by Melody Rose
I saw an open door, and I hesitantly peered inside. Instead of torture devices, it looked like I had found the back door to a commercial kitchen. I walked in to find a single demon on the far end, prepping vegetables. His green bulbous skin was not the most pleasant sight, but at least he was wearing an apron, I guess. He turned at the sound of my footsteps, and I froze, unsure whether to run or say hello.
“Mornin’,” he grumbled. He sounded like his mouth was full of marbles.
“Uh, good morning,” I replied, my voice sounding as unsure as I felt. “I think I’m a little lost.”
“Nah, you ain’t,” he said casually. I struggled to make out what he said.
“I’m not?” I certainly felt lost.
“You’re just at the back door. Dinin’ room’s that way.” He pointed to the open doorway next to him, and I walked over and glanced through it. Sure enough, I recognized the long wooden table from my meals with Lucifer. On the far end of the room was the doorway I was familiar with.
“Wow. Thank you!” I replied, relief washing over me. I got the impression that getting lost down here was akin to walking alone down a dark alley at night in a bad neighborhood. Not something I wanted to do.
“No problem,” the demon said coolly. “Ya hungry?”
I turned to face him. “Starving, actually.”
“Go sit. I’ll take care of ya.” He waved me off and turned to face the griddle.
“Thank you so much,” I replied gratefully, but he didn’t answer me. I walked over to the table and sat at my usual chair, feeling a bit out of place there without my usual dining companion.
I heard the door open behind me, and I turned to see who the new arrival was. My skin immediately crawled at the sight of Michael strolling casually through the door. He saw me and flashed a perfect smile in my direction, and I noticed his impossibly white teeth. As I expected, he strolled right up to me and pulled out the chair next to me. When he sat, he spread his legs wide, grabbing the seat of the chair from between his legs and scooching it forward, allowing him to get incredibly close.
“Well, I have to say, this is a pleasant surprise,” he crooned. “I didn’t expect to get some alone time with you so soon. You just couldn’t wait, could you?” He leaned in close, making me incredibly uncomfortable.
“You need to back the fuck off,” I snapped.
Michael laughed but didn’t back off. “Playing hard to get?”
The demon from the kitchen slithered out into the dining room at that point, bringing me some scrambled eggs and toast. He silently placed the meal in front of me, gave Michael a curt nod, and returned to the kitchen.
I was starving, but I also wanted to get out of the room as soon as possible. I started in on my scrambled eggs first, figuring the toast was more portable if I decided to make a quick escape.
Michael still hadn’t budged. I stopped and turned to face him.
“I’m going to say this one more time,” I said around a mouthful of eggs, “Back the fuck off. There won’t be a third warning.”
“Ooh,” he responded. “I like a woman with sass. I can see through it though, underneath all that snark, you really want a man to take control, don’t you? Well, I’ve got great news, sweetheart. I am the perfect man for you!” He unfurled his admittedly gorgeous wings again, paying no attention to his surroundings. His wings knocked over one of the vacant dining room chairs, and I ended up with a feather in my eggs. His wings towered over us, and he had an annoyingly condescending smirk on his face.
“You want to touch them, don’t you?” he sang. “I know it. Go ahead.” He turned to touch his own wings. “They’re gorgeous, aren’t they?”
I stood up and looked down at him.
“You are trying way too hard to try to impress someone that genuinely doesn’t give a shit.” I pushed my chair back. “Oh, and thanks for ruining my breakfast.”
I went to walk away from him, but he moved his wing to trap me in my spot. I sighed and rolled my eyes before looking down at him.
“Stand up,” I demanded.
Michael’s eyes lit up, and he stood up immediately. As I predicted, he positioned himself to be incredibly close to me upon standing.
I closed my fist and sent all of my energy through it, punching him square in the jaw.
“Ouch!” Michael brought his hand up over his jaw, looking surprised. His wings had folded in upon impact. “That hurt way more than I would have anticipated.”
