Lucifer's last words hung ominously in the air for a moment. It was Chloe who, after a few seconds of dead silence, asked:
"Why would God be afraid of Alexander? All the research I've done points to a quarrel between you and your father, Lucifer. Over the centuries, the word 'Satan' has become synonymous with the character of the devil. But all I could find in reliable sources is that it means nothing more than 'The Adversary'. There is no evidence that you started a war in Heaven or wanted to start one, or even wanted to dethrone your father. I think I'm pretty good at judging people."
She smiled mischievously as she said:
"Knowing you, I have to agree completely with your son. You're an impossible idiot. But you're a good-natured idiot. I just can't see you deliberately hurting an innocent person. Let alone wanting to start a real war in which your brothers or sisters could be hurt or worse. Please tell me I'm not mistaken when I say that you're not the kind of man who wants to end up on the throne. You love your freedom and having fun too much. You want everyone to have a good time and enjoy life."
The Devil looked at his detective and said:
"I never wanted the throne or to drive Father away. All I wanted was the freedom to live my life the way I wanted to. I wanted the same freedom for the Angels that Father and Mother had given to humanity. Nothing else and nothing more. I didn't want to be some kind of glorified slave to the thrones in Heaven."
Ella spoke softly:
"As I always say, the Devil got a bad rap. I never really believed in all that nonsense they tried to drum into us at Catholic schools and in some churches. Lucifer, the Archangel who represents justice, the Lightbringer, who from one moment to the next becomes the ultimate evil? Where are the horns, the trident, the cloven hooves, and the tail? Sorry, but I call BS!"
Ella's last words made Alexander start to giggle softly as he tried to hide his face behind his glass. Lucifer looked at him sternly and spoke in a tired voice:
"Get it out of your mind, young man..."
The mischief was written all over his face when Alexander said sweetly:
"But daddy, I wouldn't dare..."
Lucifer groaned, looked at the ceiling, and asked aloud:
"What on earth did I do to your mother to give her the brilliant insight that it would be a good idea for Celine to raise you?"
With undisguised pleasure, Alex replied:
"No idea, Dad. Knowing you, you must have done something wrong. But you know what, next time I'm in Heaven, I'll ask her. Because now I'm really interested in what you did to her."
Chloe and Ella had been watching father and son with amusement, and Ella asked:
"So what happened, Lucifer?"
The Devil took a deep breath, pointed emphatically at the Antichrist, and said excitedly:
"What happened is that that boy was raised by a Demon! And that Demon has a tendency, probably in consultation with the boy's mother, to whisper things in his ear that those two Hellish ladies know will give me heartburn when that boy actually does those things!"
"Don't forget Aunt Maze, Dad."
The Devil snorted:
"Oh, that would be bloody hard now, wouldn't it, to forget that Demon who loves nothing more than to rattle my chains! Bloody hell..."
The more Lucifer seemed to get worked up, the more the ladies seemed to enjoy it. Chloe, who wanted to know the details of the matter, asked:
"Alexander, what did you do to make your poor father react like that at the mere idea?"
The young man first took a big sip of his drink and then said with malicious glee:
"Well, it could be that when I was younger, I overheard a conversation between three unidentified ladies. It was about one of the more ridiculous lies that two Angels, Amenadiel and Uriel, have spread among humanity about my poor dad. You should know that dear old dad is rather biased about his, in his opinion, perfect physical appearance and attributes. He apparently never quite got over the shock when humanity suddenly saw him as some kind of genetically engineered goat. I must say that the aforementioned and unidentifiable ladies found his over-the-top reaction when confronted with that image very amusing. Something that a certain completely innocent little Antichrist naturally had to test. So, from time to time, I left an image or a figurine in the Devil's private quarters. I must admit that a whole new vocabulary opened up for me. A few times, I got hot red ears when, after a verbal tornado, I looked up the meaning of some words..."
When the two women burst out laughing, the Devil couldn't hide his smile for long either. While laughing, Ella put a hand on Alex's chest and said:
"Alexander Morningstar, you must have been a little monster as a kid..."
