Sloth

by L-J Baker

  CHAPTER SIX

  The first thing she wanted to do when she got home was talk to Sasha. There was a panic in her that she didn't want there. She'd invited him over— to her house. It was like her body had been possessed and someone else decided she was going to do some normal shit. Going on dates, having people over, those weren't things Talia did. At least not unless it was with Sasha. She was even working, outside of her room.

  As soon as Sasha sat down on her bed, Talia unloaded the whole night. She even told her how amazing his cooking was, oh and of course, how she told him he could come over and play video games with her. It was about a fifteen minute explanation, that she managed to get out in about thirty seconds, because she was pretty sure she didn't stop to breathe between sentences.

  Sasha stayed silent the whole time, waiting for Talia to finish before even reacting. It was unnerving. As soon as Talia closed her mouth though, the flood gates opened.

  "You did what?" Sasha's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.

  "I should cancel it, right? I mean, this is stupid. He's clearly just playing the long game." Talia flopped back on her bed. "I mean who just wants to be friends anymore?"

  "Um, we're friends."

  "Yeah, we're not guys. And look at him? He's too hot to be looking for female friends." Talia held up her phone to show Sasha the photo he'd added to her contacts.

  "Damn." Sasha pulled the phone closer and fake licked it. "You said he had a brother?"

  "He offered to bring his brother." Talia tossed the phone on her bed and squeezed her eyes shut. "I can't do this."

  "Yes, you can. Ethan will be home, right?"

  "Yeah."

  "Then you have nothing to worry about. He comes over, you hang and play video games, and he leaves. Nothing to it."

  "But why, Sash? What's the point?" Talia propped herself up on her elbows. She really wanted an answer to her question. She also wanted a reason to let him into her life. At the same time, she wanted to shut everyone out and stay in her protective little cocoon. Nothing made sense in her mind.

  "Did you have a good time with him at dinner?" Sasha poked her arm with one bony finger.

  "Yeah."

  "You enjoyed his company? Felt safe?" She poked Talia again.

  "Yeah."

  "Did he try anything? Anything at all?" Another poke.

  "No."

  "Then why not just go with it?" Sasha laid back on the bed with Talia and rested their heads together.

  "I went out with you. I'm doing some work with Toby, outside the house. And I went on a date. All in the same week! How much more do you expect from me?"

  "A lot, because I know you're capable of it. Hey," Sasha nudged Talia with her elbow. "I know what you've been through. I know how hard this is. I also know you have to do it. Ethan will be here. I know you're safe, so this is a good time to give things a try. Not every guy is an asshole."

  Ethan wasn't an asshole. Toby wasn't an asshole. Why did she have to trust anyone else? Why did she have to trust men at all? She was attracted to women too. If Sasha insisted she start living life again, she could start there.

  "Toby mentioned this gay club he goes to once a month. I could go and meet a nice girl. Then you could get off my back." Talia sat up and pulled her knees up to her chest.

  "I'm not against that, but you already met someone nice. I think you owe it to yourself to follow through and get to know him. I know you like him, or you never would have invited him over."

  "I'm trying to take that back."

  "Only because you're freaking out. Not because you don't like him." Sasha sat up, faced Talia, and took her hands. "Tell me you don't like him and I'll leave it alone."

  Talia opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. Anything she wanted to say would have been a lie and Sasha would have seen right through it. Truth was, she did like him. All through dinner, she'd felt relaxed, safe, like she used to before everything happened. Being around Luc was easy. Part of her liked it and part of her was frightened by it. Problem was, her fear was used to winning out.

  "That's what I thought," Sasha said, after several minutes of silence. "So you're going to clean up this mess and have this guy over tomorrow. You told him it wasn't a date, so no pressure. Hang out, show him your online world, and see how you feel about him. If he leaves and you still feel like you can't handle it, I'll escort you myself to that gay bar. We'll find you a nice lady-friend with short blond hair and some flannel."

