Lucifer couldn't drag his eyes away from the swaying form of Wyr as she passed him by. Had he overdone it? Was that too much bravado? Goofy? Charlie had said he could be a bit goofy. Was that bad? Instead of flexing his wings again, Lucifer followed after Wyr. Her weight in his arms had felt more solid than anything he'd felt in the last seven years. He swallowed, throat dry as he caught a faint scent of beeswax and smoke and something herbal. Her scent had caught on his jacket and it was softly soothing a ragged hole inside him that he'd been burying forever.
The candles clacked gently in their basket as Lucifer picked his way through the last of the rubble, eyes switching from the dangerous terrain, to the lithe white furred legs in front of him. He rubbed his fingers together. So soft. He couldn't stop the twitch of his fingers as her dress hiked up her legs. Like a mountain goat she hoped from boulder to boulder until she dropped to the smooth compact clay that sat at the edge of the Pride circle. Behind Wyr, stood a tall set of iron wrought gates. Sharp pointed edges reached to the sky and beyond it was a thick blanket of fog. Wyr didn't seem to notice, didn't seem to think the land covered in fog that thick was an issue. The group had gathered, and Lucifer was the last, sneering at Alastor as he hovered by Wyr's ear, whispering something that only sounded like radio fuzz. Her pale face was blank, until she pasted a smile on that never reached her eyes.
She didn't want them to be here. Wanted nothing more to send everyone packing. Alastor stepped away and on her own Wyr stood taller. With a snap of her fingers, her short cloak dropped its length, draping all the way to the ground and with a dark shadow of sparks, a lantern appeared in her hand. All at once, the woman transformed into what Lucifer could only describe as a wraith. Gone was the awkward woman with a grumpy attitude and sharp tongue. In her place, an ethereal guardian of the dead. Lucifer almost dropped the basket as Wyr stepped forward into his space. The scent he'd attributed to the candles wafter closer as her secretive smile set him off kilter. She slipped the basket from his arms.
"Thank you." She whispered. When she stood in front of the gate again, Wy commanded the attention of everyone, and Lucifer stood to the back as he watched her pull her hood over her head. She wasn't smiling now, and Lucifer felt colder just watching her.
"Behind me, is the Eastern Cemetery. This place is older than almost all of you here…" She shot Lucifer a rueful smile. "Almost." She turned back to the group, eyeing every single one of them. "This place is protected by thousands of years worth of prayers. Buried here-"
"Prayers? Who they gonna pray to? The dickwads upstairs don't give a shit about us." Wyr's eyes flashed molten and Lucifer almost felt bad for Angel Dust until Wyr smiled beatifically at the spider demon. Now he was almost jealous.
"As I was saying, buried here are the demons, the hellspawn, the imps, and even Sinners, who requested a place to finally rest. We don't pray to anyone, and yet everyone. We pray the beloved find safe harbour somewhere else. You may not believe in anywhere else, you've already died once after all…But every culture on earth had an idea of what the next life would bring, who is to say there's nothing more? The Nords believed in Valhalla for warriors felled in battle, the Grecians believed in the Elysian Fields, and there are plenty of beliefs that suggest we're in an endless cycle of reincarnation until enlightenment. Who are you to deny more than this?"
Lucifer's mind was whirling. When he'd forged the cemeteries, he'd never thought this far ahead about its purpose. He'd made them because the beings down here hadn't had anywhere to put their dead. It had been infrastructure. But Wyr, she had knowledge about this place, not even he had bothered to learn.
"The people buried here, no matter their status or history, deserves your respect. The dead deserve our respect because they came before us. They have traveled every trail before us. Their whispers are the breeze, their bodies the fertile earth."
Stunned silence followed Wyr's words and she knelt to take the black candles out of the basket. She beckoned Charlie forward first, and with a gentle smile, requested his daughter light the candle via Wyr's lantern. As Charlie did so, Wyr explained further.
"When you light your candle, it will light the way into the fog. If you show any disrespect to those graves, you will be lost to the fog and the creatures inside. Forever. Don't expect me to come and find you. When you find a grave, please feel free to clean up around it if you feel the need." She looked down at Niffty. "You should stay with your master…Just to be on the safe side." Niffty cackled as she clawed her way up Alastor's pants, nuzzling into the radio demon's coat.
Wyr turned back to Charlie. "Charlie, your candle is lit. You may approach the gates. When you enter, try not to overthink it. There's no test, and there's no failing…Just what comes next." Charlie lifted her candle high and Lucifer's heart squeezed tightly.
