Part Three: Rise of Mummy Dearest.
Persephone Lockhart was getting ready for work. She was finished fixing her hair in front of the mirror. She took a moment to make sure the braid was perfect and her hair smooth. Her wavy hair could get out of control sometimes. Satisfied she walked out of her bedroom and into her son's room.
Tristan was sitting up. The nearly eight months old smiled up at her. She picked him up and kissed his head. "Morning sunshine." She said as she carried him to the kitchen. Her stepdaughter Savanna and her cousin/nanny Cody were both eating breakfast. She set Tristan down in his highchair. "Where is Autumn?" She asked Savanna.
Savanna shrugged. "Probably still sleeping."
Persephone rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. Her younger stepdaughter liked to sleep in. She was always last minute about getting up and ready for school. This frustrated Persephone to no end. Most mornings it was up to her to get her up. Her husband Bryan had been working undercover for the last few months. So he was gone before everyone else.
She stormed down the hall to Autumn's room. She knocked loudly before walking in. Autumn was still fast asleep. "Autumn, it's time to get up." She said loudly.
Autumn moaned and rolled over. She ignored her stepmother. Who was she to tell her what to do? She put her pillow over her head.
Persephone sighed and folded her arms. She hated doing this. She hated being the tough one. "Autumn Nicole Lockhart. Get out of bed now!" She shouted loudly. She tapped her foot and stood next to Autumn's bed.
Autumn moaned and rolled over. "I hate that school." She stated.
"I know you do. But you need to get out of bed and get dressed. We are going to be late. Now move." Persephone turned and walked out of the room. She went back to the kitchen. Savanna was feeding Tristan breakfast. Persephone pulled out fruits and veggies to make a smoothie.
"Hey Persi." Her cousin asked. "I'm going to take Tristan to the park today."
Persephone turned to him. "You do that every day Cody." She chuckled. "Is it that another male nanny there?"
Cody blushed. "No." He looked down at his breakfast.
"Oh come on Cody. What's his name Reggie? You keep mentioning him on your blog." Persephone chided her cousin. People often questioned her and Bryan about having her cousin be the nanny. But she trusted the nineteen-year-old. He was great with Tristan and took good care of him. "It's okay. Tristan loves the park." She smiled and turned to the blender.
She was almost done with her smoothie when she looked at her watch. Savanna was ready for school. Persephone needed to get to work. She growled and walked back to Autumn's room. The fourteen-year-old was still in bed. Persephone marched in and ripped the covers off the bed.
"Persephone!" Autumn shouted.
"Did I not tell you to get out of bed? Now let's go. You have five minutes. Or you don't have internet all weekend."
"That is so not fair." Autumn argued.
"Well, then get out of bed." Persephone stated and stormed out of the bedroom. She went and sat in the living room. Her older stepdaughter was sitting on the other couch playing with Tristan. "Has your sister always been hard to get out of bed?"
Savanna nodded. "Yes. She and my mom could sleep all day. My mom always let her be late to school. It drove me nuts."
Persephone nodded. It drove her nuts too. After ten years in the Marine Corps. She was not used to sleeping in. Even on her days off. She had started off getting along with Autumn. But lately she had become the typical snarky teenager. She knew the girl was rebelling against her. So, they ended up fighting a lot. Persephone hated it.
Finally, Autumn walked into the living room with her backpack. She looked half awake. She started for the kitchen.
"Where you going? Its times to leave." Persephone stood up. She looked at Savanna. "Let's go."
Savanna handed Tristan off to Cody. She then stood up with her backpack and headed for the front door.
Autumn looked at her. "I need breakfast."
"Well, had you gotten up on time. You could get it. But now we are going to be late. So you'll have to get it at school." Persephone said to her and walked towards the door. "Bye Cody." She shouted to her cousin.
Autumn reluctantly followed. Grumbling the whole time.
Later after dropping the girls off at school, Persephone finally made it into work. She had her signature can of Coke in her hand. She hated coffee so she drank Coke to wake up. Even though it was horribly unhealthy. She sat at her desk. She was surprised to see her cousin wasn't sitting at his desk.
A moment later Captain Craig walked over. "Lockhart. I need to talk to you." He said to her. Persephone stood up and walked into the captain's office.
What's up, Cap?" She said while sitting down.
"Detective Knight has requested personal time." The Captain said to her.
Persephone was surprised. Drakken had seemed fine at church the other day. "Is everything alright?"
The Captain shrugged. "He just said he and his wife needed time. So, while he is out I am partnering you with Capelli."
Persephone sighed. Jacob Capelli was normally her husband's partner. But her husband was off doing undercover work. "Okay."
"Will that be a problem?" The Captain asked.
"No sir." Persephone said. Though in her head she was saying no. She stood up. "Anything else?"
The Captain handed her a piece of paper. "The found a body in the park."
"Oh nice." Persephone said sarcastically before heading out of the Captain's office. She walked over to her desk.
"Hey Lockhart. Did you hear the good news?" Jake walked up to her.
"What good news, Jake?" She smiled at him.
"You get to work with me." He grinned. "Everything you ever dreamed of. Try to keep your hands off me." He spoke in his very New York accent. He hailed from Brooklyn. A mix of Italian and Jewish heritage. He was about six two with short black hair and green eyes. He was almost handsome Persephone thought. But too much of a player.
