Infernal God (Claimed By Lucifer Book 3) by Elizabeth Briggs (summer reads TXT) 📕

"I need to get Pestilence back into the garden," I said. "You take care of the others."

Without even stopping to question what I had planned, Lucifer altered his trajectory and headed toward the imps and shifters. I trusted him to take care of them, and I walked toward Pestilence slowly, hoping the others were already moving into position at the waterfall, or this plan would fail. The being that had once been Adam turned his attention toward me, a smile spreading over his sickly yellow face, one of the boils on his chin pulsing like it had a heartbeat.

“Eve, my love.” His voice had changed, no longer the sound of my first husband's voice, but now tinged with something far more ancient. His eyes were all white, no pupils at all, and it was hard not to look away when he stared at me with them. "You've changed."

"I wanted to be like you." I took another step forward and let my Famine essence unfurl. My body glowed with a faint green light, and I would bet money that my eyes did too. "Your equal."

He cocked his head. "You released Famine?"

"Yes and I made the sacrifice." It was hard not to gag as I approached him. "Now we can be together. All we have to do is take out War."

He rubbed his hands together. "Yes, and then we can rule this world side by side as gods. That's all I ever wanted."

"I know." I forced a smile. "Come, let me show you my horse, Misery. She's in the garden waiting for me. We can talk more there."

Pestilence dismounted his own horse and sent it away with a gesture. The white beast rode away, turning incorporeal and running over the pool before vanishing. Then the rotting corpse-like Horseman walked alongside me, while my gargoyles hung back, though it clearly pained them to do so. I eyed Adam closely, wondering how he had become so far gone. Lucifer had changed too, with the red angry glow always bursting out of his skin, but he hadn't lost himself as much as Adam had—he must have been fighting War's influence even without his memories of me. I wondered what horrible thing I would have become had I failed to defeat Famine—probably some gaunt, haggard figure with sagging boobs and jagged fangs, always trying to find my next meal. I shuddered a little at the thought.

No one stopped us as we entered Persephone's Garden, and I led Pestilence toward the waterfall. Now that I'd let my Famine powers out, they begged to drain all the life from the plants in the garden, but I held myself back.

"What made you change your mind?" Adam asked.

"When Lucifer became War he was lost to me. He forgot who I was." I cast a glance over at Adam. "You would never do that."

"No. Never. Over hundreds of years, I always found you. Even when he didn't."

"I know. I became Famine because she has the power to stop War—and so I could be a Horseman like you." I gestured at Misery up ahead, who stood beside the waterfall. "Ah, there's my horse now."

As we approached the waterfall, my gargoyle guard moved in close, with Theo at the lead. Pestilence jerked his head around, just as Belial, Kassiel, and Damien emerged from the hidden cave below the water.

"What's this?" Adam asked.

"It's time for you to go back to sleep." I still had the powers I’d accessed in Faerie, and they were stronger here in the garden I’d created. At my thought, vines wound around Pestilence, binding his limbs, and his face contorted.

“You can’t hold Pestilence!” As he spoke, he struggled, and the vines started to wither and die from his poison.

I drew on Famine, finding the vacuum always in the center of me, the one always hungry for power. I focused on Pestilence, drawing on him, taking his energy away. Making him weak.

He screamed as he realized what was happening. “What are you doing? You lied to me!”

"And it was all too easy... You'd think you would know by now that I will never be yours."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lucifer flying just outside the garden. He had the imps and shifters fighting each other with a touch of his War frenzy, while Belial and Azazel picked them off on the sidelines and protected the innocent humans. It was almost beautiful as Lucifer moved his hands like the world’s most violent conductor. Then he finished his orchestral movement by destroying them with darkness and hellfire. Perfect takedown.

And my cue to finish what I’d started with Pestilence.

I directed the vines to pull Adam under the waterfall, using the walkthrough feature I’d installed. Theo hit a hidden button and the wall slid open to reveal Pestilence’s tomb. I’d had it brought here from Stonehenge, banking on the fact Adam wouldn’t be able to leave me alone and would return again. And where Adam went, Pestilence went too.

Damien was already inside, with the tomb open and ready. He'd told me it wouldn’t work as well the second time around, since the runes weren't fresh—whatever that meant. I had to take the chance though. We had no other option.

Pestilence struggled and glared at me. "No! You will die!"

He sent out wave after wave of disease and horror, but my gargoyle guards were immune and they blocked me from it. Still, it took all of my power to drag him to the tomb, and even then I wasn't sure it would be enough.

With a roar, Adam suddenly broke free of his vines, then materialized a golden bow and arrow and began shooting me with them. One hit my arm and made me instantly feel sick, and I yanked it out and prayed whatever it was wouldn't harm the baby. I knocked him back with a blast of air, then used a weave of darkness and light to shield