Rogue Rider

Thirty-five

“Is everything in place?”

From inside the khote, Gethel looked down on Jillian Cardiff’s little farm. “Yes.” She turned to Lucifer, who shared the invisible space. “The Aegis believes I’ve given them the tools to capture and hold the Horsemen. First thing in the morning, their plan kicks off.”

Lucifer, his black eyes glinting, smiled. As an angel, he’d been handsome. As the second most powerful fallen angel in Sheoul, he was stunning.

“And our plan kicks off shortly after that.”

Gethel shivered with anticipation. By noon tomorrow, a whole bunch of birds were going to go down with one stone. Lucifer would strike a powerful blow to The Aegis, and he’d dole out punishment to the Horsemen like they’d never seen. Reseph had made a huge mistake when he’d sought revenge against those who had sided with Pestilence. Killing Lilith had been the fatal error that sealed his fate.

Lucifer couldn’t destroy the Horsemen, but he’d devised a trap of epic proportions. “You’re certain your cage will hold them?” she asked.

“Their prison is constructed of hellhound venom, rendered from hundreds of the beasts. The Horsemen merely need to touch the cage walls and they’ll be rendered immobile. I’ll also have Sheoul’s most powerful mages continuously refreshing and renewing the walls so they never weaken or lose potency.”

“Excellent.” She knew he also planned to hang their cages above roaring fires so the assholes would roast for all eternity. Once imprisoned, even if their biblical Seals broke, they would be helpless to escape or fight on the side of good in the Apocalypse. “Don’t forget my payment.”

Lucifer inclined his head. “Thanatos’s child will be yours to do what you will with him.” He reached out and fingered the tip of her wing, and she shivered with both pleasure and fear, an intoxicating combination. “What do you plan for him?”

The child was a perfect, beautiful combination of light and dark, with unusually strong battle angel tendencies as well as a powerful demon half. So much potential there.

“I intend to exploit his demon side and raise him to be an angel assassin.”

Lucifer smiled. “Nice.”

Hardly. She had no intention of being nice. But then, neither did Lucifer. The story of the horrors he’d inflict on the Horsemen and their loved ones would be written in their blood and passed down through history.

The Horsemen would pay for turning their backs on her. And she was going to love watching them suffer.