“And this uprising all rests on Helen knowing how babies are made?” Such skepticism in Julio’s tone.
“Not just babies. Angel babies. She needs to meet the Nephilim living on this plane.” And in case Julio didn’t know what that meant, he explained. “Nephilim are angel-human mixed children.”
“They exist?”
“Well, duh. Haven’t you been paying attention? Angels have been fucking and making babies with humans since they ventured down from Heaven.”
“Wouldn’t that render them sinners and automatically make them fall?”
“Except for the fact no sex with humans means they die out,” Lucifer answered before Julio’s slow brain caught up. “You see my brother learned early on that reproducing in a very limited gene pool proved less than ideal. So, he outright banned sex in Heaven. Made it a sin and sterilized half the population.”
Julio figured it out quickly this time. “He sterilized the females, because even if they do have sex, the lack of pregnancy means there’s no proof to expose the lie.”
“Now you understand. Boy angels, as a reward for being brown-nosing sycophants, get to flock down to Earth and sprinkle their seed. Those born with wings are taken to Heaven.”
“I’ve never heard of a baby born with wings.”
“Of course not. Humans can’t see them. Which you should know. Their wings are like your cloaks when on Earth.”
Julio bounced the baby as he took on a pensive expression. “I find it hard to believe angels have been using humans as baby makers and I’ve never heard of it.”
“As if my brother would allow such a thing to come to light. This has been an elaborate plot of his for eons.”
“Who’s got a plot?” Lucifer hadn’t noticed his wife had arrived.
“Wench, what a delight to see you!”
Gaia appeared in fine form, her hair bound back in French braids, her summer dress light and airy, floating around on gossamer wings. The butterflies were too delighted about being near Mother Earth to scream about being used for fashion.
“Husband. You are looking fine.” Her gaze tracked down over him, and he shivered. Such wicked promise in that gaze.
“I was just talking to Julio here about my plan to destabilize Heaven.” Close to the truth but skirting it.
Gaia should have called him out. Instead she smiled. “I can’t wait to hear all about it. First, my little girl needs a bath.” Gaia held out her hands for the baby.
“She had one this morning after an incident while diaper changing.”
“Then we’ll snuggle.” The fingers that reached elongated, vine-like and grasping.
Lucifer snatched the child with a chuckle. “Sounds like an excuse for a nap. I’m in. Shall we?” He wrapped his free arm around Gaia and then popped them into a room with his boy, who slept soundly until they arrived.
Junior woke, rubbing his eyes. He lifted his arms. “Da.”
Lucifer reached for his son, and Jujube yelled, “My Da. Me. Me.”
That didn’t please Gaia. “Mama has you.” Indeed, she had lifted the girl from Lucifer’s arms during their transition.
“Da. Me,” Jujube insisted.
Whereas the boy hugged Lucifer and offered a smug, “My daddy.”
Which led to a sibling scream fest that put Jujube in his arms and sent Gaia fleeing.
How long could he keep thwarting her?
10
The minutes after Julio left were the most terrifying of Helen’s life. She’d not realized how safe she’d felt in his presence. How inconspicuous under the cover of his cloak.
With him gone, the Earthly plane crashed all her senses. She could barely handle all the color smeared everywhere. For an angel used to the muted pastels of heaven, the brightness and disharmony proved jarring. An overload to her senses rendered worse by the noise. Loud machines rumbled along on wheels. Everything hummed with electricity. The noise was almost enough to make her slap her hands over her ears, only she realized no one else was reacting. No one cared.
The people in the streets walked along as if those flashing bright signs weren’t stabbing their eyes. Or the cars going by weren’t belching smoke. They ignored those things but kept turning to eye her.
She glanced down at her voluminous night robe and her slippers. She needed to blend in. And quickly.
However, everywhere she turned, she was struck with the alien-ness of everything. Where should she go? Why hadn’t she accepted Julio’s offer of help? Because that would be like accepting the devil’s aid, and she knew that was a sin. She couldn’t exactly claim innocence if she did the dark lord’s bidding.
Scared and unsure of what to do next, Helen began to walk aimlessly, hugging herself as she left the busy streets for quieter ones with deep pockets of shadow. A few cars drove by, their bright lights blinding in the dark.
One slowed, and a window rolled down. “Hey, honey, you look lost. You want a ride?”
The idea of not walking filled Helen with intense relief. Her feet hurt. How kind of the man to offer.
Helen reached for the car door, only to have someone insert herself, literally pushing Helen out of the way. A very feminine voice purred, “Not tonight, sugar. She’s not ready.”
Before Helen could ask, “Not ready for what?”, the man snapped, “Mind your business, cunt. If the chick wants to make twenty bucks sucking my dick, then—”
The woman suddenly shoved her head through the open car window and said very softly but firmly, “I said no. And no means no, fuckwad. Now go because if I see you again, I will separate you from the two-inch joke in your pants.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The car tires screamed something awful as he drove away, and the woman turned around.
She was pretty with blonde hair tied back and wearing an outfit of pink that included loose pants, a tucked-in blouse, and a fluffy jacket. She offered a smile to Helen. “Sorry about that. Some people are just so rude. I’m Bambi.” She held out a hand.
Eyeing it, Helen wondered what to do with it and replied, “I’m Helen.”
“Nice to meet you, Helen, and in the nick of time apparently. Good thing I found you. My Father wasn’t kidding when he said you needed a crash course on living on Earth.”
“Your Father?” Her eyes widened as she clued in. “You’re Lucifer’s daughter!”
“Yes, I am. The less famous one. The one you’ve probably heard of is Muriel, my younger sister.”
“Your sister is the world’s biggest whore?” Which she understood was someone who indulged in much fornication outside of marriage.
Bambi’s lips quirked. “Actually, that’s me. Multiverse winner many years in a row.”
“Isn’t being a whore a bad thing?”
The beautiful woman flipped her hair. “Not everyone is repressed about their sexuality. Do you even know what sex is, little cherub?”
“I’m not a cherub.” That was a name used for babies.
“You’re innocent like one. But don’t worry, we’ll fix that.”
“How?”
“By teaching you what you need to know to survive in this world.”