Synching With the Devil's Son

Chapter 145

Lucien's P.O.V.

I roughly grab my Uncle and unceremoniously dump him on the ground when we arrive in Hell. Xirus approaches me cautiously, with a question in his eyes. "Prince Lucien, what can I do for you?"

"Hello Xirus, would you be so kind as to escort my Uncle to Razaiel's group in sector seven and have them show Michael what his eternal life is going to look like from now on?"

"But my Prince, he is an angel, we cannot force him to do our bidding."

Okay, maybe I need to be more specific. Freaking demons are so damned literal and cannot fathom things outside their experiences. "Micheal is no longer an angel. My father severed his wings with his Father's permission. Now there is nothing angelic about him," I snarl, pulling him off the ground by the scruff of his neck.

Xirus gets a gleam in his eye. "Really?" he drawls out, tapping his finger against the side of his mouth. "So we have free range to torture him?"

I nod. "You do, and in between his torture, he must serve as a custodian, keeping this place spotless. Please let Razaiel know. My father and I will be back soon to make sure everyone understands Michael is nothing but another lost soul in need of punishment."

"Very good, my Prince," Xirus says, gathering a sobbing Michael and marching him down the rocky corridor.

I return to Earth and see Bella walking slowly toward her bewildered father and confused friends. Oh boy, I guess it's time for a reckoning. I land behind my parents and jog over to Bella, putting my arm around her waist. She looks up at me gratefully, and together we approach her father.

"I don't want to lose him," she whispers to me as we get closer.

"You won't. He is a good man," I whisper back.

Her fathers eyes are wild, they're looking at everything and nothing like his brain is misfiring but his subconscious is telling him to pay attention. "Dad," Bella says, entreatingly, "Let's go inside the house and calm down, okay?"

He looks at me, then his daughter, then my parents, and finally at the destruction on his property. His shoulders sag and he nods resignedly. His head slumps so he's staring at his shoes when a woman approaches him and gently grabs his hand.

"Mary, would you mind keeping everyone entertained for a few minutes? I need to speak to my daughter," he asks the woman. Mary? Is this the neighbor Bella and Chris were trying to get their Dad together with? Looks like they were successful. She kisses his cheek, nods, and walks back toward Bella's friends. I hear her announce, "So who is ready for some refreshments?..."

We turn and head into the house, my parents at our heels. "Sir," I say to Garrett, "everything is okay, nobody is in any danger here," I try to reassure him. He looks at me, then at my parents, and nods slightly. We head into the kitchen where he pours himself a glass of water. I suppose that's better than five fingers of whiskey, but it's still a delay tactic, and I recognize it well.

"Dad," Bella starts to say, but he interrupts her and looks at me.

"What are you?" he demands, looking into my eyes. "Are you even human?"

I smile at him and nod. "I am half human," I tell him truthfully.

"Half..." he says, looking at my parents. "Which half?"

My mother steps forward and puts her hand on my shoulder. Bella's father's gaze narrows and hones in on my father. "And what are you if you're not human? You look human enough."

I can feel my father engage his powers to help calm Garrett as he says, "I am an angel, and I look human because we are all created in His image."

"What the fuck did you just say?" Garrett yells, pulling at his hair. "An angel? As in God and Heaven?" My father nods, his dark penetrating gaze doesn't falter from Bella's father. "Like Hell you are! And that doesn't explain what I saw in my yard a few minutes ago. One of those creatures had red skin and bat like wings. Bella's friends said the other one had white feathery wings sprouting from his back. Are you telling me that was you?"

"Dad," Bella interrupts, "you are only seeing a small corner of the page, you haven't even begun to understand what's written on it yet." She moves closer to her father and reaches for his hand. "I want to tell you everything, but I can't if you're going to continually freak out, interrupt, yell and curse."

I can see the exact moment when Garrett accepts the situation he finds himself in. His jaw clenches, his pupils constrict, he takes a deep breath and murmurs, "Fine," looking down at the floor. Garrett Parker is an extraordinarily profound human, but I guess he'd have to be to raise my soul-mate.

"Dad," Bella says, waiting until he looks up at her. "These people are not your enemy. These past few weeks I've discovered things that have shocked me to my very core, but in a good way. If you will let me explain, you can be enlightened too."

Garrett looks forlornly at Bella, I watch her take a deep breath and then announce, "I am in love with the Devil's son, and I am going to marry him."