Of Light And Shadows

“I was worried about you the whole time,” Jia insisted. “I have so much to tell you.”

Evan sat back on the bed and patted the mattress beside him, inviting her to follow. She settled herself on the blankets and told him everything that had happened to her since they’d arrived in the Demonic Realm.

He listened intently throughout, a low, inhuman growl rumbling through him when she revealed the extent of the abuse she’d suffered while living with Abaddon.

She left out the details about the pact with Lucifer and Satan’s visit. For his part, Louie listened silently, his eyes on them as he leaned back against the wall by the door. When she was finished Evan shook his head.

“Who would’ve thought this whole time you weren’t Lotura at all?”

“I know. It’s no wonder I failed the Empath exam,” she chuckled.

“So you’ve known Lucifer for years then?”

“Yeah. We met when I was twelve. He found me the night I lost my memory and brought me here. We’ve been friends ever since.” She turned and beamed fondly at him. He gave her the faintest smile before his eyes flickered to Evan, but the warmth in it made her heart squeeze.

“And the other guys, the ones with yellow and purple eyes that helped us in the alley. They’re Demons too?” Evan asked.

“Yeah. Their names are Mammon and Belphegor and I have a pact with both of them. They insisted on it so they could look after me.” She held her hands out to show him the new mark on her palm. “That’s what these are.”

“I always thought that was a weird place to get a tattoo,” Evan chuckled. “I’m glad there was someone looking out for you when I couldn’t.” His eyes flickered to Lucifer who gazed back coolly, his expression calm and completely neutral. Evan frowned. “You’re looking at me funny,” he said abruptly.

“My face was blank,” Lucifer replied.

“Yeah, but I can still tell you’re resisting the urge to knock my head off.” Evan sounded defensive and a flicker of nerves settled in Jia’s stomach.

“I’m not resisting anything. If you’d like I can look at something else?” He kept his tone polite, but Jia realised immediately that Lucifer didn’t like Evander at all, though he hid it well enough that Evan couldn’t have noticed without knowing him better.

“Am I doing something wrong?” Evan asked. There was an odd harshness to his tone that made her frown.

Lucifer was obviously not friends with Evander, but he wasn’t being hostile. In fact he was leaning casually against the wall with his hands in his pockets, the very opposite of hostile. There was no need for the anger.

“No,” Louie answered, shrugging.

“Then why am I getting on your nerves?”

“Excuse me,” Jia said, rolling her eyes to disguise how tense she was. “I haven’t seen you in weeks and all you’re doing is focussing on your male bravado. Pay attention to me.”

“Yes, your highness,” Evan answered, mock bowing as he grinned at her. The anger was still there but it faded a bit as he turned back to her.

“That’s more like it.” She leaned over and rested her head against his shoulder and he responded automatically by putting an arm around her. She saw Lucifer’s head tilt a fraction but he remained silent, his face blank.

Evan still seemed to sense his reaction somehow and pulled her closer, smirking at the Demon. She frowned, unused to him behaving that way.

“What’re you reading?” she asked to distract him.

“It’s a book on Shifters,” Evan answered. “I looked for it everywhere in the human world and never found it. That nurse with the green hair brought it in for me. Sellik.”

“That was nice of her. I tried to get you it for your birthday once but I couldn’t find it either. It’s lucky it was here.” She opened the book on the first page and recognised Lucifer’s signature in the bottom corner. “Or maybe luck had nothing to do with it. Is this yours, Louie?”

“Yes,” he answered reluctantly. She got the sense that he was only admitting to it because she was the one who’d asked.

“Did you give this to Sellik so Evan could read it?”

“...Yes.”

“Huh,” Evan said. She didn’t miss the hint of annoyance in his eyes as he looked at the Demon. “Thanks,” he said begrudgingly.

“That was nice of you,” Jia agreed.

“You asked me to keep Evander comfortable,” Lucifer shrugged. “I promised you I would do as you asked.”

“I have to thank you for that as well,” Evan said, turning back to her. “If you hadn’t insisted on keeping me safe I’m pretty sure I’d be dead right now.” He grinned mischievously. “I don’t think the Demon likes me,” he stage whispered.

“My name is Lucifer.”

“Relax, I’m just messing.” A muscle in Lucifer’s jaw twitched, the only outward sign of his anger. Evan’s new eyes didn’t miss the movement and it made him smile even more. “It’s really easy to annoy you isn’t it?” he asked. There was something awful in his tone, an acidic note that Jia didn’t like.

“Be nice,” she warned, elbowing him. “He was kind to you because you’re important to me. Now you be nice to him because he’s important to me.” She hesitated and Evan cocked his head, sensing she had more to add. “And also because he’s basically in charge around here.”

“He is?” Evander asked before turning to him. “You are?”

“I am,” the Demon nodded.

“You didn’t tell him?” Jia asked.

“I didn’t have a reason to,” Lucifer shrugged.

“So all this time Evan had no idea who he was talking to?” He said nothing so she turned to the Vampire. “You do realise that you’ve been going out of your way to irritate Lucifer Morningstar, right?”

“I do now,” Evan muttered. “I’ve got to be honest, as the Prince of Demons I thought you’d be more intimidating.”

“The intimidating one is my father.”

“Who’s that?”

“Satan,” Lucifer answered, deadpan. Evan chuckled until he realised nobody else was laughing.

