"Nyx! Nyx, no!" Jinx says urgently. "Human's frown at the sight of blood, remember?!"
"Oh," Nyx pauses and looks himself over, hand on the doorknob. "Yes, I suppose they do."
"We'll need to fly out," the golden dragon says, sitting in his natural form by the balcony. "How strong is your power? We can't be seen."
"Nearly full power, and I feel fucking amazing," Nyx says. "I need to try my powers out soon, I want to see how rusty I've gotten."
There's a knock on the hotel door.
*Come on,* Jinx hisses urgently, alarmed.
*Wait, I have an idea,* Nyx says, a devilish smirk appearing on his lips.
The door opens, revealing a hotel maid. She steps into the room, the door falling shut as she freezes, seeing the draxon, dragon and dead body within. Before she can scream, Nyx stands in front of her, hand covering her mouth.
"Shh," he whispers, pulling her further inside. "You'll be alright, love. You won't even feel a thing."
His magic reaches out into her mind, spreading into all corners and taking over. The woman gives a muffled scream, squirming in his hold. Releasing her, Nyx laughs happily, clapping his hands together.
"Not bad, not bad at all," he says, examining the now-still woman. "She had a rather simple mind though. I guess I need to work on the painless part, but the screams sound so much sweeter. Scream for me again, dear."
The woman complies, letting out a shrill scream.
"Lovely," Nyx smiles. "Now dear, I have a job I need you to do for me, hmm?"
⚯
"Definitely a crime of passion," Ella says, looking over the torn body on the hotel bed. "So many slashes, I can't even count. Killed here though, not moved here like the guy from yesterday."
"I see," Lucifer says, peering over Ella's shoulder. "And what makes them think this body and the one from yesterday are connected?"
"See this mark here," Ella replies, gesturing to a small patch of clean skin on the victim. "Some kind of rune I think."
As Lucifer looks at the burn mark scarring the skin, his eyes narrow. "That's a dragon rune. Translates roughly to vengeance."
"Wow, Luce," Ella says, looking at the mark again. "I think you're right. How do you— wait, it's the whole method actor thing isn't it? Devil and draxon were lovers so you memorized the runes, right? I—"
"I've told you, I'm not a method actor," Lucifer says in annoyance, body tense at the mention of the draxon.
He glances around the room, looking from where Chloe is talking to the hotel maid who found the body, to where Dan is helping to look for evidence.
Something gold catches his eye near the balcony door. Walking over, Lucifer crouches down and picks up the gold dragon scale.
"Jinx," he whispers, recognizing who the scale belongs to. "And if he's here, then I bet Nyxeus really is free."
Lucifer stands, tucking the scale into a pocket. He turns to the body again, giving it a closer examination. He draws in a sharp breath, realizing the dead man is really a dead demon.
Not good, Lucifer thinks. A demon in Los Angeles. Not only that, but Nyxeus has broken free and if he's here with Jinx...
Piecing together who the jogger from yesterday really was, Lucifer tenses, a cold chill seeping into his body.
"Lucifer," Chloe says, snapping the devil from his thoughts.
"Detective," he replies. "I think I have an idea on who killed him."
"You do?" Chloe asks, surprised. "Do you know the victim then? We still haven't been able to identify him."
"Possibly. I think he looks familiar but if I do know him, I haven't seen him in a very long time."
"Alright, well you'll have to elaborate later," Chloe says. "I need you to do your weird desire thing on the maid, I'm getting nowhere with her."
"Detective, are you feeling alright?" Lucifer asks, reaching to feel Chloe's forehead.
"Lucifer," Chloe says, swatting his hand away.
"Well, you never ask me to do my 'weird desire thing' as you call it."
"Just go do it, Lucifer."
The devil complies, walking over to the hotel maid.
"Hello love," he says, standing in front of her. "Tell me, what do you desire."
"I... want to get out of here," the woman whispers.
"What, are you scared we'll find out who you really are?" Lucifer asks, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What are you doing here and why are you helping him?"
