As she left, Wyatt couldn’t help but snicker under his breath.
“What’s funny?” Lucifer asked angrily as he took a seat at the island.
“Nothing,” Wyatt lied, unable to control his laughter.
“Shut up,” Lucifer demanded.
Wyatt settled himself. “So,” he said, changing the subject. “You know Allydia?”
“I know her,” Lucifer smirked. “Occasionally.”
Wyatt felt a twinge of jealousy at Lucifer’s innuendo, but he ignored it.
“Have you met the others?” Lucifer wondered. “They worship her like a deity. It’s obscene. Enlighten me, what’s Earth like these days? It’s been fifty years or so since I was last hereabouts.”
“Uh,” Wyatt answered. “Loud, stressful, overpopulated. What’s Hell like?”
“Same.”
They both chuckled a little.
“Beer?” Wyatt offered.
“Please,” Lucifer replied.
Wyatt opened the refrigerator door and it fell to the ground, spilling leftovers and condiments all over the kitchen floor, while the light inside sparked and burned out.
Wyatt sighed. “It kind of got away from me earlier.”
Chapter 8
Tae sat alone in his office, still shaking from the events of the day. Lucifer. He couldn’t believe it. He wrung his hands anxiously as he considered all the ways things could go bad. What was the literal Devil actually capable of? Mass murder? Genocide? Triggering the Apocalypse?
“She knows what she’s doing,” he told himself, trying to trust that Gabriel’s plan would work and that she could keep Lucifer well managed. “She always knows what she’s doing.”
Just as he let out a deep breath and felt like he was starting to calm down, the desk phone rang, startling him to jump in his seat. His hand flew up to his chest so fast, he physically hurt himself. He felt ridiculous as he reached for the handset.
“Dr. Iha,” he answered. He put the call on speaker, his hands again trembling too hard to keep the receiver steady.
“Yes, hello, Dr. Iha,” the woman’s voice on the other end replied. “This is Headmaster Olivia de Barde at Emerson Academy. You’re listed as your niece, Michelle Iha’s, emergency contact when her mother is unreachable.”
“What’s the emergency?” he asked, standing up as dread began to set in. The possibilities flooded his brain. School shooting, fire, kidnapping. His niece was the only human family he had left since his brother died in combat a few years before. At Reo’s funeral, he had promised Michelle that he would do everything he could to make sure she had the life his brother had wanted for her. He sent her mother money every month for whatever they might need and he spent every other weekend with her so she’d still have a positive male role model in her life. And, he enrolled her in and paid for this stupidly expensive private school to give her the best education possible. She had become like a daughter to him. If the people he trusted to teach and protect her had let something happen to her, there would be hell to pay.
“Dr. Iha, I hate to be the one to inform you,” the woman said. “But, Michelle’s mother was killed today. Evidently, her car was involved in a crash. One of the officers let it slip that it was the fault of the other driver who failed a field sobriety test. I’m very sorry.”
“Oh, my God,” Tae uttered, falling back in his seat. Relief washed over him followed by sadness and worry. “Does Michelle know?”
“Yes, the school’s counselor is with her now. She’s taking it pretty hard, understandably. She’s asking to go home early.”
“Of course,” Tae told her. “I’ll be right there.” He quickly ended the call, took off his lab coat and looked at the clock. He left his office, throwing his jacket on as he walked.
“Nurse,” he said as he passed the nurse’s station.
“Yes, Doctor?” Nurse Bowen answered.
“I have to leave. Family emergency,” he explained. “Can you please find someone to cover my rounds?”
“I’ll do my best. Is everything all right?”
“Not even a little bit,” he said as he hurried out the doors.
Tae rushed into the school and beelined it to the Headmaster’s office where he was greeted by a man in his late twenties wearing a nicely tailored suit. The nameplate on his desk read ‘Headmaster’s Secretary, Harrison Marlowe’.
“Can I help you, sir?” the man inquired.
