The devil does exist
Linda was lying unconscious in Maze' arms. Lucifer and Amenadiel both stood without moving, looking at Maze and Linda, while the demon put Linda on the couch.
"Put those wings away, stupid assholes," Maze snapped.
Chloe kneeled next to Maze and studied Linda. Twice a whooshing sound behind her told her the brothers did as Maze ordered them. Linda breathed and sighed.
"She will be ok," Chloe said to Maze.
"Where is that knife?" Lucifer asked his brother. Maze raised her head and gave the dark angel a piercing look.
"I gave it to a human, a man."
"Jacob Williams?"
"Yes," Amenadiel answered. "You know him."
Chloe saw Linda blinking her eyes.
"I know him?" Lucifer said to is brother without paying attention at Linda. "I have no idea who that is."
"That street performer on Hollywood Boulevard. The one you frightened with your devil face."
"Ah! And why did you give him that blade?"
Linda moved, slowly sat up straight. "What… They…"
"You're safe. Lucifer won't hurt you," Chloe told her.
"You… What are you?" She tried to recoil.
"A human, just as you. He will never do you any harm. He values you as his therapist."
Linda cast a wary look Maze. "She is also telling the truth all the time?"
The question was directed to Chloe, but Maze answered: "I did, Linda. No metaphors. I am a demon."
Linda had closed her eyes and was shaking.
"Linda," Chloe said. She hold the doctors right hands in her own hands, while Maze hold Linda's left hand. Both Maze and Chloe were on one knee in front of the sofa where Linda was laying. Amenadiel stood behind his desk, Lucifer in front of the desk. "You shouldn't be afraid of Lucifer and Maze. They are your patients. They appreciate your help."
Linda eye's were still closed. She whispered: "How can I help the devil? A demon? The devil does exist."
Maze raised Linda's hand and kissed it. "As you have done for weeks. By explaining about emotions. I don't like what you tell me, but it works."
"Hell exists," Linda whispered. "I didn't believe. Will he torture me down there? For eternity."
"Why would you go to hell, doctor?" Lucifer asked.
"I had sex with Satan, with you. You will take me there," she said without looking at him.
"Never. Sex has nothing to do with it. Guilt will take you there and you – as a therapist – should be able to handle your own guilt."
"And he?" Linda didn't look or point at Amenadiel, but it was clear to Chloe she meant him.
"Ah! Yes," Lucifer reacted. "My brother. Just an angel messing up everything. You know angels."
"I do not mess up things," Amenadiel protested. "I serve father. You, you should have returned to the underworld."
"You let that Jacob kill three humans," Chloe said.
"I did not. He was not supposed to kill humans. He was supposed to send Lucifer back to hell with that blade."
"You gave him that knife," Chloe said. "A knife that almost kills by itself. He used the knife to murder three men. You're responsible."
Amenadiel sank back on his chair, a nervous twitch around his mouth, a desperate look in his eyes.
"Can we please pay attention to Linda," Maze snapped.
"He is the devil," Linda whispered. "Why me?"
"Linda." Chloe shook the doctor's hand. "Please, listen. He likes you. He cares for you."
"Yes?" Linda looked at her. "Yes?"
"Yeah, I do, doctor," Lucifer said. "And indeed you can tell us what to do."
Finally Linda looked at Lucifer. "How could I help you, the devil, or him, an angel?"
"As you always do, doctor. Explain us how to handle this?"
"Handle what?" Linda whispered to Chloe and Maze.
Chloe summarized the story of the knife, Jacob and Amenadiel. Linda sat up and looked at Amenadiel. "How can I judge what an angel should do?"
"What would you advise a human to do?" Chloe asked.
Linda blinked, swallowed, looked Chloe in the eyes.
"What would you tell me to do?"
"You have to help fix it, help to arrest that man. Correct your fault," Linda whispered.
"You hear, Amenadiel," Chloe said. "You go with us to find that Jacob. You know him."
"What?" Lucifer and Maze asked at the same time.
"Amenadiel knows this Jacob. He goes with us to find and arrest him. Maze stays with Linda to help her accept the truth. By the way…" Chloe turned to Maze. "How did you come here?"
"I had a session with Linda, office next door. We heard shouting. I thought I heard my name so I came to look."
