"We are coming with you, end of discussion." Theseus's stern tone matched his hard eyes as he stared directly through mine. I knew he wasn't looking at me, but rather at Lucifer within them. As Lucifer's 'emissary' to the conversation, I was little more than a puppet who said exactly what he was told and scolded, if I went off script.
"We appreciate your help to this point, but you would only endanger us further." Lucifer's words were cold, I attempted unsuccessfully to cover my wince.
"What, What did he say?!" Theseus's face was turning darker shades of red as I echoed the words to him.
"Listen here you pompous ass of an angel. I don't care if you're an Archangel or god's favorite toilet brush, Asterion and I like this kid you've found for yourself. He's certainly got more charm than you. We talked it over last night and we're growing bored of life here in Portland anyway. So, we are going to come along. Get a taste of the good old days and make sure the kid isn't used up and tossed aside like some filthy old washrag." His words brought a childlike smile to my face, they were both harsh and kind, not to mention dripping with sincerity. Despite having only known this man for a single day, I was already beginning to feel a sense of comradery and kinship that I had not known outside my immediate family, I wanted to trust both him and Ace.
"Okay, I can't believe I'm saying this, but let's all take a breath…." Lilith finally butt in with a heavy eye rolling sigh, she had been mysteriously quiet to that point. "I love chaos as much as the next gal, but this isn't helping anyone. My lord." she started, giving me a squirming and awkward sensation that made me feel out of place in my own skin.
Since Lucifer and I had awoken three hours ago, she had started referring to him, through me, as 'my lord'. "Sorry to say, but I agree with the boys here. I see why you say no, extra bodies create a larger crowd that is harder to conceal and easier to track, no doubt they have found his bag and his belongings. They will find us before we get to our destination. That is a fact. Yarhibol isn't going to stop, and now that he knows I'm here, he is going to bring even more angels. Not to mention the Wizards. They must have caught wind of this confrontation and if they find out about Desmond, they will come for him. We are going to need all the help we can get in a fight."
Silence permeated the room as we all waited for his reply. A full minute passed as everyone stared at me with baited breath. I averted my gaze awkwardly from each of them as I waited.
"Fine." Lucifer started. "Lilith's assessment is astute and has persuaded me for the moment. I suppose we will need all the fighting power that we can muster in as small a group as possible." As I parroted his words to the group, they visibly relaxed.
Ace and Theseus smiled to one another and then to me. I returned their smile in kind, mouthing the words 'thank you' to them. With a wink Theseus turned his attention back to the table.
"Now that the party is settled. Our proposed plan remains the same. We need to get Desmond and Lucifer to Malekith." Theseus added once more.
"Lucky for you boys, I know just where to find him." Lilith was confident, leaning back in her chair like a bored teenager.
"So where might he be?" Theseus asked, taking her bait.
"Los Angeles. I heard he set up some night club and has been draining the souls of the youth there." she answered nonchalantly.
"Draining human souls? You're joking right?" I hoped I had heard her wrong.
"Yep. Sends them all to dear old Beelz in return for his added power. LA makes it all but too easy for him." Her ambivalence was clear, she didn't care what happened to humans.
"But what about the Wizards?! I thought they were the guys to stop this sort of thing?" My own incredulity matching the level of Lilith's ambivalence.
"The wizards can only be in so many places. Their numbers are small, and don't forget. Malekith is a Wizard too. Albeit a corrupted one." Theseus interjected.
"Regardless of the wizards, we must get to Malekith undetected, if possible." Lucifer guided me back onto the topic at hand with yet more of his pragmatism.
I cleared my throat to the group, Lucifer was correct, we needed to stay on topic, but I still had unanswered questions. "Can someone please explain to me again why we need to go see this Malekith guy? I mean, it seems like everyone is in agreement to go see this guy for help, but no one has actually told me what he can actually do for us." My words rang hollow into the dining room as everyone looked at each other confused.
Lilith was the first to break the silence with a delightful chuckle.
"Seriously guys? No one told him?" she asked.
"Well I mean. I thought it was obvious…" Theseus answered.
"I am sorry, Desmond. We forget that you are new to this world. What seems obvious to us, must be rather confusing. To you." Asterion's comforting mono tone soothing my hurt feelings.
"Malekith is one of the few beings capable of masking both you and Lucifer completely from perception. We would ask that he place a ward of sorts over you, and well… all of us." Theseus spoke calmly and clearly. "You may not like how he gets his power, but it's the only thing that gives him enough of an edge to hide you from not only angels, but other wizards as well."
"He is correct, Desmond." Lucifer added. "We will have much more freedom to plan our next steps once we have assured that no one can seek us out."
I didn't like to admit it, but I knew that they were right.
"Okay. So how do we get to him?" I asked, clapping my hands together in renewed determination. I didn't have to like it, but everyone else knew much more about this world than I did, so going along with things for the time being couldn't be a bad idea.
