Seven Devils

Chapter 2 / Pater Familias

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Marlene drove for hours, eyes bleary and tired, heart still pounding in her chest — adrenalin was the only force keeping her awake. Three hours with no music or a fellow traveller to keep her company, that was by far the most depressing ride Marley'd ever had. So for the lack of anything better to do, she busied herself with overthinking every single thing that had happened. Over and over again, until her head started to hurt, and the whispering resumed. It came and went like ocean waves, but felt more like a freaking tsunami.

Marlene wasn't sure where she was driving, exactly. All she knew was that it had to be away from campus, away from the entire state of Connecticut, away from Tessa, and Maddock, and everything she'd known. It wasn't until she saw the "Entering Cambridge" sign that she realised where she'd come. Why had she come here, though?

Because she was selfish. Because she was spoiled. Because she called her father with any minor inconvenience waiting to be coddled and pampered. But this was not your usual millennial meltdown. How the hell could her father help with that? Marley couldn't involve him in this. What if that thing had been following her from New-Haven?

Just ask your daddy what happened on September 23, 1986.

And thus Marlene found herself in the parkway of the old colonial house, glancing up at the lit up window of her father's study. He was probably doing research for his new book on comparative theology or writing a speech for the conference he was going to attend in Prague next month. Just doing what he did best, completely oblivious to the shitshow that had been Marlene's day. And to the fact that she was going to drag him into it in a matter of minutes.

Marlene got out of her inconspicuous Tayota, her cheeks hot and heart racing. Shutting the door, she looked up at the two-storey massive of brick and stone and felt her breath hitch in her throat. The entire facade of the house was covered in glowing symbols in a language Marley couldn't recognise. She was definitely going mad. That or her father had decided to put Halloween decorations a little earlier.

"Freaking lunatic," she muttered, walking up to the porch, the spare she had for emergencies in hand.

Marlene felt an instant prickle of tears as soon as she opened the door.

After everything that happened, her childhood house felt so warm and welcoming, she could cry from the simple sense of security. The faint smell of coffee her father always made in an old Armenian jezve he had got from his grandmother, Armenian memorabilia and antiquities displayed on the cream-coloured walls and behind the glass doors of impressive cabinets. Everything in that house spoke history and art, laced with culture from all around the world and together made the two-storey construction a true home.

Marley walked up the stairs. The fifth one was still creaking, which made her smile — Arthur was many things, but a handyman wasn't one of them. The door to his study was ajar, soft light pouring out into the narrow carpeted corridor. Through the slit, Marlene could see him hunched at the table of dark wood, a somber look on his face and a pen in hand. He was probably grading essays, only...only he wasn't alone.

"I assume our agreement still stands?" a man asked in a silky voice that bore a dissonant note of something unsettling. Something predatory.

Marlene took a small step back, eyes still trained on the stranger. Could he be one of the professors from Harvard? She didn't recognise him though: tall, on the bald side, clad in an expensive-looking black suit and a shiny tie. Perhaps, he was a fellow researcher — the likelihood of that was very high, seeing as those were the only sort Arthur had time to converse with. But something in the man seemed off. Marlene had seen enough academia extraordinaires in her life to know that whoever the late-night guest was, it was very far from the realm of education.

"...some time," she heard her father reply in a hushed voice.

The stranger let out a low, malicious chuckle, "Time is all you have, my friend. Just make sure not to waste it." Marlene frowned at the sheer patronisation in his voice. How dare this pompous prick speak to her father like this?

Her hand was reaching for the door-handle, ready to storm in and show the bastard where the sun don't shine, when Arthur spoke again, "When will Lilith die?"

What? Who's —

"Don't you worry about it. Castiel's got it all covered," the stranger said, "You do your part, we do ours. It is all God's plan, Arthur. The lives of thousands for the lives of millions — don't you think it's a fair price to pay for Heaven on Earth?"

Marlene frowned, confused by the stranger's words. What was he talking about? Was her father involved in a freaking cult or something? But he stayed silent, almost doubtful.

The man didn't like it. As though sensing Arthur's hesitation, he pressed further, "Or should I remind you what's at stake here?"

