Hello, everyone! It has been a while. I figured I'd write another Lucifer story while the show is on hiatus. The story is finished, so I'll be posting a new chapter every day (up until the S4 premiere next week, and a couple of times a week after that).

Please be warned that, while there is nothing explicit, the story touches upon the issue of child abuse.

I must extend a HUGE thank you to my wonderful beta, Ariaadagio, who has helped me sort through a bunch of initial hurdles, and keeps me on my toes chapter after chapter. Her guidance and support have made writing this story a really fun challenge. Working with her on this fic has been a true privilege. Also, a very special thanks to BelenP, for her input and suggestions.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this fic. J

THE CODEX GIGAS

Prologue

Before the Universal Code was ever put forth by the Creator, there existed only one law. The Law. It ruled over the Heavens. It stretched across dimensions. It was eternal. It was omnipresent. It was so deeply ingrained in celestial creed, no one dared question it.

Such law was simple: angels were not allowed to end a human life.

The consequences for defying this unspoken rule were dire. Whispers of Armageddon would slither down the grapevine, each scenario more horrific than the next. Nobody really knew what breaking this unyielding law would entail. The consensus seemed to be that the End Time would be met with fire and brimstone.

Ultimately, God would decide.

The information had been vaguely communicated to those humans with the predisposition to listen. Blind faith had carried the message across the centuries. Wars had been waged to keep the divine flame alive, to warn humans about the Devil, to keep them from being cogged in his web of misdeeds.

In the end, as the scriptures had predicted, it would be Lucifer who'd eventually break the Divine Law.

It would be the Devil who'd bring about the Apocalypse…

The Human Spawn

Getting to Lux had been a piece of cake. Getting in, however, had proven to be a greater challenge. Trixie remembered the time she had shown up at the club one early afternoon. On a Tuesday. There had been no security guard at the entrance, and a nice woman wearing purple underwear, who happened to be leaving, had simply held open the door for her. Meeting Maze in the cool depths of the club had been the highlight of her week.

Tonight—a Thursday—the place was swarming with patrons, security guards, valets, and performers… The beat of the music boomed, making the ground vibrate throughout the entire block. Nobody seemed to notice Trixie in the hectic crowd, but that didn't mean she had a snowball's chance in Hell at making it past the security guard at the main entrance.

But that didn't deter Trixie in the slightest. After all, her mom always said: "when there's a will, there's a way." Lucifer had mentioned how the elevator in the underground parking was the fastest way up to the penthouse if one wished to avoid "those pesky masses." Entry to the parking lot was restricted to people with an authorized keycard like the one Lucifer had given her mom. Luckily, pedestrians didn't need keycards to get past a flimsy parking gate. So Trixie snuck in on foot, figuring she could make a run down the ramp undetected by using the time window between the arrival of one car and the next.

Mission accomplished, she wandered around the parking garage and came across three different exits, all three pointing to a different elevator and stairway. She hesitated for a few moments, not sure which one to pick, until she spotted Lucifer's Corvette parked beside the one on the far end.

Bingo!

Trixie smiled triumphantly as she rushed into the elevator in question. Going on tip-toe, she managed to reach the button marked "PH" at the very top. She had gotten a couple of inches taller in recent months, and used every inch of that height gain to her advantage.

Blood rushed down to her stomach as the elevator shot upward like a rocket. For some strange reason, her mom had never brought her along to Lucifer's place. He had been to their apartment countless times, after all. He'd come over for Taco Tuesday, and Movie Friday. She liked it when they all gathered together as a family. It was always a blast playing games, and baking cookies, and doing a bunch of other kid stuff with him. Trixie knew he only did it to spend time with her mom away from work. That's why she had found it odd that he'd stopped coming to their home a few weeks ago.

Something had happened between Lucifer and her mom. Trixie was smart enough to know that.

Did they get into a fight?

No. They were always fighting about one thing or another, and that only seemed to make them like each other even more. His absence had to be about something else. Her mom rarely avoided talking about things—anything—with her. But this time, whenever Trixie brought up the subject of Lucifer's scarcity, she'd end up stuck with extra chores, or being sent to bed early, so she'd stopped asking.

As the ride neared the penthouse, she began to hear the distinct rumble of a conversation. The metal casing of the elevator muffled the voices, but even with the acoustic disadvantage several things were clear: one of the voices belonged to Lucifer, the other one belonged to a woman, it sounded like they were engaged in a heated argument, and, as much as Trixie tried to hone in on the conversation, she couldn't understand a word they were saying.

Maybe coming here was a mistake, Trixie thought as the numbers lit up in crescendo over the sliding doors.

Was there a way to reverse the direction of the elevator? She stared at the panel with all the buttons, trying to decipher its commands while the cryptic argument became louder and louder. The ride came to a smooth halt, and Trixie's stomach did a funny flip-flop that had little to do with inertia.

