A/N: 1) So, um, lots of warnings this chapter. Please heed the previous notes detailing trigger warnings. If you've made it this far, I'm assuming you're okay with my deconstruction of Abraham Religions, but this chapter gets up close and personal with a negative portrayal of God and the first book of the Hebrew Bible (and thus the Christian Bible) so consider yourself warned.
Also, this chapter deals with slavery, a pretty intense death scene, accurate to time period incest, and murder (again, nothing super graphic.) I don't think I'm missing anything warning wise, but if I am, please let me know.
2) This chapter took a lot of work, more even than the last one. Between all the research needed, and that annoying real life thing, it took me a good three more days to finish then I was planning. I'm hoping to get the next chapter out by August 7th, which will either be the last chapter before we hit the events of Captain America, or the next to last chapter before that point, depending on how things go. Assuming I accomplish that goal, the next chapter sadly will take longer as I'm moving to a new state and school on the 7th and will be starting training for my new job and getting ready for the fall semester.
That said, this story is literally the number one thing in my thoughts day and night so have no fear of it being abandoned or left without update for months on end.
~x~
you sang a song that made the children cry
Humans, like most young races, take great joy in killing one another. (Although it is not only the young who stoop to violence.) His lives on Earth have been filled with such violence, violence he has not always been able to avoid. There is blood on his hands, blood that stains in ways it never did when he was not mortal and neither were his victims.
Those stains are darker and harder to see. The death of an immortal is not a small crime.
But cutting short the life of something as vibrant and brief as a human being is a special kind of wrong, as is the knowledge that as Lucifer he could have breathed the spark of life back into each and every body that has fallen before him.
As a human he can only helplessly watch their souls slip away, to whatever fate awaits them.
This life, two thousand years after being sentenced to this fragile shell (and over a century since he has seen Michael or Eve), is one of the most pleasant he has spent since becoming mortal, despite the lack of either of beings he loves. His people do not kill each other; violence has no place in their culture despite there being more of them in one area than he has seen during his time on Earth.
They import fish and other sea creatures from the coast and cultivate plants: squash, beans, and other edibles, along with cotton for fabric and other goods. Music fills their days and he grows quite fond of his bone flute and the melodies he can create, memories of sounds no mortal has heard.
The city is built around a large pyramid, a towering and impressive structure of giant steps, with other smaller pyramids and temples scattered throughout it. Several deities are worshipped and the belief in powers and beings beyond their understanding is absolute. Lucifer does not know if any of those deities have other names, names spoken in other realms, but he has not felt the whisper of true Power against his skin.
He has Seen things in this life that suggest a few of the priests wield some sort of power, but he does not care to discover the source of it.
He is enjoying the peace.
He does not marry. He spends his days weaving cotton into fishing nets and his nights playing music. He is seen as odd, but it does not bother him. He is odd, after all, and it is rare indeed to live in a society where that fact is not a danger to his life or the lives of others.
He is quite old when he death comes and despite the unending hope that his next life will bring him back to Michael or Eve, he is sad to lose this simple and pleasant life.
He doubts there will be many more to come
As if to prove him right, his next life begins in the middle of a war. His mother gives birth to him as his father falls under the swords of the Akkadian invaders. By the time he can walk, their city is a part of the growing Akkadian empire and any new attempts at resistance are swiftly and viciously crushed.
He is lucky and is trained by one of the temple scribes even though his mother cannot afford to send him to a school. He learns the symbols for Sumerian and Akkadian and how to carve the symbols into clay tablets for record keeping and other purposes, and is relieved he will not be expected to join the Akkadian army in their conquests. Scribes are too valuable to be sent into combat.
He is hired by one of the wealthier landowners near his town, and on his first day on the man's property he sees Michael. He is a slave and he is being caned in front of the other slaves and servants. Lucifer's vision goes red with blinding rage and it takes every ounce of control he has to stop himself from getting both of them killed.
Michael's eyes find his, a rich blue that stands out in the sea of darker colors, and seem to glow with pleasure despite the abuse his body is being subjected to. Lucifer swallows the need to kill and holds his gaze until the caning stops, blood running freely down the pale skin of his back.
Michael does not so much as wince and Lucifer has to hold back a dangerous smile as Michael turns to face the man who owns him without a single hint of pain, or any other expression, on his face.
