Synching With the Devil's Son

Chapter 139

Lucien's P.O.V.

It feels like we've been waiting forever for my Dad to arrive. He doesn't seem to be in any hurry to get here. My Grandfather notices my impatience and comments on it. "Lucien, give your father some credit. He's probably trying to understand what is happening here and if he can rectify it."  

That may be so, but I want to get out of here and get back to Bella. "How long have you been trapped in here?" I ask.

Uncle Raphael says, "Father has been here the longest. He was waylaid when we returned from delivering Catherine to Earth. What, about seven days ago?" Raphael says, looking at his Father. He nods sagely. "The rest of us were imprisoned after Him," he says.

"How long have I been here?"

"Four days."

Shit. So about twelve Earth days.

I close my eyes and summon Bella. I can't help but smile when she answers. She immediately wants to know how I am and when I'm coming home. I tell her I haven't seen my father yet, so we're still stuck in the immersion room. Then she tells me my mother hasn't been able to get in contact with him, and a little ball of anxiety blooms in my gut. What if he incinerated? What if Michael intercepted him and brought out his demon? I tell her not to worry, I tell her I love her, and I remind her she can contact me whenever she wants to.

"What is it?" Uncle Gabriel says, noticing my worried expression.

"My mother hasn't heard from my father since he left, and he promised to let her know when he got here," I tell him, getting up to pace. A quiet murmur infiltrates the room as my family understands the implications of what I just said. Everybody but my Grandfather starts to look uncomfortable and nervous.

"Children," my Grandfather says, now in the form of a small Taiwanese man. "Have faith. Samael is smart, he's not going to jump into anything without testing the waters first."

"Do you know something?" I ask Him. "Is he here? Is he okay?"

"I'm sorry, Lucien, I do not know anything more than you. I know your father though, and he may have been rebellious growing up, but it's in his nature to be cautious."

"So I shouldn't worry my Mother hasn't heard from him?"

He shakes His head. "No, you should not."

Okay, if He's telling me I shouldn't worry, I will try not to worry. Sitting in this room is tedious though, not knowing when (or if) my Dad is going to show up to liberate us. Since we're all stuck here, I use the time to introduce myself to some family member's I've never met and I find most of them to be thoughtful and hilarious. My Aunt Josephelle tells me stories about my father I've never heard before, and she has me laughing so hard, I have tears streaming down my face. When my Aunt Phersphone begins to sing, everyone is silent for a moment, and then they join her in impeccable harmony. Unfamiliar with the melody, I sit and listen while goose bumps erupt on my skin. I've never heard anything so beautiful, and I look around in awe as everyone adds their unique voices at the appropriate times. My Grandfather is the only other person not singing, and when it's finally silent, He nods His head and says, "Very lovely children, please continue." Then my Uncle Castiel begins to sing a sorrowful song in an ancient language I'm not familiar with. The rest of my Aunts and Uncles join in as if they were Gregorian monks humming in perfect harmony, but it's more ethereal, airy and intangible. I wish Bella could hear it.

The singing goes on and on, and I eventually close my eyes, listening to the soothing sounds as I think about what a wonderful family Bella has been raised in compared to what my father had to endure. Her father and brother support and love her unconditionally. My father hasn't spoken to his family in millennia. I wonder if it's because he wasn't permitted back here or because he had no interest in the people who had forsaken him. I think about why nobody seems too concerned Dad wants to commit fratricide, and I decide it's because there is not a lot of love here. My father did the best he could for me with the experiences he had to draw from, and must have relied heavily on my mother who gave me unconditional love and support, things he was never shown and never experienced. He did not have a good role model, he was thrown out of his home to fend for himself when he was younger than I am now, and nobody was there to comfort or guide him when he landed in Hell. Now everyone expects him to liberate us as if he's always been a welcome part of this family. I don't blame him for taking his damned time, I'd probably make everyone sit and wait too. This makes me feel better, and now I understand what my Grandfather meant when He said I shouldn't worry my Dad hasn't shown up yet. It must be incredibly difficult for my father to psyche himself up and pretend he's excited to see his estranged family.

I can feel Bella scratching at my subconscious, so I open my mind and call her name. She tells me my Mom just got word from my Dad. He can hear us singing and asked us to continue to do it so he knows exactly which room we're in. I tell her to hold on and relay the message to my family trapped in this room with me. The volume immediately goes up and I have to plug my ears to concentrate enough so I can continue speaking with Bella. She tells me her graduation party is tomorrow, and she's sorry I won't be there. I promise to make it up to her when I get home, and we sign off after she tells me to be careful and I tell her I love her.

The singing stops abruptly by when a wall of the immersion room suddenly disappears, and Azriaphel is thrown unceremoniously into the room. He's grabbed roughly by Raphael and Castiel, and then my father enters the room, dusting off his hands as if the mere touch of Azriaphel disgusts ghim. A bright cheer erupts as a lot of my Aunts and Uncles move to greet my father whom they haven't seen in ages. My Dad smiles at them, says a few words, and then disengages himself to walk over to my Grandfather and I.

"Nicely done my son," Grandfather says to my Dad.

I walk over and fiercely embrace him, ecstatic to know he didn't spontaneously combust when he entered this realm. He returns my embrace and then pounds my back, acknowledging my worry, and looks over my shoulder at my Grandfather. "Azriaphel did not have your staff, Father. I assume Michael has it, but I'd like to know how these morons overpowered you and confined you all in this room."

"Michael has become a master of illusion," Castiel tells him. "He can clone himself or impersonate anyone, and he managed to fool everyone, trapping us one by one by pretending to be one of us with a dire emergency."

My father scoffs and shakes his head. "Well, let's go find the little shit so I can tear his head off, shall we?"