“They’ve proven themselves.”
"Have they?" I ask coolly. "When's the last time Leo instigated a war? Lucas hasn't staged any conquests. There hasn't been a great famine for how long? What all have they done that's been so terrible that you love and adore them so much?"
Lucifer’s breathing heavy, but I’m on a roll, and I don’t give him a chance to talk.
“But you don’t love any of us. Not one of us, and you never cared about any of our mothers either. Did you have more than one child with any of our mothers? Whatever happened to Lilith, anyhow? She’s dead, right? Been dead a long time.”
“Do not ask questions if you do not wish to know the answer,” Lucifer spits.
I don’t blink even though his saliva lands near my eyes. “I ask because I genuinely want to know.”
“Lilith died because some of her children rose up and killed her,” he growls, “and you want to know what happened to those children? I killed each and every one of them after they had been tortured for their crime.”
I suck in a breath.
“You’ve been wondering about what’s happened in my life before you,” he says, “about other children, about their mothers. Maybe you should worry about yourself and ensuring that you do not give me a reason to kill yet another one of my progeny, considering just how much of a disappointment you already have turned out to be.”
I inhale deeply. “Since you’re offering information, maybe you can tell me why it seems like none of your children have ever married or have had children of their own. I mean… are none of the incubi your sons? They have plenty of children. And Lily, she hasn’t become pregnant at all despite her being a succubus…”
“A lot of demons are infertile,” Lucifer admits. “A lot of them are, but not all of them, and no, I have not fathered any of the incubi, yet even so, all demons have had their souls touched by me. I am the father of all darkness, of all shadows, and I am your father, and you will do as I say, or else I will remove every last trace of you from Hell, Earth, and Heaven, such that it will be as if you had never been born. No body, no soul, nothing at all. Do not return to Earth until and unless I give you permission to.”
I say nothing at all, but that’s an obvious dismissal if ever there was one.
Chapter 9
To say I’m annoyed is an understatement. I leave my father and reclaim my hellhounds. Even though I know I’m so furious that sleep won’t come easily, I have my hellhounds follow me to my bed. We all sleep together. Well, they sleep easily. They’re worn out from all of their fun on Earth, but I get maybe three hours of sleep.
And I wake still annoyed and angry and furious.
Father wants me to remain in Hell? Fine. I will, for the time being, but there are other ways of aggravating Lucifer, and yes, maybe that’s not the smartest of ideas, but it’s what children do. No matter their age, they like to annoy their parents.
Because I only manage a few hours of sleep, I head on down to the kitchen and start to make breakfast. I brew six different kinds of coffee at various levels of strength. Larissa doesn’t drink a lot of coffee because she’s basically a zombie in her sloth-like state, but she does sometimes, and if she won’t drink it, I will. I don’t want it to go to waste, but honestly, I’m not a coffee drinker much myself.
Bacon is sizzling, nice and popping. We don’t need a stove down here. We can all conjure fire, and cooking meat is so very simple and easy down here.
To my surprise, none of my sisters are the first ones to arrive. No, it’s Landon. He greedily licks his lips and yanks a strip of bacon from my hand.
“I licked that,” I inform him.
Landon just chuckles and eyes the line of coffee pots. “Which one is dark?”
“As dark as your soul?” I tease. “You might like this one.” I pour him a cup from the pot I made for Lily. She likes her coffee super dark and roasted and strong.
Landon takes a sip and then drains it. “You can make a good cup of java,” he says.
“Why do you sound so surprised?”
“I thought you don’t drink it.”
“Doesn’t mean I don’t know how my sisters like their coffee.” I grin and grab another slice of bacon. He tries to take this one, too, but I dance away from him.
He lunges for me, tickling me, but I shove the bacon into my mouth. I almost choke from laughter.
Lena enters next. She makes a beeline for the bacon. “Who made this?”
“I did.”
“Why?” she asks suspiciously. She sniffs the bacon.