The landowner frowns. "You will not stop me from enjoying my property again."
Michael doesn't blink and Lucifer stiffens at the implication, his eyes catching on a female slave who is huddling with the others, a large, hand-shaped bruise darkening the skin of her upper arm.
The silence stretches and the landowner sneers, discomfort visible in his eyes, as he waves a hand at them. "Get back to work."
It takes another feat of self-control to not follow as Michael leaves with the other slaves, heading toward the fields. He breathes deeply, reminds himself that he does not like violence, and greets his new Master, listening to his expected duties and focusing on not tearing the man's throat out with his bare hands.
It takes more patience to make it through this one day than it did to make it through the past hundred years and his skin is crawling with the need to touch Michael by the time darkness has fallen and the others in the house have gone to sleep.
He slips out of the room he shares with another servant and makes his way across the fields toward the huts where the slaves sleep. Michael is waiting for him, standing amidst the stalks of wheat, his head tipped back as he watches the sky.
Lucifer steps into his arms, tucking his head under Michael's chin and carefully placing his hands on Michael's lower back, beneath the lacerations that must ache fiercely. They are silent, communicating with touch not words, and for a moment the peace is perfect.
But Lucifer cannot forget the sharp, wet sounds of the cane striking Michael's back and he places his lips against the pulse in Michael's throat before pulling back just enough to meet his gaze. "Why didn't you kill him?"
Michael's smile is tired and his eyes are older than Lucifer has ever seen them. "Because if he was killed by a slave, the rest of the slaves would have been punished, if not killed. Not all of them are capable of running."
He doesn't need to add that helping the girl escape would have resulted in a similarly broad punishment and Lucifer closes his eyes, leaning forward until his forehead is resting against Michael's mouth. "So you took the punishment on yourself."
He can feel Michael's smile grow against his skin before Michael kisses his forehead and pulls him closer. "You would have done the same," he murmurs into Lucifer's ear and echoes of memory send a shudder through him as Lucifer's hands clench on Michael's hips.
"I love you," he whispers, in a language no human has ever used, and Michael pulls his head up for a rough kiss that burns with every year between them.
When Lucifer returns to his room, his body is streaked with dirt beneath his tunic and his hands are sore from how tightly he dug them into the earth to avoid Michael's wounds.
They have to be careful, more than they have ever been, and it is frustrating to have Michael so close and not be able to touch him, speak with him, whenever he wishes. His frustration is nothing to his fury as Michael continues to be punished for protecting the other slaves when he can, until there are more scars than unblemished skin on his back, which never bows, no matter how much pain he's in.
Helplessness threatens to choke him and he has never hated The Father more.
The progress of human civilization across the ages has fascinated him but here and now he wants to go back to a life spent in snow and solitude, away from the mortals whose form they share.
At times their punishment has seemed to contain more freedom than their lives as The Father's weapons ever did, but lives like this make it clear The Father's decision not to kill them was born out of the desire to cause pain, not out of mercy. Lucifer traces every scar on Michael's body with his fingers and mouth, carving them into his memory. He intends to repay every second of pain tenfold.
One day a slave comes running up to him while he is marking down the bushels of grain being shipped to Akkad, her eyes large with panic and her breath coming in short gasps. "Please, he said to get you, please come," she pants out, barely waiting for his nod before turning to run back the way she came, Lucifer close on her heels.
She leads him to the huts where the slaves sleep, empty at this time of day, and waves him toward a door before darting toward the fields. He steps inside the darkened doorway, hands tensed in preparation for reaching for the bronze blade in his belt. When his eyes adjust to the dim light, his hands drop helplessly to his sides instead.
Michael is standing near the wall, staring at the body of one of the men who oversees the slaves. There is blood on his hands and his face is calm.
When his eyes lift to meet Lucifer's, the depth of sorrow there staggers him and he steps forward, raising his hands to Michael's face. "You have to leave." Michael shakes his head and Lucifer understands the sorrow with a wrench of fear and anger. "No, you have to run. You cannot stay here and let them do this."
Michael reaches up and wraps his fingers around Lucifer's wrists in a gentle hold. "If I do not, they will kill her instead. I will not allow that."
Tears and bile burn in Lucifer's throat and he shakes his head in futile denial. "There has to be a way."
