The Devil and His Lover

Chapter 5

Amenadiel was sorting through his belongings, rearranging his bookshelf so that it was alphabetized instead of sorted by category. He didn't have anything productive to do, seeing as Maze was catching a bounty and Lucifer was with Detective Decker for the day. He could go to Linda but he was not sure if the woman was comfortable enough around him to consider spending some time with him.

"It says here," A voice spoke from behind him. "That angels cannot break vows without dire consequences."

The fallen angel spun around, nearly tossing the book he was holding across the room when he saw Angeles sitting down on his couch with his legs propped up, "How did you get in here?"

"Door was unlocked," The detective said, not looking up from the thick leather-bound book he was reading. "Did you break a vow, Amenadiel? I mean, I can't really picture you doing anything else that would result in you losing your wings and abilities. You're annoyingly righteous that way."

"I can't think of a vow," Amenadiel tilted his head in thought. "I don't make them lightly."

"Hm," Angeles hummed, flipping a page. His bright green eyes met the fallen angel's brown ones. "Did you make a deal with the Devil, Amenadiel? That's a vow, too, you know."

Amenadiel froze, "I- Yes, I did. Six years ago, when Lucifer first came to Earth, I was tasked with bringing him back to Hell."

The human's eyes lit up, "Oh, you poor angel." He shook his head, something almost akin to amusement on his face, "You thought that bringing Lucifer back to Hell would hide the fact that you broke a vow from your Father." He shook his head, chuckling slightly, "What was the deal, you never bother Lucifer- yadda yadda yadda?"

"Essentially, yes," The fallen angel nodded. "Do you have an idea of how I can get my wings back?"

Angeles sighed, closing the book and setting it on the table in front of him, "Look, I don't like you but I do tolerate you more than any of your siblings- bar Lucifer, yes. I'll give you my theory if you make a deal with me."

Amenadiel thought it over in his head. While he didn't want to make another deal, seeing as the first one most likely caused him to fall, he knew that breaking a deal with a human wouldn't have dire consequences. Angeles was a very smart human, smarter than most people anyone would cross. There was a chance, Amenadiel knew, that the human's theory would most likely be accurate. "What do you propose?"

"Nothing major this time," Angeles laughed when he saw the fallen angel's incredulous expression. "I know, shocking, right? I would just like to borrow some books from time-to-time from your library," He nodded towards the man's two large bookshelves.

"Deal but Lucifer has more interesting books than I do," Amenadiel shrugged.

Angeles tilted his head before nodding slowly, "I guess you could see it that way." He picked up the book he was reading earlier, "But he doesn't have books like these, books about angels and Heaven, and Hell. You also have textbooks and stuff here and, well, I like learning. Lucifer has books from Shakespeare and Poe. I'm not interested in that type of literature."

"I see," Amenadiel nodded. "You're welcome to borrow some books whenever you'd like to. What is the theory you had?"

"Well," Angeles leaned back on the couch, tossing the book next to him on the seat. "You broke a vow with Lucifer, the Devil himself. Doesn't it make sense that fixing your relationship with him would help gain your wings back? He's your brother, Amenadiel. Why do you keep forgetting that?"

"I-" The fallen angel hesitated, eyebrows furrowing in thought. "I don't know..."

"I have to go to work now," Angeles said, standing up. He grabbed the book he was looking at earlier, "I'll be borrowing this."