Chapter 16: Thanksgiving blues
"We have to talk,"
The words caused a sharp stab of anxiety in his chest as he turned to look at the angel. Having used Donnie's restroom to clear off whatever oil he could, the genius had shown them a collection of inventions he started with Israfil's help. Explaining what each thing did, how it worked and where he was on finishing it though most of it flew over the slayer's head. He could recognize some of what the other had said due to his knowledge on cars but most of it came off as nonsense.
"Sure, about what?" Abel asked, though he knew the answer. Feeling that familiar shiver as Arphaxad's presence flooded his system. Chamuel groaned, sitting down on Donnie's bed. Abel hesitated before leaving the small sink, sitting beside the other.
"Are you...mad at me?" Chamuel asked, Abel refused to look at the angel. His heart still ached from the rejection he felt the night before, dancing his fingers through his hair he could feel the slick wetness of the oil on his palm.
"You've just...been acting really weird today," the blonde continued, "but only towards me,"
"Just tell me," Abel blurted out, his eyes flickered to the other but he looked away again. His knuckles turned white as he clutched his knees.
"Tell you?"
"You don't like me, do you? At least, not the way I like you," Abel tried to keep his hurt from jumping into his words but he could see Chamuel flinch as if he were struck.
"I…" Chamuel started, Abel watched the angel look to the floor. He could see the man's internal struggle, guilt washed over his heart.
"Just reject me, I'll be fine, I just gotta deal with it," he murmured, "was stupid of me to even consider that," trying to keep the pain from his voice, he could feel his heart breaking as he continued to watch the blonde struggle to find what to say. He swore he saw tears in his friends eyes but the blonde turned his head away.
"No," Chamuel whispered, Abel almost didn't hear him as the blood roared in his ears. He didn't know why it hurt so badly, he'd been rejected plenty of times but from him? It was such a sharp, stabbing pain that it nearly made him dizzy.
Abel got to his feet, "it's fine, man" he shot the other a smile, "just a crush, I'm…" he hesitated, "sorry for kind of being a dick," he murmured, "I guess I just misread signals and I…"
"You didn't do anything wrong," Arphaxad whispered, "he's a fool if he doesn't see you the way I do,"
"I guess I just got a little upset,"
"It's...okay," Chamuel murmured, still refusing to look at Abel which frustrated him.
"Come in, I gotta help get Donnie's engine back in his car,"
-
"I'll meet you, I just need…" Chamuel desperately hunted for an excuse, "to...pray...," he finished lamely, knowing it wasn't a great excuse but it seemed to work as Abel shrugged, turning on his heels and pushing out of the room. Nearly jumping back as Israfil and Donnie almost fell in, scrambling away from the other.
"Hey! Did no one tell you guys not to eavesdrop," Abel laughed, patting Donnie on the back as he went.
"It seemed like something crazy was happening," Donnie said with a shrug, following behind Abel, wrapping his arm around the man's shoulders as he spoke animatedly into the air.
Tears rolled down Chamuel's cheeks as he watched them go, Israfil floated towards his friend. Sitting beside him,
"I'm sorry," Israfil whispered, rubbing his friends back lightly.
Chamuel didn't respond, just nodding lightly, attempting to pull himself together.
"It's for the greater good," Israfil continued, "and it's just a crush, right? You'll get over it! I'm sure...people get them all the time,"
Chamuel didn't think so, but he didn't know what else to really call it. He'd never experienced those feelings before, "I guess," he whispered,
"See? It'll be fine! Come on, you have to see this thing Don's making. They're these boots with rockets in them, you yell 'boom' and they turn on! You can float!" His voice grew excited as he spoke in an attempt to amp up the other's energy.
"Wildest thing I've ever seen," he laughed. Chamuel got to his feet numbly, not answering as he followed his friend out of the room.
Silently, he wondered what would have happened if he returned the slayer's feelings but he knew, as he entered into the garage once again, that he would probably never know.
