Of Light And Shadows

“He got banged up again?” Beelzebub was looking between Mammon and Belphegor with disbelief. They nodded. “What did he do this time?”

“Lucifer took me to see my Vampire friend and he attacked me.” Jia held up the arm that was in the brace. Asmodeus saw it and came floating over, taking her hand gently in both of his.

“Oh my darling, what happened to you? How could anybody hurt anything so delicate and beautiful?” He looked at her from beneath his long eyelashes with a smouldering smile.

“Knock it off, asshat,” Mammon warned as she blinked dizzily. “Just because Lucifer isn’t here doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want with Jia.” Asmodeus rolled his eyes and Jia felt the release in her mind as his charm let her go free.

“You never let me have any fun,” he pouted.

“You can have fun with somebody else,” Bell warned. Asmodeus held his hands up to show he meant no harm.

“Don’t worry Jia. I won’t let Asmo seduce you,” Bee grinned, dropping a large hand onto her shoulder. “If he tries I’ll eat him.”

“And we’ll let you,” Mammon agreed.

“How unpleasant,” Asmodeus replied, wrinkling his perfect nose. “You boys just love spoiling my good mood don’t you?”

“No, we like protecting our family from your creepy advances,” Mammon muttered. “Beat it Asmo. Running this place without Luce is hard enough. We don’t need you making more problems.”

Asmodeus rolled his eyes again and sauntered off, winking at Jia as he left. Bee shook his head sadly.

“He never learns.”

“He’s the Demon of lust,” she shrugged. “It’s in his nature.”

“That doesn’t mean he has to get all creepy,” Mammon muttered. “He could just be nice and get to know you.”

“Do you really think Lucifer would ever let him get to know her?” Belphegor asked, arching an eyebrow. Jia blushed.

“Good point.” Mammon shot her a smug grin. “When are you and him finally gonna admit that you like each other?” he asked. Her eyes widened as her cheeks grew hotter.

“Shut up,” Bell muttered, elbowing him. “You’re embarrassing her.”

“I’m not embarrassing you am I, shortstack?”

"Yes,” she mumbled.

“See? Stop being an ass,” Bell scolded. Beelzebub chuckled and took a bite of the chocolate bar in his hand, watching the pair bicker for a moment

“You know,” he said when he finished his mouthful. “You could choose to stay here now that we know you’re half Demon. Technically Lucifer can marry whoever he wants until Satan orders him into an arrangement. If he takes you as a bride his father can’t punish him for it.”

“You’re talking about getting married?” she asked, almost choking.

“What’s so bad about it? You get to stay here and he doesn’t have to marry the harpy his father likes. Everybody wins.” Bee shrugged like it was the most normal thing in the world. She envied his simplistic view of life even as the thought made her throat close up.

“What if I don’t want to get married?”

“I’m not saying you have to. I’m just saying it wouldn’t be so bad.” He smiled and followed after Asmodeus, leaving her staring as Mammon and Bell continued to argue.

She’d only come down to get Lucifer something to eat while he was on bed rest. She hadn’t expected to be bombarded by the Demons. She shook her head in disbelief and carried on with her task.

She grabbed a cup of Louie’s favourite tea and some sandwiches, waving to Bell and Mammon before heading back upstairs. They broke off from their argument to smile at her before going right back to it.

She frowned as she ascended the stairs to the second floor, thinking of how Bee had so innocently and sincerely discussed something so major. Sure, she’d love to get married at some point, but she’d always thought of it like a far off pipe dream.

But her mother was safe and her father was gone and she was in the Demonic Realm. She didn’t want to marry but she could choose to stay. There was nothing for her in the human world but the bookstore and a class she hated.

She could continue working the accounts for the academy and enrol in some classes herself if she stayed. The brothers would never see her without somewhere to live and she knew they’d always protect her.

The only problem was Satan. He was a constant threat. She’d always be wondering when he was going to show up and snatch her, or when he was next going to hurt Lucifer.

She remembered the blankness in his eyes when he’d been stabbed. The noise he made as the knife slipped into his heart rang through her head like a phantom. It made her hands shake.

She stopped half way up the stairs and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself before she dropped the tray. He was okay. He was alive and getting better. For now she had no need to panic.

When the trembling stopped she started walking again, remembering how relieved she’d been when he woke up.

Her thoughts turned to the way he’d jumped in to defend her against Evan’s temper, not caring at all that he might be hurt in the process. She thought of how he’d wiped her tears away and held her afterwards and her heart started to thud.

She’d wanted to kiss him. Despite everything she’d been through, despite all the turmoil and chaos, she’d still wanted to. That had to mean something.

She didn’t know if she would stay in the Demonic Realm or if Satan was going to show up and take her away. She didn’t know if Evan would ever be normal enough to be her friend again. She had no idea what she wanted to do with her life.