He wanted to grab her hand and stop her from entering. Or at least go together, or even send in her girlfriend. Vaggie wouldn't let anything happen to his little girl. But Charlie approached the gate, and it swung open on silent hinges. Within moments, the light of Charlie's candle faded in the fog. Panic swooped in on Lucifer and he wheezed, standing apart from the group, feeling as though his daughter would never come back…Like Lillith.
Wyr watched her go silently and then picked up another candle, gesturing to Angel Dust. The porn star shook his head.
"I…I dunno about this…Deep thinkin an' deep throatin' are different things ya know?" Wyr smiled softly as she looked up into Angel's face.
"You're here aren't you? You've come so far." She held out the candle and Angel took it reluctantly. She helped steady his hand as he held it to the lantern and rested her hand gently on his arm. "When you enter the fog, I recommend you think about what forced your hand to be right where you're standing today. The spirits give guidance to any and all."
Her words seemed to steady Angel and the sinner held out his candle, and walked straight through the gates. Wyr performed the same ritual with everyone until she stood alone with him. The edges of his vision felt dark. Charlie had gone in there. Charlie had left. Charlie had left him behind. He needed to go get her…Needed to protect her. Needed not to be alone, because he was always alone! Pressure pushed in on him from all sides. The red sky seemed darker than ever, was he trapped? Was he falling?
Wyr turned from watching Alastor and Niffty walk through the gates, a wince on her face as Nifty breathed loudly "Gonna see dead people." And the little monster sounded excited about it. One last person stood in front of the gates, and Wyr cocked her head as she looked Lucifer over. His face was paler than before, eyes wide, chest heaving with the effort of drawing in breath. Horns now extended from his forehead, red and dark, a small flame crackling between them. His jaw was tense and Wyr took a step towards him, wondering what in hell was going on.
"No…please, I don't want to go down alone…I don't want to be alone. I just wanted…I wanted…Charlie…" Wyr reached out automatically, realizing that the king of hell was having something of an attack. She'd seen it in the highland soldiers who returned from war…It had been somewhat common back then, but seeing it in a being like Lucifer...
Like approaching a timid horse, Wyr couldn't stop herself from muttering low tones of calming nonsense. Her hand found his and she picked it up, holding it to her chest and breathing deeply.
"Breathe deep aon shoilleir. Breathe with me." Lucifer's panicked eyes caught hers and they flamed red, burning deeply. Wyr reached out with her other hand, holding his claws to his own chest, flat against the lapel of his jacket. She held it there and breathed deeply again, nodding as Lucifer began to breathe with her.
It was minutes before Wyr saw Lucifer slowly transform back into the angel she'd met years before. His hoarse voice shocked her when he finally spoke, blonde hair disheveled as he twitched under her hand. His claw moved against her breast.
"I…I'm sorry…I don't know what came over me." His eyes caught the hand he had on her chest and he flinched, retracting his hand as pink stained his already red cheeks.
"Oh wow. I'm sorry. That was rude of me. You know what, maybe I should just go home-"
"Why are you running away from something you built?" Wyr interrupted. Lucifer stopped going to turn away and looked back.
"I-I'm not running." Wyr crossed her arms over her chest, irritation flaring. How could he flatly tell her a lie like that? She knew…She knew he didn't remember her, but she remembered him, and the truths he used to swear by.
"That's what it looks like. You're running away from your responsibilities." She huffed, unable to help it as she rubbed at her face. She wasn't being fair. Taking out her problems, on the person who'd grated her freedom was a poor choice. "Look, I'm sorry, that was rude of me." She needed to take her damn hoof out of her damn mouth. Lucifer's face was anguished and he looked away from her. It was the face a man who'd been broken wholly and full heartedly already. She was kicking a man who was already down.
Think of all the paperwork.
Suddenly a little embarrassed, she didn't know what to say or do now. She wanted to tell him everything, to explain he had nothing to worry about with her. That she had been keeping her end of the bargain they'd made, even if he'd left her in Hell to make do without support. That she'd always protect the place he'd asked her to, because he'd protected her on Earth. But this wasn't the time, and it wasn't the place. And she was scared. Because who wouldn't be? What if he turned around and scoffed at her claim? It was better to believe he'd forgotten about her…Rather than know he hadn't cared about her at all. She needed to be gentler.
"You built this place…But you haven't visited in an age…The dead are your people too." The words came quietly, guilt eating away at her. Lucifer was just as quiet as he turned to look at the iron gates.
