"Lucifer, I'm really getting tired of Father having me save your wings and every other part," Michael muttered angrily as he appeared in front of his brother. Realizing that Lucifer was on his knees on the sand, the angel looked down and saw the devil was holding Oriel in his arms.
"Oriel," Michael said in a whisper. The fae appeared extremely pale and lifeless; even her fiery hair that usually caught the light seemed dull and faded.
"Do something," Lucifer demanded as his brother crouched down next to him. Now that he was up close, the angel noticed the feather jutting out of Oriel's side and the blood on the devil's hands. Michael also saw that Lucifer's eyes were filled with fear and his face exhibited uncharacteristic anguish.
"She was struck by an angel's wing. I'm not sure there's anything anyone can do," the angel replied matter-of-factly as he looked down at Oriel.
"Then why did father send you?" Lucifer inquired coldly. "I doubt it was to see what you have wrought."
"I did not cause this," Michael protested. "If anyone is responsible, it's you."
"If you want to be angry with me, fine. Blame me and hate me if you will, but Oriel is still alive," the devil replied sharply. "Help her."
"She is barely clinging to life," the angel countered. "What do you expect me to do?" Michael had planned on seeing Lucifer hurt or in the middle of a brawl with Amenadiel upon his arrival. He had never expected to find Oriel near death.
"Bloody hell. I expect you to stop arguing with me and do what you were sent here for," Lucifer snarled with eyes blazing.
Michael glared back at his brother and picked Oriel up out of the devil's arms. The angel stood up cradling her limp body with care and unfurled his wings. Michael did not get involved in the lives of earth-dwelling creatures unless ordered to. The angel wasn't sure if trying to save an aos sí was what his father had intended when he sent him but he would now find out.
"Where are you taking her?" Lucifer asked as Michael rose into the air carrying Oriel. The only reply he received was the sound of wings in the distance.
#####
After Michael flew off with Oriel, Lucifer returned to Lux and quickly went up to the penthouse. As soon as he emerged from the elevator, he took off his jacket, stripped off his shirt, and tossed it aside. After re-dressing, the devil sat down in a leathered upholstered chair with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other staring at his bloodstained shirt which had landed nearby.
Lucifer wondered where Michael had taken Oriel. The devil could still feel the slightest bit of her power within him and assumed she was still alive. However, the void surrounding that lingering trace of her seemed to be growing and caused an uncomfortable and unfamiliar emptiness in him.
The penthouse elevator opened and Chloe suddenly appeared jarring Lucifer from his introspection. The detective had decided to try to find Lucifer and Oriel once the ominous thunder ceased and Trixie had been safely dropped off with her father.
"Where have you been? I've been trying to call you for hours. Is Oriel here?" she rattled off.
Lucifer picked up his head to look at her and the detective drew a breath; his face was slightly bruised from his encounter with Amenadiel and his expression drawn and filled with worry.
Spying the bloodstained shirt strewn on an adjacent chair she asked, "Are you okay?"
"I am fine," he pronounced and crushed out the cigarette.
"Oriel?" Chloe questioned again since she didn't see or hear the fae in the penthouse.
"She is with my brother," Lucifer told her honestly and drained his glass. He saw no point in trying to explain to the detective the entirety of what had happened.
"Your brother?" Chloe asked dubiously.
"Yes," as the devil answered time seemed to slow around him. Lucifer turned to see Michael entering the room from the balcony.
"Well?" Lucifer asked his brother as he stood up. He bent to look around the angel and towards the balcony expecting to see Oriel standing there.
"I did all I could," Michael replied somberly.
"All you could?" Lucifer questioned angrily. His dark eyes demanded more of an answer.
"She has not awakened. The way she was when I took her is the way the fae remains," the angel explained to his brother. Michael watched the devil look away and his face fall as he took in the news.
"I don't understand it either, but I am not about to ask Father," Michael said gently and then inquired. "Are you coming?"
"What?" Lucifer asked and focused his attention back to Michael and away from thoughts of the fae.
"I thought you might want to see Oriel. She did take an angel's feather for you, after all," Michael said. The angel then looked towards Chloe and continued, "If you have other plans…"
Lucifer's eyes flashed red for a split second before he suppressed his anger and told his brother evenly, "Give me a minute."
The angel walked back out to the balcony while Lucifer explained to Chloe that he had received an urgent call from his brother and needed to meet him immediately.
#####
"It's about time," a voice said as Oriel slowly opened her eyes. When her vision focused, she saw a familiar face that went with the voice. It was Mael, another aos sí who was gifted in healing. Oriel realized that she was no longer on the California beach but home and in her own bed. Almost immediately, she began trying to sit up.
"I wouldn't do that," Mael warned and watched Oriel wince in pain a few seconds later as she disregarded his warning.