I couldn’t even begin to put into words how satisfying that punch was. All of my frustrations at being stuck down here, my pent-up feelings for Lucifer, my anger at this douchenozzle for thinking he could speak to me that way, it all went into that punch. Talk about therapeutic.
“Damn, and I held back on it,” I boasted. “Imagine if I had put all my weight behind it. Maybe you need to toughen up.”
The wings no longer an obstacle in my path, I stepped around him to walk out the door and saw Lilith in the doorway.
I stopped in my tracks. “He deserved it,” I announced.
“No doubt,” Lilith replied. “I’m a little jealous. Wish I’d been the one to punch him.”
“It’s not too late,” I joked, gesturing behind me. “He’s still here if you want to take a shot.”
I saw the shadow of his wings crawl up the wall in front of me.
“No one punches me and gets away with it,” he proclaimed, his voice an octave lower than usual.
I glanced back at his direction. “Okay, man, if you say so,” I called out as I walked past Lilith, slapping her five as I went.
Lilith closed the door behind her and caught up to me in the hall.
“That was pretty epic,” she said, giddy with excitement. “I have to warn you though, he is pissed now. He might get a bit more aggressive now. Just a heads up.”
“Thanks,” I laughed. “I’ll be a bit more prepared for our next interaction now.”
“Glad to help,” Lilith laughed alongside me. “I’ll be living vicariously through you.”
We had reached the door to my room by that point. Lilith slowed for a moment as she turned and nodded to me before she continued down the hall.
“See ya, Evelyn,” Lilith called as she kept going, rounding a corner and out of sight.
Hungry or not, I still needed a shower, so I opened the door and then closed it behind me, glad to be in the closest version of home I had down here.
16
Lucifer
The drinks did nothing to ease my mind after all I’d learned on my visit to Heaven. I was half a bottle of cognac deep when Lilith burst through my door unannounced, hair flying behind her and a panicked look in her eyes.
“Well, I saw her powers for myself. Stolas is fixing up the man’s wounds. Suffice it to say, I’m concerned.” She was pacing back and forth in front of me, at a quick clip that told me she was experiencing higher-than-usual levels of anxiety.
“Relax,” I replied calmly. “I don’t know what took you so long to get here, but Stolas has already given me an update. The man will be fine. We can torture him for years to come.”
Stolas was my most reliable demon. He was definitely handy when it came to herbs and healing, but he was also good as a spy. Sometimes he would take his demon form and fly around as a raven. It was extremely helpful for eavesdropping, but Stolas was also incredibly smart and loyal. He didn’t run around sharing secrets, and sometimes even I had to fight to get the information out of him. I had gotten used to seeing a raven overhead while in my throne room, and he had shown up shortly after I had gotten back down here with the good news on the gunshot wound.
Lilith stopped and looked at me, visibly calmer. “Oh, that’s good,” she uttered with relief. “At least we don’t have to worry about that. Also, sorry for the delay. I wanted to turn around and give Michael a piece of my mind.”
“Michael, again? I’m sorry he won’t leave you alone.” My conversation with Gabriel floated into the forefront of my brain, and I remembered his
comment about Michael spending more time down here. Michael and I have had countless brawls out in the halls down here in Hell, many of them over his treatment of Lilith. One of the downsides of immortality is that we have to deal with each other for all of eternity. But still, I knew she was beyond over it by this point. I sure was.
“No, not me,” she replied, strolling over to my bar and busying herself with a new bottle of wine. “Now, he has his sights set on Evelyn.”
I immediately saw red. The heat of anger rushed up my body, and my hands clenched into fists. Still, I remained silent and calmed myself down, but I couldn’t help but wonder where that came from? It seemed to stem more from jealousy over his attraction to Evelyn and an innate desire for me to protect her, than anything else.
By the time Lilith turned to face me, I had collected myself. Barely.
