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THE NEXT MORNING WAS QUITE peculiar. With the Hunters no longer there and everything else in the world already going wrong, I originally wasn’t looking forward to the rest of the day because I expected something else to go wrong. However, when I woke up that morning, I woke to the sound of all six of my brothers still in my bedroom, sound asleep and most of them snoring.
Elton had apparently had a nightmare in the middle of the night and woke me up, but that was fairly typical of him. Even when he was little, he would wake up at some point in the night and seek out one of us for help.
Usually, it was Gus because he was the closest to him in distance (since they shared a room) or Lachlan because he was always up for cuddling (even if the other person wasn’t really up for it).
I also noticed that all of the boys were still in the room - even Wyatt was still there, sitting on the floor next to where his twin brother sat on the couch in the same place he had been before. They all seemed so peaceful and I was half-tempted to continue to enjoy the brief moment of peace before chaos inevitably ensued again, but I had things to do today and I couldn’t focus on them as much as I wanted to.
The first item on the list was making breakfast - yes, that was the most important thing right now. Then, after breakfast, I could go and be on my own and get some much-needed work done. I stepped over the maze that was four of six of the boys sprawled out all over the floor and went downstairs to the kitchen where I set to work making breakfast.
I was by no means a chef, but I could cook things relatively easily and without burning them (unlike Sylas who burned everything that he touched when it came to the kitchen) and since Griffin wasn’t there, we were missing our usual in-house chef.
So, breakfast was going to be relatively simple that morning anyway - just some fried eggs, Hellhog bacon, and a few fried crickets (for extra protein or something... I couldn’t quite remember what Griffin told me once when he was teaching me a recipe). I did make some tea for myself, though I didn’t bother making it for the others. Other than Eddie, there was no one else in this palace that liked tea and, if she wanted it, she could just as easily make it herself. She had free rein over the kitchen just like my brothers anyway.
I looked up at the sound of someone padding into the kitchen and smiled a little as I realized that it was Roscoe.
I didn’t know very much about Roscoe. I merely knew that he was the princess’s guard and that he swore his life to protect her upon seeing her for the first time thirteen years ago. That was just about all I knew about him, but I supposed that was because of a silent decision we both made to keep one another at arms’ length. It didn’t seem like we would have too much in common anyway.
“The princess was talking to me last night,” Roscoe mused as he walked over to the fridge and started trying to track down something to drink.
“Is that unlike any other night?” I asked, not quite understanding what he was getting at. As far as I knew, Roscoe spoke to Eddie frequently and not just at night. If that was the case, there was no real reason for him to be telling me, was there?
“Yes and no,” Roscoe hummed, “I guess it was more the discussion itself that was different.”
He then walked over, carrying a jug of blood orange juice with him over to one of the cabinets where he got himself a glass to drink out of.
“She said that she wanted to go see King Victor,” Roscoe mused, “I told her that I could go with her if she wanted, but I wanted to know if you would be willing to go with her instead?”
My heart sank into my stomach as I listened to the guard’s words. I shook my head.
“She can’t go,” I stated.
Roscoe stopped pouring his juice and turned to face me. “Why not? There’s no reason she can’t go and talk to him for a few hours, is there?”
Without stopping to think about the consequences of it, my next statement was, “Yes, Roscoe, there is, actually.”
“What is it, then?”
I hesitated. I couldn’t tell Roscoe that the king was missing!
The whole point of sending the Hunters away in secret was so that Eddie wouldn’t find out. If I told Roscoe, there was far too much a chance that she would still find out somehow. I could explain away why the Hunters weren’t there since they frequently went on patrols anyway, but there was no way to explain why someone like Roscoe would suddenly let it slip that her father was missing. Still, I wasn’t sure that I could get away with lying to Roscoe either...
“Prince Lucifer? Is there something I should know about? I get the feeling that there’s something that you aren’t telling me,” Roscoe asked again.
I started to reply when I was reminded that I had eggs cooking on the stove behind me by the smell of them slowly starting to burn. I swore under my breath and turned back away from Roscoe.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I insisted, “My brothers, the Hunters, and I have everything under control.”
Roscoe sighed softly, but left it at that when all of my brothers and Eddie filed into the dining room that we had full view of from the kitchen. He then helped me carry the serving plates out to the dining room and I sat down in my usual place between Sylas and Pierce, hoping that the conversation that Roscoe was trying to have with me was done.
