What Lucifer showed me rattled me to my core. Because the threat we face is more real than I expected. And dangerous. Dangerous enough to hurt me and the people I care about.
A single tear falls from my eyes as I fix my gaze on Lucifers.
"So, you see... you have much to think about. Are you sure you want to go down this path? Again?" He asks me.
Swallowing hard, I nod. Because I don't have much of a choice.
Do I?
"Very well. But do not take my son down this path with you."
I nod once more, but Lucas interjects.
"Like hell am I staying out of this," he refuses. "And you can't make me. The last time she asked me to back off, she disappeared. Whatever happens... this time... we will deal with it together."
"The same goes for me," Ethan steps forward.
"And me," Eden echoes his sentiment. "This time she won't be alone."
Ignoring them, Lucifer tells me, "You know what to do."
I'm still reeling from what I saw to argue with any of them. Because knowing what I know now puts me in an impossible position. If they choose to continue down this road with me, it will be to their own peril. And I'm not okay with that.
"No," I shake my head. Speaking barely above a whisper. "This is my issue, and mine alone."
"I'm not about to let you disappear on me again," Ethan refuses.
"Well, I don't want, nor do I need your help. So just... back off."
Shaking his head, he tells me. "Not this time."
"Ethan..."
"No. Whatever you're about to say... don't. You are being hunted. The last time you asked us for space, Lucas is right, you disappeared on us. And I'll be damned if I lose you again. So, no... I will not back off. Not now, and not ever again. Whatever this is... we will just have to face it together."
Judging by the looks on their faces, I'm not going to get anywhere with them or be able to talk some sense into them. They're intent on following me down a rabbit hole I know will lead to nothing but death and despair.
"Is there a bathroom here I can use?" I ask.
"Just down the hall," Lucifer points to a hall behind me. A knowing look in his eyes.
He knows what I'm about to do, and I don't know how.
Not that it matters.
Other than... well... he's freaking Lucifer.
Mr. Know-all and be-all himself.
Entering the bathroom, I close and lock the door behind me. Then I head for the nearest window, invoking a sound-proofing spell while I quietly slide it open. The last thing I need is to alert Ethan and his supersonic hearing to what I'm doing when I'm hoping to escape.
Only, I didn't think my escape all the way through. Because the moment my feet hit the ground outside, gravel crunches underneath my boots.
Shit.
I have mere seconds to get back to the portal before they catch up to me. Thankfully, the bathroom is only several feet away from the portal. Because every footfall is a second where Ethan and the others can intercept me. Which is either a coincidence, or Lucifer's attempt at aiding and abetting my soon to be fugitive girlfriend status and my escape for Lucas' sake.
"Ali! Stop!" Ethan shouts. Just as I step inside the portal.
He fades at supersonic Vampyr speed to catch me. Standing before me a split second later. I ready myself to fight him if I must, but he fades into some sort of invisible wall that stands between us and bounces off it.
What the hell?
My gaze travels behind him to where Lucifer stands, and he gives me a slight nod.
He did this.
He's giving me a chance to do what I must do.
"I'm sorry," I tell Ethan. And I mean it. "I really am."
"What did he show you?" He asks. Still fighting against the barrier and gaining ground.
He's strong.
Too strong.
"He showed me what I needed to see. And now I know what I need to do."
"There's no place on earth you can hide from me, Ali. You know this. I WILL find you."
"For your sake... I hope not. Let me do this. Please. I need to do this, and I need you to trust me."
Come on portal... CLOSE...
"I meant what I said," he shakes his head. "Never again."
His eyes burn a bright blue. His power intensifying at an alarming rate. Revealing just how truly powerful Ethan really is. And he's not even breaking a sweat.
It's like he's not even trying.
Yet, seconds later, whatever barrier is between us breaks. And a heartbeat later, Ethan's reaching out for me. But he's a millisecond too late. The portal closes before he can get to me, and I'm thrown back into my room. With the haunted look on his face doing a number on my guilty conscious.
I don't have time to dwell on it, though. I know how fast he is, and I don't want to give him or Lucas time to stop me.
Shoving what I can in my bag, I open another portal that takes me back to Vivienne's. And I'm surprised to find her waiting for me with a bag of her own.
"Took you long enough," she sighs. "Is it safe to assume the breathtakingly beautiful bloodsucker and the spawn of Satan is right behind you?"
"We probably have seconds before they trace me here," I nod.
"Then we better get going."
Vivienne opens another portal, grabs me by the hand, and we step into it. When it spits us out, we're in a wooded area I don't recognize. Surrounded by nothing but the tallest evergreen trees I've ever seen, and a large lake. With an equally as large cabin behind me.
"What is this place?" My brows scrunch together.
"A safe house," she smiles. "You asked me to find you one that only you and I would know about. And you paid me a pretty penny for it too."
Vivienne's been holding out on me...
"Won't they be able to trace the portal here?" I asked.
"Not anymore," her grin deepens.
Chanting words that I understand to be a cloaking spell, her hair blows away from her face, her eyes roll into the back of her head turning a glossy white, and her entire body leans forward so that only the tips of her boots are touching the ground.
She pitches forward once the spell has taken effect and nearly falls on her face. But like a cat, she gracefully finds her footing.
"Whew," she turns to me and smiles. "That was close. Come inside. We have much to discuss."
Vivienne scales the stairs of the cabin, walks up to the front door, and places her palm against it. It swings open and I follow her inside. Locking the door behind us. But this cabin isn't your typical cabin. It hums and zings with magic. Witchmagic. And there's a feather duster floating throughout the room dusting things off while other objects in the room move about, tidying themselves up.
"A house that cleans itself... I know mothers across America who would kill to get their hands on something like this," I stare at it all in awe. "Seriously... we'd be the richest teenagers in the world."
"Yes, but at what cost? A modern-day witch hunt?" Vivienne scoffs. Shaking her head. "I don't think so. Us witches have it bad enough with the supernatural council. The last thing we need is the government catching on to us."
Vivienne disappears into a room I have yet to explore and comes back shoe-less a moment later.
Guess we'll be staying here a while.
"What now?" I ask.
"Now, we go over the information Lucifer gave you, and we follow the symbols."
Curious, I question her, "Why didn't you tell me who you were when Lucas brought me to you?"
"Simple," she shrugs. "You weren't ready."
"Ready for what?"
"The truth."