Chapter 23 - Owen - Purge With My Demons

Riding my bike was the fastest way to Eleanor’s. I told her that’s where we were going, and she didn’t question me. She was even more comfortable on the bike while we rode there.

Luci met us at the door wagging her tail, patiently waiting for attention. I contemplated then telling Eleanor about her pup but decided that waiting was probably a better idea.

Eleanor stood from scratching Luci’s back and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I’m going to take a quick shower. My hair is a wreck, and I just need a minute. Would you mind taking Luci out back?” She walked me through her kitchen, to the door that led to the backyard.

“Of course, no problem.” Luci was anxiously sitting at the door, waiting for me to turn the knob. I leaned down to press a quick kiss to Eleanor’s forehead.

Eleanor was still in the shower when we walked back in. Luci immediately lied down on the couch, and there was no sign of Lilith.

Stepping into Eleanor’s bedroom, the door to the attached bathroom was barely open, and I could see steam slowly rippling out of the crack. I peeked into the bathroom like a peeping Tom. I had every intention of catching her off guard and stealing another kiss. I felt like a school kid with a crush, I couldn’t get enough of her.

The shower curtain was clear vinyl with orange daisies. I could make out just the shape of every perfect dip, every curve, every single inch…

“You’re being a little pervy.” Her voice was like butter in my mind. I startled and turned to the chair in the corner of the room. A perfect black cat with a bright red bow around her neck sat staring straight at me. “Did I startle you, Owen? Whoops. But really, you could just go in there.”

“Lilith!” I whisper-shout. “There you are. What’s the plan here? I’m at a loss.”

Lilith jumped off the chair and toward the doorway. Before leaving the room, she turned to me. “Everything will be fine.” Her reassuring words weren’t the most comforting.

The shower cut off, and Eleanor walked into the bedroom a few moments later, towel drying her hair. “I’ll be ready soon, then we can go wherever we need to. You said we had to meet someone, right?” She walked over to stand in front of me. The black satin robe she wore left nothing to the imagination, and I felt my cock twitch. Before I could answer her, there was a knock on the front door. “Oh, that’s probably Ms. Nichols. Would you mind letting her in, please?”

When Eleanor turned around, the robe was so short I could see the underside of her ass. Rubbing my hands down my face, I called out to her, “You’re going to kill me!” My long strides brought me to the front door, and Ms. Nichols stood waiting. Only it wasn’t exactly the Ms. Nichols I previously met. “Lilith?”

“Would you just let me in, Owen?” Lilith asked quietly. Only it wasn’t Lilith as I knew her in her human form. “I’ll explain in a minute, just play along,” she whispered, pushing past me.

“Sure, come on in. Take a seat, Ms. Nichols.” My words were practiced as I watched Lilith amble over to the couch. “What is going on?” I asked her.

“Hey, thank you so much for feeding them this morning. I appreciate you.” Eleanor walked out of her room and sat on the couch by the other woman. I didn’t even know what to call her anymore. “Sorry we can’t stay and chat longer, but Owen and I have to be somewhere.”

“You don’t, actually. I am who you need to be meeting.” When Lilith spoke, Eleanor’s eyes widened. I rushed to Eleanor’s side, but she sat stoic.

“Who are you?” Eleanor never looked away from Lilith. Not when Lilith scooted away from Eleanor on the couch. Not even when she transitioned into her true human form in a rush of bright red flame in front of us. The only sign of life from Eleanor was a small gasp that left her when Lilith’s flames settled.

“My name is Lilith. I made your soul for Owen many years ago.” Lilith spoke calmly, giving Eleanor time to process everything.

Standing, Eleanor began pacing her small living room while I occupied her spot on the couch. “Okay, my first question—” She stopped and crossed her arms on her chest. “Where the hell is Ms. Nichols?”

“Oh.” Lilith looked at Eleanor in admiration. “I am Ms. Nichols. Always have been.”

What?

“No, I met Ms. Nichols. That wasn’t you,” I said definitively.

“Yeah, it was Owen. I just didn’t want you to know it was me.” Lilith winked and patted my cheek.

I turned to Eleanor. “She drives me crazy.”

Eleanor was fighting back a laugh, and the fact that she was generally calm right now warmed my heart.

