Finishing Forty: An Immortal Midlife, #3

By L.A. Boruff and Lacey Carter

The Gates of Hell are Open.
got a glimpse of our daughter.
And I've got all my power back.

Everything hangs on our ability to close the gates, but all I truly care about is finding Ariel. I can't fathom the thought that I might never see her again.

I don't care about all the demons terrorizing the world.
I don't care about the angels, demons, and humans I might have to kill.

It's all going to burn.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Phantom Pen
• Release date: Jan 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201242671

L.A. Boruff

L.A. Boruff lives in East Tennessee with her husband, three children, and an ever growing number of cats. She loves reading, watching TV, and procrastinating by browsing Facebook. L.A.’s passions include vampires, food, and listening to heavy metal music. She once won a Harry Potter trivia contest based on the books, and lost one based on the movies. She has two bands on her bucket list that she still hasn’t seen: AC/DC and Alice Cooper. Feel free to send tickets.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Lilith

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She had black hair, plump lips, and pale cheeks with the slightest pink tinge to them. And she hadn't been scared. She was brave, that little girl of mine. She'd seen all the demons pouring out of the gates around me as I stood in shock for a split second, the hair of a moment that it took me to send out my power to try to grab her. She'd watched them with curiosity in her eyes, but not fear.

She was either brave or desensitized. I hoped it didn't mean he'd had her around hordes of demons. As Queen of Hell, even I wouldn't have introduced her to the subjects of my rule for many years yet.

Either way, she was brave. But why had he brought her here? To tempt us into searching harder for her? Or to mock us.

Lilith, Lucifer yelled. Do something!

I snapped back to the present. I stood with my arms spread and my deep magical reserves strained as I held up a shield of power to keep demons from escaping Hell.

My mind whirred with idea after idea, but none were feasible. I couldn't put up a shield and leave it. If I didn't have enough power to maintain this one, I certainly couldn't leave one. The demons would shred it in seconds.

They were weak alone, but en masse like this, their powers worked together to batter me.

Freeze! I screamed, using magic to amplify my voice again. I weighed the words down, soaking them with as much power as I could, but still, none of the demons listened.

Thank goodness you're back. My brother's voice carried over the sounds of the demons snarling and scraping. I saw him coming through the crowd. Demons moved aside for him. Asmodeus. My little brother. We weren’t as close as I was with Michael and Gabe, but we were still family.

He'd sided with us during the rebellion and had been sent to live under our charge. The first Fallen we'd created, and general of our armies. The armies that should've been helping us now.

What is happening? I asked. I wanted to scream in frustration, but I was back in Hell. Even if all the demons had found a way to ignore my every word, I was still the Queen.

He reached the front of the crowd and stepped up to the shield, wincing as he touched his finger to it. The demons ran all around him, still battering at the wall of power, but stayed out of his immediate personal space.

How are you doing that? I asked.

He dropped to one knee. Forgive me, Sis, Lord Lucifer.

I glanced over my shoulder at Luc, who still stared at the gates with a constipated look on his face.

Asmodeus gave me a questioning look. Is he well?

He is not. Can you help with these demons? I asked.

They refuse to listen, he replied. I'm sorry. The Fallen and I are useless now. They are running and hiding if I'm not mistaken. The demons seem to be giving us a berth of some sort, but there's no discernible reason.

Go find them. Round them up, I hissed. Get up. I still stood with my arms outstretched. Start rounding demons up and get them back to Hell. Work on Earth the best you can.

He gave Lucifer one last glance, then nodded. Of course.

He couldn't leave without fighting against my wall of power.

Luc, I called over my shoulder. Come here.

How he'd managed to get back into his ethereal body without his magic made me want to gnash my teeth. What had Raphael done to keep Lucifer's magic blocked so soundly?

He walked over, staring at his hands. I don't have my power, he said, sounding like a lost little boy looking for his mommy.

I know. I couldn't hold the shield up much longer. A few more demons had slipped through at the edges. I understood Lucifer's lost expression. In a few minutes, I was going to be forced to let the shield go and allow the demons of Hell loose on Earth.

There were countless demons in Hell. Hundreds of thousands at the least, maybe millions. Some demons could procreate. Like our version of rats. We were able to keep them in relatively low numbers thanks to the Hounds—oh, the hounds. What of Jellybean? Where was he?

Jellybean! I yelled, projecting my voice. It wouldn't reach out of the realm, but if he'd come back, he'd hear it.

Where are my powers? Lucifer whispered.

Asmodeus and I exchanged a look. He'd never been like this. We'd been by Lucifer's side since the dawn of time, in Heaven and then here in Hell. He'd never been lost. Scared. Diminished.

Right now, he was all of those things. Luc, grab my arm, I told him. I'd have to figure this mess out myself. Find his magic, find our daughter, and fix Hell.

He put his hand on my shoulder and seemed to notice the demons for the first time. What is happening?

I sighed, trying not to be exasperated. He'd just lost his powers, after all. Raphael opened the gates. He had Ariel. As soon as the gates were opened, the demons poured out.

I can't close the gates, he said simply. I tried.

I know, Luc, I know. I'm holding them back, but I have to let go. Hang on to me.

