Evenstar

by Darcy Town

  Paimon hiccupped. He’d consumed several bottles of vodka on the walk up. He blinked against the afternoon light and gazed at the humans around him, a protective haze of alcohol between him and them. He smiled warily; the rush of the crowd ran through his veins. He turned his camera on as they reached the grass near the media center of the Nashville Superspeedway. He spun in a drunken circle and snapped photos.

  “Paimon?” Lucifer sighed. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m getting before and after shots! Furcas will want to see. He hates this human pastime.”

  The ground closed up behind them as Hephaestus hurried to get deep below the surface. Lucifer dusted off his polished shoes and looked away as Paimon took photos. Media crews oriented on the pair. Cameramen filmed Lucifer and Paimon, ignoring the race that occurred on the track.

  Past the grass and concrete garages, fans stared in astonishment. Racecar drivers continued their loop to the left, circling Lucifer and Paimon like colorful torchbearers, unaware of what went on.

  Lucifer took in the spectacle and shook his head at Paimon’s choice of venue. He motioned for Paimon. Paimon grabbed his shoulder. Lucifer plucked a string on the black violin, one note, a warning to any remaining Lilliam in the area.

  The reverberation deafened and spread outward as anti-sound. The humans in the stadium held their heads and staggered. Those closest to Lucifer dropped dead. Blood ran out of their mouths and eyes. Paimon winced, but remained shielded from the effects of the sound through contact with Lucifer.

  Lilliam across the southern United States felt the note. Those that had mobility fled away from the noise. Those that could not, the ones held in the chambers of the Solomon Soldiers, laughed at their captors. The humans did not hear anything. They did not know why their captives began to laugh despite bleeding and dying at their hands. The Lilliam grinned and waited for their release.

  The sound died as Lucifer lifted the bow to the instrument. Reporters held up cameras, feeding the image of Lucifer and his violin to news stations around the country. Lucifer smiled at them and spoke to Paimon, “I have not put on a show in quite some time.”

  Paimon snickered. “Might as well freak them out.”

  Lucifer shrugged and gazed at the cameras as one reporter dared to get near. The man, balding and in his mid-life, held out a microphone. “Who are you?”

  “Lucifer Morningstar.” His response echoed in the stadium and was carried over radio and news stations.

  The man gulped. “The Lucifer.”

  “Yes.”

  A second reporter chimed in, “You do not look like the Devil!”

  Blue flames engulfed the man where he stood, reducing him to ash in seconds. Lucifer looked at the camera with blue eyes blazing. “I do not like that term.” He smiled. “But how should I look? Should I have horns? Those are easy enough.” He concentrated and two magnificent sharp black horns grew out of his temples.

  Paimon took a picture of him. “You’re supposed to have a tail and cloven feet too.”

  Lucifer rolled his eyes. “I never understood that. I like my feet and backside as they are.”

  The other reporters backed away, leaving the balding man by himself. He spoke on, “Why, why are you here? Uhm, Mr. Lucifer?”

  Lucifer smiled and looked at his violin. He played another warning note, bringing the humans to their knees. He let the sound fade. “I am here to collect you.”

  “To…take our souls?”

  “No, just your life-force. Humans do not have souls.” Lucifer brought the violin up to his chin and played a melody slow and haunting. He closed his eyes and let their destruction song flow through him, the notes that would undo humanity’s creation, reverse it as if it had never occurred. The humans near him vibrated and vaporized into red light, leaving behind clothes, microphones, and headsets. The light sank into the earth.

  The radius of death expanded from Lucifer in a circle. Paimon managed to keep his eyes open as the sound pounded at his temples. He dropped his camera and clutched the teddy bear as the song of death flowed through him. His eyes turned from jade to silver. His teeth chattered. He focused on his body and Furcas’ status.

  The song hit the enclosed media center. People watching the race on TV saw their announcers disappear. The image jerked and swerved as the cameramen behind them disappeared. The music enveloped the pit crews. Cars came in to be refueled only to find no one was there. The drivers had seconds to look around before they too were deconstructed.

  Flashes of red light engulfed the stadium. Cars on the straightaways lost their drivers and careened into each other and the walls. Cars driving towards the straightaways plowed into the empty cars as they themselves disappeared. Fire and smoke joined the sparks of red.

