When they got back to Lux, Lilian had left. Maze while busy bartending informed them Amenadiel was upstairs.
When the elevator opened, Chloe saw Lucifer's brother standing on the balcony staring out into the night. He nodded at Lucifer and smiled softly at Chloe. She went outside to stand beside him while Lucifer headed to the bar.
"So your mom is in town?" she stated.
He looked at her warily but nodded.
"Are you okay? Considering how upset you were a few days ago it's hard to imagine that everything is well?"
"I don't know what to think. It almost feels like old times and it's easy to let oneself sink into believing one can go back. But she did some terrible things killing those children and...whatever else she did." With those words, he glanced at Lucifer.
Chloe realized Amenadiel had strong feelings for his mom and was very conflicted. She had liked Lilian but a person who could do what she did to her child -- that indicated something seriously wrong and disturbed. She realized she hadn't asked Lucifer if his brother and Maze knew what she had done...she didn't think so. She glanced at him, he looked frozen at the bar staring at her with worry in his eyes. She shook her head to assure him she wouldn't say anything. His shoulders sand and he visibly relaxed and poured drinks.
"What did you talk about?" Lucifer asked as he brought over drinks.
"Things I've done for father. She doesn't approve," he said wryly. "She was visibly angry when I told her I had tried to bring you back to hell."
"Did she say anything else about me?" the devil asked taking a swig of his drink.
"No. Just talked about free will as she always did. Her main focus was on how much she missed us," he said softly, eyes downcast.
"You know we can never go back -- she did too much damage. Father will want her returned to hell," Lucifer stated firmly.
"I asked what she did..." Amenadiel stated while staring intently at his brother.
Lucifer didn't move but he met Amenadiel's eyes when he interrupted, "We know what she did - everyone knew about the children.
"To you," Amenadiel finished his sentence.
Chloe's cell phone rang - she cursed it. She quickly got up and moved back inside so she wouldn't interrupt.
With a heavy heart, she returned to find Lucifer standing tense and just heard Amenadiel say, "...nothing. Perhaps she's ashamed of whatever she did to you. I wish you could have faith in me to tell me what happened."
Lucifer scoffed, "Really? Because you've been so supportive of me in the past. I don't remember you begging father to let me stay in heaven."
"Lucifer," Chloe interrupted.
He turned to her. "Yes?"
"We have a case, we need to leave."
He glared at the angel. "...And not a moment too soon this conversation is over." He headed to his bedroom. "I'll be right out Detective, just need to change my clothes."
Amenadiel leaned close to her, his eyes were troubled. "Do you know?"
She hesitated. There was no way she would talk about this.
"A simple yes or no -- and as an angel, I can tell if it's the truth."
"I'm not going to answer that."
Amenadiel inhaled sharply. "I can tell just by the look on your face. So it was bad?"
He took a shaky breath, his body tensing. He bit his lower lip and blinked rapidly a few times. "So our mom should go back to hell?" he asked hoarsely.
Chloe took a deep breath. "I liked her and can see the woman she perhaps once was. I'm a big believer in second chances when they are deserved but considering what she did...if she were human...I would want her locked up forever."
The angel gasped. She wondered if he already suspected what had been done to his little brother. He leaned on the balcony wall again. "Thank you. It's not what I had hoped to hear but...I had my doubts about all of this as well."
"I'm sorry," Chloe said sincerely. "She is your mom. I know this must hurt."
Amenadiel just nodded and gulped the drink. "More than you'll ever know."
"Alright Detective, ready?" Lucifer emerged looking handsome as ever in a black suit with a light grey shirt.
"Another child has gone missing -- a little boy about eight years old."
Lucifer and Amenadiel exchanged a worried look.
"Wait you don't think your mother did this? He was abducted about 30 minutes ago -- was she still here?"
Amenadiel breathed a sigh of relief. "I was with her then."
"Good, so it wasn't her. Come on Lucifer we need to go." She tapped his arm to snap him out of whatever trance he was in.
"No need to manhandle me, Detective, I was just thinking," he chided.
She rolled her eyes. "You can do that in the car."
He huffed and then threw his brother a parting glance.
The little boy had been abducted on his way home from a dinner at a friend's house. His bicycle was found on the sidewalk. Reports from eyewitnesses said he got into a white SUV with a woman driver -- no description was available.
The night had turned dark by the time they got there.
As Chloe talked to forensics Lucifer paced about looking bored. A call came in saying the SUV had been spotted by a recreational area near the river. They headed down.
"Wasn't the muddy footprint from the carousel theft from a river?" Lucifer contemplated.
"It might just be a strange coincidence or lead us to a more substantial clue."
The area was crawling with police holding flashlights and following search and rescue dogs.
"Let's go east along the river," Chloe suggested. "The forest and fields of the surrounding area were being searched. I think we should check along the river bank."
"But Detective, I'm hardly wearing appropriate footwear for a stroll in the mud. These are Gucci you know," Lucifer whined - looking greatly put out.
She gave an annoyed huff. "Fine you stay here. I'm not afraid of getting a little dirty." She smirked.
He grinned devilishly. "Mmm Detective perhaps I will follow."
