Lucifer (The Devil Chronicles #1)

Chapter 8

I burst through the door to find God and Charlie sitting on the couch.

"Luke?!" Charlie said, standing up. I walked over to God as he stood up.

"YOU KILLED HER?!" I growled as I grasped my hair.

"Lucifer, it was time--" He started.

"NO! IT WASN'T HER TIME. WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NOW?!" I yelled.

"Who's Lucifer? Isn't he the devil?" Charlie interrupted. I ignored her.

"What is going to happen now?" I asked again. God looked at me.

"She is going to choose." He said calmly. Damn his calmness. It really pissed me off.

"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP." Charlie screamed. I looked at her and so did God.

"Now explain. How are you here, Luke. And why did He call you Lucifer?" She said.

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. I had to tell her. "Charlie, my name is Lucifer. I am the leader of the Underworld." Her jaw dropped and she backed away.

"The Underworld?" She gasped, losing her breath and clutching her chest. She stared at the floor, a look of comprehension in her eyes. I knew she was trying to figure out whether I was joking or if I was crazy. After a moment, she spoke. "How does that affect me? How could we have met? I mean, I know I joked about being in hell thanks to the whole cancer thing but not literally--

"We're soulmates." I interrupted her. She stared at me, her mouth open in an "O" shape.

"Soulmates? Um, okay, I'm gonna ignore that for a sec because I have a million other things other than your dumb pick up lines. I'm dead? What do I do now? Go to heaven or something?" She asked, looking to God. "And how's my father?" She questioned, looking back at me.

"It's not a pick up line. C'mon give me more credit than that. And he's...okay." I lied, looking away from her gorgeous eyes.

"How are we soulmates? You're the devil, do you even have a soul?" Charlie scoffed.

Ouch. That hurt.

"I didn't think I did, until I met you." I whispered. Ha, take that for a pick up line. Charlie glanced at me, realizing her words had hurt me. There was an awkward silence, as I didn't know what else to say to her. What do you say when you have so much to say?

"I believe you two need some time together. Why don't you take Charlie with you to the Underworld, to see how she likes it?" God said, as though Charlie were simply seeing how she liked a condo. I rolled my eyes and shoved my hands in my hair, turning around and hitting my head against the wall.

"Oh stop it, Lucifer, you're being dramatic," God scolded.

"No, I'll go." Charlie said.

I spun around and looked at her. "Are you sure? It's super scary. Plus, I don't have a soul, remember? I may hurt you." I spit at her.

She gasped, her eyes full of hurt. I was being a dick but I didn't know what else to do or say. 

"Whatever, let's go." I grumbled. I took her hand and pulled her to my chest. She cringed at first and then softened under my touch. "Hold on tight." I whispered. She nodded and I felt her arms tighten around me. I raised two fingers to my forehead, giving God a salute. He nodded and winked. Bastard. I snapped my fingers and we were in my apartment.

Charlie pulled away from me immediately. "Where are we?" She asked, looking around the room. I didn't want to answer her. I knew based on how quickly she pulled away that she was scared of me.

"This is where I live. I'll show you around later. I need to go to my office," I turned away, about to walk out.

"Luke, wait," she grabbed my arm and I stiffened, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean the soul comment." She said softly.

"It's okay. Maybe you're right. I probably don't have a soul," I responded, sighing. Everyone always assumed I was this asshole because of my job. That's why my previous girlfriend left. I will admit though, it must be hard to date the devil. Just try being him.

"Luke," she whispered, stepping closer to me, "I've seen your soul. You saw me, not the cancer. You were kind to me. I know we just met but I feel like I know you." 

I sighed and turned around. I pulled her close and held her against my chest. "I can't promise you that you can be happy with me. And for that, I'm so sorry." I kissed the top of her head. "Please, go to Heaven. You can be with your mom," I insisted, looking down into her green eyes. It would be better for her if she left. But I knew if she left, there was no hope for whatever soul was left. And that was fine, as long as she's happy.

"You don't get that choice, Luke. I'm staying for now and let's see how this goes. I may leave, I may stay. I don't know yet," she protested. She was a stubborn pain in the ass but I felt my heart lighten.

I sighed. I've been doing a lot of sighing recently. "Fine." I pulled away gently and walked to the door.

"Can I come to the office with you?" I heard Charlie ask quietly.

I turned around again. "Do you want to?" I asked, surprised. "There isn't much to do. I have to sort stuff. I've been gone a while."

"I can try to help. I don't want to stay here without you," Charlie insisted.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you can come." I led her to the door and we walked down the steps. "I should warn you, the Souls are kind've freaky at first."

She nodded and I opened the door. We walked down the rows and I walked up to Veronica's desk.

"Veronica, this is Charlie. She will be staying with us for a few days. Charlie, this is my assistant Veronica." I explained.

"Hi, how are you?" Charlie said politely, holding out her hand. Veronica looked at her hand like it was on fire. Charlie pulled her hand away and looked at me confused. I rolled my eyes and led her away. Veronica wasn't used to humans and she made it very clear about her feelings towards them.

We walked down the one of the aisles of Souls to get to my office. Charlie stopped and gripped my hand tightly, causing me to stop. I turned around to look at her, and she was staring at one of the Souls.

"Charlie, what is it?" I asked, touching her face gently. She looked so scared. She continued to stare at the soul until she said something so quietly I could barely hear it.

"Dad?"