Chereads / Daughter Of The Devil / Chapter 12 - Daughter Of The Devil- "Bitter Truth."

Chapter 12 - Daughter Of The Devil- "Bitter Truth."

Lucifer pulled up a chair opposed to Ria, with a mysterious grin on his face. It was the second time she'd seen such an expression and it was usually followed by heartbreak, so she was already setting his lies up for failure. Ria wanted to look his straight in the eyes and tell him one day she would kill him for what he did to her family yet whenever she tried to defy those dominant eyes insecurity drowned her. Perhaps it was his overwhelming authority that affected her, even Luca who was scrambling up his papers, shook in his presence.

Lucifer, "I'm not sure who told you such ridiculous rumours, but we aren't that type of place. You've been poisoned by them." Ria clicked her tongue while rolling her eyes, that was the second person to question her morals.

Luca, "I think once we show her what we do here, she'll understand better." Ria glared at him coldly, was he trying to undermine her? There was nothing to understand, they spoke like she was missing something. Lucifer sighed and prepared her for the terrible truth behind her corruption.

Lucifer, "Were not here to exterminate the humans, were here to eradicate them. Before you were born a long time ago this place was riddled with war and poverty, people were dying more frequently until the whole population went into a decline. So, both the angels and demons stepped in to keep the population up. Ria you weren't born to kill the humans, you were born to create peace between them." She blinked in disbelief; did he really expect her to believe that?

Ria, "Don't try to manipulate me. I already know why I'm here. A Nephilim filled me in on my real purpose so you can save your breath." Lucifer and Luca exchanged glances, they looked troubled by that fact so Ria automatically believed she'd won against him but that was far from true.

Luca, "Nephilim are our arch enemies and have been also looking for you. I don't know who told you all this, but they were lying to you." Lucifer could see nothing was getting through to her so he would have to show her instead.

Lucifer, "Pull up the feed, maybe then she'll realize." Ria watched Luca pull a screen from under his desk, she had never seen such technology so moved back in fear when Lucifer moved around next to her. Then with one click a video began playing in front of her. Ria watched conscious of her birth father. In the video showed humans working normally doing the usual jobs in camps. Making clothes, helping the sick, feeding the hungry. Ria recounted this place it was in the west…

Lucifer, "We set up a haven in the west where war was at it's worst, everything was running smoothly until they came along." They? Ria didn't understand when the people in the video began looking alarmed, in the distance was a puff of smoke like an explosion. Before her eyes could keep up, they all began screaming and running for their lives, it was mayhem. Then Ria saw the last thing she'd ever expect…

Luca, "This was the antichrist responsible for the attack, we've sent out hunters for his capture but there's been no sightings, he's most likely in hiding." Ria could barely breath, she knew that person. Maybe she was mistaken…

Lucifer, "Nephilim's will imitate superiors therefore illumining the humans that we are responsible for the attacks." He stopped the video on a still frame of a man with bright aquamarine eyes standing among the fire. There was no mistaking him, that was Adam. Luca startled to see Ria white as a sheet looking intently at the screen before pulling away biting her lip.

Lucifer, "If you still don't believe us then I will show you around this facility. It might take a while for you to accept this being mind-washed your whole existence." Ria felt her hands tremble, there was no way everything she knew was a lie.

Ria, "My family didn't brainwash me, if I was truly made for of peace, they never would have saved me from this place. They wanted me to do good things…" Seeing her little lips red from anxiety and her trembling hands Lucifer sighed and blessed her with an old saying.

Lucifer, "Humans are complicated creatures, some thrive for peace others strive for war. Your family was based from a long line of hunters that wouldn't accept us to be the ones to save them. The Lake family venture back many centuries so were familiar with them even though majority died in the field. Think about it if you were hell bent on hunting our kind then suddenly, they become the heroes, would you accept it? Better yet if you came across the one thing that was stronger than us, wouldn't you use it against us?" Ria slowly began to absorb what he was saying, everything he said made sense she couldn't find any loopholes in his reasoning. Still…loss was loss.

