Kage Match - 1. Chapter 1

What the hell?

Kage looked around, trying to get his bearings. Surrounded by shadows that were foreign, yet somehow not, the immense landscape stretched for an incalculable distance. Slowly turning, the distant air shimmered like scorching asphalt on a desert highway. This was not Kansas; he felt like Dorothy must have when she landed in Oz.

His life, or rather his afterlife, had been in complete chaos since the moment the last beam of light departed his earthbound body. Visions of competing in a fucked-up version of a game show tickled his brain like the wispy tendrils of a fading dream.

Where the fuck was he now? Even though the surrounding darkness was deep, he could still see as if it were daylight. In the distance, beings of all shapes and sizes moved about in a business-as-usual manner. The air was heavy and tinged with a sulfurous aroma.

As he tried to get a better look at the creatures in the distance, he sensed, rather than saw, someone silently sidling up next to him. Turning his head, his jaw dropped.

A creature darker than the darkest dark loomed above him. Giant, spiraling ebony horns appeared to glow in the absence of light. Impossible, yet it was happening. His skin rippled as though a single droplet broke the surface tension of an endless inky pool.

Instead of feeling terrified, Kage felt an odd sense of camaraderie. He knew this being. He didn’t know how he knew him, only that the overwhelming awareness was one of kinship.

The sudden, gleaming brightness when the brute before him smiled revealed sharp teeth and was out of place in his current surroundings.

Kage’s eyes narrowed. “Hello.”

“Hello, Kage. Welcome home.”

“Who are you?”

“Don’t you know?”

One corner of Kage’s mouth upturned. “Lucifer.”

Lucifer grinned. “Always were a star pupil, weren’t you?”

“I try.”

A deep sound rolled from the depths of Lucifer’s impressive chest. His laughter echoed across the land in front of him, the shockwaves visible as they chased the landscape.

“Walk with me.” It was a command, not a request.

A searing heat surrounded them without burning or scorching. It was a comforting warmth reminiscent of the thick comforter he’d wrapped around himself as a child. Time was an element with no meaning in this realm. He didn’t know if they walked for minutes, hours, or millennia.

The shadowy landscape called to Kage. An eerie sense of dèjá vu descended the further they walked. There wasn’t one specific thing he could put his finger on. No ah-ha! moment washed over him as the scenery rolled by in heated silence. Every person, creature, and other-worldly being they passed dipped their head to Lucifer. There was no disputing he ruled over all.

“Why does this place seem so familiar?”

The area above Lucifer’s left eye rippled as his invisible eyebrow rose. “Do you not remember?”

Kage stopped strolling and looked directly into the darkest black pits that passed for Lucifer’s eyes. “I wouldn’t be asking if I remembered.”

“Hmm. I suppose not. Tell me what seems familiar.”

Words had never been Kage’s strong suit, but it wasn’t hard to answer Lucifer’s request. “Everything. I’ve been in this place before. The sights. The scents. The very feel of the atmosphere on my skin. All of it is familiar.”

“Why wouldn’t it be? You were born here.”

Immediately, Kage knew Lucifer spoke the truth. It made sense. He was a shadow shifter. What better place to forge a soul of obscurity?

“Do I return here each time I die?”

Lucifer hummed. “Not always. Death is like changing jobs. Sometimes, like when you’re fired or killed prematurely in this case, there’s a gap between them. That’s when you return. Each new life is like getting a new set of coworkers and leaving the old behind. Occasionally, a former coworker will reconnect in another lifetime, which is why people just click, as they say.”

“That makes sense.”

The sounds of the inhabitants of Hell kept them company as they walked— on the ground, the scurrying footsteps belonging to creatures large and small, and overhead, the whispery fluttering of wings drifting on whatever passed for a breeze in this place. The air was heavy, but the pressure was calming. Scents of sulfur, fire, and brimstone followed them.

Before he could fixate on the knowledge that he was a child of the Underworld, agonizing screams arrived in a cyclone of air, swirling around them.

Lucifer beamed. “Ah! Would you like to catch up with an old acquaintance?”

“Only if you're referring to a certain lion shifter whose very existence should never have happened in the first place.”

“Hmmm. Yes. Huntington was the unfortunate result of his father jerking off into a flower pot and growing a blooming idiot.”

