Of Light And Shadows

“Your human scriptures like to make a lot of this stuff up,” Mammon chuckled. “Lilith was Satan’s first love. She was an Angel like him and when we were cast out of the Angelic Realm many of us were banished to this place.

“She was banished to your world along with nine others who were deemed to have defied God without actively pursuing war. They were cast out for associating with the Fallen but not furthering the Uprising.”

“The Fallen?”

“That’s what the Angels call those of us that betrayed God.”

“If Lilith was Satan’s first love does that make her your mother?”

“No,” he snorted. “Our mother was Anaita. Love never came into it when they created us. Her and my father gave God his Seraphim but they didn’t care about each other.”

“Seraphim?”

“A collection of God’s most powerful Angels. Seraph is the title me and my brothers carried in the Angelic Realm. The other three of the Seven Devils were born to Archangel Michael and Ariel. Michael and Satan were the top rung in the Angelic Realm.”

“Is Michael in this realm too?”

“No.” Mammon shook his head, inspecting the symbol on his palm. “He sided with the Angels when the Uprising started and kept his place. Naturally we sided with our father, and Michael was more than surprised when his own sons turned on him.”

“What was the Uprising about?”

“Lots of things. It started when God began to restrict the freedom of the Angels by stopping them visiting the human realm and limiting the relationships they could have.

“Satan didn’t like that he was expected to bow and scrape. When he wanted to desert Anaita for Lilith, God denied him and that’s when the war started. At the time we had no idea that our father was starting a war for his own selfishness so we followed him, as did two hundred or so other Angels.

“We thought we were fighting to stop God from becoming a tyrant. For our stupidity we were cast out.” He grinned. “I like it better here anyway. It’s more fun.”

“Why did that make Satan forbid you to love beings from the human realm?”

“When he was cast out and Lilith was banished to live in your world he went to find her. When he finally tracked her down she told him she wanted nothing to do with him and she married someone else. In his rage he killed her and the human she married and forbade the rest of us from ever loving anyone outside our own realm.”

“Wow, it sounds like a serious case of bitter exes to me.”

“That’s what I said,” Mammon shrugged. “But Satan is the embodiment of Wrath. Being cool headed isn’t in his nature.”

“Did you get in trouble for making a pact with me?”

“He wasn’t happy about it but he couldn’t do anything because it didn’t mean I was in love with you. We’re free to make pacts with whoever we want so he had to let it slide and I was never punished.” His grin softened. “Even if he hated it, it wouldn’t matter. He can’t undo a pact by destroying me.”

“All this about war and love and death seems really heavy.”

“It is heavy. We’re talking about history spread out over millennia here. You should take some time to read about it in the library. There are dozens of books on it that’ll tell you everything the human scriptures got wrong.” He yawned and rubbed at his tired eyes. “I came in here to check if you were alright. I didn’t expect to be giving a history lesson,” he chuckled.

“I appreciate it,” Jia smiled. “It’s fascinating to learn more about this place. It was never far from my thoughts in the human realm.” Mammon nodded and gave her a sideways glance, ruffled silver hair falling across his forehead.

“So, this guy that came with you. He’s really not your boyfriend?”

“No. His girlfriend is called Hannah and she’s one hundred percent human. I’m not sure how well she’s going to take him turning into a Vampire.” Jia sagged back against her pillows and crooked an arm over her eyes. “This whole thing is a huge mess.”

“It’s only a mess for him.”

“It’s a mess for me as well. My father will be furious when I finally get back home. I’m missing classes so I’ll probably end up failing this semester and having to repeat it and on top of that I have to look out for a fledgling Vampire to make sure he doesn’t murder everyone he cares about, myself included. My dad already hated him as it was.”

“Your dad sounds like a dick.” Mammon’s blunt way of speaking made her chuckle. He was never afraid to say what he was thinking. “Any normal father would be concerned that his daughter almost got eaten.”

“Yeah well, my dad isn’t normal.”

