It was already well after midnight when Sadie woke with a start. She quickly assessed herself and the room. She had taken a room for the night at a small family run inn within the city of Wiesbaden in Germany, an old spa town known for its many hot springs. With Southresh gone, she meant to get back to the business of dealing with Adolf once and for all.
Sadie had not returned to the United States in many months. She told herself that her father was in good hands with Cole. She would only make matters worse by continually going back and leaving over and over.
This way she was sparing herself and Cole and her father the pain that came with goodbyes. At least, that was the excuse she used every time the nagging guilt clawed at her mind. Truth be told, she never really bought that excuse. But she always managed to push the doubt out of her mind. She wasn’t going to leave this matter undone. And now, with her greatest challenge already behind her, she assumed the rest would be easy by comparison.
The room around her was very dark. The curtain was open, but the moon was barely a sliver in the sky now and did nothing to lighten the room. However, being a Lycan, her eyes were well suited for the night. But the room beyond the end of the bed remained swathed in darkness despite her keen eyesight.
It was Malak-esh that had woke her. She could still feel the pulse emanating from the sword even though it was hidden away in the dimensional pocket just beyond sight. It had always surged with energy like this while in the presence of one of the Fallen, so she knew that she was not alone here.
As Sadie reached out her arm toward the impenetrable blackness beyond her bed, Malak-esh came to her hand. The light from the glowing mercurial blade invaded the darkness. She saw the figure of a man revealed as the darkness fled. Still, his features were indistinct. She could not tell the identity of the person.
“I felt the mad god pass from this world yesterday.”
Sadie shuddered, realizing that Lucifer was standing across the room. It had to be him. He was the only one of the Fallen left in the world now. Malak-esh had not lied about the presence of an angelic enemy.
She whipped the blanket aside and came to her feet beside the bed as quick as a flash. She did not want to become entangled within her bed covers when the angel attacked her. In her mind, she could think of no other reason why he would have come.
Lucifer remained where he was, standing as still as a statue before the door. He seemed unperturbed by her sudden posturing with the sword. He did not move at all.
“Are you here to kill me?” Sadie asked. It was all she could think of to say.
“I came to congratulate you on your hard won victory,” he replied politely. “Ridding the world of Southresh was a great accomplishment.”
“Congratulate me? I doubt it. More likely you mean to stop me from killing your precious Adolf.”
Lucifer grinned. “Now why would I be concerned about that? Perhaps you think that I could not stop you, that I fear that weapon you’re holding. Rubbish. Maybe you’re too stupid to see that Adolf’s time is already coming to an end, regardless of what you or I do. He is not the one.”
“The one?” she asked uncertainly.
“Child, when my time comes to rise, there will be nothing anyone can do to stop me,” Lucifer crowed. “It has been written and it will be done.”
Sadie straightened. “There have been a great many more things written on that subject than just your rising to power in the world.”
Lucifer sniffed indignantly at this and then vanished from the room without another word. The previous pervasive blackness in the room scattered with his departure. Sadie could see now as well as she ever had with nothing hidden in the dark. What she couldn’t see was the true reason for this visitation.
Malak-esh drew down its power. With the danger gone, it rested again. Lucifer had truly left her. She wasn’t sure if she could sleep now. Probably not. Regardless, her hunt for Adolf would take up again tomorrow.