Kage’s laughter boomed across the landscape, drowning out the piercing screams. When the last echo drifted away, he grinned. “I'd love nothing more than to see what that bastard, Kasar, has been up to.”

Lucifer led them to the edge of a massive, circular abyss. A layer of swirling fog obscured what lay below. It was hard to judge how wide it was, but Kage guessed about a half-mile. Four guards stood at the points of whatever passed for a compass in this realm. Each at least a hundred feet tall, the gargoyle-esque custodians silently defended whatever horrors the chasm held.

As they approached the edge, the sounds from below amplified. A gnarly claw scratched at the lip of the pit to their left. The closest stony sentry slowly turned its massive head with a grinding rumble. As the wannabe escapee crested the top of the gorge, a fiery laser shot from granite eyes and blasted it into oblivion.

Kage cocked his head as he watched wispy tendrils of smoky drift upward. He whistled. “Impressive.”

“My pets are rather remarkable, are they not? Come. Let's see what mayhem we can inflict on Huntington. After all, he is a charter member of my Frequent Fucker program.”

Kage grinned. “Music to my ears.”

Peering over the edge, the fog shrouding the depths parted, and the once formidable lion shifter rose as though plucked by an invisible hand. No longer the daunting figure he once was, Kasar Huntington was a shell of his former self. The once tawny, lustrous locks were now a shabby, lackluster halo. Sinewy muscle had withered away.

“Kah-shzay.” Hatred dripped from Huntington’s use of the correct pronunciation of Kage’s name. The vitriol brought a smile to the shadow shifter’s lips.

“Nice to see you again, Kasar. How've you been?”

Next to him, Lucifer chuckled. “Ask him if he's enjoying the lavaboarding?”

“Lavaboarding?” Kage parroted.

An evil smirk spread across the devil's face, his sharp incisors worthy of adulation from any blood-sucking vampire.

In contrast, Huntington’s eyes widened before a mask of indifference slipped into place. Kage could read between the lines. Whatever lavaboarding was, Kasar wanted no part of it.

Lucifer noticed his interest. “Care for a demonstration?”

“Do I get to push the button?”

Huntington’s shoulders slumped in resignation. An invisible force pushed him so he was floating on his back above the yawning hole. His face contorted and shifted into his lion form while his body remained human. The gigantic feline jaws opened wide, nearly unhinging like a viper.

Lucifer blew a kiss in Huntington’s direction, and instantly, a gash in the fabric of the air itself appeared. Glowing, almost white-hot lava poured directly into the gaping maw. Fur and flesh burned and melted. The stench was unreal. Gurgling snarls issued forth from the shifter’s throat. As the lava cooled, melted flesh pustulated, scabbed over, and healed, only for the cycle to repeat itself time and time again.

Kage watched, fascinated by the process. Seeing Kasar lavaboarded was akin to finally scratching a maddening itch—satisfying at the deepest level.

“Jesus, Luci! How many times have I told you to stop torturing the cat?”

Kage turned in time to see a stunningly beautiful human get enfolded in Lucifer’s massive embrace. There weren't words to describe how hot their kiss was. The shadow shifter smirked. Where did this new guy come from?

When they parted, Lucifer untangled the legs wrapped around his waist but kept the man tucked into his side. “Kage, this is Gabriel, my paramour dû jour.”

The demon didn't flinch when Gabriel smacked his rock-hard abs. “Who are you calling paramour dû jour?”

Lucifer rolled his eyes. “What would you rather be called?”

Gabriel huffed and addressed Kage. “Does he respond to all your questions with a question of his own? Because that's fucking annoying.”

Kage pressed his lips together in amusement. Gabriel was a spitfire. In some ways, he reminded him of Elijah.

“He does have a tendency to do that.”

Gabriel stuck out his hand, and Kage grasped it. “I'm not anyone's anything dû jour. I'm Lucifer’s. Just plain Lucifer’s. I have proof branded on my hip—permanently.”

“It’s nice to meet you, ‘Just Plain Lucifer’s.’”

Laughing, Gabriel turned back to the devil. “I like this one. What’s his deal?”

“Would you believe I’m still figuring that out?”

