House of the Damned

The Change

Twenty-One

The Change

A scream pierces through the house, reverberating through the walls. No one will sleep through that. The scream is followed by a slew of swear words, heard even from here. Venus is in labor.

I pull the covers closer and snuggle against Michael. Neither of us wants to get up. This is the first time we’ve had together in three weeks. It’s the first time we’ve shared a bed in at least two months.

I shudder as another shriek pierces through the walls. Michael wraps his arms around me. “It’s okay,” he whispers.

I sigh contently, relaxing against him. Right now, I could not be more grateful to be up here with him. Nothing in this world would make me want to be down there. I feel bad for Em and the other two servants who are.

“It’s going to be okay,” he tells me, but I don’t believe it. In fact, I’m still quite convinced that we’re going to die. We are going to die. We are going to die very soon, because we are bound to screw this poor kid up.

There’s a knock at the door. We pull apart and exchange a look. This is his room. I shouldn’t be here.

“It’s me,” Emily says. We relax and I suppress the urge to dive under the bed. Which is a bad hiding place, I’ll admit, but aside from the closet, it’s the only one in here. It’s also the closest.

I get up, since I’m closest to the door, and let her in. She looks pale. Almost as pale as the day Venus had her cut off Michael’s wings.

“You okay?” he asks her. She nods, but neither of us believes her. She doesn’t look or seem okay in the slightest.

“I’ll be fine. Just thought you should know it’s a boy. And his name is Lucifer.”

I roll my eyes at the name choice and Michael heaves an annoyed sigh. A slight smile forms on Emily’s face.

“Take it you both caught the reference then.”

“I’m the son of an angel. Of course, I caught the reference,” is Michael’s response.

She nods. Somewhere downstairs, her name is shouted, though it isn’t Venus calling. She sighs. “I’ll see you later. Good luck with the baby.”

I really wish it were that simple.

…

If it weren’t for Ian, Lucifer probably would have died the first night. I’m an only child and Michael is the youngest of his siblings. (Gabriel is 31, Nathan is 29, Evie is 25, Zachary is 23, Azrael (Ray) and Elijah (Eli) are 19. I don’t know how Michael keeps track of birthdays.) Neither of us has ever been asked to look after a child.

Venus decided that Lucifer should be bottle-fed. Well, nature decided anyways. No breast milk.

The problem with this was that Michael and I had no idea how to prepare baby formula, and we had a hungry baby to feed. After half an hour of Lucifer’s crying (oh God, that boy has some lungs), Ian walked into the kitchen, took the formula and showed us how to make it. All without saying a word to me. He took Lucifer from me and fed the poor kid. After that, Michael and I got it down, sleeping in shifts.

We share my room and Venus knows about it at this point. I’m just not sure she knows why, because while it has a lot to do with the baby, it has more to do with us.

There’s a crib in the room, courtesy of Mars, but Lucifer rarely sleeps in it. Either I’m holding him or Michael is; he sleeps in our arms.

He’s a cute, even if I can see bits of his parents in him. He isn’t a mirror image of either of them. At least not yet. Maybe he’ll grow into that, I don’t know. His eyes are Mars’s, a lighter shade of grey than Venus’s, as is his hair. There’s not much, but what is there is black. He has her ears though, as well as her smile. I think he’ll have her paler skin, too, when he’s older. Still, all in all, a cute kid.

But then again, what baby isn’t cute? Those are rare, if I’m not mistaken.

…

For whatever reason, time is easier to keep track of now that Michael and I are caring for Lucifer. Thirty four days at this point. Just over a month, but since we aren’t sure which month, we don’t know if he’s one month and three or four days old. So for now, we just count the days.

Michael and I are still working. The baby hasn’t excused us from our duties. Our schedules are random, working when we’re not sleeping and when the other one of us has Lucifer. Sometimes I see Ian, sometimes I don’t. It’s the same thing with Em, though I see her even less that Ian.

My sleep schedule is so out of whack lately. I haven’t had a dream since I spoke with Richard. Whether that’s because I’m not sleeping for long enough periods at once or because of the random times that I’m asleep, I don’t know. And I don’t have time to care. Not with everything else going on. Besides, sleep without dreams is much more restful. As this is the least sleep I’ve ever had since my arrival, I need all the rest I can get.

Michael is working at the moment. It’s noon and time for Lucifer’s nap. I rock back and forth in the rocking chair Venus gave us, humming the lullaby my mom used to sing to me. I’ve recalled all of the words and I quietly sing to him.

“Sleep well,

Sleep long,

For I am old,

And you are young,

For you have love,

And you have time.

You have faith,

But I’ve lost mine.

You are young,

Which makes you sweet,

A cold heart,

You’ve yet to meet.

I’d give my life,

To keep you safe,

So you can live,

Another day.”

I hum the last stanza, because it doesn’t apply. I’m too tired to figure out how to reword the rest of it, “So sleep away, My baby girl, While you are safe, From this harsh world.” It’s a bittersweet lullaby, but it’s the only one I distinctly know and it calms him. He doesn’t cry much, but when he does, it’s ear-piercing.

He falls asleep, snuggling up against me. I smile at his little figure before I sigh.

“You poor boy, you don’t stand a chance.” His parents are cruel and more than a little insane and he’s being raised by two clueless teens. He really doesn’t stand a chance at all.

I shift the way I’m holding him, stand from the chair, and transfer Lucifer to the crib. He doesn’t wake up and I crawl into bed, taking advantage of the chance for sleep. It’s twelve forty. Michael will come watch Lucifer at two, so I have a little time. Then I have work myself.

I honestly can’t remember the last time Michael and I had any quality time together. Some small part of me knows, just knows, that that was Venus’s goal.

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A/N: And the baby has arrived! :D I hope you all enjoy the chapter!