“Dammit,” I mutter as I turn. I’m surprised when I see an elderly man standing in front of me. “Sorry,” I say quickly, hoping he didn’t see what transpired between the demons and myself. I move past him, my goal to reach Sebastian and Arwen before it’s too late.
“No need to apologize, daughter.”
I freeze in my tracks. I don’t need to sense him or see his true form to know who is speaking to me through the old man dressed in rags. “Lucifer.”
“Come now, Anala, the least you can do is address me properly. I am your father, remember?”
“I have no father. You are nothing more to me than the Dark Lord, the monster inside the pit, Satan, and all things dark and vile.”
“You aren’t giving me a chance. Do you forget, before I was in the pit, I was an angel myself? One of the most loved? I’m not what you have let yourself imagine me to be. If you would’ve given me the chance to be a father...”
I cut him off before he can continue to spew his nonsense. “If you’d been a true father, I wouldn’t have spent my first lives being tortured in your lovely home,” I tell him sarcastically.
“You needed to prepare.”
“Prepare? You crafted me into a being who cannot die. I’m practically indestructible. I don’t even know if one of the angels could kill me, yet you want to talk of preparing me? Get over your bullshit.”
The old man’s face doesn’t change. I know my father isn’t on Earth. There’s no way. The war hasn’t begun, the pieces of the puzzle haven’t fallen into place. No, he’s simply using this man as a tool to speak to me from the pits of Hell. I should’ve expected it with my whore of a mother walking the Earth.
“Do you know, you are the first to truly defy me? The humans tell stories of creatures, abominations, even humans who take a stand inside the pit. It’s their way of making Hell less than what it is. In all honestly, though, no creature I’ve created, no soul who has passed through my gates, has ever given me the defiance you have. That’s why I banished you. I thought you would get it out of your system. I mean, I am the king of defying your father. Yet, you haven’t. You’re still rebellious and refuse to see your fate. I don’t understand it. Do you think if you protect this human scum, when the inevitable battle does take place, you’ll end up going to Heaven with all the people you’ve watched die for years?”
“Who said I plan on letting this inevitable battle take place?” I ask then hold up my hand as the old man’s mouth opens again to speak. “Please, no more talk of all the doomsday references. I get it. All of you claim it is the world’s destiny. God will come claim his people and take them to paradise. Fine. I’m okay with that. What I’m not okay with is the two of you destroying my world in some crazy war. Why can’t you keep your ass in Hell and let him stay upstairs. He can claim his people and take them to paradise. You can torture the bad ones. You can both be happy, and I can stay on Earth with the humans who are still living and determining which place they will end up. It’s a simple solution, really. You though, you are Hellbent on a war.”
“Your defiance of your nature and true calling is somewhat comical. Something so powerful, a being so deadly, and all you want to do is live life, have a boyfriend, and drink bourbon.”
“Is that so wrong?”
A new voice chimes in, and I whip my head behind me to see a young woman, maybe twenty, sitting on top of the dumpster in the alley where we’re standing. If I were to guess, I would call her a junkie. She’s paper thin, her eyes have dark bags under them, and I can clearly see track marks up and down her arms.
“Ah, I should’ve known!” The old man turns around to face the girl sitting on the dumpster. “You just couldn’t allow me to speak with my daughter without your interference, could you?”
“This lost soul was praying to me for guidance. I was answering that prayer when I sensed you interfering on Earth. I felt it my duty to step in and see what was happening.”
“Wait,” I pipe up as I move closer to the girl. “Are you...him?”
“Oh yes, let me get the introductions out of the way. Anala, Hell spawn, daughter of the devil, meet your grandfather. You know, the oh so powerful Lord and savior.”
“Hello, Anala.”
“You don’t seem so powerful. Not in this vessel at least.”
“Like I said, she was in need of guidance, I was providing that when I felt I should introduce myself to you. I felt it was well past time for us to meet.”
“What do you want? Are you planning on telling me what to do like he’s trying to?” I toss in a head nod in Lucifer’s direction for context.
She, or he, however you want to look at it, laughs and hops off the dumpster. “That’s not my way. I don’t interfere with free will. I simply provide the tools, each being is responsible for using them as they see fit.”
“Really?” I can hear the suspicion in my own voice.
“Yes. I’m only here to tell you the truth about this looming war. You see, I’m in no rush to see it come to fruition. I love the people of earth. I love all my children. I want them to be happy. Do I think Heaven would provide them with the paradise they have been promised? Yes. Am I simply waiting in the wings to reap souls and call everyone home? No. In my eyes, this world’s cycle is far from over. However, if Hell opens and your father is permitted to walk the Earth, then yes, revelation will be upon us. This is why the angels try so hard to keep Hell’s spawns at bay. They know my vision. They know the time has not come. When it does, it will come like a thief in the night. Now, is not the setting.”
“So, you’re basically here to tell me all this is his fault. He’s the one trying to start Armageddon?”
“Yes, that’s what I’m here to tell you. I also want you to know that no matter your birth, a place in Heaven is always possible. When this world comes to an end, if you have kept your distance from your birth right, then you’ll have a place at my side.”
“Yada, yada, yada he’s so good at running his mouth and making me seem like the bad guy. Then again, I guess I am.”
I roll my eyes then turn back to the body my father is possessing. “I didn’t need him to tell me this is all your doing. I’ve known that all along. What I didn’t know was the fact that Heaven’s gates would be opened to the likes of me. That’s information that is good to know. Luckily, when my time on Earth is finished, I’ll move on there instead of coming back to the pit for more of yours and mom’s bullshit.”
“I’ll leave the two of you to it,” the soft feminine voice whispers. “I do have a soul to save. Your father had his claws in her, but she’s seen the error of her ways. Until we meet again, dear Anala,” she finishes as her head bows slightly.
“Wait. What about Sebastian? He’s been...”
“Helping you. Yes, I know. He’s following his own path, and I couldn’t be prouder. He will remain here on Earth with you and Arwen until he feels the need to come home. Unlike Lucifer, I do not put demands on my warriors they would be against.”
“He can stay?”
“Yes. As long as you feel that you need him. He will know when the time to return home comes. He’ll feel his calling.”