He nodded.

I turned back to Asmodeus, who had been watching our exchange with a shocked expression. He wiped it from his face when he saw my gaze return to him. Find the Fallen and do what you can. Check in with me often.

The deep bow he gave irritated me. He'd always been annoying, ever since we were created.

Ready, I whispered. I counted up to three, then let the magic go.

Asmodeus had been correct. The demons streamed around Lucifer, Asmodeus, and I as if we were trees standing in their path. Nothing they could do but go around.

I watched them go for a few moments, then grabbed Luc's arm and disappeared.

We couldn't normally stay on Earth in our ethereal bodies for long. Short visits and quick trips were all we could handle; our ethereal bodies being tied to Heaven or Hell. Either place could sustain us.

Which was why it had taken such an extraordinary amount of power to create Hell all those years before. Luc had it from the Fall, and he'd nearly killed himself creating a realm that could hold Fallen Angels. Especially Archangels like Lucifer and me.

We'd do the best we could on Earth, then if we weakened, we could return to Hell. It would probably be empty of demons by then, at this rate.

A particularly large Incubus ran toward us as I disappeared. He seemed as if he was going to run smack into me, and it startled me. I lost focus as we disappeared from our home.

Crap. Where would we land?

Miami. Lucifer and I appeared in the middle of downtown Miami. I recognized it because Constance and Lucian had once vacationed there, not long after college.

Why are we in Miami? Lucifer asked, his voice stronger. He sounded a bit more like himself which was a small relief.

I have no idea. I sighed and looked around. When we left Hell, I was distracted, and we went out at random.

The smell of the salty air directly contrasted with the high-rise buildings, as if big cities couldn't be near the sea. Miami proved them wrong.

Luc held out his hand. If we go to the house, maybe Michael and Gabe are still there. I took it, realizing that without his powers, he was like lugging a human around. He was vulnerable, and far too many wanted to hurt him.

If the demons had realized who and what he was at the gates, they would've attacked. It was his magic that had held them in the realm for the entirety of their afterlives. I wasn't sure why they hadn't attacked. Maybe they hadn't recognized him without his magic? Or possibly they'd been in such a frenzy to leave that they hadn't noticed any of us there?

Just before I moved us to the house, I noticed something strange.

A car drove down the street, but no human was in the driver's seat.

The Incubus. The one that had charged me, seconds before, in Hell, was behind the wheel. His skin was a hue of pink that might've been red, might've been pink. He had somewhat humanoid features. All Incubi did. I wasn't sure if they'd glamoured themselves that way so much over the years that evolution took care of it for them, but it helped them make humans comfortable, so they'd give them their deepest desire. To an Incubus, Succubus, Siren, or the many other variations, desire was a mighty snack. They made the object of the human's desire come true, whether it was sexual or something else, but twisted. Then they fed on the negative emotions the desire evoked. Fear, horror, misery. Incubi were loathsome creatures, nothing like human romance novels made them out to be.

This one saluted me and drove down the road while Lucifer and I gaped at him. I considered using magic to stop him, but then what would I have done with him? Stuffed him in a vault?

Humans wouldn't have been able to see that, the Incubus driving. What would they think when they saw the car? It wasn't new enough or fancy-looking enough to be a driverless car, and I wasn't sure those were even legal yet, anyway.

A woman walked past us on a cell phone. I'm telling you, Frank, there was nobody driving the car.

Oh, no.

Lucifer, walk with me for just a few minutes. Something strange is going on.

He nodded. I saw it, too.

Did you see the Incubus? I asked under my breath.

Yeah.

At least he had that much, the ability to See. Keep your eyes peeled.

Seconds later, I saw another. A small Spectra rode on the shoulder of a woman walking toward us with tears streaming down her face.

Excuse me, I said. Are you all right?

She ignored me. If I could get her to stop, I could at least knock the Spectra off of her shoulder. It resembled a small monkey, all cute and fuzzy.

It was anything but cute inside. They liked to live in old homes or places that had seen a lot of death and torture. Spectras were responsible for most of the world's haunted places, not actual ghosts. Those were exceedingly rare, as Lucifer and I did our jobs very well and souls didn't escape our charge often.

Until now. Who knew what was happening in Purgatory and Limbo?

Spectras, being small, quick, and wily, escaped Hell all the time, unfortunately.

Ma'am, I said at nearly a shout.

She kept walking, and the little monkey chittered at me as they passed.

I don't think they can see us, Lucifer said. I think we're on the demonic plane.

It remained to be seen if that would help us or hurt us in the long run. We would be able to come and go as we pleased, but if we needed human help, it would be very difficult to get it. I could make myself appear to humans from this plane with my magic, but Lucifer couldn't.

A squirrel ran past, then stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. It raised on its hind legs and looked around, then set its beady eye on me.

With a snarl, it ran straight for me. I watched, bemused, as the creature neared, but then it bared its sharp teeth.

And I, Queen of the Hell, the dead, and all the demons in existence, had to stop myself from screaming in fright.

Lucifer stepped forward and kicked it square in the face. I gasped in relief as it flew across the road, but then jumped when a public