***
Nathan groaned inwardly, the alcohol from the night before caused his head to pound. He wasn't young anymore, he was use to a few beers but ended up getting in an argument with Baal that he lost,
"You gotta take the shot, that's how the game works," Baal had said, now he felt regret swelling in the depths of his skull. He pulled himself groggily from the sheets of the bed, tugging on his orange sweater he sat back down on the bed with a dramatic sigh.
The door creaked open, Baal ducked inside with a wave towards his friend.
"Morning, or should I say Afternoon?" Baal said with a laugh in his voice.
"We're Butch?" Nathan asked groggily, glancing to the empty spot in the bed beside him. Since they were rescued the man had been acting differently but Nate chalked it up to whatever the demons had done while they were captured. Rubbing his eyes groggily, the slayer glared at the bright, afternoon sun that sent cascading light through the blinds on the motel windows.
"Said he had to go,"
"Go?" Nathan blinked towards the demon now, where would Butch go? Tilting his head at Baal with his eyebrows pressed together.
"Did he say where he was going?" Nathan asked, his voice cracking from the burn in his throat. How much did he drink?
"Nope, maybe home?"
Home? That was all the way back in Kansas. Without a car?
"Don't you gott'a home?" Baal asked suddenly, pulling his blue jacket over his large frame.
Nathan felt a thorn in his heart at the mention of his home, "I do...sort of," He whispered, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Sort of?" Baal took a seat beside the other, his presence helped Nathan relax as he leaned lightly into his friend.
"Well-- Back when my brother was alive, I was dating this girl for...years. After Gilbert passed away and I...did something terrible-" He couldn't keep the pain from entering his voice as he spoke. "-she told me she was really a demon,"
He felt Baal tense beside him, "She..." He took in air, he could feel a panic attack starting under his skin at the mention of what he was going to say. Even just the memory of that night shook him to the core, "She-- uh she..." He felt tears start to form, "She told me the baby I'd been doting on...our baby..." He put his hand over his mouth to stop the sobs that rocked into his throat.
Baal put a hesitant hand on his friend's shoulder, "it's Alright, it's...not happening right now," the demon king pointed out. Nathan nodded a couple of times, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to break back the panic. He felt like he couldn't breath as the tears blurred out his vision, he tossed his glasses off and buried his face into his hands. Sucking in air as his body shook, the memories of it all flooded his mind like he was reliving it.
"Nathan, it's alright," Baal whispered, rubbing his friends back awkwardly as he attempted to comfort him.
"S-She told me he wasn't even mine, and after what I did...just minutes earlier..." Nathan murmured finally, he could feel himself starting to relax as Baal continued to whisper softly to him and rub his back. Nathan could feel his energy draining with the panic attack as he came back to his body, back into the reality at hand.
"I'm sorry Nate," Baal murmured, "Demons...we can do some...terrible things,"
"I've been...trying to get the courage to tell her...that... I didn't want anything to do with him anymore but I feel so guilty," It was all falling out of him now, he hardly had money for a therapist and even then he never opened much. But with Baal? The slayer felt like he'd known him his entire life.
"I can see why," Baal said, giving the man a reassuring smile, "Hey, it's Thanksgiving! How about you come with me?"
"It's Thanksgiving?"
"Mhm,"
"Oh," Nate felt his face burn, digging for his phone in his pants pocket, rubbing his eyes. The glasses he'd been wearing were starting to make his eyes hurt.
"Wait, where are you going? Should we wait for Butch?" He asked as he scrolled through his messages, the new app's still confused him causing him to feel his age yet again.
"No, don't trust him,"
Nathan paused what he was doing, moving his eyes from the email he was reading up towards his friend, a strong sense of dread was pumping into his veins.
"Why?"
There was a short silence between the two, "he's been my friend for years. Been there for me since Gil died."
Baal nodded slowly but continued to stay quiet, causing Nate to drop his arm dramatically to his side so it slapped loudly against his pants.
"Really?" Nate groaned.
"People who refuse to tell you why they have the Chamulet tattooed on their arm when claiming they've never seen it before don't need to be trusted,"
Nathan froze, "what?" His blood turned to ice, his mind flashed to being tied to a chair not long ago. Fighting, watching as he was pulled upstairs away from Butch and into the room with Hani. At the time Nate didn't notice it, but it was an odd thing for the demons to do. He had assumed that they had questions for Butch that they didn't want Nathan to hear the answer too but now, it really felt odd.