She shook her head. "You know what I meant."
"Detective!" he shouted after her as she head away from him.
"Bye Lucifer."
He groaned, paused, and then trotted after her. "Detective, wait up."
She smiled to herself. She knew he wouldn't stand for being left behind even if his precious shoes got dirty.
The forest was alive with frogs, night birds, and even an owl hooted in the distance.
Chloe focused her flashlight along the banks of the river. After about 15 minutes she realized with trepidation that suddenly everything had grown quiet no birds no frogs -- nothing but a sudden silence.
"How long are..."
"Shh." She quickly shushed Lucifer. They trudged on quietly, Chloe dimmed the light just enough so they could make out the bank when suddenly Lucifer grabbed her arm tightly.
"Over to the right," he whispered.
She pulled her gun and focused the full beam and gasped.
Standing there was a woman or rather what was left of one. It was as if a decomposing corpse had sprung to life. Sagging skin a pale greenish hue, spots of flesh had fallen off showing bone. The eye sockets sunken and...the smell. Chloe almost gagged.
The woman was dragging something when Chloe shone her light on it - she saw the missing boy's body. Either dead or unconscious. She was so shocked she hadn't even realized the woman was holding a gun until Lucifer stepped in front of her.
She went to push him out of the way when the woman let out a gurgle, firing into the air. She knew Lucifer had enforced hellfire. "Where are the other children," he growled.
Moaning in pain the escapee from hell opened her mouth to answer when her lower jaw suddenly dropped off.
Swallowing heavily with her stomach churning Chloe looked away for a moment as the body collapsed. Lucifer snarled fiercely making the hair on Chloe's neck stand on end. She glanced at him -- he almost shimmered he gave a roar that made her gasp and the body on the ground incinerated into a heap of ash. She shivered, she had no idea he was capable of incinerating people.
Unearthly growls and baying sounded in the distance but came rapidly closer. She closed her eyes when suddenly another shot rang out and Lucifer fell back against her slightly. She immediately started firing at the man that had stepped out from the bushes. She didn't know if she hit him as he fell to his knees she glanced at Lucifer to see him morph into a burned, scarred hairless creature with glowing eyes. She gasped. The man on the ground was screaming. The air around Lucifer seemed to vibrate and grow unbearably hot. She stepped away from him as he again asked the question, "Where are the other children?" His voice was deep and cold without emotion. The man whined but didn't answer.
Suddenly a flurry of huge black and gray shapes snarled into the space followed by an overpowering whiff of brimstone. Chloe put her hand over her face to keep from gagging. For a split second one of the shapes materialized and she saw something like a hairless bear, with short black fur, and saliva dripping from its fangs with glowing red eyes. It turned lightning fast and joined its companion as the man went limp and was dead.
The hellhounds disappeared as fast as they came leaving only a scent of burning sulfur wafting through the air. Chloe knew she was shaking. "Are you alright?" she called out to Lucifer as she bent down to the boy to check for a pulse. She was beyond relieved to find him alive. Thankfully he had stayed unconscious through the whole ordeal.
Lucifer was back to looking like himself but was panting hard and had grasped his arm; she could see blood between his fingers.
After dragging the boy away from the pile of ash she ran to his side while phoning for help.
"Let me see how bad it is?" she demanded
"Bossy aren't you? I'm fine Detective," his voice was strained.
"Does it hurt? Take off your jacket," she ordered.
"I can take everything off if you like, Detective?" he suggested while breathing heavily.
She frowned. "Only you can think of sex at a time like this."
He laughed hoarsely. "I was only offering to take my clothes off so you could fully check me for injuries. You are the one who immediately leaped to the conclusion of sex proving you are the one with the dirty mind. Can't stop thinking about it when you are near me, Detective?"
She ignored him and examined the wound. Thankfully it was superficial some skin had been gouged rather deeply and it was bleeding rather heavily but nothing substantial. He swayed suddenly and she quickly guided him over to a fallen log. She put her hand to his forehead - not surprised to find it abnormally hot.
"We need to get you out of here."
He closed his eyes and nodded. She suspected the efforts of using hellfire twice in a row in a short amount of time plus getting shot had made him nauseous again.
When forensics and the rest of the team showed up she got one of the paramedics to administer and wrap Lucifer's arm. She took just long enough to hear that the child would be okay and then quickly got Lucifer back to the car. She had suggested waiting for a gurney but the devil was stubborn and insisted he was fine to walk. Since he was fully conscious, albeit much quieter than normal she let him, grabbing his good arm just in case he swayed again.
They got back to the car without incident and headed to the penthouse. Much to her shock, Lilian was sitting on the sofa talking to Amenadiel. They both jumped up looking startled when they saw Lucifer. She quickly explained what had happened while watching Lilian closely.
"He needs to be cooled down quickly. Does Lux have a walk-in freezer?" Lilian looked concerned and there was anxiety in her voice.
"Yes but..." Amenadiel responded but didn't finish his sentence as Lilian cut him off.
"Quickly, let's go."