“I’m also your cat.” Lilith looked to Luci, who let out a small whimper. “And Luci is my Hellhound, well ours.” She gestured between herself and Eleanor.

Eleanor began laughing and just sat on the floor. “Okay. I’ll ask more questions about that later. Owen said you have more information for us, but I have one more question first.” Lilith gave her an expectant look, waiting for the question from El. “Do you know where Giordana is?”

Without hesitation, Lilith answered, “Yes, she’s perfectly fine.” I watched Eleanor’s shoulders drop in relief and tears began to fall. “She’s in Hell.”

“What?!” Eleanor screamed.

“That’s the safest place for her to be right now. Trust me,” Lilith said quickly. “She is safe and with my dear Lucifer. Giordana was tasked with protecting you through life.” I saw an emotion I couldn’t place pass over Eleanor’s face. “When the two of you met, it wasn’t by accident. Lucifer staged it. But the two of you becoming so close and supportive of one another, that was organic and purely based on who you two are as beings. Everything in each of your timelines” —she motioned between El and me— “was fabricated at the beginning. The rest has gotten you here exactly as it was meant to.”

Lilith was talking in half words and sentences that I knew I was having a hard time understanding, so Eleanor had to be completely lost.

“Are you understanding any of this?”

“Me? I’m hearing about all of this for the first time in the last two days. I barely even remember who I am right now.” Eleanor’s voice in my mind was a sweet reminder of our connection.

“Owen, the soul I made for you has only ever been your one true soulmate in this moment.” She pointed to Eleanor. “The others had parts of your soul but not all of it. You were missing two crucial parts.” I was confused. What crucial parts? “Cora and Eleanor have never existed in the same lifetime. You had to find your demons before she could find all of hers.”

“About thirty years ago, a baby girl was born into the Loch family.”

I heard Eleanor whisper, “Oh my god.”

“The baby was abandoned at the—”

Eleanor stood abruptly. “Can we skip that part, please? Not right now. I can’t.”

Tears began streaming down Lilith’s stoic face. “Of course.”

“By that time, Owen, you had found Cora. And Eleanor, when you were born, Lucifer felt a shift inside that began draining his power to you.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Eleanor was still standing in the middle of her living room, and I was starting to wonder if I should make her sit down.

Lilith shared the story of Eleanor’s ancestor with her. Eventually, she did sit down, and I wrapped my arms around her. Lilith told us that Lucifer had decided that because I had found all of my demons and Eleanor had been born, it was what he needed to move forward with making her the queen in Hell. He tasked Giordana from there.

“I had a dream of a woman just like you described. When I saw her, she was pregnant and called the baby Eleanora Beatrice. It freaked me out. But it was the night before I met you, Owen.” She turned to look at me. “I forgot about it until now. The woman’s eyes were the exact color as mine, so it makes sense that I am related to her.”

“It does make sense. Beatrice’s baby was born before my deal with Owen was made.” Lilith agreed. “And, Owen, your soul was always going to be in whoever ended up being the queen. The night that I made my deal with you, I had a premonition. I saw you as King. I saw you with Eleanor. The first day I saw her, it all came back to me, and I knew I did the right thing all those years ago.

“Wait, how old are you? You talk about all of this like you’re so much older than me. You can’t be older than what? 33?” Eleanor had the cutest smile on her face. I couldn’t wait to wipe it off with my answer.

“Add like 650 to that.”

“Why am I not surprised?” She gave me a quizzical look. “Puts the daddy kink into a new perspective, though.” I nipped at her ear.

“Absolutely not.” Lilith stood from the couch. “I look at you two like my children, and I’m so supportive, but I don’t want to know anything about anything.” I knew Lilith and Lucifer were two kinky as hell demons. The fact that she was acting like this was amazing.

“Moving on.” Lilith was now pacing the room, taking on the role as the anxious one of the group, which made me nervous. “You two have to go to Hell and complete your soulmate bond. And it needs to be done soon. If Mannox is involved now, then we have bigger things to worry about than Amon and his bullshit.”

“Why would Mannox want El? What could she do for him?”

“I have no idea.” Lilith made a face that gave me little confidence that it would be easy to figure out what he had planned.