Synching With the Devil's Son

Chapter 142

Bella's P.O.V.

Trish, Kate and I race downstairs and out the front door. A dust cloud has formed, disguising the occupants inside it who are grunting and cursing at each other. Every once in a while, a figure is seen through the debris, a white wing here, a red arm there. Kate and I usher our startled friends and family into one of our barns. "It's okay, you're okay, let's just get inside," I tell my friends quietly. Kate is saying the same thing to my father and Mary. The animals are restless, and I can hear the emu's booming loudly over the bleating, snorting and barking around us.

"What in the blazes was that?" my Dad asks, holding Mary's face to his shoulder. "I thought I saw a monster, a big red monster with horns on its head and big leathery wings on it's back." He looks over at my startled friends who have formed a circle, a few of whom are nodding their heads in agreement.

"I saw it too," Mick says shakily. "It was hitting another creature with wings."

"Yeah, the one getting hit had white feathers and was holding a white stick," Liz says, agreeing with Mick.

"I saw them too," Ryan says, pulling Trish into his embrace. Jeff, Harmony, Scarlett and Daniel haven't said a word, but are clinging to each other with worried looks on their faces. "I didn't see anything," Scarlett whispers and Daniel, Jeff and Harmony concur with her. Trish witnessed what Kate and I saw from my bedroom window...two divine beings, an Archangel and the Devil, pummeling each other and stirring up a dust cloud in my front yard. She keeps looking at me funnily, understanding immediately that I've been hiding something important from her. That could be the understatement of the year, but now is not the time to delve into it.

"You don't seem too bothered by what's going on out there, Bella," Trish states, narrowing her eyes at me. "Care to explain?"

"Well...uhh...I'm not one hundred percent sure what is going on out there," I state truthfully. What I think is happening is beyond any of my friends' capabilities to accept and understand, so I stay quiet.

"Then how do you know we're going to be okay?" Mick asks reasonably. I just shrug my shoulders, he has a good point. The Devil is fighting his angelic brother, who's to say we will be safe in here? I look up and take a deep breath. I'm not ysure what I can tell them without endangering Samael and Lucien. If they're not allowed to reveal their divinity, I'm certainly not allowed to either.

I walk over to Kate who is standing near the door, preventing our friends and family from going outside. The dogs bark wildly, the pigs squeal, and the animals around us snort and bleat their disapproval about the charged atmosphere on our property. But it's the emu's who seem to be making the most noise. Their low pitched and deep non-vocal rolling grunts and thumping can be heard over the rest of the animals. It's almost surreal, and I cannot understand why they are reacting so strongly.

"What do we do?" I quietly ask Kate, listening to the grunting and cursing coming from outside.

She shrugs her shoulders. "Stay out of their way I imagine," she says softly.

As I'm fretting about how to explain the situation occurring outside to my friends, an eerie silence fills the barn. I don't understand it, so I turn around to find all the people I care about in the world frozen, like a three dimensional picture, their last expressions etched on their faces. I have to stifle a laugh because it's the first time in history Trish doesn't look stunning. Her eyes are in a half blink, and her mouth is twisted in a frown. I look at Kate and we both breathe a sigh of relief. "Lucien's Grandfather must be here," I say, slowing opening the bar door to peek outside.

Lucien...if his Grandfather is here, could he be as well?

I slide the barn door open and I see something that makes my pulse skyrocket. "LUCIEN!" I scream, tearing out of the barn like my pants are on fire. He turns in my direction, smiles widely, and opens his arms for me to jump into. I'm crying so hard I cannot see as I grab his shirt and bury my face against his chest.

