“I’ll take Bailey’s place,” River offered.
Lucifer laughed when my arm tightened around her. “The varcolac will never let you do that, daughter.”
“The children have nothing to do with this,” I growled when the flames on River’s fingers went out and golden-blue sparks came to life.
“They havefarmore to do with this than I ever could have dreamed possible!” Lucifer declared and started turning Bailey’s head back and forth again. “Imagine my astonishment whenhermother started rattling on about voices, and devil spawn, and yada boring fucking yada. I almost killed her just to shut her up. How did you live with that pitiful creature all those years?” Lucifer asked River.
She glowered back at him.
“Not speaking, oh well,” Lucifer replied. “So anyway, she was rambling on when something clicked into place. I mean, Iknowcertain humans have special abilities, but amid her endless bullshit, I realized she actuallybelievesin angels and demons. SheknewI was your father, and even if a human has special abilities, they cannot speak with the angels, unless theyarepart angel. Maybe I could have passed her off as just being crazy, but then I recalled all the power you unleashed on those seals, and thatreallygot me to thinking.”
Lucifer tapped one finger against his temple while his other hand constricted on Bailey’s head and he leaned forward. Nudging River behind me, I planted myself firmly in front of her.
“Since I knowmyline, and the lines of all the angels who fell with me, and Iknowyour mother isn’t descended from any of us, I realized it must be someone else.Butwho? I asked myself. And how could that ever be possible?” Now he tapped his finger against his chin as his foot swung faster.
“I asked myself these questions over and over again,” Lucifer continued. “I even said to myself, perhaps we lost a line. We angels are not perfect after all. So maybe we could have somehow lost track of a child over the countless years. But I couldn’t quite bring myself to buy it, not when I felt that I would have at least sensed the DNA of anotherfallenangel within you. Eventually I realized your mother speaking to the angels could only mean that the fallen were not the only ones with children roaming Earth. Since I never saw Ariel heavy with child, it could only beoneother angel.”
Lucifer’s gaze went from River to Raphael when he came forward to stand on the other side of her. Loathing exuded from Lucifer when he snarled at Raphael. Bailey tried to squirm away, but Lucifer held him in place.
“Raphael,” Lucifer bit out.
“Lucifer,” Raphael replied blandly.
“That is not my name!” Lucifer snapped. “I forsook it when I forsook all of you.”
Raphael bristled beside River.
“Donotinstigate him when he has the children,” I commanded.
Raphael glanced at River before bowing his head.
“Still a follower I see,” Lucifer sneered at Raphael. “I bet Michael sent you here to clean up his mess. The angel’s large, shiny, warrior lapdog.”
Dust fell from Raphael’s wings when he ruffled them, but he didn’t rise to Lucifer’s baiting.
“Deny to me that Michael had a child while on Earth!” Lucifer shouted at him.
“I cannot,” Raphael replied.
Lucifer blinked as if he’d never expected to hear the blunt admission. Lucifer released his grip on Bailey’s head and began to pet the child as he gazed at the horizon. A distraught sound escaped River, but she didn’t try to go after them again.
Then Lucifer stilled completely, and his eyes returned to Raphael. “Adam!” Lucifer spat.
The world slanted precariously as Lucifer unleashed his ability to disorient his prey. The vast wave of power he emitted crackled against my skin. Raphael staggered to the side before planting his feet. River’s legs wobbled, but I held her steady.
Around me, the others stumbled back and forth as if the ground lurched from side to side, though it never moved. Lucifer could make the world appear as if it were shifting when it hadn’t. More accustomed to this ability of Lucifer’s, I remained unmoving.
Lucifer leaned over Bailey, locking the child in a cage created by his arms as he tee-peed his fingers before his face and gazed at me. The world behind him blurred and twisted. River clutched her head.
“It’s not real,” I murmured to her. “None of it is real.”
The earth seemed to shift away before settling into place as Lucifer regained control of his temper. River’s hand fell back to her side, but her head remained bowed as she struggled to catch her breath.
“Do you know why the varcolac rises from the fires?” Lucifer asked me.
“I don’t care,” I replied blandly.
“You were forged from the flames of Hell, and the angels were created from the waters of Heaven,” he continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “Two opposite elements; two completely different creatures. All of them not born of a mother, but from a piece of their worlds. The angels guided the souls in Heaven, and the varcolac guided the demons in Hell.
