Capricorn's Midnight Clock: The Zodiac Book 10, page 30
The Memorial sat at the point where jungle met beach, a simple stone cairn surrounded by bouquets of flowers someone had gathered. Bright and vibrant. A beautiful scene.
"Capricorn came to us as a reluctant ally," I said, addressing the large gathering who stood silently. "He carried the guilt of what he'd been forced to create. The weight of the knowledge he'd never wanted to possess would have crushed a weaker demon. Yet, he carried on." The wind whipped, blowing hair and shawls and rippling shirts and pants. When it calmed, I continued. "He gave his life to save demons he never met and mortals who cursed his kind. Without complaint. Without hesitation. Protected a world he felt he'd endangered. That's the kind of demon he was. The kind we should all aspire to be."
Bilba led the gathering, laying a single fire rose at the foot of the Memorial. Ralrek came next. Then Dialphio. One by one, Exiles and Forgotten Ones paid respects.
Pisces stepped to the side of the Memorial. Her head down, she said, "Time never truly loses what it values. His gift will echo through moments yet to come."
Even her strange comment didn't stop the flow of demons. I drifted away as they paid their respects. The notebook in my hand felt heavier than ever before. I'd sent three messages to Cassie since the battle. Each was an attempt to explain what happened. To justify why I'd brought mortals to the Underworld. How the alliance with the Upperworld would hold if we sat down and discussed events. I wasn't about to violate the treaty, and she'd know that. Cassie wasn't the problem. It was the angels above her I had concerns about. Yet, a week later, I was still waiting for a response. And the wait was killing me.
My worry had taken over every other thought after all this time. I knew Cassie was busy. She had been ever since her father had fallen ill. But she always responded within a reasonable time. The fact she hadn't yet was worrying. At first I was concerned that she was angry, disappointed, or annoyed. Now, after all these days, I'd take those ten times over instead of something worse being behind her silence.
But I had to press on. Such was the reality of being Lucifer. My personal desires, wants, and needs mattered little. It was all about the Underworld's needs.
I'd taken a seat on my favorite driftwood log and put my notebook open in my lap. I'd been staring at the blank space underneath my message—the space that should have contained a reply from Cassie—when Bilba drifted into my field of view.
He held something in his cupped hands, keeping a close to his chest. "Zeke? I've got something for you. From Capricorn."
He handed me the sealed letter. My name was written on the outside. My hand trembled so much I could barely open the seal without ripping the message.
Lucifer,
By the time you read this, I'll have sealed my fate. Please do not mourn the choice. It was mine to make. One I wanted to make. One I gladly embraced.
You'll know better than I, but impossible decisions lie in your future. Choices between justice and mercy, between protecting those you love and saving those whose names you'll never know. Maybe even those who despise you. Please remember, if my millennia in the Underworld have taught me anything, it's that the hardest decisions are often the right ones. Even when they feel like failures.
If you follow my instructions, the clock is ended. But the knowledge that created it remains. Guard it carefully. Do what you will with that knowledge, but ensure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. I've given you a method of eliminating it once and for all. Choose wisely.
Lead with pride. You are the hope of the future of demons and demonkind. Be better than your predecessors. Be better than I was.
Your friend, Capricorn
Drawing a deep breath, I carefully folded the letter and slid it into my pocket. I looked up to thank Bilba only to see that he'd left me to my thoughts.
I stood and moved to the water's edge. As I listened to the rhythm of the world around me, I reflected on the paradox I faced. Redemption through ultimate sacrifice or damnation from making necessary compromises. Every choice between justice and mercy shaped not just the Underworld's future, but my soul. The essence of who Ezekial Sunstone was. And if he even existed anymore.
The Grand Chamber had begun closing long ago. The bright azure was now fading to deep purple. There was something terminal about the feel of the descending evening. I couldn't make out what it was, but it was there, heading in the fading light.
Tomorrow would bring new challenges. Michael would continue scheming. Seraph would continue her frightening power grab. And Beelzebub would plow through any obstacle in his way. All hope for the Underworld lay in a nascent alliance.
On the beach and into the forest, the sounds of the celebration of life feast for Capricorn and those who'd sacrificed for the Underworld lifted my spirits. The dinner was underway. A celebration of sacrifice. Strange, but special.
I smiled, despite my dark mood. Life churned, always, forward. After what everyone had been through, their dedication to normality was a testament to their strength.
That strength would be tested. The Underworld wasn't a realm of peace. Not by a long shot, and not for a long time. This was just the beginning of our demand for independence from those who'd subjugate us.
But for the first time since taking my title as Lucifer, I was ready for what was coming.
THE END
THE ZODIAC BOOK 11
The noose is closing around those who seek to be free. Standing along with his allies, Zeke doesn't stand alone. Are they ready to face the storm to come?
Find out in "Ascension of Aquarius," book 11 of The Zodiac.
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Paul Sating is an author, podcaster, and self-professed coolest dad on the planet, hailing from the Pacific Northwest of the United States. At the end of his military career, he decided to reconnect with his first love (that wouldn't get him in trouble with his wife) and once again picked up the pen. Years on, he has published tons o' novels and is living the dream… though he still has occasional nightmares that he's back in the military and deploying to some obscure location around the world for little reason and even worse pay.
When he's not working on stories, you can find him talking to himself in his backyard working on failed landscaping projects, tending his eight-bed garden, or hiking around the gorgeous Olympic Peninsula. He is married to the patient and wonderful, Madeline, and has two daughters—thus the reason for his follicle challenges.
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Paul Sating, Capricorn's Midnight Clock: The Zodiac Book 10
