I lunge forward but instantly fall back. "What have you done to her?"
He pauses to gloat. "I did what you were supposed to do days ago. I lodged a blade inside her chest and left her to die," he says.
My heart stops beating.
It feels like a thousand daggers just got lodged inside my back.
I force all my weight against the force field, but I can't move it back. I can't even get to the gun that's sitting in the back of my pants.
Still wielding the powerful gemstones in front of his body, he kneels down to my level. "Now that she's gone, we've got a lot to discuss."
His stare is cold. His heart is venom.
His name is Lucifer.
And he is my shadow.
Raven
The basement level is dark and empty. A single light hangs above, flickering sporadically. Every breath taken is close to my last. My body is heavy, but it grows lighter by the second. My lungs are weak, and the air feels freezing.
Every inch of my body throbs with unbearable pain.
He stabbed me.
He slid a knife inside me, somewhere in my chest, but I'm too worried to look down and see how much blood I'm losing.
I try to move, but my wrists and ankles are tied together. He really did a number on me.
It was like he knew we were coming here. He knew how and when the city would fall. And now, I'm not sure there's anything we can do about it.
I can feel the cold blood slowly trail down to my feet. All I can think is I'm going to die here.
This is it. The devil has won.
I try to scream, but I'm floors below them, and nobody seems to hear me. On my own, there's no getting out of these knots.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth as I give one more tired cry. "Ash..."
Exhaustion takes over. My body gives up fighting. The air grows thin. Is this what it's like to die? Sure feels like it. Kind of feels like the first time being born.
I close my eyes and listen to the sounds of the world. The buzzing cacophony of Beelzebub’s army soon fades into a myriad of beautiful noises. My breath flows alongside the sounds of bells and chimes, noises from another realm. A realm above.
My eyes are closed, but I sense a great light pouring over me. I feel her touch. My mother's hands form around my cheek.
"Mom," I whisper. "I miss you so much."
She is singing a lullaby.
"Hush little darling, don't say a word... Momma's going to buy you a mockingbird..."
I'm weeping. Harder than ever, I'm crying and letting every emotion wash out of me. It's scary how freeing it is to give up.
"Mom, I can't fight anymore. I just want to love. More than anything, I want a family. I want to give what you gave to me," I say.
"And if that mockingbird don't sing..."
She can't see me. She just keeps singing. Slowly, she drifts away from me, floating into the darkness surrounding us.