Part One: Dark One
Chapter Six: What Demons Worship And Angels Fear
You say that I'm a monster;
Trust me, I know.
How do you think I learned to spit my words like poison
And rip into my surroundings?
I embraced my true self,
The demon nature in me,
And dedicated myself to learning the art
Of deceit and trickery and theft.
I have a great appreciation of destruction and chaos, you see.
It's a treat to see this much suffering
In the one that sits before me,
Once called stoic; you're pathetic.
Begging for mercy from one so unyielding as I.
April 25th, 2011
The dress Dakota brought Adrienne fell to the floor, wine-red silk wrapping tightly around her body, tight around her waist, courtesy of the black belt. Black tungsten earrings with rubies hang from her ears. A matching choker was aptly named, so tightly clasped she could barely breathe, though she did not need to. Her hair fell in its natural waves, a careful braid from each side of her head coming together in the middle, with her head crowned with a thin circlet circlet. Adrienne sipped at the demon blood which Dakota had mixed some wine into, which made it less metallic even if she couldn't stand the smell. Dakota carefully applied eye shadow to her while she stood still in front of the full-length mirror. She's dressed in a more minimalist style, but still beautiful in a black velvet gown with an emerald-green sash and matching flats.
The demon caught her nervous look and smiled comfortingly. "Don't worry. Everything's going to be alright."
"Easy for you to say," Adrienne replied, but didn't continue even at Dakota's prompting. The demon soon shrugged and continued her work, soon beginning the lipstick.
The door opened, allowing Vetis to come in, smiling when he saw her. "You look lovely," he said quickly standing in front of her.
Adrienne turned to him nervously, accidentally causing Dakota to smear her makeup. "Are they here?"
Vetis nodded eagerly. "Over two dozen."
"That's not a lot," Adrienne said thoughtfully.
"Don't worry, these are just the most powerful of Lucifer's old circle. There are hundreds, thousands even more who still follow him."
"Well that makes me so much less nervous."
Vetis smiled and brushed her hair back, caressing her face. "Relax. They will love you."
"I don't care if they love me," Adrienne said bitingly, "I only care whether or not they will follow me."
Vetis was relentless in his cheer. "They will. How could they not? You are the most powerful thing to have walked this earth since your father. They know that."
"And if they don't?"
"Then show them." He smiled as though there was a secret only he knew and leaned in to stage whisper to her. "Also, I have a gift for you." He leaned back on his feet, cheerful.
"Really? What is it?" Her anticipation made her remember her last Christmas, which coincided with her birthday. Last year's celebration was the only real memory of it, and something she held very close to her.
Vetis shook his head. "I can't tell you that. It's a surprise."
Adrienne pouted. "I hate surprises."
"I know," he cooed, brushing her hair back. "But this one will be worth the wait." Vetis was silent for a moment before motioning to the door with his head. "Come on. It's time to meet your people." He took her arm, leading her through out to the dark hall, lit only by pillar candles in sconces every few feet. Dakota followed them. They walked silently down the hall. Adrienne thought they were like a funeral procession, idly remembering her grandfather's funeral before it slipped between her fingers, leaking out of her mind as she realized it was fake.
They stopped at a black door with a bronze handle. Vetis went in the room first, holding up a hand when Adrienne attempted to follow him, leaving her alone with the demon before Dakota silently left to enter the room through a different door in the back where the others had gone while Adrienne stood alone in the hall, entertaining herself by changing the colors of the fire produced by the ivory candles in the sconces.
Vetis felt he'd earned the right to be smug as the demons' eyes fell on him. Could any of them have accomplished what be did? Of course not. He had taken an innocent girl and turned her into a vengeful, terrifying killer in a matter of weeks. No demon could have done that.
Before he came in, the demons had been talking amongst themselves, likely wondering why Vetis had summoned them out of hiding. Now they stopped, silently staring at him. He knew they wanted to speak, to ask questions, but they knew what he was and were unsure of whether or not they could trust that he wouldn't kill them for it.
For the most part, they were followers of Lucifer from the first apocalypse, but there was one that was a spy from Crowley. He was also an idiot, easily picked out from the others by his expensive black suit. Vetis had no doubt that he would do or say something stupid, allowing himself or Adrienne to make an example of him. It wouldn't matter if he didn't. There was warding throughout the house to prevent any of the demons from leaving unless Vetis allowed it. He was not getting out of here alive.