It had to be done at least for that point in time, though I wouldn’t have minded if it disappeared into oblivion. I looked up at the flat-screen TV that was mounted in the corner of the room and thought for a moment. It was Saturday. That meant the weekly report on the Empyrean War was supposed to go up this morning.
“Elton, turn on the TV,” I told him. He was sitting closest to the console that was by the wall, so he was also closest to the remote. I thanked him as the TV clicked on and the news report came up.
Unfortunately, the Empyrean War report this week was being given by the angels. The demons and the angels all had the exact same channels and the exact same news station, so we all had to “share” the screen time when it came to the news. Then again, it wasn’t like the angels ever claimed only what was rightfully theirs and nothing more.
As the news anchor rambled on and on about how the war was beginning to spiral out of control, the energy in the room grew sticky and heavy. Well, this was just a splendid way to start the morning off.
Not only did Roscoe come inches away from forcing me into revealing what was going on with King Victor, but now the war was doing just as we feared it would.
Hopefully, I would still be able to keep up with my statement that I had everything handled.
❀
LET IT BE KNOWN: I most certainly did not have everything handled. That fact only became more painfully obvious, though, when I went to the Palace of Darkness after breakfast to figure out what could be done to help the war. I soon realized that there wasn’t very much that could be done about the war.
I couldn’t really send more troops because we didn’t have that many more troops to send - plus, I wasn’t sure that anyone had that ability except for the king. Well, since the king was “missing”, his daughter now had that ability, but - again - no one but my brothers, the Hunters, and me knew about that. Not even the Head Council... oh. My. Satan.
I swore under my breath as I came to the realization that the Head Council didn’t even know about King Victor’s disappearance. I didn’t particularly want to tell them since Phoenix Bauer was going to be another person that was a little too close to Eddie for my liking, but they needed to know.
However, if I didn’t tell them, then I wouldn’t be able to do anything about the war. I had to tell them. I had to tell them. There was no other option.
I groaned and sank down in the desk chair as I thought to myself. How exactly did I get myself into these messes? Why couldn’t my life be normal? At this rate, I would even take being back up in Heaven at this point if it meant that I wouldn’t have to go through this.
I was so lost in my own thoughts that I didn’t hear the knocking on the door until it became more urgent and a voice started to accompany it. Wait... I knew that knock. It was one the war advisor... what was his name? Why couldn’t I remember his name?
“Your Majesty, I need to speak with you about the war. Do you know how you want to proceed yet? Are you in there? Can I come in?”
He started to push the door open and I immediately teleported over, pushing back and closing the door back. From the sound on the outside, I was fairly certain that I managed to send the advisor flying, too, but I talked myself into thinking that was okay for the sake of my sanity. I began to break out into a sweat as my mind swarmed with what to do.
“Your... Majesty?” The advisor called, his tone much more lifted now that he was - understandably confused.
When he was little, Wyatt used to think that there were a bunch of “Little Wyatts” in his brain, controlling all of his bodily functions, all of his thoughts, and all of his actions. Now, I couldn’t help imagining all the “Little Lucifers” in my own brain scrambling around and screaming as my brain burst into flames. That vision was just about the only thing keeping me from having a complete mental breakdown, but it wasn’t helping much other than that.
“King Victor, what in your father’s name is wrong?” The advisor asked again. I heard him put his hand on the door knob and begin to push the door open again.
I used my entire body weight to keep it closed as I begged the “Little Lucifers” in my mind to figure out something to do before it was too late. It was beginning to be too late, though, as I continued to feel the advisor push against the door again. He called out for a few guards to come and help him, too, and immediately my brain started to go numb.
Then, just as I was about to give up, one of the “Little Lucifers” shoved something into my memory. I had voice mimicry. It was a rare ability that only King Victor, Gavin, a handful of others, and I had. I’d only used the power on a few occasions, but I did have it.
I felt a surge run through my veins and I gripped the door knob behind me tighter as I felt a unique type of strength come right along with that surge. I was slightly surprised to feel it since this only happened when I used a new power, but I supposed that my body just wasn’t that used to the power yet.
“I’m very sick,” I called through the door, a little bit startled by the voice that came out of my mouth - it was much deeper than I was used to, but that was because it wasn’t my voice, “I’d prefer it if you don’t come in here.”
“King Victor... I don’t understand,” the advisor (who I still couldn’t remember the name of) began, “You don’t sound sick.”
I thought for a moment. Shockingly, I was not good at thinking on the spot.