Michael's grip tightens and his eyes are fierce. "You can leave." Lucifer jerks in surprise and Michael's voice lowers. "I do not want you to see this."
His rage flares anew and Lucifer holds Michael's gaze as he shakes his head again. "If you are going to bear this, then I can bear to witness." The thought of actually doing so drains his anger away and guilt rises up in its place. "It is my fault you–"
Michael cuts him off with a kiss, swift and forceful. "I chose this." The flames that The Father could not eradicate entirely are burning brighter than they have in two thousand years as he cradles Lucifer's face in his hands and the sparks inside Lucifer leap in response. "You are worth following."
Lucifer lunges forward, claiming his lips in a desperate need to feel Michael before he is torn away once again. Michael's mouth opens beneath his eagerly, hot and wet and just as desperate and Lucifer doesn't pull away until neither of them can breathe.
"You need to go," Michael says, his eyes still fierce but his hands soft against Lucifer's skin. "You need to wash off the blood and find a reason for her to have found you."
Lucifer does not want to go, does not want to leave him, but he knows getting himself executed along with Michael will hurt his lover more than his own death, so he obeys.
He washes the blood off his face and wrists with a dipper of water outside the hut and resolutely walks into the fields, not looking back. Hours later, he and everyone else of the household are summoned to the front courtyard where Michael stands, bound hand and foot and covered in bruises.
There are two Akkadian soldiers, one standing on either side of him, and they force Michael to his knees as the landowner steps forward, his eyes sweeping over every slave and servant. "This slave has murdered a free man. By law, the punishment for this crime is death."
The courtyard is completely silent, no one daring to whisper or move. Lucifer's hands are so tightly clenched into fists that he cannot feel them anymore and dizziness swamps him as the landowner steps back and waves an imperious hand at the soldiers. One of them shoves Michael's head down, baring his neck, and the other draws his sword.
Lucifer bites down on a scream and does not close his eyes as the sword arcs through the air. They close on their own when the thud of Michael's head hitting the dirt reaches his ears and the only reason he does not vomit is because he cannot breathe.
When he opens his eyes, everyone is being dismissed back to work and he numbly returns to his room, unable to look at the empty shell lying on the ground. Michael's soul is gone and he will feel it again. For him, and for Eve, whose lives without them he does not have the strength to think of, he will not give into his grief or his rage.
Not until he has the power to wield them to the ruin of the one who cursed them.
He leaves that night, unable to remain without killing men whose largest crime is ignorance. He leaves and he wanders and he waits for this life to end.
It does, eventually, in an equally senseless act of violence, and his next few lives pass in a distant haze as he cultivates the bitter store of rage building within him and aches with the knowledge that it will be millennia before he can use the sparks brought to life by Michael's touch.
Patience has never seemed less like a virtue.
It is a long and lonely two centuries before he finds one of his lovers again. He is born to high station, a rare event even with over two thousand years of history behind him. His father is Pharoah and Lucifer, now Merenre, is heir to the throne.
Two years later Eve is born as Nitocris, his sister and future wife.
Nitocris watches Lucifer pretend to bask under the attention of their father's courtiers and hides a quiet smile. He is different in this life. His anger is closer to the surface and when they are alone his smiles are more rare. She has not asked what pain he has experienced in the centuries since they last saw each other, nor has she shared her own.
Some pains are not lessened when they are borne by more than one soul.
Instead they speak of the future, of the things they have Seen, and of the power they have witnessed that does not come from The Father or any of his vessels. She can feel in him the need for freedom, for escape from this parody of living, and has begun to fear what he may risk to bring about that goal.
There are many paths ahead of them, some with more permanent ends, and some with new beginnings, and she needs him to hold on, to wait for the lives that hold the most possibilities.
He catches her gaze and she smiles at him, a real smile. This life is a gift. They are family, they are betrothed, and she is not only allowed but encouraged to spend time with him, learning as he learns the roles they are expected to play when their father's reign comes to an end.
She intends to use that gift to restore some measure of peace to his soul.
His smile turns real for one shining second before it fades back into the empty curve of lips he shows everyone else, and she directs her attention back to the grapes she's been picking at in lieu of conversing with anyone. It will not be easy, but patience has always been one of her greatest virtues.
