Of Light And Shadows
Chapter Fifty Four…

Jia couldn't move. She couldn't scream or shout or even flinch away from the knife poised over her heart. The shackles had complete control over her. She'd cut her wrists to shreds trying to wriggle out of them.

Seeing Lucifer bust his way through the door to the dungeon she'd been held in was both exhilarating and terrifying. The sight of him made her heart soar, but then it dropped like a lead weight as the jaws of Satan's trap snapped shut around him.

If Lucifer didn't put the shackles on there was no way Satan would kill her. He needed her to destroy God for him, but her mate didn't know that. She couldn't open her mouth to tell him it was a lie because her body was frozen.

Lucifer's anger faded in an instant, replaced by fear and resignation as his true form slipped away. Michael's expression morphed into alarm as the demon prince knelt before his father and held out his wrists.

"You can have me. Please let her go." Satan laughed and slipped the knife back into its sheath at his calf, sliding Jia from his lap and forcing her to stand.

"This is fun, isn't it? See how easy it is when you play the game?" The shackles clicked as they were unlocked from around her wrists, her power flooding back to her with such force it left her dizzy. She felt her wings strain and burst from her back in a flurry of shining feathers, her true form lighting up the room with an unearthly glow.

Lucifer took his chance, lunging forwards to punch Satan in the throat. The shackles dropped to the ground with a clatter as they fought. Jia tried to grab them but Satan's boot crunched into the side of her face and sent her sprawling. Michael and Lauviah jumped in to help, one engaging with Satan while the other went to pick her daughter off of the ground.

The room spun as Jia tried to sit up, helped by a delicate hand at her shoulder. She leaned over and snatched at the shackles, but Satan noticed and kicked them away from her, hooking them over his boot and lifting them out of reach. In the next second he was using them to bludgeon Michael.

Jia scrambled away from the fighting, heading for the door to try and give herself enough space to reach out to God. With her powers back she needed to warn them of what Satan was planning. She ran to the top of the stairs and through the broken door to stand in the dark beyond, taking a deep breath to drown out the sounds of fighting behind her.

She reached out with her mind, searching for her Inner Light and calling it forwards to summon a connection to her creator, straining to replace the right ley line with no moongate to channel her power.

My Nephilim, came the whispered voice in her mind.

Satan plans to use me to destroy you, she pushed out quickly, hoping the message landed with enough impact to make God call an Angelic army down on Satan's ass.

Yes he does. I have known for some time.

So call your army!

My power does not work that way. I do not command armies, I create life. I give free will. My creations make their own choices and shape their own futures, as was always intended.

But Satan has the binding shackles! she insisted. He can force us! Jia's thoughts grew frantic as she realised God wouldn't intervene. Being forced isn't shaping our own future.

Free will is a potent thing. You can overcome, Nephilim. All of you can. And then the deity withdrew from her, their cryptic message still lingering in her thoughts as she growled with frustration and turned to Lauviah in the dark.

"God knows of Satan's plan but won't help us," she said aloud. "We're on our own."

"Not quite on your own," an unfamiliar voice called from the shadows. A bright light lit up at the end of the windowless corridor, illuminating the silhouette of an Angel that looked almost identical to Archangel Michael, except his eyes were a startling blue.

"Gabriel?" Lauviah gasped. "How did you know we were here?" Jia narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Something in her gut made her feel uncomfortable about the newcomer. He smiled easily and started to approach.

"Stay back!" Jia snapped. He cocked his head, arching an eyebrow at her. "Don't come any closer."

"Or what?" he asked. Lauviah's hand raised to cover her mouth as she realise he wasn't friendly, tears springing up in her eyes.

"How could you?" Her voice cracked. "You helped him get here, didn't you?"

"Somebody had to," Gabriel shrugged. "God's time is done. They don't know how to control the realms anymore. We need a leader who does. Satan will claim his place and restore the order we need."

"Satan will enslave and torture every Angel he comes across!" Lauviah argued. "What, you think he's going to elevate you to some special position for helping him? You're his tool!"

"I know where my loyalties lie. Your bleating won't change them." And then he lunged, drawing a golden sword while the two of them were defenceless. Jia panicked and jumped in front of her mother, clapping her hands around the blade and impulsively sending energy through her palms and into the metal. It crackled through the weapon and Gabriel grunted as he shot backwards off his feet and bounced off the bars of one of the cells.

Fresh blood seeped from Jia's wounded fingers, but she picked up the sword and brandished it at the corrupted Angel as he got back to his feet. Lauviah narrowed her eyes and took the blade from her daughter.

"Go help Lucifer. I've got this," she promised.

"This should be fun, Lauvi," Gabriel sneered. He drew a short sword from the second sheath at his other hip and twirled it gracefully. Jia backed away and ran to where the others were fighting, praying that her mother would be okay.