  Talia rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a cis-gender, hetero-normative, stereotype-pushing, pig."

  "Sorry, we can't all be as enlightened as you." Sasha stuck her tongue out and Talia pushed her off the bed. "Ouch."

  "Fine. I'll let him come over." Talia crossed her arms over her chest and ignored Sasha on the floor, who was reaching up an arm for help. "But if he even tries to kiss me, I'm punching him in the nuts."

  "You might want to let him know that ahead of time." Sasha pushed off the floor and shook her head. "Poor guy."

  Sasha grabbed her hoodie and headed for the door. "I'm outta here, bitch."

  Talia thought about grabbing her controller and playing an hour or two, maybe making a few bucks, but she wasn't in the mood. Having dinner with Luc, then dealing with the aftermath of emotions from inviting him over tomorrow, was more than she had the energy for. Her room was a disaster, but she could just move her equipment into the living room before he came over. It was less work than cleaning up and more public. Even though Ethan would be in the house, Talia figured it would send the wrong message if she had Luc hang out in her bedroom.

  Now she just had to keep from changing her mind for the next sixteen hours.

  ***

  Luc raised his head, tilted it to the side, and listened closer. Someone was upstairs. Not the typical someones. The security team, Az, Harley, those he knew. This was an angel, one that was blocking their identification, something Az never did. Luc hopped over his desk and ran for the stairs. The alarm went off seconds after he picked up on the intruder. Hopefully, he'd make it there before any of his team got hurt.

  Harley was right behind him by the time he reached the apartment door. She had what looked like some sort of medieval hatchet in her hand and was radiating the kind of rage that made Luc take a step back. He didn't need to accidentally get caught in her cross-fire.

  "I got this." She pushed Luc aside, but he wasn't about to let her go in alone.

  The light was on, and immediately, Luc noticed Jason, his head of security, pinned against the wall, seemingly by nothing. He was trying to speak, but something was stopping him.

  "What the hell?" Luc grabbed Jason by the shoulders and tried to pry him free. Harley went to check out the rest of the apartment, ready for battle.

  "Lucifer!" Harley yelled from the bathroom. "Get over here, please." The rage was gone from her voice, but there was still anger.

  Jason fell to the floor and gasped. He was alive, so Luc went to see what Harley had found. Sitting on the edge of his enormous tub was Uriel, reapplying some blood-red lipstick.

  "Good to see you brother," she said, making a kissy face at Harley, and standing. "Though I don't know why we all needed to meet in here." She pushed past Luc and Harley and made her way out to the sofa, where she sat down and waited for them to join her.

  "Why are you here, Uriel?" Luc sat in the chair across from her and waited to hear what she had to say. He hadn't seen Uriel in longer than he could recall, and now twice, in less than a week.

  "Can't I just visit my favorite brother?" She crossed one leg over the other and batted her eyelashes a few times.

  "Sure, go visit him."

  Harley stood behind Luc with the hatchet ready to go. Uriel might have saved her from Michael, but that didn't mean Harley was going to play nice.

  "Does she need to be here?" Uriel motioned to Harley and curled her lip. "Can we have a demon-free conversation?"

  Luc wanted to tell her no, that anything she needed to discuss with him, s
he could do in front of Harley, but that would only make her angry. He wasn't sure yet if he could trust his sister, at least as much as he would have before he was cast out from Heaven, and he wanted to keep from burning any bridges before he had all the information. His war with Michael was likely to get worse before it was over and he may need Uriel's help.

  "Why don't you take Jason to get cleaned up?" Luc twisted his head around to look at Harley. She stood her ground for a long moment, let out a deep breath, and stomped off. "Now, what can I do for you, Uriel? I have to say, I'm quite surprised to see you."

  "Maybe I'm just here for a visit." She followed him out of the bathroom.

  "You're not."

  She blinked a few times.

  "Okay, fine, I'm not." She glanced around the room. "Where's your sidekick?"