"No," Marley heard her father reply, "I remember."

"Well, then," the stranger said in a seekingly cheerful manner, "I'll be in touch once the bitch is dead. Let us hope you'll keep your end of the bargain, yes?"

Marlene wasn't quite sure what happened next. Perhaps, she had hallucinated the whole thing. Perhaps, this entire day had been one long acid trip. But she could swear that the suit-clad bastard had vanished into thin air.

Just like...

The damned floor creaked when Marley took a step away from her father's study. "Fuck," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut, frozen in anticipation of what would inevitably happen.

"Sona?" Arthur called, voice tense with worry. Sona was their housekeeper, who would come a couple of days a week to keep the whole place tidy. The old woman never missed a chance to grumble about how much dust those "little trinkets of his" collected.

"Uh, no," Marlene all but muttered, appearing in the doorway. Arthur seemed at a loss, startled by the unceremonious entrance of the daughter who should've been miles away at college. She gave him a tight-lipped smile, "Hey, dad."

Marley was right — he had been grading essays. Before that bald Man in Black arrived. God, what a day.

"What's wrong?" he asked, taking off his reading glasses. Arthur's voice was tense with concern and apprehension. Was he worried she had heard what they were saying? "Did something happen? Marlene, why — "

"September 23, 1986," Marlene cut him off. She was tired, and she was scared, and her voice was shaking. She didn't care if that mysterious angel was freaking unicorn escort — she needed answers, "Does this date mean anything to you?"

Marley hoped he would say no, because she wanted things to be normal again. Yet deep down she begged for him to say yes if only to know she wasn't going crazy. That maybe, just maybe, Gabriel was right and there was an explanation to everything that had happened today.

"Marlene, this isn't the place — "

"Dad," she begged, "Just...just tell me. Please."

Arthur gave her a long, pensive look, his dark brown eyes filled with sadness, "Would you sit down?"

Marley shook her head frantically, "N-no, I can't" she told him and started to pace the room. There were all those interesting books to look at and paintings Arthur had brought from his travels. So many things to distract her.

"Today...what happened today, Marlene?"

Her eyes flashed to meet her father's, brows twitched together, "How did you know?"

Arthur sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in deep concentration, "Because I've met others like you. And I wish I could've —"

"Others...like me?" Marlene repeated dumbly, "Like me how? Linguists?"

"You asked me about September 23, 1986. And I...do recognise the date, Marlene," Arthur's began with much hesitation. He always called her by her full name, which irritated Marley to no end. She thought "Marlene" made her sound like an Old Hollywood starlet on her way to seduce Clarke Gable. "There are things in this world that...that are invisible to our eye. Right until the moment they wish to be seen."

"Dad," Marlene sighed in mild annoyance. Did he have to be so dramatic all the time? With his greying beard, a vest suit and a silver tongue, Arthur was a regular Houdini, "I'm not one of your students, and you're no Po. Less cryptic, prego?"

Arthur gave her a most foreboding look, "The hell is empty, and all the Devils are here."

"Right," Marlene deadpanned, "Now you're just showing off."

"Haven't it ever occurred to you that Shakespear didn't mean it as a metaphor?"

"Not after four years of undergrad English Literature it hasn't. Dad, I didn't drive three hours to talk Shakespear to you. I think I'm having hallucinations from all the caffeine I consumed yesterday, my professor is f-freaking Hellboy, my roommate...oh God, Tess —," Marlene shivered, remembering the white of her friend's eyes. She thought she saw her father look away, "I-I've been to Central Perk and that couch is not half as comfortable as I thought, and what the hell were those signs on our house and..." Who was that man and what was he talking about, dad? "What happened on September 23, 1986, dad?" Marlene asked, out of breath from all the nervous rambling.

"No mention of me? I'll take it personally, thanks," Gabriel popped up in the middle of the study. Marlene shrieked in surprise, not yet accustomed to people appearing out of thin air. She gaped at her father, "Why the hell aren't you freaked out by this?"

