the front of his throat with one hand, easily lifting him a foot off the ground.
“Now, if I wanted that,” Lucifer says, angrily punctuating his words as the man begins to make gagging noises, “why would I ask you to drive me there?”
Lucifer throws the man against the front of the truck, making it wobble slightly from the impact. The man groans in pain but quickly picks himself up off the ground.
“I’m sorry, sir,” he gasps. “I meant no disrespect.”
“Then do as I say and stop asking so many damn questions!” Lucifer bellows.
“Yes, sir,” the man says, keeping his head bowed in Lucifer’s direction, acting akin to an obedient dog. “Are you ready to go, sir?”
“Just get in the truck,” Lucifer orders irritably. “I’ll be sitting in the back.”
When the man turns to get back in the truck, Lucifer discreetly motions with one hand for me to follow him. We walk around to the passenger side of the vehicle, and Lucifer opens the back door. He hesitates for a few seconds to give me time to climb in ahead of him. After Lucifer takes his seat, he shuts the door.
Our driver backs out of the alleyway and drives down the deserted city street.
“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you earlier,” the man apologizes to Lucifer yet again. “I guess it didn’t occur to me that you wouldn’t be at the party.”
“I needed to take care of some private matters first,” Lucifer replies. “You can drive me to the party now.”
“ Ok ,” the man says, drawing the word out, as though Lucifer’s request is an odd one. “Since it’s at your penthouse, we’ll still be going to your place, sir.”
“Whatever,” Lucifer says offhandedly, “just take me there.”
“Right away, sir.”
Our driver remains silent. I can’t say I blame him. I wouldn’t want to talk to Lucifer any more than I had to either.
As we continue to travel down the street, my suspicions about which city we’re in are quickly confirmed when we drive through Times Square. All of the electronic billboards mounted on the buildings are synchronized and showing the same exact video. Against a black backdrop, a beautiful woman with dark auburn hair appears on the left side of the screens. She’s wearing a finely-tailored red dress with a square neckline, and her hair is styled in a fashionable side bun. Right before we pass the display, the woman smiles and holds up her right hand where the red dragon symbol has been tattooed. The words “Get Yours Today” flashes on the right side of the screen.
“Interesting,” Lucifer comments, sounding just as intrigued by the video as I am. “You should leave and try to find the others after we stop,” Lucifer whispers to me. “I don’t think you need to run into the alternate me if you don’t have to.”
I lean in and whisper into his ear, “No. We stick together.”
Lucifer sighs and says grumpily, “Have it your way. You always do.”
As we continue to travel through the city, I notice that the buildings we pass don’t have any of the black and red banners from my dream hanging from them. Considering what I just saw on the video, I have a feeling the woman wasn’t just some random actress. My intuition tells me she’s directly connected to the red dragon symbol in some way. Although her smile seemed inviting, there was something behind her eyes that didn’t convey the same warmth.
The city streets are completely devoid of people, except for a few scattered checkpoints manned by guards dressed in the same style of black military uniform our driver is wearing. For a metropolis as large as New York City, it should be bustling with activity. The lack of people roaming around is an obvious indication that something isn’t right. I have no way of knowing if any or all of the seals have been opened yet. Besides needing to find my friends, I’m also in desperate need of some information.
As we keep heading east, towards Midtown Manhattan, I start to see the black and red
“Now, if I wanted that,” Lucifer says, angrily punctuating his words as the man begins to make gagging noises, “why would I ask you to drive me there?”
Lucifer throws the man against the front of the truck, making it wobble slightly from the impact. The man groans in pain but quickly picks himself up off the ground.
“I’m sorry, sir,” he gasps. “I meant no disrespect.”
“Then do as I say and stop asking so many damn questions!” Lucifer bellows.
“Yes, sir,” the man says, keeping his head bowed in Lucifer’s direction, acting akin to an obedient dog. “Are you ready to go, sir?”
“Just get in the truck,” Lucifer orders irritably. “I’ll be sitting in the back.”
When the man turns to get back in the truck, Lucifer discreetly motions with one hand for me to follow him. We walk around to the passenger side of the vehicle, and Lucifer opens the back door. He hesitates for a few seconds to give me time to climb in ahead of him. After Lucifer takes his seat, he shuts the door.
Our driver backs out of the alleyway and drives down the deserted city street.
“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you earlier,” the man apologizes to Lucifer yet again. “I guess it didn’t occur to me that you wouldn’t be at the party.”
“I needed to take care of some private matters first,” Lucifer replies. “You can drive me to the party now.”
“ Ok ,” the man says, drawing the word out, as though Lucifer’s request is an odd one. “Since it’s at your penthouse, we’ll still be going to your place, sir.”
“Whatever,” Lucifer says offhandedly, “just take me there.”
“Right away, sir.”
Our driver remains silent. I can’t say I blame him. I wouldn’t want to talk to Lucifer any more than I had to either.
As we continue to travel down the street, my suspicions about which city we’re in are quickly confirmed when we drive through Times Square. All of the electronic billboards mounted on the buildings are synchronized and showing the same exact video. Against a black backdrop, a beautiful woman with dark auburn hair appears on the left side of the screens. She’s wearing a finely-tailored red dress with a square neckline, and her hair is styled in a fashionable side bun. Right before we pass the display, the woman smiles and holds up her right hand where the red dragon symbol has been tattooed. The words “Get Yours Today” flashes on the right side of the screen.
“Interesting,” Lucifer comments, sounding just as intrigued by the video as I am. “You should leave and try to find the others after we stop,” Lucifer whispers to me. “I don’t think you need to run into the alternate me if you don’t have to.”
I lean in and whisper into his ear, “No. We stick together.”
Lucifer sighs and says grumpily, “Have it your way. You always do.”
As we continue to travel through the city, I notice that the buildings we pass don’t have any of the black and red banners from my dream hanging from them. Considering what I just saw on the video, I have a feeling the woman wasn’t just some random actress. My intuition tells me she’s directly connected to the red dragon symbol in some way. Although her smile seemed inviting, there was something behind her eyes that didn’t convey the same warmth.
The city streets are completely devoid of people, except for a few scattered checkpoints manned by guards dressed in the same style of black military uniform our driver is wearing. For a metropolis as large as New York City, it should be bustling with activity. The lack of people roaming around is an obvious indication that something isn’t right. I have no way of knowing if any or all of the seals have been opened yet. Besides needing to find my friends, I’m also in desperate need of some information.
As we keep heading east, towards Midtown Manhattan, I start to see the black and red
Similar Books
