Chapter 6: Morningstar's Light

Gabriel was sat at the round silver table of the archangel council's meeting room, their weekly assembly had just concluded and eight of the ten archangels were leaving, she watched as Adam left, making sure he of all the others would not hear what she would say to her father. The door slowly closed behind him and the Morningstars sat in silence for a moment, Gabriel wanted to make sure that the other archangels weren't in ear shot.

"I had another dream," she told her father.

"A good one, I suppose?" Michael asked with hope in his voice. Gabriel shook her head.

"I'm not sure," she said with unease in her voice.

"What did you see?" Michael asked with worry.

"I see you, at the base of the golden tree, you're desperately gripping onto the seven rings, but they slip through your fingers like sand." Gabriel paused, her voice began to carry her worries, "suddenly, your hands erupt into flame, the fire spreads up your arms and all across your body, but you don't seem like you're in pain, but you're not happy about it either. Then the dream ends and I can't see further…"

There was a moment of silence between the two, before Gabriel spoke once more, "don't you see? This is a warning, if you continue to tighten your grip over Hell, you'll only lose control. Call off the exterminations, I have told you of the Princess' Hotel and her dream, it's the hope we've been looking for."

"You put too much faith in her," Michael said, "there is no evidence to suggest redemption is possible."

"And what if it is? I've seen those who seek forgiveness, they have the potential," said Gabriel with a pleading voice.

"We cannot make such a drastic change based on mere hopes," said Michael, "we must focus on what is certain, and what is certain is that if we take our current path, a few short years the dark realm will die."

"But my dream, it showed me-"

"Your dream shows only one of many paths," Michael interrupted, "we will need to be more cautious, given what it shows, but it gives us no reason to cease the exterminations."

Gabriel looked at her father, she felt dread at the thought that perhaps he was walking into his own death.

Charlie woke with tears in her eyes, it was the early morning and she was holding Vaggie tightly and didn't want to let go, the pair lay in silence for a moment.

"What's wrong?" Vaggie asked Charlie as she returned the hug.

"I'm not sure…" Charlie said as she wiped the tears from her eyes, "I had a bad dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yeah…" Charlie said, she was about to open her mouth once more, but she was distracted when she heard a rumbling coming from the top of the bed drawer, she rolled over to face it and saw that her phone had received a text, she picked it up and read it, it was from her father.

"We need to speak, meet me at the palace," read the text, the words felt ominous to Charlie, anxiety rushed through her as she read the words, her father was using his direct way of texting, meaning that whatever he needed to speak to her about was worthy of great concern.

Charlie got out of her bed and began to get dressed, when suddenly she was stopped by Vaggie, who softly took Charlie's hands in her own.

"You're worried, Charlie, tell me what's wrong," Vaggie said with a concerned look.

"My dad's told me to come meet him, it seems like something serious…" Charlie explained with worry in her voice.

"It'll be fine," Vaggie reassured Charlie with a smile, "if you have to go see your dad, I'll take care of the hotel for today."

"Thank you, Vaggie," Charlie said as she pulled Vaggie towards her for another hug.

Charlie and Vaggie held each other for a few moments, Charlie told Vaggie her dream in their private moment together. They got ready for the day, the pair left their room together and made their way downstairs, Charlie made her way through the lobby swiftly but without excitement, more so dread, something Hereticus, who was in the lobby, took note of.

"What's wrong with her?" He asked Vaggie as Charlie left.

"Bad dream," Vaggie told Hereticus without divulging too much information.

Hereticus' eyes widened slightly but he made sure to keep his composure, he knew in the moment that Charlie's light had manifested itself. He looked to the dark corner of the room, where Alastor stood, he looked at Charlie as she walked towards the door, then he locked eyes with Hereticus, his knowing grin widening, yes, without a doubt Alastor knew too.

Charlie was in her limousine; she watched the barren wastes of the Pride ring move past her as the car made its journey, this land used to have lush planes of red grass, and trees and plants of all different kinds used to cover all of Pride, as far as the eye could see, but ever since Eden and Limbo were lost, the ring had slowly withered, leaving nothing but a barren wasteland.

