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“We’re preparing you to defend yourselves if there’s a time when the Gates come crashing down and all the creatures of Hell show up on your front porch,” Astaroth finishes.
Aww. Fuck me with a pitchfork. Could Hell get any worse?
MONI
JP holds my hand as he knocks on the door to Lucif—I mean Dad’s study. I’m gonna have to get used to calling him that. It’s still so unreal that I have flesh and blood besides JP that wants me. My egg donor never did.
“Come in.” We hear from the cracked door. We walk in and find Dad sitting on his sofa.
After the revelation from Murmur and Astaroth, they pulled JP and me off to the side first, showing us how to clean and take care of our weapons before sending us here. They said Lucifer wanted to see us separately.
“You asked for us?” I ask, breaking free of JP and giving Dad a quick hug. He tightens his arms around me and beams down at me as I take a seat beside JP, while they do that weird head nod greeting.
I swear, men are weird. It’s like they think they can get cooties from each other. Wait. Are cooties real?
“Yes, Moni. I know I haven’t been able to spend a lot of time with you like I would prefer, but I wanted to offer you guys something. Hopefully, you’ll take it, but I’ll understand if you decide not to.” JP shifts in his seat as Lucifer reaches for a box that’s under the coffee table and sets it on top. I pull out my essence of life and take a sip of my Sparks coffee as we take in the small silver box with the initials L.M. on it.
“What do the initials mean?” I ask.
“Lucifer Morningstar. I was named after the first star, my dear.” He opens the lid and inside, there’s a big ass futuristic gun and a bottle of black and silver ink glowing in a small glass bottle.
JP pats my arm to get my attention, and I realize I’ve been squeezing his hand so hard that his knuckles are white.
“Sorry,” I whisper.
‘What is that?’ I ask JP.
“You want to give us a tattoo?” JP asks curiously.
My bark turns to glitter bomb mode with swirls of pale white as I repeat JP’s words.
“Yes, but not just any type of tattoo. It will work as a branding, marking you as my children or mine, and it will allow you to communicate with me, like a calling beacon or pager,” he states.
“What’s a pager?” I ask. I know I have bark, but I don’t want to be turned into paper for a book.
He laughs and shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I forgot how young you are. It’s a device that humans used to use back in the day. They went off to alert them someone wanted to get ahold of them. It was before cell phones. The ink would work the same way, just in case you were in a tight spot and your phones wouldn’t work,” he explains. His words have honesty in them, but they sound off. Not quite a lie, his speech pattern changed slightly and his tone dropped as he talked about a tight spot and our phones, but before I can say anything JP speaks up.
“Okay, that’s a half-lie. What else does it do?”
Lucifer’s grin spreads into a full-on smile as he gets called out. “I see you’ve been practicing. It’s also a tracker. All three of us will be able to feel each other. Rub your hand over the ink, and you’ll be able to know, or at least have the sense of where the others are. I have the same with the rest of L.A.M.B. I would like to have the same reassurance with you.”
This time his words ring clear like a crystal bell, and I smile. “Yes! But you have to finish it even if I pass out, especially when I pass out,” I admit, cuddling into JP’s arm. “That gun looks scary.”
“Oh, it’s not a gun. It’s a needle,” Lucifer corrects me.
“Ahh! That’s even worse!” I scream.
“Moni, calm down. We got this,” JP says, patting my leg. “Is that something I might be able to learn?” he asks.
“What? Tattooing?” Dad asks, leaning back in shock.
“No. Well—Yeah. I guess. Weaving the tracer or tracking spell into the ink for others. Is that something I can learn?” he asks.
“Yes, that is something you should be able to learn. Let’s practice on Moni!” he says with a smile. JP turns to me with a smile, and that’s the last thing I see before the lights go out.
CHAPTER 50
Storming the Gates