  "Azrael has his own life."

  "Are you sure? I thought he just followed you around like a puppy dog."

  "Get to the point, Uriel. I have things to do."

  "Things? Do you mean those little human girls?" She lifted one hand up and pretended to inspect her nails.

  Luc ignored her. He wasn't going to play games with his sister. If she didn't get to the point of her visit soon, he was going to toss her out on her ass. Or, he would try. Uriel wasn't exactly easy to toss. She was a warrior. Plus, she did some badass things with fire that he wasn't looking to get involved with.

  "I came to offer my assistance." She huffed, as if it was a major bother for her. "You know, with Michael."

  "I'm not sure if I can trust you." Honesty was the best policy, after all. Luc might be the devil, but he wasn't a liar.

  "Lucifer, you wound me." Uriel grabbed her chest and flung her head back. "I come here to pledge my loyalty to your cause and you treat me like a Judas."

  "Leave that little twat out of this." Luc went to pour two drinks, then handed one to Uriel. "You can't fault me for my mistrust, sister. I haven't seen you since my last battle with Michael and I don't recall you having my back then. So, why now?"

  She swirled the liquid in her glass, sniffed it, then took a small sip. "Not bad," she said, then placed the glass on the coffee table. "I am sorry for the way things turned out back then, Lucifer. I was younger and less brave."

  "You have never lacked courage, sister. You might have been young, but you were born a warrior."

  She smiled, enjoying the compliment.

  "We were all forbidden to intervene." Uriel avoided eye contact, which was very unlike her. "I wanted to fight by your side, but if I had, I'd have been cast out along with you."

  "Would that have been so terrible?"

  "At the time, yes."

  Luc wasn't surprised their father had insisted his siblings stay out of his battle with Michael all those years ago. He was surprised that he hadn't done the same thing now.

  "So now you're here to, what, redeem yourself?"

  "I regret my lack of action back then, but I will not apologize. We were raised to obey our father and I do not disagree with his ways. You weren't perfect either, Lucifer." She picked the glass back up and took another small sip, then returned it to the table. "It was a long time ago. It's time to move past old hurts and deal with the situation at hand."

  "Does he know?"

  "Who? Father?"

  Luc nodded, but he would have settled for that answer, or Michael.

  "He does. I spoke with him before I came."

  "And he didn't tell you to stay out of it again?" Luc gulped down the rest of his drink and slid the glass onto the coffee table.

  "No." She pressed her lips together and stared at him.

  "That's it? No? He had nothing to say?"

  "Nothing that needs to be shared. Isn't it enough that I am here?"

  Defeating Michael wouldn't be easy. A little help, if he could really count on it, would be great. Problem was, Luc didn't know what Uriel's motivation was, and without knowing that, he wasn't sure he could completely trust her.

  "There's a lot at stake here."

  "The Hell Tablet."

  "Does everyone know now?"

  "Of course not, but Father spoke with me about it. It was one of the main reasons I wanted to help."

  "Of course it was. Why would it be for me?" Luc wandered over to the window and stared out at nothing in particular.

  "Don't be a baby, Lucifer. Of course I want to have your back, but the Hell Tablet is some serious shit. Even Father doesn't know what Michael wants with it. It's not the kind of thing we can take chances with. Father entrusted you and I support that completely."

  "If Michael breaks open those gates--"

  "He won't." Uriel joined him at the window and rested her face on his shoulder. "You're not alone anymore, brother."

  Luc wanted to say he never should have been, but what good would it have done? She was there, willing to stand by his side, at least if she was telling the truth. Not all of Luc's siblings had such strong aversion to lying. Uriel had told her fair share of untruths when he'd been in Heaven. She probably hadn't given it up in the time since.

  But Luc wanted to believe her.

  Having Az around recently taught Luc that he'd been craving family. He missed the time when they all lived and interacted together, when he could go to them with an issue, and know they would do anything in their power to help. There was a bond between siblings that was like no other. He'd gotten that back with Az, and Luc was grateful, but now he was being given a chance with Uriel, and he wanted to take it.