After about thirty minutes of sitting in the car she reached Pandemonium, the capital city of Hell. Driving through the streets she could see the many mansions and castles of the noble houses of Hell, each used by their owners to take residency in Pandemonium when it was necessary. The limousine came to a long and wide road, flags of Hell stood proudly in the middle of the two aisles, waving in the air and displaying their scarlet banners for all to see. On the right side of the road was a massive round building, held up by chiselled columns in the shape of mighty heroes, Charlie recognised the building, it was the Infernal Court, where the noble houses of Hell came to make laws and govern Hell. Gaining a seat in the Infernal Court was the first real step to governmental power in Hell.

The limousine came to a stop as it reached the end of the road, Charlie exited the car and looked at the Palace of King Lucifer. Black stone walls the height of fifty men blocked any from entering, scarlet banners were hung at the top of the walls, and a black gate the size of thirty men blocked any from entering. Charlie approached the gate, and as she did so it lifted with a sinister creek. She made her way past the drawbridge and through to the second wall, where beyond there was a long walkway, statues of Lucifer and the royal guards on both sides of it, depicting them slaying their foes. Past the walkway was the throne room, where a dark grey door was closely guarded by four of Lucifer's royal guards, who were adorned in crimson metallic armour and masks that concealed their faces, holding silver weapons to their chests and standing motionlessly. The guards opened the door for Charlie, letting her into the throne room.

Charlie could see before her a long crimson carpet with gold edges, her eyes moved down the room, following the carpet, her eyes led her down the long rectangular room and up a set of stairs atop where two guards stood and the throne of Hell was kept, a black seat engraved with depictions of slaves with aching backs holding up the throne, above them was a depiction of a battle long ago, with angels being slain by Hell's armies. The seat had a carmine cushion on it and a matching backrest, where black wings sprouted from.

In stark contrast to the throne, he sat upon, Lucifer Morningstar, King of Hell, smiled sweetly at his daughter, upon seeing her enter the room he got to his feet and began descending the stairs.

"Charlie!" he said with a happy voice as he made his way towards his daughter, "it's been too long, I hope you're doing well!"

He pulled Charlie towards him and hugged her tightly, his hug told Charlie what she already knew, her father desperately wanted to be closer to his daughter, to spend more time with her, but his position as King of Hell meant he had very little time to spare, she returned the hug.

"I've missed you too, Dad," she said with a smile as they released each other from the hug.

"Come, Charlie, there's a lot to discuss, I hope my sudden call to see you hasn't been intrusive," Lucifer said as he led Charlie over to the throne.

"Don't worry, Dad, Vaggie's got everything under control," Charlie assured Lucifer.

"That's good to hear, how is Vaggie?" Lucifer asked.

"She's doing fine, as always."

"Very good," said Lucifer as he took a seat back on his throne, "leave us," he ordered the guards, who left the room swiftly without a word. Lucifer waited for the guards to leave before speaking once again, "Charlie, I have a question, did you dream last night?"

"Yeah…" Charlie said with a confused tone.

"I thought so," replied Lucifer with unease in his voice, however, it quickly changed to one of command, "Charlie, I want you to tell me what this dream was about, and after you do, I'm going to tell you a secret, it must never leave this room and you must never tell anyone, the only person I ever told was your mother, do you understand?"

"Yes, I promise" Charlie said with a serious tone, she knew very well that when her father told her that a secret was important to keep, he meant it.

"Go on then, tell me about your dream, was it a good one?" Lucifer asked.

"No, it upset me but I don't know why."

"What happened?"

Charlie was silent for a moment as she recalled the dream, most of it was so vivid in her mind and she could remember almost every detail.