"Yaknow? When I showed you guys that picture? With Abel and the Chamulet?" Baal asked, an eyebrow arched
"Yeah? And I said I'd never seen it before. And Butch said he hadn't either,"
"Exactly,"
"But…" Nathan closed out of his texting app, going on to his personal Facebook page and scrolling through some of the uploads. He attempted to not show it on his face, but the panic and questions he never thought of before flooded his mind. He found a handful of pictures that had been taken at a BBQ a year ago. Zooming into a few pictures until he settled on one of Butch in swim trunks and a tank top. On the very underside of his arm was the same symbol, hidden among a cave-like painting of a woman angel that took up the entirety of his under arm.
"So...what...does that mean?" Nathan murmured, he remembered the tattoo now and why the Chamulet had felt familiar to him. He recalled Butch mentioning it was an archangel, could it have been Faith? Had he really been this blind the entire time?
"we need to find him, he might be going for Abel and--" Nathan yelped out, a rush of fear burned into his mind as he thought of Abel, an inexperienced slayer, being coaxed into a trap by Butch. Abel was very trusting which Nathan attempted to discourage; he knew that the man, much like his father, thought the best of people.
Baal stood up suddenly, cutting him off mid sentence.
"We don't know what he's doing," he murmured, "he might come back." Baal put his hands out as if to attempt and calm down the anxiety that blew through the slayer's mind like a hurricane.
"If he comes back tonight, we will question him," Nathan said, attempting to gain control of the situation, taking in a breath slowly and releasing it like his therapist had taught him. Swallowing the panic the best he could. Almost feeling dizzy as another attack throbbed behind his eyes.
"Abel is still Gil's kid," Baal said slowly in an attempt to calm the other, "And he's got one hell of an angel on his shoulder."
Nathan was reminded of the video he watched recently, the boys hadn't posted it but a random person on YouTube. It showed Chamuel turning a woman to clean, white bone as well as a handful of other people in the way. That had also worried Nathan, though he was silently thankful the angel was on their side.
"Okay," He let out a breath, running fingers through his hair for a few minutes.
"Okay, we just gotta wait for Butch, right? Maybe he's just getting some air," Nathan wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself or Baal.
"Ya'know, we could always…" Baal started, gesturing to Nathan to finish.
"... celebrate Thanksgiving…?" Nathan groaned, not questioning why a demon King of hell would even want to celebrate such a random holiday. But then again, Baal wasn't a normal demon of hell.
"Fine...Let me just check in on Abel first," Nathan said, sitting down on the opposite bed. Baal nodded before taking a seat once again, waiting patiently for the slayer to finish.
***
They waited for a few more hours, Nathan practically squirming in his skin as he stared at the front door. Attempting to keep himself calm, Abel wasn't a child, if he was in trouble he also had backup. His Nephew hadn't picked up the phone but then again Nathan was now calling on a new number. At least, that's what he tried to convince himself.
"Welp, it's about that time," Baal said after a while, getting to his feet and snatching his helmet off the coffee table that had been placed beside the front door of the small room.
"Time?"
"Thanksgiving," Baal recalled, picking up the helmet he had for Nathan and tossing it towards the slayer who caught it with ease, slipping it on without hesitation.
"Oh, right," He has almost forgotten that Baal wanted to celebrate though he wasn't incredibly sure how the two could do that.
They made their way out into the parking lot, towards Baal's motorcycle that was nested beside the truck.
"Why don't we take the truck?" Nathan asked, watching as Baal got onto the bike, accepting the hand sanitizer he was given. Nathan silently hated the motorcycle, it always gave him a shot of anxiety.
"Easier getaway if things go sideways," Baal said simply
"Why would things go sideways?"
"Nathan Lancaster and Baal, the first king of hell hanging out together? Anything could happen,"
That was true, it almost made him laugh! Relaxing against his friend. It was funny, if you had told Nathan a few months back he'd be straddling the first demon king of Hell on the back of an old Motorcycle he'd have thought you were crazy, silently, he wondered if Gil approved of his odd friendship with the king.
