Post by Bene Elohim on Feb 8, 2024 13:46:23 GMT -8
Even hours before the meeting, Lord Lucifer could be found in the little out-of-the-way clearing a little way down the road from the secluded farmhouse. He stood in the middle of the clearing with his head down and his arms crossed at the wrist behind the small of his back. His dark brown hair and the tail of his jacket were swaying gently in the wind as he stood like a statue.
It would be an hour before the rest of the Children joined him in preparation for the meeting about to take place. They appeared around the corner from behind him. To his left, Xaria was walking at the lead. The Twins, Sariel, and Aniel walked behind their new Harbinger with Maiko Adachi and Ashley Kenyon behind the four. Aerynn Maguire and Zachary Sears formed the rear.
The group stopped a step behind their God, except for Xaria and Sariel who continued on. Xaria stopped on his left and Sariel his right, a half a second behind him. The right and left hands of Lord Lucifer.
Lucifer: “You checked every cell?”
Sariel: “Yes, Sire.”
Lucifer: “And you are absolutely certain he’s not here by mistake?”
Sariel: “Yes, Sire. We only have one re-education from the entire east coast, and it’s a woman.”
Lucifer gave the faintest little nod before Xaria broke the silence.
Xaria Linette: “If he isn’t here, than where is he, mon Seigneur?”
Before Lucifer could answer, two cars broached the final turn, heading in the direction of the little clearing. A grey four-door sedan, a black Nissan 350Z, and a white XZ-10 rolled into the clearing while the Children stood waiting for them.
A slender frame climbed off the ZX-10 and pulled the helmet off, revealing the face of the Kingdom’s Queen, Jasmine Matthews. Sativa Nevaeh and Morgan Payne stepped out of the Nissan while Christina, Lilith, and Lluvia stepped out of the grey four door.
Lucifer lifted his head to regard the women before slowly opening his hands in greeting.
Lucifer: “Welcome.”
Jasmine: “Fuck you.”
Jasmine snapped and motioned over her shoulder to Sativa.
Jasmine: “Where’s her cousin?”
Xaria Linette: “Mind your manners when speaking to a God.”
Morgan Payne: “She aint got da mind a fucking shit, bitch. No one’s talking to you.”
Xaria Linette: “Excusez-moi…?”
Sativa didn’t let the raving of the others so much as give her pause. She pushed through the crowd and crossed the little clearing until she came face to face with Lucifer and stared up at him. There was no fear in her eyes.
Sativa Nevaeh: “Where. Is. My. Cousin?”
Lucifer: “I don’t know.”
Sativa Nevaeh: “Don’t give me that fucking shit! One of your demons was caught on camera!”
Slowly from the back of the group came a blue-haired woman who stepped forward to stand beside Lucifer. Maiko looked over at Sativa.
Maiko Adachi: “If that demon were...one of ours? He’d never have been seen.”
Morgan stepped forward to Sativa’s side and reached out, poking the blue haired woman square in the chest.
Morgan Payne: “What the fuck does that even mean?!”
The conflict and physical touch was enough to make Maiko slink back, and in an instant, Ashley was at her side. Her hand shot out and pressed a hand to Morgan’s own, removing her hand from Maiko, her tone low and threatening.
Ashley Kenyon: “Back the fuck off. I won't ask again.”
The instant Morgan was touched, the Kingdom exploded in protest. The same words from seven mouths all at the same time in outrage.
The Kingdom: “Don’t put your damn hands on her!”
The Kingdom stepped forward as a single unit arching around Morgan, all eyes focused on Ashley who held the woman’s wrist in one hand. As this happened, the Children folded around behind Ashley, each of them staring at the group behind Morgan.
Before the fight could officially break out, a violent eruption shook the ground as a colossal fireball rose onto the sky beyond the trees. Lucifer’s head snapped around to see the fireball and slowly his eyes widened. Softly, he cursed.
Lucifer: “They were a Father-damned diversion!”
Lucifer turned without another word and sprinted from the clearing. The Children collectively turned and followed while the Kingdom looked at one another in shock. Then their attention was on the fleeing group. Sativa drew in a deep breath and shouted.