"I-I don't know if that's a good idea. The dead wouldn't care for a King like me." Wyr felt her heart drop at his softly spoken words. Words that she'd have never have believed came from him. He'd been…So full of joy when she'd first seen him…So full of life when he'd made a pact with her. This felt so…raw. Was this really her patron? How would he feel, knowing they had something of a past together? Wyr reached out and took his hand again.
"Come with me."
Wyr held the king's hand and tugged him along behind her as she picked up her lantern from where she'd dropped it. Lucifer came to stand beside her in front of the mist and looked up to Wyr. She smiled and held the lantern aloft in front of them.
"Don't let go?" Wyr's breath caught in her throat and she looked directly into the fog, nodding. Trying to not feel the warmth flooding through her.
"Of course. Stay close now."
They walked into the fog together. Wyr, so used to the cool sensation of water beading on her skin smiled into the gloom. Her lantern only lit the first few feet in front of her but she walked ahead, directionless and open to the current leading her further in. Neither of them spoke, and Wyr was grateful for the quiet. She obviously couldn't be trusted not to stick her fucking hoof in the mess that was this day.
The King of Hell was becoming a much more complex character than she'd ever suspected. Layers upon layers, hiding something he'd been unable to heal. She supposed it had something to do with the missing queen. Wyr tried to picture Lillith. She'd been blonde, and tall, with dark horns and a full mouth. She'd looked ethereal dressed in a red gown at Charlie's party. Wyr had been starstruck by the couple and their baby. It had changed everything. Wyr had walked away, realising she only wanted to meet Lucifer…To validate herself. He had a whole kingdom to run, and a family to love…Where was the space for a lowly orphan girl he'd taken pity on?
Slowly, the fog began to lift as Wyr came to a stop. Ahead of them stood a towering tree, branches full of red leaves. Surrounding the tree stood rows of gravestones. It had taken Wyr years to reach this far back in the cemetary. To be able to reach these gravestones and keep them in respectable condition. She recognised none of the names, but all the same she set down her lantern and let go of Lucifer's hand. He blinked at her, looking around in wonder. Wyr wondered if he would know the names written here, or if they had passed unnoticed by him.
"You're free to roam the clearing without worrying about the fog. The lantern will keep it at bay." Wyr went to the first headstone and began brushing away stray dirt and pulling out weeds from around its base. Lucifer kneeled beside her. She watched him mouth the name written there and bring a claw up to trace the lettering carved into the rock. The words were in a language Wyr had never seen, or tried to learn, but they meant something to the angel. His face shuttered and Wyr took a silent moment to pray to the being underground. She didn't clap her hands together like she did as a child, pointing her fingers to heaven, but instead, cupped her hands like she was filling them with water. She caught Lucifer watching her as she murmered a pray into her hands, then lifted them skyward and let the words go. A gentle breeze shifted the dead grass beneath them and played with the ends of her hair.
"What did you just do?" Lucifer's voice was hoarse, and Wyr explained.
"I prayed to the being that was once here. I whispered my prayer into the cup, and then I let it be sipped from the spirits." She did the motions again and Lucifer, hesitating for a moment, copied her. Wyr stood when he'd gotten it and moved on to the row.
"I'll leave this row to you. Let each one know we hold them in our thoughts, and tidy up around the headstones."
"How-How will the others know what to do?" Wyr laughed as she knelt down.
"There's no right or wrong. It's what you feel inside that matters. If they show consideration, if they make something of an effort? We'll collect them on our way out. Don't expect a cheery crowd back at the hotel tonight though…Sometimes this sort of thing can leave one with some deep, personal feelings they might want to work on alone."
She would know after all.
He watched as her braid flopped over her shoulder, the way her lips moved silently into her cupped palms. If he'd been anyone else, would this have been a religious experience to watch? Did she even know the being buried here? But no, it didn't seem to matter to the sinner. The soft smile felt so personal as she lifted her hands. When the breeze swirled around them, Lucifer's gaze caught on a stray curl of hair that fell from Wyr's braid. He swallowed, hand twitching to reach out and tuck it behind her ear.
When she left him to offer prayers Lucifer stared after her, lost in thoughts that threatened to drag him further down. How had he not visited this place? It wasn't like the cemetery was far outside the city. When Lucifer bent his head to offer a prayer, he was startled to realise there was no noise beyond the quiet crackle of dry grass underneath Wyr's moving hooves. There were no sirens, no screams, no fires, no explosions…He took a deep breath and released it. So quiet.
The name on the stone was one he knew. Putting a name and a face together was hard, but it had been one of Cain's offspring…Just a sinner.
