"What does it take to get you to answer a phone?" Lilith asked storming into Lucifer's penthouse.

The place appeared empty although the Lord of Hell's clothing from the night before lay strewn about the room. His bedding was certainly rumpled so there was no doubt he had been enjoying a night's company. Lilith didn't care in the slightest what or who he had been doing the previous night, she had more important things on her mind. Hoping to find the devil she poked her head in the kitchen but it was empty. She poked around the balcony and then in the closet dressing room but again he was absent. The sound of water running suddenly caught her attention and she followed it straight into the bathroom where she finally located her old friend in the shower with a head full of shampoo.

"I have been trying to get a hold of you all night." She stated, positioning herself directly in front of the heavy clear glass shower door.

"Aḻakāṉa!" He called out in greeting. He couldn't actually see her with all the soap in his face, but he knew her voice. His mood was much lighter than it had been after making it through a night without any unknown phone calls and mocking music. "You never were a shy one, were you?" He put his head under the stream of water and quickly rinsed the soap out of his hair and off his face allowing him to see again.

"Should I be? You're not going to try to put on a modest act are you? It's not as though you can show me something I haven't seen befo . . . where did your scars go?" She suddenly noticed for the first time that the large wicked scars on his back were gone.

"Oh, right." The devil started to say as he turned off the water and began drying himself with a towel. "I have my wings back."

"How . . ." She had never heard of such a thing being possible.

"Long story, love." He explained as he wrapped a robe around himself. "It involves kidnappings, deserts, and my Father trying to force his will upon me." He walked passed her into the large walk-in closet and began to choose his ensemble for the day. "So, what brings the Queen of the Lilim to my doorstep this fine morning?" He turned with a playful smile and kissed her cheek. God, but he was so boorishly charming. Nobody could be more so.

"Your expertise, 'old scratch'." She responded, forgoing her questions regarding the sudden return of his wings. "I noticed something yesterday when your little girlfriend visited me. Something that might be of, shall we say, 'celestial' importance."

This had the devil's attention. As he dressed she began to explain about the translations and the sigil with initials at the bottom of the writing. Curious to know more, the devil quickly handed her a piece of paper and had her draw it. She did and as expected, he knew that symbol. Seeing it was enough to make his face pale. It had belonged to Uriel, but he was dead. The devil had killed him when they fought in that abandoned church. His brother had brought Azrael's blade from the Silver City so he could wipe their mother from existence. He had also intended to kill Chloe. Lucifer had tried to talk him out of it, but Uriel was stubborn and determined. In the end the only way to stop him was to run him through with the blade. It was an act that even now he hated himself for. What his late brother had to do with any of the recent murders was a puzzle.

As for the initials, neither demon nor devil knew who they belonged to. Finishing the final details of his ensemble, Lucifer fastened his cufflinks then collected his phone. Turning it back on he could see that Lilith had indeed spent most of the night trying to call him. He also noticed something else. Three calls from yet another number he didn't recognize. Checking his voice mail he found three messages waiting for him. They were all the same with no words but Meatloaf's Life is a Lemon and I Want My Money Back playing. This time Lilith could hear it too and the pair just looked at each other silently.

Lucifer immediately went for his car keys only to find they weren't there. He was sure he had put them in their usual place the night before. He started looking through drawers and pockets (although he knew damn well that he had just gotten dressed and they couldn't possibly be there). The devil even checked the pants and coat he had worn the night before in hopes that he had simply left them there in his haste to undress. Nothing. Realizing that he needed to go down to the precinct and tell Chloe about the call, he decided to put off a more comprehensive search until later. It wasn't as if he needed them to start the car.

Leading Lili down to the parking garage he was immediately dumbstruck as he realized his car was missing. Before he could let loose his fury at the situation his phone rang and it was Det. Decker. It seemed that the corvette had been found sitting on the beach with the engine running. There was more, but the detective wanted him to come down to the beach first. He could already guess the rest. Someone was dead. He didn't need to see the car to know that. Those three musical voice mails had been clear enough.

Lilith graciously drove him down there, although a nineteen-fifty-two Hudson Hornet convertible was not exactly his style. Neither was the license plate '2HT4HVN', but he was not going to be picky today. The place was swamped with cop cars and police when they got there. In the center of it all was the corvette, sitting on the beach way passed the parking lot and out on the sand itself. The stereo was cranked up and playing Meatloaf's Razor's Edge over and over again. Its top was up and a tube was connected to the exhaust and stuck inside the driver side window. Duct tape was used to hold it in place and keep any fumes from escaping. On the passenger side sat Suki Price, still seat belted in and cradling her handmade Lucifer doll. The devil may have only met her the one time, but he remembered her. She had been a delightful blend of fan club president and creepy stalker, if such a thing existed. What she was not was deserving of such a cruel end as this. The worst thing that could be said about her was that she was a little too interested in the devil. It was that very interest that made her a target. Looking at her empty eyes and the way she held that doll, he found himself unable to hold back the rage that was inside him.