Luckily they were riding Chloe's car and not the Corvette, so there were seats in the back for Amenadiel. The angel didn't speak when Chloe took his arm, took him to the car and pushed him in a back seat.
"Do we need him?" Lucifer asked.
"Would you recognize Jacob?"
"I… I think so. I saw him once."
"How?"
"He had an act, on Hollywood Boulevard. Collecting money while warning people the devil walked amongst them. It was an act, he didn't believe, so I showed him my face to make him believe."
"I was a witness. From a distance," Amenadiel said from the back. "I thought the man would fight you if I gave him a weapon to do so."
Chloe shifted her head to see him in the rearview mirror. "Where can we find him?"
"I followed him after Luci feared him. He went to a small building with a sign: Church of True Believe. Exorcism. Purifying the soul. It turned out people are paying him to exorcism the devil or demons from their children."
"Where is that church of True Believe?" Chloe asked. He gave them the address. Then she saw him folding his hands with eyes closed.
"Is he praying?" she asked Lucifer.
"Talking with dad, I guess. Dad can answer him." Lucifer turned in his seat. "What?"
"I…" The angel put his hands against his face. "Father told me to help you, leave you on Earth and come back to Silver City. Did I fail?"
Lucifer laughed. "Figure it out yourself."
The door of that church of True Believe was locked, but as usual, the lock was no problem for Lucifer. Inside were some chairs, an altar, a silver barrel with water and a cabinet with robes, purple robes with in gold all kind of occult symbols on it. No persons, not the smallest piece of paper. Chloe called Dan to ask him to figure out who owned this building.
"I always met him here, the few times I talked with him," Amenadiel said. "I have seen him doing that exorcism thing once. Family around, he and a helper in those robes and shouting and splashing water against a poor, frightened child."
"Possessed by a demon?" Chloe asked. Amenadiel sighed, Lucifer laughed.
"A demon can only possess a dead body, detective," Lucifer said. "Never a living human."
"Why didn't you save the child?" Chloe asked Amenadiel.
"Angels are not supposed to interact with humans unless father sends them with a mission."
"And your mission was to give that Jacob a knife?"
Amenadiel winced. "No, my mission was to ask Luci to go back to hell."
"To ask?" Chloe said. "Not to take him back but to ask him?"
"Yes, yes, yes. Father forbid me to touch him. I had to ask."
Chloe frowned. "But you hate each other."
"Yes. Of course." Amenadiel's shoulders dropped. "I think. I suppose. I don't know anymore. I failed."
"What do you mean, detective?" Lucifer asked.
"If Amenadiel asks you to go back, would you do that?"
"Of course not." Lucifer scoffed. "Even if I would consider to go back – which I don't – I would extent my visit just to irritate him."
She looked up, in the direction people imagine his dad was. You're supposed to be omniscient, she thought to him. Did you want to make sure Lucifer stayed on Earth? She had no idea whether Lucifer's dad could hear this. Did you want us to meet?
Well, he didn't answer her. She looked at Lucifer. "Interesting."
"What is interesting?" he asked.
Chloe shrugged, shook her head and said. "Where do we find this Jacob? Do you know his helper?"
"Claudio Cunha," Amenadiel muttered. "He is from Brazil."
"Any idea where any of the two lives?"
"I've never asked," the angel answered. "I always met Jacob in here in his church. Jacob did the exorcism, Claudio brought in the possessed humans."
Chloe gave his words a thought. "How Claudio did search for possessed people?"
"He…" Amenadiel took a deep breath. "I never asked."
She took her phone and called. "Father Frank?"
"Chloe? All ok with the two of you?"
"Everything is fine. Do you have time for a question?"
"Of course."
"Do you know a Jacob Williams or a Claudio Cunha?"
"The second, Cunha. A charlatan. He sometimes shows up after the Sunday mass to hand out flyers for a church of some exorcist. I heard horror stories from some of my parishioners who now regret going there."
"Do you have an address of phone number of Cunha?"
"Wait. I have one of those flyers." They heard some rumble before Frank started talking again. "There are two addresses and three phone numbers on the flyer. I send you a picture of the flyer."
