Library

29. Lucifer

Now is the perfect opportunity to test my theories. Most supernatural children don't complete their transitioning until the age of seven. However, there are certain signs that you can know to look for as it gets closer. There are no angel children. None that any of us are aware of. How would I even test to see if Rellick were an angel?

"So, what we doing?" Rellick is sitting on a couch in my bedroom looking out the window. My room is at the top of the tallest tower. You can see most of Hell from any window in here.

I don't know how to approach a three-year-old, so I figure my best bet is to just be direct. "Do you know your father?" He nods his head. I wait for him to continue but he does nothing. "Can you tell me about him?" Another nod, but Rellick isn't actually speaking. "Are you going to answer me?"

Rellick turns to me with a heavy sigh. As though I'm the child in this scenario. "I did."

"No. You did not. You moved your head. That's not an answer to my questions." He shrugs his shoulders and I'm starting to lose my patience.

Since he's decided not to answer any questions, let's see if he has any type of power. I sit across from him in front of the window and snap my fingers to grab his attention. "Want to learn some magic?"

His eyes grow wide, and I know he's hooked.

Every angel has the ability to make light. We are meant to be the light in the darkness. Cupping my hands, I focus on Rellick's reaction as a small ball of white light glows from between my palms. This is the easiest thing an angel can do. It's the very first thing every angel learns; to let His light shine. Even the lowest of angels can create God's light.

"Woah!" Rellick leans forward focusing on the glowing orb encompassed in my hands. I clap my hands together, snuffing out the light. "I want to do that!"

I sit on the floor, legs crossed, mimicking our earliest training. Rellick sits across from me, copying all my movements. "First thing we do is clear our mind and get calm." I take a deep breath in, watching the boy do the same. "Deep breath in. And let it out." With the child relaxed, I begin to explain how to materialize the orb. "Now cup your hands together, like a ball." I do all the movements I want him to do. "Close your eyes." He squints his eyes, not quite closing them. "If your eyes aren't closed, then it won't work." That makes his eyes close completely. "Imagine holding the sun in your hands."

"Mommy said the sun is hot."

I have to remind myself that I'm talking to a child. "Yes, the sun is hot. But this light is not."

"Then what is it?"

"Think of it as a light bulb. Something small that can light up a room." I take another deep breath, meaning to start over.

"Mommy said I'm not s'pose to touch lights." My next deep breath is to stop me from losing my shit on a child.

His voice is innocent, but I know he's doing this on purpose; intentionally trying to piss me off. Like mother, like son. "When you think of a light, what do you picture?"

Rellick taps a finger against his chin, confirming that I was correct, and he is fucking with me. "Mommy likes Princess and the Frog. Ray's butt lights up!"

I have no idea what he's talking about, but I might as well go with it. "His butt lights up?"

"Yeah! He's a bug like Bubby!"

A bug that has a butt that lights up? "A firefly?" Rellick nods enthusiastically. I can work with this. "Okay. Cup your hands." I wait for him to follow instructions before I continue. "Now. Pretend your hands are the firefly."

"Ray."

"Rellick. Focus. Your hands are the firefly. Light it up." His eyes are closed shut, and his body is shaking with how hard he is thinking, but nothing is happening inside his hands.

I have him try a few more times, but he is clearly getting discouraged each time it doesn't work. Maybe he is too young to understand how to focus. Or maybe I'm full of shit and he's not an angel. "I don't wanna do this anymore. I wanna do something fun! Let's go fly!" Faster than a human child should be able to, Rellick runs and jumps onto my back. "Come on, Luc! Let's go!"

Where am I supposed to take him? Would Brianna be mad if I left the castle with her son? "I can't leave the grounds, but I can fly you around the tower." Standing, I hold onto his legs, his little arms almost choking me as they wrap around my neck. I jump off the balcony, my wings opening wide to catch the wind. We soar around the tower a few times, going slow and being extra careful.

"Santa was faster than you." I don't know if the words were meant to be mumbled or if the little shit said it on purpose to rile me up. Coming to an abrupt spot, I hover in front of the balcony entrance to my room. "Why'd you stop? Go, Luc!"

Satan is not fucking faster than me. He may be a little stronger, but he is not faster. "Well, let's find out, shall we?" I hold on to his legs a bit tighter and fly to the second story balcony. Keeping hold of Rellick on my back, I take us to the throne room. It's still empty. In case of emergencies, there is a mark in the middle of the floor that, when standing on it and saying the right words, will make all the Sins appear. It's made from the same enchantment on our thrones. Rather than call one, it calls them all.

I place Rellick in my throne and stand in the middle of the symbol on the floor. "Veni ad me, Septem. I vocare te." Come to me, Seven, I summon you.

One by one, my brothers appear. Envy is last, with Bree in his arms.

"What's the emergency?" Levi asks. He sounds upset. I mean, if I had a gorgeous woman alone and was summoned then I probably would be disappointed as well.

Brianna runs to her son, lifting him onto her hip. "Are you okay, sweet boy? What's wrong?"