There was a tug in his navel as soon as he thought that and the sky darkened above for a moment. He caught Wyr looking over and glaring at him. She pointed to the sky, her expression almost as thunderous.
"Respect, you majesty. They all deserve respect."
Her looked away, looking back at the stone, the name carved there. She hadn't been kidding.
Lucifer prayed to every single stone, cupping and lifting his hands every time like he'd watched Wyr do. When he'd tidied each carved name he joined Wyr under the tree where she waited patiently for him.
"I'd say today was a long time coming for you. The dead are happy you came." Lucifer looked to the graves.
"You can tell that?" Wyr nodded.
"Yeah…It was part of… Nevermind. Shall we head back? I can feel some restless spirits in the fog." Lucifer nodded and Wyr picked up his hand again. Again he was struck by how different this wraith was from the woman he'd met at the hotel. This woman was soft and kind…She called him aon shoillear…bright one. Her gaelic rolled off her tongue like rubies. The other…Had called him out, he realised. Called him out on the heaping pile of bullshit he'd been doing for his people. He didn't hate that.
Wyr picked up her lantern and led the way out of the clearing. Her fingers intertwined with his claws, keeping them locked together as the fog closed around them. He was blinded once again as they walked, but Wyr was confidant, her hips swaying, gait as smooth and trouble free as possible. Like there was nothing that could harm her here. It was clear Wyr was moving in a specific direction, and Lucifer followed dutifully, waiting for them to come upon something new.
He wasn't waiting too long before he saw a flickering light through the wall of mist and a tiny clearing grew. Angel Dust was kneeling in front of a grave, the stone clear of any debris, and his candle sitting in front of the stone, half melted. Lucifer looked to Wyr who was wearing a proud smile.
"Angel Dust, I see you found someone." When Angel looked up, his face was carefully drawn.
"Can we go now?"Wyr nodded and gestured Lucifer forward. Angel looked at him, frowning. "We really gonna hold hands to get out of here?" Lucifer rolled his eyes. Wasn't like he wanted to stand between two tall beings like this either. Wyr wasn't so bad, but Angel towered over him.
"Would you like to stay? I could always use the help." Angel's eyes went wide and one of his hands latched onto Lucifer's. When the porn star stood, he looked at their hands and chuckled.
"Nice piece 'a action with the Big Daddy himself." Lucifer wrinkled his nose.
"Do you seriously have to say it like that?" Angel cackled and Lucifer felt Wyr's hand shaking in his. He leaned forward, trying to catch the look on her face. Her hand holding the lantern was smothering a wide grin as she trembled with unshed laughter. He wanted to be irritated, but Angel's words had brought some levity to the group…And he couldn't fault that. Not when he wondered what Wyr's laugh sounded like.
They traveled on, picking up Pentious, Husk, Vaggie, Charlie…When they reached his daughter Lucifer let go of the chain and threw himself at Charlie.
"Daddy's got you! Oh I was so worried about you! Did you have a good time?" Charlie's arms came around him with an 'aw' sound.
"Dad…I'm fine, everything is okay." Charlie looked over her group and grinned at everyone.
"Everybody okay? We've got to pick up Alastor and Niffty right?" Lucifer took his daughter's hand and led her to the line, clasping his daughter's hand, he now trailed at the end of the coloumn. Wyr didn't look his way, instead reaching for Angel's and began murmuring back and forth with him. He heard a quiet laugh and tried to keep from frowning to himself as he trailed after Charlie. So Angel could get a laugh out of her huh?
They walked, and walked, and walked, and it was getting to the point where everyone had fallen silent when Wyr turned hard to the right. Lucifer peeked up over everyone and watched her sigh to herself.
"Sorry everyone…Not long now." Wyr started moving faster now, practically stomping through the mist as everyone hurried to catch up, not wanting to drop the hand in front of them. Angel turned back as he walked and whispered to Pentious, who hissed at Husk, who muttered something to Vaggie, who then rolled her eyes and turned to Charlie and Lucifer.
"Alastor's not in here. Angel says Wyr wasn't surprised that he's been kicked out."
Lucifer sniffed, his smile turning into a wide grin. Of course that asshole couldn't be respectful to the dead. He was a raging psychopath.
When they finally exited the graveyard, a cheer went up from the group when they found Alastor and Niffty waiting at the gates. Lucifer knew he looked smug, even as Wyr, dropped hands and went directly to the demon. She didn't say anything as the radio demon looked like he wanted to laugh.
