Page 50 of The Morning Star
Okay, a lot of that was probably a gross exaggeration. Bencul was an asshole, and the only thing he ever cared about besides himself was the angel progeny he’d begot. I’m sure it was less about Remiel being the creator, and far more that Lux carried a part of Bencul.
Remiel’s head bent, and when he lifted it I could have sworn I saw a wetness in those huge brown eyes.
“I loved him. Millions of years trapped here in Hel, and he falls from the sky into my arms like a gift from the Creator. How could I have thrown that away? How could I have been so tempted by Aaru, by the lie that I could return to a life I’d lost so long ago, that I threw away the very thing in my life I loved the most. I want the angel infant back. I want to take him to Aaru with me, where at least a part of Bencul and I, at least our legacy, can live as angels are supposed to live.”
I wanted that option for Lux as well, but not with Remiel. At least not now when Lux was so young and would be unable to defend himself.
“I can’t give Lux back to you, but I promise in a few thousand years, when he’s more mature, I will introduce him to Aaru.” Here’s where I took a leap of faith and hoped that loving Bencul had shifted something inside this Ancient. He’d wanted a life like he had before the wars, like he’d had in Aaru. I couldn’t give that to him, but maybe I could hold out hope for something close to that.
So I told him about my view of the future. I showed him the possibility of peace between us and the angels, of a common ground in the human world where we could come together and love once more. I told him about the banishment of the angels, how they were now doomed to the same fate they’d once delivered upon their brethren. I told him about Dar and Asta, and Raphael and Ahia, and how the archangel Michael loved me and hung out at my house eating potato chips, drinking coffee, and watching human movies. I told him about Gabe and Nyalla, about Snip and Beatrix.
I told him about Lux. Lux and the Lows. Lux and the archangels. Lux and Nyalla. I told him the story of the hot dog, the chipper shredder, how the angel was so worried about someone hurting the horses. I told him about Karrae, and how she and Lux were the best of friends—the pair of them and Lux’s half-brother Nephilim, Austin. I showed him in words how wonderful the future could be.
And then I waited.
“These are things I need to think on, Iblis,” he mused. “I vow one thing, though. I will not join Samael. What he wants will only lead to the same painful outcomes. Neither I nor my household will join him. But at the same time, I don’t feel I can support you, or tell others to do so. It seems too farfetched, this dream of yours. As beautiful as it sounds, I fear it is only a dream.”
I left, realizing that even if Remiel held back, I’d still probably be facing Samael and every other Ancient in Hel. Even so, he’d not declared war on me, he’d not told me that if I refused to return Lux, he’d take him by force. I still might have to deal with that in the future, but for now, Remiel seemed willing to let things remain as they were. That was a victory. And something else was a victory as well.
Remiel had once again called me the Iblis.
I wandered through the streets of Dis to my house, thinking of what I should do next, and enjoying being home in Hel, that strange feeling returned, this time stronger. Hel was a part of me, as were every demon, here and the other side of the gates. I felt them. I sensed their emotions in a confused hurried rush of mixed-up sensations. I couldn’t control them. I didn’t own them. But somehow they were mine, like faint shadowy limbs. Their emotions, their state of being, whether they were following the rules I envisioned for Hel and my demons, or not.
If they were naughty or nice.
I stopped in the middle of the street and started to laugh. I did. In a strange way, I knew if demons were naughty or nice, as if I were some kind of fucking infernal Santa Claus. Satan. Santa. Huh. Go figure.
“Ho, ho, ho.” I shouted into the streets, laughing once more as demons turned to stare at the crazy, winged imp with the sword, at the Iblis. Then I went home—my other home.
Chapter 16
The invasion came early the next morning, before I’d had my second cup of coffee, and before most of the good citizens of the West Coast had even gotten out of bed. I’d plopped down on my couch with my mug and a Pop-Tart, and flicked on the television to see running and screaming, fire and ice…and large bird-lions swooping down from the night sky and flicking over cars with their tails. I’ll admit, it was a pretty epic scene, like watching some really good CGI in a high-budget doomsday movie.
Damn it. I hadn’t expected Samael to act quite this fast. Well, nothing to do now but figure out what exactly was going on via cable television news. Clearly this was a city, based on the skyline in the pre-dawn sky. Beyond that I wasn’t sure.
Lux popped into the room and suddenly I was looking at an angel’s naked backside instead of the television.
“Move your ass!” I shouted. Lux liked to favor a human form that fluctuated between one and three years of age, depending on how mobile he wanted to be. Thankfully he didn’t seem to require diapers because he was naked about ninety percent of the time. Gregory assured me the angel knew how to make clothing, he just preferred not to.
The baby’s wings manifested from his back—gold and white feathers twitching with annoyance as he scooted to the side. Some talking head was breathlessly advising residents to take cover and not engage the creatures, conjecturing that there must have been a rift open nearby and assuming that the angels would arrive soon to take care of the situation.
I expected the Avengers to swoop in and kick some demon ass. But this wasn’t a movie, and sadly there were no Avengers. Which really sucked because I’d totally dig a naked Thor/Ironman sandwich right now. And maybe the Hulk guy, but only if he was the big green dude. I might be an Angel of Chaos now, but I still liked a little rough sex demon-style.
“Whoa! Did you see that?” Some bear-chicken demon had just jabbed a paw through the window of a building and dragged what looked like a brand-new seventy-inch flat screen out before jogging down the street with it in his arms. Looting at its finest, although I had no doubt that other footage of people being torn apart would be coming soon. Demons were like that.
Seattle? Caramort had been in Oregon and judging by the lack of sunshine, I was guessing this was all going down on the West Coast somewhere.
Lux shook his head and turned to face me, a stern expression on his face. “Da.”
The kid had the communication skills and intelligence of a minor angel at this point, but his “speech” was a rapid-fire telepathy that came too fast for me to decipher. Gregory had no problem understanding him, but I’d taken to insisting he use his words if he wanted to talk to me. And because the kid was an asshole, he decided to talk to me as if he really were a two-year-old human child.
Still, I understood all the words behind that stern “Da.”
“Yeah, he’s going to be really pissed when he finds out,” I replied. “Can’t say I didn’t warn him, though.”
“No.” Lux waved a fat finger at me.
“I most certainly will say ‘I told you so.’ The foundation of any good relationship is being able to kick someone when they’re down and make fun of them.” I sat back on the couch and turned up the volume on the television. They were beginning to show scenes of the human casualties, and I really didn’t want to miss this.