She turns her gaze on the movements of the court, watching the conversations meant to be overheard, and the whispers in corners seeking to avoid attention.
Their Kingdom is fading. She is not supposed to know this, but she learned her lessons in lives far more difficult than this one and she recognizes the signs of approaching death. It began before their birth, before their father's reign, but the absolute power of the Pharoah seeps away more with every passing year.
Lucifer knows too, but he cares for the minutia of this temporary life even less than she does, so if there is anything that should be done it will fall to her to take action. For now, however, she does not care. The fate of this country, of the dynasty whose name they bear, holds no more interest for her than it does her lover. Let the advisors and priests have the power they can wrest away from the throne, it does not concern her. The future she looks to is long after this Kingdom will fall, and many Kingdoms after it.
When she has seen her fill of intrigue and politicking and flirtations, she catches Lucifer's gaze again with a coy smile and mischievous eyes and slips away to his rooms, confident he will follow soon. The guards let her pass with faint smiles and she lets her dress fall to the floor as they close the door behind her. She divests herself of her jewelry as she walks across the room and sprawls lazily across the bed, her eyes drawn to the familiar stories decorating the ceiling.
She does not look down when the doors open again, but smiles as she hears his linen robe join hers. Lucifer's hands slide up her legs as he crawls onto the bed, not stopping until he is hovering above her, his dark, kohl lined eyes blocking her view of the ceiling.
"Bored, are we?" he asks, lips quirking into another genuine smile and she pulls him down so she can taste it.
"I wanted you," she breathes into his mouth and laughs as his body instantly drops to press hers against the bed. One of his hands trails down her side and her laughter turns into a breathy sigh as he deepens the kiss.
When he pulls away, he is still smiling, a soft, happy thing, and the shadow in his eyes have retreated. "Then I'm all yours," he says, his voice warm and teasing.
She wraps her legs around him and rolls her hips, savoring the husky groan that slips out of him as his fingers tighten against her skin. "I like the sound of that," she murmurs, and he chuckles as he kisses her again.
They spend the rest of the day in bed and she takes pleasure in every smile, laugh, and breathless moan she coaxes out of him.
Their life is an easy one. Their father is old already, but still healthy, and shows no signs of turning over the reins of power anytime soon. A state of affairs Lucifer and NItocris are more than happy with.
They are each other's center. They fulfill their duties, let themselves be seen by the people, speak with the priests and officials whenever they wish, and oversee their father's interests when he does not wish to travel, but the majority of their time is spent together, in every private corner and moment they can steal.
Most royals are not so in love, particularly in their culture where the Pharaoh's first wife is always a sibling or cousin, and subsequent wives are also family or chosen based on alliances or need for heirs. On the rare occasion a Pharaoh feels great passion for his wife, she is usually not the one he has been raised with.
They show only appropriate levels of affection in public, but in private they are never not touching, and as time passes, the sharp edges beneath Lucifer's skin begin to dull and his smiles come more freely.
"They killed him," he tells her one night, when their skin is still damp from exertion and pleasure. "He was a slave and they killed him and I could not stop them."
Nitocris tightens her arms around him and kisses his closed eyes, glad in an achingly painful way that he was not there to witness her lives as a slave. "One day we will be able to protect each other. We have both Seen it."
He laughs into her neck, rough and angry. "I am tired of waiting for one day."
"The longer we wait, the less He will be expecting us to act," she says, soft and slow, and he stiffens before raising his head to meet her gaze.
"Vindictive," he murmurs, a delighted note in his tone, and she smiles with a flash of sharp white teeth.
"Always."
She does not live for vengeance – she lives for herself and for her lovers because The Father does not deserve to consume her so utterly. But that does not mean she is not as eager as Lucifer for the day their punishment comes to an end and the day they will be the ones holding the power.
The thought of that day keeps her warm at night in the lives when she is alone.
Eventually their father dies and Lucifer assumes the throne. They are not as free to steal moments together and the gaze she fixes on the jostlings of the court is less charitable.
The first year of their reign passes and the fact that she has not borne a child is no longer being ignored. She is visiting with the other women of their family, determining which she is most willing to share Lucifer with in order ensure succession, when half of the Royal Guards escort Lucifer's vizier into the room. His face is pale but his eyes are gleaming, and she does not believe the shock and grief in his voice when he tells her that her husband is dead.
