The sky was dark blue, tinged with dusky pink and the mottled shadows cast by buildings and small trees. Two boys wandered down the street, each holding an ice-cream cone.
"Are we home yet?" The smaller one whined. "It's getting dark."
The older brother sighed. "Yes, Josh, we're almost home. I am aware of the fact that the sun is going down, but you're nine years old. You can deal with it."
Josh licked his ice-cream and sighed. He watched the shadows lengthen as they walked, silence falling over the little town. His ice-cream was disappearing rapidly, and he mournfully crunched down on the last of his cone. Danny had finished his a while before, apparently too old for things such as savoring a treat. He slowed to pet a small kitten, not noticing his brother walking ahead of him.
"You're such a sweet kitty… Good kitty…." He crooned, scratching the orange tabby's chin. It suddenly gave a low hiss, puffing up to twice its size. Its green eyes were huge, and it gave a loud caterwaul and raced away.
Josh jumped and turned, expecting to see his brother only a little farther ahead. He saw nothing. "Danny?"
His ice-blue eyes flickered from alley to alley, trying to remember which way led home. "Danny?" He whimpered again, taking a tentative step forward. Something sounded behind him, the metallic clanking of a can being kicked aside. Hysteria bubbled up inside him, and he opened his mouth to scream.
A hand covered his mouth, stifling his cry into a muffled squeak.
"You idiot," Danny hissed into his ear. "Don't scare me like that again."
He removed his hand and grabbed his little brother's wrist, pulling him down the sidewalk.
"Hey. You goin' somewhere?" A large, well-muscled boy who looked about seventeen suddenly appeared, fingering something in his belt. "You gotta mark?"
"I don't think they do, Jag." Another boy appeared, somewhat smaller but still larger than Danny.
"Crap," Danny muttered, eyes trained on Jag's hand. "Listen," he whispered, "When I run, you run. Got it?"
Josh nodded, a terrified look on his face.
"Fair game, Bone." A creepy smile split Jag's face, and he snapped open a pocket knife. "C'mon and play, little boy."
Danny was gone in less than three seconds. All thoughts of protecting his brother were gone—the only thoughts running through his mind was the order to RUN and to run as fast as possible.
"Danny!" A scream split the night air, and Danny ignored it, running through twisting corners, looping alleys, until his lungs screamed for air and his legs were jelly. He ran from the soft sobs and the screams and the cries for him to save his brother, rather than just himself. He heard the muffled boom of a gunshot, and suddenly there was silence.
Silence, and Josh's screams echoed in his head.
---
"You're raising him like a prize dogfighter. What happens when you put him into the ring? Do you honestly think he'd last more than a couple minutes?"
"He's my son—"
"All the more reason to protect him, Lucifer."
The man closed his shy-blue eyes and sighed. "He's going out there, Gabriel. I believe he can survive. He must survive."
"Even a champion loses," Gabriel whispered.
"That's why you need to protect him!" Lucifer's eyes snapped open, blue eyes now streaked with deep crimson.
"An angel, helping the Devil himself." Gabriel shook his head, dark hair falling into his green eyes, "Why? Why should I help my sworn enemy?"
"Because Nick also has the power to destroy me."
Gabriel hesitated, staring into Lucifer's eyes. "I believe your son will make the right choice. I can't say the same for you. But—Does he know?"
Lucifer laughed, a harsh, cold laugh. "Of course not. What would I tell him? 'Oh son, before I forget, one day we're going to have to kill—to kill—" He trailed off, eyes widening as they fixed on something in the corner.
"You're gonna kill me?"
A young boy stood by the entrance, sagging against the stone wall. His wide crimson eyes were horribly bright against bone-white skin, night-black cloak the exact shade as his hair.
"You're gonna kill me." He repeated, but it was more of a statement than a question.
His eyes met his father's for a fraction of a second, and then he was gone.