"I would imagine that you're going to be sore for a time," said another voice that Oriel knew well. She turned her head to see Michael sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the large bed. The angel smiled broadly and Oriel quickly looked down to make sure the bedsheet was still covering her.
"How long have I been here?" Oriel asked aloud. She proceeded to attempt sitting up again, ignoring the advice she had been given. This time she braced herself for the pain, only to find that tactic didn't help much in alleviating the discomfort.
Michael swiftly got up from his seat and readjusted the pillows behind Oriel as he shook his head at her stubbornness. "Almost two days. Everyone's been very concerned," he told her. As the angel tried to make Oriel comfortable, Mael slipped out of the room and went to tell the others that she had finally opened her eyes.
"When did the rules change to allow angels on this side?" Oriel inquired as her eyes slowly brightened in her extremely pale face.
"You have more influence than you think. Turning up with you in my arms gained me immediate access," the angel told her.
"No one here could heal me without your help. What exactly did you do?" Oriel said bluntly while looking at the angel. She had felt the darkness overtaking her on the beach as life drained from her and Oriel knew that without divine assistance she would no longer be alive.
"Their abilities were critical," Michael assured her as he avoided her question. He was not ready to tell Oriel exactly what had gone into her healing. The fae watched him closely and allowed the angel to side step the question for the moment.
"And Lucifer?" she inquired. Now fully alert, the events on the beach had come flooding back. Oriel could only hope the devil hadn't done anything rash, like going after Amenadiel.
"Lucifer is his usual imperious, impetuous, and egotistical self. You can ask him yourself while I go assure everyone you're fine," Michael advised her. He then leaned in close with an amused smile on his face and whispered, "You may want to go easy on him, he hasn't slept since I brought him here."
"Two days without sleep?" Oriel asked. When the angel nodded in response, she added brashly, "You realize that's what your brother does every weekend?"
"Oriel," Michael said in mild reprimand before leaving her.
Lucifer was pacing the length of Oriel's sitting area turning a large piece of amber he had found on a table over and over in his hands. He had spent most of the past two days in this manner after initially looking in on Oriel to reassure himself that she was alive. Lucifer's pacing alternated with bouts of sitting in a chair and barely moving aside from hazarding an occasional glance towards her bedroom.
Michael gave the devil a nod as he exited Oriel's bedroom confirming that Oriel was awake. Lucifer placed the amber down and absently straightened his collar before entering the bedroom.
"Sleeping beauty awakens…no kiss needed after all," Lucifer said from the doorway.
"Were you volunteering?" Oriel inquired. "The devil as Prince Charming puts a whole new spin on things…and is a surprising improvement to the original story."
"I have been referred to as the Prince of Darkness on occasion and I am undeniably charming," he replied with a smile as he walked further into the room.
"Care to guess which half of that statement is correct?" the fae said drolly.
"I see your tongue came through unscathed," he told her with an arched eyebrow.
"It's about the only thing that doesn't hurt. Angel feather trumps demon blade pain wise, in case you were wondering," Oriel disclosed.
"I wasn't," Lucifer stated as he met her eyes and quickly looked away.
"Stirring up trouble with angels and escaped damned souls…I suppose my reputation as a hellion is assured now," she mused with a wry smile.
"I prefer to see you as spirited and tenacious…albeit rather vexing," he told her.
Oriel brightened as she considered his words and looked the devil up and down, "You're looking a little worse for wear."
Lucifer was decidedly unkempt; his jacket was nowhere to be seen and an extra button was undone on the shirt placket. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up unevenly and a rumpled shirt tail hung out in front. He moved to tuck it in as he followed her eyes.
"This is not the most comfortable place to be. They need to let bygones be bygones and get over it already," he rather vaguely explained to her as he stood by the side of the bed.
"You're right, it's silly to be upset with someone over something that happened eons ago," she replied with a challenging and unflinching look.
"My brother tells me you will make a full recovery," the devil said ignoring her remark and changing the subject.
"He didn't tell me that. I'm afraid to look," Oriel said and pulled the sheet down. An unknown aos sí had crafted a bandeau top and a short bottom white as starlight to protect her modesty – not that Oriel was concerned about that with Lucifer. The bandage on her torso glistened with the same light as the clothing Oriel was wearing.
"Is it bad?" she asked. After slight hesitation and with a distinct look of distaste on his face, Lucifer pulled a corner of the bandage away from her skin and cautiously peered underneath.
"I think you'll be fine. It's amazing what a little divine intervention can do," the devil declared and proceeded to remove the rest of the bandage somewhat haphazardly causing Oriel to grimace.
The fae looked down at the bruise and gingerly touched the area. An inquiry into what amount of divine intervention had gone into her recovery was put on hold by Mael coming back into the bedroom.
"That's looking much better," he said upon seeing the bandage had been removed. The aos sí then shot a disparaging glance at Lucifer.
Oriel could see Lucifer's jaw set and temper start to flare. Before the devil could respond she quickly interjected, "Am I allowed to eat?"