Gabriel giggled, then planted a kiss on Lucifer’s cheek. “That’s from Gideon. He keeps asking when Uncle Luc is coming to visit.”

Before Lucifer could answer, Huntington let out a god-awful screech. Another douse of lava had finished its current cycle, and the asshole was clearly in serious pain.

“Kage here was killed because Huntington pawned off the dirty deed to one of his minions.”

“Speaking of minions,” Kage interrupted, “whatever happened to Trevor?”

Lucifer waved a hand dismissively. “Would you be happy if I said he’s been reincarnated as a closeted Baptist minister?”

Kage grinned. “No shit?”

The demon’s eyes glowed red. “Why would I shit you?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Stop. Kage isn’t scared by your glowy-eye thing.” He looked at the shadow shifter for confirmation and got a nod of agreement.

Lucifer’s blood-red eyes narrowed.

Knowing when to placate, Kage added, “It’s imposing, though.”

The red embers faded back to obsidian pools.

“I’m glad Trevor got what was coming to him. I hope his congregation discovers his hidden proclivities.”

“Should I make it happen?” Lucifer asked.

Well, duh, was Kage’s first thought. One which he wisely kept to himself. “That would be perfect. I’d love to watch his sanity train derail.”

A loud crack ripped through the air, and a sort of window appeared, showing the interior of a religious office. Needlepoint bible verses and depictions of Jesus hung on the walls. A bookcase filled with religious titles provided an ironic backdrop. A man of similar appearance and stature, from what Kage remembered of Trevor, could be seen getting his ass reamed by a stocky, bearded, lumberjack-looking man. Lucifer flicked his fingers, and immediately the volume was turned on. Grunts and moans accompanied the sound of the lumberjack’s cock slamming into Trevor’s willing hole.

As the men’s orgasms slammed into them, the office door opened. Three middle-aged men entered, and as they registered what was happening, their faces melted into horrifying shock.

“Bishop Fallon!” one man cried.

“What is the meaning of this?” another demanded.

The third man stood there, frozen, his eyes fixated on what he saw. Disgust dripped off his features.

The lumberjack abruptly pulled out of Trevor-slash-Bishop Fallon, his cum lewdly spewing from the now-gaping hole.

Fallon grabbed at his pants, tangled around his feet, trying unsuccessfully to cover himself.

Lucifer, Gabriel, and Kage watched as the scene unfolded. The disgraced Bishop Fallon was tried by a self-appointed jury of religious zealots and found guilty of sodomy. The congregation turned their backs on their once-beloved leader, leaving him an outcast in a society that went against everything this version of himself had been taught.

Once again, time had no meaning. What must have been months in the reality where Fallon existed, the events unfolded like an Oscar-worthy movie in Kage’s current reality.

As they watched Fallon’s downfall, Lucifer leaned closer to Kage when the stigmatized former Baptist minister sat alone and depressed in a run-down, fleabag motel. “Shall I have him off himself?”

Kage considered the option and shook his head. “As much as I would love to see him lavaboarded, I think justice would be well-served if he lives this life depressed and lonely. Ending up in a state-funded nursing home with his mind intact but having to rely on others to tend to his physical needs would be more apropos. I think dying of natural causes at the ripe old age of ninety-nine should give him plenty of time to reflect on his miserable existence.”

“I knew creating your soul was the right move.”

The window to Trevor-slash-Fallon’s life slammed shut. In the background, Huntington was still suspended in mid-air, enduring the repeated waterfall of molten lava poured down his throat. Kage couldn’t drum up an iota of sympathy for the feline shifter. All things considered, the fucker got what he deserved.

“Can we go?” Gabriel asked. “This gets old after a while.”

Lucifer nodded. “Have you seen enough?”

“Yes,” Kage replied. “Kasar’s damnation meets my approval.”

“Lovely.” The sarcasm dripped like burnt honey off Lucifer’s tongue.

Gabriel snorted. “Maybe while he’s down below, you can run that reel with that annoying woman doing some kind of cooking demonstration on an endless loop. You know the one—she puts something in the microwave but pronounces it mick-row-wah-vay. That just ain’t right.”

Lucifer pecked Gabriel’s cheek. Kage never would have thought the ruler of the Underworld could be turned into a cutesy romantic if he wasn’t witnessing it for himself. They were the poster children for the definition of an unconventional couple, but somehow, it worked.

