Of Light And Shadows

Mammon caught her just in time as the other Devils were released from Satan’s hold. Her legs refused to support her any longer so she leaned on him as she sobbed.

“He’ll be okay,” Asmodeus said. He was the next one to reach her and he took her hands in his as she trembled in Mammon’s grip. “Lucifer can’t be killed by that. He’ll wake up in a day or two.”

She watched as Bee and Levi lifted his broken body and vanished, leaving nothing but a pool of blood and the stained knife behind.

“I’ve got her,” Mammon murmured. He lifted Jia carefully and hopped into the shadows as they rose up around him, stepping out of them in his bedroom. He sat on his bed, keeping her against his chest like a small child as she continued to cry.

“I told you to close your eyes, doofus,” he murmured, stroking her hair back from her tear stained face.

He’d been right. She should’ve listened to him. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry but she couldn’t get it out around the sobbing.

“Ssh. It’s alright. The worst bit’s over now.”

Eventually she stopped crying and just sat there for a while. He waited patiently, still stroking her hair as he let her compose herself and process the awful, horrible things she’d seen. She could feel Lucifer’s blood where it had dried on her cheek.

“I should have listened to you,” she said hoarsely. “You were right. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologise. I understand why you wanted to be there.” He shuddered gently. “Satan’s punishments are always horrible. We’re just lucky he didn’t obliterate Lucifer’s body or he’d come back as a child again.” His shoulders rose and fell as he sighed. “Asmodeus was telling the truth when he said Luce would wake up in a few days. He’ll be sore for a while but he’ll be alright.”

“It was just so horrible to watch.”

“He takes a beating better than the rest of us,” Mammon muttered. “Anybody else would’ve died when their skull got stood on.”

“I heard his bones break,” she choked out.

“Don’t torture yourself.” He lifted her off his lap so he could stand, and she watched as he disappeared into his ensuite and reappeared a moment later with a damp cloth. He dabbed her cheek clean before he spoke again. “What happened to make my father come here like that?”

“It’s complicated. Lucifer wanted to keep it from you and Bell because he didn’t want you to get in trouble. I understand now why he was so worried about it.” She cast her eyes downwards and sat back on the mattress, twisting her hands nervously in her lap. “During the Uprising my mother was kidnapped and enslaved by a Demon.”

“Your mother is Seraph Lauviah, right?”

“Yeah. And Abaddon is my father. He’s held her captive since Satan led the rest of you against God. He was forcing her to give up her energy to give him more power and using her for his own entertainment.” She frowned.

“And he’s been doing that since the Uprising?” She nodded and Mammon grimaced in disgust. ”Ouch.”

“She fell pregnant and I was born. Right from the moment I could understand, I knew he hated me. As I got older he started to hurt me and use me as a slave while he kept my mother trapped.

"The night I lost my memory he tried to kill me. I was twelve and I was so terrified, I rejected everything that had happened to me. I ran and the first thing I remember is walking barefoot through the streets in the cold.”

“So Lucifer took that beating because he went back with you to free your mother?” Mammon asked softly. “Is Lauviah safe now?”

“He called Archangel Michael here to collect her,” Jia nodded. “I think if Satan had known about that he might have actually obliterated Lucifer.”

“Oh, he already knew,” Mammon answered darkly. “The only way Lauviah would be able to get back to the Angelic Realm after being weakened and abused for so long would be if another Angel came to collect her.”

“So why didn’t he do more to punish Louie?”

“Because he knows Michael would’ve come here himself. He’s one of the only Angels that could actually kick the crap out of my dad,” he chuckled. The sound was tinged with bitterness. “If he got wind of Satan beating my brother for summoning him, he’d go insane and punish Satan. Technically Lucifer should never have been punished for what he did.”

“Why not?”

“Because he restored the balance. He sent a high ranking Angel home and separated an inter-realm relationship. Whether the relationship was consensual or not, it still broke the most important rule we live by. The realms should never cross.”

“So I’m technically a crime?”