Sativa Nevaeh: “WHERE IS MY COUSIN?!”
When Sativa took off in pursuit of the Children, the rest of the Kingdom followed suit. The two groups sprinted through the trees and bushes until the Farmhouse finally came into view. There were unconscious, or worse, bodies everywhere and debris littered the ground. The farmhouse itself was half gone from the force of the blast.
The barn was completely gone. The steel doors that had once been hidden instead leading into the ground stood blown open, leaving only jagged metal singed and broken at unnatural angles.
Beyond the bar at the beginning of a little dirt trail, leading in the opposite direction of the clearing the two groups had met in, sat a single black SUV facing away from them with the passenger door open. Standing on the side step of the SUV was a man many of them knew.
Jasmine and Morgan called him “the workout guy” while Sativa called him “Abs”. However, to Lucifer, he was...
Lucifer: “...Anthony…”
Anthony looked back with a little sadistic smile, gave the entire group “the bird”, and slipped into the SUV as it began to speed off while the door closed.
Jasmine: “What the fuck just fucking happened?!”
Anthony sat in the passenger seat of the SUV just outside of visual with the Farmhouse the Children were using as a base of operation. He stared down at his phone, waiting for the signal that it was time to act. Beside him sat a man in a black hoodie and black steel mask, one of Lord Apollyon’s Demons.
Without warning, the phone suddenly lit up with just a single word. Go. Anthony gave the faintest little nod and the Demon shifted the SUV into drive, pulling around the rest of the way to the farmhouse. The second they rounded the corner of the small dirt road and drove onto the property, two men in black sleeveless jumpsuits came out of a large barn to the left.
Anthony stepped out of the SUV, holding a large piece of paper, and the two men made a beeline for him.
Jumpsuit: “This is private property.”
Jumpsuit #2: “Turn around and leave.”
Anthony: “I’m actually just a little lost. I was wondering if…”
When the first of the Jumpsuits came within arms reach to tell him to leave a second time, Anthony’s arms shot out, seizing the man in a headlock. The second darted towards them, only for Anthony to throw his legs into the air and lock his ankles around the man’s neck.
With a single twist, Anthony rolled over, flipping both men to their backs. As the men scrambled to get up, Anthony slid his feet under him and braced both hands on the hard dirt. When the men were halfway up, bent over at the waist as they stood, Anthony threw himself into the air and into a beautiful backflip, taking each of the men in the face with a brutal kick that flipped them over like playing cards in a game.
While Anthony moved into the barn, the SUV slowly began to pull around until it was facing the way it had come and sat out of the way. As per instructions, it would wait there.
The inside of the barn was like any other with the exception of the two stalls on the right side of the building. Somehow, as if he had an inside source, Anthony went right to it. The second stall had hay covering a steel door that Anthony pulled open, revealing a set of stairs leading down into the ground beneath the farmhouse.
The stairs ended, opening into a large room with corridors leading in all four directions. The room was filled with men and women in the same jumpsuits the Demons wore when not wearing their black robes and hoods. One of them locked eyes with Anthony and raised a shaking hand in shock.
Demon: “That’s him! That’s the man who attacked Sister Sara!”
They came at him from every direction at once, and from that instant, it became like a dance. The first came at him and tried a kick that Anthony grabbed and yanked him forward, forcing the man into a split he wasn’t prepared for. When the second came from his left, he jumped into the air and spun around, driving his knee into the side of the man’s kicking leg and sending him to the ground in a splits like the first.
Another came behind him and he turned, driving a hard kick into their stomach before turning clean around and arching another, taking the man in the side of the head. He continued into the turn, spinning into another that was trying to take him from the side and drove the woman’s blow to the side with a knee.
Behind him came another and he jumped again, using the left to kick the man’s punch to the side while bringing the right around and connecting with the man’s rib cage. When he landed, Anthony dropped and spun around, darting his leg out and taking another in the back of the legs, taking his legs out from under him.
