“I told you, I didn’t send them after you.”
“But you’re the devil. You’re in charge of Hell and all that’s in it.”
“Exactly.” He jogs down the stairs. “All that’s in it. Funny little loophole, really, when you think about it, and we can thank my father for that.” He stops in the foyer and waves his hand at the light above us. It flickers to life, but casts more of a reddish glow through the house than the regular yellow from the LED bulbs. “You know…free will on earth and all.”
“Wait a minute,” I say, rushing to keep up with Lucifer as he goes through the foyer and into the kitchen. “You’re saying you have no control over demons when they are on earth?”
“Oh, I have control, just not in the sense that you’re thinking.”
He opens my fridge, and bright light illuminates his face. He’s quite handsome, and in the light, I can see that his eyes are blue just like Michael’s. “You know, I hate that name.”
“The Devil?” I repeat.
“Yes. I changed my name from Lucifer to Satan out of protest but then that other one stuck.” He pulls out a package of lunch meat and tosses it on the small island counter. “But I’m going back to my roots. Call me Lucifer, Uncle Lucifer if you want to be technical.”
He’s reminding me that we’re related again, but I still don’t know exactly what he wants, though right now, it looks like he wants a sandwich. He gets out cheese and mayo next.
“The pantry,” I say when he closes the fridge and looks around. “The bread is in the pantry.” I blink a few times and decide I’m going to force myself awake in just a minute. This is a dream. It has to be.
Because Lucifer isn’t really in my kitchen making himself a damn sandwich.
“If you can’t control demons, then what can you do?”
He quickly turns toward me, eyes going from blue to red. “Whatever I want.”
I take a step back, heart skipping a beat.
“As can you, dearest niece.” He roots around in the pantry for a few seconds until he finds the bread.
“Can’t you order the demons in Hell to leave me alone?” I swallow the lump in my throat and inch forward again. I have no idea what Lucifer is capable of in this dream state, and I don’t want to find out.
“I could, though as you now know, drawing attention to you is the last thing you want.” He looks up, and the red glow in his eyes slowly fades. “You think my demons are to be feared, but you haven’t met my brothers and sisters.”
“They want to kill me, I know.”
Lucifer takes a plate from the cabinet and starts making his sandwich. This is just too weird, way too fucking weird. Maybe this is a dream after all.
“Not just kill you, but destroy your soul. There’s a difference,” he quips. “And you’ve always been quite capable. I’ve enjoyed watching you kill demons over the years.”
“You’ve been watching me too? How did you find out about me?” I’m dreaming, yet I feel chilled. I wonder if I moved in my sleep and the heated blanket slipped off me or something.
“I was one who never believed the Nephilim child had died. I also know my brother Michael is your father. He may be more stubborn than I am. He wouldn’t give up his only child, not after he risked so much to make sure you were born.”
I blink and shake my head, trying to get the dream to shift into something more pleasant. It doesn’t work.
“And no, my dear niece, I did not know it was you until some of my higher-ranking officers started sniffing around. Rebellions happen every few hundred years in Hell. They had hoped that finding you would give them the advantage over me they’d need to defeat me.”
“Would it?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest. Lucas thinks part of the reason the other angels want to kill Nephilim is because I could hurt them.
“Perhaps.” He shrugs and goes back to his sandwich. “But, you are family. And I’ve had enough family drama to last a lifetime.” He laughs at his own little joke.
“And how do you feel about me being born?”
“Well, Dr. Phil, it brings up a lot of old feelings,” he starts in a higher-pitched voice than normal and then lets out a snort of laughter. “I’m for you, kid.” He looks at me lovingly. “Beauty…power…you remind me of myself.”
“I’m nothing like you,” I spit. “I’m not evil.”
“Neither was I,” he says with a sinister laugh.
“Look,” I start and stride into the kitchen. “I might not be the best-versed in my Biblical history, but I know you were cast out of heaven for a reason. I know better than to trust you or make a deal with you.”