Not only did he not appear freaked out, Arthur seemed only mildly vexed as though one of his students was late to turn in their paper. Although Marlene suspected her father was all too well-acquainted with their lot. As in angels, seeing as she was almost absolutely sure that the walking and talking suit who had been here earlier was one of them. "Gabriel, I told you I would handle this."

"Handle what, exactly?"

"Clearly, you failed," Gabriel dismissed her father and turned to Marley. The look of complete astonishment on her face drew a despondent sigh out of him, "I hoped it would be fun, but this whole thing is really rather dreadful. You two are equally boring. By the way," he said to Arthur, "Props for all the angel words, doc. A real nice touch."

Marlene glared at her father, "You know him?"

"It is all quite complicated —"

"Sure it is, you know angel — an angel," she checked herself just in time. Marley didn't want her father to know she had been eavesdropping. Also, the whole deal seemed kind of shady, and she wanted to know more before throwing an entire intervention.

"Archangel," Gabriel corrected importantly. Marlene threw him a sideways glare, "It's kind of a big deal up there, so..."

"Marlene," Arthur implored her to listen, "He's telling the truth." Gabriel gave Marley a smug 'said so' look. She ignored him. "Our bloodline, the Ter-Gabrielyan bloodline, can be traced back to the one who started it almost two thousand years ago...The son of Gabriel."

"Wh — " "I banged your great grandmother two thousand years ago". Marley's eyes went wide as she turned to the wretched angel, "I thought you were kidding!"

"Surprise, I guess?"

"So what does it make us?" she asked.

"Nothing," Arthur told her, "it makes us nothing. We're human — "

"Speak for yourself," Gabriel butted in and pointed at Marlene, "She's a different kind of cookie."

She frowned in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"The year was 1986," Gabriel began in a low, mysterious tone, albeit a little bored, "On the dreary night of September 23, a boring family of two was peacefully asleep in their bland, suburban house. Nothing alerted danger, yet — " he looked at Arthur and then at Marlene, building suspense, "yet under the guise of twilight, a demon by the name of Azazel came to pay a friendly visit to their humble abode."

Marley opened her mouth to put in her five sceptical cents, but Gabriel held up a finger to shut her up. She did so, her glare deadly, "He didn't bring any presents though, rude. Figures," the angel muttered to himself, "Anyways, while daddio was off bumping booties in the dreamland, Az swanned into your room and — well, he did bring a present, now that I think about it," Gabriel said thoughtfully and then continued, louder, all cheer and misplaced excitement, "He fed you his blood. Drop, droppity-drop — puff! You're it."

The silence that followed was cricket-worthy. Marlene's jaw slacked at the sheer improbability of those words being spoken to her by an archangel who, what, was her entire family's founding father? And he just stood there, arms crossed in a way that was effortlessly arrogant and impatient, looking so unangel-y in his jeans and a leather jacket — he was more Danny Zuko than Archangel Gabriel, son of the Lord. And then there was her father, a man with three PhDs and a hundred of published works on why exactly what's happening couldn't be real.

"You know what, I've probably had some LSD. Who knows what they put in your coffee these days, right?" a sweet, nervous smile stretched across Marlene's face. She finger-gunned at them and started to retreat to the door, "So, I'm just gonna go and sleep it off, yeah? Sorry for bothering you, dad," she told Arthur, then glanced at Gabriel, who was, indeed, still there. Marley blinked, then rubbed her eyes and blinked again, this time to get rid of the black dots. No luck. She groaned, "Oh, come on."

"Marlene, this is not a laughing matter," her father implored.

Gabriel nodded in agreement, "What he said."

"Does it look like I'm laughing?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

"For God's sake —"

Gabriel made a face, "Yeah, about that..."

"Where're your wings then, huh?" Marlene thought she really did something there, coming up with a winning argument. She cocked an expectant brow at him.

Gabriel sighed in annoyance. He snapped his fingers, and a bright, heavenly brilliance spilled inside the dimly lit study. Marlene gasped, gawking at the silhouette of the angel's celestial form...and then it was gone. Gabriel snapped his fingers again and turned it off like a freaking lamp.

"Oh, God," she whispered, then looked at her father, "Holy — did you see it? The...that...those..."