“It’s terrible,” Landon lies. “Don’t eat it. I think she poisoned it.”
“Yeah, right.” Lena shoves the entire slice into her mouth. “Mmm,” she says around a mouthful.
“I can make more,” I offer.
“Why are you being so nice?” Landon asks.
“Why are you here?” I counter.
“Why don’t you know how your brothers prefer coffee?” he asks as he pours himself another cup.
“Maybe because I don’t live with you all,” I say dryly, “so I don’t see your morning routine.”
“Hmm. I guess that’s acceptable.”
“If it weren’t…” I shrug one shoulder and wink at him.
He greedily helps himself to more, and Lena is doing some serious damage, too, so I get to work making more food.
To my delight, the rest of my brothers and sisters all come over. It’s actually fun to cook for them all, to tease them. I don’t know if it’s because I’m being super nice to them, but they aren’t fighting all that much with each other.
Lara, however, isn't eating, and I approach her. "Is there anything you want to eat? I'll make it for you."
She hesitates and shakes her head.
“Do you want some coffee?” I ask.
“Actually, I think I might like some green tea.”
“Not a problem.”
Except we don’t have any.
I glance from one sibling to another before approaching Logan.
“You know,” I murmur as I link arms with him, “you might be my favorite brother.”
“I might be?”
“You definitely would be if you could get me some green tea.”
He eyes me skeptically.
“I’d announce to everyone here that you’re my favorite brother.”
“Favorite sibling,” he counters with a grin.
“Favoriest.”
Logan puffs out his chest with pride and disappears, only to reappear a few moments later. I have to figure that he stole the green tea, but I’m not going to give him a hard time about it.
“Thank you.” I clear my throat and climb up onto the counter. None of my other siblings stop talking until I stomp my foot and clap my hand onto the green tea container. “I have an announcement. For right this very second, Logan is my favoriest sibling.”
Everyone bursts out laughing at that, including Logan.
I pour Lara a tall glass, and to my surprise, she’s nibbling on some bacon.
“It’s a little too crunchy for me,” she remarks.
“You like it with more fat?” I ask, surprised.
“Maybe? I don’t know. I never had this before.”
I grin and fire up some bacon that’s not nearly as crunchy. Personally, I like my bacon fried to a nice, chompy crisp. I don’t like fat on mine, but this one has a nice glop of it for her.
Lara chews and chews and chews. Yeah, that’s why I can’t stand fat, but she nods slowly.
“Good?” I ask her.
“Not bad,” she allows, and I chuckle.
Lola comes over and huffs a satisfied sigh. “You know, I killed the pig that gave us this bacon.”
“Did you?” I ask. “Good job.”
Lola grins. “I don’t just kill people. Angels. Vampires who get in my way. Do you know that the other day, a vampire tried to cross me?”
“That was stupid,” I remark.
“Yes, well, I don’t tolerate stupidity. You know I don
’t.”
“Doing your part to try to make the world a smarter place. Can’t argue with that.”
Lola nods slowly and drains the rest of her coffee. “You going to start making breakfast for us every morning?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. It’s nice that we aren’t all fighting,” I remark, and then I wince, afraid I jinxed us.
“We don’t fight,” Lance says, coming on my other side. “We tease.”
“And mock,” I point out.
“And taunt,” Lance continues, not wanting to be outdone.
“And ridicule,” I add with a grin.
“But it’s just because we want to.”
“Ah, of course. Not because of love.”
Lily snorts.
“I’m sure the guys all love it when you make such an unladylike noise,” I tease her.
"Succubi don't love anyone," she explains.
“Not even yourself?” I ask, pouting.
“Love is overrated,” she says.
I roll my eyes. “Not at all,” I assure her. “Love is important. If you don’t love yourself, how can anyone love you?”
“How can a succubus believe that anyone loves her?” she counters.
“You don’t have to be all seductive,” I point out.
“It comes naturally. It happens without my meaning to,” she protests.