Rellick just shrugs his shoulders, like he didn't constantly accuse Wrath of being better than me. "Rellick." He lifts his head from his mother's shoulder. "Can you please tell my brothers what you said?"

A sinister smile fills his lips. He's definitely been spending too much time with Satan. "I said Santa was faster than you."

A few chuckles ring out around the room. "I just want to make sure I have this right. The kid said I was faster than you, so you called an emergency meeting?"

"Because any of you wanted to be working right now," I scoff. "I figured we could prove him wrong." One of wrath's eyebrows raise in amusement. "I propose a wager. It may take place in the arena if you like. A race to determine who can fly the fastest."

"The terms?" Those words come from Mammon. He is usually the referee in such situations, his greed making him surprisingly fair.

"If I win, I get the satisfaction of knowing that I beat you in your own arena."

Wrath's smile turns malicious. "And when I win?" Smug fucking red bastard. "I'll get the satisfaction of watching you lose." He holds his hand out to solidify the deal.

Before we can shake on it, Gluttony cuts in. "You two are not the only ones with wings. I want in."

That gets a genuine reaction from the rest of my brothers. "Glutton for punishment, are you?" Even if Wrath does beat me, there is no way that Beelzebub will. I'd rather lose to Wrath than lose to the fucking fly.

"Your terms," Mammon asks him.

"I will have beaten them. Seems worthy enough." He moves his hand towards ours to bind the agreement, but at the last second pulls back. "But I'll take a kiss from Brianna as a reward as well." Mammon looks to her for agreement. She nods and it makes me wonder if I had asked the same, would she still agree?

Beelzebub puts his hand in the pile and Mammon places one hand on top and the other on the bottom. Golden light shines on through his hands and a small burning sensation lingers on my palm. "It is done. You may start your race." Wrath reaches Brianna and Rellick before any of us and blinks out of view. I follow them, teleporting to the arena.

The field has changed. It is no longer a giant clock of different terrains. Now, it looks like an American football field. The stands are filling with demons, Brianna is sitting on Wrath's throne with Rellick on her lap, and my brothers not participating are in their own boxes at the top of the arena. "The rules are as follows. There are three hooks of your designated color on each goal post. You must fly to the post, grab a hook, and place it on the corresponding pole in the center of the field. You can only grab one hook and must interchange posts every time."

I look to the middle of the field where purple, red, and orange poles stand side-by-side. The two yellow goalposts on either side of the field each have nine hooks hanging from them.

Not much strategy is needed for this type of relay. I just need to be faster than my brothers.

"The mark on your palm is a spell. If you intentionally fuck with another Sin, you will automatically be disqualified and frozen in place until someone wins the relay. Now, into positions."

The three of us line up centerfield, facing the northern post. "Ready? Go!"

I pay no attention to my brothers as I take off, my wings charging me forward. I grab the first purple hook, not stopping to turn, but flipping backwards to keep my momentum. It gives me a few seconds' lead. I drop the hook onto my pole and keep flying to the other post.

I've tuned out everything around me, my pride refusing to let me lose, and yet… I can hear Brianna's voice cheering.

For me.

The second I pause to verify what I'm hearing allows my brother's pull ahead of me. Fuck! I try as hard as I can to catch up with only one hook left for each of us.

With the last hook in hand, I spin towards the pole, now even with both my brothers. Wrath's arms are a touch longer than mine and Beelzebub has two extra giving them a slight advantage. Enough for me to place my hook a millisecond after each of them. They finished the race at the same time.

Wrath and Gluttony laugh and high-five each other, congratulating the other for beating me. I came in last place. I came in last place. I stand there frozen, not believing that I LOST!

Brianna and Rellick run down to the arena, the boy wrapping himself around Satan's leg while Brianna throws herself into Beelzebub's arms. Gluttony shifts his face human before kissing her completely.

When she pulls away, Brianna turns to me, a knowing smile on her face. I move forward, grabbing her jaw to force her to meet my eyes. "Why?"

She knows what I'm asking. Why did she cheer for me? "I thought your pride could use a boost. I guess it didn't work in your favor."

"Hey!" Rellick pushes against my legs, and I let him. I could have kept her in that position, but the child doesn't need to see his mother hurt, even if I wasn't actually hurting her. "Don't do that to my Mommy!"

"It's okay, sweet boy. I'm not hurt." She bends down to get on his level. He's half her height for being such a young child, but then again, she's not very tall either. "How about a kiss to make me feel better?" she says as she points to her cheek.

Rellick leans forward and presses his lips to her rosy cheek. A bright flare of light shines where their skin meets shorter than a blink. I look to my brothers who are all watching to see if they've noticed, but none of them look fazed. "There, Mommy. All better."

I make my tablet appear in my hand, Brianna's chart already pulled up, and watch as her sins are cleared.

I fucking knew it!

Comments

0 Comments
Best Newest

Contents
Settings
  • T
  • T
  • T
  • T
Font

Welcome to FullEpub

Create or log into your account to access terrific novels and protect your data

Don’t Have an account?
Click above to create an account.

lf you continue, you are agreeing to the
Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy.