Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 444

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Mark Glassner

Lucifer's flail of light caught me in the side, sizzling against my armor and tearing gouges in the bronze. The world spun about me before I landed in a heap on the grass. I forced myself to stand. Chasity stood over me, fending off the Devil's attack, buying me time to recover. She was the only ghost left; the others had been shredded into silver mist by that fucking weapon. The flail swung fast, and had twice my reach.

Mary threw another fireball at Lucifer; the fire deflected with a casual flick of his flail, and Mary dived to avoid a beam of light that dissolved the grass and earth at her feet into coruscating gas—an aurora flowering beautiful out of the ground. I roared, throwing myself back into the fray, turning his attention back to me, away from Mary. My wife didn't have my reflexes or my strength.

“Master!” a woman shouted.

I risked a glance, and saw 51 leading leading a squad of the bodyguards towards us, black rifles clutched in desperate hands. Shit, what were they doing! They had their orders to stay back. More bodyguards ran across the park from the other directions. All three hundred of them were charging in. They would be slaughtered.

“You can disobey my orders only to save my or Mary's life,” I had commanded them.

Yellow-fire strobed from each rifle, illuminating the bodyguards firing: tall and graceful 211, dusky-skinned 24, fiery-redhead 77, feisty 44, petite 100, and more. Like a swarm of angry bees, the bronze bullets—inscribed with enchantments by Candy, allowing the bits of lead to harm supernatural beings—stung Lucifer, and light bled from him. He roared in pain; a shimmering wall sprang up before him, rippling beneath the swarm of lead. Then a beam of pure light swept across the field; both earth and women vaporized into glowing clouds. The surviving bodyguards scattered like a flock of birds before the swooping falcon as more light lanced out.

I swung at Lucifer's shining leg, ducking beneath his flail, and missed his glowing flesh by inches. Shadows shifted, his glowing weapon swinging, and I dove to the side as Lucifer raked the ground where I stood. I rolled to a crouch; Chasity leaped at Lucifer's back. She nimbly ducked his attack, but was driven back. I tried to rush in, but that fucking flail swept around, batting my sword to the side. He flicked the flail and struck my breastplate before I could bring my sword up to parry. The blow battered me to my knees. Lucifer loomed over me; I dived back, the flail snapping down and disintegrating a clod of dirt, a puff of glowing gas rising up.

I regained my feet, and faced the Devil.

“I am the Morning Star!” Lucifer bellowed. “Bow down to me, worship me, and I shall forget your transgression today, Mark. Continue in your defiance, and your torment shall be unending!”

This was not working. Another two bodyguards were felled by his beam of light as they crouched behind playground equipment, their bodies reduced to a glowing gas that wafted away in the breeze. Sweat drenched my body, my lungs burned with exertion. I couldn't keep dodging his attacks. Fear fought with adrenaline—I didn't want to die. I didn't want to see Mary die. I licked my lips; could I serve Lucifer? Could I worship him as my God?

If it meant Mary living, I could do anything.

*Mark, I have a plan!* Mary sent telepathically.

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