“Oh. Oh, my. How unusual.”
“He wishes for her to have companionship while I’m busy, and they’ll be her guardians when she rests.”
“Is she recovering well?”
I yawned, settled against the Devil’s chest, and closed my eyes to resume my enjoyment of the bath.
“She’s well enough. She was quite enamored with my chest, and she energetically pursued her interests. When I tried to pursue my interests, I got bitten.”
“I’m sure you deserved it.”
“She’s very talented with her teeth.”
“I’m sure she is. Would you like to be rescued, Darlene? Belial is concerned you might delay your revenge indefinitely if you remain a hostage in Lucifer’s bedroom, and he has everything you require to bring ruination to the mortals responsible for your brother’s plight.”
I yawned and cuddled closer to the Devil. “Nap now, revenge in about eight hours. No rescuing, but tell Lucifer he needs to behave for a while.”
“You need to behave for a while, Lucifer. She sounds horrible. What did you do to her?”
“I just made her purr! I like when she purrs.”
“You are awful. I’ll get her a drink and something to soothe her throat. You’ve established your territory, so behave yourself. Help her acquire revenge before you resume establishing your territory.”
“But are you really sure I’ve established my territory?”
“There are exhausted succubi bodies all over your sitting room and some very happy incubi strutting around. I think you’ve made your point. I’m the only coherent female here, and the neighboring levels aren’t in much better condition.”
The Devil shrugged. “It’s not my fault she’s so lovely. I’m hoping I’ve earned at least a few spots with my performance. I’ll bring her out in a few minutes and find appropriate sustenance for her. I’ll also make sure the kittens are tended to. Please make it known they are not defenseless creatures, and they are not to be disturbed. I may or may not be inclined to replant any slain devils or demons who disturb her kittens.”
“I will make certain the other denizens are aware the kittens are lethal kittens, and that you will have no mercy on any who disturb them or your lady.”
“Good. Please ask Belial to come here so we can discuss the matters of revenge, and check on Jonas.”
“Jonas is in a rather subdued state at this point in time.”
“How many succubi got a hold of him?” The Devil snickered. “It’s their fault for making it clear I had to establish my territory.”
“He enjoyed the company of twins, and they’re still quite tangled together at the moment. Perhaps you should have given him a chance to adapt before setting him loose?”
“The best way to learn is through experience. He’s now somewhat experienced, content, and he’ll have his other nurturing instincts turned on when he has two exhausted succubi to attend to. I can’t have all the incubi being selfish fiends. Some of them need to be nurturing, or there’d be whining succubi when they wish to have children.”
I didn’t need to hear what my brother was up to, especially not if the Devil had transformed him into an incubus. “You turned my brother into an incubus?”
“I absolutely did. The other options would have been more disastrous, as your brother has significant violent tendencies. Becoming an incubus will smooth those particular instincts out and orient him more towards reproduction. Having tired succubi around in his early development will flip on the markers that will make him more inclined to be delicate with women. I expect we’ll be having a few more incidents like this before I’m confident he can be trained in other arts appropriate for his new species.”
I did the math: the Devil plus a bed equaled delicious exhaustion with time spent soaking in his tub with bubbles—bubbles the Devil enjoyed as much as I did. As the formula produced acceptable results, I said, “You can train him properly and thoroughly after I’ve acquired my revenge. We need to get the abused family of those fuckers to a safe place, too.”
“Yes, that is a situation I am monitoring. I will make certain your revenge accounts for them. You may not be able to personally handle that matter, but I have some excellent demons and devils who are able and willing to do the work.”
“I don’t care who handles it as long as it is handled.”
“Let me get you something to eat so you can enjoy your nap while I make other arrangements.”
“Don’t you sleep?”
“Only with you. I’m the Devil, Darlene. I don’t have to sleep unless I want to. I took a nap once. It lasted a hundred years. That was a nice nap, but for some reason, the fucking assholes in residence were cranky because the other devils had their way with the place for a while. I was asked to limit my naps to no more than nine hours after that.”
“Have you?”
“For the most part.” The Devil waved Phenexia away. “Off with you, you wicked temptress. You have an angel to seduce. I’ll talk to your father, so go make sure you both have pretty dresses, and do at least try to convince your angel she can have breasts if she’d like for her wedding day.”
“She doesn’t need breasts.”
“The angel has already gotten to you.” Heaving a sigh, Lucifer shook his head. “I see it’s too late. I’ll go talk to your father about that awful ‘m’ word and make it clear he can only put up a minimal fuss. You can’t dodge all of the fatherly disapproval. It’s part of the package. You are his eldest daughter, so he’s obligated to make a fuss. If your human’s customs require the mother of the bride, I’ll make an arrangement.”
Phenexia nodded and retreated from the bathroom.
“What arrangement?”
“Her mother passed away a very long time ago, and her mother’s seed is currently at rest. Unbeknownst to her and her father, I have the seed, and I intend to bargain with Him for a conversion so the seed can return to her father, who still mourns for his mortal wife.”
“After so many years?”
“Phenex is an odd creation. He was made in the image of angels, but he is a devil in his nature. Oddly balanced, him. Back when humans were new, he fell in love with a mortal woman. Phenexia is their first immortal child and their first daughter. They had a mortal son together, for I did not have the right seed to give him. They had other children as well, but she eventually died from old age. Then, mortals were longer lived. He is a poet among other things, and he is not inclined to let his first love be followed by anyone. He loves science and grooms the mortals to develop their knowledge. My phone is part of Phenex’s workings.”
“Phenex sounds similar to phoenix. Why?”
“He is their father, that is why. His tears birthed the first phoenixes, for it was his wish for his wife to rise from the ashes of her long life. He saw beauty in Phenex’s grief and made it immortal. Phenex’s natural form is very similar to a phoenix as well, which was part of their creation.”
“That’s sad.”
“Things will be different next time. I’m just deciding how best to plant his wife’s seed so that she finds her way to my many hells where she belongs. Her mortality was what he loved about her when he first met her, so I will cultivate her seed in that fashion and have her converted, much like you will be converted.”