Ria, "Don't put yourself on such a pedestal. Heroes? Killing my parents and my birth mother contradicts your so called strive for peace. Killing the innocent doesn't make you a hero, it makes you a monster. I promised I wouldn't be anything like you and I meant every word." Getting tired of her delusions he stood up in a rage gripping her chin further proving her point.

Lucifer, "In your eyes they were innocent because they did things that were standard for parents to wain your affection. However, in my eyes they stole away my daughter as well as our only hope. It doesn't matter who they are if they try to corrupt you, I will kill every last one. Despise me all you like but your destiny will remain Ria." Tearing up by the sound of her name she felt weak as her heart throbbed painfully. Did this mean she would have to dote on the man she'd been trained to assassinate her whole life and just accept it?

Val, "Your making a scary face again, come now let the girl go we've done enough." Tutting Lucifer released her and turned away as if holding himself back. There was only one last thing to do in order to relieve her suspicions.

Lucifer, "Show her around the facility. I'm going to speak to the council, only call for me if its an emergency." He stormed out leaving her alone with Luca and Val. Despite his speech she wasn't confident this place wasn't the hellhole she had been told about. Surely there were some brutality lying in wake.

Luca, "We'll show you around Ria, maybe you'll feel better." They took her shoulders and ushered her out of the room, at this point exhaustion had kicked in making her too weak to struggle. Now she felt out of touch with everything, was all of her upbringing a lie? Dazed she didn't even realize when they walked into the next section which was a sight to behold. It was filled with labs and scientist working around the clock, some stopped working to ogle at her being such a rare sight. Suddenly nervous she clenched her fists ready for a fight if needed. Maybe this was for bombs or diseases the wipe of the races.

Val, "You can relax it's not what you think. This is our research section used to discover why humanity suddenly engaged in violence. We do test on humans but only blood work or psychological tests to see if their behaviour is biological or phycological. It's all humane." Ria looked up in shock, it was like he'd read her mind. It was suspicious there was no-one locked up or blood anywhere. Out of the blue a researcher broke from the crowd and came forward. He was an aged man clearly a superior with yellow eyes and white hair, his eyes landed on her then lit up.

Val, "Work going fine Leon?"

Leon, "Just fine. You must be the princess, it's wonderful to meet you dear. I look forward to working with you." Yet again another person bowed respectfully in her presence. Ria couldn't speak at all, Bobby always told her this place was filled with evil people hellbent on torturing humans' souls.

Luca, "Ria's struggling to keep up with everything right now but I'm sure you'll get along well in future." Ria scowled at him as he spoke for her, there was no way she would enjoy working with any of these people. Their bizarre eyes and hair colour made her feel sick. Still trapped in her illusion she ignored them all and began searching for a secret ward. Maybe all of this was just for show. Watching them converse she planted her feet in a position ready for take off before sprinting away as fast as she could.

Val, "Ria wait!" They called after her, but she wasn't going to stop for anyone, she wanted to go home. She wanted to see her brother more than anything, he would make everything okay again. This was too much for her mind to take. Running through rows of labs and storage rooms there was no sign of an exit anywhere. It was like a prison in here. Ria kept running until she saw another section, Val and Luca were hot on her tail, so she didn't think before slamming open the door. Panting she stood in awe at the sight before her, this wasn't what she was expecting at all.

"Is she new?"

"She's pretty!"

"I want to play with her!"

Kids? Ria looked around in a daze, this was a huge playroom designated for children, why would they be in a research lab? Luca and Val soon caught up with her. They noticed how confused and angry she looked and wondered if she'd gotten the wrong idea.

Val, "This is just our orphanage we place rescued children in from the war. We house them until they grow independent enough to live on their own." Ria inspected for bruises or cuts or even dots from needles but found nothing, all of these children looked happy?

"Val! Come play with us!" They all migrated around him jumping around and clinging to him, if they had been forced to act normal, they wouldn't be so comfortable with him. These kids genuinely liked the superiors. Looking closer, some of these kids were actual superiors. Some had rare eye colour and hair which surprised her.

