The song here is "Blood On My Hands" by Danielle Parente
Blood On My Hands
Nikolai had joked that walking into Hell, it would be a grand entrance with a celebration. Yet, he was right. As Clara walked into Hell and made her way to their apartment, the demons stepped out and sneaked a peak at Keara and lowered themselves in her presence. They also looked up at Clara and there was something in their eyes; they looked at her as if she was a Goddess.
She was a Cambion that gave birth to another with the King of Hell. Damned rights, they should look at her as if she was a Goddess.
For once, Clara felt good in her skin; felt like there was nothing that gave her cause to worry or to fear. Hell no, she was the Queen of Hell. Keara and her just slaughtered angels without even meeting them face to face. How incredible was that! Beat that, most powerful Goddess of Destruction. A new deity of Hell breaking epic proportions has arrived into town.
As she was about to turn into the corridor that lead to their apartment, Crowley wrapped his arm around her waist, gesturing to another corridor. She arched an eyebrow at him, but he insisted. Apparently, it was something he really wanted her to see. She could tell by the glimmer in his eyes.
Once they turned down that corridor, the demons vanished and Clara was left alone with Crowley, Nikolai and Ginger who just appeared out of nowhere, trotting along with them, sniffing the air as if taking in Keara's scent. A slight growl erupted from her, as if she was content.
"Where are we going?" she asked Crowley and he just grinned at her.
"It's a surprise." He asked her and she began to wonder. His usual surprises for her were a new outfit or dress. However, the glimmer in his eyes made her think that this was much bigger than a dress. She glanced over at Nikolai who also grinned.
Alright, something was going on.
The walk was quite a long one, and it was also silent. Clara continued glancing at the both of them and they seemed like school girls trying not to be giddy. Clara soon suspected they were heading to the undeveloped part of Hell that Crowley claimed he was saving for a tavern. At some point, she hoped he wasn't planning on naming it after his daughter. She doubted he would, because she knew him so well, but with Nikolai grinning, she knew it had to be something crazy. The two of them never shared anything but a mutual sentiment of annoyance, let alone a secret.
When they got there, Crowley stood behind her and covered her eyes smoothly. Now, she was really worried. He had never done something like this. He gently guided her forward and then whispered into her ear that she could now see her surprise.
When he pulled his hands back, and she focused her eyes, she was staring at an enormous beautiful face of a mansion built into the stone wall of Hell. It reminded Clara of Al Khazneh, the wonderful temple in Petra. Only this place had a twist of Hell. Large columns rose on each side of the entrance and there were sculptures of terrifying beautiful figures and Hellhounds carved into the design of the place. It was an architectural dream!
"A mansion?" she asked, staring up at the details and loving every one of them. This gave Al Khazneh a run for its money. It was absolutely beautiful and it belonged to Clara. It rendered her speechless.
"You deserve better than an apartment." Crowley said and fell silent, as if he too was admiring their new home. Yet, Clara glanced at him and knew where he was getting at. She gave him a beautiful Cambion daughter and his gift to her, as gratitude, was this luxurious mansion. Not only that, but she felt it was also his way of apologizing to her; letting her know how important she is to him. Still, emotions too strong for him to put into words, but he found his own way to say he was sorry and happy: he put them into a gesture.
"It's still in its construction phase, but it'll be marvelous." Crowley said, not looking away from it. She smiled as she stared at him and approached him where his arm reached out to her automatically, holding her against him.
"It already is." She said and the corner of his lips twitched as he fought a grin.
"Let's have a look, shall we?" he asked her and they approached the place. The closer they got, the more Clara could see the careful and elegant details in the sculptures. It was breathtaking. The figures were intimidating, like they pierced through you with their cold stares; despite the fact their sockets were hollow. Yet, she found them to be glorious. And the Hellhounds seemed so real, like she expected them to jump out of the stone face and snap their jaws at any unwelcomed guests. That would have been amazing.
Crowley opened the door and it seemed so large and heavy, but yet so impressive. Even the door had ghostly figures and Hellhounds carved into it. It reminded her of a modern take on the gates to the Greek Underworld. She walked in with little Keara and the place was indeed still in construction. Crowley cleared his throat as if he knew this was a letdown. It was a mess with tools and material lying around.
"It'll be spacious. Keara will have plenty of room to run around and play." He added and Clara glanced at him and grinned. "Why don't you go on a tour with Nikolai." Crowley said as he looked at their Knight. She knew he was up to something, but she went along with it anyway, since she was sort of curious.
Once they were out of sight, she glanced at Nikolai and quickly took advantage of their alone time to gather some information.
"He's up to something." She said and he met her eyes with his charming grin. "I don't like it." she added and his grin broadened.
"Of course he's up to something. He planned it." he replied and placed his hands in his pockets. "I was supposed to let him know that the walls were up, but, you know, it's been busy in Hell." He added and she snorted.
"You mean the little Hell Cookie arrived too fast." She said and he smiled.
"You called her Hell Cookie." He said and when he met her eyes, he knew she didn't like the nickname; in fact, she was annoyed by it. "How about just Cookie?" he asked and when she gave a twitch of a smile, he knew she had approved.