“Yes, hello,” Tae replied. “I’m Tae Iha. I’m looking for--”
“OMG, of course,” the man said jumping up from his desk. “Right this way.” He ushered Tae into the Headmaster’s office, looking him up and down as they walked.
“Have a seat.” He gestured to a small leather chair facing a large desk. “She’ll be right with you. Can I get you something? Water? Tea?”
“No,” Tae declined. “I’m fine, thank you.”
“Yes, you are,” the man flirted, pulling a card from his pocket. “If you need anything, you just let me know.”
Tae took the card. “I will do that,” he said, watching the man walk out.
“Well, that was inappropriate,” Tae whispered to himself. “Boy was sexy, though.” He patted his knees as he impatiently waited, growing more nervous with every passing moment, knowing that he would have to somehow comfort his niece who had now lost both parents. He couldn’t imagine how devastated she must be.
After what seemed like forever, Headmaster de Barde finally entered the room with Michelle following closely behind. The eighteen year old was very obviously heartbroken, her face sullen with remnants of smeared mascara still clinging to her cheeks as she dragged an overfilled book bag behind her.
Ms. de Barde shook Tae’s hand. “Hello, Dr. Iha. Again, I’m so sorry for your families loss.” Michelle stood silently in the corner by the door, tucking her hair behind her ear and staring at the floor.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
“We were all just so sad to hear,” she went on. “With her father gone and being one of only a handful of colo--” she stopped herself and cleared her throat before continuing. “African American students, things were hard enough on poor Michelle as it was.”
“I’m sorry, but what?!” Tae asked heatedly. “Were you about to say ‘colored’?!”
The Headmaster shuffled quickly behind her desk and sat down.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “As you can imagine, it’s been quite a day.”
“Uh, uh,” he said. “You can not just gloss over the use of a racial slur. You are a grown woman. You know ‘colored’ is not acceptable.”
“Yes, of course, you’re right. I apologize.”
“And she is not ‘African American’. She is simply American. She was born in this country, as were her parents. Moreover, you didn’t even get her ethnicity right! Her mother is Barbadian and her father, my brother, was Japanese, as evidenced by this beautiful Asian man sitting before you. If you’re going to insist on categorizing people based on their race, you could at least use the term ‘multiracial’ if for no other reason than accuracy.”
“All right, Dr. Iha,” she said, clearly getting annoyed. “Now, will Michelle be staying with you or is there another family member that will be stepping in? We need to know who her legal guardian is now, for paperwork, you understand.”
“Yes, she’ll be staying with me,” he replied coldly.
“Excellent. Now, our standard absence allowance for grieving is two weeks. Michelle has all of her assignments so she won’t fall behind while she’s out. Please make sure they’re all completed before she returns.”
“Damn, bitch!” Tae exclaimed. “You’re not only racist, you’re also ice cold.”
“Excuse me?!” she gasped.
He stood, slamming his hands on the desk and looking the sixty something year old woman in the eyes.
“This little girl’s mother just died,” he seethed. “Her daddy passed not too awful long ago and now all she’s got in this world is me. Now, I may
be goddamned amazing, but I am certainly not an adequate replacement for a teenage girls momma. She is heartbroken and you have the indecency to sit there and demand she do homework?! Fuck that.”
He turned and walked toward his niece, putting his arm around her. “Come on, baby,” he told her. “You take as much time as you need.” He glanced back at the Headmaster who sat in stunned silence. “There won’t be any problems. I’m sure Olivia here wouldn’t want the other parents finding out that she’s an insufferably racist bigoted piece of shit, would she?”
Ms. de Barde opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come.
“Mm hmm,” Tae stormed out of the office, all but carrying Michelle with him. Harrison gave an approving slow clap as they passed, having heard the entire conversation.
“I’ma hit you up later,” Tae said, looking back at the secretary as he and Michelle exited the building.
They had only made it a few steps when Michelle dropped her backpack, covered her mouth and burst into uncontrollable tears. Her knees went weak and she nearly collapsed, save for her uncle taking her in his arms.
