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Roth had felt his shadows still in the alley with the unknown woman. Instinctively he trusted his shadows to steer him right, well, except for Mara. His shadows had hidden in the deepest parts of him, cowering, almost shamefully, definitely fearfully in hindsight. For them to take control of Luc like they had, morphing his features, speaking through him, was next level freaky shit. It definitely hadn’t been Luc who’d snarled those words at them before flinging his body through the portal. A portal that looked to be made from the shadows themselves rather than the powers each angel carried within them.
“Fuck outta my way, ants, afore I crush to dust you all,” Luc exploded with a barely understandable growl as they were flung backwards out of their seats and onto their asses. Luc was no longer in charge, for the Luc they knew would never speak to them in such a way.
“Mrs Briars, we need you here right now,” Lily called, her voice shaking with panic.
“Already here, precious. Felt the vibrations through the whole castle. Not an ounce of energy was left undisturbed.”
“How did this happen? You dosed him, he admitted as much. What went wrong?”
At this point everyone but Lily was utterly lost. What the hell was she talking about? Considering they didn’t actually know what Mrs Briars was, this could get interesting. All those millennia ago, when Luc had brought her home, they were instructed to just accept her presence, and they had, they’d also eventually given up guessing. Everyone had a story, not everyone needed to know yours. They’d each learned that lesson the hard way. Sometimes, too well.
“Well, cat’s outta the bag now, miss blabbermouth. Fine, quick run down boys and girls before we get back on track. I have some magic, this you know, if you don’t, then you’re a bit slow on the uptake and you may want to get that looked at.” She threw a wink at Dante and Fynn.
“I can intensify and/or dampen certain emotional reactions and experiences. Lucifer is aware, always has been, but for the sake of those who needed my particular help on occasion, it was much easier if everyone else remained in the dark. Including you lot. Also, Luc was to take me in, no questions asked, as some of you may remember?”
“What do you mean? How do you mess with our emotions, exactly?” Roth felt his agitation building, like ants crawling over his skin.
“That feeling you have right now, my boy? That’s what you feel like most of the time when anything is out of your control.” She moved to place her hand on his shoulder and the feeling went away.
“I’ve not felt it in so long, not since right after?—”
“Right after Mara, may she find a particularly hellish spot in Nestradia. Yes, whenever you start to feel that way, I find a way to take it away, to mask it, you could say. Except in that alleyway, I stayed out of that. The lack of control you felt then, the emotions, was nothing like what you are feeling now. They definitely weren’t destructive in nature. Over the years I’ve tried to help you all, where and when I can. Luc has needed quite a bit of my talent lately, but each of you is different.”
Not a breath left a single set of lips as they let what she said sink in. Could she read thoughts? Read emotions? Oh shite, of course, every dirty thought Roth had ever had since the arrival of Mrs Briars flashed through his head and his face flamed with the intense heat of his embarrassment. Glancing at Athon, he saw a look of sheer incredulity. Dante’s face looked pained with a tinge of anger growing ever deeper. The rest just looked stunned, followed by the dawning of the same thoughts he’d just had. Mrs Briars burst out laughing.
“I cannae read your thoughts, laddie,” she sputtered. “And I thank the Almighty for that small boon, to be sure. But I can see things when I need to, yet never when I want, and I know what my charges need and want only so I can help them. Sometimes, even before they do. Now, back to our current, rather urgent, situation.”
Mrs Briars looked at them all expectantly. When they still stood there like statues, with about as many brain cells, judging by the look on her face, she huffed, stormed behind Luc’s chair, and placed her hands on the high back. She was so short you could barely see her shoulders over the top of it.
“Luc, you idiots,” she reminded them. “Pull your heads out of your tushies and focus.”
Like soldiers called to arms they raced back to the table, but didn’t sit.
“If you dosed him to keep him calm, why’d he go off like that?”
“Love, my dear Dante, is something not even I can fully control. It makes us do crazy things. You all have so much to learn. I’m certain your journeys have only just begun. The Almighty never does anything without a plan, including what the Fates are allowed to set in motion.” It was clear from the thread of anger that wove through her voice she had some issues with either the Almighty, the Fates, or all of them.
“That being said, what are you all doing standing around in here still? You have somewhere you all need to be.”
“But we don’t know?—”
She cut Marco off before he could finish. “Where he went? Of course you do! I know none of you are that flipping dense . . . really?”
“Shit, the dragons!” Athon snapped. They all shot into action, each of them manifesting their weapons straight into their palms, considering they were melded with them by divine power as soon as they received them, it was such a natural thing. They were ready to portal immediately.
“Halt!” For some reason, when Mrs Briars spoke in that tone, Roth couldn’t move his feet and he noticed he wasn’t alone.
“It’s going to be one of those days, isn’t it?” She took a big deep breath and counted to ten, very slowly.
“Okay, first things first. Roth? Athon? Go get dressed, you both at least need shoes, and your shirt’s on inside out, Leviathon.”
“Perri, sweet, I believe you have a task you were already assigned, it was entered into the log that only I am privy to, so hop to it. You’ll be sitting this one out.”
Perri went to argue but Mrs Briars shot her a glare and beckoned her near. After a few seconds of back and forth whispering, Perri exited the room, toying with the blade as she went. Not happy, but resigned to staying behind.
“Dante, Malphas, you know I can feel that too, yes? Go prepare, plan, do your duty. Those souls have proven their lack of worth. Your lack of haste will only incur further losses.”
Roth could see them valiantly trying to block out the call. It simply couldn’t be done. So, despite their reluctance, they still managed to drag their feet out of the room.
