Page 21 of The Morning Star
“Not this time.” I grimaced. One rowdy Nephilim and one infant angel was more than I could handle. Add Karrae into the mix, and I’d be way over my head. The three together under one roof for a few hours? Not unless Dar sent his dwarf over with Karrae.
I plopped down on the sofa and balanced Lux on my lap as I reached for the remote. This domestic parenthood shit was a pain in the ass. How long before Lux could move out and get his own place? Demons took a few centuries before they were truly able to manage on their own, and I got the feeling it was probably longer with angels. Which meant I’d be saddled with this bullshit for hundreds of years. Suddenly I envisioned Austin, Lux, and Karrae partying it up in my house. Add in another angel that Dar and Asta were sure to create, plus one or two from Rafi and Ahia…
Maybe I’d just stay in Hel. The demon equivalent of going out for milk and never coming back.
Then I thought of Gregory and Nyalla, of all my friends here. Lux lifted the beer bottle to his mouth, took a swig, then lowered it before planting a wet, sloppy, beer-smelling kiss on my cheek.
“Ma.”
“Yeah, you’ve got the cute thing mastered.”
I wiped my cheek, adjusting Lux’s position as he shifted his form from a toddler back to a younger baby. The beer bottle slipped from his hands and hit the floor, spilling the small amount left in the bottle across my carpet.
“Uh oh.”
“You’re drunk,” I told him, scooting back against the sofa cushions and flipping through the channels. “And you can’t hold beer bottles with those fat little baby hands. Make yourself older. Like maybe eighteen with your own apartment and car.”
He cooed and cuddled up against me, those fat hands gripping the neckline of my shirt, his wings brushing against my arms. Within minutes, he was asleep, snoring his boozy breath across my neck as I watched some old gangster movie. It was like cuddling a beer-soaked puppy.
I kind of liked it.
By the time Nyalla breezed through the door, I was regretting my appointment in Hel and wondering how pissed off Doriel would be if I cancelled. Probably really pissed. And right now, I needed all the allies I could get.
I smiled at Nyalla and carefully passed the sleeping angel to her. A sappy expression came over her face and she rocked Lux, whispering adoring nonsense at him and smelling his skin.
Uh oh.
“Sam, why does Lux smell like beer?” There was a whole lot of disapproval in that hushed whisper.
I motioned to the bottle on the floor and lied. “He tried to take a sip and it fell when I took it away from him. Some must have gotten on his onesie or something, because there is no way I would ever give an infant angel alcoholic beverages. Never. Not me.”
She bought it, thankfully. Then she looked at the television.
“Sam! You can’t watch those shows with Lux. Remember the last time?”
I hadn’t thought that particular movie was all too violent, but Lux took great exception to the scene where the guy woke up to a bloody horse head in his bed. I had to buy a new television, and repair a series of holes in my drywall and ceiling. Lux spent the next three days in the stables, obsessively watching over my three horses, refusing to leave. Eventually he and Diablo had a conversation and the angel left the other two horses in my hybrid’s quite capable hands. He still went out several times a day to check on them, though.
I flicked off the television. “He’s sleeping. And this one doesn’t have decapitated animals in it, only a whole lot of shot-up humans and one that got knifed. No biggie.”
Nyalla sighed and shook her head. “Sam, he’s a baby.”
“He’s an angel baby,” I corrected.
“Still a baby. He needs love and positive experiences. He needs to see the best of human, demon, and angel behavior so that’s what he models his own behavior on. He needs experiences that help him build a solid moral foundation, not beer and violence, and porn.”
The porn had been the Lows. And there was nothing wrong with a baby watching porn, no matter what Nyalla said.
Actually, this speech of hers sounded an awful lot like Gabe. I guess it wasn’t surprising. She was clearly influencing him and his views. He was bound to be rubbing off on her—in more ways than one.
Ew.
“Okay, you’re right. I promise I’ll do better,” I lied. “There’s a gallon of milk in the fridge, because I know you like to give him warm milk for some weird-ass reason, and there’s that mashed up fruit shit in jars on the counter. I’m going to try to be back before dawn, but just in case I get delayed, Harper agreed to come over at nine with Jaq and Kelly to watch him during the Ruling Council meeting.”
Her eyes glowed. “Oh, Austin! He’ll love that.”
He would. And not only was Harper experienced at taking care of angelic offspring, but Jaq as a Nephilim was almost as good as having a dwarf in the house.
“Be careful, Sam,” Nyalla told me. Then she grabbed one of Lux’s chubby arms and waved it at me. “Bye, Mama,” she said in a high-pitched voice. “Love you, Mama. Come back soon.”
