by S. J. West
When we reach the bottom of the stairs, Malcolm unexpectedly brings me up against him and into the circle of his arms.
“I want you to promise me something,” he says to me.
“What?” I ask, looking into his deep blue eyes, knowing that I would do almost anything he asked of me in that moment.
“I want you to try to stop thinking about what happened and just concentrate on being with our family. I think that, more than anything else, will help get you through this.”
“I’ll try,” I promise, which is all I feel like I can do.
Malcolm kisses me on the lips. “That’s all I ask.”
We walk into the sitting room hand in hand to find our family waiting on us. To my pleasant surprise, almost everyone I care about is nestled securely inside our home.
Lucas and Bai are playing blocks in front of the fireplace with Vala and Luna watching over them. Jered, Desmond, and Daniel are talking amongst themselves in the far corner of the room. Linn and Millie are sitting on the couch looking through my recipe book from Utha Mae and Tara. Brutus stands leaning against the side of Kyna’s chair beside the couch whispering something that makes her smile coyly up at him. But the most surprising guest of all is Lucifer.
He’s standing in front of one of the windows on the other side of the fireplace quietly studying the small front yard between the house and the tall wrought iron fence that keeps the city at a distance from our inner sanctum.
Lucas is the first one to see me. He jumps up from his spot on the floor and runs over, tightly wrapping his arms around my hips. My little man doesn’t say anything. He simply holds me, and that’s all I really need from him in order to feel his love. Everyone in the room turns their attention to us.
Lucas pulls away just enough to look up at my face.
“Are you ok?” he asks in his sweet little voice, placing me on the verge of tears again because of the concerned look on his innocent face.
I muster up a smile for his benefit and say, “Yes. I’m better now. Don’t worry about me.”
“You’re supposed to worry about the ones you love,” he says with more maturity than someone as young as him should possess. I look into his luminous green eyes and wonder just how old his soul actually is. He’s always struck me as having a wisdom well beyond his years.
“Yes, you do,” I agree, knowing just how true his words are.
Looking at Lucas, I realize it’s the connections we make with others that keeps us grounded in the reality of our lives. Without having people to love, who also love us in return, our world could easily crumble into chaos.
I look over at Lucifer and wonder if that was part of the reason why he ended up the way he did. If he had found at least one person to love shortly after his expulsion from Heaven, would he have made better choices in his life?
“Why don’t you go back and play with Bai?” I suggest to Lucas.
My son hugs me tightly one more time before doing as I ask.
“I’ll be back,” I say to Malcolm, squeezing his hand gently before I leave his side to speak with my father.
Lucifer watches me as I cross the room to him. His expression is hard to read as he studies my approach, but I think he’s happy to see me.
“I came back to return your sword to you,” Lucifer tells me in a hushed tone, his eyes glancing over to a sideboard against the wall to his left.
I look over and see my sword lying along its surface.
“And,” he continues, “I wanted to let you know that I took care of …any evidence of what happened. You don’t have to worry about the humans figuring out what actually occurred in that room. As far as the people of Cirro are concerned, their rulers died in a tragic fire together.”
“Thank you for doing that for me,” I say, feeling a guilty relief that my crime has been erased and ashamed that Lucifer had to go through the trouble of covering up my actions.
“I didn’t want you to worry about it,” he tells me, shifting his stiff stance slightly as if he feels uncomfortable to be in my home with everyone else around and simply wants to leave as soon as possible.
“Can you stay for a little while?” I ask, wanting him to know that at least one person in the room genuinely wants him there.
“I should probably go so you can spend some time with your family,” he tells me, briefly glancing at the others. “I’m sure they would feel more comfortable if I left.”
“Hogwash,” Millie says from her spot on the couch.
I look over at her and see that she’s staring Lucifer down just as she’s flipping a page in the recipe book.
“You’re as welcomed in this house as anyone else, Lucifer,” Millie tells him. “You’re Anna’s father and everyone present knows how important you’ve become to her. If we didn’t want you here, you would be standing in an empty room.”