He leaned back on his shoulders and threw himself up, landing on his feet and jumping into a roundhouse kick that took another demon clean in the side of the face. Yet another demon threw a punch, but Anthony arched his body to the side, causing him to miss and grabbing him by the wrist. With a sharp turn, Anthony twisted the man’s arm, forcing him to double over and arched a hip, taking the final demon in the face with a kick as he came in.
Holding the last demon’s wrist, Anthony yanked him toward him, sending the demon past the man and face first into the corner of the wall where it met the stairs. The man hit the ground out cold and Anthony stood, panting and surveying his work.
A dozen men and women were lying unconscious around him. These people were no match for him. He had designed the very program from which they trained. When he heard the foot falls of someone running down the hallway coming at him, he spun around and lowered his right arm into combat stance, his eyes narrowing on the figures before him.
Two of the members of the Twins’ team, Armaros and Tamiel, stood at the entrance way. Armaros was a man who looked a bit like Anthony with short-styled brown hair and a well-trimmed bit of facial hair. Tamiel was a woman in her thirties with blonde hair and a beautiful smile, though she rarely showed it.
The pair looked from Anthony to the Demons and then back at Anthony before doing the unthinkable. The pair dropped into a kneel with their heads lowering slowly.
Tamiel & Armaros: “Right Hand.”
Anthony: “Go.”
Tamiel & Armaros: “Sir?”
Anthony: “Lord Apollyon has decided that this place is an abomination and cannot be allowed to exist anymore.”
Armaros: “Destruction? You said you were just here for the Sinner...”
Tamiel’s eyes widened in horror as she looked up in shock.
Tamiel: “You can’t!”
Anthony’s eyes hardened down on the woman and she flinched, looking down, stammering a follow up.
Tamiel: “I simply meant… there are sinners here undergoing re-education. You have to give us time to evacuate them, Sir.”
Anthony: “They choose to follow the liar. They shall reap what they have sown.”
Tamiel wanted to argue, but Armaros knew better and shook his head. The pair slowly walked around Anthony with their heads down. Anthony turned down the western most tunnel and continued on without pause. He knew where he was going.
Sabotaging the generator that powered the underground facility the Children used was easy enough and didn’t take long. When he exited back into the barn, he carried a struggling bag over his right shoulder. The struggling body of Kellen Scott, the only one of Maiko's attackers who escaped their grasp.
He could see Tamiel and Armaros had rejoined the others. The pair were leading them away from the house after telling them a story about seeing him doing something to the fuel drums in the generator room.
Anthony walked calmly from the barn and across the farmhouse grounds to the SUV. Nearly the instant he reached it, the ground beneath him shook. A split second later, a mammoth fireball tore through the barn as the fuel in the generator room ignited. The barn itself disintegrated in a hail of wood and hay raining down across the farmhouse grounds. The part of the house closest to the barn collapsed in on itself from the force of the concussion.
He loaded the struggling man into the back of the SUV and moved around to the passenger side. As Anthony lifted a foot to enter the SUV after taking a few moments to survey his handiwork, a large group of people appeared through the trees. Through the mass of humanity, he found Lucifer’s eyes and raised a hand, extending his middle finger.
As he sat down and closed the door, the SUV was already pulling quickly onto the dirt road, leaving the group behind them in the wreckage confused.
Zachary glanced over to the carnage, surveying the destruction. The sheer desolation of the property and life… and then the realization hit him. He spun around to face Ashley, Maiko, and Aerynn.
Zachary Sears: “Zhere vere Sinners undergoing re-education…”
Lucifer: “SILENCE!”
He was getting too close to speaking to freely in front of strangers. The tiny blonde woman known as the Faerie of the group was huddled into Sativa’s side, suddenly afraid by this turn of events. This wasn’t a wrestling match.
Someone had just blown up a building.
Jasmine looked around the wreckage and then looked back at Lucifer.
Jasmine Matthews: “WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!”
Lucifer took a deep breath, his emotions bubbling so close to the surface now. To think it was Anthony was one thing, but to see him standing there, defiant, was a whole other thing. He had spared the teenage boy ten years ago when every instinct told him he shouldn’t have. Finally, Lucifer just gave the faintest nod.