"My homes! My car! What's next . . . WHO's next?! How will it happen?! A stabbing, a gun shot?!"

"Lucifer calm down." Chloe pleaded.

"Amaitiyāka iru, aṉpu. Uṅkaḷ kōpattai iḻantu etaiyum tīrkka muṭiyātu. (Calm down, love. Losing your temper won't solve anything)." Lilith added in the old ancient language as she gently made him look at her. "Come on, let's take a walk and get some air." The demoness led him away from the others so he could unleash his wrath as only the Lord of Hell could. Chloe couldn't hear what was being said but it was certainly animated. The two were largely debating who or what the initials AT meant and what their purpose was. All the detective could see was how Lili was holding Lucifer's hand then embracing him and comforting him. She quietly reminded herself that these two people had known each other all their lives and probably even grew up in the same neighborhood. It was no big deal.

"Oh my God, they're like the hottest, most perfect power couple, aren't they?" Ella gushed, looking at Lucifer and Lilith. "I mean, they're like two ideal pieces of flint that meet and then boosh." The forensic scientist did her best impression of sparks flying.

"No . . . no. She's . . . she's not really his type. I mean, Lilith is the type of woman who doesn't take anything seriously. She parties, she sleeps around, she . . . she likes to cause trouble. For her, Lucifer is just a good time, that's all." She shrugged. At the detective's words Miss Lopez suddenly realized that she may have inadvertently brushed a nerve.

"Oh no . . . no, I totally get it. What you and Lucifer have . . . your partnership . . . it's something that is toootally different." Ella was trying to back petal and make Chloe feel better as fast as she could. "It's grounded, trust-oriented and . . . and you two are just so good together. You're polar opposites that fit together like two peas in a pod. It's something that's completely different from the obvious atomic heat reaction between Lucifer and Lili, I mean . . . wow, like fifty shades of daaamn."

"Ella . . . let's, let's just focus on the body."

"Sure, um, cherry red color of the skin, fine froth around the mouth and nose. She was definitely killed by carbon monoxide poisoning." Since there was the same cuneiform writing on the windshield that matched previous crime scenes, Ella decided to check for another signature detail of the killer. Carefully she lifted Suki's shirt and sure enough carved on her stomach was the words: The axe forgets, but the tree remembers.

Still holding Lili's hand, Lucifer came back over to the scene and looked at the message written in Suki's flesh. In response, his eyes once again momentarily flashed in anger. Of all the people swarming the site, only Lilith noticed the flicker of Hell's fire in his gaze. A former lover, his drug dealer and now his biggest fan. Who else was on this madman's hit list . . . Chloe? Who was this person and what did they want? Lilith saw what was written too and then turned her attention to the grease pencil on the windshield. Softly she began to read it out loud as Lucifer listened.

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

The sigil was there too with its initials. If they could crack its meaning then they would have the killer, of that the devil and demoness were sure. After three deaths in three days, Lucifer was beginning to feel as though the killer's hands were slowly closing around his throat. How could he feel so close and yet also feel so out of reach and far away? The perpetrator was as tangible as a ghost and harder to find. Of course he was anything but a spirit and not as far away as they might have thought. Watching Suki Price die had stirred nothing in his empty heart and the speed of his pulse had not even quickened. He wondered if seeing the anguish on his uncle's face or his mother's would make him feel anything?

"Have you ever been to therapy Mr. Tiya?" Dr. Linda asked, motioning the young man to have seat on the couch.

"No. I'm not even sure how we begin this." He smiled, seating himself nervously on the couch. "When you were recommended to me, I must say, I pictured you differently. I expected to see either a wizened nun or some kind of voodoo priestess. I certainly wasn't expecting such an attractive or normal looking woman to handle the 'unique' cases that you do." Nervously he ran his fingers through his thick black curls. Such uneasiness was not unusual for someone beginning therapy, Dr. Martin had seen it a million times before.

"'unique' cases?" the doctor asked, this could be a loaded statement and an excellent entry point for a first session.

"Yeah. Word is that you've taken on patients that are, shall we say, very different from you. For starters . . ." Here he hesitated as if afraid to say what was on his mind. Dr. Martin knew how to deal with this kind of reluctance. It was not uncommon to see patients that clearly need help, but are too afraid to reach out and get it because they're certain they'll be labeled as 'crazy' or 'insane'. Part of her job was making them feel safe and comfortable enough to open up and allow her to help them. It was a few moments before he spoke. Mostly he looked about hesitantly and even a little afraid. "What would you say if I told you I had . . . escaped Hell." He asked.