“I know, baby, I know,” he said softly, holding her close and petting her hair. “You let all that shit out.”
Bitch, you better not need shit from me for a while, he thought to Gabriel. I’ve got other priorities.
Chapter 9
Wyatt lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to close his eyes, much less sleep. His wife, the love of his life and best friend, was sleeping with another man. Yes, she had left him and maybe he should have seen it coming, but he hadn’t. He was so sure that he could mend things between them at some point and now that that hope had been so cruelly extinguished, he was completely broken. The thought of Annie with someone else made his blood boil. How could she do this? And so soon. Was she having an affair before she left? How long did it go on? Was it someone he knew? Then there were the other events of the day that he couldn’t stop thinking about. Between Allydia and Lucifer, he was feeling overrun by monsters. I live in a freak show. He thought.
Don’t be so dramatic, he heard Gabriel’s voice in his head. A few seconds later, she entered his room, sat in the chair and covered her legs with the blanket she had wrapped herself in.
“Dramatic?” he retorted, sitting up in bed and switching on the lamp that sat on the nightstand. “Satan is sleeping in the room next door and I’m pretty sure I had sex with a vampire today.”
Gabriel laughed. “You totally did. I tried to warn you.”
“You didn’t tell me she was a fucking vampire, or that vampires even existed.”
“All right, my bad,” she said sarcastically. “Next time, I’ll be more specific about what kind of monster a bitch is.”
“I’d appreciate it,” he quipped. “Hey,” he said, his tone more serious.
“No,” Gabriel answered before he could ask. “I didn’t know about your wife’s new dude. I’ve never met her so I don’t have access to her database, as it were.”
“But, if you did meet her,”
“Yeah, I could tell you anything you want to know. I can track her down, if you want.”
Wyatt thought for a moment, then decided it was a bad idea.
“Better not,” he conceded. “It would probably just piss me off worse.”
“Yeah,” she agreed. “’What if’ is generally better than confirmation of worse case scenario.”
“It doesn’t matter. Before or after she left, she’s still with someone else and she’s still gone and without her, I’m--”
“What?” Gabriel prodded. “You’re what? I will tell you. On one hand, you’re Barachiel, leader of the Guardian Angels, protector of humanity, saving lives basically since people were invented. Arguably the most important angel in Heaven. On the other hand, you’re Wyatt Sinclair, a little fucked up, but relatively normal dude that just found out he’s got super powers and is on a mission from God to save the fucking world. So, your ex has a boyfriend now. Fuck her. Shit gets a little dicey and she bolts? Fang bitch was right. She doesn’t deserve you. What are you without a selfish, panicky, whiny thirty five year old toddler? Better off. You’re an archangel, you’re a goddamn super hero and you’re my brother.” She scooted to the edge of her seat and wrapped the blanket tighter around herself, looking Wyatt in the eyes. “I know we’re not exactly a normal family,” she admitted. “But, we do care about you.” She stood and shuffled towards the door. “I know how you feel, like, literally, but you’re not alone. Except for right now, because it’s almost four in the morning and I’m sleepy as balls. Try to get some rest, okay? Your obsessive thoughts are keeping me up.”
Wyatt chuckled. “I’ll try.”
“Night.”
“Night.”
As she closed the door behind her, Wyatt turned off the light and lay back down. He was touched by his new sister’s words and he let them give him comfort as he closed his eyes and, after several minutes, fell asleep.
The next morning, Gabriel, Wyatt and Lucifer sat around the kitchen island and had coffee and donuts from the shop around the corner.
“Some guys are going to be here in a few hours to fix all this,” she informed them. “So, best behavior.”
“Really?” Lucifer gibed. “I quite like the place as it is. Reminds me of home.”
“I’ll pay for the damage,” Wyatt offered.
“Don’t,” Gabriel refused. “I have a stupid amount of money. It’s not an issue.”
“How exactly did you acquire your wealth, sister?” Lucifer wondered, taking a sip from his disposable cup. Wyatt had been curious about that, too, but didn’t think it would be polite to pry.
