Chapter 1 - Lucifer
Evening had begun to fall over the small dusty village. They were sent here to find... something. To be honest, Lucifer had tuned out a bit when Lord Euclid had been explaining. He got the gist of it though, find the thing, don’t get caught, get back to the warehouse. Seir knew what to do so it would be fine.
He glanced anxiously at his older brother. They would be okay, right? It was just an ordinary village filled with ordinary demons, right? But if that was the case, why were they sneaking around? Maybe it was actually a front for a cult so they weren’t supposed to be here. Or maybe they were cannibals. Or maybe—
“Lucifer, come on! We have to focus.”
Seir’s voice snapped him to attention and they ran across the way when no one was in sight. Lucifer had no idea where they were going, but they were headed to a rather large grey wooded building, and big buildings were usually important. They ducked behind a stack of crates, hearing a door open and lock, followed by footsteps. After the sound faded, they approached the front door.
“Do you think you can pick the lock?” Lucifer asked, trying the door handle despite knowing it wouldn’t budge.
“Maybe. Keep a lookout, okay?” He extended his claws, working them carefully into the lock.
Lucifer turned, looking out on the dirt road. Most demons were heading back to their homes with their family or by themselves. He watched a mother holding her child’s hand in glimpses between buildings. His own hand grasped at the golden oval locket around his neck. Family.
Their family had been killed a few months ago, the scene still splattered in his mind. Bloody and horrific. He shook his head. Focus. The mother wasn’t in sight anymore.
Euclid. Lord Euclid had taken them in off the streets, given them shelter and food, almost a home, when they had barely been surviving. They hadn’t had anything left. No family, no friends to take them in, nowhere to go. They stole to survive, or sometimes, if they were lucky, found an odd small job. But there was nothing left for them. Lucifer let go of the locket, flexing his fingers.
Click.
Lucifer took one more careful look before turning. “It’s clear.”
“Okay, let’s see what’s in here.”
They stepped in cautiously, the floorboards creaking under their weight. They closed the door behind them. The lobby was dim, the last of the light filtering in through the windows. There was a reception desk in the middle and bookcases along each side spanning to the very back walls. So many dusty old books. Lucifer has never seen anything like it.
“This place is huge!” Lucifer walked around in awe. He didn’t even like reading all that much. “Is this a library?” He ran his fingers over the leather spines.
“Looks like it.” Seir picked up a book, thumbing through it. “See if you can find anything that looks important, but don’t wander off too far.”
“Okay.” He left Seir in charge of checking the front of the right side while he checked the back. The last rays of the sun glinted off the gold lettering of titles. Demonic Historia: an Incomplete History, Angels from the Rift, The Human Problem... He passed the shelving, coming to a stop off to the side of the back wall. The floor looked strange here, as if...
“Hey, Seir?”
“Yeah?”
“I think I found something.”
“What is it?” he asked, peering around the corner.
“It looks like this leads to a basement or something.”
Seir came over to investigate the floor. “Yeah, that definitely leads somewhere. Think we should check it out?”
“I mean, if I were hiding something, a basement seems like a good place to do it.” Basements were safe places, at least, for most.
“Alright, let’s check it out,” Seir said, crouching to pry open the hatch. It creaked open, revealing a dusty space filled with papers, and a ladder leading down into it. Seir started down first, but paused about halfway asking, “Are you coming?”
Lucifer stared down at him, the images of thick red blood dripping through the floorboards of their home and onto his face, into his eyes, as they tried to keep quiet, came to mind. Frozen, shaking, he still wanted to scream, but he couldn’t, he couldn’t, he coul—
“Lucifer, you coming?”
“I-I think I should stay up here and... and keep a lookout, you know.” Why couldn’t he stop shaking? They were safe, he was safe, kinda.
“Okay... Just. Be careful, please.”
Lucifer could hear him sigh, and then the continuing sound of footsteps. He laid down on his stomach to see what he could in the basement room, which, unfortunately, wasn’t much. So he took a deep breath and stared at the even dustier books and waited.
And he waited.
And waited.
And... waited.
And then, he heard something. Footsteps, but they weren’t Seir’s.
“Seir!” he hissed. “Seir! I think someone’s coming back!”
“Hold on, I think I found it.”
“Seir!” He sat up looking toward the door. The footsteps had stopped, maybe it was just a false—the door creaked—alarm. “Seir! We gotta go! Someone’s coming—”
“That’s odd... I thought I had locked this before I left.”
“—in...” he whispered, moving to hide behind a bookcase. Maybe they’d be a nice demon, maybe they’d just chased out for being hooligans and get asked where their parents were.
“Hello? Is someone in here?” The footsteps wandered off to the other side.
“Hey, I got it,” Seir said, emerging from the basement.
“Someone’s in here.” Lucifer’s eyes darted to Seir and then back to the sound. “What are we gonna do?”