Hearing this Linda took an immediate cautious view. Since meeting Lucifer she had been baptized into a world of angels, Hell, Heaven and demons. Sometimes it could illuminating, sometimes it was a true Hell. One thing was certain, it was something that could not be spoken of without careful consideration of all ramifications. In fact, it shouldn't be mentioned at all to someone new unless you were proof positive that they belonged in that group. This Ahriman Tiya was completely new to her and she had no way of knowing what his reference to Hell was and she was not going to offer any suggestions.

"We've all experienced bad times in our lives that we thought would never end . . ." She started.

"No, no . . . I escaped Hell . . . the underworld. I was locked in a room, trapped . . . tortured. Over and over again."

"Trapped?" She echoed. Alarm bells were going off in her head. Who was this guy and how could anyone just escape Hell. Charlotte Richards had done it, but her circumstances were very different.

"I keep telling myself that I'm free, that everything is fine and I should be happy and safe. I should be able to finally live without fear, without nightmares, but I can't." Ahri's large ink black eyes took on a look of fear as he spoke. "Instead I keep looking over my shoulder waiting for him to catch me, to . . . to send me back . . . to hurt me again."

"Him?" Dr. Martin asked. He didn't answer. The way he held himself, arms wrapped around his body, his head low and gaze diverted, made her think of a frightened child rather than an adult.

"To understand him, you first have to believe that I escaped Hell. I'm not sure . . ."

"I believe you, Ahriman. I do." Linda reassured him, but he didn't seem entirely convinced. "Who is 'him'?"

"My uncle, the devil." At this revelation, Dr. Martin could only stare wide-eyed. Lucifer was her friend and while he had many faults, locking up an innocent was not one of them. "I used to look up to him. I loved him. He was the closest thing to a father I had. My own didn't want me and Asmodeus had only acknowledged a handful of his own so I certainly wasn't going to be noticed by him. I had dreamed that I would grow up and serve my uncle in some high ranking position and prove my worth. God, I was so stupid."

"Childhood perception . . ." Linda began rather weakly.

"C-can I show you something? I-it might help you understand."

Carefully he slipped off the Henley he was wearing then turned around exposing his back to her. The good doctor was momentarily shocked as her eyes fell upon two crescent-shaped scars on his back next to his shoulder blades. They were not unlike the one's Lucifer used to have. For a moment she couldn't stop herself and she gently touched one of the disfigurements. Ahriman shuddered, clearly humiliated by their existence. How badly that must have hurt.

"Lucifer did this to you?" Linda spoke this name out of shock and certainly without thinking.

"You know him?" Instantly he turned around, seemingly afraid.

"I-I've heard of him." Dr. Martin found it difficult to believe that the Lucifer Morningstar she knew would ever do such a thing. Yes, he had cut the wings from his own back, but that was to try and sever ties with this Father. She couldn't imagine him willfully taking someone else's unless there was a good reason. "W-why did he do it? He must have had a motive."

"I suppose in his own mind he did." The young man responded caustically as he picked up his shirt. "I was a boy just beginning adolescence when he did this to me out of fear. You see, I am both demon and angel and that can be a very powerful combination. He was afraid I would get too strong. Maybe he thought I would overthrow him, I don't know. I just know that he ordered some of my half-siblings, the Lilim, to hold me down and he, he himself, cut them from my back. Taking with them a portion of my gifts. He then ordered me locked away in hopes of hiding me, the 'celestial abomination'."

"Lilim . . . so your mother is . . ."

"Lilith, herself. She said nothing and did nothing to save me, her youngest." Tears were in his eyes as he spoke of the betrayal and heartbreak. If there was any skill that Ahriman had honed over the last year it was his ability to make those around him believe he felt emotions that he had never experienced. He had no empathy and saw feelings as a way to get what he wanted, namely control over someone. Right now, a few tears and a drop of truth was quickly bringing this therapist to his side.

He went to put his shirt on and in the process accidently ran into the coffee table, jarring it and knocking the basket of decorative balls from the bowl underneath, scattering them. Immediately he started apologizing as they both fell to their knees and started picking them up. Slyly Ahriman knocked one over by the book shelves on the back wall then politely went after it. He then stood and went to her desk where he carefully unscrewed the top of her water bottle. Reaching into his pocket he took out a container and began to pour small white pellets into the drink.

It was in that instant that the door came open and Amenadiel walked in, unaware Dr. Martin had a patient. He did notice what Ahriman was doing and immediately demanded to know what he was putting in her water. This caught Linda's attention and she immediately stood and looked at the young man. Ahri's face was emotionless now as he put the bottle back in his pocket. He recognized this first of God's angels, but Amenadiel did not know him. He also knew something else about this high and mighty uncle of his – he was powerless. A smile played on his lips as he started towards the door. Amenadiel was not about to let him leave without answers and caught hold the young man's arm. In the flash of a second Ahri shook him off then caught him by the shirt and lifted him off the floor.

"Think you can stop me, uncle?" He questioned. "My how the mighty have fallen." Ahri dropped Amenadiel to the floor then calmly walked out.