The sun painted the sky a brilliant orange as it died down behind the skyscrapers of New York, shadows cast long behind them as they rode down the freeways. Going down back streets Nathan started to notice the more they drove the deeper into the city they got.
"Where are we going?" Nathan shouted over the roar of the wind, though he trusted the other he could still feel that familiar prickle of panic flaring in his chest. Baal was still a demon, it was something Nathan sometimes forgot as he stared at the large, broken, ram like hones in the others shadow.
"Almost there," He shouted back, Nathan watched as the tiny homes turned to tents. The tents covered people of all shapes and sizes, Nathan felt pain in his heart. Why were they here?
They passed a few handfuls of hand made homes before the motorcycle came to a small building that was nestled in with a few shops. Outside it looked like any normal restaurant, with a few umbrella's set out despite the cold. A couple of double doors lead into the restaurant like kitchen, there was a line of people waiting around for the place to open. Nathan followed Baal as the two went around the other side of the building towards the back doors, a few people stood around chatting.
"Hey Baal, good to see you," A lady said, holding her cigarette up as if it were a wine glass. Baal nodded towards her, "Hey Becky," He called as the pair pushing inside, Nathan looked in awe at all the kitchen supplies that suddenly came to view.
"Is this a soup kitchen?" Nathan asked, completely shocked. He could see Baal was slightly embarrassed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Well, yeah," He chuckled, "I've been doing this for a few years. Ya'know, it ain't much but…" Guilt flooded over Baal's features, the demon was feeling guilty, but why?
"Are….you doing this as a way to...make up for what you did it hell?" Nathan asked, completely bewildered now. Baal shuffled uncomfortably,
"Might be," He finally said, "It's not much, but, I guess I can at least try to help."
That explained it, the picking up trash, giving away food, now Nathan was starting to understand what Baal's game was and oddly it made the slayer trust him just a little more.
"Well, I guess, let's get some aprons?" Nathan chuckled.
Baal shot the man a wide grin, making their way out of the kitchen and past a few others who were getting ready to serve the community around them.
***
Chamuel felt as if he were numb as the day continued onward, the group working together on Donnie's boots. They were interesting, though the man was having a hard time making them come off the ground, they'd fiddle with them a bit before the boots started to magnetize themselves against the metal of a junker car. Using Abel as their guinea pig for the trials, leaving Chamuel to watch in the distance. Taking a video from afar and posting it on their Twitter. The blonde's mind was far from here as he recalled the conversation that happened earlier with the man. Silently, he hated himself for picking the less selfish option. After all, Chamuel thought, If it wasn't for Abel...I don't think I'd even care about this planet.
He knew he wasn't the only one who thought this either. Other angel's whispered about it, even before he came to Earth, no one could understand why Michael wanted to keep the world from falling apart. God was silent on the matter, as usual. It was as though the great king them-self hides at the sight of their children fighting.
"Cham,"
The angel glanced up, blinking away the thoughts that clouded his mind. There stood Mishka, hand on her hip, head tilted towards him.
"You guys are so close to my uncles and you're just sitting here," She chuckled, though the words were harsh they came out in a warm tone. She sat beside him, watching Abel and Donnie shout at each other from across the busted car that was being hoisted up by a small crane.
"Hey Mishka, what're you doing here?"
The woman chuckled, holding up a bag that she had packed. "Thought I'd follow you two to my uncles, make sure you get there safe,"
"But how did you know we were here?"
"Abel," nodding towards the slayer, who was now taking a selfie with Donnie as he stood on the bottom of the car in a pose that reminded Chamuel of Spiderman.
"He texted me, told me where you guys were. I thought I'd drop by for Thanksgiving, see these 'super awesome boots' that he kept texting about,"
Chamuel chuckled, smiling at the other, "Well, welcome to Team Born again,"
"Bless my Poly heart," She breathed as Israfil floated towards the two.
"Four cute men in one house," She nudged Chamuel playfully, "Don't mind if I do!"