“Hey, hey, look at me.” Seir put the big leather bound book down softly and cupped Lucifer’s face. “We’re gonna be okay, okay? They haven’t heard us and they haven’t seen us. We just need to get out of here. You just need to stay behind me. Got it?”
He nodded.
“Let’s go.” He picked up the book, holding it tight while he checked around the corner. “I don’t see anyone, are you ready?”
“Yeah...” He wasn’t.
Seir waved to have Lucifer follow and they quickly crept along the floor listening for movement.
Lucifer’s heart pounded inside his chest, his palms hot against the dry floorboards. The door was in sight, they were nearly there.
“Hey! Who are you? What are you two doing in here? Where did you get tha—”
“Run!” Seir shouted as they bolted out the door with a bang.
“Get back here!” Footsteps pounded behind them. No time to look back.
“Seir?” Lucifer asked, lungs burning. They couldn’t get caught now. What were they going to do?
“Just follow me!”
There was no plan, he realized, with growing fear. They were part way through the village when a scream cut through the air and everything stopped, including them. They stood, frozen to the spot, Lucifer chanced a glance behind them, the demon that had been chasing them has stopped too.
“What the hell was that?” she asked, turning toward the sound. A moment later, she was run through with a blade.
Seir grabbed his wrist and they were running again. “We have to get out of here!” His eyes were farting around looking for cover.
“Seir, what’s happening? Why did she—”
And then they both saw it. A group of angels, beautiful, terrifying, and immaculate. There was about a half dozen and at the front, and angel with deep red hair wearing a white suit. He held a staff made of an iridescent crystal.
Another angel was returning with a bloody sword made of the same material. The other angels were fanning out, weapons emerging at the ready. They were here to kill.
“Oh? What’ve we got here? What are you two doing out by yourselves, hm? It’s dangerous for little demons, don’t you know?” He grinned, three eyes squinting as he walked toward them.
They picked a different direction, running as fast as they could, but there was no way to outrun an angel. He stalked behind them, taking his time.
Screams rang out around them, drowning out the heavy sound of their breathing. The village was too small, the angel too fast, there was nowhere to hide. They would die. Lucifer and Seir turned down a small dirt alley littered with leaves and lined with wooden crates. They hid behind the crates, panting, trying to be quiet. Leaves crunched in front of them, stopping just before the crates.
Maybe he doesn’t know we’re here...
“Oh no, oh no, where could those little demons have run off to? I wonder. Surely, they wouldn’t be stupid enough to think that I couldn’t see them hide?” A scraping sound came from above. “No, no, surely not. That would mean you thought I was stupid!” he exclaimed. “But I can assure you that I am not. Hello, you disgusting little shits.” He leaned over the crates, hand shooting out and grabbing fast, grabbing Seir.
“Let me go!” He dropped the book trying to claw at the angel’s face, but he couldn’t reach. “Let me go, fucker!”
“Oh my, what a filthy mouth on such an annoying creature. Where is your family little one?”
Seir changed tactics and aimed for the angel’s arms instead, though only managed to graze his skin which healed almost instantly.
“I wouldn’t keep doing that if I were you,” he threatened, holding the blade to Seir’s throat.
“Don’t you dare hurt him!” Lucifer stood, trembling, holding a large rock he’d found for what little good it would do him. He chucked it at the angel’s face, who didn’t seem to expect him to go through with it because it hit him square in the face with a satisfying sound of his nose crunching on impact.
He let go of Seir, clutching his nose, shouting, ”You fucker!"
“Run!”
Lucifer grabbed the book and ran assuming Seir was right behind him, no time to check, he was always told not to look back. The cold fall air stung his eyes that watered on the brink of tears. He didn’t stop until he reached the edge of the forest that bordered the village, sliding into the hollow of a tree, and expecting Seir to follow in right after. Only, he didn’t. “Seir...?” All he could hear were screams, but none were his brother’s which brought a small relief. Leaving the book on the damp earth, he peered out beyond the hollow, back at the village.
Seir had fallen, scrabbling to get away from the angel.
“Aha! Did you really think you could get away from me? How cute.” He sneered, stabbing him in the leg. Seir cried out in pain.
Lucifer’s blood ran cold, his claws digging into the rough bark of the tree in a white knuckle grip.
“Where’d that other twerp go? Hm?” he asked, pulling the sword out roughly and flicking the excess blood onto the leaves. “I guess I will have to find him.” He sighed. “What a pain in the ass. Oh well, he can’t have gotten too far. But what to do with you?” He swung his sword low, cutting across Seir’s chest, another scream of pain, but Lucifer couldn’t look away.
As Seir tried to crawl backwards the angel took slow, methodical steps towards him. “Ah, I know.” He grinned. “I’ll kill you.” Without a moment’s hesitation he plunged it into his chest and everything went still.
“Ezi, come on! There’s nothing here! The Grandmaster says it’s time to go!”
This can’t be happening.
“I’m coming, Aziel! Just taking care of some trash,” Ezi called, dragging Seir’s body with him.
