“Kir was crucified. That wasn’t your style. Where were the bodies of the rest of the angels? The Beast of Eden has a very distinctive kill style.”
“I promise, he wasn’t. When I came back to myself and realized what I’d done, I panicked and I was grieving. I wasn’t in my right mind. I staged the scene. Kir was already dead when I put him up there. I’m so sorry, brother. I thought you figured it out. It was why I kidnapped you.”
“You used Kir’s face. You want to tell me you loved Kir? That you love me? Why did you use his face?”
Because yeah, that was fucked up. That made the rest of his story not make sense. Literally, everything he did was wrong, but wearing my dead brother’s face? I wouldn’t do that to someone I hated, much less someone I professed to love.
“I don’t think he did,” Lilith said. “You didn’t shapeshift. You used my fear potion, didn’t you? Sydney, I have a potion that if you slip it to someone, they see their darkest fear. Lucifer, it would have been so easy to put it in your food and water since it only takes a drop.”
“That’s ridiculous. Kir isn’t my darkest fear. My brothertorturedme with his face.”
Losing Kir was his darkest fear. I didn’t need to be an incubus to read Abaddon’s body language. He didn’t shapeshift. He took that potion. This wasn’t some vast conspiracy where he was plotting to takeover Hell. It was an angel who made a mistake and just kept panicking.
“Ah, fuck,” Kujo said, tensing.
Celix caught him before he could face plant in his soup.
“Before you do anything, brother, let’s wait. This one is going to be a powerful seer. Abaddon has confessed to everything, but Kujo wouldn’t be getting a vision right this minute unless it was important,” Satan said.
“I’ll have my justice,” Lucifer swore.
I had no doubt. I also had zero doubts that in the years since Abaddon murdered my brother, he figured out how to control the Beast of Eden because he didn’t look like he intended on fighting.
Things were about to get insanely violent and I had no idea what Kujo was currentlyseeing.
Getting a vision while I was awake wasweird.I much preferred the dreams. I barely knew what was happening to me and thought I was getting attacked by an angel at first. Because I wasseeingtwo angels preparing for an attack. Then, I realized I didn’t know them. They weren’t anyone at this dinner party.
I didn’t have huge experience with visions, but they’d mostly shown me the present. Right now, I wasseeingthe past. Isawwhat happened to Kir, but I alsosawwhat happened before. Kir should have had a completely uneventful vacation, but the man with the scar changed everything.
I was ripped out of my vision and realized my face was buried in Celix’s chest. Everyone was staring at me like I just farted at their stupid dinner party. Shit, did I fart while I was out?
“Are you okay?” Sydney asked.
“What did you see, boy?” Mammon demanded.
“Don’t answer that. Dick. Well, do, but let me know you’re okay first.”
“I’m okay. It was just my first time getting a vision while I was awake and I think I get why I got it now instead of before.”
Because the man with the scar didn’t kill Kir and he didn’t kidnap Lucifer, butnoneof that would have happened if he hadn’t meddled.
“So, I saw the past this time. The angels didn’t find Kir because of his light. They were told if they really wanted to hurt Lucifer since they can’t kill him, then his son would be in the mortal realm alone. Isawhim casually mention to Abaddon that if Lucifer wasn’t going to look out for his son, someone should. He didn’t care who killed Kir as long as someone did and if the other angels managed to take out the Beast of Eden, it was just a bonus.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know. I never saw his face. The clothing was much different, but I can tell you that he has a large scar on his shoulder shaped like a crescent moon.”
Ididn’t know who that was, but everyone else seemed to. Everyone started shouting, but Asmodeus completely disappeared and then reappeared behind Sydney. He grabbed her and held a knife to her throat as he dragged her out of her seat. That fucker. We were wrong in a lot of ways, but I guess our gut reaction was right.
“Easy. You don’t want to lose another child.”
Sydney couldn’t portal to get away and she was so new with her magic, I didn’t think she could call her Hellfire again. Ialso knew Asmodeus didn’t know she was a black belt. I started calling my magic, and I felt Nero ramp his up.
“Don’t,” Lucifer warned.
Oh, we didn’t tellhimhis Hellspawn was a maniac who liked to—Yeah, she just brought her fist down on Asmodeus’s nuts. Called that one. He howled, jerked back, and nicked her with his knife. It was a steak knife, and she was barely bleeding, but wealllost it.
Lucifer vaulted over the table as soon as he saw her blood, but Sydney didn’t even blink. She realized she was bleeding, and I realized when she mauledmysack, she didn’t have angel strength yet. She thumped Asmodeus’s nuts with the full force of her angelic strength.