  "I'll place my trust in you, sister, but know that it doesn't come lightly. If you betray me, I will never be able to forgive you."

  "I will not betray you." She looked up into Luc's eyes and held his gaze for a long moment.

  They'd been close once. Closer than he'd been with any of his siblings. That was probably why it cut so deep when she left him to rot in Hell after he'd been cast out. For a long time, Luc expected her to show up, tell him she was sorry for being a shit, and to pick up where they left off. It never happened. She never showed up.

  But she was there now. She'd helped save Harley, which meant more than he could say, and she wanted to help with his new Michael problem. If she meant it, it could be enough to make up for her past mistakes. He could have her in his life again.

  "What is it you think you can do to help? Do you know where he is?"

  "No, I don't know where he is. I did, obviously, because he was with your little demon friend, but he fled after I got her out of there."

  "He just let you walk in and take her? Without a fight?"

  "He did. I think by the time I showed up, he realized he wasn't getting anything out of her. He would have killed her at any moment."

  "Did he have anything to say about what he was doing?" Luc turned to face her, separating them.

  "I didn't ask. It was a quick visit. I said she was coming with me and he backed up and let me take her. I didn't hang around for tea and biscuits."

  "That's disappointing."

  It would have been a great time to shove him into a Hell box, or maybe even cut off a hand, or two.

  "I didn't know what was going on between you two at that point. I wasn't even aware that you had the Hell Tablet until after. Father asked me to retrieve your pet and I did."

  "Harley isn't my pet. You need to stop calling her that if you're going to stick around."

  "Yes, whatever." She waved a hand in the air. "Your bestie then." She rolled her eyes.

  "Harley has been here for me when no one else was. She's much more than a friend. She's family."

  "I'm family."

  "Family runs deeper than blood, sister."

  Uriel was quiet for a few moments. She went back to the sofa and sat, gulping down the remainder of her drink.

  "I really am sorry."

  Luc turned to look her over. She did seem genuine. Unless that was just what he wanted to see.

  "Help me get Michael under control and we can call it forgiven."

  Forgiveness wasn't Luc's strong p
oint, but he would do his best. Michael was a threat, not just to Luc, but to all of humankind, and maybe beyond that. He needed to be stopped and Luc could use all the help he could get.

  Having Uriel back in his life might just be a bonus.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  "Why are you moving all that shit out here?" Ethan walked into the living room and looked over the mess Talia was making.

  "I'm having a friend over." She shrugged, like it was nothing, like she wasn't on the verge of a panic attack inside.

  "So? Bring her in your room." Ethan started gathering up piles of mail and stacking them near the door.

  "It's not a her."

  Ethan stopped what he was doing and stared at her. "Toby?"

  "His name is Luc and I'd feel more comfortable being out here." She continued setting up her equipment, not looking in his direction. She already knew he wouldn't give her shit about being out there, rather than in her room, with a strange guy. Sometimes she wondered if Ethan really knew what happened. If not, he'd probably guessed the general idea.

  "Two dates in two days. Interesting." He fluffed a couch pillow that didn't need fluffing. "I'm gonna be home. Just so you know."

  "I'm aware."

  It was the reason she was able to go through with it. Last night, alone in his apartment, was hard enough. Another day, which if she included having a drink with him, was three dates, even though she'd told him this wasn't a date, might give him the wrong idea. Having Ethan in the house ensured that he was on good behavior.

  "You gonna tell me about this guy?"

  "No."

  Talia was trying to keep hold of her nerves. Talking about Luc wasn't going to help that. She was trying. Sasha said she needed to try, so she would. She'd already done more in the past week, than she had in almost two years, so her friend couldn't complain that much.

  It felt good to get out and be around actual humans, rather than just avatars out in cyberspace. Her anxiety was off the charts, but nothing awful had happened. At least not so far.