Within seconds they had the picture Frank had send them. "The first address is here, this True Believe church," Chloe said. "So let's take a look at the second."
The second address turned out to be shop selling religious items, books including bibles, crosses, small statues of saints, bottles with holy water, relics. "Senhor Claudio is the owner," a man in the shop said. "Mr Williams is his friend. I can give mr Williams a call for you."
The shopkeeper went to an office in the back to make the call and after finishing that call said: "Mr Williams asked you to wait. He is coming."
Ten minutes later six men entered the shop, having brass knuckles, bats and knives with them. Amenediel raised his hands, but Lucifer reached for Amenadiel's arm. "Brother, what do you say we skip the time-slowing shenanigans, hmm? Just the two of us, six humans, fun."
Amenadiel frowned. "You mean…"
"We'll just, you know, enjoy the moment." Lucifer chuckled and made a gesture. "After you. Three on the left are mine."
"Ok." The angel grinned.
"Stay back, detective," Lucifer said.
The two brothers stepped forward. Lucifer might be vulnerable around Chloe, he still was much faster and stronger than any human. It was hardly a fight. They blocked strokes and stabs. Their fists hit the six men before the men realized what happened and they threw the six men through the shop as if they were lightweight dolls. Chloe turned and saw the shopkeeper raising a mobile phone. She draw her gun and said: "Don't call."
Amenadiel and Lucifer both laughed, looking at the six men scattered around, with Lucifer's hand on Amenadiel's shoulder. "And to think, we wasted all that millennia fighting each other, right?"
"We still need to find Jacob," Amenadiel said.
"Absolutely," Lucifer answered. He turn around. "Detective?"
"He wanted to call someone," she said with her gun still trained on the shopkeeper.
"Ah." Lucifer approached the man with a sinister grin.
"Don't hit me. Please, please. I'm only doing what I'm told. Please."
"And what was it, you were told?"
"Mr Williams said he would send people to scare you off. I should call him when you were gone."
Lucifer grabbed the man's shirt. "It would be wise to just tell us where Jacob lives."
An apartment in a high building was Jacob's home. His apartment was on the third floor with the door on an open gallery. The three just reached the door of Jacob's apartment when that door opened and Jacob left… He bumped into Amenadiel who just reached out for the doorbell.
Amenadiel winced and fell. It was only then that Chloe noticed the knife in Jacob's hand, the knife that by accident had stabbed Amenadiel's stomach. Lucifer stepped forwards, his eyes burning with hell fire. Jacob stepped back, screamed "the devil does exist, he's here" and ran away to the other end of the gallery, repeating those words.
Amenadiel was lying on the ground, eyes closed, without moving. Lucifer made a step to follow Jacob, but Chloe said: "Lucifer, your brother."
Lucifer turned and looked down. He unfolded his wings and pulled out a tiny feather from one of them. Then he kneeled beside his brother and stroke the wound with the feather. Golden light sprang from the feather and washed over the angel. Amenadiel moaned and opened his eyes. Chloe noticed the wound was gone.
"You saved me," Amenadiel whispered, looking at his brother.
"Well," Lucifer shrugged, then grinned. "I don't know why. Come on, big boy. On your feet, we have that Jacob to chase."
Chloe looked along the gallery. No Jacob. At the end was a fire escape stairs, going down. She turned to the railing of the gallery and looked down. "He is on the street already."
Amenadiel and Lucifer popped up left and right of her. They saw Jacob running and screaming, crossing the street. A truck came from the right and hit him. Brakes creaked and within seconds traffic had come to a halt. Drivers left their cars and looked at Jacob's body that was laying in a pool of blood.
"We first went down," Chloe reported to lieutenant Monroe. "But he was dead already. As soon as some uni's and an ambulance had arrived, we went up again and searched his apartment. This Jacob had made notes. He is, was a street preacher and exorcist. We found in his notes names of people that publicly didn't believe in the devil or told the devil is not evil."
"I do exist," Lucifer interrupted Chloe with a huge smile at Olivia. "But I'm willing to discuss the definition of evil."
Olivia rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Amongst those names," Chloe continued, "were Brett Missner, Dylan Quinn and Zach Dawson, with as last word written in their section 'killed'."