The demon spoke up now, "Why are we here?"
Vetis smirked, appearing next to him. "Excellent question."
Several demons jumped back in fear. Vetis slowly walked throughout the room, making sure all eyes were on him.
"Everyone here," he said, voice echoing throughout the room, "was a follower of Lucifer. I trust," he paused, looking around at the nervous red and black eyes, "that everyone still is?
The demons nodded eagerly, some of them speaking to assure him that they would never betray Lucifer or his fallen brother. Crowley's spy was still.
Vetis smiled, brown eyes shining. "Standing outside that door," he pointed to the balcony, "is Adrienne Lucille Morgenstern."
A few of the demons - members of Lucifer's inner circle - were shocked, eyes wide as they stared where he'd pointed. The majority just looked at each other in confusion, wondering why that was important.
Vetis continued, "Adrienne, is the daughter of Lucifer."
Confusion swept through the crowd. Several of the demons gave out little shouts that Vetis hoped Adrienne didn't hear, and seemed to be moving far more than was necessary.
Annoyed, and a bit angry, Vetis stomped on the floor, gritting his teeth as his eyes flashed red and his hands formed fists. "Shut up!"
The demons stood still and stared at him for several minutes. Finally, the spy claimed, "That's not possible! There are no children of Lucifer, and there never have been!"
Vetis closed his eyes and grit his teeth, feeling the vein in his forehead pulse as he attempted to reign in his anger. After a moment he opened his eyes, brown again, and smiled cheerfully, sadistically. The spy squirmed and shrank back.
Vetis said, "There never has been before, no. But Adrienne was born when Lucifer was last on earth, during the apocalypse."
One of them demons frowned before saying, "But that was only one, two years ago. Anyone born then would be a toddler, barely able to stand on its own -"
"Adrienne was aged using magic. She's an adult now, and is here to raise Lucifer from his prison." Rather or not she wants to is a completely different matter.
"How powerful is she?" Another woman asked. "Can she kill angels?"
Vetis smiled. "Let's find out."
The door opened, and Adrienne quickly bounced off of the wall she'd been leaning against, straightening her back and running a hand through her hair. She saw Vetis, motioning for her to join him. She walked slowly, trying not to look like she was about to pass out. It was similar to the feeling one had when you had to present a project, except with demons instead of students or coworkers. The thought was not comforting.
Once past the door, she realized the two of them were standing alone on a wrought iron balcony. Vetis stood off to the side as she stepped forward, wrapping her hands around the railing. Beside the fallen angel was a small stand, reminiscent of the controls used for rides at amusement parks, with a few colored buttons. Below them, over twenty demons stared up with black and red eyes that glinted in the soft candlelight, mouths gaping. They stared at each other, none of them sure what exactly they were supposed to do, while Vetis stood off to the side looking smug. It was clear that they did not know what to make of her. Adrienne caught Dakota's gaze in the back. The demon nodded to her and smiled reassuringly. It did little to help her nerves.
So quietly a human wouldn't have heard from where she was standing, one of the demons snorted.
Adrienne's eyes narrowed as she looked down on the demon. He caught her gaze and held it, looking incredibly sure of himself in an impeccable black suit, smirking in a way that reminded her of Vetis, which was unnerving in and of itself.
Without moving, Adrienne allowed her eyes to shine white as she sought out the demon, slowly smiting it. It fell to its knees on the ground, clawing desperately at its throat as though someone were choking it. The demons backed away in shock and fear, leaving the area around it clear for several feet. It screamed as her light encompassed it, burning away the life. When she was done, all that was left was a cold body and two burnt eye sockets.
The demons were silent, some staring at the body, others gaping up at her. One by one, they lowered themselves, to the ground, kneeling with their heads bowed. Confused, Adrienne turned to Vetis. He merely smiled at her and kneeled, like a knight. She turned back to the demons, who were still kneeling. Adrienne took a deep breath and adopted a cold countenance before speaking. "Rise."
The demons stood almost in unison, rapt with attention.
Adrienne was at a lost with what to do. Vetis squeezed her arm reassuringly and looked to the crowd. "Your fealty is admirable, but Adrienne has yet to do anything worthy of such praise."
Adrienne looked at him like he was crazy. Vetis winked at her and mouthed 'trust me'. As of two seconds ago she was
no longer sure that was a good idea, but she listened to him and turned back to the room, hoping that she didn't look as sick as she felt.
