by Mia Bishop
Lucas offered a bemused smile. "Nico should see through that. He's smart. Just give him time to figure it out for himself."
"You know Nico well?"
"Nico and I go way back, to before he was cast out of the church, back before he was even a priest."
"But Nico would have been a child then and you, you look..."
"Like I'm twenty-something?"
"Yeah"
"Multiply that age by a couple hundred."
Abby's eyes went wide as she let out a low whistle. "Holy shit, you're really old."
He nodded. "I'd say age is just a number but coming from someone my age it sounds a little creepy."
"I'd say so. You're dating a twenty-year-old."
"Chloe is old in spirit."
"Is that a joke?"
"No, it's..." Lucas shifted a bit. "It's just a saying. She has an old soul."
Abby glanced over at her beaming friend and nodded. "Yeah, I guess she does. So, big plans for the two of you then? Wedding, kids, the whole nine yards?"
Chloe shook her head. "Marriage, yes. We are planning to run away and get married." Lucas cleared his throat, but Chloe waved him off and continued. "Well, I'm planning on running away to get married, Lucas wants a traditional wedding. But as for kids," they exchanged glances for a second before she continued. "Probably not, we don't know if we can have kids."
"Why?" Abby blinked. "Is it because of the age difference?"
Chloe was shaking her head as Lucas answered. "Because I'm not human."
"Given your age, and how old the Striga can live to be I kinda already guessed neither of you qualify as human.”
Lucas squared his shoulders. "I'm a Virtue."
Abby tilted her head. "Nico mentioned something about that, but what does it mean?"
"I act as one of the hands of god, a Heavenly Virtue."
Abby took a step. "You're the opposite of the Seven Deadly Sins, right? But..." She clasped her hand over her mouth remembering what Chloe told her earlier about the girl behind the bar having the souls of the Seven Deadly Sins inside of her. "Does that mean there are seven of you out there trying to tempt all of us to be virtuous? No offense, but you guys really suck at your jobs."
Lucas laughed. "It’s not our job to police humans and make them act righteous, we can help them see their higher purpose but we can’t make them reach for it. Some people are just evil. But they have free will to choose. And there are more than just the seven sins, just like there are more than seven virtues." He nodded towards Neffie. "What she has inside of her are Sins who crossed a line that should never have been crossed and they were imprisoned for their crimes. But there are other Sins wandering around for every vice you can imagine and some you probably didn’t even know existed. There are Virtues, Sins, and Personifications. We are all similar, but still very different.”
“Dare I even ask what a personification is?”
He smiled. “Exactly what it sounds like. We are all brothers and sisters, born out of the unifying need for balance.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You’re born? I figured someone called the hand of God would be chosen after committing some great selfless deed or something like that.”
There was a gleam in his eye and his shoulders pulled back. “It can happen like that, but more often than not we are born, just like anyone else. It’s rare, but sometimes when twins are born they are blessed with the power to maintain the balance. One is born a Virtue and the other is born a Personification. Get it?"
Abby shook her head. "Not even a little bit. If it’s about balance, why wouldn't one be born a Sin?"
“Sins are born in the same fashion but specifically from the mating of two demons.” His brow drew tight. “Unfortunately none of us really know the ins and outs of a Sin’s birth. As you can imagine, they don’t frequent the same places as the rest of us.” Lucas paused and cleared his throat. “In the case of Virtues and Personifications, one is born of pure light and the other is born of neutrality. Now, neutral doesn’t mean indifference, it means balance. That’s how we get Virtues and Personifications. And don’t get me started on Dark-Souls, that’s a whole other bag of messed up lore.”
“Dark-Souls?”
Chloe chimed in, “They’re Nephilim- half breeds- the offspring of angels and humans, humans and demons, or angels and demons. Most of the time they’re abandoned, orphaned, or given to the church to be raised as warriors for the Order. Those are the ones we call Dark-Souls. Or the church keeps them as servants, or worse.”
