Another low chuckle came from the other angel by her side. Then Olivier began explaining all the wondrous planets, stars, supernovas, and such in this particular galaxy and how they were too numerous to ever record throughout the universe with more systems being born every day. Truly miracles.
All the while, poor Puck clutched his stomach and moaned, his eyes screwed shut.
Once, just once, she dared to glance over at Lucifer. Diana swore to herself that she didn’t care if he was jealous of her newfound closeness with Olivier, and of course, that wasn’t why she was looking. But by the tension rolling off his shoulders and his intent focus being directed away from her, not to mention the white knuckles clenched in tight fists by his side and a lone nerve twitching in his jaw... a glimmer of cheer flowed through her, warming her. Could the great and mighty Archangel of Light indeed be jealous?
Then a sudden blast of energy slammed into the protective cocoon, sending everyone encased in it tumbling into each other. Another direct hit from a bright orange light burst their bubble open like someone had stuck a pin into it.
Diana tried to scream, but no sound came forth. There was only deep darkness, stealing the very air from her body. Then she was free falling between stars, between worlds, between life and eternal death.
PANIC—AN UNFAMILIAR emotion—flooded Lucifer’s veins and his mind. His body froze as he helplessly watched Diana float off into space, headed for a black hole spinning in the distance. What looked like fire rimmed its edges and erupted violently. He’d been so distracted by Olivier flirting with her that he hadn’t seen that flare hurtling toward them. And it was about to consume her if he didn’t act fast. She was going to die, and it was his fault!
Being angels, he and Olivier were fine to travel throughout the universe without danger of suffocating in the airless atmosphere. In their spirit bodies, they didn’t even need to travel at all, they could simply think and be where they wanted to go. Sometimes for fun, they’d fly in their physical bodies so they could take in the beauty of creation. But carrying the goddess—and whatever the heavens knew the red-eyed servant was—had forced them to travel this way, which he’d argued against to an unrelenting “no” from both Zeus and Olivier. Now, they’d sentenced the goddess to a horrific death!
Without a glance around or care for the others, Lucifer used his wings—that he’d called forth once the protective cocoon had been pierced—and jetted forward in a direct line for Diana. Being a goddess, her body could last awhile against the extreme pressure and lack of oxygen, but even she could not withstand the elements for long. As for that looming black hole... she’d be incinerated before ever reaching the core.
More flares shot from the black hole. He dodged as best he could, but one singed his wings. His mind was too immersed with saving Diana that the pain failed to register.
He fought back the rising terror threatening to cripple him. Fear was not an emotion he understood. In fact, he’d belittled mortals for their obsession with fear—both inducing it in others and living with it inside themselves when it was all so unnecessary. It never accomplished anything, but instead served as a hindrance, stopping achievements and success in its tracks. But Lucifer didn’t doubt that the fire ravaging every nerve, every cell of his physical and spiritual body was indeed fear. Not for himself, but for Diana.
Faster than light, he soared toward her, ever conscious of the impending danger. The black hole’s gravity sped up, pulling Diana ever closer. It wouldn’t be too much longer before it outstripped Lucifer’s own speed.
He cursed the weakness of his physical body. Perhaps he could grab her with his spirit form, but the maneuver had never been tried before. Spirit was a tricky thing—yes, he could travel anywhere in the blink of an eye, but would he be able to physically seize her to bring her to safety? And if he could, would he be able to reclaim his body before it was sucked into the black hole? It was all unknown. Risking the move could fail, leaving her dead and him without a body to return to—in essence, also dead, like a wraith haunting the stars for eternity.
But could he risk not trying?
No.
With nothing more than a thought, Lucifer’s spirit detached from the only physical form he’d ever known. The divine body that had been deemed by the Creator himself to be the closest to perfection of any of his creations... was discarded into the endless abyss of the universe, possibly never to be recovered.
May the Lord bless and preserve him!
Shedding his skin liberated him from its frailty and limitations. Warmth in the midst of the chaos washed over his soul. Power radiated both into him from every direction as well as outward from him. Unmeasurable strength filled him, more than he’d ever taken in before. Without the crude matter of skin, muscle, and bones, he flew with supersonic speed straight toward the heart of the black hole that held Diana in its lethal grasp.
One more cycle caught in the black hole’s gravitational pull was all it would take to pluck her from his reaching grasp with brutal strength. “Hold on! Just hold on one more moment!”
Her face, so placid and peaceful as if death had already claimed her, sent one last shiver of dread through him. A smile graced her colorless lips. Her hair—stark against the pitch nothing of space—flowed around her head like a halo of fire.
One last prayer to the Creator, and Lucifer was within a hair’s breadth of snatching her hand. He wrapped his spirit body around her, shielding her from the violent force of the black hole threatening to consume her. But when he tried to touch her, she slipped through his grasp.
“Damn it!” His soul roared into the emptiness.
He refused to give up. He could not allow the universe to continue spinning without her.
Focus! He had to find a way to make this gamble work. If not, they were both doomed.
Love is the most powerful energy of all. That information had been drilled into his angelic essence since his own creation. Energy was everywhere. Everything was energy. If he could just channel the right amount of energy into forming a physical bond with his spirit, then he could touch Diana and pull her to safety... if it wasn’t already too late. She’d been without oxygen so long already.
Recent memories flashed into his thoughts. Diana’s wide honeyed doe-like eyes the first time he’d glimpsed her from the coliseum floor. His heart had nearly beaten out of his chest at the glorious sight. Her forced smile when he’d ascended the balcony overlooking the arena. The way her voice had wavered a fraction when she’d been called upon by her father to show him around Olympus had melted the emotional wall he’d built over thousands of years to keep from being captivated by anyone or anything lesser than the Creator himself. He had witnessed the fall of too many of his brethren who had been enticed to sin. He had vowed never to succumb to such weakness. But all that had eroded away like dry land before a raging flood that obliterated everything in its path when she’d pressed her lips to his and wrapped her legs around his torso in that pristine lagoon. Had all that been mere hours earlier? It seemed to have been a lifetime ago.
All that energy—all that love—surged into his soul. Lucifer reached out once more to pull Diana toward him. The moment his fingers laced with hers, everything in the universe stopped for a moment, then plunged into darkness as they were both sucked into the black hole’s abyss.
Chapter 10
Just Floating Here in Outer Space
Weariness weighed Diana down. Every muscle, every fiber of her body was wrapped in its cocoon. Darkness enveloped her. She felt it like a warm blanket against the harsh artic raging winds. Comforting. Consoling. Peaceful.
Was this death?