Chamuel shook his head at her, getting to his feet and waving towards his friends. It took them a few minutes to pull Abel from the boots.
"Hey hey, Mish!" Abel laughed as they made towards them, "You made it,"
"I will always come where cute people are, you know that," She laughed, Israfil held up a hand to introduce himself only for her to slap it playfully like a high five.
"Let me guess, you're Larry? That's Moe, and Chamuel's curly," She asked with a grin, Israfil returned the look with a smile of his own.
"Don't forget Shemp!" Donnie yelled out, sliding in beside Israfil causing the angel to nodded with pure excitement.
"More like Shrimp," he teased Abel, nudging the man.
"Wow, I'm being attacked at all angles here!"
"More like all angels," Chamuel chimed in.
"Should have done hashtag three stooges and shrimp-o," Mishka shorted,
Abel shot her a playful glare, "I'm taller than you!"
Everyone continued to chat with one another until the group decided on grabbing Chinese food since none seemed to care much for cooking, Israfil delighted as he punched the order into his phone.
"Okay, so we're sharing these," He said, Donnie nodding, pointing out more food to add to the cart. Passing the phone around, all talking over each other as the television blared out the sounds of a movie they decided on.
"Put it on my card," Mishka offered, winking at Abel "And put him on it too,"
"Oh whoa, you can't afford me,"
"But you can afford me," Israfil sang into the air, Mishka laughed, placing a hand on Abel's knee as they continued to talk.
Chamuel shuffled uncomfortably in his seat, he was on the end of the couch sitting beside Abel and Mishka who were rapidly flirting more and more as the night progressed. Cham wondered what Abel and her talked about on their phone, it never occurred to him what Abel was saying to other people. Not that it mattered, right? He was a friendly man, he seemed to talk with everyone. So why was Mishka suddenly making him more uncomfortable than when she flirted with him. The only time he recalled talking to Mishka since the incident at her house was telling her that he was gay and not interested in her and that was... a month ago? Time felt as if it was falling around him and he couldn't keep up.
"Alright, who's smoking what?" Donnie asked, clapping his hands together. "I got weed, I got hookah!" He laughed.
The day began to draw to a close, the food had been eaten, a few movies watched and now the group laid on the floor of the living room surrounded by a few piles of blankets and pillows. All chatting softly to one another, Chamuel had taken to laying next to Israfil who was playing Iggy's guitar lightly.
"You can keep it," Chamuel had said, though he loved the guitar he didn't feel he played it enough for it to be kept. Israfil had been delighted to take it, overjoyed with the gift. The soft stroke of the guitar was lulling him to sleep, though he hadn't done much today he felt exhausted from the emotional words that had been spoken. He couldn't stop playing the scene in his head.
"Y'all can just sleep here," Donnie said with a grin towards everyone,
"I gotta extra bedroom th--"
"I'm the only girl, so I get it," Mishka shouted, leaping from the pile of warmth below.
Donnie chuckled, still a little high in the clouds he waved a hand at her. "Works for me, I'm gonna sleep in my bedroom. Israfil?"
The angel stopped playing for a few heart beats, "I'll sleep out here with Chamuel," He said finally, going back to plucking absentmindedly at the strings.
"Great," Mishka snorted, "Abel maybe you can...help me put some sheets on the bed?"
Abel shot up causing Chamuel's heart to stop, the hunter scrambled to his feet.
"Oh yeah, those bottom sheets man, they suck," He agreed, Donnie rolled his eyes and sat up.
"Be quiet about it, the walls are thin!"
With that the genius got to his feet as well, making for his bedroom while Abel and Mishka made their way to the back of the home and into the guest room. Chamuel stared silently at the ceiling feeling as though his heart had been torn out of his chest by sharp, icy claws. Even with the sound of the guitar he occasionally could hear Abel's name being shouted by the woman, his heart ached painfully as he attempted to force himself to sleep. The strum of the instrument continued for another hour but slowly he could hear that Israfil was falling asleep.
