Lucifer kissed me quickly before he, too, scrambled off the bed. "Call Lazarus, Olivia. Tell him Azza is on his way and that this is not a good thing." He threw a portal and was gone, to where, I didn't know.

I whipped my phone out and did as Lucifer had instructed. The phone rang for what seemed like an eternity before Laz answered, groggy.

"Olivia. What's wrong? It's only been a few minutes since I left."

"Laz, Azza found out about you fucking me until I died. He's pissed, and we think he's headed your way."

"Shit. I'll call Charlie."

The line went dead. I knew Charles would be busy, so I called Amir. He answered quickly and was much more chipper.

"Death! How may I help you?"

"Amir, can you track Azza?" I asked as fast as I could.

"The Watcher? That Azza?" The puzzlement was plain in his voice.

"Yes. Time is of the essence."

"I don't know. Angels don't have the same kinds of records humans do. We can try."

"Text when you know. Laz is in trouble."

"Lazarus? Yes, I will work swiftly."

The line went dead. I threw on clothes as I waited. While it seemed like forever before he contacted me, I knew it had only been a few moments for him.

~

Amir: Azza is at Lazarus' loft.

Me: Keep me informed of his movements.

Amir: Yes, Ma'am.

~

I threw a portal and emerged in the loft. Azza was there with Lucifer.

"Do not do this, Azza. I forbid it."

Azza was red-faced and pacing. He rounded on Lucifer. "Forbid it? He killed her!"

"Azza. If it happened with Laz the same way that it happened with me, that means I killed her, too. What are you going to do about that?"

The question brought Azza to a standstill. He looked at me.

"Please, Azza, don't hurt Laz," I pleaded. "It happened just as you saw it with Lucifer. It was my choice."

"You didn't know, Olivia, what this would do to me. You are not to blame." He swung his focus to Lucifer again and pointed. "But, you! Lucifer, you knew. Laz knew, too."

"There was nothing I could do, Azza, until it was already too late!" Lucifer threw up his hands. "I did not know it was what she planned."

I stepped forward, catching his eye. "Azza, I knew. I knew what happened to you when you were with Nyx. Lucifer told me last night. He thought I should know given the issues we might have with her."

I didn't think his face could get any redder, but it did. The veins in his neck stood out, and he shook. "That was not your story to tell!" he screamed at Lucifer.

"I am sorry, Azza."

Azza hesitated for a moment, closing his eyes. "I can't forgive you this, Lucifer. This is the one thing that could drive a wedge between us. I rescind my oath."

I felt a shift, a wave of truth expanding out from Azza.

Lucifer stumbled. "Azza... do not do this. I love you."

"I thought that was true. I really did, Lucifer."

He created a portal and was gone before I recognized the place.

~

Amir: He's in my office. I'm not there.

Me: He's looking for Laz and doesn't know I switched offices. Stay away. If he sees you, he might guess. Have Charles take Laz to my new office.

Amir: Yes, Ma'am.

~

Lucifer was crying unabashedly. I wished I had a hide-a-handkerchief power. All I could do was comfort him. I took his hands and threw a portal back to his bedroom to help control the time. I pulled him through gently, and he came with me.

I wrapped my arms around him and let him cry. "I do love him, Olivia. Truly I do."

"I know, love. I do, too. We will find a way to get him back."

He sobbed again, and I led him to a chair to sit, then knelt in front of him. "Amir can track him. He went to Laz's old office."

"Old?" He sniffed.

"Yes, I traded the Amir in North Carolina the first day. I'm so glad I neglected to tell you two. I told Amir to have Charles take him there."

Lucifer nodded and fished out his square of cloth. "Charles is a good choice."

"Can Azza track you?" I asked softly.

Lucifer shook his head. "Now that he has rescinded his loyalty, he cannot."

"Let's go and see if Laz is in my office."

I threw a portal, and we stepped through to see Charles preparing to swing a metal bat.

"Wait!" I yelled, and Charles stopped just before he hit Lucifer.

I stepped to Laz and kissed him quickly. "Azza doesn't know where you are. Amir can track him. Do you know of any place that Azza cannot go?"

Laz nodded. "Heaven. You could take me there. As long as He lets me stay, I'd be okay."

I took us to the rose garden where I had had my meeting with Him. Lucifer and Charles followed. Again, I found the scent of the roses in the garden unpleasant compared to Azza's. The realization was a stab in the heart. The four of us sat at the table in silence, each lost in thought.

"Azza unbound himself from me," Lucifer said into the quiet.

"Fuck. I'm sorry, Lucifer. I know you care for him," Laz stated.

My Fallen Angel nodded. "It feels like a piece of me is missing. He says he will never forgive me." He sniffled but then shifted in his seat and stiffened his spine.

"We tried to explain that each time, I was the guilty party. I'm the one who gave everything. I didn't know it would affect Azza like this."

We sat for a long while; Lucifer kept track of the time.

~

Amir: He's at your apartment, Death.

Me: Okay.

~

Some moments later, another text came in.

~

Amir: He's at Uzza's.

~

The next text had my heart racing.

~

Amir: He's with Nyx.

~

I reached for Lucifer's hand. He looked at me expectantly.

"He's with Nyx."

