T W E N T Y - F I V E
The Devil's Cage

IT WAS MUCH more easily said than done.

Since we were surrounded by immense forestation, any movement made would cause some sort of noise to echo behind me.

Lucius had not noticed me yet. When his figure had appeared, I had not even spared a single second before taking off in a sprint, dashing across the forest floor as fast as my feet could carry me. Shoving the branches and leaves out of my path, I jumped over a particularly big root of a tree that stuck out from the ground, my feet gliding over it easily due to the momentum.

I hissed, panting heavily as my legs begged for mercy. Tire bled through my muscles, taking over each and every fiber I had in my body. I craved a rest, a break from running but the paranoid side of my mind kept on fueling me with thoughts of Lucius hot on my trail.

The measly amount of time that I had to recuperate was not enough for me to gain all of my strength back. It had been less than five minutes and I was already out of breath, panting as if I had just completed a marathon under the blazing summer sun.

Then again, my situation wasn't that far off. I wasn't as fit as I used to be, considering how my body was weakened by the exhaustion of my life. Furthermore, the sun that blazed in the skies of Paradise shone much brighter than it ever did on Earth. Each ray of sunlight that was sent to the ground scorched my back, making me break out in perspiration and I could feel my throat drying out with thirst due to the heat even though I wasn't supposed to feel it like a normal person would.

Stopping for air, I turned my head around to glance behind me. I could hear birds chirping in the distance, all humming a melodious harmony, unbothered by the chaos that had erupted around them. My feet slowed down to small cautious steps, scanning my surroundings for signs of angels that might have me cornered.

Thankfully, I was safe.

For now.

Sighing, I was prepared to drop to my knees for a break when a small chirp caught my attention. The bird sounded much closer than the others, hence, causing me to instinctively look up as a precaution.

Perched on a high brand of a great oak tree, there sat a little bird no bigger than the smallest of sparrows. Its beady little eyes were scanning the entire floor span of the area, taking in every little detail. However, contrary to the design of normal everyday birds, this one was truly made of glittering gold. Its feathers caught the rays of the sun and reflected them onto the trees near it, dazzling and shimmering as if the bird had trapped a million stars in its wings. Its belly was made of silver feathers, all finished with eyes of ruby red that very much resembled the actual gemstone.

"What in the world? Is that a bird made of literal gold?" I muttered under my breath, squinting at the bird before rubbing my eyes in disbelief. When I opened them again, the bird was gone. "Oh. So now I am hallucinating. Great."

Shaking my head, I took a step backward, eyes still carefully watching the branch where I had imagined the bird to be. All of a sudden, the blood in my veins chilled to subzero temperatures when I hit a hard wall, my jaw dropping in surprise. From what I recalled, there wasn't supposed to be a tree that near me. Yet, a little voice at the back of my head knew very well what - I mean, who - I had just knocked into.

"Not really. You weren't hallucinating," a voice answered.

I didn't think it would be possible but I could feel my heart in my throat, threatening to burst out. I sucked in a deep breath through my teeth when I felt two hands rest on my shoulders, my hair standing on their ends in fright. The person's touch was light and I could feel his breath dancing across the skin of my neck due to our close proximity.

"Hello, Addison."

In a single motion, I was whipped around to face the speaker as well as a few other angels. Lucius smiled broadly at my expression. On his shoulders sat the golden bird that I had seen just now. Its little head tilted before it let out yet another misleading lyrical chirp.

"Missed me?"

-----

"Let go of me, you brute!" I yelled, kicking out at all possible directions I could. There were two angels manning me right by my sides, hands tightly clasped around my upper arm to refrain me from running away. "I swear I will have your balls twisted off if you don't let go!"

Lucius walked in front of us, his back towards us as we moved deeper and deeper into the forest. A ruined camp sat in front of us, the bricks of the building cracking off as vines crept up each corner and crevice. By the old creaking gates, a few guards stood tall, spears in their hands. They seemed like they were warriors in battle, ready to take on an oncoming enemy.

Lucius did not even flinch for a single second, calmly strolling past the gates and deep into the building. We were well into the heart of the camp when he turned back to spare me a glance. He smirked, a single corner of his lips tilting up for a brief second as his blue eyes sparkled in mischief.

"Did you hear me? I said, let go of-"

I was rudely cut off when Lucius gestured a finger, nodding his head behind him at the cell. In perfect synchronization, the two angels that had their hold on me swung me into the cell, sending me sprawling to the ground in all fours.

