Chapter 4

The Morningstar twins stood side by side in a secluded and far-off corner of the Silver City. This area of Heaven was almost only ever frequented by the Nephilim – there was nothing there for humans to enjoy, and even angels seldom visited due to the presence of the dragons. Ellie's mount was the smallest of the five, small enough to fly down and settle happily by its mistress, whilst Rory's great beast roamed overhead, occasionally coughing up sparks. It was the only place in the Silver City where each half-angel child could almost guarantee they would not be found.

'Go on then,' Rory snapped at her twin. 'Chastise me… unless you've got a hot take on deciphering Cora's new prophecy.'

Her sister eyed her warily. 'What do you think I would chastise you for?' she asked carefully.

Rory barked out a mirthless laugh. 'Oh, I don't know, going to Earth without your permission… going to Hell, flying a dead soul out, confronting our neglectful prick of a father, galivanting around Earth again with Uncle Jophiel to evade you… that sort of thing?'

'I had hoped the rumours were false,' Ellie breathed with a soft sigh.

'So?'

'So…?'

Rory raised her eyebrows in a challenge.

'Why now?' Ellie asked eventually. 'You've hated Lucifer all our lives – why go after him now?' Rory just smiled sarcastically and turned away. 'Please, sister, I just want to help you and be there for you, but I can't do that if you won't tell me anything!'

'Like Soph said, he's going to be God soon,' Rory said, and Ellie winced a little as her sister's face took on a sinister edge. 'Soon enough, he'll be all powerful, all knowing, and I wasn't about to let the opportunity to actually do some damage slide… He'll have found out we existed soon enough, but at least now he knows that we have some fight about us… Not to mention I can go some small way to get justice for all the hurt he's caused us, justice for Uncle Uriel, for Cain, for any other beings he's slaughtered…'

'Wait, you met Cain too?' Ellie asked, briefly recalling the encounter she had had with the strange immortal man many years before.

'Bit tricky to be immortal, live on Earth for a time and not meet him to be fair,' Rory said.

'Not that I'm in any way condoning murder, but… wasn't Cain a bit of an arse?'

'Yeah, course he was, he was a right dick,' Rory scoffed. Her expression softened for a split second. 'But he was a good friend to me once.'

'What?' Ellie said. 'You never told me…' She shook her head. 'Anyway, my point is, do you really think antagonising Lucifer is a good idea if he, as you say, is about to become all powerful? I mean, if he so wanted, he could so easily just –' She mimed slitting her throat.

'If it means he leaves us alone, if it means he doesn't think we are easy targets, then yes,' Rory deadpanned, eyes dark. 'I don't care what he says or does to me, not anymore. But if Lucifer or any of his allies ever hurt you, or the others –' her eyes glowed red for a moment, and Ellie was careful not to react, '– I'll find a way to hurt him tenfold, do you understand?' Rory's dragon roared overhead, sensing its mistress' anger.

'He wouldn't actually hurt us as God, would he?' Ellie said, eyes wide. 'He might be the Devil, but he is our father.' Her own beast rested its head on her shoulder, and Ellie moved awkwardly closer to Rory to avoid a spike in the neck.

'He's already killed one angel, remember,' Rory snapped. 'And mutilated another. Who's to say he's not partial to doing the same to others?'

'Uncle Michael did kill Aunt Remi, sister,' Ellie pointed out fairly. 'Who's to say he wouldn't have been partial to other sins?'

'He was partial to us,' Rory said vehemently. 'Uncle Michael was always there for us growing up, while Lucifer was off doing only he-knows-what!' She huffed. 'Look if you intend to go to Lucifer and –'

'This isn't about that!' Ellie argued. 'I just don't want to see you get hurt, Rory!'

Her twin scoffed. 'He can freaking well try!'

'Look, all I'm saying is, and I can't believe I'm saying it really, but what if I go smooth things over? Show him that as a group we're harmless and not a threat to whatever regime he builds or plan he makes? If you truly desire him to leave you alone, you would do better not to provoke him sister!'

The twins stared at each other for a moment.

'Where do you think Cora's prophecy fits in?' Ellie broke the silence, quieter now.

'I don't know, it's too soon,' Rory replied. 'Do as you wish on Earth – you know I do. I think it's the worst idea you've ever had, but it would be hypocritical for me to stop you approaching Lucifer the way you see fit. But know that if he or anyone else lays so much as a finger on you –' she swished a wicked-looking dagger from hand to hand, before re-pocketing it, '– I will destroy them.'

