A silhouette crossed the lighted window. Weaz-adj was here and Lucifer’s hunting instinct stirred.
It was almost completely dark, and the lake was an inky smear in the distance.
He had to try to reason with Bianca one more time. “Are you sure you won’t stay in the car?”
She made a face at him.
Stubborn bloody woman.
Lucifer climbed out of the car and Raphael flanked him as they walked the overgrown path to the cabin. Loud music poured through the cabin’s thin walls and provided an explanation why the sound of a car approaching hadn’t drawn Christen out of the cabin.
Along with his myriad faults Weaz-adj also had horrible taste in music.
They climbed the two rickety steps to the front door. The porch protested loudly about their weight on its rotting boards.
“Let me knock,” Bianca whispered. “If he sees you two, he might panic and run.”
Panicking sounded about right to Lucifer, and even if Weaz-adj did run, he couldn’t go fast enough or far enough to escape the lesson heading his way.
Bianca’s gaze met his, imploring him. “I might be able to persuade him to give me the grimoire.”
He hated her looking at him like that, but most of all he hated that he caved like a faulty mineshaft. “All right, but you have two minutes before we take over.”
“I commend you for sticking to your guns,” Raphael murmured.
Bloody archangel could fuck right off.
Bianca knocked.
There was a pause, and then the music volume lowered. The door muffled Christen’s voice. “Who is it?”
Blood lust surged through Lucifer.
“Christen,” Bianca called. “It’s me. It’s Bianca.”
“Bianca?” The music snapped off. “What are you doing here?”
One and a half minutes down. Lucifer raised his brow at Bianca, letting her know time was ticking down.
“You know why I’m here,” Bianca spoke to the door. “Now open up and let me in.”
A floorboard creaked inside.
Raphael rolled his eyes.
“No,” Weaz-adj said. “You shouldn’t even be here. In fact, I don’t know how you found me.”
“That’s not important.” Annoyance laced Bianca’s tone. “Now please open the door.”
“Go away, Bianca.” Weaz-adj gave the wrong answer—for him.
Lucifer relished Weaz-adj’s reply, because it meant they would do things his way.
Bianca pounded on the door. “I’ve come for the grimoire, Christen, and I’m not leaving without it.”
“What grimoire?” Christen blustered.
“Time’s up,” Lucifer said and blew the door off its hinges. He stalked into a living room filled with shabby, mismatched furniture and one cowering asshole. “Surprise.”
Weaz-adj shrieked and bolted through one of the two doors leading off the living room.
Oh, goodie! Lucifer loved it when they ran.
“I’ll go around.” Raphael loosed his wings as he ran.
Lucifer shattered the door with a quick fist swipe.
Weaz-adj whipped his head round and gaped at them. He was halfway through a window, one skinny leg still dangling over the sill. He heaved himself through and landed with some breaking brush and a thump.
Even knowing it was pointless, Lucifer said to Bianca, “Stay here.”
He dove through the window after Weaz-adj.
Raphael took to the air and hovered above a fleeing Christen.
And then things went awry.
A red film dropped over Weaz-adj’s eyes, and he shot toward the forest, his shape nothing but a white blur. No human moved that fast.