When I look back at Lucifer, he looks almost confused by Millie’s words, but he doesn’t argue with her, which is always a smart move where Millie is concerned.
“I have some things I need to attend to anyway,” Lucifer says, failing miserably at making it sound like anything other than what it is, an excuse.
I hear Malcolm clear his throat, drawing our attention to him.
“You’re, uh, welcomed in our home anytime you wish to visit,” Malcolm tells Lucifer, even though I can see the words are hard for him to say to his longtime nemesis.
“Thank you,” Lucifer replies, sounding as though he wonders if Malcolm’s offer of hospitality comes with any unspoken restrictions.
“Is there any way I can get in touch with you if I need to?” I ask Lucifer.
“You could always just come and have breakfast with us every morning, Lucifer,” Millie suggests. “That way you get to see your daughter every day and offer her some encouragement while she’s completing her mission for God.”
“I’m afraid I wouldn’t be very encouraging, Millie,” Lucifer replies, looking troubled. “It’s not something I want her to finish. It’s too dangerous for her.”
“Well, just come to show that you love her then,” Millie says. “That’s all she needs from you anyway.”
“I would like it if you did that,” I tell him, thinking Millie is a genius when it comes to handling Lucifer. I can't imagine what I would do without her.
“I…suppose I can do that,” Lucifer agrees, although hesitantly.
“Good,” Millie says, “we’ll start having breakfast at eight o’clock sharp each morning. And I expect you to be punctual, Lucifer.”
Lucifer shakes his head a bit as if he’s not quite sure how Millie talked him into such an arrangement, but he doesn’t make any further comment about it.
“I guess I’ll see you in the morning then,” Lucifer says to me.
I smile at him to make sure he knows how happy he’s made me.
“I look forward to it,” I reply.
Before he has a chance to phase away, I lean in and kiss him on the cheek.
“Thank you for everything,” I say.
Lucifer nods but doesn’t say anything else before he phases out of the room.
“Is it just me,” Jered says, “or is anyone else getting used to having him around?”
“It’s not just you,” Desmond responds, sounding conflicted about his emotions concerning Lucifer’s increased presence in our lives, “it’s almost like having the old him back with us.”
“The old him?” I question, finding this an odd choice of words
“The Lucifer we knew before the war,” Daniel explains, looking rather contemplative about his own feelings where Lucifer is concerned. “He was always a bit of a loner, but he was also a great leader. We were all drawn to him just like we were drawn to Michael. That’s one of the reasons why it was so easy for Lucifer to gather supporters when he rebelled.”
“Would anyone mind if I changed the subject to something a little happier?” Brutus says to us. “Kyna and I have something we would like to tell you all, and I don’t think either o
ne of us can wait much longer.”
I turn my full attention to Brutus and Kyna. I notice a slight blush dapple Kyna’s cheeks as Brutus takes her hand and helps her stand up beside him. Before Brutus says even one word more, I notice the large pear shaped diamond on Kyna’s ring finger.
“The lovely Kyna Halloran has agreed to become my wife,” Brutus announces to us, beaming with pride.
“Oh, no,” Lucas says slapping his forehead with the palm of his left hand and falling backwards onto the floor. “Another wedding!”
“Like the first one was so terrible,” I tease him, not being able to stop myself from bending down and tickling Lucas on the belly.
Lucas laughs and the sound of his joy fills my heart with his love for life.
Everyone gathers around Kyna and Brutus to make a fuss over the ring he gave her and to wish the newly engaged couple well.
“So when do you plan to have the wedding?” I ask them.
“As soon as possible,” they say in unison, surprising even themselves, which causes them to laugh.
“You’re welcome to have it here if you want,” Malcolm offers.
“Actually,” Kyna says, “I’ve decided to have it in Alto. Bianca Rossi and I have been best friends since we were little girls. When I told her about the engagement this afternoon, she insisted we have it in her cloud city. She’s already making all the arrangements. I think it would literally break her heart if I didn’t let her do this for us.”