Ellie gulped. 'Let's hope it doesn't come to that.' Part of her secretly hoped that the stories she had been told about her father over the years were not entirely true, that some common ground could be found. Not that she would dream of suggesting such a thing to Rory.

'I know you're angry with him,' she continued after a moment. 'But it's not like he can be any worse than Grandfather, right?'

'He did set the bar pretty low,' her twin admitted. 'But there's always a new record to be made.' She shook her head. 'You're terrified of Earth, Ellie, of humans, of new places, of Lucifer. You're really willing to go meet with him because you think that's the way to keep us Nephilim safe?'

'It's interesting how we see things differently isn't it?' Ellie mused. 'But yes.'

Rory's face twisted, and she closed her eyes for a second. 'Very well. But I will only be a prayer away, and if –'

'Thank you.'

'Hey, Monkey, can you come here? We need to talk.'

Chloe had pondered long, hard, and fruitlessly, of how to broach the topic of her new career path with her daughter. The night before had been entirely sleepless for her; Trixie had dropped off to sleep early, tired out from a week at summer camp. Chloe was tired too, but could not slumber for thinking. Wondering what Heaven would be like, what her working hours would look like, how Lucifer would adapt to his new responsibilities, how she would, how either of them would fit in with the dozens of angels who had not originally supported them, how Trixie would cope with it all, especially as it would at some point come to light that Dan was not in Heaven at all... Only now, there were two children thrown into the mix too. It had not escaped Chloe's notice how strange it was how she and Lucifer had discussed children's names, her preference for Aurora, his for Eleonora, and not three hours later they had discovered Lucifer had twin daughters with those very names. With another woman. That, mingled with the lingering pain of losing Dan, the curiosity of what his being a ghost meant for him and for everyone else, and trying to figure out a way to stop the endless stream of questions from Ella, from her mom, and increasingly from Trixie…

'Hey, Mom,' Trixie drew Chloe from her thoughts, as she flopped down on the couch beside her. 'Is everything okay? I'm still okay to hang out with my friends later, right?'

'Yeah, Monkey,' she replied, remembering briefly the conversation where she had agreed. 'There's just some stuff that I want to talk to you about, to… make you aware of.'

Trixie scrutinised her face, noticing her bleary eyes with the bags underneath them, her unkempt hair. 'Is this about Lucifer?'

'Yeah, yeah it is, baby,' Chloe said, fiddling with her fingers.

Trixie looked mutinous. 'Did he hurt you again? Is he running away back to Florida?'

'No! No that's not it,' Chloe said quickly. Her daughter must have seen something change in her expression, for she sat back and nodded for her to continue. 'Um, so, y'know how Lucifer always says how he's the Devil?'

Trixie laughed out loud. 'Seriously, Mom? This is what this is about?'

'Monkey, I know it sounds –'

'I know, Mom.'

Chloe blinked at her, bewildered. 'You do?'

'Yeah,' Trixie said casually. 'I've known for ages. Lucifer's the Devil, his Dad is God and Maze is a demon. Amenadiel and Charlie are angels. You were seriously worried about telling me this?'

'You're… not worried?'

'No,' she shook her head earnestly. 'And you shouldn't be either. Lucifer would never hurt us.'

Chloe bit back a chuckle. 'Well, you did just say –'

'I meant your feelings, Mom.'

Chloe opened her arms, and breathed a sigh of relief as her daughter went into them. 'I'm so glad you're okay with this, baby. When did you find out the truth?'

'I guess I always did,' Trixie replied. 'But I saw Maze's other face on Halloween once. It was awesome, we got so much candy.' She looked at her mother carefully. 'Did you only just find out now?'

'No,' Chloe replied quietly, still shocked at the ease of her daughter's acceptance. 'I found out a while ago… but, well, there's been a few developments in the celestial side of things that I wanted to tell you about.'

'No secrets, right?' Trixie said hopefully.

'No secrets, Monkey,' Chloe echoed with a light smile.

Trixie turned more fully to face her, a sly grin plastered across her face. 'Are you and Lucifer getting married?'

Chloe laughed and playfully mimed a slap. 'You sound like your grandma,' she chuckled. 'No, Monkey. At least, not now, it's not something we've discussed yet.' She changed her tone to one more serious. 'But, well, the thing is… Lucifer's dad's not actually God anymore.'

'He died too?' Trixie said, horrified, eyes wide.

'Well…' Chloe stumbled over her wording. 'He's not really dead, he's just… in another universe now. With Lucifer's mom.'

'Where no one here can get to him?'