Ashley Kenyon stepped forward and extended her hand to the dust trail left in the wake of the SUV.
Ashley Kenyon: “If we had to guess? They have Sativa’s cousin.”
Jasmine Matthews: “WHO THE FUCK IS ‘THEY’?!”
Xaria Linette: “A demon has gone rogue, Mademoiselle Jasmine.”
The effect of these words was enough to snap the gothic woman from her confusion and rage. She blinked and turned to face Xaria as if she was suddenly holding a live cobra.
Jasmine Matthews: “The fuck do you mean 'gone rogue'?!”
Sativa Nevaeh: “And what does this have to do with my damn cousin?!”
Morgan Payne: “Wait, are these actual demons?! Like, from Hell?!”
Zachary let out a soft laugh and shook his head.
Zachary Sears: “Nein. Demons are vhat ve call vhose who serve Lord Lucifer but have once preyed on an innocent. A sinner turned into a servant of justice.”
Morgan did a quick turn of her head to Jasmine and patted her with the back of her hand, rolling her eyes.
Morgan: “See? I knew they weren’t real fuckin’ demons!”
Lilith: “And one of them went bad?”
Xaria smiled an understanding smile at the tiny blonde woman.
Xaria Linette: “In a way… oui. He abandoned his God and has proclaimed himself a God. A rival to Seigneur Lucifer for control of the Children of Nephilim.”
Christina: “What does any of that have to do with us?! Or with Mary’s cousin?!”
Ashley Kenyon: “Don’t you fucking get it?! You were a god damn diversion.”
Aerynn Donnelly: “Valdemar took Sativa’s cousin an’ made it look like Lucifer did it. He knew Jasmine an’ Sativa would ne’er give Lucifer th’ benefit o’ th’ doubt, .tha you’d come after him full force.”
Maiko Adachi: “And that we’d meet you to protect our God.”
Ramiel: “...And while you…”
Ananiel: “...Did, the Traitor…”
Ramiel: “...Could sneak in…”
Both: “...And do this.”
Sativa Nevaeh: “They abducted my cousin to do…”
Sativa swept her hand over the burning rubble that had once been the Children’s last sanctuary.
Sativa Nevaeh: “...this?”
Lucifer: “I must admit...it is very smart. It worked perfectly.”
Morgan threw her hands into the air in outrage and turned to face Jasmine and Sativa.
Morgan Payne: “We were fucking BAIT!”
Lluvia, the often quiet one, stepped up and laid her hand on her lover’s shoulder, her voice calm and collected. She needed to keep a cool head.
Lluvia: “Breathe, babe.”
Jasmine: “So what now Lucifer? What about her cousin?”
Lucifer: “He’s of no further use to Valdemar, this self-proclaimed Lord Apollyon. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t just let him go now. He’s served his purpose.”
Sativa stepped forward and stared straight into the eyes of the Devil without fear.
Sativa Nevaeh: “And if he doesn’t...?”
Lucifer looked down into the defiant face of the green-haired woman and just gave her the faintest nod.
Lucifer: “If he doesn’t, we’ll help you get him back.”
Sativa Nevaeh: “Your word?”
Sativa extended a hand. To the Kingdom’s surprise, Lucifer accepted it and shook her hand.
Lucifer: “My word.”
Sativa Nevaeh: “You need help with this?”
She asked, motioning to the wreckage all around them. Lucifer, however, had already turned his back on the woman. Zachary, Xaria, Ananiel, Ramiel, Sariel, and Aniel all followed behind him. Ashley shook her head softly.
Ashley Kenyon: “There are things here no one outside of the Children can see.”
Aerynn Donnelly: “We’ll bae in touch.”
Sativa gave one final grave nod and lifted a hand, motioning in a circle as she turned and walked back toward the clearing. The message was clear: ‘we’re leaving’. There was no need for a fight here, not with the Children. The Kingdom headed back the way they had come from, talking quietly about what they had just seen and heard.
Behind them, Lucifer stood with the Children all around him, staring at the broken remnants of the barn and all those who had been inside when it exploded. Slowly, his hand clenched into a fist so tightly his arm began to shake.