"We have a stiff in the park." Persephone held up the paper the captain had given her.
"Oh goody." Jake said.
They walked out of the precinct together and to the squad car. Persephone started for the driver's side. "Hey I drive okay." Jake said to her.
Persephone threw up her hand. "Whatever." She huffed and walked to the passenger side. She sat quietly while Jake drove to the park. She was lost in her thoughts. She had a weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. Like everything was about to change.
Jake turned on the radio to obnoxious rap music. He didn't look like the type. He rapped along. He glanced at Persephone. "So, this is weird. You and me working together."
Persephone shrugged. "Sure, I guess." She was trying to remain civil. But something about Jake always made her uneasy. Like he was always trying to undress her. He sometimes made lude comments. But she let them slide. She knew he had a crush on her when she had first started.
They reached the park. The body was far into the park. They seemed to walk for miles it seemed. It was awfully close to where George had lived in the park. Persephone found herself a little depressed at that thought. She missed George.
The finally saw the police tape and the forensics team milling about. Persephone saw a female body lying on the grass. She looked like she had been a jogger by the attire. It looked like part of her had been eaten by something. Her face was contorted in a mid-scream. Her heart appeared to have been torn out as well as her liver. It was horrific.
Persephone was afraid it was another demon, they were dealing with. Her Uncle Michael had warned her other creatures were escaping Hell. She had been on her toes after nearly getting killed by one. She looked around the area. She saw what looked like claw marks on the trees. No footprints.
"What the hell happened here?" Jake blurted out. "Do we have an ID?" He asked one of the techs.
Persephone was walking around the perimeter of the tape. She had followed a trail of blood. It leads further into the woods. Jake joined her a moment later. She pointed. "Trail of blood leading into the woods."
Jake looked at it. "Oh great. I just bought these shoes." He referred to his shiny new loafers.
"Oh come now, Jake. Where is your sense of adventure?" Persephone charged into the woods. She didn't seem bothered by the branches in the way. It was definatly off trail. She listened to Jake curse and mutter behind her.
"We could have just gotten the dogs out here, you know." He grumbled.
"What and miss this?" She laughed at him. They reached a clearing. There were ravens gathered on the ground. The trail of blood lead to where the ravens were snacking on something. They flew off with annoyed caws as the humans approached them. Persephone looked down. "Well, looks like I found her liver."
Jake gagged. "Yuck."
Persephone shook her head. "You know for a homicide detective; you sure have a delicate stomach." She looked at the liver. It was mostly chewed up. She heard a twig snap. She turned to the sound. A low growl was heard in a thicket of bushes. It was probably just a coyote or something.
Glowing red eyes peered out at them. Jake gasped and poled his gun. "What the hell?"
The creature stepped forward. It looked nothing like the other demon. This one had white fur covering its body. Its face was bald with large curved fangs. It stood up to its full height. It was nearly seven feet tall.
Jake trembled. "What the hell is that thing?" He took a shot at it.
The creature roared and charged towards them. Jake took another shot. Persephone pulled out the curved demon blade, her father had given her. She stood her ground.
The creature stopped and stared at her. "Blood of Lucifer." It hissed.
"Yeah. That's me." She said to it and held up the blade. "Now, what the hell are you?"
Jake frozen in fear. He was veteran police officer. But he had no idea what to make of the thing in front of them. He glanced at Persephone. "What does it mean by blood of Lucifer."
Persephone had her attention on the creature. It was glaring at the blade. They were in a standoff. "What are you going to do, demon?" She took a step towards it. "Surely, you aren't afraid of Nephilim. Or are you?" She said with confidence.
The creature hissed loudly and charged her. It was fast but Persephone was able to side step out of its way. It turned and charged again with a frustrated roar. She sliced at it with the blade. It blocked her attempts. It grabbed at her with its clawed hands. She managed to land a kick in the things abdomen and it flew back a couple of feet.
It stood up and glared at her. Persephone held out her hand and summoned light. It was like the sun shined brighter and brighter. The thing was disoriented by the light. Persephone took that opportunity to throw the dagger at its chest. The blade sliced right into the creature and it fell to the ground. Black blood poured out of it. Persephone stood over it as it hissed for the last time and its body disappeared in smoke. Persephone reached down and picked up the blade.
She wiped the blade on some leaves and turned to her stunned partner.
Jake was wide eyed looking at her. "What the fu- "
"That was a demon." She said casually. "I believe that is probably what killed the jogger." She started back towards where the body was.
"Whoa. Wait." He followed after her. "Lockhart." He called to her.
She stopped and looked at him. "Sorry you had to see that." She turned and kept walking. Her mind racing. Michael wasn't kidding about things escaping Hell. They reached the body.
"Where did you two go?" One of the uniformed officer asked.
"For a walk." Persephone quipped. She sighed and folded her arms.
Jake stood in front of her. "Okay, Lockhart. Talk. What the hell just happened?"
Persephone looked the man in the eyes. "I told you. That was a demon."
He sputtered. "But those don't actually exist."
Persephone chuckled. "There is a lot about the world you don't know, Jake."
"How did you know how to fight it and the light? What the hell?"
She placed her hands on his shoulder. "There may be some things I have to tell you about. Let's go." She headed back towards the car. "We are going to have to explain this to the captain."
Author's note: Oh boy here we go. Like I said. A little will be in New York. A little in Los Angeles. But it will all tie in.