"So you solved the cases." Olivia nodded and smiled. "Was his friend Cunha involved?"
"Not that we could find in the notes and we know for sure Zach had only one visitor. But Dan is checking his background, so we will see."
"And I understood mr Morningstar's brother was wounded while he was with you and helping you. Any health costs that the LAPD should cover?"
"The wound is healed," Lucifer said. "And no costs were made."
"The accounting department will love that," Olivia said. "Is he safe at his home?"
"He was only visiting LA," Lucifer said. "He lives with his dad and went back home. I don't expect to see him soon."
Maze had taken Linda to the Lux for a good drink and had called Ella for support. When Chloe and Lucifer came in, they joined the three women who were sitting in a booth. Linda looked at him and swallowed. Then she gave him a small smile.
"I'm glad you are here, doctor," Lucifer said. "I was worried I'd never see you again. I thought I'd... scared you off for good."
It was a round table. Linda was sitting opposite to Chloe, Maze on the left of Linda, Ella on the other site. Chloe and Lucifer closing the small circle.
"Yes, well," Linda said. "Maze, of all people... well, of all... demons... gave me some needed clarity."
"Good. I'm looking forward to our next session, now we can talk about me as who I really am."
Linda took a zip of the cocktail in front of her, bent over to Lucifer and whispered: "What about my uncle Edwin? Is he down there? I mean, 'cause he was... you know... one... he was one bad mama jama." She chuckled.
"There are sixty billion souls down there, doctor. I have really no idea whether your uncle is amongst them."
"But could…" Linda sighed. "Ok. Forget it. It is just… I'm afraid to panic if I'm alone."
"In that case you can sleep with me," Maze said with a wicked grin.
Ella chuckled. "I guess you're a demon between the sheets."
Linda didn't react, she stared at something behind Chloe and Lucifer. Maze also looked and said: "I think you have a visitor. You told me he was safely back to the Silver City."
Chloe turned and saw Amenadiel coming to them.
"Luci…" Amenadiel's eyes went to Ella.
"She knows. It's Ella, ask your sister if you want to know more," Maze said to him and then to Ella: "Azrael's brother, Amenadiel. Another angel hanging around."
"I thought dad had told you to come back home," Lucifer said. He looked at Amenadiel's expression and continued: "I see you need a drink. What's up?" He pushed his own drink – a bourbon – in front of his brother.
"Father has assigned a task to me…" Amenadiel emptied the glass in one gulp. "Assigned a task to us."
"Us?" Lucifer scoffed. "He really thinks he can order me?"
"He ordered me, he asks you."
"Why would I ever help?"
Amenadiel looked around and whispered. "Maybe I should tell you in private."
"I have no secrets for the detective and if anything needs to happen I will include Mazikeen. Linda is my therapist and I discuss with her to understand my feelings. Ella is always welcome."
"Luci, you're acting as if father's assignment is a joke."
"I hope it is, for I still don't see why I would even listen."
Amenadiel took a chair from another booth and sat down. "Well, if you want it this way. Mom has escaped."
Chloe's eyes went from Amenadiel to Lucifer. Did they have a mother? And from what did she escape?
"Should I care?" Lucifer asked. "Let mum argue with dad, brings some fun in Silver City."
"She is neither in Silver City nor in hell," Amenadiel said.
"Meaning she is on Earth," Maze said. "But she is a soul without a body, so she will have to possess a dead human's body."
"From what did your mother escape?" Chloe asked.
"Ah. Hell." Lucifer took a deep breath. "Dad created humanity, you all. Mum hated it, hated all humans. She a few times tried to destroy dad's little hobby."
"That made father angry and he banned her to hell," Amenadiel added.
"After millennia without a body she can't have much powers left," Lucifer said.
Maze shook her head. "When she possesses a fresh body, powers will come back. And you and I care about certain humans."
Chloe felt how Lucifer took her hand in his hand and softly squeezed. "I see your point, "he said to Maze. "We better help Amenadiel until we know what goddess mum is up to. What does dad want you to do with mum?"
"I don't know," Amenadiel said hesitantly. "Only we have to deal with her."
"So he assigned a task to you without explaining what you should do?" Chloe asked.
Lucifer scoffed. "Welcome to the celestial world, detective."