Not again. Not again. I can’t... Lucifer crawled back into the hollow, numb and feeling sick to his stomach. He clutched the big leather bound book to his chest, the only thing to keep him grounded. A weight felt like it was pressing on him, crushing him slowly, he couldn’t breathe, he—
“Hello? Are you okay?”
Lucifer jumped back, pressing himself to the very back of the hollow, hissing and baring his fangs. A young boy, perhaps his own age, was standing quietly, just outside. He couldn’t tell if he was an angel or a human, but he was very pale. Maybe he was just sickly. “Leave me alone! I’ll kill you!” he seethed, though it felt like an empty threat. He had nothing to kill with other than the heavy book.
“Oh.” The boy frowned, taking a few steps back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, I just got lonely waiting and thought I’d walk around a little... But...” He paused, looking at Lucifer curiously. “I don’t think it’s safe here, my dad said there were a lot of dangerous demons here.” He bit his lip, looking unsure. “I... I should go.” He took a few more steps back, looking at Lucifer in the darkness before running off.
Lucifer waited a few minutes, heart hammering, listening intently for signs of anyone. There was no one left, he realized. The village was dead. The angels had gone. He was alone. He wanted to cry, but couldn’t. Just because he couldn’t hear them didn’t mean it was safe. He had to get back to the warehouse. Back to Lord Euclid. He’d be safe there.
He crawled out of the hollow, standing slowly with shaking legs, supporting himself on the trunk of the tree. And then he doubled over throwing up.
The way back to the warehouse was a blur of trees, dirt road, and pavement. Once he was far enough from the village he took off flying. He didn’t stop until he was crashing through the big metal double doors of the warehouse. Most of the demons were asleep, he didn’t know what time it was. Late. The sun had long gone down. He made his way to the back, stumbling as he landed, continuing in a run.
Stopping short of hitting the door face first, he skidded to a stop, pounding on it. “Lord Euclid! Lord Euclid! Unlock the door! We fou— I have— Please open the door!”
The door swung open with a creak.
“Come in.”
Lucifer made a last small sprint inside, the door closing behind. Lord Euclid stood, an imposing billowing black shape of a demon, his four red eyes looking down on him. Lucifer took in heaving breaths, this being the first time in hours he had stood still. His lungs were on fire. Before Lord Euclid had a chance to speak Lucifer blurted, “We went to the village and we were looking like you said to and Seir— he broke into the library and there were so many books, but I found a hatch and S-Seir he went down and found this—” He glanced briefly to the book. “—but then someone saw us and we ran out and then, then the demon died. There were angels and-and one saw us and we kept running, but Seir he-he—” He couldn’t stop the tears falling from his eyes, choking on hard sobs.
Lord Euclid didn’t move for a moment, but then crouched in front of Lucifer, pulling him close, and holding him. For a shadow demon he was surprisingly solid. “Easy, easy...” he began, his voice deep and soft. “Take a breath. Tell me what happened.”
Lucifer pulled himself away, wiping his wet face on his sleeve, and sat on the cold tiled floor, exhausted. “An angel came after us. There were so many, and the demons were screaming, I-I think the angels were...” Killing them. “I don’t know why they were there, but one followed us, but I hit him in the face and we—”
“You hit him in the face?” Lord Euclid asked, skeptically.
Lucifer nodded. “I found a rock.”
“Impressive, continue.”
“I was— We were running. I thought we were running. I got to cover and when I turned around the angel... Seir...” He didn’t want to cry again, his head hurt.
“The angel... killed him?”
Lucifer stayed silent, staring at the ground.
“Oh, Lucifer. Dear child, I am sorry. This was not supposed to be a dangerous place for you two.”
He felt fingers rake gently through his hair. Lucifer sniffed. “I brought you this, I didn’t let it go.” He looked up, offering the book.
Lord Euclid took it, turning it over curiously in his hands before opening it. Lucifer watched as his eyes flicked over the pages, slit pupils widening. He looked up from the book directly at Lucifer, an indecipherable look in his eyes. He shut it slowly, placing it delicately on a nearby table. “Lucifer... You have done well. Come here.” He held his arms out and Lucifer got off the floor, embracing Lord Euclid’s dark form, and was enveloped in darkness.
Lord Euclid held him tight, one hand on the back of his head the other on his back.
“Everything will be fine, Lucifer. You need rest. Go sleep.”
With black claws softly raking his skin the weariness set in. His body felt heavy with sleep as he pulled away, rubbing at his eyes. He was so tired...
Lucifer left the room, closing the door behind him. His feet followed the familiar path to the metal shelf and old mattress that he called his bed. He took a short glide up, he still wasn’t tall enough to reach it without his wings. He sat for a moment taking off his shoes and thinking he might cry again, but nothing happened. He wouldn’t be surprised if he couldn’t cry anymore. With a light thump, he lay down, pulling his tattered blanket over him, and slept.