“So when is the happy event supposed to take place?” Malcolm asks.
“Day after tomorrow,” Kyna tells him.
“Wow, and here I thought I moved fast,” Malcolm jokes, slapping Brutus on the back good-naturedly.
“I’ve waited as long as you have to finally find my soulmate,” Brutus replies, looking at Kyna as though she’s the light of his world. “I don’t plan on wasting any time now that I’ve won her heart.”
Kyna smiles at Brutus and twines her willowy arms around one of his rather bulky ones.
My attention is quickly drawn away from the happy couple when I hear Luna begin to growl behind me. I turn around to look at her and see that she’s standing on all fours with her back slightly arched and her body pointed towards the front of the house. In the same instant, I sense a tenseness enter the men in the room as they all go on alert.
Lucas quickly rises to his feet and takes one of Bai’s hands with his own to help her stand beside him. I see him place his free hand on the hilt of the silver dagger I gifted him with not so long ago.
I don’t even bother to ask the others what’s wrong. I head straight for my sword and see them all phase and quickly return with swords of their own.
“What’s wrong, Anna?” Vala asks with worry, looking from the still growling Luna to me for an answer as she stands.
“We have some uninvited guests outside,” Malcolm answers for me, hefting his broad sword in his right hand, looking more than ready for the fight to come.
As soon as I grab my sword from the top of the sideboard, it bursts into flames.
“Who are they?” I ask as I turn to face the others.
“Rebellion scum,” Jered answers in disgust.
“I thought those angels were under Lucifer’s command,” I say, not understanding why my father’s subordinates would be attacking us.
No one says anything, but they all look troubled by what has to be a correct assumption.
“He wouldn’t send them here to attack us,” I tell them, trying to wipe away their doubt in Lucifer with my own certainty.
“Anna’s right,” Malcolm says, “I don’t believe this is Lucifer’s doing either.”
“Then who’s controlling them?” Brutus asks.
“I think I know,” I tell them, feeling a knot of dread form in the pit of my stomach. “It has to be Helena. She’s the only one who has enough influence to encourage this sort of attack on us.”
“But why?” Daniel asks. “What does she hope to gain from it?”
“My anger,” I reply, troubled that I’m beginning to understand how Helena thinks. “It’s the perfect time considering what happened tonight. She knows I’m close to breaking and the sooner I do the sooner she can try to control me.”
“No,” Malcolm says resolutely with a shake of his head, locking my eyes with his. “You will not break, Anna. Not tonight. Not ever.”
I want to argue with Malcolm, but just can’t seem to muster up the desire for a quarrel. We have more important matters to attend to right now.
“Should we phase the humans somewhere safe before we go out there?” I ask.
“No,” Malcolm says, “we stay together. It could be that she wants us to split everyone up. Besides, the rebellion angels can't phase into this house. None of them has ever been inside it. We’ll go out and meet them. Brutus,” Malcolm turns to our friend, “you stay in here and protect everyone while we handle this. Watch the fight from the window. If it looks like we’re losing, then phase everyone out, but only do it as a last resort. Even though you phase somewhere else, there's no guarantee any of you will be safe. You can still be tracked by it.”
“I would rather fight,” Brutus says, looking rather disappointed that he will have to miss all the fun.
“I promise next time you will,” Malcolm tells him with a lopsided grin.
I walk over to Malcolm’s side and take his free hand with mine.
“Shall we go out and greet our guests, husband?” I ask him.
Malcolm nods. “I believe we should, wife.”
Jered and Daniel flank us as we all walk out the front door together to face our unwelcomed visitors.
Chapter 3
Five men, four women, and a hellhound stand in a straight line on the snow covered front lawn. Half are dressed in the casual clothing most down-worlders wear. The others appear to be from differing cloud cities considering their fashion choices. Standing in the middle of the group is a beautiful young woman with long, straight blonde hair and pink, pouty lips. She’s wearing a black leather dress, which is tightly corseted around the waist with a plunging neckline and long slit up the right side of the calf length skirt. Her style of dress tells me she calls Virga her home.