Val, "Not now kids I have to show around our new member. I'll come back later." They all huffed and groaned in disappointment. Ria was completely dumbfounded which caught Luca's eye, seeing he was staring at her she relaxed and rolled her eyes before walking off to the next section. This time her guides left no time for her to run off almost like they were glued.

Luca, "This next section is the closed ward where we keep criminals and terrorists that have hurt people, you need to be careful around here Ria. They might try to hurt you."

Ria, "I'm not a child you don't have to belittle me." Annoyed by her lack of discovery she walked into a dark hallway filled with red doors. Each had labels of the persons name and crime which she eagerly read as she walked along. Overcome with her realization that this place wasn't as bad as her family told her she was exhausted. Still looking aimlessly, she noticed Val kept averting his eyes from a certain door. Intrigued she wandered close to read the name but there was no name or crime written but there was a dark feeling around it that made her hair stand on end.

Val, "You must never go in there no matter what, he's very dangerous. He'll kill you in a second if he realizes who you are. Keep away from it." His tone went from soft to stern very quickly when it came to this cell however that made her want to know more about it.

Luca, "It's been thirty years since we caught him and it was very tricky, to think he was the cause of the revolt." Revolt? The only revolt Ria had heard of was the Nephilim revolt, did that mean this person knew Adam?

Ria, "I want to meet him." They looked at each-other clearly troubled.

Val, "It's too dangerous Ria, he won't let you anyway. Only he decides who sees him, despite being a criminal he's rather demanding." Did that mean even though he was locked in a cell he still had control. Surely, he wasn't that strong. With the tour over they turned to leave when Ria's ears pricked up at a rattling chain then to her discomfort a voice called out to her.

Luca, "What is it?" Seeing she looked alarmed he also turned to see the cell door they had just been standing at slightly ajar.

Val, "Sh*t! Guards!" Shouting and running burst into action as they tried to get someone to shut the cell, but Ria wasn't afraid like the rest instead she wandered closer until her eyes was just next to the cell door. If she spoke to this man would the truth be revealed, is that why they kept him so closely locked up?

Luca, "Ria don't!" They reached to grab her when a hand slipped through the gap pulling her through. Ria gasped as her body was pulled backwards into darkness.

Val, "Get the door open right now! Ria!" They sounded so afraid, what the hell was going on?

Luca, "Call the lord immediately!" Then their voices seemed to be drowned out by something else…it was that same voice that had called to her just before being pulled in. It was no good she couldn't see a thing in here, this was deeper than darkness. Then her body began trembling for some reason, but it wasn't fear…

"What the hell are you doing here?" A rude voice called out, but it seemed higher than before. Feeling more secure against the back wall she huddled back glancing around for the source.

Ria, "Um…w-who am I speaking with? What's your name?" Silence ensued for a while then a shuffling in the left corner startled her. It wasn't a large presence, Ria had good intuition when it came to danger, but this feeling didn't seem dangerous at all.

"You're just a child?" he seemed surprised by that fact, what was he expecting?

Ria, "Could you please shed some light so I can see you?" Bravely she stood up and bowed respectfully, if she could only see him her insecurity would vanish.

"Are you afraid?" She shook her head before realizing he probably couldn't see her either.

Ria, "Not at all I would feel better if I could see who I'm speaking with." She heard a slight chuckle before the light began returning to the room. When her eyes adjusted, she realized just how secluded this cell was. It had the general layout of a prison cell except like everywhere else it lacked windows. Frantically she looked around for the person speaking until her eyes finally landed on a boy laying still on his bed.

"Better?" Ria nodded looking at him in awe, this was only a child not much older than her, but didn't Luca say it had been 30 years, it wasn't possible. Walking around to see his face she was stunned to find he had emerald green eyes and magnum gold hair, he looked like a god.

Ria, "Why are you so young, haven't you been here for a long time?" Intrigued that was her first question he sat up looking her up and down. Looking closely, he noticed her purple eyes and gasped. Surely this girl wasn't the one everyone had been stirring over.