“Worse?”
Lucas whispered, “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
Abby conceded with a nod, she probably didn’t want to ever find out what could be worse. “And if they aren’t abandoned and raised by the order? What are they called then?”
Chloe frowned. “Then we just call them what they are, Nephilim, half demons, Rephaim. The list goes on and on, just like humans races, they have many names. The bible is full of names for the various Children of Sin.” She winked. “That’s what the writers used to call half-breeds. It was sinful for angels to mate with humans and, of course, with demons.”
Abby rubbed her temple. “And why did God create all of this?”
Lucas cleared his throat. “You have to have a balance in all of this cosmic shit. We’re the balance. Virtues for the light, Personifications for neutrality, and Sins for the darkness.”
Abby scrunched her nose up trying to make sense of all of it. “You just grow up knowing you’re this instrument of God and you never know who your brother or sister is?”
He nodded. "As soon as a set of twins is born the Collectors come in and take the children away to be raised by the church for Virtues. Personifications are usually raised by Striga or another neutral faction. We have our purpose, it’s something we can feel deep within us. So we don’t really dwell on siblings. Our faction is our family. They are our brothers and sisters, but we still acknowledge that the Personifications are our kin. Sometimes we even bond with the opposite faction out of mutual respect or in extreme circumstances." He nodded towards the two men at the bar. "Bastian and Caleb are different. Bast is the Personification of Power and Caleb is the Virtue of Loyalty. Most of the time we begrudgingly tolerate our kin, but in their case they both want to protect Neffie, and they both love her and she loves both of them equally. So they make it work. It’s beautiful if you think about it. All three of them live in complete harmony because of one simple binding force. Love."
"Are Bastian and Caleb in love with each other too?"
"No. They love Neffie and they respect that they both only have two goals in life- to protect her and make her happy. They live as a polyamorous family because both of them need her and they know she needs them."
Abby blinked. "Are they brothers?"
Lucas shrugged. "No one knows, once we’re separated from our twin we never have any contact with them or even know their name. We have a natural aversion to our biological kin, to keep us separate and on our own path. Like polar opposites. So chances are they aren’t biological brothers."
"That sounds horrible, to have family and never know them." Abby gave Chloe a nudge with her elbow when her friend yawned and lulled her head back. Covering up her laugh with a cough, Abby continued, "So change of subject. What are we doing tonight?"
Chloe perked up. "Breaking and entering."
Lucas crossed his arms over his chest. "Chloe."
"No, it's okay. We’re going to break into Abby's home and find out who she is. So technically, it's not breaking and entering."
He nodded but whispered sarcastically, "I see no flaws in that logic." He gave a wave to Alex and Neffie and took hold of Chloe's hand who in turn grabbed Abby's hand. "I'm going with you two, someone's got to be around to bail you two out of jail if this goes south."
Chloe stood up on her tippy toes and lightly kissed his cheek. "That's why I love you, you've always got bail money."
The house they pulled up to was more like a mini m
ansion. Made of brick, with a mosaic walkway, perfectly manicured lawns and flowers. It should’ve been on the cover of Home and Garden magazine. From the outside alone it was the complete opposite of Nico’s house. Abby glanced back at Chloe. "This is where I used to live?"
"Yep."
"How did you find it? What's my name? Is my family home? Do they miss me?"
Chloe giggled. "Slow down. I found it with a little bit of magick and a lot of luck." She took hold of Abby's hand and started pulling her towards the door. "No one is home and, well, your real name is Jane. Jane Abigail Stine."
Abby swallowed hard. "Jane?"
"Yeah, I think Abby suits you better."
“Indeed.” Abby was who she was now. Jane didn’t sound familiar, it sounded wrong to her. She kept her eyes fixed on the path in front of her. The path to her home and her past. There was a tightening in her chest and lungs. Sweat beaded along her forehead. She couldn’t tear her gaze from the front door as if something inside the building was calling for her and at the same time she wanted to run back to the safety of Dusk and forget she ever laid eyes on the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood.