The small home fell into silence now as the angel of music stopped his playing, snoring softly beside Chamuel who's mind buzzed with thought. Israfil beside him gave him minor comfort but he couldn't stop his mind from wandering back to Abel, closing his eyes he tossed and turned. Sleep wasn't going to come easily tonight, he knew that, despite the light high he still felt from the weed, his mind simply didn't want to grant him the release of sleep.
Sitting up now, he glanced down at the angel who was wrapped around the guitar as if it were a stuffed animal. Tugging a blanket over Israfil he got to his feet, making for the back door and pushing into the cold air. Shivering, fog had settled all around the small house giving it an eerie feeling.
"God," He murmured, glancing up at the cold, endless black abyss that was the nighttime skies. "Am I just supposed to be an endless killing machine?" He asked, rubbing his hands together in an attempt to warm them.
"If I can't have feelings, why even pick me in the first place?"
Silence.
He wasn't sure if he actually expected to hear God's voice from the Heavens but he didn't even hear a flash of it in his mind. Something caught his attention, blinking against the darkness he swore he saw someone. Something. Holding out a hand, his grace burned at the palm cutting the shadows as he shone the light to and fro like a flashlight. Narrowing his eyes in an attempt to make out anything that he might have missed, a flash of cold rolled over him and vanished quickly. Turning towards where the energy disappeared he started to follow close behind the coldness, he knew it was something. War burned through his veins as he followed the cold spirit, it raced through the floors of the home and vanished under the door Abel and Mishka had disappeared in a few hours prior. The war in Chamuel grabbed at the hold door knob, he swore he could feel the blood roaring in his ear, like soldiers marching into battle. The soft snoring of Abel caused him to freeze only a heartbeat before throwing it open. Imagining Abel in the bed with Mishka felt almost too painful for the angel to see.
He hesitated, maybe Jophiel was right, he couldn't even follow a negative energy into a room. A negative energy that could be dangerous. Standing outside of the door for a few minutes, he could hear the soft tick of a clock somewhere in the home. The light on his palms flickered off, he couldn't do it. Letting the knob go he realized he had crushed it slightly under the strength of war. If he had let war go, what would have happened?
Taking a few steps back, shaking his head he made way back to his spot beside Israfil who rolled to look at him. Golden brown gaze burning with exhaustion,
"You cool?" Israfil murmured, his voice sleepy.
"Yeah, bathroom," Chamuel lied, giving the man a small smile. The brunette nodded his head before burying his face back into the pillow and falling into the warmth of sleep.
Chamuel laid back down, sleep wasn't gifted to him for hours until his eyes stung. Darkness finally swamped his vision as the morning sun started to peak its way into the waking world.
***
Nathan felt exhaustion burning in his feet, he couldn't recall the last time he had stood for so long. The thanksgiving wasn't bad as they served, cooked and cleaned up though he couldn't keep himself from feeling as though he could sleep for a few days.
"Nothing from Butch?" Baal asked as he drove them back to the motel, taking a side street that caused Nathan to roll his eyes.
"Nothing, are we going to the museum?"
"Yes,"
"She's going to kill you,"
"I'm not going for her,"
"Uh huh, whatever you say." Nathan smiled lightly, letting his chin chest on the others back as he watched the building fly by in a blur. Something suddenly didn't feel right, deep in his gut, dread spread its wings over him. Pulling up to the museum, it was silent, the darkness of the night had settled over it like a monster with a few street lamps lighting up the path below.
"Why are we here?" Nathan whispered,
The quiet was giving him anxiety now as Baal stepped off the bike, he opened the bag that he kept attached to the motorcycle and pulled out a pair of binoculars.
"Are we spying now? No wonder she wants to kill you,"
Baal shoved the binoculars into the man's hands, "Third floor, top window,"
Nathan blinked at him, holding the device to his eyes. There sitting just by the window was the picture that Abel and Chamuel had been hunting for, its colors dulled against the darkness of the room.
"Just make sure it's still there," He whispered, "People see that on their twitter, I'm bettin' they're trying to get it,"
"That's the negative part of making a game for everyone to play," Nathan murmured, handing the binoculars back to the other.