I let out a hacking cough, hoping that that would be convincing enough.
“I guess it’s just one of those sicknesses where you don’t really show symptoms,” I replied rapidly, “Still, I think you and everyone else should stay far, far away. Like, six feet away... yeah, that should be a good start.”
“But Your Majesty...” the advisor began.
“Oh come on!” I thought to myself, “How much longer are we going to be doing this dance?”
“What?” I snapped, “Didn’t you hear me? I’m sick. I just want to be left alone so I can get what little work I can get done today and then get some rest.”
“That’s fine,” the advisor mused, “But still. We need to figure out what the next move is with the military. That unfortunately can’t wait out this sickness that you might have. If it’s alright with you, I’m going to sit outside the door and speak with you that way.”
I paused for a moment. Could I do this? Could I impersonate King Victor and make those kinds of decisions? I mean, I thought I knew the decisions that King Victor would make, but I was still not King Victor. He was a much better ruler than I could dream of being. The other question, though, was if I really had a choice.
“Okay,” I replied meekly.
I listened to the advisor let out a loud moan as he sank down on the floor and I immediately remembered who he was - well, I remembered what he looked like.
The war advisor was a super old, crusty guy with gray hair and a long, gray beard that was always frizzy and unkempt. He never seemed to take very good care of his appearance - which drove me crazy and I knew it did the same to King Victor, though he would never admit that fact - except for the fact that he always wore the most expensive, designer suits. Sometimes, he wore more expensive suits than King Victor, any of my brothers, or I wore, but it didn’t surprise me.
The war advisor, though he was the war advisor because he was the most experienced and decorated soldier of his time, didn’t have many other redeeming qualities. In fact, the first three terms that came to mind when I thought of the war advisor were selfish, manipulative, and narcissistic.
I still couldn’t quite remember his name, though. It was now on the tip of my tongue, but that was about it.
“So, how did your visit to the White City on Thursday go?” The advisor asked, “Did you get a chance to talk to Gavin?”
My heart felt heavy when he asked that. It felt like everyone - regardless of whether or not it was intentional - was constantly reminding me of my mistake, but that was probably because they were. I looked down at the floor, studying the lines in the black marble tile.
“No,” I replied softly.
I wasn’t sure if I recalled that King Victor spoke to the war advisor about his trip before talking to me about it. Usually, King Victor told me everything that he talked about with the advisor. Perhaps that memory just slipped my mind - perhaps I decided it wasn’t that important to remember.
“I wish I could say I was surprised,” he sighed, “You put too much faith into people, King Victor. You know demons and angels will never mix - your daughter is barely an exception to that rule.”
I furrowed my eyebrows at that. If King Victor was here, he probably would’ve sprung through the door and ripped the advisor to shreds for daring to even think that about Eddie. However, I chose to keep my mouth shut and just listen to him... for now.
“What did I tell you all those years ago? I told you to not bring her down here - that there would be problems in the future,” he continued, “I still remember what you told me. You told me ‘Casimir, I don’t care. I want her down in Hell with me - I’ll keep her safe no matter what happens’. Lucifer agreed with you and helped you get her down here. Well, now look at the mess you’ve got yourself in. Do you regret it? Is the Devil even capable of feeling regret?”
“No, I don’t regret it,” I replied without hesitation. I couldn’t tell if I was answering for myself or for King Victor.
Casimir huffed at me, “Fine. King Victor, I’m going to start the next draft until you’re well enough to tell me what to do - you clearly aren’t in the right place to do it right now. Is that alright?”
I hesitated, continuing to stare at the ground. I could feel the room closing in on me as I tried to formulate an answer. I didn’t want to say yes to drafting more troops - drafting more lost souls. I couldn’t say yes. I wouldn’t say yes.
I listened as Casimir got up from the floor. “I’ll take your silence as a yes,” he mused, “Good day, Your Majesty.”
I sighed softly as I listened to his footsteps walking away from the door and sank down onto the floor, succumbing to the wave of exhaustion that washed over me. I couldn’t tell if it was the power usage alone or if it was the emotions that I was feeling, but I suddenly felt like I could replace Sylas as the prince of Sloth and take a one-hundred year nap right about then.
“What have you gotten yourself into, Lucifer? What are you going to do to fix it?” I asked myself.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get an answer.
I just hoped that I would be able to figure out how to fix this mess before I was no longer the only one losing myself in the chaos. After all, I had seven brothers and they were worse than me when it came to situations like this.