They looked on at unfinished walls in silence. He would point and announce which room this was and which room that was, but Nikolai knew she was bursting with questions.
"This is part of his apology, isn't it?" she asked and he smiled.
"Yes, but when he said that you deserved better than an apartment, that is also a reason why he built this for you." Nikolai replied and when she looked at him, he knew he had to tell her. "Before you, Crowley only cared about business. When we got word that the angels were planning an attack, he told me he'd rather lose Hell then you and Keara." He said and her expression seemed solid like stone, but her eyes softened.
She glanced down at little Keara, stroked her cheek tenderly like only a mother would, and glanced back up at Nikolai, her stone expression fading.
"I've always known." She replied with a soft smile. "No words were ever needed." She added and Nikolai smiled along with her and they concluded the tour.
In the meanwhile, Crowley had been busy with the sigils he had selected, carrying out his plan. He painted each one with precision, thinking of his precious family. When Clara returned, she stopped and stared at the front wall, jaw dropped.
"What do you think, darling?" Crowley asked her innocently as he was bandaging his bloody hand. He looked up at her with an innocent smile and all Clara could do was stare at the wall that was plastered with bloody sigils. "Does the mansion meet your satisfaction?" he asked, once again, innocently.
"What the Hell have you done to my wall?" she asked him, uncertain of what to think, ignoring his question.
"I painted sigils, darling." He replied and she gasped in an annoyed fashion.
"Why?" she asked and he seemed slightly puzzled, as if he couldn't understand why she still had not yet come to recognize sigils and their significations.
"In case of an invasion, my blood split in this house will enable these sigils to act like a seal." He added and Clara was stunned into silence as she was trying to comprehend this. "Not that I think you couldn't annihilate a threat. I doubt we'll employ this line of protection, but I'd rather not take the risk." He added and she gasped again as if annoyed.
"Spill your blood?" she asked, as if she was stuck on that and didn't hear the rest of what he had said. "Clarify that for me." she said dryly.
Nikolai stood still and watched the couple while trying not to grin. Post delivery Clara was hilarious. She wasn't taking any shit, not even from Crowley.
"I simply shed a few drops of blood onto the wall." Crowley replied and she stared at him in silence, her glare piercing him as if she didn't like that idea.
"Could have told me about it." she said in a cold tone and Crowley grinned slightly.
However, Nikolai watched attentively and quickly realized that Crowley wasn't revealing the whole truth due to her foul mood about the sigils. He cleared his throat and Crowley got the message. He sighed and looked away from Clara.
"Of course, my essence would render these walls impenetrable to even the strongest beast." He added and Clara was silent, but only for a second. Her anger quickly kicked in.
"What?" she snapped harshly. "You better not mean death, Crowley." she said and he placed his hands into his pockets, as if this wasn't a big deal.
"I doubt anything will have the boldness to attack and I highly doubt we couldn't handle it." He said and she growled. "Just a precaution." He added. At that moment, Nikolai's phone echoed part of the song "Barbie Girl" by Aqua. As Clara was continuing her snapping at Crowley, Nikolai read the text message he received.
"Nerilla's asking for orders to release the Cromwells." He said, looking at Crowley for a command.
"Yes, the humans should be fine. Get her back: she has work that she has neglected." Crowley said and Nikolai texted his response.
Clara growled again and began leaving the mansion. They were ignoring her. That only fueled her rage, but she was finished talking about Crowley's possible suicidal means of protection.
"We're done talking about this and I don't appreciate you changing the subject, knowing that I'm not happy about it." she said and Nikolai grinned as Crowley smiled, following her out.
"Quite an act of devotion on my part, I believe; perhaps one worthy of forgiveness, on someone's part." He said and she growled, murmuring under her breath that he was a little bastard. Nikolai's grin widened. It was typical Crowley to act all smug, annoying Clara to the full extent. They couldn't get mad at each other.
"Yeah, you're sorry ass if forgiven, for now." She snapped. Nikolai couldn't help but let out a small laugh, although he knew those sigils bothered her greatly even if she tried not to let them affect her. She couldn't imagine losing Crowley and those sigils frightened her with the fact that that might be a slight possibility in the future.
They continued bickering all the way to the apartment and Nikolai stopped just shortly from their door, making sure that no one would try to sneak another peak at the happy little family. At that moment, Nerilla finally arrived and had a large smile on her face.
"Keara's so cute!" she squealed, making Nikolai wince. "How's Clara?" she asked and he faked a smile.
"Pissed at Crowley." he replied and explained it all to Nerilla, who didn't seem surprised, except for the part where Crowley painted the wall red. Yes, Crowley's will to sacrifice himself for his family would change the way Hell scrutinized him, if the demons ever found out, which Nikolai doubted. "Yeah, never a dull moment in Hell."
The End.
My apologies for not seeing Anne and Gadreel one last time, but it just felt right to end the story this way. And just so you know, I am writing a third part with Clara and Crowley… and of course, Keara. And yes, Anne and Gadreel will be there too.
I have big plans, so stay tuned and continue with your wonderful reviews. I always love reading them.
Thank you for reading and following the story! This has been so much fun and your reviews are what motivate me to write my story, no matter how busy I am.