"Of course he didn't," Gabriel scoffed, adjusting his leather jacket, "He's just a human."

Marlene's brows furrowed, "But I'm just a human —"

"Oh my dad, how daft are you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Marlene," the voice of reason that was her father cut in. He was sitting at his desk, grim and quiet, his dark brown eyes filled with pain and regret, "That night...something happened to you. The demon blood in someone of your...heritage, it must've triggered something."

"Like what?" Marlene looked between her father and Gabriel.

Arthur rose from his chair, "Let me show you something."

A moment later

"Well, that's not creepy at all," Gabriel commented as they stepped inside an adjacent room of Arthur's study. The room Marlene had never seen in all the 18 years she'd lived in this house. It looked like a glorified cupboard, which fit a small table, a chair and had four walls which were all covered in pictures, maps, newspaper articles, stickers and strange sigils.

"Is this the part where you tell me to enthral you with my acumen?" said Marlene, having a careful look around.

Arthur grabbed a thick folder from the clattered desk, "Ever since that night in 1986, I've been trying to figure out what happened. Gabriel..." at the mention of his name, the archangel waved at Marley. Arthur sighed, "He provided me with the information I needed. Something to...to give me an idea, a starting point to this," he gestured at the wall.

"Just like that?" Marlene asked and snapped her cunning hazel eyes to the angel, "Why do you care, anyway? It's been two thousand years, no one's asking for alimony. You've been off the hook for millennia."

Gabriel's face assumed a more somber look, "I've made a promise," he said without a trace of mirth, "and I don't break them."

Unsettled by the turn the conversation had suddenly taken and feeling a bit guilty for being rude to him, Marley cleared her throat and switched her attention to the Nancy Drew-worty investigation of her father's. She stepped closer to one of the walls to take a good look at the pictures. They were all young people, around her age, some older, some a little younger. Their photos were pinned next to newspaper articles, obituaries, candid photographs. What had her father been up to?

"Who are these people?"

"Your little bros and sisters," Gabriel supplied very unhelpfully. Arthur glared at him. Marlene looked scandalised.

"They were targeted by the demon," he hurried to explain and then added, voice soaked with bitter regret, "Like you."

"How did he choose them, then? Why did he choose me?"

"Cause you've angel blood coursing through your veins, dummy," Gabriel said, "Azazel was one of my brother's first toys, his lil' pup. Very loyal. And Lucifer did always loath that big ol' dad didn't punish me for what I did. But what did I do, really? Is love a crime?" Arthur gave him a look as if to say that love had nothing to do with what had transpired, "Bottom line is, I loved humans. Maaaybe a tad too much, but hey — can you blame me? Nope. And Lucy hated them and despised me for loving them. And you are, essentially, the product of that love."

"Lucy?" Marley repeated, shellshocked, "Lucy is the girl next door with pig tails who charges five dollars for her shitty lemonade. Lucifer — oh, hell, well of course he's real," a nervous little laugh fell from her chapped lips. It was a nasty habit, biting them until she tasted blood, "The Devil is real. Yes, that makes perfect sense. And he sends his cronies to turn normal people into monsters, great. What's next, destroying the seven kingdoms?"

"How about the entire world?" Gabriel dropped the bomb with perfect nonchalance.

Marlene's breathing quickened, her brain going into panic mode again, "W-what?"

"But this is not going to happen," Arthur reassured her, giving Gabriel a reproachful look, "Because Lucifer won't come back."

"Fom where?"

"From the deepest pits of Hell, of course," Gabriel replied, "I hear it's great down there this time of year, very hot. And he's got an entire cage all to himself."

"And that...that demon, who turned all the children — Azazel — wants to set him free?"

"He did," the angel said, "Before the Winchesters killed him."

"The what now?"

Arthur opened yet another file, containing all records on the two brothers. He pointed to their mugshots on the wall near an impressive amount of scandalous newspaper headlines, "Sam and Dean Winchester, 26 and 30. I knew their father John back in the day, they're solid hunters. One of the best, some say."

"And criminals? FBI's most wanted," Marley made an attempt at a whistle, "That's impressive."

"Yeah, they don't suck at this, I guess," Gabriel admitted.

