“Yes, of course,” I tell him, pulling away from Lucas.
“Arrangement?” Lucas flashes his fangs, and my heart lurches for him. “What the fuck did you force her to agree to?” He leaves my side for the first time since I’ve been back, ready to attack Lucifer, even though he knows neither of us is a match to take on an archangel.
“He didn’t force me to do anything,” I rush out, though in the back of my mind I can’t help but wonder what Lucifer would have done if I said I wouldn’t do the spell. Stop it, I tell myself. He came to Hell not knowing what he’d find. I could have been dead or dying for all he knew, and he came back. To Hell. The one place in the whole entire universe he didn’t want to be. Lucifer may be selfish and act without consequence, but he’s not evil.
He can’t be.
Because if he is…doesn’t that mean the other angels could be right about Nephilim turning evil as well?
“I said I’d help because he’s helped me, that’s all,” I try to assure Lucas, whose expression softens. Lucas can be selfish and acts without fear of consequence as well. I must get the attraction to bad boys from my mother.
“Fine,” he huffs. “As long as it doesn’t strain you.”
“It won’t.” Inhaling, I hold my hands up in front of Lucifer, setting the intention of the spell. “Light of the moon, dark of the night, I cloak you from all, and hide you from sight.” I feel the magic pulse through me. “Other angels may seek but won’t be able to find, this spell of invisibility to you I do bind.”
My hands fall back to my sides, and Lucifer smiles. “Thank you, dear niece. I will be in touch.” He reaches into his pocket and retrieves a little vial containing the power-binding potion. “Take care of little Elena Lucille.” He winks and then disappears, the sound of rustling feathers echoing all around.
“What the hell was that?” Ruby asks, and when I turn, it dawns on me that I was speaking Enochian again.
“A cloaking spell,” I say, and exhaustion starts to crash down on me. Lucas, somehow able to tell, wraps an arm around me.
“A cloaking spell for what?” Naomi presses.
“Give her a minute,” Lucas tells her and takes me into the formal living room that’s off the foyer and sits next to me on the couch, taking my mother’s notebook from me and setting it on the coffee table. For a brief moment, we’re alone. “Are you all right?”
“I’m tired,” I confess. “We closed the gates and escaped, but that’s not all, Lucas.” Now that I’m home, surrounded by everyone I care about, the weight of what really happened starts to suffocate me. Binx jumps on the couch, meowing softly. I run my hand over his sleek fur. He settles on my chest as I lean against Lucas.
“It’s okay,” he assures me. “You closed the gates, Callie. You did a good thing.”
“We didn’t close them fast enough.” My eyes meet his, throat tightening. “Demons got out.”
“And we’ll take care of it.”
“They’re not just any demons,” I whisper.
“Callie?” Abby’s voice comes from the entrance of the living room. “Are you okay?”
I blink back my tears and straighten up, putting a fake smile on my face without realizing what I’m doing. “Yeah. I’m good. Just…just tired.”
“Tabatha is sending everyone home.”
“We didn’t have cake yet.”
Abby looks at me incredulously.
“What? You guys ate it without me?”
“No, we didn’t. You…you want cake?”
I nod. “I worked up an appetite trying to save the world.”
Penny fusses, wanting out of Abby’s arms. She sets her down, and Penny toddles over, reaching for Binx. “So you don’t want people to leave?”
“I do. My usual doom-and-demon-fighting crew can stay.”
“So, uh, just kick out the ladies I’m not familiar with then?”
“Yeah. Thanks, Abby.”
Her head bobs up and down, and she tries—and fails—to force a smile before turning to leave. Lucas picks Penny up, situating her in between us on the couch. Forgetting about Binx, Penny climbs on Lucas, and my heart melts watching him play with her.
“Hey.” The floor creaks as Kristy walks into the room. “Is everything okay? Abby said you wanted the others to go.”
“Yeah.” I rub my forehead. “I’m a terrible host.”
“No one expects you to be a host right now, Callie,” she assures me. “I don’t know what happened, but things were…were hairy for a hot minute.”
“What did happen?” I ask. “After I left, I mean. I didn’t immediately close the gates, and I would say imagining Hell on earth is dramatic, but in this case…”
“Right. It’s not.” Kristy sits down across from us, watching Lucas and Penny play for a moment before continuing. “Well, the first thing we realized once you and Julian flew out of here was that the caterers were still here.”