Snippet #2482934

TASHA

When he appeared in my world, I knew. Now that he stood outside the hospital waiting for me I was eager to leave. Fortunately my shift was done so he wouldn’t have to wait long.

Rounding the corner to the reception area my gaze fixated on him at once. Lucifer’s energy was no easy one to mistake. I grinned to him and hooked my arm in his, ushering him outside.

“My Prince, we meet again,” I greeted him politely, keeping my gaze lowered respectfully. “You’re taller than I remember.”

“Well I am not eleven anymore,” he agreed, looking me over in my teal scrubs and white sneakers. “A doctor? Really, Talia? I’m surprised you aren’t ruling the world.”

I laughed. “That was Adras’s dream, never mine. A doctor’s salary pays well enough,” I explained. “The late hours are a pain, but I manage. What are you doing here? Who was fool enough to summon the Prince of Hell?”

“Your daughter,” he answered, smiling as I paled. Elizabeth? She didn’t even know who her father was. Or that I was one of the most powerful sorceresses on the planet. How could she have summoned Lucifer? Unless she was in danger. If she were to be in danger of dying before the bond was sealed, Lucifer was bound to save her.

“Ellie, is she-”

“She’s quite fine, Talia. She summoned me.”

“Summoned you?” I echoed. “How? She’s never even tried a charm, let alone summoning a demon. Surely she’d have summoned an imp if anything. You’re not an easy demon to summon.”

“I’m not sure of it myself,” Lucifer admitted raking a hand through his hair following me to the car. “But she practically pulled me through by my hair. My guess is it’s something to do with our betrothal, which, I’m guessing by her reaction, she is unaware of.”

I nodded to him and opened the driver’s side door. Sliding inside I settled in the seat and closed the door before igniting the engine and waiting for him to get in. I watched him walk around the shiny silver Audi R8 and slide into the passenger side looking at me with a frown. If the child I had bore with the demon Andras hadn’t been his betrothed I would be less keen to meet his disapproving gaze. He was the second most powerful demon in Hell, even though I could spell him into a pretzel, one did their best not to anger powerful demons unless they had leverage. A relationship, something they wanted… my daughter.

“Why doesn’t she know, Natasha?” Lucifer asked pointedly, looking irritable. “She should have been rubbing up on me like a cat in heat and instead she was hissing like an angry snake.”

“That’s my daughter, Luce,” I warned leaning back into my seat and putting the car into drive. Guiding us out of the parking lot I steered us toward home as I explained. I wasn’t sure he would understand. He was a demon; they led different lives and didn’t understand the issues of short mortal lives. I had realized this with Andras – he was kind, loving and powerful, but he didn’t understand mortal fears and worries. “I wanted her to grow up without the overbearing knowledge that she’d be taken to Hell to marry a man she’d never met. Considering all of the lore about Hell and yourself, I thought once she started talking with the religiously devout the idea of being taken to the eternal realm of fire, brimstone and torture would be frightening. Then, it just never seemed like a good time to tell her. I wanted her to grow up experiencing human life. Telling her she was going to be Queen of the Damned would have exorcised her drive to succeed here. What would be the point of pursuing knowledge about the world and getting a career if you’re just going to end up queen of a realm? Why would you learn to deal with your problems when you know you can just spell your way out of it?”

Lucifer was quiet as he considered this. The minutes were long and tense but I knew better than to rush his thoughts. Finally he exhaled. “It cannot be undone,” he decided. “But we must tell her. I am stuck here until I make a contract with her, perhaps she will be more inclined if she knows she is coming to Hell to be my bride in the end.”

I doubted it. But I didn’t say it. Elizabeth was a stubborn girl. I didn’t expect her to react well to this. She was independent, the news of any arranged marriage, and especially one wrote in Hell was likely to upset her.

We drove in silence for the next few minutes before Lucifer sighed.

“I have watched her from afar for so long. Getting to know her face from pictures and short spells to let me have glimpses into her life. But they were all lacking the vibrancy of seeing something with your own eyes. I used to pride myself that, though I didn’t know my future wife’s personality; I knew she pleased me visually and that would be enough. Now I see that she is stubborn as a mule and fiery tempered and wonder what you and my father have gotten me into.”

I laughed despite myself. “You probably scared her.”

“I have seen frightened mortals, Talia. They cower and cry and beg for my favour. This girl was not afraid; not truly, she was defiant despite her fear. She treated me like a common person off the street,” Lucifer replied like the words left a displeasing taste in his mouth.

“One day you may learn to respect that about her,” I said shrugging. “She is resilient and strong-willed.”

“She is stupid,” he spat tiredly. “The second most powerful demon appears in her bedroom and she hits me with a book. Were we not betrothed I’d have killed her. Had she summoned any other demon and behaved like that they would have tried to kill her.”