"You mean killing demons?"

"Including demons, sweet pea."

She shot her father an astonished look. Arthur let out a heavy sigh for the hundredth time this evening, "There is a lot you don't yet know, Marlene."

"Vampires?" He gave a reluctant nod. Marley had to say, she was starting to feel kind of excited, "Werwolves?" Another nod, "Ghosts? Fai — "

"All the things that go bump in the night, yes," Gabriel said loudly, already over this conversation, "Anywho, Mario Bros killed the bad guy, but crapped all over the Mushroom Kingdom. Especially the beanpole wonder," he pointed at the picture of the younger brother, Sam.

"What did he do?"

"He is like you, Marlene," Arthur explained, "Gifted."

Marlene's face crumpled with absolute confusion, "Wait, hold on a second, now I'm gifted? Come on, it's demon blood not fairy dust"

"Yeah, well then how did you see those demons?" Gabriel said matter-of-factly, arms crossed, "Not everyone is unfortunate enough to see their ugly muzzles. And I just bet you can catch the holy radio station."

"Sorry?"

"Angels whispering in your ear? That noise that makes you wanna off yourself? Gossiping broads the lot of them, I swear to dad," Gabriel muttered shaking his head, "When Azazel gave you his blood, the very little angel in you had decided to fight the poison, capisce? I'm kind of guessing you were his personal pet project. He knew exactly who you were and wanted to see what happens. Impress his daddy. That runs in the family," he added with a suggestive raise of his eyebrows.

"But..." Marlene was struggling to find the words amid the chaotic whirl of thoughts in her head, "Why wait all those years? Why twenty two? What's so special about twenty two?"

"Demons have a very perverse sense of humour," said Arthur. He walked to the desk and picked up an old, weighty tome, "I couldn't figure it out for a very long time, not until there was talk of the Apocalypse." It was the book of Revelations. The apocalyptic book of Revelations. Arthur looked at Gabriel, then Marlene, "It has twenty two chapters. It was Azazel's plan all along."

"That's...disturbingly poetic," she said and then added more brightly, "But that's it, right? The demon's dead, the world is saved?" Her enthusiasm was met with silence.

Gabriel pursed his lips in a highly dramatic manner, "Soooo...are you gonna tell her or should I?" he raised his brows at Arthur.

"I...I am afraid it's not that simple, Marlene," said her father in a grave, foreboding voice, "Lucifer has many followers, loyal followers — "

"Psychotic followers," Gabriel chimed in, "Firstborns always come out ass first, don't they? Long story short — look, I don't have all night, there are perfectly delicious porn stars waiting for some magic to happen in my hotel room — Lucy's prodigy child Lilith is doing her daddy's bidding by breaking 66 seals of apocalypse," Marlene's eyes flashed to her father. "When will Lilith die?" Arthur had asked the stranger. She wondered if Gabriel knew about their 'arrangement' as the man had put it. "She's on number 59 at the moment, and when she hits 66..." Gabriel trailed off.

"Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth," Marlene cited the passage from the book of Revelations, "The Apocalypse."

"The lives of thousands for the lives of millions — don't you think it's a fair price to pay for Heaven on Earth?" Marlene shuddered, remembering the velvet sharpness of the man's voice. Was that what he'd meant? The...Apocalypse? But the way he had spoken about it...Arthur caught Marlene watching him, a strange expression on his weary face. She quickly looked away, turning her attention to Gabriel. These thoughts unsettled her.

"And Lucy goes free to wrack havoc on all humanity," said Gabriel. He looked at the clock, "Oh my, the hour is late. Gotta go, see ya."

Marlene frowned, "Wait — " but he had already disappeared, "God, this is annoying."

"Yes," Arthur smiled, "it certainly can be.

Marley flashed him a narrowed-eye look, suspicious. "Aren't you two chummy," she said watching her father sort some papers on the table, "Forgive my curiosity, dad, I'm just wondering why would an archangel need your help."

"I have three PhDs," Arthur retorted, offended.

"And that's great, but don't you think this is a little above your pay grade? I mean, angels? Demons? the Devil? The freaking Apocalypse?