Satan still swung the shackles wildly, smashing them into any body part he could replace in between sending bursts of demonic power at the pair facing off against him. One of them caught Michael directly in the face, blasting him off his feet. His head hit the stone with a sickening thwack and he lay still.

Jia took his place, putting her new energy to use. She had a weak grasp of how to project it from her hands, and although it wasn't accurate, it did cause a distracting nuisance. She danced around the fighting pair, pressing a hand to Satan's leg, his arm, his back, anywhere she could reach and sizzling him with that power.

Lucifer cried out as the Satan snapped one of the shackles closed around his wrist and Jia's stomach lurched uncomfortable. Satan slammed an elbow into her jaw and then whirled to kick out Lucifer's knees, driving him to the ground and slapping the other shackle onto him before he could move.

The mighty first born froze, all of his power sapped in an instant. Satan started to laugh, his guffaws only growing when Gabriel dragged an unconscious Lauviah down the stairs by her legs, tossing her down next Michael's prone form.

Lucifer glared at both of them but the shackles rendered him silent. Jia grunted as Satan aimed another kick at her side, her ribs crunching as the force lifted her off the ground. Black spots danced in front of her eyes as Satan rounded on his son to gloat.

You can overcome, Nephilim. All of you can. God had sounded so sure of her. How wrong they were. There was no overcoming the wrath of the Devil, no beating the corruption that had spread so far it had even tainted Gabriel, the highest among Angels. She wasn't strong enough to win.

Lucifer's eyes found hers where she gasped for breath on the ground, his life in danger and yet still only showing concern for her. Her mate mark tingled on her skin as their eyes met, reminding her of how hopeless their situation was. The demon prince struggled against the power of the shackles, managing to mouth the words I love you.

Jia sat up slowly, her eyes widening. Lucifer had overpowered the binding spell enough to move, even only slightly. If he could move his mouth then he could free other parts of himself, surely? She tried to convey her message to him without catching the attention of the two monsters standing over him to gloat. He kept his head bowed so they couldn't see his eyes fixed on her.

Jia touched the mate bond and tried to send her intentions the connection between them, hoping the shackles wouldn't stop it from working. She watched his head dip imperceptibly in a nod.

She threw herself at Gabriel to distract them, throwing a punch bolstered with her power that rocked his head back. Satan grabbed her glowing hair and tossed her against a wall hard enough to make her cry out. Gabriel rubbed his jaw angrily and bent low to grip her throat, lifting her off the ground to slam her back down onto the stone.

"Stay," he spat. Jia let her eyes roll back in her head, feigning unconsciousness. It wasn't hard to do; she was near enough blacking out anyway. When Gabriel's back was turned again, she opened her eyes to see Lucifer's fingers flexing.

She crawled carefully towards Satan, her eyes fixed on the leather sheath around his calf. Inch by inch, she moved closer and closer to him. He stepped forwards to slam a fist into Lucifer's face, so elated by his victory that both he and Gabriel were entirely focussed on exacting revenge. They laid into Lucifer, taking turns to beat him. He took each punch the same way he had in the academy when Satan had temporarily killed him; with grace and dignity.

His composure angered the demon King and the attacks became wilder, harder, fuelled by his wrath. Lucifer began to sway, but she saw that his fingers still flexed against the enchantment trying to hold him completely still. All of his fingers moved, then his wrists were able to bend.

Jia was close, so close to getting what she needed, when Satan straightened up and ran a hand through his hair, laughing like he was playing his favourite game. Lucifer's whole body trembled in pain and he was hunched over, tactfully hiding his hands from view.

"Pathetic," Gabriel muttered, looking down at him in disgust. "So pathetic."

"I've had my fun," Satan announced. "It's time to die, son." Lucifer lunged suddenly, his body uncoiling like a panther pouncing on its pray. He swung his shackled wrists at his father, clipping the demon King in the face and forcing him to stagger back a step with wide eyes.

Lucifer's freedom only lasted a second. Gabriel grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him away from his father. His regained movement was once again cut off by the shackles that sent scorching energy through him. His muscles locked into place again, forcing him back down onto his knees with a pained snarl that was silenced when his lips clamped shut.

"I'm surprised you were able to do that," Satan mused. "My concentration must have slipped. No matter. I'm going to kill you now, and then I'm going to take over this realm and extinguish the light of God and their Angels. I'll build a new world, one where I make the choices. Not even you can stop that, Lucifer Morningstar."

Satan reached down to pull the deadly dagger back out of its sheath, intending to end Lucifer's existence permanently. His hands clutched air. He turned and snarled, his anger so forceful that his true form unveiled itself in a blast of heat and fire, four crimson feathered wings sprouting from his back as his teeth sharpened.

Jia faced off against him, the black and white knife clutched tightly in her fingers.