"How could it be otherwise, Ella dear, my mother is a demon and I am the son of the Devil..."
A moment later, Chloe steered the conversation back to the serious topic it had started with:
"That's exactly what I meant. The image that humanity has of the Devil and the Antichrist is completely wrong. It's an image based on lies and runaway fantasy. No one who spends more than a few minutes around you can come to any other conclusion. So why on earth would the almighty God be afraid of Alexander, his grandson?"
Ella simply felt Alex's mood change as if a switch had been flipped. He spoke softly:
"Because I am the son of the original rebel. According to humanity and some of the Angels, I am the Antichrist. Destined to cause untold suffering and unprecedented destruction on Earth and in Heaven. A freak of nature according to part of my family, because Angels, including Lucifer, cannot normally reproduce with humans. Angels and humans are afraid of me without really knowing me. When it became clear very early on that I would become so much more powerful than any Demon or Angel, that fear in Heaven only grew. I am almost 23, and so far, none of those poor, frightened angels has bothered to ask me directly what I think about it, what I want. According to that group, it is God's will, so it is inevitable that it will be so, because grandpa is always right."
It was clearly noticeable but also palpable that Alexander felt terribly hurt by what humanity and part of his family thought of him. Wodan had quietly come closer and laid his head on the Antichrist's thigh. The Antichrist gently stroked the Hellhound behind the ears. Alex was also glad for the way out of this tense situation that his faithful four-legged friend seemed to be offering him. He plastered an unconvincing smile on his face and got up from his bar stool:
"I know I promised you a tour, Ella. Unfortunately, that will have to wait because this unexpected trip to Hell has put a stop to it in the form of myt four-legged friend. Nature calls even for Hellhounds, and that takes a little longer than for a Chihuahua."
He looked at Lucifer:
"I'll let you know the rest tomorrow. First, I have to make a call to the field office here in LA to see how we can best deal with Carter."
Without another word, he stepped onto the roof terrace with Wodan, and the next moment, the duo had disappeared.
Lucifer watched his son and shook his head gently. Ella asked anxiously:
"What's wrong, Luci? I could almost taste the pain and sadness Alexander was feeling."
The Devil poured himself another glass, took a big sip, and replied bitterly:
"Uriel!"
He sighed deeply and explained further:
"Alexander has always been a very open boy, never seeing evil anywhere, always believing in the goodness of people and the Angels he encountered. Sometimes Rae Rae took him to Heaven when he was little. He loved it and could wander through the Silver City for hours looking for new faces and new things to experience. At some point, he must have encountered Uriel, and that little bastard manipulated Alexander. At first, he seemed extremely friendly and positive. He amused Alex with his gift. Uriel can see patterns, which allows him to predict what will happen or what someone will do. Alexander was a child and couldn't really think the situation through. The free will that humanity has ensures that Uriel can see patterns, but that they are by no means set in stone. Every decision a person makes can seriously disrupt the pattern. Alexander, impressed by Uriel's "predictive" gift, swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. Once the little bastard was sure that Alexander was hooked, he began to reel him in. He predicted his future and made it seem that there was no escape, that he was destined to destroy humanity, kill billions of people, and unleash a war in Heaven in which many of his uncles and aunts would die, and he would ultimately be defeated by Father and J and sent to Hell with me, but this time as a prisoner. Uriel had devised this plan together with Amenadiel in the hope that Alexander would realize that there was no escaping his fate and that he would embrace his role as the Biblical Antichrist. Alexander swore that he would never, ever become THE Antichrist that humanity believes in, but the damage was done. They hurt my boy badly. From one day to the next, the cheerful, mischievous little boy was gone. In his place, we had a child who seemed to carry the weight of the world and the future of humanity on his shoulders.