"I just needed a job," the woman says. "I never thought cleaning hotel rooms could be this bad."
"What? Oh for— Give up the act, Jinx," Lucifer says, earning a confused look from both Chloe and the maid.
"Jinx?" the maid asks. "No, my name is Julia."
"I know who you are," Lucifer says impatiently. "Golden dragon from the Dragonlands ring any bells?"
Brows furrowing in confusion, the maid shakes her head, only to suddenly let out a soft giggle.
"Nice try, Luci," she says, voice suddenly lower, more masculine. A voice that makes Lucifer freeze. As the woman looks at him, the devil notices her blue eyes have turned flaming orange. "But not this time. He's here with me."
"Nyxeus," the devil breathes.
Chloe's narrowed eyes study the woman but she doesn't say anything, choosing to let Lucifer talk and just watch the interaction.
"Oh so you do remember me," the possessed woman replies happily. "I was worried you'd forgotten me. How long has it been since we last saw each other? Ten thousand centuries? Well, for you at least. For me, it's been... a few days at least, since I escaped. I mean, you know what my hell is, right?"
Without a word, Lucifer shakes his head slowly, at loss at being faced by his former lover.
"It's you, Luci. Watching you live your life without me," the woman says, voice sad and angry at the same time. "Do you know how horrible that feels? No, you don't, do you. Huh, maybe I should lock you up in hell for a couple centuries... Oh dear me, I—"
The maid pauses in a strong coughing fit for a few seconds, covering her mouth with one hand. When she lowers it, blood rests in her palm.
"I guess I'm a little rustier at this than I thought," Nyx says through the woman's body, sounding a little dismayed. "I'd intended to let her go and erase her memory of this, but she seems to be dying and quite quickly too. Hold on a little longer dear, then I'll let you rest."
"Why are you doing this, Nyxeus?" Lucifer asks lowly. "Why are you killing innocent demons? You've never killed without reason, and even then it was always quick unless it was a big deal."
To his surprise, Nyx starts laughing hysterically.
"Innocent," the possessed maid gasps. "Innocent, oh my. Luci, they are anything but innocent. They deserve everything I'm doing and more. Actually, I'm thinking of stringing the next one up by his guts. And as I said to Jinx, Luci, you don't leave Hell with everything you had when you went in, especially after a couple lonely little centuries. Now, seeing as the poor girl is about to drop, I'll see you soon, Luci. Love you."
And with that, the maid collapses, startling everyone in the room who hadn't been paying any attention to the conversation. A paramedic rushes over, looking over the woman only to shake his head and pull away.
"Dead," he says. "Was it sudden, out of the blue?"
"Not exactly," Chloe replies numbly, staring at the body of the maid.
Lucifer pulls her away, turning her to face him. "Detective, are you alright?"
"Alright?" Chloe asks, eyes wide. "Sure, why wouldn't I be alright? I only just saw what looked like someone getting possessed and then die right in front of me. Yeah, I'm definitely alright."
"Well, no need to be sarcastic," Lucifer says.
"I— You're right, sorry," Chloe says. she pauses, taking a deep breath. "How are you so calm about this?"
"I'm not, really," Lucifer replies. "I just found out my ex has escaped hell and is now here in Los Angeles killing demons who also shouldn't be here. Oh, I need a drink."
"Your ex?" Chloe asks. "You think your ex did this?"
"I don't think, I know," Lucifer replies. "He just admitted to it through the now-dead girl."
"Wait, he?" Chloe asks before shaking her head. "Nevermind, that can wait. You mean she really was possessed? I— How is that even possible?"
"Think of it like this," Lucifer says. "I can draw out desires. Amenadiel can slow time. Nyxeus can get into the minds of others and take over. He can also cast force-fields, but that's another story."
"Alright..." Chloe says slowly. "So how do we find him?"
"That's the thing, Detective," Lucifer replies. "I think we have to wait until he comes to find us."