“You’re serious?” Louie nodded again. “Wow. I thought all that was just stories written in books in our world.”

“The books are pretty much all wrong,” Jia said. “But Satan is exactly as scary as he sounds. Lucifer is his first born and is more than capable of being just as scary so watch your mouth, moron.” She nudged him with her elbow and he responded by tugging her braid gently. “You still owe me dinner, by the way.”

“Sorry, I was a bit preoccupied with changing species,” Evan teased. “I’ll take you wherever you want to go once we’re back in the human world.”

“You’re still planning on going back?”

“My whole family are there. Hannah is there.” He frowned. “I can’t just leave them wondering what happened to me. If I can I’d rather be around them.”

“Maybe once you get used to walking around here without shackles you can go see them,” Jia suggested. “How are you gonna tell Hannah what happened to you?”

“I’ll tell her the truth.”

“What if she doesn’t react well, Evan?” Jia cast her eyes downwards. “You know how people in the human world think of Vampires.”

“I know. All I can do is hope she understands.”

“Staying in that world and continuing a relationship with a human girl would be dangerous for her,” Lucifer said. “In that world your thirst will be constant and you’ll need blood to survive. If you miss a feed you put her at risk. On top of that you’ll be hunted.”

“Yeah, I know.” Evan sounded resigned, though his irritation was still plain to hear. “Even if it’s just to let her know what happened to me, I have to go back and see her.”

“When I’m satisfied you aren’t a danger here we can discuss this again.”

“I guess that’s all I can ask for right now.” He brightened fractionally. “I’m glad you at least let Jia in here finally.” He put a hand on her shoulder, turning his new silver eyes on her. “I missed laughing at you being an idiot.”

“Rude,” Jia muttered. “I make my friends save your life and you repay me by calling me an idiot.”

“You love it really,” he retorted.

“You haven’t changed too much have you?” she asked, relieved that he still seemed able to joke around.

“I have flashes of hopeless despair every now and then but I’m keeping it together.” She looked up at him sharply and saw that he was grinning.

“Jerk.”

“Listen, I’ve had weeks cooped up in here and the only fun I get is annoying tall, dark and angry over there. You had to expect this.”

“Tall, dark and angry?” Jia echoed, suppressing the urge to giggle. Lucifer’s frown deepened.

“See? Angry,” Evan said, jerking his thumb at the Demon. “Are you gonna babysit every time Jia comes to visit me then?”

“Yes. That way if you try to harm her I can break your legs,” Lucifer replied smoothly as his frown flattened out again.

“Alright, tough guy,” Evan sighed. “What were you in the Infirmary for anyway?” Lucifer cocked his head, watching the Vampire for a moment. His expression didn’t change.

“I got stabbed in the heart.” Evan blinked.

“You what?”

“What part of that sentence was difficult for you?”

“The part where you got stabbed in the heart. How are you walking around already?”

“I’m a hard man to kill.”

“That’s really creepy.” The Vampire wrinkled his nose.

“Says the creature that lives on a diet of blood.”

“Are you two ever going to stop getting on each other’s nerves?” Jia asked, perplexed.

“No,” they answered together. She sighed and shook her head.

“Boys,” she muttered. “This is supposed to be a fun visit.”

“I am having fun,” Lucifer countered, raising an amused eyebrow at the vaguely disturbed expression on Evan’s face.

“Behave yourself,” Jia muttered. “You’re meant to be the responsible one.”

“I’m many things, Jia, but I never claimed to be responsible.”

“You’re the Prince of Demons. Isn’t it your job to be responsible?” she asked, folding her arms across her chest. Instead of answering Lucifer just grinned at her.

“Would you look at that?” Evan said. “He actually knows how to smile.”

“I know a hundred different ways to subdue you if you continue to goad me as well,” Lucifer replied immediately, slipping his hands back into his pockets. “Don’t be fooled by the kindness I show her.”

Evan was getting under his skin, though his words were still spoken politely. She could see how hard he was trying to keep his cool for her.

“And you won’t use any of them because you’re Jia’s good boy. Did she teach you to sit and fetch too?” She flinched a little at Evan’s biting tone, not expecting the amount of glee and anger he threw behind it.

“She’s one of very few people that I value in my life. You are only here because I respect her enough to do things that make her happy. You should be grateful to her instead of trying to get a rise out of me.” Evan rolled his eyes and turned to Jia.

“Is Lucifer your boyfriend or something?” She blinked, the reply sticking on her tongue. She swallowed and tried again, forcing the words past the blockage in her throat.

“I don’t like this. You’re not acting like yourself,” she mumbled. Seeing him so ready to be angry was unsettling. She wasn’t used to Evan being so purposefully abrasive.

Lucifer was keeping his temper tightly controlled and Evander was trying his hardest to make him mad. Even when his irritation slipped free of the reins here and there, the Demon remained mostly stoic in the face of Evan’s goading.

“Have you told him he’s not your boyfriend?” he continued, turning back to the red-eyed man. Lucifer arched an eyebrow at him.

“Jealousy is an ugly emotion,” he said flatly, his polite tone finally starting to slip.

“Jealousy? You think I’m jealous of you? Not likely,” Evan snorted, his lip curling in disgust. “Out of the two of us, she slept with me, so you’re already behind on that one. If anybody should be jealous here it’s you.”