Chapter Thirty - In my Dreams
Almost shyly, the half moon peeps through the clouds and sends its pale light through the window on the upper floor of the small log cabin, which is otherwise in complete darkness and silence.
It is two hours after midnight, and all the inhabitants are sleeping the sleep of the more or less righteous, when one of the three young men begins to stir restlessly in the double king-size bed.
"Luuuucifer..." Rarely had his name been cursed like that, and that alone sent shivers down his spine. And in that moment, he didn't recognize him, and for the first time since he knew him, he was really afraid of him. And it turned into panic when that huge paw closed around his skull and the pointed fingernails scratched his scalp. It took all his willpower to stop shaking, because...
Warm, strong fingers running through his hair and a voice he could only remember in his dreams:
"Listen, my son, remember one thing well, for it is vital to your survival: never show fear to these creatures, for they feed on it".
The first drops of sweat form on Urushihara's pale forehead, sparkling like diamonds in the faint moonlight.
The gentle hands on the back of his head grow and become paws again, with pointed, black fingernails.
"Someone has to show you where your place is." Deep red eyes that promise suffering and pain and a grin that reveals dangerous fangs.
Suddenly there is a foot in his neck, pushing him face first into the street dust. Worse than the pain, as small pieces of glass and concrete rip his face open, even worse than the rising panic, is the feeling of humiliation.
He does not kneel before anyone, for thousands of years he has not bowed his eyes and bowed before anyone, and Satan knows this, he knows his pride. And still he forces him to do it, with a smug grin that goes from ear to ear.
He throws him into the dust as if he were nothing! In front of his enemies!
He sees himself kneeling from above, the grinning Maou Sadao looking down on him, as well as all the others: Ashiya Shirou, Yusa Emi and, to make matters worse, the human child Sasaki Chiho.
Urushihara's throat is tightened by a soft groan, and a deep furrow begins to form between his eyebrows. Seeking help, his fingers claw into Maou's pajama top.
Suddenly there is a flash of white in the left corner of his eye, and then Gabriel gently strokes his wings with his right hand, and where he touches his feathers, the raven-black turns swan-white.
Gabriel's indulgent smile makes a string vibrate inside him, and a hint of homesickness spreads through him.
"In all the three hundred years you've known him, has he ever dealt with one of his other generals like this? No, right? Even the lowest subordinate was respected more than you."
"I am not his subordinate, I serve no one."
Gabriel just smiles and stares, just like him, at the scene below them, which seems to be frozen in time.
"Why should he be so nice to you all of a sudden, hmmmm?"
Gabriel's wings beat in the exact same rhythm as his own as they remain in place. And this typical synchronicity only intensifies his longing for home.
"This is not real, Lucifer."
Gabriel takes his hand gently.
"None of this."
Wine red, startlingly serious eyes pierce deep into his.
"Nothing."
Suddenly, Urushihara opens his eyes.
All of a sudden, he is lying there again, with the icy snow beneath him and the trees beside him groaning under the weight of the snow. He blinks up at the dark sky as the snowflakes fall on him.
With every breath he takes, he sends little white clouds into the icy air.
Slowly, he straightens up into a sitting position.
A second later, he is lying in the mud. Black dots dance before his eyes. The sounds of the battlefield reach his ears only muffled, while the warm pool of his own blood grows louder beneath him. His chest burns as if someone had filled it with acid, and every breath is an agony.
And then he is back in the snow and Gabriel is standing in front of him, holding out his hand and smiling at him.
"Come home, Lucifer."
And Lucifer...
takes Gabriel's hand.
"What the hell? " Maou shouts, sitting up, wide awake from one second to the next. Something woke him, and while his eyes were still trying to adjust to the dim light, the feeling that something terrible had happened grew stronger and stronger.
"My Lord...?" Ashiya woke up sleepily beside him.
At the sound of his voice, Maou turns his head in his direction and suddenly, an icy cold hand reaches for his heart. Shocked, he stares into the empty space between them.
"Lucifer? "
He jumps out of bed and stares, eyes wide open, at the place where his fallen angel should be.
"Maybe he's in the bathroom? " Ashiya suggests hesitantly, trying not to be infected by his king's panic.
Irritated, he watches as his king, probably following some inspiration, whirls to the window, looks outside, screams in shock, and storms out of the room.
And while Maou is already rumbling down the stairs, Ashiya also rushes curiously to the window. He glances down into the garden and runs after his king.
"Ouch. Ouch." Maou gives a painful jerk as his bare soles touch the snow, but he pushes it aside, as well as the icy air that hits him with full force. Fortunately, they have been trampling the snow here for the past few days, and there is no new snow, so he can run quickly.
"Lucifer!" As fast as he can, he dashes to his general, passing a whole army of snowmen of different sizes.
Some with carrot noses, some without.
Some with stones for eyes, others with chestnuts.
In the bluish moonlight, they seem to watch him.
"Lucifer."
Finally he reachs him and takes him by the arm.