"It's better if I stay this age, it means I'm cuter right?" Ria wasn't catching on, so she cocked her head. He smirked and sighed.

"They keep me young, so my powers don't spiral out of control. Anyway, who are you?" Ria pondered, she guessed that made sense being in a lab but hearing he also had powers made him more interesting.

Ria, "My names Ria, Ria Lake. And you are?" This boy went from courteous to stiff very quickly hearing her name. Then he looked at her closely with harsh eyes which made her feel uncomfortable.

"Did you say Lake?" Oh? It was her second name that had him concerned. Ria simply nodding not thinking much apart from it being a hunter's name.

"He never changes…always looking for the strong to defeat the stronger. He makes me sick." He sat mumbling to himself clearly upset.

Ria, "I didn't mean to upset you. Did my family do something terrible to you?" He clicked his tongue before reaching under his bed and pulling out a book, he eagerly flipped through the pages until a few pictures slipped out. Ria eyed them up until one caught her eye. She picked it up quickly making sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.

"You recognize him?" Ria felt tears fill her eyes of course she'd seen that face everyday since she was five.

Ria, "T-This is my grandfather…Bobby." He looked on at it in disdain, Ria couldn't understand why he would keep a picture he hated so close to him.

"I know why I got a strange feeling from you now. It's your scent it smells just like him." Ria wasn't comprehending this at all, did he mistake her for Bobby?

Ria, "How do you know my grandfather?" she asked in desperation, maybe he would tell her the truth after the hell she'd been through today. Surprisingly he seemed amused at her reaction. Ria felt comforted by him for some reason but at times she could see something sinister behind the mask.

"Because he's my father. My name is Sam Lake, maybe he told you about me?" Ria stood up dropping the picture to the floor. That wasn't possible…

Bobby told her Lucifer killed him thirty years ago, he would be thirty-five by now. But then again, he said they kept him young because of his abilities. Sam Lake…technically he was her uncle, but this was insane. Sam watched the colour drain from her face and stood up to steady her, he looked up as her eyes stared into his and shuddered seeing such sorrowful tears flowing down her face.

Sam, "I see. So, he told you I was dead and how heartbroken he was, as I thought even now I hate him. Sit down before you collapse." He gestured to the bed, but Ria was frozen stiff. It wasn't so much the fact that he was alive that shocked her, it was the fact that her grandfather had lied to her this whole time. Pieces of the puzzle began to fit together until she realized that her childhood was nothing more than a sham. Training her to kill Lucifer was his goal but that was only to get back his son not to avenge him.

Ria, "Why did he do this? Everything was a lie, dammit!" she slammed her fist against the wall furious over her gullibility. Sam watched wide eyed as she pounded it over and over until her hands were bloody. Things had taken a quick turn in their meeting. Gently he stood up and placed his hand on the wall to stop her from hurting herself anymore.

Sam, "You shouldn't blame yourself. I fell for the same old trick. My old man will do anything to get what he wants, manipulating children is only half of it." Ria could also hear a similar sorrow emanating from his voice. Although she wasn't delicate minded this was destroying her until it felt like her brain was on fire.

Ria, "I want to finish this conversation the next time I visit you, for now I'm exhausted so may I leave please?" Like a flip had switched he backed off feeling a darkness envelope him. Sam thought this girl was just another superior, but this was something different. Feeling sympathy for her he allowed the door to open, Ria turned and bowed one last time avoiding his eyes before leaving into the embracing arms of staff. Like she'd taken the light with her the whole room went dark again.

Although he'd only met her once so far Ria had left a lasting impression on him. Lying back in his bed looking up at the ceiling he squinted feeling a thumping sensation on his bed. Brushing it off as other prisoners kicking up a fuss he turned over in annoyance. However, when his chest hit the bed he sat up in shock before sitting flustered with his palm on his heart. It was beating like crazy until his whole body was throbbing.

Sam, "What the hell…"