She follows them to the throne room where Lucifer is lying on the floor, stiff and cold while the royal physicians hover helplessly under the watchful eyes of the guard. Her voice is ice as she demands to know what happened and they explain that an asp found its way into the room and bit Lucifer's ankle before anyone saw it.
She does not dispute their version of events, but she knows with cold certainty that she should have paid more attention to the maneuverings of the men now telling her she can take the throne until a suitable heir is chosen from amongst the children of her half-siblings.
She should not have let her giddy joy at having Lucifer so close blind her to the mortal dangers they face.
The funerary rites are initiated and she lets them arrange for her ascent to the throne while she watches with a gaze honed by guilt and fury for every whisper and glance that betrays those who had a hand in Lucifer's death.
She cultivates those who were not included in the plot and makes her plans with the subtlety and surety born of over two millennia of patience. Two months after she is crowned, two months after Lucifer is placed in his tomb, she throws a feast. The only guests are the ones who arranged for Lucifer's death and she watches the growing fear on their faces with a bland smile.
The first course is served and they dare not refuse to eat, not under the watchful eyes of the Royal Guard, whose ranks have been pruned and increased with care. Lucifer's vizier is the first to notice she has not touched her food and she allows him to see the vicious glee in her eyes as the guests begin to writhe in pain.
She neither moves nor speaks, but continues to smile until every single one of them has coughed their last blood filled breath of air. After the dying has ended, she daintily steps down from the dais and skirts her way around their contorted bodies. Half of the guard follows her when she leaves and the other half remains to take care of the mess.
The next day she announces that a sudden plague came in the night, a disease that only affected traitors and murderers. The remaining officials are gratifyingly obsequious and she knows no one will dare to plot against her. And if they do, well, she's learned her lesson. She will pay attention to all the things she sees and Sees.
Over the next year she takes steps to recentralize power and makes it clear who holds the power in the Egyptian court. She chooses a successor, the first born son of one of her half-sisters, and keeps him by her side at all times. Their dynasty will still come to an end, but she has postponed the inevitable and power will not fall into the hands of those who sought their downfall.
One of her final acts is further construction on Lucifer's tomb. When she dies, her orders will ensure tradition will be broken and she will be entombed with him: two Pharaohs, side by side for eternity.
She does not reign as long as her father, the longest lived ruler in Egypt's known history, but she dies of natural causes and with the knowledge that patience will bring her to those she loves again.
Patience that is tested as she lives and dies and lives and dies. They always find each other, with a frequency improbable given the number of human beings on the planet (a number she does not know, nor does she think she can count that high.) But that knowledge does not make waiting any easier.
Several lives after her reign as Pharaoh, she is born to a wealthy merchant family on the island of Crete. Their culture has the rare distinction of treating men and women equally, and Rusa delights in the freedom as she plays with her brothers and accompanies her parents to the docks, watching the boats filled with foreigners and their goods with amused fascination. She has lived in skins that look like many of them and an artless whisper in her mother's ear ensures the Egyptians do not cheat them.
When she has her first bleeding, she elects to join the temple and become a priestess to the Mother, having no desire to marry if she does not have to.
The life of a priestess is a pleasant one. They maintain the temple and present the daily offerings to the Goddess. They perform important rites and blessings, and partake in celebrations thrown by the King.
She enjoys the company of most of her fellow priestesses and one in particular, Kitane, has become the closest friend she has had in any life. (Lucifer and Michael do not count; they are not friends, they are a part of her.)
One night Kitane kisses her, her small deft hands cupping Rusa's breasts, and Rusa kisses back, swallowing the sound of Kitane's startled laugh as Rusa topples her onto her bed.
Kitane is not the first woman she has lain with, but she is the first that Rusa hasn't had to fear punishment for being caught with and Kitane delights in her enthusiasm. They whisper secrets during temple rites and make a mess of the bathing room, holding in their giggles as one of the senior priestesses lectures them about proper, reverent behavior.
"I hope I see you again," Rusa whispers into Kitane's hair one night and Kitane looks confused until Rusa distracts her with wandering fingers.
They are preparing for a celebration when the ground begins to shake. A violent wave ripples across the floor and Rusa hears Kitane cry out as chunks of stone begin to fall from the ceiling. She is trying and failing to crawl toward the other girl when something strikes her head and the black emptiness of death pulls her away.
