Heir of Night (The Thorne Hill)

“I know that isn’t what you wanted to hear,” Lucifer tells me. “But rest assured there was nothing dark about your mother. She knew what she needed to do and wasn’t afraid to go to the lengths necessary to achieve it.”

“Why did she start practicing dark magic?” The words tumble out of my mouth as the desperation to learn anything about her starts to take over.

“I’m going to assume you know of the Lancasters and don’t need a history lesson.”

I nod. “Yes, we’re taught about them, and I know Michael was the one who gave Marie Lancaster the power to defeat the vampires in the War of Light and Dark.”

“Good. Then you know the Lancasters consider themselves to be one of the oldest and purest bloodlines of witches and warlocks.”

“Yes.”

“Your mother was to be wed in an arranged marriage. I’ll spare you the details of her betrothed, though know he’ll have one of those special places here in due time. A binding spell was cast on them to ensure they each stayed pure until the marriage.”

“Their powers were bound?” I question.

“No. They were bound to each other, and if either strayed, harm would befall their family. In this case, it was your mother’s younger sister. If she broke her vows, her sister would die.”

“Fuck,” I whisper.

“Your mother sought a way to break free without harming anyone. I gave her the power to do so, that is all.”

“Really?”

“No,” Lucifer admits. “Once you get a taste of power, you know it can be hard to give it up. Just like it was hard for me to…” He trails off, but I can imagine his last words.

It was hard for me to give her up.

“Did she find a way to break the spell?” I ask.

“Yes, but it cost her.”

“She was excommunicated from her coven and family,” I say, remember what Tabatha told me.

“Right, and it set her down a dark path until…until my brother intervened.”

“He was sent to save her,” Julian states. “And he did.”

“He did,” Lucifer chides ruefully. “Now…this spell. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

“Yeah, as sure as ever. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner I can figure out how to kill the Horsemen. Unless you’re attached to them and want them back in their cage,” I add when Lucifer shoots me a look.

“They’re not feral cats I feed and let sleep in my garage on cold nights.” Lucifer’s brows go up. “I kept them to use as a weapon, not as pets.”

“After they destroyed the world, what was your plan?” Julian asks, gripping his dagger tight in his hand.

Lucifer shrugs. “I hadn’t gotten that far ahead. I was hurt and angry. All I could think about was inflicting the same kind of pain on others, no matter the cost.” His eyes go to the throne. “That was then. I don’t want to destroy the world anymore. I want to live in it, as do you. We all know time is of the essence here.”

“Yes,” Julian and I say at the same time, and I look at my cousin out of the corner of my eye. He usually looks solemn but looks more so now than ever.

“Who are the Horsemen?” I start following Lucifer. He walks right through the circle of hellfire with no hesitation. I stick my hand out, feeling the flames before quickly passing through it. My dress doesn’t catch on fire, thankfully. “They’re Death, War, Famine, and Pestilence, right?”

“Bingo.” Lucifer takes several strides forward before realizing Julian couldn’t pass through the hellfire. He turns, waves his hand, and the flames part. Maybe walking through it is an archangel thing? Julian can’t summon and hold hellfire like I can, even though he’s full angel with no traces of human blood.

“The names are self-explanatory, but can you clarify exactly what we’re up against?” I ask. “War starts wars? Famine fucks with food? That sort of thing?”

“Yes, but not as obvious, and they’ll work together. A highly contagious virus could sweep through a nation, spread to another, and political tensions could run high as leaders blame one another. Or maybe a plague of insects causes mass destruction to much of the world’s crops. A drastic reduction in food would cause panic and humans turning on each other when everyone is out to fend for themselves.”

“That…that all sounds so realistic,” I say, brows pinching together. “It makes sense, of course, but part of me was thinking it would happen more like the zombie apocalypse.”

“No, kiddo,” Lucifer says softly. “The world will slowly unravel before anyone even realizes it. And then it will be too late. War, Pestilence, and Famine will make their way first, and Death will follow, picking off whatever is left.”

We follow him out of the throne room and into a narrow corridor. It’s dimly lit, with black lanterns hanging every ten or so feet, glowing with a single flame of red hellfire. Lucifer stops before a large wooden door. There are several archangel sigils carved into the door, and all but one has what looks like claw marks through it.