“I dunno, dude, they seemwaymore emotional around me than I am around them. Mammon had a bigger cow over my shirt than I did when they called my wings ugly.”
I personally thought her wings were gorgeous. They weren’t just bronze. They shimmered like polished metal. No one else had wings like hers, as far as I knew.
“Your wingsaren’tugly, but the color means something. They are white when we are created and black when we fall. It’s a sins of the father thing. Our kids didn’t do anything wrong, but their wings are always black. Most Nephilim are murdered before their wings come in.
“It’s like with you. Your magic didn’t start coming in until you were in your forties in human years. It’s a beacon. We got you and brought you here, but the angels could have found you and murdered you. I couldn’t tell you if a Nephilim ever lived long enough to get theirs. Theycouldbe bronze.”
Sydney just shrugged, but at least she wasn’t glowing anymore. I kept playing with her hair just in case she needed it.
“I like my wings, even if they are heavy and preventing me from pooping at the moment. Better question. How’d someone manage to get the jump on you, and do you have any suspects?”
“Someone with knowledge of angel physiology. It’s very hard to get us drunk. Lucifer’s whiskey will do it, and a few of us distill our own. It’s the same with the drugs in Hell. Some of us had sticks up our arses thousands of years ago, but the rest of us experimented. You have to mix them up in just the right cocktail for it to affect us.”
“Who experimented and who didn’t?” Nero asked.
“Well, it was a different time, but when we had parties specifically for that, it was Lucifer, Asmodeus, Abaddon, and myself. Beelzebub is the only one still doing them recreationally, but he doesn’t have the attention span to pull this off. Mammon and Belphegor were always more interested in knowledge than fighting. They rebelled with us to be able to study what they wanted. We’ve been alive a long time. It could have been a science project for one of us.”
“Asmodeus is a nard. If you aren’t going to say it, I am. He’s kind of obvious for this, especially if he was attending your ancient drug parties and knows how to get an angel high.”
I could tell Kujo still had his doubts, but I liked Asmodeus for this more than Satan. As the Prince of Lust, you’d thinkhe’dbe the one speaking up for demons like Nero, but that had always been Abaddon and Satan.
“Asmodeus does seem obvious, but that’s mostly because of his personality. We’ve made that mistake before. We weresurehe was behind something, and when we started digging, it wasn’t him. He’s a blowhard with an ego and some of my brothers who fell with us, but still desperately want someone to obey, do whatever he says. He’s just not smart enough to do all this.”
“So, who is?” Kujo said.
“Well, Abaddon, Lucifer, and I were running the rebellion. We could technically do it, but we all get along and want Hell to be a democracy. Mammon and Belphegor are smart enough to plot something like this, but lately, they tell Beelzebub everything, and he can’t keep a secret to save his life.
“I also don’t think it’s Asmodeus because he’s a braggart. If he managed to get the jump on both Luciferandme, he’d let something slip about getting the jump on us. Heneedsto take credit for everything.”
Well, it wassomeone.It could be Satan, or he could just be too close to the other angels to tell us which one was responsible for all of this.
Danger, Will Robinson. I had a full bladder and two massive, fragile wings coming out of my shoulder blades. Was this like being drunk and needing someone to hold your hair back? I liked these guys, and I didn’t want to gotherewith them. Kujo was annoying, but I didn’t want to do that with him either.
Then again, doing nothing was equally embarrassing and very messy. Thankfully, Wrathhog came back before I pissed myself. Hopefully, she wasn’t mad about the little zap I gave her and would help me. She took one glance at the look on my face, and I didn’t have to say anything.
“Out. Girl emergency.”
“I’m good at girl stuff,” Nero said.
“Me too. I grew up surrounded by sisters,” Celix said.
“Out, dipshits. You don’t need to wipe her arse for her,” Kujo said, winking at me.
Dick. I must not have been hiding it well. But at least they were gone. Wrathhog had gone through this and was able to walk me through walking and dealing with the toilet like this. The wings were more manageable than I thought they were going to be. They felt heavy when they were resting against my back, but didn’t feel like much when I was up and walking. I just had to avoid tripping over them.
I washed my hands and exited the bathroom. Wrathhog was waiting.
“In theory, when you went boom, all your angelic perks came in. Since you’re managing your wings well, the super strength is there. I’ll have to teach you healing, portalling, and flying, but you seem to have figured out your own version of smiting.”
“Figured out is generous. The magic that hit me hurt like a bitch and it pissed me off. I just reacted. I’m not sure I could do it again.”
“Furies are upper demons, and you’ve got human DNA. That spell should have done a lot more than piss you off. Especially since you took it straight to the chest because you didn’t know how to block it.Ilike Kujo, but I don’t think you do. Why’d you jump in front of him?”
Question of the decade. He was a nard, but I liked verbally and physically sparring with him. I didn’t think he should die because his mom was a bitch who didn’t know that no was a complete sentence. I’d probably miss him, and I’d have to process that later.
“He’s the only one who can find Lucifer.”
Yeah, we both knew I was lying, but girl code prevented Wrathhog from calling me on my shit.
