told him he wasn’t a knight in shining armour, but now, that’s very much what he was. Her fucked up knight and he would rescue her from everything as long as the two of them continued to breathe.

He brought the whip up and it cracked again.

“Do you still wish to disobey me, Beleth?” he said, his voice not quite sounding like his own.

The demon glared at him.

“I see. Well, I’m going to send you back where you belong.”

The whip sprung forward, wrapping around Beleth’s neck. Once. Twice. Three times. He pulled it taut. The demon didn’t release Candace, but his eyes began to bulge in their sockets. It was time he paid for hurting Lucifer’s woman.

“You’re nothing, Lucifer,” Beleth said, his voice higher than usual and breathy. “Even your own father cast you out. No one cares about the Devil any longer.”

Lucifer pulled the whip tighter, cutting off the demon’s airway. Beleth released Candace’s arm, putting his hand to the whip, trying to prevent it from strangling him. His fingers tightened on Candace’s neck. She whimpered slightly. Lucifer took a step towards them, pulling the whip ever tighter.

“You think your words cut me, Beleth. It is you who is nothing. Worthless. Your daughter hates you. You thought you could use her, but she is more than you’ll ever be. She is my kin too, you know. You’ve forgotten who your master is. I was made by the Divine. I hold His power in the palm of my hands. I can end you with a click of my fingers.”

He wasn’t going to kill Beleth. There were far worse things than death and his demon would suffer them all. He’d make sure of it.

“I will see you in Hell.”

His grip on the whip tightened as he pulled. It dug into Beleth’s neck, slicing through flesh. The demon flailed, dropping Candace who collapsed onto her knees, unable to hold herself up. Both Beleth’s hands went to his neck as he fell to his knees too. He stared up at Lucifer, his eyes wide with hatred but also fear.

A final tug sawed through bone, disconnecting his head from his body. It dropped to the floor. Black blood sprayed out of his neck coating both Candace and Lucifer. Then his body keeled over and fell to the floor.

Lucifer may have killed his mortal form on Earth, but Beleth would return to Hell. And there, he would be punished.

He turned, finding Dantalion still on his knees, his head bowed.

“Return to Hell if you know what’s good for you.”

The demon scrambled to his feet, looking up at his lord with fear. His eyes fell on Beleth’s decapitated body and he blanched.

“Of course, my Lord. Sorry, my Lord.”

Dantalion ran down the street, not looking back.

Lucifer closed the distance between himself and Candace, dropping to his knees. He tucked his fingers under her chin. She stared at him, tears streaming down her face. She looked so broken and it tore at his soul.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I left and they did this to you.”

She reached out a shaky hand, cupping his cheek. Her thumb traced a line along his bottom lip. She tugged him towards her. Her lips met his with the gentlest of touches.

“I can’t talk. He strangled me when I refused to go with them. They waited until you left before they came in and woke me up. They put a cuff on my wrist. It prevented me from using my magic. They wanted to torture me. Both of them. Don’t believe the other one, he was just as bad.”

He’d known Dantalion was lying to him but chose to allow the demon to think he had gotten away with it. He would suffer just as much as Beleth for their transgressions against Candace.

He pulled away from her, cupping her face. He’d heal every last one of her bruises. His power washed over her, soothing away all of her pain and cleaning away Beleth’s black blood. She blinked rapidly, both eyes open. The cuff fell to the ground, he scooped it up.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you for saving me.”

She practically threw herself into his arms, clutching him tightly, quiet sobs emitting from her lips. Her fingers trailed over his wings, sending shivers down his spine.

“I’ll always protect you, my little witch. You’re mine to hurt and ruin, not theirs.”

“Yours. I’ll always be yours.”

He picked her up, cradling her to his chest. She didn’t seem to mind his armour. Her head rested on his shoulder, her fingers tracing lines along the curve of his wing.

“That’s very distracting.”

“Where are we going?”

“You’re not safe here. I’m going to take you home. You need to sleep, but I’ll return you in the morning. I promise.”

He took to