[Vol-1 END] [Lucifer] Ch: 57 [Sins of the Righteous] (Patreon)

[Lux Penthouse] [Later That Night]

Lucifer sat before the grand piano, his fingers moving slowly across the keys as a soft melody filled the penthouse. A half-empty glass of whiskey rested beside him, forgotten for the moment while he concentrated on the music.

The melody was peaceful, almost sad.

Then he felt it.

A familiar celestial presence appeared behind him, followed by the faint sound of footsteps approaching from the balcony.

Lucifer didn't turn around.

His fingers continued moving across the keys, although his expression slowly lost its relaxed amusement.

"Amenadiel," he said, not bothering to turn around. "You've gone too far this time. Even by your spectacularly self-righteous standards, you've managed to outdo yourself."

Amenadiel stopped several feet behind him.

Lucifer continued playing, his voice remaining disturbingly calm. "You violated one of the oldest cosmic taboos. You trespassed in my kingdom, plucked a damned soul straight out of its hell loop, and stuffed it back into a dead man. And why? All because you simply couldn't stomach the thought of your little brother taking a bloody vacation."

Amenadiel's expression hardened. "You left me with very few alternatives, Lucifer."

"Did I?" Lucifer struck a sharp, dissonant chord. "How terribly inconvenient for you."

He let the melody continue for several more seconds before speaking again.

"If I hadn't explicitly ordered Mazikeen to shadow the offspring, an innocent little girl would currently be in the hands of a complete psychopath. Only Dad knows what he would have done to her, or how many other mortals he would have slaughtered on his little resurrection joyride."

His fingers suddenly stopped.

The final note lingered through the room as Lucifer slowly stood from the piano bench and turned around.

For once, there wasn't even a trace of amusement on his face.

"What in the bloody hell were you actually thinking, brother?"

Amenadiel straightened his shoulders. "I was trying to send you back to where you belong. You have sacred responsibilities that you have completely abandoned, and your continued presence here is fracturing Father's design."

Lucifer stared at him in disbelief before releasing a humorless laugh.

"Father's design? You resurrected a damned sinner and sent him after me! Please, do tell me how that fits into the grand, ineffable plan!"

Amenadiel's jaw tightened. "Malcolm was supposed to deal with you. I had no knowledge of his intentions toward the child."

"And that makes it better somehow?" Lucifer demanded as he stepped closer. "You gave a dangerous, corrupt cop a second lease on life, bribed him with a get-out-of-Hell-free card to murder your own brother, and you honestly expected him to play by the rules? I've met boulders with better critical thinking skills."

Amenadiel looked away briefly before returning his attention to Lucifer.

"You have become vulnerable," Amenadiel said, his voice dropping. "I found your blood at the warehouse, Lucifer. You are bleeding. Whatever you are doing down here, it is changing you. And now you're mortal. Do you have any conception of what that actually means?"

Lucifer blinked.

Then he laughed.

"You found a few drops of blood and immediately decided that attempted fratricide was the most logical next step?"

Amenadiel's expression looked troubled. "You refused to listen to reason."

"Because your reasoning is bloody ridiculous!" Lucifer snapped. "And the tragic part is, you still don't see it, do you? You've spent eons convincing yourself that every terrible thing you do is Father's will. You've completely lost the ability to distinguish between divine duty and your own massive ego. If I hadn't cleaned up your mess and stopped Malcolm, every drop of blood he spilled, every innocent life he snuffed out, would have been squarely on your hands, brother. How do you suppose Dear Old Dad would have judged that little addition to His grand design, hm?"

Amenadiel took a threatening step forward. "Watch your tongue, Lucifer."

Lucifer's eyes flashed red.

"No, brother. For once in your life, you are going to stand there and listen to me."

An invisible pressure suddenly filled the penthouse, making the nearby glasses tremble against the bar.

"Malcolm is rotting in a cell, and the child is unharmed. You should consider yourself spectacularly fortunate that Mazikeen intercepted him before he laid a finger on her," Lucifer said as he blinked before his brother. "Because if any harm had come to that little urchin... I would have torn your wings off and beaten you to death with them. If you ever try something like this again, Amenadiel, I give you my absolute word... I will end you."

Amenadiel remained silent.

Lucifer held his gaze for another moment before turning toward the piano.

"And for once in your pathetic, obedient existence, brother... try owning your sins instead of hiding behind Father's skirts."

...

[Morning] [LAPD]

Lucifer entered the precinct with a paperbag and a coffee cup, already looking forward to seeing Chloe's reaction to the latest development in the Malcolm Graham case. 

The details of Malcolm's rather unpleasant evening were something Lucifer intended to keep to himself. As far as the police were concerned, their missing suspect had developed a conscience and decided to confess.