"I'm standing on a hill, looking over Pentagram City…" she began pausing as she continued to recollect the dream, "I can see a tower on fire in the distance…" she paused once more, for some reason, the next part of the dream brought her great sadness, "then I can see a moth- no, a bird or a…" she groaned, unable to remember this specific detail, "I'm not sure, it was something with wings, it was on fire and it flies into my hands as it slowly burns…"

Confused tears began to run down Charlie's cheeks once more, Lucifer held her hands with his own, Charlie looked at her father's hands, on his left hand's ring finger he wore a thin ring made of pure gold, his wedding ring, an identical ring had once been wrapped around Lilith's finger too. on his right index finger he wore a thick black ring, engraved on it were two snakes coiling around each other, they met in the middle where they both bit down on the same apple shaped ruby, this ring was the Ring of Pride, a source of great power for Lucifer and proof of him being a Deadly Prince of Hell.

"It's alright, Charlie," Lucifer said with a sympathetic voice, "I know how hard these dreams can be, but you must know, they are more than dreams…"

Charlie gave her father a confused look, unsure of what he meant.

"These dreams are a result of the birthright of those born of Morningstar blood," he explained, "I was about your age when I started to have mine, they're a result of the Morningstar's Light." Charlie listened as her father explained things, he had paused so that Charlie could process what he'd said. "The dreams are visions into the distant past, the present and possible futures."

"So, you're saying that my dream is going to happen?" asked Charlie with a slightly panicked tone, whatever her nightmare was, she didn't want it to become a reality.

"No," Lucifer said while shaking his head, "like I said, they're only one possible future, there are far too many factors out of our sight for them to be accurate all the time, and our sight is never truly clear, as for the looks into the past, they have already happened, and can rarely bring more harm than what has already been brought upon the world."

"How does it work?" Charlie asked.

"As a Morningstar, you have the ability to feel the souls around you, detect their desires and intents, you may not have noticed it, because your light is weak right now, but if you were to train it, to master it, you'll have an incredibly powerful tool at your disposal. You'll be able to see threats that would otherwise be unseen. You'll be able to see distant things even while you're awake, it allowed me to know that you had your dream, I see things all the time, even right now."

"What do you see?" Charlie asked.

"I see one of my servants hurriedly making their way in here, they'll trip on the carpet as they come to tell me that one of the Ars Goetia has requested a meeting."

As Lucifer's words finished, a small imp came into the room through a door on the far-left side of the room, they rushed over, cutting through the middle to get to Lucifer quicker, causing their foot to get caught on the carpet as they moved, they nearly tumbled to the floor but managed to catch themselves, they made their way over and stopped at the foot of the stairs, they bowed before their King.

"Your highness, Purson of the Ars Goetia requests a meeting with you to discuss secret matters," he said.

"Very well," said Lucifer, "the meeting will take place at mid-day three days from now. Also, please take care to not get yourself hurt, Diener."

"Yes, my king, thank you, my king," the imp said as he rushed off with a slight smile on his face, joyous of the King's concern for him. As the servant left Lucifer turned his attention back to his daughter and continued to speak.

"There are a couple more thing that I need to talk to you about," Lucifer said, "my light has allowed me to see into your hotel, I see two overlords there."

"Yes, Alastor and Hereticus," Charlie informed her father.

"You must be very, very careful with them, Charlie," warned her father with a stern voice, "what's my first rule about Overlords?"

"Never, ever, ever make a deal with them," Charlie said.

"It will be difficult to see into those Overlords' hearts," said Lucifer, "I try to do so now, but they hide their intentions well, I cannot see the true depths of their souls."

"What do you want me to do?" Charlie asked.

"I want you to promise me you will be careful," Lucifer said, pleading.

"I promise I'll be careful, Dad."

"Good," Lucifer paused, "now, as for Gabriel…"

"Wait! Dad! I know you don't think-" Charlie began, tripping over her words, before Lucifer interrupted her.

"Charlie! Charlie! It's alright!" he said with a reassuring smile on his face, "I can't see her intention either but if she's interested in your hotel, then that's a good thing, just be careful with her, alright?"

"Okay," Charlie said with a smile, "I'll be careful."

"Good, one final matter," Lucifer began to speak once more, "if you wish to avoid your dream, you must be cautious, those who see parts of the future often run into the path they wish to avoid."