I shivered. Well he had a point there. Had she summoned any other demon, Lucifer would have been bound to save her. But at least this way it saved me from having to renovate the house. Pulling into the driveway I turned off the car and looked at him. “When should we tell her?”

“Now. Right now. I want her to know her place,” he said looking up at her bedroom window with a frown.

I smiled, trying not to laugh. If he thought telling her that he was to marry her would cow her, he was mistaken. If anything it would give her leverage.

“Very well, Your Grace. Would you like to wake her or shall I?” I asked. He vanished and I assumed I had my answer. When I walked in the front door I could hear Ellie yelling incoherently upstairs. He could have at least woken her gently, I thought as I kicked off my shoes and walked into the kitchen. Boiling the kettle instantly with a wave of my hand over the kettle I made three cups of tea and waited for them in the living room.

“Put me down you bat-winged bastard!” Ellie cursed. They rounded the corner and sure enough Lucifer had her thrown over his shoulder, blankets and all and she was kicking wildly trying to get free.

“I don’t even have wings,” Lucifer replied irritably as he plopped her onto the couch. “And if I did they would be black feathered, not bat-winged. The lore about me says I’m a fallen angel, love.”

He left her there and picked up a mug of tea before crossing the room to lean against the wall.

ELLIE

Sitting on the couch I glared at him as he walked away and realized he was holding a mug of tea. For the first time since he’d roused me from my sleep I realized my mother was home. Looking at her I paled.

“Mom?” I whispered. He was dragging my mom into this? Was he planning to blackmail me into making a contract with him? “Mom I was going to tell you about this-” I started to lie.

If I could have helped it I would never have had my mom find out I had been playing with magic. I didn’t know my mom’s view on religion, but I wouldn’t have taken the chance of being scolded for it. I certainly wouldn’t have told her that I managed to summon a demon into the house.

“Have some tea, dear,” my mother told me. Obediently I reached over the comforter piled around me and picked up a mug. Taking a sip I watched her warily. “I have some things to tell you.”

“I am one of, if not the, most powerful sorceresses on the planet and because of this I was sought out by the demon Andras, of the Raven. We fell in love and you came into our lives. You are half demon with the blood of a sorceress. We knew when I was still pregnant that you would be a powerful being, but you needed someone who could balance you out. Having all the power of a full fledged demon between your father’s power and mine is dangerous in a human body,” my mother paused, twirling a lock of short hair between her fingers. “We arranged a marriage for you when you were a baby, one with a man that would be powerful enough to keep your powers in line. Lucifer is that man.”

Lucifer piped in. “So you might as well make a deal with me, little girl, your bound for Hell anyways.”

I blinked slowly at my mother and put my mug down before I dropped it. “You’re kidding, right?” I asked, my brows knitting together with disbelief. When she shook her head I looked at Lucifer chewing my lip. I was supposed to marry him? He was easy on the eyes really; tall, dark, devilishly good looks. But he was a demon! Looking back at my mother I frowned.

“No,” I told her and then looked back at him shaking my head. “No. No thank you. I refuse.”

“Elizabeth, you cannot refuse this. It is already done. To rescind on a pact made with Satan is impossible. It will happen regardless of your feelings, I’m sorry,” my mother said softly. “If you look, your hand is marked by the summoning. That is the mark of your betrothal. It was spelled to be hidden until you two met, so you could have a normal life.”

I stood, gathering my blankets around me stubbornly. “You sold my soul to the devil? Really? What kind of mother does that?” I snapped.

“Well no, technically you still have your soul. I sold your hand in marriage, it is slightly different,” she said looking flushed and awkward.

“Well I fail to see how!” I spat and stormed from the room. “I’m not doing it! You can’t just marry me off like we’re in some third world country!” I called from the top of the stairs before slamming the door of my bedroom. Pressing my back to it I slid down to the floor in a heap of legs and blankets and tried to absorb what I had been told.

I was supposed to marry the devil. No, the devil’s son.

Looking at my hand I frowned at the ashy inscriptions circling my finger. Like a property stamp. My eyes welled with tears as it hit me. I had been sold like a cow. Curling up on the floor in front of the door I let myself cry quietly, my body shuddering with the effort to keep quiet until I fell asleep, exhausted.

TASHA

Looking at Lucifer after Ellie fled I shrugged tiredly. “That went just about as well as I expected,” I said optimistically and took a drink of my tea. My daughter was never easily cowed or led to other peoples wills by force. I realized when she was about three that she would not take this well.

“Would you like me to set up the guest room for you? Or do you plan to stay with your wife? She should be asleep by now. I thought she would need help with that tonight, the tea usually works,” I said quietly looking up at him.