For the first time since he had awakened in this body all those years ago, the Devil was...angry.
Very, very angry.
It would be an hour before the rest of the Children joined him in preparation for the meeting about to take place. They appeared around the corner from behind him. To his left, Xaria was walking at the lead. The Twins, Sariel, and Aniel walked behind their new Harbinger with Maiko Adachi and Ashley Kenyon behind the four. Aerynn Maguire and Zachary Sears formed the rear.
The group stopped a step behind their God, except for Xaria and Sariel who continued on. Xaria stopped on his left and Sariel his right, a half a second behind him. The right and left hands of Lord Lucifer.
Lucifer: “You checked every cell?”
Sariel: “Yes, Sire.”
Lucifer: “And you are absolutely certain he’s not here by mistake?”
Sariel: “Yes, Sire. We only have one re-education from the entire east coast, and it’s a woman.”
Lucifer gave the faintest little nod before Xaria broke the silence.
Xaria Linette: “If he isn’t here, than where is he, mon Seigneur?”
Before Lucifer could answer, two cars broached the final turn, heading in the direction of the little clearing. A grey four-door sedan, a black Nissan 350Z, and a white XZ-10 rolled into the clearing while the Children stood waiting for them.
A slender frame climbed off the ZX-10 and pulled the helmet off, revealing the face of the Kingdom’s Queen, Jasmine Matthews. Sativa Nevaeh and Morgan Payne stepped out of the Nissan while Christina, Lilith, and Lluvia stepped out of the grey four door.
Lucifer lifted his head to regard the women before slowly opening his hands in greeting.
Lucifer: “Welcome.”
Jasmine: “Fuck you.”
Jasmine snapped and motioned over her shoulder to Sativa.
Jasmine: “Where’s her cousin?”
Xaria Linette: “Mind your manners when speaking to a God.”
Morgan Payne: “She aint got da mind a fucking shit, bitch. No one’s talking to you.”
Xaria Linette: “Excusez-moi…?”
Sativa didn’t let the raving of the others so much as give her pause. She pushed through the crowd and crossed the little clearing until she came face to face with Lucifer and stared up at him. There was no fear in her eyes.
Sativa Nevaeh: “Where. Is. My. Cousin?”
Lucifer: “I don’t know.”
Sativa Nevaeh: “Don’t give me that fucking shit! One of your demons was caught on camera!”
Slowly from the back of the group came a blue-haired woman who stepped forward to stand beside Lucifer. Maiko looked over at Sativa.
Maiko Adachi: “If that demon were...one of ours? He’d never have been seen.”
Morgan stepped forward to Sativa’s side and reached out, poking the blue haired woman square in the chest.
Morgan Payne: “What the fuck does that even mean?!”
The conflict and physical touch was enough to make Maiko slink back, and in an instant, Ashley was at her side. Her hand shot out and pressed a hand to Morgan’s own, removing her hand from Maiko, her tone low and threatening.
Ashley Kenyon: “Back the fuck off. I won't ask again.”
The instant Morgan was touched, the Kingdom exploded in protest. The same words from seven mouths all at the same time in outrage.
The Kingdom: “Don’t put your damn hands on her!”
The Kingdom stepped forward as a single unit arching around Morgan, all eyes focused on Ashley who held the woman’s wrist in one hand. As this happened, the Children folded around behind Ashley, each of them staring at the group behind Morgan.
Before the fight could officially break out, a violent eruption shook the ground as a colossal fireball rose onto the sky beyond the trees. Lucifer’s head snapped around to see the fireball and slowly his eyes widened. Softly, he cursed.
Lucifer: “They were a Father-damned diversion!”
Lucifer turned without another word and sprinted from the clearing. The Children collectively turned and followed while the Kingdom looked at one another in shock. Then their attention was on the fleeing group. Sativa drew in a deep breath and shouted.
Sativa Nevaeh: “WHERE IS MY COUSIN?!”