'Uh, yeah, I suppose…'

Her daughter's eyes filled with tears. 'He was nice,' she said in a wobbly, strained voice. 'At least I'll see my dad one day when I go to Heaven, but Lucifer won't!'

'No, I suppose he won't,' Chloe said softly. Suddenly, she regretted bringing up the subject with Trixie. It was too soon after Dan, too soon –

'Wait, if God's gone, who's in charge?' Trixie asked, sniffing.

'Lucifer's siblings had a vote… and a bit of a fight, to be honest, but Lucifer actually came out on top.'

'Lucifer's going to be the new God?' Trixie gasped.

'Yeah, Monkey, he is,' Chloe answered cautiously.

'Awesome!' Trixie yelled. 'That's so cool!'

Chloe laughed, relieved again. 'I'm so glad you think that… because the real reason I quit being a cop was to continue being his partner.'

'Wow!' her daughter was grinning ear to ear. 'So you'll be… Goddess?'

'Consultant,' she corrected. 'I'm so happy that you're happy about this, Monkey. This means so much. But I want you to know that whatever happens with this next step, that you are the most important person to me. I love you, baby.'

'I love you too, Mom.'

'One more thing,' Chloe added. 'You'll have probably found this out soon anyway, but as we're here, I found something else out the other day.'

Trixie's interest was piqued. 'What's that?'

'Turns out, and Lucifer himself only found this out the other day, but he has… two daughters.'

Trixie took a few seconds to process. 'That's cool,' she said softly in the end. 'How old are they?'

'I'm not sure,' Chloe admitted. 'Older than you.' Older than me, she left unsaid.

'When will I get to meet them?' Trixie asked.

'We're trying to track them down,' Chloe told her.

'Are they angels too?' As her mother nodded, 'Then you'll probably find them when you start working in Heaven, right? And if not, Maze can. She can find anyone.'

'I'm sure she can,' Chloe smiled. 'Anyway, that was all I needed to tell you, I just wanted to make sure you were okay with everything. C'mon, you need to get ready if you're meeting with your friends later!'

As Trixie disappeared behind her bedroom door, Chloe let out one last sigh of relief.

'Woah, this place is sick, yo!' Jophiel said as he wandered across the penthouse.

'Sick, indeed,' Lucifer said, pouring two measures of vodka and passing one to his brother. They sat opposite each other on the leather couches.

'Look, bro, what is this about?' Jophiel said uncomfortably. 'I already told you, I'm sorry I didn't back you at the vote. You were right – Michael's a dick. I'm sorry about what happened to your girlfriend – is she doing better?'

'Chloe is fine,' Lucifer replied. 'And you know I don't blame you or any of our other siblings for taking Michael's side. He was manipulating the lot of you through fear, I understand that.'

Jophiel nodded. 'Why'd you ask me here then, bro? Uh – is there a party later? That last one was hype!'

'No, no, although Lux is always open to you,' Lucifer answered. 'No… I just thought it would be nice to have a catch up before I take Dad's place. I figured that in some ways there's still a lot we don't know about each other.'

'Woah, that's totally true, yo! You never really mentioned your time in Hell or anything like that.'

'That's, ah, not really what I had in mind,' Lucifer said, draining the vodka in his glass and setting it down. 'I was thinking more along the lines of you, Jophiel, Joey, what's new with you… I heard you're still active on the Silver City's training grounds, still tight with Saraqael, and also a father of two, it seems.'

Jophiel choked on the alcohol. 'Wait – you know about Sach and Soph?'

'Yes,' Lucifer said heavily. 'Were you ever planning on telling me that you'd sired two half-human offspring? Or indeed… that I had?'

The brothers held each other's gaze. 'Rory got to you, didn't she?'

Lucifer sighed. 'She did…' And he briefly recounted their meeting.

'Look, bro, she's not all bad,' Jophiel said when he had finished. 'She's pissy, y'know? Short fuse. But she's alright. Treat her well, she'll do the same.'

'Yes, but I think I've monumentally screwed up with her,' Lucifer said. 'Eleonora, too. But, what I wanted to ask was, how did you manage your own spawn? Are you close with them?'

'Well…' he replied. 'I didn't know they existed until they were like, twelve, then their mother died and Remi went and brought them home.' He shrugged. 'I love them both, and they know it. We hang sometimes, and we're cool – they're cool – but we're into different stuff, y'know?' As Lucifer's fingers anxiously tapped against the leather of the seat, 'Look, bro, when you move back home, you can get to know your kids.'

'If they even want me to,' Lucifer sighed.