'A miraculous change of heart. How wonderfully convenient.'

He'd barely made it past the front desk when something immediately caught his attention. The atmosphere was unusually pleasant. Nobody was glaring at Chloe Decker, or whispering behind her back, and a few officers actually smiled as they passed her desk.

And Chloe herself looked happy.

She sat behind her computer with a steaming cup of coffee beside her keyboard, smiling at something one of the detectives had just said. The expression was so unusual after everything she'd endured lately that Lucifer slowed down to appreciate it.

'Well, would you look at that.'

He approached her desk with a delighted smile. "Detective! Someone appears to have replaced my perpetually grumpy partner with a suspiciously cheerful woman. Should I be concerned about an elaborate kidnapping?"

Chloe looked up and laughed. "Good morning to you too, Lucifer."

Lucifer stopped beside her desk and examined her face. "Good morning? A smile? Actual laughter before noon? Good Lord, Detective, please tell me you’ve finally discovered the wonders of recreational narcotics."

Chloe rolled her eyes, although the smile remained. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"So I’ve been told. Usually by highly irritated siblings," Lucifer replied, setting the paper bag down. "Now, do tell. What has happened? Did someone finally arrest Detective Douche for crimes against fashion?"

Chloe chuckled before leaning back in her chair. "Actually, I've got some really good news. Malcolm Graham turned himself in last night."

Lucifer raised his eyebrows, pretending to be surprised. "Malcolm? Our recently resurrected fugitive? How wonderfully unexpected!"

"He walked straight into the precinct, got down on his knees, and surrendered without a fight," Chloe explained, sounding almost amused by the memory. "The officers on duty nearly had heart attacks when they recognized him."

Lucifer pulled over a chair and sat beside her. "How terribly considerate of him."

Chloe shook her head before continuing. "And that's the craziest part. He confessed to everything. The Palmetto shooting, the drug rings, the bribes, his ties to Aoudi... everything we suspected, plus a dozen other felonies we didn't even know to look for."

Lucifer smiled with obvious satisfaction. "Well, marvelous! A sudden crisis of conscience. How refreshing."

"Apparently," Chloe replied, opening a file on her computer. "He's already given investigators names, account details, and information about several other people involved in the operation. Internal Affairs is going crazy trying to organize everything."

Lucifer glanced toward the screen before looking back at her. "And what of dear Malcolm's future accommodations?"

Chloe smiled wider. "The DA's preparing a mountain of charges. With his confession and all the evidence we've recovered, he's looking at a very long prison sentence."

"Splendid!" Lucifer declared, clapping his hands together. "Free room and board, three terrible meals a day, and an endless supply of absolutely ghastly company. A highly appropriate retirement package for such a treacherous little weasel."

Chloe laughed again, and Lucifer found himself enjoying the sound considerably more than he'd expected.

"There's something else," she added while gesturing toward the bullpen. "The Lieutenant officially closed the Palmetto investigation this morning. My part of it, anyway. They're still investigating the corruption Malcolm exposed."

Lucifer followed her gaze toward several detectives talking near the coffee machine.

Chloe continued with a quieter smile. "Some of the guys actually applauded when Monroe announced it. A few even came over and apologized for how they treated me."

Lucifer shook his head. "How generous of them. Months of professional humiliation, repaid with a few awkward apologies. Humanity's capacity for accountability never ceases to amaze me."

Chloe shook her head, though her smile remained. After a moment, she turned toward him with a more serious expression.

"Actually, Lucifer... there's something I wanted to say to you."

He tilted his head. "I'm listening, Detective."

"Thank you," Chloe said sincerely. "For believing me when the entire department thought I was crazy. You helped me find that secret door at Palmetto, and you... well, you helped push Dan into doing the right thing."

Lucifer's expression softened as she continued.

"If you hadn't backed me up, I'd still be drowning in those case files while everyone paraded Malcolm around like a saint. I really wouldn't have gotten through this without you."

For once, Lucifer didn't immediately respond with a joke.

He simply smiled at her.

"You're very welcome, Detective. Though you deserve the lion's share of the credit. You were the impossibly stubborn investigator who refused to abandon the truth, even when your entire tribe turned their backs on you."

Chloe smiled warmly. "Still... I'm really glad you're my partner."

Lucifer's eyes brightened immediately.

"Ah-ha! So you finally admit it! We are partners!"

Chloe closed her eyes.

"Oh, God. I shouldn't have said that."

AN: Vol- 2 will start with a small time skip and we'll go straight to Amenadiel's self-actualization. Hopefully, I'll drop the next ch tomorrow.