He closed his eyes and slumped in his chair. "If she has the power still to make Azza hers, she will do it. She is bound to still have supporters in your office, love. She is likely to be able to track Lazarus."

"But, neither of them can come here, right?"

"Unless He reinstates her."

A familiar voice spoke, startling everyone but Lucifer. "Now, why would I do a thing like that?"

Lucifer slowly stood, face stoic, but said nothing.

"So, Lucifer, I suppose I have you to blame for this little invasion?" God asked, gesturing at the table.

"No, that would be me." I glowered at him. I noticed this time, He didn't come bearing a rose.

"Ah, Death. How goes your tenure in office?"

I scowled deeper. "You know very well how it goes."

He nodded. "Yes, you are quite right. Nyx has surprised me. I knew she wanted Azza, but not to what extent." He sighed. "I do hate it when I'm caught off guard."

"What's your involvement here?" I demanded.

"Ultimately, I want Nyx out of the way, of course. She's been a thorn in my side long enough. I didn't realize that allowing Lazarus to retire would create a situation where that might be possible."

I narrowed my eyes and watched him study the roses. Getting rid of Nyx was appealing to me, too. "How would it be possible?"

"Oh, I would simply offer her Azza in exchange for her own brand of retirement."

"You cannot," Lucifer croaked. "I will not allow it. Azza is my creature."

God whirled on Lucifer and smirked, raising a finger. "Ah, yes, but is he?" He turned back to the roses. "No, I think that Azza is his own creature at this moment, one who is not strong enough to resist neither Nyx nor myself. Nothing is preventing Nyx and me from making such a deal."

My phone dinged.

~

Amir: Azza is in Lazarus' loft.

~

This was good news. If Azza was still looking, He hadn't made his little 'deal' yet. "Will you make Lazarus mortal again?" I asked Him. "If you do, Azza will likely kill him."

Lucifer sat heavily, and I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes, I do think he'll try, thanks to your involvement." He smelled a rose, inhaling deeply. "Lazarus' return to mortality is largely automatic. He will revert when he stops going on collections with you."

Charles pulled out his phone. I guessed he would be looking for suitable collections for us. However, we risked much when we returned to the physical realm.

"But, you could keep him immortal if you wanted to," I stated.

"Hmm. Yes, I suppose I could."

"But you won't," I verified.

"I see no reason why I should."

My mouth fell open before I snapped it shut and shouted, "No reason? How about the fact that we all care about him? That I love him? That he served you for millennia and might deserve some sort of reward?"

He suddenly had a pair of shears in his hand and bent over yet another rose bush, studying each bud and bloom intently. "Lazarus should have come to me to discuss the terms of his retirement. Perhaps we could have worked something out."

I smoldered. I had many things I could say, but we needed the rose garden as a refuge. I checked my anger. "What can we do to change your mind?"

"Oh, I don't often change my mind. Unless it suits me, of course." He snipped a white rose, not yet fully opened.

"Nyx's powers. Will you reinstate them?" I asked cautiously.

"It isn't currently advantageous for me to do so," God answered. "And now, I must go. You can use the garden as you need."

He passed me the flower. As I watched, it slowly opened into full bloom and turned black. He chuckled and blinked out of existence. I found it interesting that he did not need a portal. Maybe Lucifer didn't need portals to travel around Hell either.

I threw the flower to the ground as tears welled up in my eyes. Laz came to me and took me in his arms. "It's okay, Olivia."

I sobbed. "No, it's really not, Laz. You'll die if Azza doesn't kill you first!"

"We'll get somethin' worked out, darlin'. I'll just keep comin' on collections with you until we figure it out. At least one every twenty-four hours."

Charles spoke, "I have found an easy collection for you, Death. In and out so the two of you would spend minimal time in the physical world."

I took out my phone. "Send it to me. We'll wait until we absolutely have to go." My phone dinged, and I looked. It was an old man in Norway dying of natural causes in two minutes. "Perfect."

"I will go and try to talk to Azza again," Lucifer announced as he stood. "It will at least occupy him as you two collect."

I drew him to me. "Laz is right, Lucifer. We're going to get this worked out."

He nodded in agreement, but the dull eyes and defeated look I saw on his face told a different story.

I cupped his face in my hand. "I'm so sorry, Lucifer. I had no idea..."

He took my hand and kissed my fingers. "There is no need to apologize, Olivia. You did not do it with malice; you did not know."

Charles interrupted. "It's almost time, Death."

Lucifer pulled away as Laz came around the table. I prepared the portal based on the information I had and watched the countdown. Lucifer threw a portal and stepped through to wherever Azza was with Nyx. With ten seconds to go, I waved my portal, took Laz's hand, and we stepped through to Norway. Just as the portal began to close, I heard Charles curse, and the entry on my phone changed as I watched it.

"Fuck! We're locked in for a thirty-minute wait, Laz. There are two deaths now."

"Shit." He ran a hand through his hair and paced.

I held my hand out to the old man, and he came to me willingly. I handed him off to Peter when the angel came through his portal. "You'll be back for his wife, yes?"

Peter was puzzled and checked his tablet. "Wife? No, that's Lucifer."

Laz and I both cursed.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Peter said as he stepped through to Heaven and his portal closed.