A rustling behind her told her Lucas was behind her, sandwiching her between him and Chloe. Chloe gave her strength and even though Lucas was a stranger, his presences was an added layer of support she desperately needed. Courage filled her. She stood a little taller, lifted her chin and took a step forward. The budding panic in her chest started to subside. "What about my family, what are they like?"
Chloe waved her hand over the door and smiled as it popped open. "Come inside and we’ll find out together."
In a matter of minutes they'd combed through the first of several rooms on the first floor. Her parents were well off, hardworking, and she was an only child. Upon further snooping she discovered her father was the pastor of the local church. Her brain couldn’t fully wrap itself around all of the details, and it crushed her that none of the new information had triggered any sort of memory.
Chloe seemed to be searching for something specific, but Abby was just happy to have a connection to other people even if she couldn’t remember them. The walls of the house were lined with family portraits and school pictures. Abby found a picture of herself with a young man, his arm was draped over her shoulder. Her hands shook. This man had been someone important at some point in her life. Now if she could just remember it.
She bit the inside of her cheek to keep her hands from shaking. Did she honestly want to remember? Remembering would mean returning to this life when she finally found a cure and she wasn't entirely sure she wanted that. Sure she might come to miss her parents, but right now the only thing she was sure of was that Dusk felt like home. And the idea of leaving Nico behind to live in this cold house left her empty and sad inside.
While she may not love the run-down hovel she lived in, it was home. She was more than head-over-heals for Nico, and Chloe was the closest thing she had to a sister. She loved this crazy demon-slaying life of hers. Well, love might be too strong of a word for it, but she had a purpose and hunting down evil felt right. Maybe she was broken on the inside, a normal person her age probably wouldn’t or at least shouldn’t find happiness in hunting down and killing demons. But having a spell put on you to turn you into a vampire kinda throws being normal right out the window.
There were no clues to tell her if she had liked college, but she knew she was good at demon hunting and she liked it. She liked the thrill that came with it. The chase, the hunt. She reveled in all of it. Clearing out demons, the rush of adrenaline in the heat of a fight. Nothing in a college classroom could compare to that. She had a purpose, protecting people seemed like a much better calling than completing midterms.
Chloe let out a squeal from the next room and Lucas scolded her for not checking for an alarm first. Something that might require an alarm peeked Abby's attention. She came running into the room. "What'd you find?"
Chloe waved her hand towards a section of the wall that was popped out. "Just the coolest thing ever. A hidden passageway."
Lucas shook his head. "Chloe, we can't go down there."
Both girls turned on him. "Why?"
He nodded towards the door. "Evil is down there."
Chloe laughed. "Oh come on."
Lucas grabbed both of their wrists. His voice changed, from soft and caring to deep and foreboding, "Evil dwells here, we can't enter. If I set foot down there whatever demonic presence is protecting this place will attack. I can feel it stirring, I’ve felt it since we’ve been here, but now it’s growing stronger."
Abby shivered. "Then I have to go down there. I have to know what evil thing is living underneath my parents’ house. What if it has something to do with me? Maybe some demon hurt my family after it cast this spell on me."
Lucas laid his hand on her shoulder. "Abby, whatever is down there isn't your fault."
She pulled away and headed for the secret entrance. "Thanks for the concern, but I have nothing to lose. I have to see it with my own eyes."
Before she could make a move Lucas was in front of them blocking their path. “You’re not going down there alone.”
Abby paused and craned her neck to peer down the dark, curving staircase. “I thought you said that the evil will awaken if you go down there?”
“Looks like we’re going to have to deal with it when it happens. I can’t let you go down there without some sort of backup and Chloe doesn’t count. She’s just as inexperienced as you are. And besides, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I let anything happen to her?” He took a deep breath. “Besides, it’s not like either of you are going to give up this insane idea just because I don’t like it.”