Even though it had seemed to Kage that he and Lucifer had walked for days, by contrast, the return to their starting point took mere minutes.

Standing in the spot where he first noticed his surroundings, Kage asked, “So, what happens now?”

Lucifer slung his massive arm around Kage’s shoulder. “What would you like to see happen?”

Gabriel cleared his throat.

The demon bristled. “Fine. I will leave the choice up to you. You can stay here, although I can’t guarantee there’s anything for you to do. It’s not like I require a personal assistant.”

Kage shuddered. An eternity in this place, even though familiar and comforting, wasn’t an option. “What else?”

Lucifer tapped a clawed pointer finger on his chin. “I can send you back to another life where you will meet your soulmate, but there are conditions.”

“Go on.”

“If you return, you will cease being Elijah’s Guardian and never interact with him again.”

There was a hitch in Kage’s chest where his heart would’ve been had he been flesh and blood. The gossamer thread that still connected him to the first person he ever managed to love buzzed as though distressed.

“What about my shadow abilities?”

“I cannot take those away from you. You were created from the deepest shadows of this realm. If they are gone, you will no longer exist in any form.”

Images of past lives flashed through Kage’s mind. He intrinsically knew his soul mate was out there waiting for him. It had been several lifetimes since they last connected. As much as he loved Elijah, he knew he had to find his mate. There was no other choice.

“Can you show me Elijah one last time?”

Lucifer didn’t say anything. He merely nodded. This time, the crack that split the air revealed a window looking out over a group of people sitting on a deck with a drop-dead, gorgeous view of the mountains. It must have been early fall, as the trees were just turning colors. The sound of laughter reached them, and Kage watched as Elijah threw his head back at something one of the others said. He was older, and the subtle changes of maturity suited him well. In the field, kids ran around chasing one another. One boy looked a lot like Elijah.

A rare wave of emotion washed over Kage. Happiness. The last time he felt it was with Elijah. Moisture pooled in his eyes until a solitary tear slipped down his cheek, hitting the ground and instantly evaporating into a tendril of steam with a soft hiss.

Elijah was thriving. A new emotion flowed through Kage, and it took him a moment to realize it was pure joy. He knew in his heart that his shapeshifter was where he belonged—home with his mate and best friends. Deep down, he felt it. Elijah had others to protect him. He didn’t need a guardian angel in Kage anymore.

“I’m ready.”

Lucifer’s horns glowed from within, and the threads linking Kage, Elijah, Tyler, Ashton, and Austin vibrated like a plucked guitar string. The sweetest sound only they could hear washed over them. Kage saw Elijah rub the center of his chest. At the same time, the shadow shifter felt the pull of their connection. The other three stopped their conversation and looked at Elijah.

The end of Kage’s thread disconnected, and he watched, not with sadness but with peace of mind, as it gently floated away, fluttering in the invisible currents. The remaining four strands reeled in the diaphanous filament, their connection now stronger than ever.

Kage’s eyes widened as a new sensation spread across his chest in a heated wave. A shimmering ribbon emerged and shot forth, searching for its other end.

“Follow it, Kage. It will lead you to where you belong.”

The edges of Kage’s vision began to darken, and the familiar sensation of shadowing out began to tickle his soul. Lucifer and Gabriel receded as he was pulled away from the Underworld toward something he couldn’t name. Memories of his recent life vanished one by one until all that was left was an empty slate.

Lub-dub, lub-dub.
Lub-dub, lub-dub.

Tight squeezing surrounded him. There was a sudden brightness accompanied by a squeal of relief. Cold air hit his skin and filled his lungs.

“It’s a boy!”

Comforting arms wrapped around him, and a woman’s voice cooed, “He’s perfect.”

Moments later, after being poked and prodded, soft blanket layers cocooned him, and he was returned to the woman.

“What’s his name?”

“Rene.”

Beneath the blanket, the shadows deepened, and an invisible ribbon reached out.

From the depths of a kingdom few dared to imagine, a deep chuckle only the baby could hear made his tiny mouth turn upward in a sweet smile. The newborn turned his head, and one hand reached out to grasp at the air.

The quest had begun.