When she wakes she is a Shudra, a member of the servant caste. She is raised, like her parents, to enter the service of a member of the Kshatriya caste, one of the administrators of Kausambi.
There is less freedom and more strictures on behavior she must follow in comparison to her last life, but it is far from the most difficult life she has led and she learns her duties with quiet dedication. Michael comes to the servant's entrance one day, to deliver some jewelry, and his eyes light when he sees her. She sends the jewelry off with the other serving girl and slips into his arms with a grateful sigh.
"I missed you," he murmurs, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear, and she cannot stop herself from kissing him, unafraid of being caught.
He is smiling when he pulls away and she smiles back, loneliness banished to another life. "I am Nitya. Are you married?"
He laughs and shakes his head. "A fitting name," he says and leans down for another kiss. "I will tell my father of the bewitching beauty who caught my eye and he will be relieved. I think he feared that I was tritiya-prakrti and would not give him grandchildren to learn his trade."
This time it is she who laughs, her eyes dancing as she grins at him. "If only he knew."
He grins back and she wonders how long he's been alone, if he's seen Lucifer since the life in which he was executed for protecting another slave. She does not ask, just pulls him in for a kiss and then shoos him away before either of them are caught behaving inappropriately.
Over the next few months he finds many excuses to visit. When enough time has passed, he brings his father to speak to her father and the proper arrangements are made. The day she goes home with him neither of them can stop smiling and she feels younger than even her apparent age.
Lucifer is not the only one tired of waiting for 'one day', no matter how patient she is capable of being, and every life she does not have to spend alone is a precious gift.
Lucifer's eyes on him as he was shoved to his knees had been far more painful than the beating which preceded his execution. As are the centuries without his presence that follow. They find each other once more, briefly, but their lives are cut short by plague and Michael is alone again. After nearly three millennia in mortal form, he still has yet to find an emotion that cuts deeper than loneliness. Even his rage and grief are blunted by the empty spaces in his soul, and it is difficult to form bonds with individual humans who will die all too soon.
He does not give into despair, Lucifer isn't the only stubborn one, but there are years in which he cannot sleep for fear of the things he will see when he closes his eyes. For all his determination to do the right thing, in this world where what is right shifts with every passing day, he does not know what he would have done if it had been Lucifer, or Eve, awaiting death in punishment for a crime that is no crime.
He hopes he never finds out and wishes bitterly that he had someone to pray to or bargain with as the humans do, even if he knows better than they the cost of such things when they are truly answered.
Finally, he is delivering one of his father's necklaces to one of the wealthier homes in Kausambi and finds Eve, now Nitya, and feels the cold inside him thaw at the sight of her smile and the touch of her warm skin. He remembers her first words to him and hopes they are still true because he is selfishly glad that she is there with them, that Lucifer is not the only one who keeps the loneliness at bay.
Circumstances do not conspire against them and they are of the same caste and thus able to marry. The night of their wedding she pushes him down onto their marriage bed and kisses him languidly, bracing herself on his shoulders as his hands encircle her waist. "I missed you too," she tells him with a soft smile when she lifts her head.
He cannot find the words to reply and she kisses him again, allowing him to answer with the movement of their bodies instead. Her bravery still awes him, but by now he knows her well enough to appreciate her intelligence, ruthlessness, and the fierceness with which she loves.
Loving her was unexpected, one of the silver linings of The Father's punishment, and she is one of the many reasons he will never regret choosing Lucifer over The Father.
Their life together is full of that love, for each other, and for their son, a bright eyed boy whose endless curiosity drives them both to distraction.
"I can never decide if it is easier or harder," he says one night, as they stand over the bed their son just fell asleep in.
She nods, her eyes happy and sad as she looks up at him. "Harder. But better. When I can keep them safe. When I can't," her hands clench and he pulls her into his arms, heart breaking at the images invoked by her words.
He still does not know what he's capable of if it means protecting the ones he loves, but he knows he does not care if it means keeping that pain out of their voices.
Lucifer's anger has always been more volatile, quick and loud, but Michael's burns deep, a slow fire that cannot be seen until it is too late to be stopped. This anger has had a long time to burn, and it will be longer still before it is allowed to rage free.