  Up in the stands, the crowd could only gape. The seats went up in a pyre of light and the stadium emptied, but Lucifer did not cease. The sound pushed outwards and blanketed the parking lot. Tailgaters, security guards, and fans in RVs vanished, leaving behind their possessions and bottles of Mountain Dew.

  The red swirling light raced back towards Lucifer. It went through him to Paimon, then to Gaea who waited in the Sanctuary with Dahlia and Furcas.

  Gaea pulled the energy to her, wove it into a sphere, and concentrated, focusing on the force itself. Before her, Dahlia and Furcas were laid out unconscious.

  The radius of death moved ever outwards, crossing roads, homes, and businesses. Police cars raced to the scene, but their drivers disappeared and cars smashed into buildings and each other, clogging the roads with debris. Helicopters filmed overhead. Those that dipped too low suffered the same fate as the other human-occupied vehicles.

  Fire and smoke surrounded the Speedway. Lucifer paid no attention to things outside of the small circle that he shared with Paimon. He became the song and the sound. He was the conduit of destruction. His hands moved to sunder what the Archangels had bound together.

  Paimon sagged against Lucifer, sick to his stomach. He slid down Lucifer’s body as he passed in and out of consciousness.

  Lucifer slipped off one shoe, then another. He kicked off his socks. He touched Paimon’s hand with his bare feet, keeping them connected as Paimon shook off the effects of the music. The song was not something for an Archangel to know, not for a human or any sentient creature. It was Lucifer and Dahlia’s only.

  Paimon’s nose began to bleed.

  ***

  In the palace, the remaining Fallen waited in one of their massive armories. Apple’s brothers and the City Guard sparred or repaired their armor. Berith and Apple paced. Helion and Whitney floated overhead, circling the ceiling. In a shadowy corner of the room, Andy watched Belial, his face gaunt and pale. He rubbed his chest as if in pain.

  Belial rummaged through her ancient battle gear. Bits and pieces of her favorite outfits hung on the walls like trophies. The room was massive and items stretched floor to ceiling. She searched aimlessly, not looking for anything in particular.

  Belial jumped for a helmet. She missed and fell. Her tongue stuck out between her lips and she jumped again, but it was too high up. Irritated, she scaled the wall. She leapt from stone to stone, getting ever closer to the item she wanted. She missed a foothold and jabbed her talons into the wall to keep from falling. Her feet rested on an antique shield of Berith’s; she had enough sense not to scratch it. She looked around. “Shit.”

  Andrealphus leapt past her, grabbed the helmet, wrapped his arm around her, and dropped to the ground. He set both down lightly and walked back to his spot without a sound.

  Belial watched him go and fiddled with the helmet. The place he’d touched her burned. Her heart fluttered with fear. Helion’s words rang in her head. She put the helmet on and covered her eyes. She sat against the wall and stared into the black leather and metal. She could still smell the ash and blood of warfare. The scent calmed her nerves.

  Celeste poked at her leg, wanting to fight. Belial shook her head, determined on being moody. Celeste frowned and went ba
ck to wrestling with Tokala. The other princes watched the pair enviously. Fighting a berserker was a rare pleasure.

  Berith bowled into Celeste and tossed her into the air. Celeste hit the floor with a crack of bones. She shrugged off the blow, grinned, and charged Berith. Tokala backed up to avoid the pair. He looked at his brothers smugly. Berith did not often spar with anyone other than Apple or Grendel.

  Helion and Whitney flew around the ceiling. Neither spoke, both pensive. Whitney let go of Helion’s hand and flew on her own; white mist followed her flight. She watched it and aimlessly drew patterns of mist in the air. Helion followed her and dove through the circles.

  Jacob blew into the room and closed the door behind him. His clothes were stretched and torn. His hair was a mess. He gasped. “Safe!”

  Belial pulled her helmet off, looked at him, and laughed. She pointed. “I told you that you’d get mobbed by girls!”

  Jacob jumped up to join Whitney in the air. “I can’t get away from them, and they all know how to fly better than me!” He scraped up along the wall. Whitney pulled him away from the stone as swords fell to the ground below. Berith broke off from Celeste and caught the falling objects.