"Of course. I'll see what I can find," the Mael answered.
"For two, Mael," Oriel said. The stern look on her face effectively ended any reproach that may have crossed the other aos sí's mind.
"There's a bottle over on the bookshelf you really should try if you haven't already," Oriel told Lucifer. As she pointed in the direction across the bedroom she winced at the movement.
"It would hurt less if you move less," the devil told her with impish delight in his eyes and on his face. He walked over and picked up a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve whiskey from a shelf where it sat with two glasses.
"Thanks for the tip, Dr. Morningstar," Oriel answered acerbically.
"When did you stop appreciating my bedside manner?" he asked startled by her tone. She stared back at him silently. Although she was happy that Lucifer was there, Oriel was still upset with what he had said to her during their argument.
"I can remove it, you know. You will be free of me and my tongue," she finally told him referring to their binding as she involuntarily rubbed a spot just beneath her collarbone where his presence resided. Since opening her eyes, Oriel had consciously restrained her power closing herself off from everyone including Lucifer.
"You appear to need someone to keep an eye on you…and I rather like your tongue," he said with a sly sideways glance followed by a slight shake of his head negating her suggestion. Oriel's eyes flashed brightly as she unleashed her power and she watched the devil surreptitiously smile as her familiar essence overtook the emptiness in him.
When Lucifer offered her the glass he poured she declined with a shake of her head. "I think I'll try food first." she told him.
"You're holding out on me, Oriel – in more ways than one," Lucifer said after taking a sip and looking at the bottle with admiration.
"Why do I think you're not entirely talking about the whiskey?" she asked wide-eyed and gestured for him to sit on the bed.
"Two glasses and an open bottle of whiskey in your bedroom. Add that to Mael not being very pleased with my presence, one begins to wonder," the devil replied as he sat down next to her.
"You aren't going to start that again? Except for myself, I would guess that no one is pleased with your – or Michael's – presence," Oriel stated calmly. "As for there being two glasses…maybe I always hoped you'd show up here."
"Which leads us to the next item," he said. "Here."
"Here?" she asked with a puzzled look on her face.
"Here, Oriel. All of this," Lucifer said and gestured around the room and beyond. The land of the aos sí mirrored the land around the Tor. While the exteriors of the dwellings that dotted the landscape appeared centuries old, the interiors were updated to their resident's tastes thanks to innate magic. Oriel's quaint home held treasures she had collected from her visits on the human side of the world.
"I don't understand," she answered.
"You don't understand? Are you not the fae that seeks out caves, clearings, and mountainsides to sleep?" the devil asked seriously.
"Lucifer, you didn't really think I lived in a cave for all these centuries, did you?" Oriel asked with bright eyes as she stifled a laugh knowing it would hurt.
"Considering that you were not living in a cave when I first happened upon you, no. But this is a bit more than I imagined," he said and touched the silk sheet.
"This is nowhere near your penthouse; I'm just a simple girl," she replied.
"You are far from simple, Oriel," Mael said as he walked into the bedroom carrying a tray with two plates of food. He placed the tray on a side table and looked pointedly at Lucifer.
"I do believe he was referring to me," Lucifer said when Mael left the room.
Oriel just shrugged. "Not everyone has these sheets," she said with a wicked gleam in her eyes.
The devil picked up the tray and placed it on the bed near Oriel. He then handed her a fork and gestured for her to start eating. Once Lucifer saw Oriel take a few small bites, he picked up the other fork and began eating.
From the bedroom doorway, Michael cleared his throat. He had been standing there unobtrusively for some time watching and not wanting to interrupt. The angel knew Lucifer had been deeply affected by Oriel's dire situation and needed the time to convince himself of her well-being.
"Now that you're recovering, we must go," the angel said stepping into the room. "I've thanked the aos sí for their assistance and hospitality – as should you."
Lucifer reluctantly got up from the bed and looked upward at his brother's words.
"Can't you wait until morning? We need to talk," Oriel said to Lucifer while glowering at the angel. She wanted answers on what had happened to her since being wounded on the beach.
"Yes, we do, but not right now," Lucifer responded. "Things have changed and I need to go."
"Go where? What's changed?" Oriel demanded and looked back and forth between Lucifer and Michael.
"Back to Lux, of course," the devil replied. He paused and looked at her curiously, "Oriel, surely you don't think? I – AM NOT – returning to Hell; that much is certain."
"What's so important at Lux?" Oriel pressed. She knew she wasn't getting the whole truth from Lucifer or his angelic brother.
"Lucifer, we need to leave," Michael interjected and tossed the devil's suit jacket at him. The angel's words caused Oriel to shoot another scathing glance in his direction.
"Now is not the time, peri fae," he said leaning in close to her and brushing his fingers just below her collarbone. "Once you heal and get your strength back, we will talk."