When it does, the destruction will be absolute.
When he meets Nitya's eyes again, hers are glinting with a hate so sharp it could cut through stone and he smiles because he does not need visions of the future to see the havoc they will wreak together.
"Patience," she counsels, her eyes still hard but her smile soft. "I worry enough about Lucifer's anger; I do not wish to add to my worries about you."
Michael's lips quirk into a knowing smile and he nods. "I promise."
She rewards him with a kiss and he lets her lead him out of the room with one last glance at their son and a silent wish that Lucifer is safe in whatever life he is living. The lives in which he has both of them by his side are the only ones in which he can truly rest.
Their long and happy marriage ends with a racking cough that claims his life within days of its onset. Their son is old enough to have learned his trade and Nitya will be cared for, so it is only the fear of what is to come in their next lives that makes him regret his death.
The next thousand years pass much the same as the last three. There are lives alone, lives with each of his lovers, and one precious life with both of them. He witnesses atrocities and stunningly beautiful examples of what humans are capable of and spends every moment remembering his promise to Eve and refusing to let his imagination paint vivid pictures of what atrocities she and Lucifer might be suffering when they're not where he can see them.
But the carefully banked rage that has been simmering inside of him since The Father cast them out finds new fuel, and it is only the lack of his angelic powers that keeps him from returning to The Father's realm and razing it to the ground.
He is born in the town of Jerusalem in the province of Judah while it is under the rule of the Persian Empire. Lucifer is born a year after he is and at first this life seems like it will be one of their happiest. Eve lives in a nearby village, born within months of Lucifer, and they find every excuse possible to slip away from the watchful gazes of their parents and out of the town's walls to visit her.
Michael's father is a baker and Lucifer's father is a woodworker. Eve, now Ilana, comes from a family of shepherds whose sheep provide much of the wool for Jerusalem.
They are aware of the religion most of Jerusalem practices, but they have all lived through many religions and do not usually give them any thought beyond maintaining necessary appearances. When Michael is nine, there is an influx of new people into Jerusalem, descendants of those exiled during the Babylonian occupation, and with them comes a new High Priest and a new governor and they can no longer ignore the faith of their people.
Things change in the city. There is tension between those who never left and those who were born in captivity. Laws are altered and enforced. Michael and Lucifer can no longer slip away to visit Ilana – contact with those who are not Judahites is limited and intermarriage is forbidden.
Non-participation is no longer an option and Michael and Lucifer accompany their families to the temple every Shabbat for readings of the Torah, the sacred scriptures of the Judahites. There are several books in the Torah and the readings follow a set schedule over the course of the year so it is three months before they hear the words that make everything horrifically clear.
Michael's hands are curled into fists he is hard pressed to hide from his parents as the story of Adam and Eve unfolds. It is all he can do to hold back a harsh laugh as he hears Lucifer's punishment – 'God cursed the serpent to crawl on its belly, to eat dirt, and to live in enmity with the woman and her offspring,' – and his eyes find his lover, whose face is pale with thinly disguised shock and fury.
He barely hears the rest of the reading, his every nerve on fire from the effort of holding still. He cannot slip away from his family until the next day and Lucifer meets him by the gates, both of them slipping into the fields maintained by the farmers of Jerusalem and hiding themselves amongst the stalks of barley.
Lucifer is silent, unusually so, and it is Michael who cannot contain himself. "These Judahites, they used to be the Israelites, Soldiers of God," he chokes, his fists clenching against the hilt of a phantom sword in his hand, blazing with unnatural fire. "Someone, somewhere, is laughing at us."
"We'll make Him eat that laugh," Lucifer says viciously, staring up at him with eyes gone nearly black with rage, and Michael shivers with a combination of excitement and fear.
"He did this. He could not stop Himself from meddling and He–" he stops, too angry to form words. Hearing the calm recitation of such a twisted version of their lives, of Eve's brave choice and The Father's benevolence in creating the humans and despairing of their wickedness – it makes him sick, bile burning like acid in his throat as pain lances through his temples at the effort it is taking not to scream his rage to the uncaring heavens.
"He is not the only one," Lucifer says quietly, after the silence has stretched between them with all the things they cannot say. Michael slumps, propping his head on his knees, and waits for Lucifer to explain. "Some of the other beliefs we've seen, the other gods: I think some are like The Father. I think this is the new form of war between The Others."