"You know I tried my dear. Didn't we Niffty? We tried, but alas it was all for naught!" Lucifer tried not to feel like he was eavesdropping as he casually walked a little closer. Wyr's voice was a sigh as she tapped her cloak and it dissapeared in shadows, leaving her only in the dress she'd been wearing the whole time.
"I should have known you wouldn't get very far. But did you have to piss them all off? You know they'll be complaining about this for centuries." Who would complain? Who had he pissed off?
"Wait a minute! You said if we disrespected anything in there we'd be lost foreva'!" Angel Dust's hands went to his hips. "How come he just gets to waltz out unharmed?" Wyr turned from Alastor with a small, apologetic smile. Gone was the ethereal wraith, and the real, solid woman was back. She pushed back her mass of curls.
"I had to tell you that so you'd take me seriously. Also, Angel, he's an overlord. Souls are terrified of him, spirits are just the husk of their souls."
"I thought I was a goner!" Wyr rolled her eyes.
"You were safe the whole time…Mostly." When she crossed her arms over her chest, her bust pushed up and together, cleavage spilling from the top of her dress. Lucifer had to look away, lust flying through him faster than it had a right to be. He was at just the right height. Seven years of no…physicality wasn't that long… That was a lie. It was super long. The things he wanted to do-
"-my job, Angel. How would it feel if I came to your workplace and started making trouble for everyone there?"
There was a brief moment of silence as Wyr stumbled into a topic that no one wanted to mention. Lucifer hadn't been there, but he'd heard about the row…Had heard about a particularly disgusting overlord…and a contract…And Charlie's involvement. It looked like no one wanted to say anything, to save Wyr from the sticky mess she'd found herself in. He took a step forward, hands raised.
Obviously whatever she said had gone down like a house on fire. Angel looked awkwardly to Charlie, who was pink and looking anywhere but at Angel. Husk had pulled a flask from his back pocket and had taken to drink and Sir Pentious was anxiously looking around at the group. Wyr caught Alastor's eye and was grinning at her, like he was enjoying her putting her hoof in it. Asshole. He was a terrible friend, really. What was she supposed to say? She didn't know the history of these people. Didn't have these ties they had to each other. She heaved a deep breath, she hated feeling like she needed to apologise when she'd done nothing wrong. Lucifer took a step towards her, like he planned to intervene, and Wyr cleared her throat, definitely not wanting him to come to her rescue.
"Angel, I've put my hoof in something here. I'm sorry, I don't know what's going on, but you need to understand what I do here." She dropped her arms and picked up her basket, clutching it to her like it would act as a barrier. "This is a sacred place." Wyr carefully looked anywhere than in the direction of the blonde angel. "When I came down, this was the task I was presented with. The people here are my friends and family whom I swore to protect. So I told you all a lie to ensure you wouldn't hurt them. I won't apologise for that. The majority of Sinners aren't even allowed here because of the lack of respect… These were special circumstances, because Alastor asked me to."
Was that good enough? The group was quiet and Charlie was the first to speak up, clapping her hands and pulling out a face splitting grin.
"This was an eye opening experience! Everybody! Let's give Wyr a huge thank you!" Wyr wanted to melt into the floor as the group half-heartedly mumbled out various thank-yous. This was so uncomfortable. Wyr's smile felt strained.
"Well! This was great, but I have a lot of work to get back to." Wyr turned to Alastor with a grimace. "I assume this means we're good now?" The radio demon laughed as his head cocked dangerously to one side. Wyr's neck gave a twinge just looking at it.
"I'll be talking to you later darling. We have a few things to discuss." Wyr rolled her eyes.
"As long as you play some good music."
"Ha, ha! How could I not?" Wyr's body unclenched slightly. So he wasn't mad. Good. This group meant little to her, but Alastor was different. Allies were different. Wyr turned away, deciding against needing to say anymore to the others. This had been a mammoth day, and if she checked her phone, she'd know it had only been a few hours.
"Wait! You're leaving? Don't you want to come back with us? We could all talk about what we experienced together? We can sit in a circle and share snacks, oh! We could do some show and tell! Wyr? Don't you want to join us?"
Nope. No, Wyr did not. She spun back to Charlie, and shrugged her shoulders.
"I think you guys can do that without me. If there are any further questions, feel free to direct them to your dad." A strangled cough came from Lucifer and she tried not to let any malicious grin cloud her features. "Your dad created the cemeteries in the first place. I just work here."
Wyr caught Lucifer's eye and couldn't help but wink as she took the ball that was Charlie's curiosity and lobbed it into his court. Charlie didn't hesitate taking the bait and rounded on her dad instantly.
Wyr took her chance and bolted.
