There were eyes on her. The way the hair on the back of Grace’s neck stood on end told her that. Someone was watching her. The stalker more than likely. Too much of a coincidence for it to be otherwise. And if they were there, it meant they were the ones to orchestrate this entire ordeal. While they could have just followed her there, it was doubtful. This person had been following her for weeks, arriving around the same time Lucifer had upped and vanished. There were such things as coincidences, but this was just too much of one. For some reason, the stalker was testing her. Feeling her out.
Or this was all a trap. One of Lucifer’s numerous enemies waiting for her to rescue him so they could just kill her instead. Probably in front of him, too. Because that was what bad guys did, right? Killed the woman in front of the guy. Though, usually, the man and the woman were in love. Definitely not the case for Grace and Lucifer. But she was important to him, somehow. She knew that, just didn’t know why. Maybe one day Lucifer would explain all of that. She wasn’t going to hold her breath.
Either way, she was fucked. As Tony said, she was a weak Sin Eater. The witch was the first supernatural creature she had fought, and it didn’t exactly go that great. Would have been worse if it weren’t for her hounds. She was more than lucky they were on her side. Dead was where she would be if they hadn’t been there to back her up. She was going to have to find a way to show her appreciation for them. Letting them go out and hunt on their own might be a good way. That was a hard thought for her. If any of them got hurt, she had no idea what she would do.
Grace’s hazel eyes rolled high in her head. None of the hounds were children (except Pup) and they were more than capable to take care of themselves (except Pup). She was going to have to let them hunt on their own eventually anyways. Might as well do it sooner than later. Especially, since she couldn’t keep the pace she was eating humans at. Someone was bound to notice that people were going missing every other week. She needed to find a way to curb her appetite, and having the hounds hunt might just be the thing. Demons would sate her hunger longer, she knew that, had been told that by Tony, but she had to be the one to eat the heart. The hounds were good at hunting down demons, it was kind of their thing.
Speaking of demons. Tony’s scent tickled her nose, teasing her hunger. She shoved it away, but it was always there, taunting her. Waiting for a moment of weakness to attack her newfound friend. But she was not going to let that happen. Not only did she need at least one person on her side in her new life, but he could kill her. Easily. Tony was much more powerful than he let on. She might surprise him in her attack, but he would win in the end. There was no doubt in her mind about that at all.
The demon’s scent wrapped around her like a blanket. He was close, but she couldn’t see him anywhere, which she found strange. Her eyes could penetrate the darkness in near perfect clarity, and yet, she couldn’t spot him anywhere. With how strong his scent was, she should be right on top of him. So, her nose had to be wrong.
Someone is messing with my mind. That was an unsettling thought and one Grace immediately rejected. There had been many things she had come across, demons, angels, and a djinni, but none of them had shown an ability to mess with someone’s head. Psychologically, yes, but metaphysically? No. There was some other explanation. There had to be some other explanation.
There was a small gust of wind and movement from out of the corner of her eye. Grace couldn’t help but laugh at herself. A small piece of fabric from Tony’s shirt was stuck in a crack in a piece of rusted machinery, the reason why his scent had been so overwhelming. It had been purposefully placed, jammed deep within the crack. Grace didn’t need to be a genius to know that Tony was leaving her a trail to follow, something she was grateful for. The warehouse was turning out to be a lot bigger than she had previously believed. It had to be a series of interconnected buildings. Only explanation she could come up with. She wasn’t an expert in old buildings.
The next piece of cloth she found was a few feet away partially hidden by a rock. A ghost of a smile graced her face knowing Tony had to be seething. He made all of his own clothes, and ruining them sent him in a rage. When she had gotten the blood on her shirt that time she blacked out, he hadn’t talked to her for a week. She had believed he was afraid of her, until he had burst into her room and shouted at her about how she ruined his creation that he made specifically for her and slaved over. When Grace pointed out that it only took him ten minutes to make, he huffed, slammed the door, and walked back to his apartment. At least, she knew he wasn’t mad at her for nearly killing another demon. Especially one that happened to be his brother.
Tony didn’t know she knew he was Baphomet’s brother. Lucifer had told her that it was best to keep that bit of information to herself. The demon didn’t like associating with his family and preferred that no one know that he was even related to them. So, out of respect for her friend, she kept the bit of information to herself. She really didn’t know how he would react and she would rather not lose her only supernatural friend. And she needed someone on her side. Someone that was willing to talk to her and pass her information instead of leaving her in the dark. Someone willing to help her when she needed it. Someone that didn’t want to kill her. Tony was just that and she was going to keep a hold of him with an iron grip.
Without receiving orders the hounds rushed in front of Grace, sniffing out the next piece of Tony’s cloth ensuring their alpha went in the correct direction. She followed them, arms crossed across her chest and eyes on the ground, making sure she didn’t trip over any loose rubble. She was a hunter of the night, but even they stumbled and fell over the occasional obstruction. Falling flat on her face was not something she wanted to do in the den of rusty machines. She didn’t know if she could get tetanus, but it was best not to find out.