Chloe looked helplessly at Amenadiel but the angel looked just as conflicted as she felt. He quickly picked up Lucifer who was very flushed and barely conscious at this point and carried him into the elevator. Consider he was being carried like a baby and not protesting or punching the daylights out of his brother attested to just how miserable he was feeling.
Maze immediately spotted them and raced from behind the bar to join them.
"What's going on?"
Amenadiel filled her in and they lay Lucifer in the ice-cold freezer.
"This is going to bring his temperature down too low, that's what happened before - and started all this trouble." Chloe worried.
Lilian looked up> "I know you all don't trust me and I can understand why but believe me this will help - he only needs to be in here for a short while. He'll start to feel better. I'll go if you want me to -- but you need to stay with him."
"it would probably be for the best if you left," Chloe said softly.
Lilian's dark eyes lit on her -- and a shiver went up Chloe's back. She knew at that moment that Lilian knew that Lucifer had told her.
She looked puzzled and her gaze softened when it landed on Lucifer again. "What happened to his arm? It almost looks like he's bleeding?'
"He is, he was shot but it's just a graze," Chloe informed her.
"That's impossible, he can't bleed." Lilian looked at Amenadiel and Maze.
Maze's eyes narrowed before she shrugged. "He doesn't normally. Must have been a special bullet."
Chloe wondered why Maze was lying.
Amenadiel noted never to play poker with Maze. She diverted the truth from Lilian.
Lilian just nodded. "I see. Take care of him." She brushed her hand over his forehead and left.
Lucifer was too out of it to notice.
"I'll get blankets for us," Amenadiel offered.
Maze and Chloe sat on either side of Lucifer. "You know it's you that weakens him," the demon hissed.
"What do you mean?"
"He's the devil. He's immortal and invincible. He doesn't bleed. When you aren't around he can be shot point blank and the bullets just bounce off him. You make him - human. He can die around you and immediately end up back in hell."
She remembered back when she had been shot. She thought the pain and blood loss had made her see things. She remembered him being shot numerous times but coming out of it without a scratch. She also remembered him telling her bullets just bounced off of him. Yet when she shot him he bled and experienced pain.
"How can that be? He was immune at the beginning but now he bleeds. I don't think it has anything to do with me -- maybe the longer he stays on earth the more human he becomes?"
Amenadiel walked in with some blankets. "No Chloe, we tested it a few weeks ago. When you aren't around he's invincible."
Fear coiled in her gut. "Will he recover faster if I'm not near him?" she asked concerned, her brow furrowing as she stared at him afraid to touch him.
"No, I don't think the speed of his healing is affected by you. Look he's already not as flushed and his skin feels cooler," Amenadiel assured her.
Hesitantly she reached out and felt his forehead. He did feel cooler and his eyes fluttered open.
"Where's mum?" he asked looking around.
"She left," Maze answered lifting his chin to peer into his eyes. She stroked his cheek. "Are you feeling better?"
"Much. So she offered some helpful advice," he noted. His black eyes held a puzzled expression.
"It appears so," Chloe answered squeezing his arm. "Thank you for stepping in front of that bullet. You shouldn't have though -- I was the one holding the gun."
"Wouldn't have made a difference. The danger was the escapee could have killed you and taken your body...and I happen to like your body as is...we wouldn't want some foul evil soul inhabiting it. Plus you would have gone to heaven and I'm banished from there." He glared at his brother.
Maze sighed. "Do you feel well enough to go back upstairs?"
"I'd rather go with the Detective since her case put a bullet in me -- I should recover at her house," he stated looking innocently at the Detective rubbing his arm.
"One of your escaped soul's fired that bullet at you -- not in you -- so I'm not in the least responsible for that," Chloe smirked at him.
Amenadiel's face dissolved into a mischievous smile. "It's my fault. Since I'm responsible -- would you like me to carry you again as I did before? I can take care of you brother -- spoon feed you, tuck you in, sing to you?"
Maze grinned evilly. "You should cuddle with him; he might be a bit cold after all."
Lucifer bolted to his feet. "Enough, why don't you all just go on your merry way and leave me to my misery," he huffed and headed to the door.
Chloe reached out, grabbing his arm for a moment, stopping him. His expression softened. "Are you okay? You can come home with me if you want?"
He smiled then but admitted, "I'm tired more tired than I think I've ever been. While I'm always an exemplary company I fear I might drift off."
"That's okay." She took a deep breath. "After everything that happened, I'd feel better if I can watch you tonight."
He snorted. "Perv."
She grinned. "Shut up -- you know what I mean." She smacked him lightly on the arm.
"Oww!"
"Oh sorry!" She looked more closely. "Wait a sec -- your other arm is the injured one."
He grinned teasingly. "Just wanted to make sure you were paying attention."
"You don't seem too sleepy to me." She observed narrowing her blue eyes like a cat.
"I'm never too sleepy for sex -- just so you know it's always on the table."
"I prefer it in bed," she quipped winking at him.
For a second he was speechless but just for a second. "Ooo Detective."
"Just kidding, stop talking and just get into my car."
Maze and Amenadiel watched them go. Maze ran her hand down the angel's arm. "I hope you aren't feeling too sleepy?"
"Never." He responded, his voice low and husky.