They nodded in unison. “I’m going first.” Abby chimed in.
Lucas pushed past both of them and took the stairs. “Not on your life, Nico would kill me.”
She could feel Chloe following close behind her, once again sandwiched between a Virtue and a Striga. She felt like the weak link in the group, always having to be protected. All of them remained silent as they descended further into the hidden space. Every few feet the stairwell illuminated from motion detecting lights. Abby had imagined the passageway would look dirty, full of cobwebs, like one of the hidden passageways from the old horror movies she and Chloe had watched but instead it was just as nice as the main floors of the house.
At the bottom of the stairs the lights flickered on revealing what Abby’s parents had kept hidden from the world above. Both girls blinked and glanced around. Abby’s breathing quickened as she stamped down the urge to run away or hide. Chloe’s shaking hand slipped into Abby’s grip and she squeezed. Lucas on the other hand seemed to already be prepared for the what they found.
Abby couldn’t speak. Long tables filled the room. Two of them were cluttered with beakers, measuring cups, and strange utensils that looked like they should be in a science lab, another one was covered in drying herbs, and then there were the ones that made Abby's stomach churn. The long wooden tables were fashioned with leather straps obviously meant to restrain a person’s arms, legs, and head.
Some of the tables were covered in dark liquid which at some point dripped off the edges and pooled on the floor. Time and a lack of cleaning had allowed it to dry, but the substance still called to her. Abby hesitated to touch it but she was drawn by the smell and from the hunger growing inside her.
Kneeling down she licked her lips and touched the tip of her finger to the puddle of dried blood on the floor. "What in the hell went on down here?"
Chloe was on the other side of the room and let out a low whistle. "I don't know, but whatever it was, it wasn't done in the name of God."
Abby's head shot up. "Why do you say that?"
"For one, God stopped asking for sacrifices way back in the Old Testament,” Chloe paused and motioned for Abby to come over to where she was standing.
Abby’s stomach heaved and the room spun as soon as she laid eyes on the small, cluttered table and o
rnate mirror hanging above it. Sweat beaded her forehead, she tried to force herself to move closer but her body refused to respond. “And? What is that thing?”
Chloe motioned towards the altar on the south wall they’d both been staring at. "And for two, this is a shrine to Luci, himself."
"What?" Abby shivered. "My parents worship the devil?"
"It seems that way." Chloe wrapped her arm around Abby. "This all stinks of dark magick, human sacrifice or experiments or just plain old torture, none of it is the work of a pastor. And, really, if you think about it, what would be a more perfect cover for a servant of Satan than to pretend to be a pastor of the Lord? It's kind of genius in a twisted, evil sort of way."
"Was I one of them?" Abby glanced around the room for anything that might trigger her memory. "Am I actually evil, like at my core?" she swallowed past the lump in her throat. "Was I born evil?"
"No." Strands of blonde hair danced around Chloe’s face as she shook her head. "You're not evil, no matter what, you aren't evil."
Lucas examined the shrine and blessed himself before doing the same to the girls. “Abby, I think—” His words were cut off by a low growl coming from a mirror hanging over the altar.
Abby took a step back. “Did that mirror just growl at us?”
Chloe was nodding as she backed up, but Lucas stood his ground. The mirror’s solid surface shimmered and one scaly paw tipped with red claws broke through the barrier followed by a black short haired foreleg.
“Stand back.” Lucas commanded.
Chloe grabbed Abby by the arm and pulled her behind one of the long tables. “What is that thing?” Abby asked.
She received no answer. Instead, the creature burst through the mirror and skidded to a halt in front of Lucas. Abby’s mouth hung open in awe, more in awe of the Virtue than from the creature they faced. Lucas stood even taller, covered in platinum and gold armor. His handsome features and soft eyes hardened with cold determination.