When Sativa took off in pursuit of the Children, the rest of the Kingdom followed suit. The two groups sprinted through the trees and bushes until the Farmhouse finally came into view. There were unconscious, or worse, bodies everywhere and debris littered the ground. The farmhouse itself was half gone from the force of the blast.
The barn was completely gone. The steel doors that had once been hidden instead leading into the ground stood blown open, leaving only jagged metal singed and broken at unnatural angles.
Beyond the bar at the beginning of a little dirt trail, leading in the opposite direction of the clearing the two groups had met in, sat a single black SUV facing away from them with the passenger door open. Standing on the side step of the SUV was a man many of them knew.
Jasmine and Morgan called him “the workout guy” while Sativa called him “Abs”. However, to Lucifer, he was...
Lucifer: “...Anthony…”
Anthony looked back with a little sadistic smile, gave the entire group “the bird”, and slipped into the SUV as it began to speed off while the door closed.
Jasmine: “What the fuck just fucking happened?!”
~{}~
An hour before
~{}~
An hour before
~{}~
Anthony sat in the passenger seat of the SUV just outside of visual with the Farmhouse the Children were using as a base of operation. He stared down at his phone, waiting for the signal that it was time to act. Beside him sat a man in a black hoodie and black steel mask, one of Lord Apollyon’s Demons.
Without warning, the phone suddenly lit up with just a single word. Go. Anthony gave the faintest little nod and the Demon shifted the SUV into drive, pulling around the rest of the way to the farmhouse. The second they rounded the corner of the small dirt road and drove onto the property, two men in black sleeveless jumpsuits came out of a large barn to the left.
Anthony stepped out of the SUV, holding a large piece of paper, and the two men made a beeline for him.
Jumpsuit: “This is private property.”
Jumpsuit #2: “Turn around and leave.”
Anthony: “I’m actually just a little lost. I was wondering if…”
When the first of the Jumpsuits came within arms reach to tell him to leave a second time, Anthony’s arms shot out, seizing the man in a headlock. The second darted towards them, only for Anthony to throw his legs into the air and lock his ankles around the man’s neck.
With a single twist, Anthony rolled over, flipping both men to their backs. As the men scrambled to get up, Anthony slid his feet under him and braced both hands on the hard dirt. When the men were halfway up, bent over at the waist as they stood, Anthony threw himself into the air and into a beautiful backflip, taking each of the men in the face with a brutal kick that flipped them over like playing cards in a game.
While Anthony moved into the barn, the SUV slowly began to pull around until it was facing the way it had come and sat out of the way. As per instructions, it would wait there.
The inside of the barn was like any other with the exception of the two stalls on the right side of the building. Somehow, as if he had an inside source, Anthony went right to it. The second stall had hay covering a steel door that Anthony pulled open, revealing a set of stairs leading down into the ground beneath the farmhouse.
The stairs ended, opening into a large room with corridors leading in all four directions. The room was filled with men and women in the same jumpsuits the Demons wore when not wearing their black robes and hoods. One of them locked eyes with Anthony and raised a shaking hand in shock.
Demon: “That’s him! That’s the man who attacked Sister Sara!”
They came at him from every direction at once, and from that instant, it became like a dance. The first came at him and tried a kick that Anthony grabbed and yanked him forward, forcing the man into a split he wasn’t prepared for. When the second came from his left, he jumped into the air and spun around, driving his knee into the side of the man’s kicking leg and sending him to the ground in a splits like the first.
Another came behind him and he turned, driving a hard kick into their stomach before turning clean around and arching another, taking the man in the side of the head. He continued into the turn, spinning into another that was trying to take him from the side and drove the woman’s blow to the side with a knee.
Behind him came another and he jumped again, using the left to kick the man’s punch to the side while bringing the right around and connecting with the man’s rib cage. When he landed, Anthony dropped and spun around, darting his leg out and taking another in the back of the legs, taking his legs out from under him.
He leaned back on his shoulders and threw himself up, landing on his feet and jumping into a roundhouse kick that took another demon clean in the side of the face. Yet another demon threw a punch, but Anthony arched his body to the side, causing him to miss and grabbing him by the wrist. With a sharp turn, Anthony twisted the man’s arm, forcing him to double over and arched a hip, taking the final demon in the face with a kick as he came in.