  Belial smirked. “Better learn fast then.”

  Jacob panted. “It’s not that they’re not nice, because they are.” Whitney caught him and righted his flight path. He smiled. “They’re just rather exuberant. I mean I don’t even know them and they’re trying to get me drunk and take me home!”

  Varen took to the air. “What’s wrong with that?”

  Jacob blushed silver. “I’m a monogamous guy! One girl, that’s it! But they all want some!”

  Varen swooped towards Apple. “Send the extras my way, I love sylphs.”

  Apple threw a sword at him. “Stop being a pig.”

  The doors banged open. Jacob fled to the corners of the ceiling, but no sylph girls entered. Nodin skipped through the doors, beaming. He led Tracy in. She was quite pregnant. The pair looked at each other, grinning and in love.

  Celeste pointed. “Tracy! When did that happen?”

  Tracy flushed pale green. “Earlier today? Apparently it’s easy to get me pregnant and I get really pregnant really fast.”

  The royalty swarmed the couple. Nodin pushed them back. “All mine! I’m the first! I am the most awesome! Mom and Dad will love me the most.”

  Apple flipped across the room and landed on Grendel’s shoulders. She stared at Tracy. “Wow! When are you due?”

  Tracy shrugged. “I don’t know, at this rate soon I guess! I’m still in shock.”

  Belial laughed and tossed her helmet to the side. “I told you that you were a fertility demon! What did you think would happen when you had sex?”

  Tracy scowled. “I was on birth control.”

  Nodin squeezed her. “Human birth control.”

  Apple got in her brother’s face. “Did you warn her about that before you knocked her up?”

  “Kind of.” Nodin shrugged. “She’s not mad about it.”

  Apple punched Nodin, sending him flying into Regis. She hugged Tracy. “I hope you’re okay with this.”

  Tracy touched one of her horns self-consciously. “It’s a bit overwhelming. Why’s everyone so excited?”

  “None of us has had kids and more than a few of us has tried.” Apple smiled at her. “This is huge news for our family!”

  Tracy smiled. “Does this mean I get to be a princess?”

  “Of course you do.”

  “Cool.” Tracy touched her belly. “I am twenty-seven, and it’s about that time. Besides.” She smiled at Nodin. “He’ll be a great dad.”

  Nodin puffed out his chest. “Of course I will! We are going to have dozens of kids!”

  Celeste laughed. “This month alone!”

  Tracy turned green. “That part we’ll need to talk about.”

  Whitney touched down and threw her arms around Tracy. “Wow, you got big!”

  Helion hugged her when Whitney let her go. “Congratulations!”

  Whitney grinned. “When is the wedding?”

  Tracy and Nodin shared a look. Tracy smiled. “Do you guys do that sort of thing?”

  Apple scowled. “Of course. That was our idea first. Come on, Mom and Dad will want to know. Mom’s going to die of happiness.” Apple grabbed Tracy’s hand.

  Berith wrapped his arms around Apple and lifted her off her feet. She kicked him. “What do you want?”

  Berith carried her under his arm and headed for the doors. “They can tell your parents.”

  “Well where are we going?”

  “My place.” Berith grinned. “They have their heir now. I think this frees you of any lingering obligation you think you might have. We have a few thousand years to make up for.”

  Apple blushed. “But—”

  Her brothers laughed and pointed at her plight.

  She launched throwing knives at them. “You’re all jerks!”

  Nodin shielded Tracy. “Hey watch it! Future heir right here!”

  Berith carried Apple out of the room. The youngest princes ran to the doorway and catcalled after their sister. She swore at them until Berith clapped a hand over her mouth. She grinned and settled in his grip as they got out of sight. Berith noticed. “All for show aren’t you?”

  “It’s always been all for show, dumbass.” She crawled out of his grip and kissed him. Lilliam gaped as the pair went by. She smiled. “So where’s your place? You always stayed at the palace.”

  Berith shrugged. “I just planned on finding somewhere empty of Lilliam.”

  “You know the Old Road is empty.” Apple waggled her eyebrows.

  “And full of dragons and beasts.” Berith grinned and looked her over. “Really?”

