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THE HEIR
BY SEAN MORIARTY
ADAM
Walking towards my father’s office, cold dread creeps down my spine. The sensation is unsettling to me. I’m not used to feeling such a foreboding sense of fear. Not when I’m the one who usually instills it in others.
I’m the true Devil’s child in this world my father has created.
I’m my father’s future successor.
Not by blood, but it will be me all the same.
My brother, David, may run my father’s future endeavors that favor the light of day. But David will never have the talent nor the ability to do the things that keep our family safe.
It’s plain as day.
There’s a light inside David. I see it every time I’m with him. He doesn’t have that spark of darkness. He’s too… good.
And me?
I’m the Devil’s shadow.
Fear and uncertainty grate on my nerves. Why do I feel this damn foreboding feeling? Father set a meeting for me today, and I thought nothing of it when I saw it on my calendar. But now? Now I feel as if something is in play that I’ve overlooked.
Moving my hand up to the small charm necklace Abigail gave me, I feel it rubbing against my breastbone and frown. Normally, when I touch it I can draw upon a sense of calm, but now I feel nothing but anxiety.
Slowing my walk as I pass by my own personal office, I keep a measured breath to myself.
No matter what is about to happen I must keep my composure.
I will keep my cool and I will show no fear. My emotions will remain in check.
“Fear is the absence of knowledge,” I whisper to myself. “Doubt is my enemy. Mistakes happen. But I alone will control the outcome.”
The baretta on my hip weighs heavily on my metaphorical shoulders as I accept my truths.
I officially made my bones two months ago, and ever since I’ve always carried my gun with me. The war with the other factions may have taken a vacation for the time being, but other dangers and threats always loom in the dark like stalking terrors.
Squeezing the small golden dragon charm one more time, I take another measured breath.
Fear leads to doubt. Doubt leads to death.
Straightening my shoulders, I knock before entering my father’s office.
“Ah, my son,” Lucifer, my father, says with a flat smile.
Red strobe lights start flashing inside my head when I see that smile.
His smile is unusual for him. Even when he is forced to deal with an unpleasant task, his smile tends to be more mischievous.
“Father,” I say with a tight smile of my own and look around the office.
There’s only us and the Spider sitting at a desk close to Father’s own.
“Adam,” Simon says with a small, curt nod in my direction before he returns his attention to the laptop he is forever working on.
I nod my head at him. “Uncle.”