'Look, the kids are all close,' Jophiel told him. 'Your twins grew up with mine, and with Lez's girl. They're closer than we ever were, even when we were way younger… I guess it's the human in them. Anyway, you get one on your side, and the rest will follow.' He leaned back in his chair. 'I can put a word in with my two. Soph's the brainiac of the group, Sach's the chill one. Just… go gently with Ellie, she's scared of pretty much everyone, including you…'

Lucifer nodded, downcast. 'Right.'

'Oh, and you should probably know that Uriel and Michael were tight with them, too,' Jophiel added.

'Wonderful,' Lucifer said. 'And I imagine they don't know the full story of either of them.'

'None of us do, bro!' Jophiel pointed out, a touch sharply. 'We only have what Gabriel managed to hear.'

'Which other angels know?' Lucifer said, changing the subject. 'Aside from you, Lezmegadiel, Uriel and my twin?'

'Remi,' his brother eventually replied, having thought hard for several seconds. 'You… and any others that you've spoken to.' He sighed, before visibly brightening and grinning. 'Right, are we good, bro?'

'Yes, yes,' Lucifer sighed. 'Off you pop to Lux, drinks on the house…'

'You coming too?'

'Not this time, bro. I have an appointment.'

Trixie's afternoon had ended up being lousy. One friend had cancelled last minute, another had to leave early, and the other had been acting awkwardly around her ever since her dad had died. Trixie was tired of being treated like something fragile, sick of well-intentioned but unhelpful, simpering sympathy. And quite frankly, after the list of revelations her mom had told her before she went out, she was more inclined to get home to see what other developments came up. She therefore felt very little guilt about pretending to receive a message calling her home, in reality using the 7% left in her cell battery to call an uber.

Los Angeles traffic was always awful in the early evening, but tonight seemed especially bad. After being sat in a jam without budging an inch for about twenty minutes, the driver turned towards her.

'Sorry, miss,' he said. 'Looks like there's been an accident up ahead. I can try going another way at the next intersection, but until then we're stuck.'

'That's okay,' Trixie said. She looked out the window, and suddenly noticed she was only three blocks away from Lux. 'Actually, you could let me out here – I know a place.'

'Are you sure?' the driver asked her.

'Sure, thanks,' she said, swiping her phone to award a five-star rating as she got out. It wouldn't take her long to walk to Lux, and all the staff knew her by now. Besides, she figured it would be cool to see Lucifer, and tell him she was okay with everything that was happening.

She started walking. Within five minutes, she was two blocks away, within eight, she was one. Trixie then decided to take a side-street, knowing it was a shortcut. There were less people here, and the tall buildings cast premature darkness on the path. Trixie knew she shouldn't be doing it, but she also knew it would save an extra five minutes from the walk.

Her training with Maze had heightened her senses over the years, so she knew very quickly that a group of young men were following her. What she hadn't been taught yet was how to tackle four people at once.

'Hey kid!' one shouted after a few seconds.

Trixie quickly assessed her surroundings. She didn't have any of her blades with her, save the tiny one at the bottom of her purse, and it was tiny, and at the bottom of her purse – she didn't have time to find it. But there was a convenience store at the end of the street, so if she could get there…

'Hey! Talking to you!'

'Stranger danger! Leave me alone!' she shot back, and started running. But unfortunately, so did they.

A few paces later, Trixie stumbled and fell to the ground, mentally cursing the uneven paving, actually yelling out in pain as her ankle twisted awkwardly. One of the youths laughed.

'I believe,' a new, female voice drawled, 'that 'leave me alone', indicates that a person wishes to be left alone, not pursued.'

'Beat it!' the original voice said, while Trixie heard another mutter, 'Crazy bitch.' Then, screams.

Trixie painfully staggered onto all fours and looked over in time to see two of the four men running away as fast as they could, while a young woman in a long black cloak thumped a third, and tackled him to the ground, twisting his arm savagely and ignoring the pleas to let go. The fourth pulled out a gun. Trixie tried to shout a warning, but found that her throat was horribly dry. She then saw that it wasn't necessary, the girl was much faster, drawing a long, gleaming, gold-handled knife from the inside of the cloak and throwing it, pinning the man to the wall by his jacket, his hands suspended. Trixie watched from behind as she retrieved it, and the man let out a bloodcurdling cry anguish before running too.

She then started towards Trixie. Her hair was shielded by the hood of the cloak, but she looked young, maybe twenty. Dark eyes peered down at her in concern.

'Are you alright, little bairn?' the girl asked. Trixie shook her head.

