UKKO

Seeing Lucifer walking slowly inside the servants’ entrance to the ballroom made him feel anxious around his stomach. He heard what she had to do. He knew that she couldn’t do it.

‘’She will do it’’ Mara said as if she could read his mind and started running inside the garden, hiding behind the bushes so the soldiers would not find them. No matter how fast they walked, they failed to jump into any of the cars. So they had to walk half an hour to the warehouse. A half an hour from Elysium, far from Lucifer.

‘’I don’t want her to’’He whispered. ‘’Not alone’’

‘’Because you swore to protect her by your soldier oaths?’’She asked.

‘’She is my friend’’Ukko had to remind everyone every time that this was more than just an oath. He cared about her, about her thoughts about how she would react to everything more than just as a Royal but as a human herself.

‘’If she is your friend’’ Orion interrupted them both and exhaled shakily from his mask. ‘’You should let her fight her nightmares when the time comes’’

Ukko did not argue with that. His eyes fell on Mara who was shaking her head.

All this time, even if Lucifer did not speak to him these days, keeping her silent and secrets with her, Ukko was always by her side, keeping her safe, in one way or another.

They were now saying farewell to Mara as they were close to the clock tower, guarded by ten soldiers. Mara seemed ready for every attack, every misstep was awaiting her. Ukko was worried.

‘’Be careful of your steps, alright?’’Mara said shakily.

Ukko and the others shook their heads in sync. ‘’Be careful too’’Ukko encouraged her as she vanished into the shadows of the night.

Be careful with your steps. Ukko escaped from his mask, trying to catch a breath. So did the others, noticing that there were fewer guards than before, as they kept moving towards their destination.

Still, they were far away from the warehouse and the soldier had time to talk with Orion and Talus, to break the ice. Fifteen minutes. Less than half an hour and the former Guard wanted to have conversations with mortals.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Orion was from a family of hunters, outside all four areas. When he had to kill his first animal, he managed to shoot a deer. He had an excellent mark on his carbine.

‘’But the blood,'' he said, looking at his hands. ‘’I did not like it.'' He scoffed.

After that, he told his parents he did not want to be like that. They took his eyes away. He ran away to Aztlan, seeking shelter and a job.

He stretched his neck and kept talking.

‘’It was bad at first but a month later Hephaestus came by..’’A smile appeared on his face. ‘’And Talus a year later. They made things more difficult but’’

Ukko found a small nervous blush. Talus noticed it too and started teasing him. His expression became rough again.

‘’I am taking everything back’’ Orion hissed and pushed Talus' face away from him.

''You aren't afraid?'' Ukko clenched his fingers into a fist. How could someone like him be so calm around the people who had heard stories, and news about being violent and deadly?

Orion sighed and turned his gaze back on him.

‘’Warlocks are bad... Mortals are good...'' He touched his mechanical eyes.

‘’If we push anyone who the world thinks is going to bring us harm…’’ He murmured. ‘’In the end, none is going to remain in the name of human’’

Ukko never got used to seeing mortals think that way. At school, everything was black and white. Good or evil? Unlike what he had been taught, he knew that it was more than that. Seeing another mortal agreeing to this, made him think if they were more like him. Maybe this could make things change differently or faster, without any bloodshed.

‘’Yes, act all smart to impress him’’Talus said with irony and kept moving.

Orion’s pale face turned red like wine as he turned away from Ukko, shoving his face into his shirt.

‘’Well, I found it pretty interesting'' Ukko replied to Talus and smiled at Orion gently. Talus pouted disappointed

His eyes found the warehouse. Guarded by four soldiers in dark masks. It was as substantial as a mansion both in width and height as it was made of oak tree wood.

Ukko threw one of Hephaestus' explosives, the one that was letting out smoke. With his signal, all three of them held their breaths. They had told him that they had taken the idea from the one who placed the bomb in their room, back to Babel. Of course, they would have taken an idea from one of their almost-deaths.

While the soldiers threw their masks off to breathe, it was too late as Ukko hit them with his pistols directly at their heads, causing them to fall unconscious. Trying to locate the door and open it wide, he found the machines. There was a cold metal of iron that was right up against the door, holding it close. He immediately took it away and he kept his eyes closed as he shouted for the rest of them to come.

BE CAREFUL OF YOUR STEPS.

Mara’s warning screamed in his head. He then realized how easy it was to get inside. Only four guards till they got there? Maybe it was misleading but not so much. It had something else to do with it. His hands found the doorknob down on the steel. No lock. No safety. Nothing. But Orion and Talus moved to his side and opened the door wide.

LUCIFER. That was his next thought, hoping that he could see her again before the hungry Lord Death devoured his soul.