“Why don’t you like being in the human world?” She fell silent, frowning beneath her arm. She’d hoped he wouldn’t ask. “You can tell me, you know.” She stayed silent. “I know that bruise on your neck had nothing to do with the Vampires, shortstack.” There was a faint edge to his tone.

She knew all along that he’d put two and two together. There was no tricking a Demon.

“My home life isn’t great,” she answered reluctantly. “My dad can be...angry sometimes.” She sat up and bunched the blankets in her fists. “My mum doesn’t come out of her room so there’s nobody to argue with him when he orders me about.”

“And nobody to defend you when he gets violent, right?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t have to. I can see it in your eyes. I felt it when you got hurt and I came back a few times to help you but I saw the look in your eyes. I knew if I jumped in to save you I’d just make things worse for you later. Men like that don’t like being put in their place and I couldn’t take you away from your home.” He shimmied up the mattress to drape an arm over her shoulders. “You could have called on me any time and I would’ve been there, Jia. I could have stopped him if you’d asked me to.”

“I didn’t want you to kill him.”

“I would have beaten him to within an inch of his life but I wouldn’t have killed him unless you wanted it.” He gave her a sad smile. “The only reason I didn’t step in is because I knew you’d never forgive me.”

“He might be awful but he’s my dad. He’s the only one I have,” she said softly. “Nobody else knows about this. You can’t tell anyone.”

“I won’t say anything, but you’re insane if you think I’m letting you go back to him when you leave here. I’m coming with you when you go to make sure you settle down somewhere safe. No arguments.” She sighed and leaned into him, resting her head against his shoulder.

“You don’t have to do that, Mammon. It’s really not that bad.”

“Don’t lie to me.” He shifted beside her to make her more comfortable, pulling her in so her cheek was against his chest. He rested his chin on the top of her head. “How often does he hurt you?”

“Not every day. A couple of times a week maybe.” A soft growl rumbled through Mammon’s chest as his temper peaked.

His heart was loud and slow beneath her ear, reminding her that she was perfectly safe. Mammon was everything she could ever need in an older brother, even if they were from different worlds.

“You sure you won’t let me kill him?”

“He’s my dad. He’s the only active parent I have since my mother is a total shut-in. I haven’t even seen her in years.” She sighed. “The day I came back they were super excited to see me. As soon as the police dropped me off home and finished their weekly visits to check on my wellbeing, they changed.

“Once the investigation was written off as unsolvable my dad got violent and my mum all but disappeared. I’ve been trying to find a way to leave that house ever since.” She was surprised to find tears in her eyes. They ran down her cheeks, staining the soft fabric of his shirt. “Part of me wishes I could just stay here but I know that’s not possible because I’m from the human realm.”

“If I could stay there with you I would.” She knew from the tone of his voice that he meant it. “I’m not cut out for leadership in this place. Nobody listens to me unless I get angry.”

“Sometimes I wonder if the universe is just playing a massive joke on me. Evan was the one constant I had and now even he might leave me.” A sudden wave of guilt washed over her. “What am I saying? His whole life has been turned upside down and I’m sat here feeling sorry for myself.”

“At least he had a life to begin with,” Mammon answered, sitting back to make her look at him.

He frowned and wiped the tears from her cheeks. The physical contact was strange for him, but Jia realised it was exactly what she needed. She appreciated it.

“You don’t remember yours and the one you do have is filled with abuse. You have every right to complain.” She sighed and relaxed into him again, enjoying the faint scent of fresh coffee that clung to him.

Mammon stayed with her for an hour so, chatting quietly about anything and everything. Eventually he let go of her and stretched, cracking his knuckles above his head as a yawn hit him.

“I’m gonna head back to my room unless you want me to stay. I can’t keep my eyes open anymore. Shout if you need me, shortstack.”

“Thanks,” she answered. “Goodnight.” She watched him leave, knowing she wouldn’t be getting back to sleep any time soon.