“I wasn’t sure. I have never heard of anyone being able to see though glamour before,” Lucifer stated. “Not even the most powerful creatures in other realms. I’m curious to see why.”
“You can see through glamour? Not just demons but…” Cary trailed off, sounding unsure.
The boy was too sweet not to answer. Atlas nodded. “I see flickers. From what I’ve been able to figure out with Bel, I think I’m seeing a shifter’s other form when they’re human.”
Cary nodded. “That would be super weird. But Gage is okay like this?”
‘Mer. Mer. Meow.’
The cat didn’t sound happy.
“Silly kitty.” Cary ran his nose against the black cat’s. “It’s fine.”
“Fine? What’s fine?” Atlas asked. He hadn’t been this close to a shifter since that night. Not that he didn’t think he could take some house cat. It wasn’t like he was dealing with a monster. Or what Atlas had always considered a monster.
“Him shifting,” Cary explained. “Gage hasn’t had a lot of opportunity in his life.”
“I don’t want him to be uncomfortable,” Atlas said.
‘Mer.’
“He’s fine,” Cary repeated.
“Okay.” Atlas shrugged. If they said it was fine, then it had to be fine. He didn’t know much about paranormal creatures. This was all new to him, after all.
“Atlas?” Lucifer said. “Bel has told me what he could, but would you mind sitting down and speaking with me? We’d really like to help you figure out the flickers, see if there is a way to minimize them. Or stop them, if that is what you want.”
Get rid of the flickers? That would mean being as vulnerable as any other human. No, while Atlas would love not to see monsters in the faces he came across, he also needed to be ready for an attack. “I’ll speak to you. I don’t want to get rid of them. Maybe it would be great if I could control them though.”
Lucifer nodded, giving him a soft smile. “I understand.”
“Cool!” Cary said. “I knew we were going to be friends!”
Bel waved his hand and the table and chairs disappeared before two black leather couches appeared. “Shall we sit?”
“Isn’t magic the best?” Cary skipped over, still carrying the cat. “I’m still learning but I have an amazing teacher. Dean says I’m a natural.”
“I like it,” Atlas replied as Bel urged him to sit on the couch closest to him. He slid beside the arm and into the corner and relaxed as Bel sat close by. “This morning, well I guess last night, was the first I knew about magic, but it sure is handy.”
Lucifer and Cary settled across from them with the black cat on Cary’s knee staring at Atlas hard.
He might not know much about cats, but he was pretty sure Gage’s gaze held a warning or maybe it was just protectiveness that Atlas missed in his own life.
“No magic users in your family?” Lucifer questioned.
Atlas shook his head. “No. None that I know of.”
“Very interesting,” Lucifer mused. “I’m pretty certain that it must come from magic. The glamour we wear is part of our defense. Shifters transforming run along the same lines. With you being able to see through both I think we should concentrate on any magical ties.”
“But you’ll help him right, Daddy? He shouldn’t have to hurt being around shifters. Like how would that even work living here? He’d never get to leave the house. And Gage doesn’t mind shifting sometimes but I want us to be friends. Gage can’t always be shifted around him and Bel.”
Live there? Yeah, the boy had no clue what was happening. Atlas was just there for help. He couldn’t live in hell. There had to be rules against things like that. Maybe. He’d have to ask Bel.
Bel cleared his throat as Lucifer placed a hand on Cary’s knee.
Cary blushed red before dropping his chin. “Sorry, I forgot. I just got excited.”
“It’s fine,” Bel assured the boy.