The doors swished open, and her jaw nearly dropped at the sight of the penthouse. The space wasn't anything like she had imagined. Lucifer's voice came through, loud and crisp now, from beyond the living area, past the open panels that led to a terrace. The words were spoken in a foreign language. Not Spanish. Trixie would've been able to understand them if that were the case.

She hesitated before summoning up the courage to step out of the elevator. She had gotten too far now to turn around. Besides, she had never seen Lucifer angry. Ever. He would understand. He liked when she showed defiance. Surely, her coming here would not make him mad.

The woman spoke again. Her voice sounded musical, melodious, how a mermaid would sound. Curiosity propelled Trixie forward in silent pursuit.

Nana had always accused her of being nosey. She was probably right. On the other hand, Mom kept telling her that being curious about stuff was a good thing.

The conversation on the terrace heated up into a full-fledged argument. Trixie didn't need to speak the language to know when two people were fighting. She'd witnessed plenty of her parent's fights. And though they had always tried to keep it "civil" in front of her, the underlying animosity was impossible to miss. That never changed, regardless of context, culture, or language.

There was a glowing bar with a massive collection of bottles and weird looking containers to her right, tall shelves full of ancient, leather-bound books to her left, and elaborately carved walls all around her. The place reminded her of that movie she had watched once with Dad about an evil mummy that went around killing people. Trixie bit her lip. Mom had been so mad at him after the movie had given Trixie nightmares!

She had been so silly when she was seven. Mummies weren't real! And neither were monsters! And this penthouse was way too cool to give anybody nightmares.

Trixie smiled, her fingers trailing the slick edge of the grand piano. An enormous glass-looking fireplace enclosed tall, dancing flames, while soft-lit vegetation framed the outer edge of the terrace, where two dark figures stood off to the side. She didn't dare intrude. They seemed to exist in their own bubble of bitterness, despite the decibels having simmered down to an angry murmur at that point. The glow of the city lights rose like an unnatural orb behind them, melting into a starless night sky.

The only thing that stood between Trixie and the terrace were a set of austere leather sofas.

These would make for an awesome spaceship! Trixie's imagination was already running wild. It would be such a stylish ride to Mars!

Her mind was conjuring up a take-off scenario when two tall figures entered the lounge, and the voices ceased.

Trixie spun around, snapping out of her reverie, heart pounding.

Lucifer stood just a few steps away, next to a slender tall woman with fiery red hair flowing down to her waist. Trixie's throat became parched. She glanced at the woman and felt even smaller. So engrossed had Trixie been in scouting every detail of her surroundings, their approach almost took her by surprise. Gulping, she recoiled. Lucifer cocked his head as he adjusted the belt on his burgundy silk robe. His hair was damp and untamed, like he had hastily run a towel over it after a shower and hadn't bothered to comb it, or like it had been tussled by the breeze. His expression was one of bewilderment.

He sent a quick glance towards the elevator, as if expecting to see someone else, before his narrowed eyes trailed back to her.

"What on Earth are you doing here, child?"

The woman frowned. She began to say something in the mysterious language, but Lucifer raised his hand, a signal that made her stop talking.

Trixie tried to smile but only managed a clumsy half smirk. "Hi, Lucifer."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow. "How did you get past security, anyway?"

Before Trixie had a chance to respond, the svelte woman spoke again, this time in English.

"Don't use the human child as a deflection, Lucifer."

Her words were soft, but the tension between them was palpable. Now that Trixie's eyes had adjusted to the dimness, the woman's features became more defined. She was beautiful. Stunningly so. Her eyes, which had seemed dark at first, actually resembled the color of honey. Intense against the paleness of her skin, they sparkled under the light of the fire.

Trixie opened her mouth to say something, but the words got stuck in her throat. Lucifer exhaled and rubbed his temples as if warding off a looming headache.

"I really can't deal with this right now," he mumbled. "I must say, Urchin, your timing is rather unfortunate. Does your mother even know you're here?"

The woman cocked her head, and a slow smile stretched across her delicate features.

"Wait. Is this the human child?" she whispered, marveling at Trixie. "It is true, then…"

Something dark flashed behind Lucifer's eyes.

"No," he growled, his voice dark. His next words were spoken in that weird language, but they sounded a lot like a warning. A deep chill ran down Trixie's spine at the sound.

"You can't stop the inevitable, brother," the woman told him, holding his stare.

Lucifer's responding grin was defiant, but his posture was tense. "Try me."

His counterpart smirked derisively.

Without saying another word, she tilted her head in mock reverence, walked out onto the terrace, and disappeared.

Trixie rubbed her eyes, wondering if she might have imagined the woman stepping off the ledge. But that was impossible. Her mind was clearly playing tricks on her.

Once alone, Lucifer stared down at Trixie.

"Now," he said, sighing, arms folded over his chest. "Would you kindly care to explain?"

"I'm s—sorry. I didn't know you had a guest," Trixie stammered, hating the sudden moisture clouding her eyes. "I just… I didn't know where else to go."

[To Be Continued…]