"That's the attitude!" Theseus exclaimed as he turned back to the table and began rearranging the empty cups, bowls and plates.
"Yes. Very mature indeed, Desmond." Lucifer's compliment cut through my mind like butter. I still wasn't used to getting compliments on a regular basis, which I surmised he knew.
"The way that I see it, we have but two choices." Theseus continued. "First, we try to drive. Take back roads, stop in remote locations for brief rests, if any, but we will be more vulnerable to Yarhibol and his Angels. All said we would likely be exposed for around twenty hours."
"I dislike this idea very much." Lucifer quipped and I informed the group as much.
"Of course he doesn't." Lilith added objectively. "That's a lot of time out in the open, waiting for an attack."
"What is the second?" Asterion asked.
"We take the long way. Ace and I created a portal to Olympus near here a few years ago. We travel to the Grecian realm and find another portal that takes us to Los Angeles. There is sure to be one, though I would not know where."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Lilith's voice boomed into the room with near white hot rage. Theseus winced as if he had expected reaction. Asterion looked down in disappointment.
"Listen, hear me out first. Yarhibol cannot easily follow us into a realm not of his own, not without permission. Yes, I understand that my pantheon would likely be asked to intervene, be it to kill us themselves or allow him in to do the work himself." Theseus argued. Slapping the table in frustration, Lilith rose threateningly. Her blood red eyes fixated on Theseus, her mouth opened to begin her verbal onslaught, but Asterion interjected first.
"We do not know how many days this would add to our trip." Asterion added calmly. "The alternative is that we drive, Just as Theseus said. In both cases we know that we will be attacked. We also know from Desmond's tale, that this angel is not afraid to cause collateral damage. If this were to happen, wizards would appear. At least in our realm, wizards are unlikely to appear. They care not for the damage we cause to ourselves."
"Hmmmm he has a point." Lucifer agreed. "If a confrontation is all but guaranteed, we may as well give ourselves an advantage. Small though it may be." I conveyed his words to the group and Lilith seemed to calm.
"Okay. But I get to kill Yarhibol." Lilith demanded as she looked to each of us for confirmation. Theseus and Asterion simply nodded as her demonic eyes met theirs, unwavering in their confidence. Nervously I shrugged, crumpling under the weight of her gaze as it bore into me.
"Excellent. We have our strategy, we have our destination, and we have our route. We wait till the cover of darkness then make for the portal. If no one has anything else, I suggest we each take our time to prepare. A perilous journey awaits us." Theseus spoke with a gleeful cadence as he stood from the table. "Desmond, should you need anything. Anything at all, simply ask." I nodded, unsure of what else to do. He and Asterion left the dining room to gather their things and I was left alone with Lilith and Lucifer for the first time.
Turning my gaze back to Lilith I cleared my throat to speak.
"Does my lord have words?" She asked, cutting me off before I could begin to utter a sound.
"Uh. I don't think so." I answered nervously.
"Then leave me be, human." Her ice cold words cut deep into my chest as she walked past and out of the room.
"She will warm, once she learns that you are not a threat." Lucifer consoled me as I fought from hanging my head. "Come, meditate and find me in your castle. You… Well, truthfully we have much to learn, and no one to instruct us. I suppose that first I must catch you up, and teach you what I can."
Curious, I found a comfortable place atop an old dusty rug at the far end of the dining room. To be honest, I had chosen the spot because I felt awkward 'meditating' in front of the others, and the table offered some amount of seclusion. Crossing my legs I calmed my breathing, trying to recreate the circumstances from the first and only other time I had entered my soul on purpose.
'What was the name of my castle?' I thought to myself, trying hard to remember.
Arce Elymas Magus
An unknown voice echoed back to me. I tried to think of where I had heard this voice before, but thoughts became slow, and I fought to remember what I was doing.
Arce Elymas Magus
I felt my head lul as I struggled to keep upright. Wind whipped at my cheeks, almost as if I stood at the edge of a cliff face, teetering on the edge of nothingness.
Arce Elymas Magus
'Why is this voice so familiar?' Was the last clear thought I had before the sensation of falling finally washed over me, my eyes shut tight as orbs of light blinked past my eyelids. Ringing echoed through my ears, rising in pitch until I could hardly bear it. Then nothing. Deafening silence until the soft chirp of songbirds and cicadas rose in the surroundings.
I opened my eyes to see the front gate of the castle before me, standing alone on the dirt road.
"Lucifer?" I called out to the courtyard as I took my first cautionary steps. I had seen all of this just the day before, and yet it seemed so long ago.
The trees were still just as green, the sky still locked in a canvas of twilight made up of oranges, yellows, pinks and purples. I took a deep relaxing breath, the air felt cleaner here. If it was air that I was actually breathing and if I was breathing at all. Stepping into the center of the bailey, I continued my survey of the surroundings. Ancient stone brick ramparts, complete with battlements, merlons and embrasures. I had never seen a castle in person, yet this is exactly what I had always imagined. Though, perhaps cleaner. The bailey grass appeared fresh cut, and the trees recently pruned. There were no tracks, save my own. I heard chirping birds and buzzing insects, but saw none, where were they?