“I’m not here to make a deal.” He pulls out a knife from the block on the counter and holds it up, watching the dim light glint off the blade. “I’m here because out of all of my self-righteous siblings, Michael was the last to give up on me. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that he still thinks I’m worthy of redemption.” He sticks the knife into the jar of mayonnaise. The rest of the house is silent and I can hear the ticking of the clock hanging on the wall behind me.
“Am I immortal?” I blurt. If I really am having a heart-to-heart with my uncle, I might as well ask the burning questions, right?
“No. You can be killed. That pesky human-half makes you weak.”
“But will I age and die?”
“Your angel half won’t.”
I pull out a stool and sit at the island, across from Lucifer. “What does that means for my human half?”
“I’m not sure,” Lucifer takes a bite of his sandwich. “The only Nephilim brought into this world were between humans and your run-of-the-mill angels. An archangel has never fathered a child before. Ever. You are the first of your kind, my dear niece.” He sets the sandwich down. “And probably the last.”
“Because like everyone in the whole universe wants to kill me.”
“Kill you, use you, devour your soul…I suppose they’re all the same.”
“So if I’m not murdered or die in some sort of freak accident…”
“Yes,” he sighs and throws his head back dramatically. “You’ll be able to live out years and years with your vampire boyfriend. Or should I say fiancé?”
“How do you know so much about me?”
“After Varrador put the pieces together, it confirmed what I’d long suspected, and I have to say, swapping you with a human child and lying to all of Heaven makes me have just the tiniest bit of respect for my older brother. I sent one of my most trusted demons to report back to me.”
“But you said you couldn’t control them.”
“Not from where I am.” He tips his head and suddenly it clicks into place. Julian said Lucifer has been bound to the deepest pit in Hell. His control over earth is diminished, and that includes the demons that walk among us. And now I know why he’s here. Or at least I think I do.
He wants me to set him free.
Just when I think my life can’t get even more complicated…
“And anyone my brothers and sisters take an interest in also interests me. If they want someone, then so do I, and I like getting there first.”
I let out another shaky breath. “So you’d send demons after someone—to kill them—just so the angels can’t get them?”
“Sometimes.” Lucifer takes another bite of hi
s sandwich. “Though don’t go believing everything you read, kid. They’re not impervious to flaws. Angels aren’t the white robe, golden halo wearing, benevolent beings you humans like to imagine them to be. And I don’t have horns.”
All I can do is nod as another chill goes through me.
“My brothers and sisters cast judgement on everyone,” he goes on. “Hence them wanting to kill you.”
“It’s because I can get into Heaven, isn’t it?”
“Excellent observation.” He beams at me. “Yes, it is.”
“Okay.” I’m not sure how to process all this new information, though it’s nice to be getting some answers for a change. “Why have you been visiting me when my own father hasn’t?”
“I understand what it’s like to be abandoned,” he says, voice taking a softer tone. “To be made into something you don’t want to be.”
“You…you didn’t want to be Satan?” I feel like I’m edging dangerous territory, yet I can’t help myself, though I’m fully aware this might be the world’s most fucked-up family reunion.
Or it could be nothing but a dream.
“That’s a tale for another day.” His eyes spark again, but this time it’s a an icy blue. “Until then.” He claps his hands together. “I have two wedding gifts. The first will be sending a legion of demons into the world.”
“How the hell—sorry, bad choice of words—the fuck is that a wedding gift?”
“It will direct the angel-focus off of you.”
“Oh, but…I don’t want someone else to get hurt just so I can slip by unnoticed.”
Lucifer sighs. “Fine. I’ll send half a legion. Happy?”
“No…not really. Can you promise the demons won’t kill anyone?”
“They’re demons.” He leans forward, eyes meeting mine. “But I’ll do what I can.”
“And the second gift?”
He grins. “You’ll find out in due time. Just make sure to put the collar on.” Then he snaps his fingers, and I wake up, back in bed next to Lucas.
“Callie?” Lucas slides his hand over me. “Did you have a bad dream?”