Lucas ✔️

Forty-One

It took Uriel a moment as he contemplated, his eyes darting between the three of us curiously.

"I see you've made your decision," he commented, leaning forward to grab the necklace from the table, lifting it to inspect the ring. The red gem bounced light across the room as he eyed it, his face scrunched into an awkward position, as though he didn't know how to express what he was feeling.

"So?" I urged him, growing impatient.

Cole was consoling Janie, who was trying her hardest to stop crying. I wanted to comfort her too, but couldn't - I didn't have the right to comfort her when I was the reason she was upset in the first place. Uriel sighed and dropped his hand, placing the ring back on the table and sliding it towards me, gesturing for me to pick it up. I grabbed it lightly and eyed it, the intricate gold band twirling around a red gem. I had looked at it many times before and I still had no idea why it was important, although it was gorgeous. 

"What is it?" Cole asked, and I handed it across a crying Janie to him, the long leather strap running from my fingers.

"It's a ring that used to belong to... Lucas," Uriel hesitated ever so slightly, and we all noticed.

"Look, can we just get to the important shit," Cole snapped, passing the ring to Janie who took it and sniffled, her eyes widening as she looked at it. "Are you his twin?" 

"Twin? No," Uriel sighed and folded his hands in his lap elegantly. "We are... related, in a sense." That same hesitation made me narrow my eyes at him.

"Look, Uriel, can you cut the crap?" I raised an eyebrow at him and grabbed the necklace from Janie's hands, and slamming it on the table. "You said you were going to tell me, so stop beating around the bush and just say it!"

"I was hoping to do this more... delicately, but very well, Lilith. As you wish," Uriel said calmly, leaning back in his chair. "I'm an archangel, and so is - as you call him - Lucas."

There was a minute of silence before Cole scoffed and stood up, sending me a crazy look. "Lil, I thought I could go along with this whole thing, but I just can't. This is insane!" he snapped, waving his arms around.

I felt like I wanted to agree as I stared at Uriel, who looked angelic but not like an angel. I guess I thought angels were more... shiny?Janie touched Cole's arm lightly and shook her head, her tears drying on her cheeks as she stared at Uriel with wide eyes.

"Cole... look," she whispered, tugging on his arm so he looked away from me and back to Uriel. Just like that, Cole was sitting back down, looking shocked and confused, sending me a wide-eyed look. I turned to Uriel but saw nothing – he simply looked the same.

"What? What is it?" I asked Janie, grabbing her hand as I squinted my eyes at Uriel, thinking it might make some difference.

"You can't see that?" Janie breathed softly, her eyes glowing with admiration for something I couldn't see and didn't understand.

"Lilith cannot see the light," Uriel commented offhandedly, looking between Janie and Cole.

"What? Why not?" I asked, standing up. I didn't know what that meant, but I knew it couldn't be any good.

"The same reason you can see these and they can't," he said softer, looking at me a he lifted a hand and grabbed a ghoul floating in the room, holding it out in his palm towards me.

"The ghouls?" I whispered, grabbing it from his hand.

"Ghouls?" Cole asked me with a raised eyebrow, watching my hand and I gripped the ghoul and cradled it. "What? I can't see anything."