  “Why not? We’re both armed and you fight naked just as well as armored.”

  Berith smiled and took off towards the Old Road. The City Guard let them pass and retreated a safe distance away. More than a few grinned when they knew Apple was not looking.

  ***

  The sparring room had emptied of almost all of the princes. They followed Nodin and Tracy to the throne room.

  Tokala stayed behind with Celeste. The pair boxed up and down the length of the room. Tokala was being squarely beaten in his human form, but he did not mind. He back flipped away and beckoned her on.

  Belial watched them for a time, lost in thought. Andy watched her. Helion and Whitney flew overhead. Jacob had gone into hiding again, no one was sure where.

  Whitney soared through the air and wrote the alphabet with her trailing mist. She got to the letter Z. “How do I turn the smoke effects off?”

  Jacob blasted her with cold air from his hiding spot. “Concentrate maybe?”

  Whitney smirked at his invisible form. She closed her eyes and flew in a circle. She frowned and the mist faded. She plummeted and yelped. Helion caught her.

  Her mist came back in a plume. “All right, well, that’s how that works then.”

  Helion smiled. “I like the mist.”

  Belial put her antique equipment back, going slowly. She hung each piece carefully, unconsciously making her way to the area that Andy occupied.

  Andy watched her. He stayed quiet, his eyes mostly on the sparring partners. Belial dropped down beside him and tucked her knees to her chest. With the armor off, she was in uncharacteristically casual clothing, wearing only a tank top and cloth shorts. She kicked off her tennis shoes and scrunched up her toes on the stone. She rocked, feeling nervous. Her heart pounded and her hands shook. She had not felt nervous in quite some time.

  Helion left the room with Whitney. Jacob followed them cautiously.

  Andy shifted in his spot and leaned back, his hand close to her foot. Belial grabbed one of his long fingers with her toes and squeezed. Andy smiled faintly; his eyes flicked to hers. Belial stared at her feet. She released his finger. He wiggled her pinky toe with his pointer finger. The touch tickled and she trapped his hand under her foot. She smiled.

>   Andy looked at his hand. “You’ve got me.”

  Belial did not trust her voice. She nodded. She let him go and scooted across the stone floor. She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry for running away.”

  Andy shook his head. “Don’t be. I’m just an idiot for, well, being myself.”

  Belial poked him in the ribs. “You’re not an idiot.”

  Andy sighed. “I’ve never said the right things when they should have been said. I’ve never done the right things at the right time. I think my life is a testament on how to live a mistimed life.”

  Belial snorted. “You talk too much.”

  Andy blushed. “That’s a problem of mine too.”

  Belial kissed him lightly on the cheek. He blinked, shocked. She looked away. “Don’t get any ideas.”

  Andy nodded stoically. “Right, because that wasn’t a kiss, it was a buddy-buddy high-five with lips and has nothing to do with love or romance.”

  “Right.” Belial continued to lean on him.

  “May I—”

  Belial clapped a hand over his mouth. “When you say it, it ruins things, just do it.”

  Andy kissed her forehead. Belial looped her arm with his. “See?”

  Andy nodded. “Yes, oh wise and sagely pal of mine.”

  She laughed. “Dork.”

  ***

  That’s the tenth planet we’ve destroyed.

  What did I tell you? You guys have a sick and twisted love life.

  Don’t even get me started on sick and twisted, Furcas. I saw what you two were doing back there.

  Furcas laughed. What, that? That was—

  Really, you don’t need to explain it. I know way too much about your personal lives now.

  Furcas snorted and did not respond.

  After watching Lucifer and Ladriam destroy another planet Dahlia piped up, So did you two as Faith and Patience, ever, you know, have sex?

  Oh, now you want to know more. I see how it is.

  Shut up never mind. I don’t really want to know. Just forget that I asked.

  Furcas laughed against the backdrop of a gas giant and its orbiting moons. Lucifer and Ladriam sang, wrapped up in each other emotionally and in the flesh. They soared through space and plowed into one of the moons. She threw Lucifer end over end and jumped on him as he fell. The force of the impact cracked the small moon, knocking it out of orbit. The two wrestled and jumped to another moon.