The woman’s gaze stays steadfast on me as Malcolm and I walk side by side out the door together. Her electric blue eyes practically glow in the dim light provided by the lit rooms at the front of the house. Daniel comes to stand beside me, and Jered stands on the other side of Malcolm as we present a united front.
“Hello, Cleo,” Malcolm says to the blonde-haired woman. Reluctantly, she pulls her attention away from me to look at my husband. “A little late in the evening for a social call isn’t it?”
Cleo smiles, which only highlights the perfection of her facial features.
“I wouldn’t really use the term social call, Malcolm,” she says, arching a delicate eyebrow in his direction.
“No, I don’t suppose it is,” Malcolm replies looking pointedly at the sword in Cleo's right hand. “So, why are you here?”
Cleo’s gaze returns to me. “We came to see her.”
“Why?” I ask, scanning the faces of the fallen angels in front of us and noticing they’re all staring at me with a singular intensity. It’s a little disconcerting considering the fact that they’re all holding swords in their hands.
“We came to see what you’re made of,” Cleo tells me with an almost mocking grin. “We want to know if you’re truly strong enough to lead us.”
“Lead you?” I ask, feeling my heart drop at such a thought. “What would make you think I want to do that?”
“Lucifer has become weak,” Cleo says in disgust. “Ever since he mated with that human, he’s lost sight of our true mission here.”
“And what mission is that?” I ask her.
“To make the human race pay for our expulsion from Heaven, and to show God once and for all just how feeble his favorites can become when pushed in the right direction. We almost had humanity on the brink of
extinction during the Great War. Isn’t that right, Malcolm?”
I feel Malcolm’s body stiffen at Cleo’s remark, like it's a reminder of a failure on his part.
“But they came back, didn’t they?” Malcolm retorts. “They always do and they always will. You’ll never succeed in destroying them. They're too strong.”
Cleo smiles tightlipped and directs her gaze back to me.
“That’s not what Helena tells us,” she says, looking me up and down appraisingly. “She seems to think Lucifer's spawn here can lead us in the right direction to destroy humanity once and for all. We’ve come to see if she’s right. I have my doubts considering she’s part human, but I’m trying to keep an open mind on the subject. Either way, Anna will either prove she’s worthy of having us follow her or she’ll die tonight.”
“I can assure you I won’t be dying tonight,” I tell her, feeling my back go rigid with pride.
Cleo shrugs her shoulders. “I guess we’ll see about that.”
Without further warning, Cleo raises her sword and comes running towards me. Before I'm given a chance to respond, Malcolm crosses her blade with his own and pushes her back far enough to place himself in between us, thwarting any attack Cleo might make against me.
I'm somewhat perturbed by Malcolm's overprotectiveness, but I don't have time to think too much about it. I soon have my own fight to handle.
A dark haired man and a redheaded woman charge me in a frontal attack. From behind, I hear a ferocious growl just before I see Luna launch herself at the woman and clamp her jaw tightly around the hand my female attacker is using to hold her sword. The redhead screams out in pain and drops her weapon onto the ground. Luna vigorously shakes her head back and forth seeming intent on ripping the woman's hand from her wrist. Before she can, the redhead grabs Luna by the scruff of the neck and flings her towards the house. I hear a small yelp and distinct thud as my little hellhound pup is slammed against the brick wall behind me. I take advantage of the opening Luna gave me with her sacrifice and quickly swing my sword to cleanly slice off the woman’s head.
The man who joined her in the attack against me thrusts his blade toward my chest while I'm cutting the head of his comrade off. I use my newly acquired telekinetic powers to lift him in the air upside down and then pile drive his body head first into the hard packed snow. As he lay prone at my feet, I stab him in the heart, quickly extinguishing his life.