“He was giving her a bunch of crap,” she explained, “but I took care of it. For now, anyway.” She held onto the edge of the bar with one hand and used the other to hike her red mini skirt up a bit as she kicked off her gray heels. She caught me watching her and slowed her movements down purposefully.
“Did Michael see what happened?” I wondered if Michael knew. Had he spent his time tracking the family? Did he have any suspicions about Evelyn?
“No, he didn’t show up until after we had cleaned up.” Lilith picked up her wine glass and sauntered over to me.
“Okay, good,” I replied with relief. As I took another sip of my cognac, I glanced at the clock on the bar. “I got back from Heaven about… I don’t know? A few hours ago.”
“Oh!” Lilith exclaimed, eyebrows raised. “Hold on…” She pulled her chair out from behind my throne and shook it open with one hand, careful not to spill her wine. She sat down, crossed her legs, and propped herself up on her knee, leaning forward in anticipation. “Okay, what’d you find out?”
I sighed, ready to take the burden of all of this knowledge off of my shoulders. “Evelyn’s great-grandfather, the one with no father listed?” I looked at her, pausing for effect and waiting for her to acknowledge the reference.
“Yeah?” she asked in a hushed voice, leaning in closer to me.
“He was a Nephilim.”
Lilith’s eyes widened in shock. “Holy shit! A freaking Nephilim?!” Her eyes looked upward, as she went deep in thought, putting the puzzle together. “That explains everything.” She looked back at me. “That explains her power and why she never even knew she had it.”
Lilith took a thoughtful sip, or rather gulp, of her wine. I could see the next question form behind her eyes, and her face snapped back to lock into mine.
“Who was the father?”
“I’m glad you’re already sitting down because this part is still aggravating me.” I raised my glass to my lips again, my eyes never leaving Lilith’s face as the anticipation grew in her eyes. “Michael’s the father.”
Lilith didn’t answer me for a long time. She looked right at me, mouth hung slightly open in shock, wine glass forgotten in her hand. She searched my face for some type of reaction, but I gave her none. I still did not know how I wanted to handle this monumental piece of information myself.
Once she regained the power of movement, Lilith stood up and started pacing again, slower this time, pausing on occasion to take another sip from her glass.
“I’m sure I’m thinking all the same things you are,” she started. “Nephilim are forbidden beings, we don’t know the extent of their powers. She could be able to do anything. We really don’t know. And Michael?!” Lilith stopped and turned to face me, the anger creeping into her face now, and her voice sharpening and raising a few octaves. “The one who follows all the rules. He broke that rule? I wouldn’t believe it if you weren’t the one telling me!”
“I know,” I responded, absentmindedly swirling the liquid in my glass again, staring down through the glass, unfocused and in my own head. “I said and felt all of that. Why do you think I’m…” I picked up the bottle that was sitting on the floor beside my throne and held it up to the light to gauge how much was left. “... in need of another bottle?”
Lilith looked down at the bottle in my hand. “How long have you been drinking?” she asked as she headed back toward the bar.
“Since I got back from Heaven a few hours ago,” I said, doing mental calculations on exactly how much liquor I had consumed already.
Lilith went behind the bar, put down her now-empty wine glass, and grabbed a bottle of Don Julio Real and two shot glasses.
“Tequila?!” I exclaimed.
She sauntered back over to me, and a mischievous grin crossed her face. “If there ever was a time…” Her voice trailed off as she sat down, handed me both shot glasses, and opened the bottle to pour a generous shot into each glass. My cognac glass sat forgotten on the floor beside me as Lilith handed me a lime.
“I can’t argue with that,” I replied as I licked my hand and then took the salt shaker from Lilith and added some. “Cheers.” I licked the salt off my hand before downing the shot. As the liquid burned all the way down my throat, I sucked on the lime. Then I gasped for breath because, well, tequila.
“I don’t think one is gonna do it,” Lilith said as she dropped her desiccated lime on the ground beside the bottle of Don Julio Real. “No. Most definitely not.”