"Are you going to stand and gape all day?" Lucifer's annoyed tone broke through my awe, catching me off guard as I turned awkwardly to meet him. "Or perhaps we can do what it is I called you here to do?"
"Oh. Sorry." I eked out in reply, walking to meet him. He was wearing a different suit now, a single breasted brown 3 piece with a blue shirt and tie. His long blonde hair was pulled up into a ponytail. I'd forgotten how jealous I felt that I didn't look as good.
"Excellent. Let's get started." Lucifer clapped his hands together and motioned for me to follow him. "Desmond. There is much lacking in the way of your understanding. It is a complicated world we live in. Gods, Wizards, Mankind. Not to mention monsters, mythos, heroes, villains. Everyone has a role to play. What we must do, before anything else…" Lucifer's words trailed off as he opened the large doors to the castle, then turned and looked me directly in the eyes, unblinking. "Is ensure we are on the same page."
We walked down the hall in relative silence, our footsteps echoing longingly through the castle's various ways. Lucifer led me into one of the first large rooms. A modern chalkboard lined the opposite wall, and chairs with desks filled the otherwise empty room.
"It looks like a classroom?" I questioned quietly as Lucifer strode to the front.
"Astute observation, my young Desmond." He slung his jacket off and folded it carefully over one of the desks. I thought this was strange, his action was deliberate, as if the coat had any material value. Which it didn't, it couldn't since it was not real.
"Now before we start this lesson, Desmond. I believe you once knew very little, but now have a somewhat spotty understanding. Before we waste any time on unnecessary knowledge, let us start with something essential. You, and Me." Lucifer rolled up his sleeves and picked up a piece of chalk. Drawing two large circles, which he then wrote each of our names within.
"This is us as we should be. Separate, distinct, dare I say… opposite. Given your destiny to become a wizard." Lucifer's smirk met my blank, uncertain expression. Amusement turned to dissatisfaction and he then drew a third circle between the two, its edges unstable, shaky. "This is us now. Two opposite beings, contained within a single vessel. Normally, a vessel could not contain two beings within it. However, because you are a wizard, and your body is a vessel meant to contain a wizard's power, it has solidified what should be unstable, and cemented it into an uneven structure. One that gives preference to its main host, you. Follow me so far?" His chalk circled again and again the middle circle until its edges were thick and uneven.
"Okay, so what does this all mean?" I asked tentatively. It may not have been previously explained this clearly, but for the most part I felt like I already had an instinctual understanding of this point.
"What this means is that your vessel is capable of containing the two of us, even as you are today. So, that stands to reason that if we improve what you are today, it could contain even more. Such as my full power. Your full power. Our full power."
"So, when you say you want us on the same page, you mean that you want both of us utilizing my body to our advantage?" I asked, trying to follow along.
"What I mean to say Desmond, is this. What we are, has never been. Should never have been. We are in a position to shake things up for a change, in a manner of speaking. Gods, Pantheons, Mythos. None of them matter. Wizards hold the power currently, but we. You and I. Have the power to change this. We Can make things better." Lucifer tapped his chalk repeatedly in the center of the third circle, eyeing me with enthusiasm, searching for my response.
I sat down in the nearest chair, thumb and finger on my chin. My thoughts swirled. I knew he could hear them all, and for some reason I wanted him to. This was the first time I had been given any amount of agency over my own destiny since this had begun, the first time someone had sat me down with the obvious intent to get something from me that they could not take.
Lucifer was the devil, there was no arguing that point. By all accounts of the Christian faith, he wasn't to be trusted. That said, he had helped keep me alive up to this point. Even if he was saving himself in the process. Lucifer's eyes narrowed on me, but he said nothing. My thoughts continued on to Lilith. She was harsh, demanding, threatening and rude, not to mention she had technically tried to kill me once already.
As for Theseus and Asterion, they seemed like good people. Theseus hadn't painted a good picture of the wizards. It seemed that to him, they were an obvious threat. Lucifer's line of questioning seemed leading, but I got the impression he was hiding something. It was obvious he wanted power. But what does that mean? What would it mean for me? Did I even want power? It wouldn't matter what I wanted if Yarhibol and the other angels killed me before I got to find out… I needed time. Time to figure out this new world, time to learn Lucifer's intentions and time to discover more about these wizards and more importantly, about myself.
"Okay. What's the plan then?" I asked, truly confident for what felt like the first time in my life. Lucifer, for his part, merely smiled and nodded, his eyes never leaving mine. My stomach turned as the hair on the back of my neck stood erect once more. I did my best not to think about it, but something within me screamed of danger.