River

The dizzying effect of Lucifer’s power still had my head reeling as I tried to slip these last pieces of the puzzle into place. My hands clenched on Kobal’s back when his muscles rippled against me.

“Are you saying the varcolac is an angel?” I croaked out as I finally succeeded in blinking Lucifer and Bailey back into place. My molars ground together at the sight of my brother sitting with that monster. I’d like nothing more than to tear Lucifer’s hands off for touching him.

Remain calm.

Lucifer laughed and leaned back to slap his hand on his thigh. The white shirt he wore carried no hint of blood, neither did his black pants. He must have taken the time to change after he massacred my friends. That somehow made it even worse.

“Not an angel, child, but a creation of the being just like the angels are!” Lucifer declared.

“I am nothing like the angels,” Kobal replied with steely calm, though I knew this revelation had to have rocked him too.

I thought back to all the markings on the stones, the vast power within the cavern housing the Fires of Creation, and I finally understood where all that power came from. The Fires of Creation were where the being had once weaved an ancient magic so powerful none of us could ever comprehend it. Not Kobal, not Lucifer, no one.

No wonder the Fires had been capable of destroying my wraith of a father.

“However, it makes him more like angels than it does the demons,” Lucifer said.

I realized he was revealing all this in an attempt to drive a wedge between Kobal and the demons.

“If you truly think about it, the varcolac was more favored by the being than any of the angels,” Lucifer continued. “The varcolac can enjoy the pleasures of the flesh without penance.” He shot a look at Raphael. “If they find their Chosen, they can breed even if they aren’t capable of passing on their abilities to their offspring. But then, their abilities aren’t really their own, and when they die, those abilities return to the fires that created them and a new varcolac rises with new powers.”

My breath sucked in as that little puzzle piece clicked into place too. I’d never really questioned why Kobal couldn’t pass on his abilities to his offspring; I’d just accepted it as one of those things that could never be explained, but it made sense now. When a new varcolac rose, their powers would be different from the varcolacs who came before them, but some would remain the same.

“The varcolac was also allowed to walk Earth whenever it chose, and all the while, it was never burdened with the knowledge of what created it,” Lucifer continued.

“That’s why you destroyed the varcolac when you first entered Hell!” I gasped. “Because you were envious of what it had been given and you had been denied.”

“Why should a Hell creature be treated better than any of us? Why should a Hell creature, created by the same being as us, refuse to open a gateway for us and deny us the right to walk on Earth like the angels had? What right did it have to control us in such a way! Why were those hideous demons allowed to roam the Earth, while we were denied?” Spittle flew from Lucifer’s lips as he shouted this question at me.

Because you would have destroyed the world, but I kept that thought to myself as my gaze shifted to Bailey’s flushed, wet face.

“It does not matter.” Lucifer leaned forward on the throne to peer intently at me. His movement revealed the intricate carvings behind his back, carvings that mirrored many of the markings on Kobal’s arms. My gaze ran over the heads of the hounds on the arms, and the two hounds on top of the stone chair, howling at the sky. My attention shifted to the throne Gage sat on and the intricate symbols etched into it. The vast power in those thrones radiated into the marrow of my bones.

“No one should have denied us access to Earth,” Lucifer said. “When I explained to the first varcolac what he was and how alike we were, he still refused to let us out of Hell, so I killed him. I didn’t bother to explain it to the next one before killing her too. If we angels could not have Earth, we would have Hell.

“In the beginning, it was great fun to take out each new varcolac—they were the only real challenge in that disgusting place—but the Fires kept learning and twisting and forging them stronger until he came out,” Lucifer said with a pointed glance at Kobal.

Kobal tensed against me, a rumble went through his chest, but he kept himself restrained from going after Lucifer—most likely because he wouldn’t chance letting me go right now.

“Like humans, demons are an evolutionary species too,” Kobal said. “It is why they were allowed to walk the Earth. However, they never did so freely, and those who broke the rules were punished for it. It seems a fair amount of those demons stand behind you now,” Kobal replied.

“And the many demons standing behind you are fighting for a leader who isn’t truly one of them,” Lucifer replied. “You are so similar to an angel, rather than demon, that you have taken the daughter of two angels as your Chosen.”

I didn’t dare look back at the demons to see their reactions to Lucifer’s words. Kobal’s claws lengthened against my side. His eyes glowed as hot as the fires he rose from while he gazed at Lucifer before turning his head to level Raphael with a look that made those closest to the angel edge away from him.

“Is that what you meant at the house when you said, ‘Though, I suppose that makes sense?’” Kobal snarled at him.

“Yes,” Raphael replied with zero remorse. “There is a deep intertwining of all our worlds, and with the strength of both your powers and heritage, it makes sense you would have a connection to each other.”

The ceasing of Kobal’s breathing had me shifting subtly to stand between them. Kobal tensed to strike, and I knew if he’d been confident I wouldn’t go for Lucifer, he would have destroyed Raphael.

“But you must realize the angels didn’t know the varcolac was unaware of its true origins until we were in Hell,” Caim said as he strolled forward to stand beside me and in between Raphael and Kobal. “Which means Raphael is also just learning that you were unaware of your origins.”

I heaved a sigh of relief when Kobal relaxed a little against me, but he kept his eyes on Raphael.

“That is true,” Raphael said.

“Look at the cousins squabbling!” Lucifer declared and slapped his thigh again as he laughed loudly.

His words drew everyone’s attention back to him, as he’d intended. I’d come to realize that Lucifer needed to be the center of attention; he thrived on it. The hostility from Kobal and the demons behind us ratcheted up as all the angels smirked and a few laughed outright.

Lucifer’s laughter abruptly stopped when his gaze shifted to Caim. He eyed him as a wolf eyed an elk. “I have special plans for you, Caim.”

“I’ve no doubt,” Caim replied flippantly, but his fingers twitched at his sides.

Lucifer focused on Kobal once more. “So, like me you are not a demon, not an angel, but something more. Something superior to all those around you. There is a reason it is my daughter you claimed. You are more like me than any of them.”

I shook my head in denial and opened my mouth to respond, but Corson was already speaking as he strolled forward to stand on Kobal’s other side.

“Kobal is the only one of us who is born of Hell. He has ruled over us for over a millennia and been willing to die for us that entire time. I have walked through the chamber where the Fires of Creation are located. I know the power that forged my king, know what he went through to rise to lead us, and it makes him more demon than any of us!” Corson declared loudly.

“And he’s happily killed more than a few of you,” Bale said with a smile as she raised her sword. Red stained the silver blade as she pointed it at the angels behind Lucifer.

The other demons all nodded their agreement and crept closer to us. Kobal had not evolved like they did, he was not a demon, not really, but he was their king, and they would fight and die for him.

“Why did the varcolac not know any of this?” I asked. Kobal had once told me he was born with the knowledge of what he was and what he was to carry out. However, he had none of the memories of his predecessors.

Lucifer shrugged and swung his leg back and forth as he absently patted Bailey’s head. My eyes helplessly followed each of those pats until I thought my heart would explode.

“Because the Lord works in mysterious ways!” Lucifer threw his hands in the air and waved them about his head before lowering one to Bailey’s head and patting it again. “And there are some things the being likes to keep secret. Like little angel babies.”

His patting became faster before his movement abruptly stopped with his hand on top of Bailey’s head. I wanted to scream at him to let go of my brother, but I bit my lip, refusing to give him the reaction he sought from me.

“A little Michael angel baby named Adam,” he murmured. “And now they’re named Bailey and Gage and River.”

I had to get Bailey and Gage away from Lucifer now, but I didn’t know how to do that without getting them killed.