William peered around Vincent to catch a glimpse of the demon he had yet to meet. Adam had the white hair and red eyes that the rest of the demons had, choosing to wear his hair long, and he wore a much simpler outfit than the rest of Lucifer's men. Adam wore a black hooded tunic, black baggy pants that seemed too large for his frame, and black boots. But most peculiarly, William noticed, was the fact that he wore an old rope as a belt, cinching in his loose tunic at the waist. –He looks no older than seventeen, how did he end up with a task that is so daunting and lonely?–
Both William and Michael moved to greet the arcane demon, but Adam did not seem to notice either man as he adjusted his rope. William spoke first, wanting to greet the man he had heard so much about. "Hello, Adam, I'm not sure if the others have mentioned me to you yet, but my name is William, I am Master Lucifer's newest convert. It is very nice to finally meet you."
Adam made no sign that he had heard William at all. The hooded young man inspected his surroundings, seeming particularly interested in, but suspicious of, Michael, who did not appear to be dead at all.
"Excuse me? Adam?"
Hellena glanced at Vincent, and she spoke up. "William, he isn't ignoring you." She raised her hand, and Adam looked over at her. She began to gesture, and Adam nodded, before holding his hand out to William. After the newest convert shook his hand, Adam placed his hand on his chest, before running his index finger along his cheek, starting at his ear and ending at his mouth.
"I…I don't understand?" William's confusion resonated in his voice, and Lucifer put his arm around his shoulder.
"Adam is saying he is deaf. We have a language here that allows us to communicate with him, which is what you saw Hellena use. Learning to use Adam's language is non-negotiable here, as I believe in equity in my realm among my demons, and it is actually quite useful among us when we do not wish to be heard." Hearing what Lucifer had to say regarding Adam's lack of hearing, William felt a sense of reverence toward his master.
"Vincent mentioned you can remove our scars," William ran his fingers across his thick scar on his throat. "Aren't you able to fix Adam's hearing?"
"Actually, Master Lucifer did. Adam wasn't accustomed to hearing, and it was something he thought he wanted. All the sounds overwhelmed him. He screamed for days. After three days of being awake and tormented by a gift he couldn't tolerate, our Master took his hearing back. He's happier this way," Vincent explained.
After listening to the demons, Michael finally spoke up. "Lucifer! You can heal your demons' wounds? Can't you heal my back?"
"Regretfully, no. The demons come from my own blood, and can be healed from my magic. You come from the Kingdom, like I do, which is why neither of us can heal the other; only the Ruler can do that for us."
Adam waved his hand, and caught his master's attention. He began to gesture, and Lucifer shook his head. The Fallen man put his hand on his chest, and gestured toward Michael, before putting his hands palms down facing his shoulders, before turning his hands outward and fluttering them twice. Adam's eyes grew wide as he realized that Michael was the same kind as his master: a Fallen angel from the Kingdom.
Lucifer scoffed. "I've been so busy with introducing William to Adam, I've completely forgotten to introduce the demons to you, Michael." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I tend to get ahead of myself when I'm excited. This here is Vincent, he was my first convert, and has been with me here the longest."
Vincent bowed respectfully as his master introduced him. "Pleasure to meet you, Michael. The Master has been searching for the ally for centuries, and our dream is coming to fruition. I was an army commander in my old life, and I am prepared to lead us to success."
Michael recoiled a little at the demon's forwardness; he was not prepared for Vincent to be so confident in his abilities. "I look forward to working with you, Vincent."
Lucifer continued on. "You've already met my next eldest demon, my right-hand man, Edward." Edward gave a small nod. "And you've met our dearest Adam," Lucifer said, as he gestured the words. Adam smiled, his hood falling lower over his ruby eyes as he bowed. The young-looking demon signed a short phrase, and Vincent spoke the man's signals aloud. "He says it is nice to meet you."
"This lovely lady here is my demonic daughter, Hellena, our only female demon" The ethereally beautiful young woman gave a small wave and curtsy, but did not come forward. Michael noticed that she seemed more hesitant around him than the others did.
"It's very nice to meet you, Hellena. I'm sure we'll be great friends."
Hellena made a quiet harrumphing noise, and retreated back behind William.
"And finally, this is my newest convert, William. He's only been with us a short period. Your sweetheart Ravenna actually testified at his trial, and was the final push to make him my fifth demon. I've never had someone give a statement at someone's Judgement, but William clearly meant a lot to Ravenna, so I took her thoughts into consideration."
William came forward, offering his hand to Michael. "A pleasure, Seraphim Michael. Ravenna mentioned you before my Judgement, and I want to thank you for saving her. I've known her since she was born, and she deserves nothing but the best. Treat her well."
Michael, still gripping the demon's pale hand, felt insecurity chill through his body. –She deserves nothing but the best…is he warning me? I have done everything to be the best for her, surely there is no better suitor for her than the one who risked everything to save her?– He forced a smile to his face, trying as hard as he could to appear confident. "I would move the Kingdom itself for Ravenna. I gave my wings for her, and I would give more if I could. It is good to meet you, I'm sure we will do great things."
"Excellent. These are the demons that will teach you everything you need to know before we exact our revenge against the Ruler. But before we do that, we need to unleash your hidden powers. Are you ready, Brother?" Lucifer grinned, and another chill ripped through Michael.
"I am."