Vetis kept talking. "Anyone can kill a demon. I can, any of you could. It's easy. But angels... that's a completely different story." He moved back to the metal box Adrienne had seen when she came in and pressed a few of the buttons.
The sound of metal moving against metal filled the room as the space in the middle of the floor shifted. Demons quickly backed out of the way, forcing themselves against the wall so that they were all pressed much closer than would be comfortable.
There was a hole in the floor. Through it rose a platform. On the left and right side were poles standing several feet, made of a gleaming white material with matching chains. Secured by the chains was a man, completely naked, with his bowed head shadowing his body, his chains too tight around his wrists to allow any give. His chest, back, and arms were covered in cuts, some no more than scratches, others more akin to gouges. His pale blond hair framed him like a halo.
Angel.
The demons screamed in excitement, like fans at a rock concert. They jeered and threw insults at the angel, who refused to acknowledge their presence. Adrienne's stomach lurched when Vetis teleported them onto the stage, raised a few inches from the ground. Vetis was a step behind her. He grabbed her hand and pressed a triple-edged dagger into her hand. When she looked at it, she saw that it was of the same material as the poles and chains.
The angel was absolutely pitiful, more so than any human or demon she had killed. For a moment, she thought of mercy.
Vetis stood close to her back and whispered to her, lips brushing against her ear, "This is one of the angels sent to find you. He watched as your father died."
Adrienne's thoughts of kindness died as her gaze turned hard. The angel - Kushiel, Vetis whispered - looked up at her. Its vessels eyes were golden, but Adrienne could see past that to the light, far brighter than Vetis was, though the fallen angel had once far outshone his captured brother. Kushiel's face changed from brief confusion to pure disgust as he grit his teeth and snarled at her. "Abomination."
Adrienne calmly walked around to the back of the angel. If she focused enough, she could see its golden wings. They were uninjured.
Angel wings existed on another dimension, but they could be pulled into this one, usually by the angel. Now Adrienne gripped one of them, forcing into physical form. The angel jerked and tried to pull away, but her grip was too strong. She traced the bone connecting it to the back with the blade. Without blinking, she severed it. It fell to the ground without interference, leaving blood and grace to cover the left side of the angel's back.
Kushiel let out a high-pitched scream that sounded throughout the room. The demons cheer, but Adrienne didn't notice them, too busy was she with the other wing. It joined its brother on the floor. The angel's head drooped lower than before, too weak to look up.
Adrienne's face twisted into a sneer as she dropped the blade, hearing it clamor on the floor. She grabbed the angel's face, digging her nails into his cheeks, gouging the flesh. It whimpered as Adrienne forced it to look at her, pressing their foreheads together.
"You're right," she said, voice barely above a whisper. "I'm an abomination, and a monster, and a nephilim." Blood spilled down his cheeks as Adrienne dug her nails in further, eyes white. "And I am going to burn your world down."
The angel exploded when Adrienne finished talking, sending blood, flesh, and silver-blue grace flying across the room, covering Adrienne and most of the demons within a second. The chains fell to the stage.
The demons were still, stunned into silence. After a few seconds, they began to cheer as Adrienne stood, face red from blood, dress ruined. Vetis stood behind her, smiling proudly.
Crowley resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the demon in front of him. He was dressed more simply than his partner had been, with a plain t-shirt and worn jeans. It was simpering with its head hung low, seemingly trying to find what to say.
"Well?" Crowley asked impatiently. "What happened? Where's the other one?"
The demon gulped, eyes flashing black from nerves. "She killed him."
Crowley blinked. "Who killed him?"
"Adrienne."
"Who the bloody hell is Adrienne?" He was starting to get seriously irritated.
"Adrienne Morgenstern. She's Lucifer's daughter."
Crowley laughed. "That's insane. Lucifer doesn't have any children."
The demon shook his head. "I saw her. She killed Henry without even touching him. She killed an angel."
Crowley frowned. "What did she use? An angel blade?"
The demon hesitated before saying, "She used a blade to cut off its wings, but she killed it with her mind."
Crowley thought on this for several seconds before saying, "Charles-"
"My name is James."
Crowley scowled at him. "Charles, as of now your job is to find out everything you can about Adrienne. Now leave, before I feed you to Juliet."
A/N: The poem from the beginning is "And all the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't stop hell from coming to them" by steebucks on tumblr.