Tony’s scent grew stronger and Grace sent her pack on their way. The demon was still frightened of her hounds, and she didn’t need him freaking out at the moment. Especially with the tangy smell of blood in the air. Lucifer’s blood. She ignored the beat of panic in her heart and moved forward preparing herself for what she was about to see.
Nothing prepared her for the sight that filled her eyes.
Hooks. Hooks were in his body. Lucifer was hanging in the air by hooks. Meat hooks. Five meat hooks, one in each hand, one in each side at his ribs, and one in his back. This had been a slaughter house at one point in time. And Lucifer was hanging by the rusted hooks that once held meat, a large pool of dark blood under his feet.
Dazed, Grace moved forward, her eyes never leaving Lucifer’s body that swayed ever so slightly from his breath. Before she could reach her destination, by Lucifer’s side so she could rip the hooks from his body, Tony stopped her with hands on shoulder. “Tony, there are hooks in him,” she stated dully pushing against his grip, her eyes never leaving Lucifer. “There are hooks in him, Tony. Tony, there are hooks in him.” With each passing word, her volume grew, her voice more frantic. She fought harder against the demon that was supposed to be her friend until he slammed her against the ground. He straddled her with her wrists in hand and held her against the ground. “There’s a fucking sword in his heart, Tony!”
“We can’t get to him!” Tony grunted, trying his best to get Grace to calm down, afraid she might injure herself to get out of his grip. “There’s a barrier around him.” That seemed to calm her down enough for him to let go of her, though he still stayed on top of her.
Grace rubbed her tender wrists, glaring up at the demon on top of her. “Get off of me,” she demanded, her voice shaking. She could have hit herself right then. That was supposed to come out strong, firm. Not terrified on the verge of hysteria once again. She was Grace Fucking Barnes. She didn’t get hysterical. She was an independent woman and a single mom who got shit done. There wasn’t time for hysterics. There wasn’t time to be scared.
And she hated the angel hanging by the meat hooks. She should have been reveling in the fact that he was in as much pain as he was. Should have been doing a fucking Happy Dance around the barrier he was behind. So why? Why had she panicked and why was she underneath her friend who had just restrained her? That wasn’t like her. That wasn’t Grace Barnes. That was a by-product of her new life. S he would rather pretend it never happened.
Tony’s sunset eyes stared down at her as if taking everything about her face in. Then, he stood, offering her a hand. Grace took it, wrapping her fingers around his wrist to give him a better grip. “What are we going to do?” she asked with a steady voice this time. Her hazel eyes wandered to Lucifer’s swaying body. Her heart beat hard against her chest, but felt as if it had stopped at the same time. It didn’t take long for her to realize the contradiction in feelings was due to her holding her breath. Inhaling a deep, shaky breath, she turned to Tony with expectation.
“We need an angel.”
“Oh. Okay.” Grace started to feel around her body making a point to check the pockets of her black jeans. “Well, looks like I’m all out of angels. Do you have any other fucking ideas?!” Yelling at the demon wasn’t going to solve any problems, but it did make her feel better. Brought some heat back into the cold that had sunk into her bones.
If Tony clenched his jaw any more, his teeth would snap under the pressure. It was the only sign of his anger, his breathing regular, his eyes strangely calm. The muscles in his jaw finally unwound when he opened his mouth to speak. “There are no other options. This barrier was set by an angel and can only be broken by an angel.”
Well, isn’t that just fan-fucking-tastic. She didn’t know any other angels aside from Lucifer. So, he was going to be stuck in there, with the meat hooks in his body, until the could find one willing to help them. That was if they even found one. Fallen angels probably didn’t keep in contact with their heavenly brothers.
All Grace could do was stare at him and shake her head. “Who could do something like that?”
“That, my beauty, is a very good question,” a male voice called from right next to her. A noise escaped her and she found herself wrapped around Tony. The man’s dark eyebrows raised and his gray-green eyes shone with mirth. “Jumpy?”
Clearing her throat, Grace detached herself from Tony a red hue crawling up her neck. “Who are you?” she asked a little more sharply than intended. She wanted to play nice with the obviously supernatural being in front of her. There was a chance, a very high one, that he could kill her.
The man bowed low before her. “I am Gabriel, Archangel and lover of women.”
Grace visibly cringed which brought a delighted smile on the Archangel’s face. There’s something wrong with him, she said to herself. Aloud she said, “Can you break the barrier?” The excitement she had been trying to keep in check crept into her voice.
“I can!” Gabriel exclaimed, coming closer to her. He didn’t stop moving until their noses nearly touched. “And all it will take it one kiss from you.”
Soft fingers trailed up Grace’s arm, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. Her face twisted into a grimace as she punched the angel in the gut. The air left him with a grunt. Taking advantage of the moment, Grace brought her hand on the back of his head and shoved it down to meet her rising right knee. There was a crunch when his nose met the joint, and his head snapped back. But he was still on his feet, and she needed him on the ground. So, she shoved him down. Dazed as he was, he went down with little effort.