Holding the last demon’s wrist, Anthony yanked him toward him, sending the demon past the man and face first into the corner of the wall where it met the stairs. The man hit the ground out cold and Anthony stood, panting and surveying his work.
A dozen men and women were lying unconscious around him. These people were no match for him. He had designed the very program from which they trained. When he heard the foot falls of someone running down the hallway coming at him, he spun around and lowered his right arm into combat stance, his eyes narrowing on the figures before him.
Two of the members of the Twins’ team, Armaros and Tamiel, stood at the entrance way. Armaros was a man who looked a bit like Anthony with short-styled brown hair and a well-trimmed bit of facial hair. Tamiel was a woman in her thirties with blonde hair and a beautiful smile, though she rarely showed it.
The pair looked from Anthony to the Demons and then back at Anthony before doing the unthinkable. The pair dropped into a kneel with their heads lowering slowly.
Tamiel & Armaros: “Right Hand.”
Anthony: “Go.”
Tamiel & Armaros: “Sir?”
Anthony: “Lord Apollyon has decided that this place is an abomination and cannot be allowed to exist anymore.”
Armaros: “Destruction? You said you were just here for the Sinner...”
Tamiel’s eyes widened in horror as she looked up in shock.
Tamiel: “You can’t!”
Anthony’s eyes hardened down on the woman and she flinched, looking down, stammering a follow up.
Tamiel: “I simply meant… there are sinners here undergoing re-education. You have to give us time to evacuate them, Sir.”
Anthony: “They choose to follow the liar. They shall reap what they have sown.”
Tamiel wanted to argue, but Armaros knew better and shook his head. The pair slowly walked around Anthony with their heads down. Anthony turned down the western most tunnel and continued on without pause. He knew where he was going.
Sabotaging the generator that powered the underground facility the Children used was easy enough and didn’t take long. When he exited back into the barn, he carried a struggling bag over his right shoulder. The struggling body of Kellen Scott, the only one of Maiko's attackers who escaped their grasp.
He could see Tamiel and Armaros had rejoined the others. The pair were leading them away from the house after telling them a story about seeing him doing something to the fuel drums in the generator room.
Anthony walked calmly from the barn and across the farmhouse grounds to the SUV. Nearly the instant he reached it, the ground beneath him shook. A split second later, a mammoth fireball tore through the barn as the fuel in the generator room ignited. The barn itself disintegrated in a hail of wood and hay raining down across the farmhouse grounds. The part of the house closest to the barn collapsed in on itself from the force of the concussion.
He loaded the struggling man into the back of the SUV and moved around to the passenger side. As Anthony lifted a foot to enter the SUV after taking a few moments to survey his handiwork, a large group of people appeared through the trees. Through the mass of humanity, he found Lucifer’s eyes and raised a hand, extending his middle finger.
As he sat down and closed the door, the SUV was already pulling quickly onto the dirt road, leaving the group behind them in the wreckage confused.
~{}~
The Present
~{}~
The Present
~{}~
Zachary glanced over to the carnage, surveying the destruction. The sheer desolation of the property and life… and then the realization hit him. He spun around to face Ashley, Maiko, and Aerynn.
Zachary Sears: “Zhere vere Sinners undergoing re-education…”
Lucifer: “SILENCE!”
He was getting too close to speaking to freely in front of strangers. The tiny blonde woman known as the Faerie of the group was huddled into Sativa’s side, suddenly afraid by this turn of events. This wasn’t a wrestling match.
Someone had just blown up a building.
Jasmine looked around the wreckage and then looked back at Lucifer.
Jasmine Matthews: “WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!”
Lucifer took a deep breath, his emotions bubbling so close to the surface now. To think it was Anthony was one thing, but to see him standing there, defiant, was a whole other thing. He had spared the teenage boy ten years ago when every instinct told him he shouldn’t have. Finally, Lucifer just gave the faintest nod.
Ashley Kenyon stepped forward and extended her hand to the dust trail left in the wake of the SUV.