Gabriel swallowed a piece of donut before answering. “I inherited it.”
“So, the humans that birthed you met an early demise, did they?” he sneered.
“Don’t be a dick,” Wyatt warned.
Gabriel sighed, visibly irritated to be talking about this. “Yeah,” she said simply, shooting Lucifer an annoyed glance and taking another bite of her breakfast.
“Not going to elaborate, then?” Lucifer pushed.
“No,” she flatly stated.
“What about you, brother?” Lucifer asked, shifting his attention to Wyatt. “Any interesting stories to share? Life happenings or goings on? Anything you’d bloody well like to talk about?”
Lucifer and Gabriel quietly giggled as Wyatt irritably put his cup down.
“You told him?” he questioned his sister.
“No,” she said defensively. “He figured it out on his own. You had some sort of micro expression yesterday when you two were talking. Remember, he’s crazy, not stupid.”
“I prefer the term ‘eccentric’, thank you,” Lucifer asserted. “So, are you and the vampire queen planning a spring or summer wedding? I assume it won’t be too terribly soon, since we’re all currently preoccupied with the plot to destroy her step mother, not to mention winter in New York can be brutal. The traffic alone. The tourists, everyone scrambling to see trees and such.”
Gabriel couldn’t help but laugh.
“That’s not funny,” Wyatt said, struggling to keep a straight face himself.
“It’s pretty funny,” Gabriel said.
“Just mind the fangs,” Lucifer jibed. “Certain acts can very easily become quite unpleasant.”
“Oh, gross!” Gabriel exclaimed, covering her ears. “No, no, no. New subject.”
“Did Allydia get back to you about the theater?” Wyatt asked.
“Yeah,” she answered. “Her guy said he saw some people milling around, cleaning it up, but no Lilith.”
“Okay, but how would he know? Couldn’t she look like anyone she wanted?”
Gabriel and Lucifer looked at each other knowingly.
“You want to take this one?” she requested.
“Why not?” Lucifer accepted. “You see, my sister is unequivocally vain and she has particular tastes. She would be very hard to miss.”
“Vain, so she’d be p
retty,” Wyatt surmised.
“Beautiful,” Lucifer admitted. “But,” he paused.
“But, what?”
“She likes to dress up like little girls,” Gabriel blurted.
“When I saw her just before she attacked me, she was in the body of a fourteen year old girl.” Lucifer told them.
“Wait,” Wyatt said. “She’s possessing somebody?”
“Of course,” Lucifer explained. “How else would demons gain access to the mortal coil?”
“And you’re possessing someone right now,” Wyatt remembered.
“Well, yes, but to be fair, Tyler here was only for this world a few more days.”
“He always picks people who are about to kick it,” Gabriel confirmed.
“Wouldn’t want to piss Daddy off any more than we have to, would we?” Lucifer smirked. “See, a human body is weak, fragile. When an angel or demon take up occupancy in one, the power is too great. The body breaks down, cell by cell. Eventually, it’s completely destroyed.”
“Like radiation poisoning,” Gabriel explained.
“Yes, exactly,” Lucifer verified. “Now, I have the decency to heal this body intermittently so I don’t have to invade another. And, no doubt, my sister will do the same in an effort to maintain her attractiveness. The demons, however, are unencumbered by such matters. The longer they inhabit a body, the worse the damage. That’s why I do my best to exorcise the intruder as quickly as possible, a job I should really be getting back to while we wait for news on the whereabouts of that miserable, treacherous--”
“Okay,” Gabriel interrupted. “Before this one gets all worked up and sucks the apartment up into a tornado or something, why don’t we talk about something else?”
“What do you suggest, Gabriel?” Lucifer asked, incensed. “I’ve only been cognizant for a day. The only information I have access to is in this room, and since you’re unwilling to discuss yourself, that leaves our dear brother. So, what shall it be? Barachiel’s whore wife, his indiscriminate genitals or the fact that he’s currently bedding my, what’s the term these days? Sloppy seconds.”
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