“Pretty much. Nobody will harm you because you never asked for this. Satan knows he can’t touch Lauviah’s daughter without incurring Michael’s wrath and because you have Demon blood in you it’s now his job to make sure you stay safe.” Mammon paused for a moment before a deep, troubled frown settled on his face.

“What?”

“I was just thinking of the way he kissed you before he disappeared. I didn’t like that any more than the veiled threat he left you with.”

“He said he’d see me again soon.”

“He did.” Mammon shoved his hands into his pockets. “I think from now on you need to stay close to me or my brothers at all times. Our father could appear any time and I don’t trust him. If he sees something he wants, he takes it.” His eyes darkened. “And it was very obvious that he wants you.”

“If he wants me then he’ll take me whether you’re near me or not. None of you could disobey him once he commanded it.” Guilt flashed in his amber eyes before he answered.

“Lucifer can.”

“Then why didn’t he?”

“It would put your life in danger, Jia.” He ran a hand through his hair. “The Seven Devils can’t be permanently killed but you can. You may be an immortal but if your body dies you won’t reincarnate. You’re not a Seraph or one of the Seven Devils so it’s unlikely you could survive that sort of beating.

"If Satan gets angry his reasoning goes out the window. Lucifer disobeying him would tip the scales in a heartbeat. The best way to hurt my brother is to take you from him because he cares about you so deeply.”

“How is it any different to the way you and Bell care for me?” Mammon arched an eyebrow at her.

“You haven’t noticed?” She shook her head. He sighed and ran a hand through his white hair. “You know I love you like the little sister I always wanted, shortstack, but you really aren’t that bright sometimes.” She frowned and he chuckled.

"What are you talking about?" His mischievous smile was a welcome break from the doom and gloom.

“Never mind. It’s a conversation for later. Right now you’re safest around us so you don’t go anywhere alone, alright?”

“Alright.” She hesitated, twisting his bedsheets in her fists. “I want to see Louie.” His smile faded.

“Right now he’s technically dead. Are you sure you want to see that?” She nodded. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He touched her shoulder and shadows swallowed them again, depositing them smoothly in the Infirmary.

As soon as they appeared the attendant with the bright hair and reptilian eyes emerged from behind a curtain and approached them, a concerned frown on her face as she stripped off a pair of bloody gloves.

“Mammon, Jia. Can you tell me what happened?”

“Did Bee and Levi not tell you?” Mammon asked.

“Nothing other than Satan came to punish him. Belphie is with him right now.” She glanced back over at the curtain Lucifer was behind. “I’m in the middle of fixing bones that need to be reset so he isn’t crippled when he wakes up.”

“He took a lot of heavy hits,” Mammon said, swallowing sickly. “His ribs broke early on and Satan just kept on kicking.”

“Hmm. If the chest wound hadn’t killed his body then the broken ribs would likely have pierced something and done the job later anyway.” She rubbed the back of her wrist tiredly across her forehead. “The chest wounds are particularly vicious. I can tell his heart is ruined without even opening him up.”

Jia swallowed back the nausea that threatened to make her empty her stomach onto the tiled floor.

“He was stabbed in the chest. Satan twisted the knife a lot,” she said quietly as her vision started to swim.

“You look like you’re about to throw up.” Sellik disappeared and came back with a cup of the same pink liquid Jia had been given when she first arrived. She drank it quickly and sighed when the nausea passed. “The other injuries I’ve noticed are extensive. He has heavy bruising and a fractured skull.” Mammon shuddered.

“Satan stood on his head,” he mumbled. Sellik’s eyes widened before her expression changed to one of abject sadness.

“Sometimes I wonder how Lucifer withstands so much. It must have been traumatic to see.” Her tone was tender and edged with despair, her eyes straying to Jia’s stricken expression.

“It was horrible.” Jia felt tears well up again and Sellik gave her a pitying look, her eyebrows pulling together over those extraordinary green hues.

“Are you sure you want to see him right now? He isn’t in the best state.” She hesitated. “He looks like a corpse.”

“I’m sure.” Jia squared her shoulders and followed Sellik as she led her reluctantly to Lucifer’s bedside. Mammon kept a tight grip on Jia’s hand as the curtain was drawn back. Her breath caught in her throat.