Arthur sighed, put away the papers and looked at his distressed daughter, "Marlene, my whole life I've been trying to make sense of who I was. All I knew was that I had a legacy — at least, that's what my father'd always told me. Ter-Gabrielyan men were servants of God, and he wanted me to follow the same path. I didn't." he raked a hand through his salt and pepper hair, "We hadn't talked for years. He'd refused to come to my wedding. And died the day after."

Marlene knew of the strained relationship between her father and her grandfather Felix. She had only seen pictures and heard stories of him being slightly unhinged. Paranoid. Knowing what she knew know, she supposed he had the reason for it.

"My grandmother Matilda said that our family was cursed. That we had no place in Heaven, nor in Hell, bound to hide in the shadows for the fear of God's wrath. I thought she was delusional," Arthur said and huffed out a cynical laugh, "I thought my father was crazy. Until I found his journals. Until...that night 22 years ago."

"So great Tata was right? We're...cursed?"

"When Gabriel sired a Nephilim, his brothers scoured all of the earth to find him. But Gabriel was a wicked Trickster, and so he'd hidden the child away from Heaven's eyes and promised him to guard all those to come," Arthur had a storyteller's voice: calm, lulling. Marlene was reminded of all the times he had read to her as a child whenever she had nightmares. Who would've thought that she would someday live in one?

"But the Heaven wouldn't have it. Unable to find the child, the angels had damned Gabriel's entire bloodline for all eternity."

"What..." Marlene was terrified to say it out-loud. She gulped, "What's the curse?"

Arthur opened one of the drawers in the table and took out an old journal in a shabby leather cover, "Your grandfather had a theory," he opened it in the middle, searching for the right passage, "Heaven's doors are closed to us, so are the Gates of Hell. Where go our souls? It is clear to me now that two cannot live until one is no more. Such is the balance. Such is the curse."

Marlene stared at the writings of the madman, sigils painted in blood on the crusty, yellow paper, ink blotted by tears. The words were filled with so much pain and misery, she felt an instant urge to look away. Two cannot live until one is no more. She remembered that great Tata Matilda's husband had died when grandfather Felix was in his twenties, and that grandfather Felix himself had died right after his son's wedding when Arthur was 23.

Marley felt her entire body freeze at the realisation. No, it couldn't be...

"Our family has always been in the middle of it. Always caught in the crossfire. This time is no different."

"This is bullshit," she said angrily, eyes glistening with tears, "He was a lunatic, dad, you can't possibly —"

"Gabriel confirmed it."

Marlene made a face, "Fuck Gabriel!"

"Marley, listen — "

"Why is he helping us anyway? What is the point of it all?"

"Because the angels know!" Arthur yelled. He never yelled, never lost his temper. Which is why Marlene instantly shut her mouth, "The angels know about you, but thanks to Gabriel, they can't find you. Haven't been able to for 22 years," he said calmly now, "But with the seals being broken and Lilith out...she's after you, Marlene."

"Lilith? After me? But why would she even — " Marlene stopped. He told me I could have my fun, "Tessa" had said. And she looked different than the other demons Marley had encountered, which there weren't many...but still, none of them had white eyes.

"What is it?"

"I think...I think I've met Lilith," Marlene couldn't believe she was actually saying it. Yesterday she didn't know demons existed, and now this?

"Then they've been watching you for longer than we thought," Arthur stoked his silver beard, "You cannot go back, sweetheart."

Marlene had already thought about it on her way here. She wasn't an idiot, she knew that New-Haven would be the first place demons would go looking and if the winged guys caught the trail...well, that wouldn't lead to anything pleasant.

"I know," she said faintly, "Dad...what could she possibly want?"

"It's not what she wants, Marlene. It's what Lucifer needs."

Marlene's brows furrowed in confusion, "And he needs me?"

"Not exactly," Arthur said, anxious and worn out, "It's more about having something that the angels cannot. He wants you because he knows they're looking for you."

"So...what do we do now?"

Arthur threw a wary look on the wall with the mugshots of the FBI's two most wanted men, "Stay here and hope that the Winchesters deal with Lilith."