"At least I know you're not a crazy stalker,"
"Try telling her that," Baal huffed, nodding to the woman in the window of the second floor. She was walking around with a bored expression on her features, flashlight rolling over the paintings and artwork as she went.
"We should get back," Nathan said after a few quiet heartbeats. Baal simply grunted in response, getting back on the bike the two drove off towards the motel. Nathan frowned deeply as he attempted to remember his time trapped in the building with Butch, the two had been beaten pretty badly until they were separated. There was something deep in Nathan's subconscious, something he couldn't seem to grasp. Something that turned his blood to ice, As they were being taken to New York there was something that the hunter had said, something that put Abel in great danger.
***
"Sir,"
The man's cold brown gaze didn't move from the window. He watched the people below racing around on the streets, a cold frost scaring many away like rodents they scampered into hiding. A glass of wine in one hand, swirling it lightly in the crystal clear glass.
"This better be important," he groaned, turning in his chair to the holder of the voice. Her long red hair falling messily to the side, a look of pure joy on her features.
"Remember how one of our labs was broken into?"
"And Nathan Winchester was taken? This isn't a game. Tell me what you came to tell me," he turned his chair back around. Snapping his fingers a few times, causing the woman to splutter over her words,
"You can't let me sound cool for one minute?"
"Obizuth, that's impossible for you," he chuckled, turning his chair back around and leaning on the cherry wood desk in front of him, sipping the dark liquid in his glass.
She bit back the desire to reply with a sarcastic response, nodding to Ancitif who rolled his eyes at her.
"We found footage," She said with an evil grin on her lips, Ancitif made his way towards the devil who turned to face him with an interested look on his features. Leaning towards Ancitif to look at the mans phone, taking a sip of his wine as he watched Baal explode through the door of Butch's room with his large, golden horns. Shaking his head with a small smile on his face, the footage was choppy, quick, but it was all that Lucifer needed to see.
"Oh Baal, I knew this was coming," He murmured, pressing a button on his desk. The glass that once showed the city below flickered like a camera, his hands glowed a soft red holding it up to the glass till the darkness swirled under his finger tips.
"Show me Baal and Nathan," The devil whispered,
The screen shuttered, swirling faster until an image slowly faded over the window. It showed Baal and Nathan, sitting in front of a large building with hot dog wrappers and a few sodas. The devil hummed as he leaned back,
"Unlikely friendship," He whispered. "Why are they at a museum?"
Obizuth hesitantly walked up to the table, watching with a grin on her face.
"Can you find out for m-- oh," leaning back now as a woman stormed up to Baal, smacking the helmet from his hand. Lucifer watched with a devilish grin twisting his pale skin. Excitement was clean in his face,
"A girl?" He chuckled, watching the woman storm away from Baal. He turned his attention to Obizuth now, his eyes burning with a menacing joy.
"Find out more about this museum, and this girl," He said with a laugh, "Baal and Nathan seemed to have found themselves a little crush,"
"Of course sir," Obizuth said with a gleeful smile.
The two demons made for the exit, Lucifer watched as the woman walked away from the men with her head up high, yet! She seemed so familiar. The devil pulled his phone from the pocket of his white suit pants. Holding it out,
"Call Mammon," He said into the phone, it let out a beep. The devil placed the phone beside his ear, standing up and freezing the image on Bailey's face as she glanced around herself before getting in her car.
"Mammon?" He sang into the phone, "I believe you might have something I need. Meet me here in an hour."
"Whatever, sure I guess," The demon replied from the other side of the phone, hanging up without a second thought, causing the devil to frown.
"No one says goodbye anymore," He scoffed, finishing his wine and placing the glass on his desk. The window screen swirled and the image vanished, leaving the streets below to be his entertainment yet again.
"Baal, you're strong, but now that the darkness grows more powerful so do I," sitting back down in his chair, letting his feet rest on the desk, a red heart tattooed on the join of his right thumb and a black one on the left. His eyes tracing the hearts for a few seconds, "Accept my gift," He whispered into the air. The red heart sizzled against his skin before it vanished, leaving the skin empty where it had just sat.