"I've got you baby, it's okay, shhhh," he murmurs into my hair. I can feel him shift to encompass his mother in his embrace, and the three of us stand there for a few moments, reveling in each other's company. A ear splitting snap gets our attention, startling me out of Lucien's grasp, and I see one of our old elm trees has been uprooted and thrown to the ground, its roots pointing toward the house. The large dust cloud is now behind the ruined tree, and I can barely make out two figures combating one another, the sounds of fists connecting with body parts can be heard over my racing heart. 'Please stay away from the house,' I pray silently. When I hear a soft chuckle to my right, I turn to look at the man who has accompanied Lucien and I think, 'this must be his Grandfather'. I smile at Him and He smiles back at me. "I assume you are..." I leave the question open in case I am terribly wrong.

"That I am, my dear, but I'm only here to get my staff back," He indicates Lucien's father and Uncle battling for it, "and to make sure this confrontation remains somewhat contained."

I look at God closely. He has short brown hair and brown eyes, His bushy eyebrows and thin lips give him a slight comical appearance. "Thank you for bringing Lucien and his father back to us," I tell Him quietly.

He just smiles at me, watching the battle rage on in our yard, and then He says, "Lucien and Samael are responsible for me being here, not the other way around. I should be thanking you."

"Me?" I ask incredulously.

He turns to me, and now is a well built blonde man with blue eyes and a square jaw. I blink rapidly at the transformation, trying to understand what just happened. Did He just morph into someone else? "Yes Miss Parker. Thank you for loving my Grandson, and guiding him towards the man he will become. If you didn't accept Lucien, he never would have been able to communicate with you, and...well...I hate to imagine the pickle we would be in right now."

I furrow my eyebrows. "You know that Samael wants to kill Michael for what he did to Catherine," I say softly. "You're okay with that?"

He nods once. "Michael made his own bed, now he has to lie in it. I tried to teach him, show him the enlightened path, but he didn't want to listen. I am saddened to see it's come to this, but I still believe in Samael."

"You believe in him? To do what, kill Michael quickly?" The only response I get is a soft chuckle, but I wasn't joking.

There is another enormous crash and the sound of breaking glass and groaning metal reaches my ears. I realize, with utter dismay, that my new Hyundai Kona now looks like a steel wheel roller had some fun with it...it's hood is as flat as a pancake and it's tires sit at awkward angles. Lucien must have felt me stiffen because he leans down toward my ear yand whispers, "I will get you another car, Bella, and this time you can choose whatever you want."

Mph, well, I wanted that one. I feel like I deserve it after what I went through to get it. Then I realize with the destruction of that car, I no longer have anything that ties me to that fateful night three years ago. One man is in jail, the other is dead, and I've forgiven Tommy. Lucien has healed every bump and bruise in my soul, and I feel absolved of my fear and anxiety. I wrap my arm around his neck and kiss him with everything I've got. He let's go of his mother and turns his attention to my kiss, giving back everything he's getting. When we finally break apart, we both say, at the same time, "I love you."

We all startle when we see Michael try to run away from Samael. His white wings lay at odd angles off his back, his hair is plastered to his forehead and his face is bloodied and bruised. He is still clutching God's staff in both his hands, but he is using it to block the pummeling Samael is giving him, rather than using its power against him. The next instant I will replay over and over in my head for the rest of my life because it is so incongruous it's comical. A flutter of activity occurs in my peripheral vision and I turn, jaw gaping, to see our two Emu's descend upon the brothers fighting in our yard. They have their wings out and heads down. One of them jumps up and kicks Michael when he tries to avoid being struck by Samael, the Emu's powerful legs propel him back into the dust cloud where his brother is waiting. The other Emu suddenly races to another angle of the melee, and we can see him effectively propel Michael back into the fight when he tries to retreat and regroup against Samael's furious advancement. "What the...?" I stammer. I hear Lucien and his Grandfather chuckle lightly at the sight and I ask, "Somebody want to explain this one?" When I don't get an answer, just a deeper laugh from Lucien, I ask, "Do I just chalk this off as more celestial craziness because I don't see the humor here!"

Both God and Lucien smile at me, remaining silent as they continue to watch the combatants destroy my front yard.