When my palms made contact with the ground, I hissed through my teeth, shutting my eyes as tightly as possible to try and numb the searing pain. From behind me, I could hear the door of the makeshift jail cell creak to a shut before locking in place.

"I'm really sorry about the bad hospitality, Addison, but we really haven't got the time to mingle too much." Lucius had a smirk in his voice, sending a rush of anger through my blood as I spun my head around to face him.

"Piss off, Lucifer. I know that it's you and not Lucius. What have you done with him?"

Lucius's, no, Lucifer's bright sapphire eyes glimmered with amusement, a light dancing within his irises as his lips spread into a lazy grin. Slowly, he bent down all the way until he was squatting so that he could look me properly in the eye.

"My, Addison. What a smart girl you are. Not a single one of those angels had figured out yet. How did you know that it was me?" He was smiling, pink lips stretched with curiosity as he tilted his head slightly to a side.

"Your disguise isn't full proof." Gritting my teeth, I dusted off the dirt on the palm of my hands. "You may be wearing Lucius's face but your eyes are aquamarine. Lucius has brown eyes."

"This is not a mere disguise, Addison." Lucifer's tongue darted out to lick his upper teeth once. "I am in full bodily control over your precious friend. Although, if my sources are correct and I am updated, he isn't your friend anymore, is he?"

My breath lodged in my throat painfully. Lucius and I had gone through many things together. And though he had betrayed me time and time again, it did not erase the fact that he was still one of my oldest friends that knew many of my secrets. It was painful for me to cut him out of my life after his very first betrayal but that was just the mere beginning. What he did then - which was to go out with another of my ex-best friend after brutally breaking our relationship - could not be compared to the more mystical things he had accomplished in the recent few days.

Little had I known but Lucius breaking up with me was but one of the many more sins he would soon commit. In every saint, there was a sinner. Lucius may be an angel but that did not mean that he was free of crime.

"You don't know anything about us." I chose to answer instead, trying my best to stare Lucifer down.

"I can feel him, you know. His every plea and every cry echoes inside my mind. It is kind of like how you feel and hear your past lives. Sort of mesmerizing, isn't it, the feeling? To know that you have power over so many others." Standing back up to his full height, Lucifer's grin did not fall from his face. Not even once. "And though you two may not be the best of friends anymore, trust me when I say this and only trust this. Lucius still craves for your friendship and even affection. But we all know that you don't have that to give anymore, am I correct?"

"Why are you doing this? Locking me in a cell is a little too risky, isn't it? Dimitri will find out that I am missing and he will break me out. Isn't it easier to kill me right here and right now?"

"Oh, don't tempt me, darling. You know very well that I am just aching to drive a sword right through your heart. And I know fairly well that Dimitri no doubt will do his very best in trying to save you. What I am counting on is being able to witness the sweet delight of him watching you die as the fifth day passes."

He must have noticed my shocked reaction for Lucifer nodded once, shrugging.

"Oh yes. I know everything about your five days grace. As well as your quest in attempting to revive yourself by using my own creation. But don't worry. I have made very sure that you will not be able to. Not that easy as you thought, at least. Have fun, Addison. As much of it as you can before you meet the true meaning of death."

Ending it off with maniacal laughter, Lucifer turned on his heel, walking away from the jail cell that locked me in and away from my line of sight.

"Damn it!" I cursed, slamming my fists to the ground in agitation. Faintly as an echo, I could still hear Lucifer's laughter at the back of my mind. I thought I heard him speak with his angels, words in which I could not exactly make out due to the obscurity of it but I knew that he had something big up his sleeves.

After all, Lucifer was the devil. He was the one who fell from all the glory, a prince that was cast off his pedestal due to crimes that Heaven did not wish to be associated with. In a way, I thought I could relate to that. I too had been someone in his shoes long before the birthday that changed everything. Yet, one of the many differences I had with the fallen angel was that I had not sought out revenge as actively as he did.

I made my peace with the world even though the world did not wish for it.

Whether I was paying the price for doing so right now, I might never know. Yet all I knew was that with each and every second that ticked past, I locked in the devil's cage, I was nearer and nearer towards the end of the world as we knew it. Not only would I be sent off to a new life that marked a new beginning for me as a person, it also meant that Lucifer would succeed in his revenge and the world would crumble to its knees.

[A/N]:

On 4 December 2017, [Kisses From Death] reached #1 in Thriller/Mystery. To celebrate, I've posted a Christmas bonus short for the book earlier than planned.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

xx aurora