Charlie wanted to ask her father something, but she was hesitant to do so.

"Have you ever accidentally made one of your visions comes true?" she asked hesitantly, to which she was met with silence from Lucifer, it was difficult for him to admit his failures, but nonetheless, he had to be honest with his daughter.

"Yes," he said with hesitation, "I saw a dark realm that threatened Heaven being formed after mankind committed sin, I tried to stop that from happening by tricking the humans into eating the forbidden fruit and making them mortal, so that they would die and be unable to bring about the vision I saw, but as you know, in my attempt to do so, I only brought about what I sought to avoid. Although, I don't regret it, Hell was ultimately just and stood firmly against Heaven's tyranny."

The only true regret Lucifer had was allowing Heaven to take control of Hell, something he had been secretly working to reverse ever since, he knew that his plans would come to fruition soon enough. He knew Heaven was sure of its victory, his brother Michael was sure that in a few years Hell would be no more, and Lucifer would use this to his advantage, the armies of Heaven were beginning to relax, and the moment their guard was down, he would use his armies to retake what was rightfully his. He looked at his wedding ring, though he and Lilith had disagreed at times on how things should be done, they ultimately agreed that Eden must be retaken, as he stared at the ring, he re-thought his promise to her, that he would retake Eden and Hell would continue to live.

He looked away from his ring and to his daughter, his pride and joy, the person he loved more than any other, for him, this was all for her.

"Oh, Charlie," he said with a smile, a smile which Charlie returned, "I'm so proud of you, may your brightest of dreams come true."

The two spent another half an hour talking to each other, Lucifer kept asking Charlie about her hotel, he seemed genuinely interested in it. However, Diener came back to inform Lucifer that he had a meeting with another noble, so their conversation was cut short.

It was rare that Lucifer got to spend any amount of time with his daughter, ever since Lilith had died, he had nobody to share the workload of ruling Hell with, so he had very little free time. They said farewell to each other, both sad to see each other go, and Charlie made her way back to the hotel.

She had only been back at the hotel for two minutes when Hereticus approached her with an uneasy voice.

"Charlie, can I speak with you, please?" he asked.

"Sure thing!" Charlie said eagerly, he sounded like he needed help, and Charlie was glad he was coming to her.

They made their way to one of the empty guest rooms of the hotel, Hereticus made sure that Alastor hadn't been following them, so he wouldn't hear what he had to say. Hereticus sat down on a lounge chair in the corner of the room, while Charlie sat opposite him on the edge of the bed.

"So, what's the matter?" Charlie asked with empathy in her voice.

"Alastor," replied Hereticus, to which Charlie's smile faded, had he done something while she was away?

"What about Alastor?" she asked.

"I really don't think he should be at the hotel; I think he's up to something," Hereticus answered with concern in his voice. Charlie sighed, she'd had this conversation with Vaggie and she'd respond to Hereticus' concerns in the same way.

"Look, I know Alastor can seem a bit… untrustworthy…" she began, "but this hotel is about second chances, and I think he's really starting to care about everyone here."

"But-"

"No buts," Charlie said with conviction, "I know there's good in him, I think if you gave him a chance, things might work out."

"I don't see it," replied Hereticus as he shook his head, "this is a dangerous game you're playing, Charlie, I see him lurking around the hotel, listening in on our conversations, he's just waiting for some sort of opportunity, I just know it." There was a brief moment of silence between the two, before Hereticus spoke, "Lilith made me swear to keep you safe, to make sure no harm would ever come to you," he admitted, "she loved you very much, Charlie, and I intend to keep my promise."

"Thank you, Hereticus," Charlie said, "but I won't betray what this hotel stands for, you'll just need to accept that."

"I see…" Hereticus said, defeat in his voice, there was no convincing Charlie to get rid of Alastor, "please, promise me one thing though."

"What would that be?"

"Never, ever, make a deal with him, no matter how small it may seem, he's waiting for you to be vulnerable so he can make his move."

"I won't, I promise," Charlie said, making the same promise to Hereticus as she did with her father.