'Can you stand?' Trixie struggled to her feet, clapping a hand to her mouth to muffle another yell of pain.

'C'mon,' she muttered. 'Let's get to the main road, at least those dicks won't be there.' Trixie could only nod and go along as the girl half-carried, half-guided her down the street. It was much lighter here, making it easier to see the person who had saved her, the straight nose, the arched brow, the downturned mouth. There was something oddly familiar about her that Trixie couldn't place.

'What's your name?' the girl asked her eventually.

'Trixie,' she tried to say, but failed.

'T? Huh, that's a new one.'

'Trixie,' she corrected, clearer this time.

'Uh,' the girl grimaced. 'I'm calling you T.' She gently set Trixie down on the corner, and the two of them slumped to the ground.

'Thank you,' Trixie said shakily.

'You're welcome,' she replied. 'D'ya want me to take a gander at your foot?'

Curious herself, Trixie pulled up the leg of her jeans, and pulled down her sock. The girl took her ankle in gentle but firm hands, pressing down slightly and wincing when Trixie hissed in pain. She'd gotten a small cut on it during camp, and it was open again, deeper now and bleeding, but not enough to soak through her clothing.

'It's gonna swell up, I'd take your shoe off,' she said after a minute. 'But it's not broken.'

'How do you know?' Trixie asked, trying not to whine. It hurt.

'I used to be a field medic,' the girl answered simply. 'Trust me, I know a break when I see one.'

'That explains your cool moves,' Trixie said admiringly, more comfortable now that her foot was back on the floor. 'Your knife is awesome.'

'I certainly think so, T,' she said with a small smile. 'I'm… rather fond of that one.'

'How many do you have? Can you fight with them all?'

'Hundreds,' she said, a broader, more genuine grin forming. 'And most of them. Prefer swords and spears, personally, though.'

'Do you know Maze?' she asked her, realising exactly who this girl reminded her of.

She tilted her head. 'Who's Maze?'

'Never mind.'

'Is there anyone you can call to get you home safe?' she asked.

Trixie grimaced as she turned on her phone screen, now cracked in one corner. 3%. 'My phone's about to die.'

'Shit,' the girl said. 'I don't have one.'

Trixie looked about, and was surprised to see her original uber driver a little further up the road. The traffic was crawling now, instead of being a complete stand-still.

'Wait,' she said, staggering to her feet and waving wildly. Noticing where she was looking, the girl helped her along. The car stopped as they got level with it.

'Miss – are you okay? D'ya need a ride again?'

'Yes!' Trixie nearly sobbed with relief. 'The original address please!' With the girl's help, she slid into the backseat, hobbling awkwardly along. 'You wanna come with me?'

For a second, she thought the girl would run. But then –

'Sure. I'll see you to your door.'

As the uber slowly made its way down the street, the girl said, 'I have some dittany you can use on your cut, T. Remind me.'

Trixie nodded, looking at her new friend curiously. 'Did you know those guys?'

'No,' she answered. 'And neither did you.'

'Do you live nearby?'

'Miles away.'

'What's your name?'

The girl considered Trixie for a moment, as though trying to determine if she could trust her. 'I've had many,' she answered eventually. 'But my friends call me Rory.'

Lucifer let out a sigh as his elevator ascended. He'd had a quiet morning, determined not to do anything God-related without Chloe, and knowing she was having a talk with her offspring about recent events. He'd busied himself at Lux, helping out a bit behind the scenes, meeting with Jophiel, and then going to therapy. He'd spoken to the doctor at length about each of their respective children, and he had come to a conclusion: just as Linda had with Adriana, he would let his daughters approach him first. He knew that Aurora technically already had, and thought deep down that before long, he might have to reconsider that stance.

He moved into the penthouse, first to the bar for whiskey, then to the piano. The Book of Nephilim still lay on top, as did the two feathers he now had. He'd thought about framing them, but decided against it.

A sudden sound on the balcony broke him out of his musings. He got to his feet in time to hear wings being folded away.

'Brother?' he asked, but then stopped short. Amenadiel nearly always arrived via the elevator, unless he had been prayed to.

Instead, a tall, slim young woman stepped cautiously into his home. She had shoulder-length curly golden hair and blue eyes and was wearing a knee-length white dress.

'Are you Lucifer Morningstar?' she asked, quietly but clearly, in an accent much like his own.

He nodded, realisation starting to dawn on him.

'Um, hello… I'm –'

'Eleonora,' Lucifer breathed, staring at her in shocked surprise.

She nodded, eyes widening slightly. 'I believe it's time we met.'