Modern Divinity

10. Uplifted

"You know, I was thinking of maybe getting a cat while you're gone. For company."

Celestine looked up from her cleaning and gave Donovan a quizzical look. "That's fine, but keep in mind the risk associated. You might end up inviting in a spy or a wild god or something worse."

He rolled his shoulders back and casually rubbed his neck. "That's true, good point. Maybe a dog instead."

"Either way," she said, smiling at him from the reflection of the mirror she was dusting, "I appreciate you keeping an eye on this place while I'm gone."

"I'm surprised they let you keep it," he replied as he leaned up against a nearby doorframe.

"Heh," she chuckled. "There aren't many people left who can argue with me, now." Her lips creased in a devious smirk, and he raised an eyebrow at her reaction. She may have been enjoying her elevated rank a little too much for comfort.

He tilted his head as he watched, his bangs tumbling over his still heterochromic eyes. "Scary."

She rose back to a standing position with a soft expression on her face. She looked him over and noted that Donovan was still as charming as the first day they had met. He was wearing his normal black attire, heavy boots, ear studs, and enough rings on either hand to make her wonder how his fingers could flex to grab things. The only real difference was the striking nature of his one normal golden hued eye, and the vibrant blue on black of his other eye.

Catching her staring at him, he slowly blinked. "I'm still not used to it, either."

"Does it feel any different?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Yes," he replied, sweeping his gaze over the room before returning to hers. "It feels like my missing divinity was replaced with something else, but I have no idea what. It's not painful or anything, it just makes me feel weirdly lonely."

"Interesting."

"Yeah, I'm going to try looking into it while you're occupied up there."

"You could always ask..." she trailed off, pursing her lips.

He held up a dissuading hand and sneered. "I'd rather stick hot pins in my eyes, thank you."

"Well," she replied with a slight cringe, "it may be your only option."

"Speaking of that asshole, and I hate to ask this, but how did he handle the news about your promotion?"

Celestine froze in place upon hearing the question, trying to calculate the best response. She had spoken with Mael a few days prior, and the memory began replaying in her mind.

"Your appreciation is noted but not necessary." The demon had been leaning against his desk with his normal flippant posture, his body fully recovered as if nothing had happened. "We both got what we wanted in the end."

She rubbed her upper arm, trying to seem nonchalant. "Well, they ARE probably going to ask me if I know where all the weapons Azrael stole went."

"They've been taken care of." His response was as decisive as it was ominous.

"Riiight," she responded, drawing out the word to highlight her skepticism. "Not sure they'll accept that response, but I don't think they have a choice. It's a mess I don't think they would want to take ownership of."

He smirked, his red eyes flashing under the overhead light. "Now you're starting to understand how things work."

With more serious matters on her mind, her mood shifted to one of grim apprehension. "When everything happened out there, and you saw me like that. I hope you didn't think I was going to..."

He closed his eyes, slowly, and rapped a knuckle against his desk. "I know that's what they wanted you to do. And you could have." As his eyes reopened, he fixed them on Celestine. "But you didn't." His lips parted in a smile that seemed to have a hint of pride in it. "Though expect them to have questions about that, too. No good deed goes unpunished."

"Now that I've seen all this and learned so much, I'm much more confident that I can handle myself up there."

"Power can be reassuring," he agreed.

She cocked her head to one side and tapped her chin with a finger. "I hadn't thought of it that way, but that's true."

"Though," he added, "If you really want to cause a stir up there and maybe trigger some real change, I know just the thing."

The look she gave him was one of skepticism and hesitation. "I'm almost scared to ask."

"You could always bear my child," he replied, his voice silky smooth and as casual as it could be despite the bombshell comment.

She let out a nervous, disbelieving laugh. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You know the old scripture." He raised a hand and lifted his fingers to emphasize his point as he spoke. "Child of an angel, child of a demon. It becomes something else, stronger than both. Though," he finished his thought with a wicked sneer. "It would probably take quite a few attempts before your body stopped rejecting me."

She tried to look as unamused as possible, even if his tone still made something inside her turn to a weak, quivering, pile of mush. "Nice try."

He had shrugged his broad shoulders, accepting the minor defeat. "It was worth a shot."

Snapping back to the present, Donovan was still staring at her, waiting for a response.

"He's fine, he handled it fine," she replied, plainly. She figured it would be best if she left the details of the exchange out.

He appeared to be doubtful but opted to drop the line of conversation.

"Anyway." He looked around the now clean living room. "How long do you think you'll be gone?"

"Well," she began, setting some folded towels down on a chair nearby. "Hopefully not long, especially now that I can come and go as I please. But," she reached up to nervously rub the back of her neck. "There's probably a lot of things I need to answer for. Not to mention I'm apparently the biggest gossip subject in the last few centuries, so I need to clear a few rumors up."

He rolled his eyes though a bemused smile remained on his face.

"And," she added, intentionally looking away, "I do want to clear your name. I know you don't want me to make a case for you returning, but I do want to set the record straight. Most of them heard it straight from Azrael's mouth while they were watching that night, but I want to make sure it doesn't get swept under the rug."

He had closed his eyes and tilted his head back, resting it against the wall. "Please be careful about that. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but Azrael wasn't the only one with ulterior motives. You're going to make some enemies."

She crossed the room and moved next to him, reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. She knew the gesture helped him relax, and he responded with a small smile of gratitude.

"I know," she said reassuringly. "Things are more complicated than ever, but after what we've seen, I do have some faith left."

He conceded with a slow, drowsy nod. "True."

They stood together for a peaceful moment, looking out a nearby window. The gray winter sky had given way to snow, and light tufts of snowflakes fluttered into the glass or landed in a growing blanket over the ground.

Donovan wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. Celestine, in turn, leaned in and perched her chin on his shoulder. He waited for the soft, soothing feeling of her lips on his cheek to comfort him. Instead, he heard a quiet whisper:

"And if you could fix the heater that would be great."