Since he saw him from above, his general hasn't moved an inch. He is still standing, only in a T-shirt and sweatpants, barefoot as he is in the snow, and he does not react to Maou's presence. Not to his voice, not to his touch.
But Maou has no time to think about it, his only desire is to get him out of this cold and into the warm cabin as soon as possible. And so he just grabs him tighter and pulls him back by his arm.
"What are you doing out here? What's wrong with you? Are you an idiot or what?"
Urushihara follows him without resistance with strange stiff movements, but Maou pays no attention. Ashiya welcomes them into the open door with a red blanket, which he immediately puts around Urushihara's shoulders.
Maou only slows his pace when they are standing in the middle of the room. Only then does he turn to Urushihara and look into his face for the first time.
One look is enough to understand what has happened.
"Fuck, you're sleepwalking."
Ashiya comes over with two towels, kneels down, and without a word begins to dry first Urushihara's feet and then his King's feet, while Maou, now that the adrenaline rush has subsided, suddenly does not know what to do.
He read somewhere that you shouldn't wake a sleepwalker, right?
Even as he thinks about it, Emi and Chiho appear in their flannel pajamas. They have been torn out of their sleep and attracted by the noise.
"What have you stupid demons done now? " Emi wants to know immediately.
"Is something wrong with Urushihara-san?" worried, Chiho rushes in and stands next to Maou to examine Urushihara thoroughly from head to toe. When the blanket threatens to slip over his shoulders, she pulls it up again and wraps him even tighter.
She touches his cheek.
"He's very cold," she exclaims, startled. "How long has he been outside? "
"I don't know," Maou shivers and adjusts his own blanket. "He sleepwalks," he adds, explaining what only causes Emi to look at the ceiling in annoyance - as if not everyone can see that clearly.
"I don't know why. He doesn't usually do this," Maou complains, feeling increasingly helpless. "What are we going to do with him now? How do you deal with something like this? Chi-chan, can you google it? "
"Just tie yourselves together," Emi suggests amusedly. "Then you will at least notice it in time next time."
"Mama?" Alas-Ramus stumbles up from the dark hallway. She holds Okto in her right hand and rubs her eyes sleepily with the other. She yawns heartily, but when she sees Urushihara, she is immediately wide awake.
"What about my Lucifer? Is my Lucifer okay? Lucifer? "
Before anyone can stop her, she rushes to him and wraps her arms around his knees.
"Lucifer? "
As soon as she touches him, he convulses violently and suddenly it is as if he is a puppet that has been cut. He falls to his knees and is immediately embraced by a worried toddler.
But the way she strokes his dark purple hair is anything but childlike.
"Frater meus iuvenis," they all hear her mutter, "Tantum has tantum in te potestatem, quantum permittis."
"My little brother," Ashiya translates, murmuring to himself. "Do not be afraid. They only have as much power over you as you allow them to have."
Emi and Chiho look at him in amazement.
"You know angel language?" Emi whispers to him. She does not dare to raise her voice. The behavior of her foster daughter fills her with an almost holy awe.
Ashiya just nods in silence.
Maou giggles nervously and scratches his neck.
"He speaks it fluently," he admits.
He's embarrassed, but he really has forgotten.
Emi just gives an "hm" and her gaze rests thoughtfully on Alas-Ramus and Urushihara.
So, she thinks of him as her little brother? Well, I guess that explains why our sunshine always protects him.
"Alas-chan?" Maou carefully sits down next to her. "What do you mean? Who is Lucifer afraid of?" He can't help it, but he's really worried about her answer. Still - he has to know, how else could he help his general? It is not Alas' job to protect Lucifer, it is his!
He's mine. MINE! I found him first!
Alas-Ramus gives him a long look over Lucifer's shoulder. Again, her purple eyes shimmer with that ancient silver light, and it feels as if she is looking deep into his soul.
But before she can say anything, Urushihara lifts his head. His blind eyes sparkle.
"The only thing," he grumbles harshly, "I'm afraid, Maou-sama, that our Alas-chan will catch a cold if our heroine doesn't put her back in her warm, soft bed right away."
Maou flinches as if hit, but swallows the biting remark on his tongue.
"Phhh..." Emi just snorts, leans down to Alas-Ramus and takes her in her arms. The little girl actually lets go without any objections, but only after she has put her stuffed animal into Urushihara's hand.
She doesn't say a word and obediently lets herself be carried back to her room, but the look she gives her foster father over Emi's shoulder doesn't seem appropriate for a toddler. Neither does the mischievous smile that suddenly twitches at the corners of her mouth.
"Lucifer?" Now that she's gone, Mao dares to put a hand on his general's shoulder. And when he doesn't flinch from the touch, Mao becomes bolder, taking his hand and gently pulling him up with him.
Chiho's gut instinct tells her to do the same as Emi and withdraw as well, so she pats Urushihara's shoulder once more, murmurs a farewell and quickly follows the redhead.
Urushihara hugs Okto tightly to his chest and waits until he hears the click of her room door before asking an important question:
"What the hell happened?"