But she did know that Lucifer wasn’t just her friend. Where that placed him in her life was still a mystery.

She pushed open the door and he looked up from the book he was reading, smiling when he saw it was her. He always had the warmest smile for her, even when he was in tremendous pain. He never seemed to resent the fact that he was always getting her out of trouble one way or another.

“Oh, you brought tea? Thank you.”

“It’s your favourite mint blend,” she answered, smiling back at him. “I thought you could use some cheering up since you’re stuck in bed for a while.”

“I appreciate it.” He accepted the cup gratefully. “How are my brothers managing?”

“They’re arguing like always but they seem to be doing well enough. Mammon managed to stop Asmodeus charming me again.” Lucifer scowled.

“I’m going to have words with that Demon when I get out of here,” he muttered. “Any other disasters to report?”

“None at all. Levi took over your classes and Mammon and Bell split Levi’s teaching schedule between them. Everything seems to be doing just fine for now.” She smiled again. “And of course I’m balancing the books whenever I get a minute.”

“Something I appreciate more than you know. How’s your arm?”

“The same as yours.” She sat down on the mattress beside him and passed him the plate of sandwiches.

“Did you eat?”

“I did. I had a bagel and some weird potato chips that Bee cooked. They were kind of spicy but really good.” She cocked her head to the side. “Are you worried that I’m skipping meals?”

“I always worry about you. You know that.” He set the book aside and shifted to make himself more comfortable. “I just want to make sure you’re healthy. I know abuse can have a lot of awful side-effects. An eating disorder wouldn’t be surprising.”

“I have nightmares all the time if that counts,” she shrugged. “But there’s no way I’m passing up a meal. The food here is always so good.” He chuckled, satisfied with her answer.

She let him eat in silence while she checked over the accounts ledger, pleased when everything seemed to be in order.

“You’re very quiet,” he said, breaking the silence. “Normally I can’t get you to stop talking.” She raised an eyebrow at him.

“You love the sound of my voice.”

“While that may be true, not every thought you have is a diamond.” He chuckled as she scowled at him. “I just want to know if everything’s okay. Your heart was racing a mile a minute when you were outside.”

“I was just having a small panic attack, no big deal,” she teased. She hoped he couldn’t see the alarm in her eyes.

“You have panic attacks?”

“Not bad ones. Just flashes of uncertainty every now and then. I’ve always had them and they pass fairly quickly. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Hmm. What caused it?”

“I thought about when you got stabbed.” It wasn’t entirely a lie, at least.

“I can’t imagine seeing my corpse was particularly comforting,” he frowned. “I’m sorry you had to experience that.”

“I’d rather be there when you wake up,” she shrugged. “It was just weird to see. Mammon and Bell had a hard time with it too.” That seemed to surprise him. “You didn’t know?”

“My brothers and I spend most of our time disagreeing with one another and they’re fully aware that I wouldn’t die permanently.”

“That doesn’t mean they don’t care when you get hurt.” Without thinking, she reached out and touched the back of his hand gently. It was such a small, thoughtless gesture, taking his hand like that.

And yet the way he was looking at her didn’t make it feel small at all. She thought back to standing in front of him outside Evander’s room and wanting to kiss him. It would be so easy to lean forwards and close the space between them.

He didn’t move and she knew he was waiting for her to decide what to do next. She took her hand away and saw the brief flash of disappointment in his eyes before he quashed it.

“I’m surprised they’re still bothered by it. They’ve seen it many times before.” She almost forgot what they were talking about and had to scramble to think of a response.

“It’s not exactly a nice sight. How would you like to watch somebody kick the crap out of me?”

“I’d tear out their heart,” he replied immediately.

“You’re in a murderous mood.”

“I’m stuck in bed. I have to vent somehow.” Despite his tone, he grinned.

“How’s your chest?”

“Better, but I’m on strict orders to stay put until Sellik says it’s okay for me to get up. She threatened me with the binding shackles again.”

“What are binding shackles?”

“The only restraints capable of holding the Ruling Caste. They nullify all of my powers and they can’t be broken.”

“So they’re magic handcuffs?”

“Essentially.”

“Why does Sellik have them?” Jia asked.

“She hides them from Satan. If he got his hands on them I’d be in serious trouble.” He said it so casually and yet she knew that if it came down to it, the shackles would be what brought Lucifer to a permanent end. The thought made her shudder.

“I hope he never finds them,” she said.

“He doesn’t know they exist so I’m not concerned. Even I don’t know where she keeps them.” He smiled. “Enough about my father. I want to enjoy your company. You’re the one thing that lifts my mood while I’m stuck here.”

His smile was charming and her heart thudded again. He heard it and his grin grew wider. It was shockingly handsome on his perfect face.

She kissed him