The Devil downed his glass in one big gulp:
"It took a long time for the real Alexander to reappear, and no one knows how many terrible nightmares the little boy had to endure. But sometimes the past rears its head at unexpected moments and pulls him toward the abyss. Those idiots were bad before, but just wait until they find out that Alexander is capable of creating a being that has consciousness..."
Alexander and Wodan appeared in the garden of the beach house, and he plopped down in one of the chairs. He conjured up food and drink for Wodan and a large glass for himself. He was completely lost in thought until he suddenly heard Celine's voice:
"Home already? I wasn't expecting you back until much later. Weren't you going to give Ella a tour and show her your toys?"
He nodded and said:
"You can guess three times why that didn't happen."
She sat down in the chair opposite him:
"Lucifer?"
He nodded and said:
"What do you expect, Mom, when your father is an idiotic Devil. I was forced to take a trip to Hell instead of showing Ella my toys. That turned the evening upside down a bit."
The Demon knew the Antichrist through and through. She sensed that he was deeply emotional. She asked softly:
"What happened?"
Alex told the story of the evening, including the newly discovered problem with the tiger Celi and his suspicion that she had developed her own consciousness somehow. Celine asked:
"And now what, Alexander?"
He closed his eyes and slumped down:
"Eloch and Dromi are going to get to the bottom of this. If necessary, we will correct our mistakes and make their lives more pleasant."
"And what about your grandfather and the group around Uriel and Amenadiel?"
"What do you think, Mom? If this becomes known, I don't think Michael will be able to keep them in line. From then on, they will see me as an existential threat to their existence and Grandpa's position. If Michael wants to oppose this, they can make their case to Grandpa that the general is no longer fit to perform his duties because he has apparently chosen the side of the threat. They will defend their case to Grandpa loudly and aggressively. If Grandpa wants to prevent another rebellion in Heaven, this time a violent one, he will have to give in and sideline Michael. With Michael out of the way, you don't have to be Nostradamus to predict what their next move will be when Amenadiel takes over. A preemptive strike is the obvious choice to take out Dad and me by surprise."
There was silence in the garden for a few seconds until Celine asked:
"What are you going to do about it, Alexander?"
He opened his eyes and said:
"I only have two options at the moment, Mom. Either I become the Antichrist, as they have been claiming I am since I was born, and do what I seem to be destined to do, even though I am not the one who starts a war. An open war on Earth between heaven and hell, with all the consequences that entails for humanity, God knows how many dead Angels and Demons, and the victor can call himself the winner of the ruins that remain. Because Earth will be nothing more than ruins when all is said and done. Or I show Fucking Uriel what he can do with his patterns. He can eat them for all I care!"
"And how would that work, boy?"
"Simple, to start with, I'll send Dad into retirement and negotiate a new deal with Grandpa. Everyone will leave Dad, Maze, and you alone on penalty of death if you two decide to stay on Earth near Dad. He never wanted the crown of Hell, so he won't mind if I take his throne. In exchange, I will submit to the throne of Heaven, then retreat to Hell and seal it off. No one in, no one out, only the souls destined for Hell. It will be quite difficult for Uriel, Amenadiel, and the rest of their idiots to wage war if they have no opponent."
She looked at him sadly and asked:
"And what about your life, your choices, Alexander? Are you just going to say goodbye to dear Ella? A few hours ago, you would have given anything for a chance at a normal, real relationship."
He stood up and walked toward the open door that led into the house. Before stepping inside with Wodan, he said without turning around:
"A few hours ago, I was still asleep, Mom, and I had a damn pleasant dream. Dreams dissolve into nothingness like a mirage once you wake up again. Uriel was right and completely wrong at the same time. I will never, ever start a war. No innocent person will ever have to suffer because of me. But he was right that it is inevitable that I will rot in Hell for the rest of eternity. And Ella? Dad seems to have found what he has been longing for for thousands of years in the person of Chloe. For me, it seems that even that chance is not available. Freak of nature remember and this is my cross to bear... ."
Without another word, Alexander disappeared into the house. Celine sat watching him for a while, tears running down her cheeks for her son.