“So, I suppose we need to tell Evelyn now.” It had just occurred to me that she would want to know all of this as well. I wondered how she would handle the information, and what the best way to go about telling her would be. Then again, the sooner I tell her, the sooner I’d have reason to let her go.
“Not yet,” Lilith said, pouring out a second round of shots. “Why don’t we sit on this information for now? Let’s see if she reveals anything else. Maybe we can prompt more powers out of her. At the very least, I’d like to keep tabs on this whole situation between Michael and Evelyn. Once she knows, we can’t control how she will react to him. We don’t want Michael knowing who she is. Not yet.”
“Makes sense,” I replied, weighing our options in my head. “We’ll hold off, at least for now.”
We spent some time in silence, processing everything. Every so often, Lilith would pick the tequila bottle back up and refill our glasses, and another mouthful of tequila would disappear down our throats.
I don’t get drunk. Not really. The volume of alcoholic beverages that the average angel would need to consume to get drunk is massive. Even on top of all the cognac, the tequila was only now starting to make me feel a very slight buzz. We were working our way nicely through the bottle, and I knew it would have a much more intense effect on Lilith.
“You know what’s crazy?” Lilith muttered. “I always assumed that if a Nephilim was created, the ground would shake, and, I don’t know, somehow we would all know something big happened. I mean, was he just… was he born with no big fanfare? Like every other human kid? How was the pregnancy? Did she feel differently than she would have… with a human? I have so many questions!”
“They’re all good questions,” I replied, staring into my empty glass. “Maybe we can check back on the day he was born and see if any big natural disasters happened? Perhaps something strange happened, but we didn’t know what to look for, so no one paid attention.”
“Yeah, I think I’m… I’m going to do that.” she stuttered. “It’s going to bother me if I don’t. Also, it sucks we never got to, you know, see what his powers really could be. They were stifled since he had to be… had to keep the secret, so… I guess we’ll never know now.”
I listened as her voice started to slur, and her inhibitions started to melt away. Her usually impeccable outfit started to look a bit haphazard, one collar of her silk button-down hung off her left shoulder, exposing her bra strap, and as she tied her hair back off of her face, it was a little sloppily done, letting a few strands escape in the process. I found myself jealous of her at that moment. She could escape the world for a short while, even if it were down a bottle, but I could not.
Despite all of this, I could tell the concern and the uncertainty were still weighing on her. Lilith finally resumed her pacing, and I put my glass down and walked over to her.
“Are you okay?” I pressed. “You seem stressed.” I took a few steps toward her, and she stopped fidgeting around and straightened up to face me. I put my hands on her shoulders and felt her muscles relax beneath the palms of my hands.
She took a deep breath and sighed, her head tilting to the side as she looked past me. “I’m fine. Seriously. I’m just… well, I’m thinking more about you and how this… how this impacts you.” Her voice softened. She gently rested one hand over mine and looked up at me through her eyelashes. “I’m worried about you and…” She waved her hand haphazardly through the air. “... all of this. I care for you so much. You have always accepted me for who I am. I want you to know I…” Lilith looked down and swallowed hard. “I appreciate that.”
“I know you do,” I replied, my voice softer too. “You’ve told me as much.” I squeezed her shoulders and slid them down her arms to hold her hands loosely. She tended to do this when she got drunk. She would get very emotional and sappy. I never complained. In fact, I thought it was sweet. “We have each other, and we will stick together no matter what.” I squeezed her hands tight before letting go and dropping my own hands to my side.
Lilith smiled up at me. “You’re right,” she muttered. “We were always great together.” That’s when her eyes drifted to my lips. Before I knew it, she had closed the gap between us, and her lips met mine, her hands clasped on either side of my face.
My hands shot up to grab her waist instinctively. Her lips were soft and full and familiar, but I immediately felt uncomfortable. My eyes flung open, and my hands tightened their grip on her waist as I yanked her back. Just then, out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a flash of curly dark hair whip past the open doorway to the throne room as Lilith’s face fell back into my field of view.