“Yes, but you don’t use it on me, and I love you.”
“You love me more, though,” Lance says.
“Green really isn’t your color, darlin’,” Lily teases.
“You love me most anyhow,” Logan says proudly.
“No, she loves me most,” Lani says, her tone full of wrath.
“I love you all,” I assure them. “Well, most of the time.”
My hellhounds finally make an appearance. They slept in, the lazy bums, and I have to cook more food so they can have some. Even my brothers have fun with them, tossing them bits of food into their mouths, and I feel a strange warmth in my chest that has nothing to do with the heat of Hell.
This is nice. It’s better than nice. For once, I feel like we’re all a part of a nice, normal family.
Which is a lie. Not one of us is normal, but it’s such a lovely lie that I’ll take it for as long as it lasts.
But as I stare at Lance, who shares my eyes, I can't help but wonder why he hasn't been able to find himself a wife and have a child or two of his own. Yes, he would probably be envious of any guy who even looked at his girlfriend and, later, his wife, but a lot of guys are like that.
And Larissa. She’s thirty-four, Lance thirty-five. They should have multiple kids by now. Are there seriously no demons who would want to marry into our family? And what about vampires or shifters or other paranormal beings? What about a human?
Leo, Lucas, and Logan are all in their lower thirties too. The rest of us are in our twenties. A lot of humans our ages have families already.
How can there be twelve of us and not one of us has a serious relationship?
There are no grandsons and granddaughters for Lucifer, no nieces and nephews or sons and daughters for us.
Why not?
I eye Lily, but right now, she's talking to Logan. I'm not sure what about, but maybe later on today, I can talk to her some and try to learn why she hasn't been in a real relationship. Is it because of what she said earlier? Most likely, but if any of us should have kids, I feel like she should. Yes, she's a succubus, and yes, she eats men's souls, but she is probably the most nurturely out of all of us.
Although I'm sure some would argue that that's me. Nope. I'm a dog person, not a people person. I mean, I've gone up to Earth exactly one time, and I don't spend a ton of time around demons I'm not related to, so what does that say about my chances of finding someone to love and make babies with?
Yeah, not going to happen.
Not for me, anyway.
Maybe not for my siblings either.
For some reason, that thought depresses me, so I decide to figure out another way to aggravate my father. He wants me to stay in Hell? Fine. I’ll make him regret that punishment.
“The smoke has been a bit bad lately,” Lucas says to Leo.
“Yeah, and the shadow devils have been out to play a bit more.”
Shadow devils. They're not real devils. They're a kind of sprite that isn't exactly human. More of an animal. They're dark, just like shadows, and they can disappear in a blink of an eye. Honestly, I think they might have a pocket dimension like the pouch boogeymen have.
But the thought of smoke and shadows makes me think of something.
Smoke and Shadow Academy.
The academy for demons that none of Lucifer’s children have ever attended.
Oh, no. I don’t plan on enrolling. I know how to use all or at least almost all of my demonic abilities.
But still, can you imagine the look on my father’s face when he realizes I volunteered to teach at Smoke and Shadow Academy?
Chapter 10
My siblings are starting to get a bit antsy now that the food has all been consumed, and since I won’t do anything that crosses the line from being my level best and absolutely nicest to them, I bid them all adieu. My hellhounds, the traitors, stay behind to lick any bit of crumbs from the bacon anyway, but that’s all right. They can enjoy themselves.
Momma has work to do.
Smoke and Shadow Academy is a huge building, almost like a gothic castle, complete with gargoyles that might or might not be statues and flying buttresses and arches and all of that good stuff. So many towers too. It's all made of stone, but you can barely see any of the buildings because of the smoke and shadows covering almost all of it.
It’s definitely a place where a demon can feel at home.
The moment I arrive via teleportation, I don’t bother to head inside. Not yet. Instead, I call up the headmaster. I’m not even sure of his or her name.