She straddled Gabriel’s waist and twisted her fingers in his white button up shirt. “How about this? You release him, and I don’t rip your heart from your chest and eat it in front of you.”
A great laugh bellowed from the man under her. It was boisterous and she could feel it in her chest. It also unnerves her. There aren’t many that laugh when being threatened in such a way. “Oh, Morning Star, my brother, of course you would find someone that burns as bright as you.” His hands gripped her hips tightly, and she was about to hit him once again, but he pushed her away before she could. A small yelp left her as she flew through the air a few feet before landing on her feet in a crouch.
Still laughing, Gabriel kicked his feet over his head and rolled backwards to his feet. He laughed all the way to the barrier, standing to where he was facing Lucifer, and still laughing he placed his palm out touching the barrier. It started to pulse. Slowly at first, then faster and faster until it was so quick it was near solid. The sound of shattering glass fills the silent room, bouncing off the walls and echoing down into the building.
Grace couldn’t help but jump at the sudden interruption of noise. Tony quirked an eyebrow at her, but she ignored him, all her attention intent on what was happening in front of her. She was ready to run forward and detach the fallen angel from the hooks inside of his body. Someone was going to have to help her, and at that moment, she didn’t really care who.
“The barrier is broken,” Gabriel announces with a flourish of his hands.
With careful, quick steps Grace rushed forward wrapping her arms around Lucifer’s legs and lifting him up. “Can someone help?” She met eyes with Gabriel who was the closest out of the two males. His lips quirked up, but he didn’t say anything. Just moved to behind Lucifer so he could start removing the hooks.
There was a tap on her shoulder and she turned to Tony. “I’ll hold him.” Grace opened her mouth, but the demon covered it to keep the words she was about to say in it. “You’re too short. Once all the hooks are out you guys are going to topple over.” Not being able to see any fault in his logic, Grace nodded her head and relinquished her hold on Lucifer to him, muttering how she wasn’t that much shorter than him. He just shakes his head and takes Lucifer’s torso in his arms, lifting him giving the chains the hooks are attached to some slack.
Gabriel makes quick work of the hooks. He had them out in under two minutes, not even a twitch coming from Lucifer. “Don’t forget about the sword,” Grace reminded the men when all the hooks had been removed. The look she received from Gabriel said he didn’t appreciate her input. She fought the urge to stick her tongue out at him. She was not a child and she would not act like one. Though it would have been very satisfying.
Grey-green eyes still on her, Gabriel pulled the sword from his brother’s chest at a speed that could only be described as agonizing. The stare alone told her he had done it on purpose, but she kept her mouth shut. There was no telling what else he would have done just to be an asshole, and Grace didn’t really have time to find out. Someone was still watching them, waiting for… something. If she knew what they wanted it might be easier to figure out who they are. But so far, she has gotten zero information. She doesn’t even know if the person stalking her is a man or woman. The hounds haven’t even caught a scent of them. They were ridiculously good at hiding. A talent Grace was going to have to practice one of these days.
“What do we do now?” Grace asked, her eyes still on the limp Lucifer. Even when Gabriel had pulled the sword out, he hadn’t moved. Not even a twitch of the eyes. Nothing. If he hadn’t been breathing she would have believed him to be dead. It sent an unpleasant shiver down her spine at how lifeless he was.
Gabriel’s eyes briefly shifted to his brother before coming back to her. “He’ll need rest. A lot of it. It’s hard to kill an angel, but easy to make them weak. You’ll have to take care of him.”
A groan left her before she could stop. Her apartment was small and with the hounds in there it was already a tight fit. Adding another person was going to make it hard to move. “Alright,” she huffed. “Someone will have to get Jane out of my apartment,” the girl didn’t need to see her father that way, “the other will have to take Lucifer and put him on my bed. I’ll take it from there.”
Neither of them argued, just set about doing what Grace said to do. Tony quickly volunteered to get Jane out of Grace’s apartment and vanished as soon as he passed Lucifer off to Gabriel, leaving the three of them alone. A pregnant silence built between them until Gabriel broke it. “I’ve been following the detective on your case,” he started.
Grace just stared at the angel, not really knowing what he wanted her to say. If it was “thank you” he could go fuck himself. She didn’t ask him to stalk the detective that was hunting her, and she was damned sure Lucifer hadn’t asked him either. “Okay?” she finally said when it was clear he wasn’t going to say anything until she did.
“Someone is setting you up to get caught.” That was news to Grace. Then again, should she expect any less? Lucifer had enemies and she was a way to get to him. Maybe she really should have took her time with the hunt for Andrew Wood. She might not be in as much shit as she currently was. But even angels can’t change the past. “Watch your back.” He vanished as soon as the sentence left his mouth.
As if she really needed him to tell her that.
After staring at the spot Gabriel had stood, Grace lifted her eyes and shifted them all around her, hoping to catch a glimpse of her stalker. They were still there. She could still feel the eyes on her, but there was no sign of them. With a shake of her head, she started to leave. “I’m going to find you and kill you,” she muttered under her breath. A trickle of wind chime like laughter followed after her. She couldn’t help but smile. Her stalker was a woman.