Michael's fingers dig into the dirt below them to steady himself. "What does that mean for us?"
Lucifer shrugs. "For now? Nothing. But later," he meets Michael's gaze with a slow smile that gives Michael the sudden urge to laugh. The Father should never have risked leaving them alive. "Later it means we may have allies in our vengeance. Or at least distractions we can utilize."
Michael nods, anger coalescing into something hard and bitter and controllable as he pushes himself to his feet and holds out a hand to Lucifer. "We need to find Ilana, and we need to plan. We are not staying here."
Lucifer takes his hand and lets Michael pull him up. "It will be dangerous. We are still too young."
Michael does laugh this time, a cold, harsh chuckle that sounds utterly wrong coming from his child's mouth, and bares his teeth in a rictus of a grin. "We are more dangerous than anyone we will meet."
Lucifer's eyes widen for a moment, but he grins back, his hand squeezing Michael's tightly. "That we are."
When they find Ilana and tell her of what they learned, she does not look surprised. When they question her lack of anger, she shrugs and gives them a weary smile. "I Saw this. When I bit into the fruit, I Saw what He would do. I did not know it would take this long, and I do not know what it will be mean, but I knew we would become the evildoers."
Lucifer looks shocked, clearly wondering why she never said anything, and she kisses his cheek as she reaches out to take both of their hands. "It does not matter. He failed. Because of us, He failed. And anything He does now will only add to His reckoning."
She is right and Michael pulls them both into his arms, fiercely grateful once again that The Father was foolish enough to leave them alive, and with ties that would always bring their souls together. Despite the anger he can feel coiling tightly beneath Lucifer's skin, his grin matches Ilana's as they look up at him and Michael laughs again, a joyous sound.
They are far more dangerous than they appear, and with the two of them by his side there is nothing they cannot accomplish.
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Notes:
1) The chapter title comes from the song Cover Up by Imagine Dragons.
2) One of my research notes I wanted all readers be aware of: the Michael/Eve life is set in India during the late Vedic age and the reference to tritiya-prakrti is not a reference to homosexuality, although it could encompass homosexual behavior. It means 'third nature' rather than 'male nature' or 'female nature' and could refer to people with male bodies, female bodies, or intersexuals. There is a lot more to it, so I encourage you to research it for yourself (ancient cultures could be, in a lot of ways, more progressive about gender than we are in the modern world and it's a pretty fascinating research topic.)
3) Okay, and now onto the other history notes you only need to read if you're curious about the ridiculous amounts of research I'm putting into this story :D
A. Lucifer's first life is set in the Norte Chico civilization in ancient Peru. It was the oldest civilization in the Americas and one of six in the world that developed independently. It's also highly unique in that no traces of warfare have been discovered and it appeared to be a very peaceful society. I couldn't resist using it since most references to ancient American civilizations focus on human sacrifices and 'savagery', which was actually practiced basically everywhere in the world at one point or another.
B. As referenced in story, his and Michael's life together takes place during the Akkadian Empire, in an unspecified city in Mesopotamia. The culture, including the slavery details, are as accurate as I could make them given that my primary research tool is the internet.
C. Lucifer and Eve's life takes place in Egypt, obviously, and Nitocris is a possible actual historical figure who ruled during the last years of the Old Kingdom, who would have been the first female Pharoah, but who has been deemed more likely to be mythological/or the result of mistranslation in recent years. In the original myth, she committed suicide after drowning most of the conspirators against her brother in a trap. I think my version's better :D
D. Eve's next life is in Minoa, which really did have a pretty decent civilization if you were a woman, although I couldn't actually find any reference to whether homosexuality would be tolerated as their language is one we haven't had much success with translating.
E. Michael and Eve's life together is set in India during the late Vedic period. Nitya means always or eternal in Sanskrit.
F. And then finally we come to the life in Jerusalem, set during the reign of either Darius or Atraxerxes I (archaeological records vs. biblical records make that time period a bit confusing and there's a lot of debate over specific timeframes and details). That one was the hardest, for obvious reasons, and I did my best to be as accurate as possible to the culture. That one section took ten times as much research as the rest of the chapter. But, if anyone familiar with Judaic history catches an error, please let me know.