Of Light And Shadows

Chapter Forty Six...

"What kind of idiot uses a warehouse owned by his most prominent associate as a safe house," Mammon muttered, staring at the squat grey building surrounded by chain link fences. To Jia it looked more like a prison than a safe house.

"The same kind of idiot that will give away our position if he doesn't shut up and get behind the wall," Lucifer replied. Mammon rolled his eyes and moved to stand beside his brother.

"Like we need the element of surprise, he snorted. "This guy is a small fry."

"He also escaped last time and ran straight to our father," Lucifer retorted.

"He won't get away this time," Jia cut in. "I won't let him." She detached herself from the cover and safety provided by a low wall and crept across the street, sticking to the shadows wherever she could. Lucifer and the others followed soundlessly, letting Jia take the lead.

She reached out with her senses, remembering what Lucifer had shown her whenever he'd had a spare minute. She sent her consciousness out towards the building, imagining it as a mist again. It swept across the ground in an invisible curtain, creeping towards a small side door and slipping under the gap at the bottom with ease.

The inside of the warehouse was mostly comprised of a large, square space filled with empty shelving units that stretched up towards the ceiling, but at the back there was what she at first assumed to be offices.

She was exploring between the shelves when the first brushes of someone else's existence touched her mind. When she followed the slight nudge she found exactly what she was looking for.

"He's in the offices at the back of the warehouse," she whispered to the group. "He doesn't know we're here."

Lucifer signalled for Mammon, Belphegor and Evander to split off and circle round the building to a door at the other side. Sellik looked between Lucifer and Jia for a moment before smiling.

"Just so you guys know, I am all about this," she squealed quietly, gesturing to the mark on Jia's arm. "Congratulations!"

"The marriage with Jezebeth forced our hand a bit," Jia replied, "but we're happy."

"Stop it! You two are so cute, it's making me jealous," she teased, but her gorgeous green eyes were twinkling with excitement. It seemed oddly out of place when they were essentially about to assassinate someone, but Jia was grateful all the same.

"This isn't the place," Lucifer scolded, but he was clearly amused. Sellik winked at him and bared her sharp teeth in a dazzling beam.

"You love it," she winked. The prince rolled his eyes and turned back to the building to listen.

"He's moving."

"Let's go," Jia said. Lucifer nodded and put a hand on their shoulders, a shadow portal opening up and depositing the trio in the dark confines of the warehouse floor.

Abaddon's dress shoes squeaked slowly against the floor as he walked, his measured pace giving no indication that he knew any of them were there. Jia moved between the shelves silently, hoping and praying the industrial paint on the floor didn't start making the same sounds as the ones giving away her father's exact position.

At a junction between two huge shelving units they saw Mammon, Belphegor and Evander following a similar path towards the sounds. They converged into one group again with Jia at its head.

The footsteps stopped abruptly and everyone froze, hardly daring to breathe. Abaddon's hearing wasn't as good Lucifer or his brothers, but if a heart thundered hard enough he was sure to hear it.

Sellik split off from the group without warning, dodging Evander's hand as he tried to stop her and giving them the thumbs up. Lucifer watched her with a calm expression despite everyone else's alarm, trusting entirely that she knew what she was doing.