Yes, we have cell phones down in Hell. No, they aren't like cell phones on Earth. Ours run on sulfuric fumes. Plus, ours work out of Hell too. We make things that last. I've heard rumors that the first weapons ever used to torture and torment souls are still being used today.
“Hello?” a bored male voice asks.
“I need to talk to the headmaster.”
“She’s a bit busy—”
“Tell her a daughter of Lucifer is on the line,” I say coolly.
“A daughter of…” The man now sounds all breathless and attentive. “Which one?”
“Does it matter?”
“No. Ah, no, but…”
“May I speak to the headmaster?” I remind him.
“Ah, yes. Yes, of course. Ah…”
I wait a few moments.
“Hello?” a clipped female voice comes over the line.
“Hi. Is this the headmaster?”
“Headmaster Sylvie, yes. Who is this?”
“Lydia.”
“I was hoping for Lily or Lola,” she grumbles.
“Yes, well, they’re too busy doing their sweet thing,” I say sarcastically. “Headmaster Sylbie, if I don’t feel appreciated—”
“It’s Headmaster Sylvie,” she says, her tone a bit sharp, as if she’s talking through gritted teeth.
"You know, I'm standing right in front of your academy." I snap my fingers, and I teleport to the spot where my hellhounds like to play. "Oh, wait. Now, I'm not. You don't appreciate me? I won't bother to talk to your students."
There’s silence over the line.
“I’m going to hang up now,” I say.
“Wait. No. Please. I’m sorry, Lydia. Truly I am. I have just heard so very much about your siblings that I thought… It doesn’t matter what I thought. You are most welcome here. Truly. You can talk for as long as you like on any topic that you like.” She hesitates. “Ah, do you have a certain topic in mind so that I can tell my students?”
“They want to hear me talk? Then they can show up,” I say, trying to sound strong and confident.
Only I have n
o idea what to talk about.
Great.
Whoops. Maybe I should’ve thought this through a bit.
Being impulsive isn’t a sin, though, but honestly, it might just be my thing.
Argh.
“Like I said, you can talk about any topic. Who knows? Maybe if this is a hit, your brothers and sisters can do talks too?”
“Or maybe your students will love me so much that you’ll want to hire me,” I snap. Why is she so head over hooves in love with my siblings?
“Oh, maybe. You’re right,” she amends. “We have so many different courses that we offer the students! Empathy, how to control it so it doesn’t control you, although honestly, most of the students prefer to feel pain and suffering, so inflicting that on others so they can feel it through them is rather demonic and works well for them. There’s Teleportation, of course.”
“Who needs a course on learning how to teleport?” I ask.
“Well, the, ah, students who aren’t as inherently proficient at it as you are. Clearly.” She clears her throat. “Transformation… If you don’t mind my asking, what do you prefer to turn into?”
“I do mind,” I snap.
"Very well. Drain Life. That's always a popular course, even though so few demons nowadays have a true affinity for it. I swear, demon blood just isn't what it used to be, but then you wouldn't know anything about that. Your father is the very king—"
“He’s the Prince of Darkness,” I correct her. I don’t add this bit, but I sure do think it: he’s not the king of anything.
“Psychokinesis, Pyrokinesis, Pain Transference…” she continues.
“Are you trying to convince me to attend?” I ask dryly. “I don’t need to know what you offer.”
“Oh, no. I… I just thought that if you knew… Your topic might fit one of the courses or else be something entirely new. Whichever you want.”
"What I want to know is when the students will be ready for me." I cover the end of the phone and give a low whistle. My hellhounds should be here at any moment now. Not all hellhounds can teleport, but mine can.
They just won’t teleport to me if Lucifer is around. They don’t like him, and I don’t blame them for that. Lucifer once tried to douse their fires. I forget why. Probably to punish me for some reason.
Daughter of Flames: A Mayhem of Magic World Story (A Girl and Her Hellhounds Book 1) Page 6