Ashley Kenyon: “If we had to guess? They have Sativa’s cousin.”
Jasmine Matthews: “WHO THE FUCK IS ‘THEY’?!”
Xaria Linette: “A demon has gone rogue, Mademoiselle Jasmine.”
The effect of these words was enough to snap the gothic woman from her confusion and rage. She blinked and turned to face Xaria as if she was suddenly holding a live cobra.
Jasmine Matthews: “The fuck do you mean 'gone rogue'?!”
Sativa Nevaeh: “And what does this have to do with my damn cousin?!”
Morgan Payne: “Wait, are these actual demons?! Like, from Hell?!”
Zachary let out a soft laugh and shook his head.
Zachary Sears: “Nein. Demons are vhat ve call vhose who serve Lord Lucifer but have once preyed on an innocent. A sinner turned into a servant of justice.”
Morgan did a quick turn of her head to Jasmine and patted her with the back of her hand, rolling her eyes.
Morgan: “See? I knew they weren’t real fuckin’ demons!”
Lilith: “And one of them went bad?”
Xaria smiled an understanding smile at the tiny blonde woman.
Xaria Linette: “In a way… oui. He abandoned his God and has proclaimed himself a God. A rival to Seigneur Lucifer for control of the Children of Nephilim.”
Christina: “What does any of that have to do with us?! Or with Mary’s cousin?!”
Ashley Kenyon: “Don’t you fucking get it?! You were a god damn diversion.”
Aerynn Donnelly: “Valdemar took Sativa’s cousin an’ made it look like Lucifer did it. He knew Jasmine an’ Sativa would ne’er give Lucifer th’ benefit o’ th’ doubt, .tha you’d come after him full force.”
Maiko Adachi: “And that we’d meet you to protect our God.”
Ramiel: “...And while you…”
Ananiel: “...Did, the Traitor…”
Ramiel: “...Could sneak in…”
Both: “...And do this.”
Sativa Nevaeh: “They abducted my cousin to do…”
Sativa swept her hand over the burning rubble that had once been the Children’s last sanctuary.
Sativa Nevaeh: “...this?”
Lucifer: “I must admit...it is very smart. It worked perfectly.”
Morgan threw her hands into the air in outrage and turned to face Jasmine and Sativa.
Morgan Payne: “We were fucking BAIT!”
Lluvia, the often quiet one, stepped up and laid her hand on her lover’s shoulder, her voice calm and collected. She needed to keep a cool head.
Lluvia: “Breathe, babe.”
Jasmine: “So what now Lucifer? What about her cousin?”
Lucifer: “He’s of no further use to Valdemar, this self-proclaimed Lord Apollyon. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t just let him go now. He’s served his purpose.”
Sativa stepped forward and stared straight into the eyes of the Devil without fear.
Sativa Nevaeh: “And if he doesn’t...?”
Lucifer looked down into the defiant face of the green-haired woman and just gave her the faintest nod.
Lucifer: “If he doesn’t, we’ll help you get him back.”
Sativa Nevaeh: “Your word?”
Sativa extended a hand. To the Kingdom’s surprise, Lucifer accepted it and shook her hand.
Lucifer: “My word.”
Sativa Nevaeh: “You need help with this?”
She asked, motioning to the wreckage all around them. Lucifer, however, had already turned his back on the woman. Zachary, Xaria, Ananiel, Ramiel, Sariel, and Aniel all followed behind him. Ashley shook her head softly.
Ashley Kenyon: “There are things here no one outside of the Children can see.”
Aerynn Donnelly: “We’ll bae in touch.”
Sativa gave one final grave nod and lifted a hand, motioning in a circle as she turned and walked back toward the clearing. The message was clear: ‘we’re leaving’. There was no need for a fight here, not with the Children. The Kingdom headed back the way they had come from, talking quietly about what they had just seen and heard.
Behind them, Lucifer stood with the Children all around him, staring at the broken remnants of the barn and all those who had been inside when it exploded. Slowly, his hand clenched into a fist so tightly his arm began to shake.
For the first time since he had awakened in this body all those years ago, the Devil was...angry.
Very, very angry.
