"Besides, I wasn't writing," she said. "I was drawing."
"Oh? What were you drawing?"
Serah flipped open to the page she was doodling on and held it up.
The preacher's expression fell slowly as he gazed at it. "Can't say I have one of those in my book. Can't say I'd ever put one in my book."
Serah's brow furrowed. "Have you seen it before?"
"Of course," he said, closing his bible before clearing his throat, turning away from her. His warm eyes suddenly felt icy. "Excuse me."
He started to walk away when she stepped in front of him in the aisle. "Wait a second… where have you seen this before?"
He only paused for a fraction of a second. "It's one of the marks of Satan, one he bore before his fall."
Serah just stood there as the man scurried away. Satan? Shaking her head with disbelief, she looked down at the drawing before closing her bible again.
He must be mistaken.
Sighing, she walked out of the community center and strolled down the street, heading back home.
The neighborhood was alive with activity when she arrived, people gardening, children playing, others enjoying the sunshine. Some boys played basketball in the street a few houses down, the man across the street mowing his grass. Serah approached her house, carrying her bible under her arm, when a red ball suddenly flew right past her feet, nearly tripping her as it came to a stop in her front yard.
Brow furrowing, she reached down and picked it up when a squeaky voice cut through the air behind her. "Are you lost some more?"
Serah turned around, seeing a small child with mousy brown hair and wide eyes. She vaguely recognized her, remembering the encounter outside the elementary school not long ago. "No, I've been found," she said, smiling warmly as she held up the ball. "Yours?"
The little girl nodded enthusiastically, taking the ball from her. "Do you still got the amnesia?"
"I do," Serah said, surprised the child remembered the incident. Nicki, she recalled her name. She had a father named Nicholas and a mother named Samantha. "They think I'll always have it."
"So you don't remember nothing?"
"I remember some things," she said. "I remember meeting you, for instance."
Nicki lit up excitedly.
"Oh, and I remember my name now," she said. "Or well… somebody told me my name. It's Serah."
"I'm still Nicki," the girl said. "Do you live here now?"
"I do."
"Mr. Johnson used to live here. He wasn't so nice. He got mad when my ball went on his grass, 'cause mama said he didn't like kids. But then he got married to a beauty queen and moved away. Mama called them Beauty and the Beast, because he was hairy and mean, but the Beast was a good guy so I think he was really Gaston." Nicki paused to take a breath. "Oh! Maybe that's what you need!"
Serah's eyes widened. "A Beast?"
"No, silly, a frog!"
Serah stared at her incredulously. "A frog?"
"Don't you read fairy tales? You kiss a frog and he becomes a prince!"
Serah had to wonder if maybe she wasn't the only crazy one. "And how will a frog prince help me?"
Nicki shrugged. "It always helps the princesses in the stories."
Before Serah could respond, a female voice cut through the air from the house next door. Looking up, Serah saw a woman on the front steps, a petite brunette with a bulging stomach. Her hands rested on her belly as she watched them, her expression kind. "Nicki, time for lunch!"
"That's my mama," Nicki said. "I gotta go. I'm glad you were found!"
Nicki ran off before Serah could say anything. She watched the girl disappear into the house, smiling softly. Something about her innocence felt so familiar, so comforting.
Lucifer stood in the quiet parking lot, his back to the old motel. It was nearing dawn, the sky still dark, only a faint orange glow spilling out on the horizon. The town was quiet, most everyone asleep.
Everyone except for her.
She was still working.
He wasn't sure why he was here. He hadn't even thought about it. He tracked Abaddon around the godforsaken world, jumping from place to place, before ultimately ending up right back where he started.
He was weak.
She was tempting.
Lust was his favorite sin, but he was beginning to dislike its counterpart, the one called greed. Because he was insatiable, especially when it came to her. He wanted more, and more, and more. It was never enough.
He wondered if it ever would be.
It would have to be.
He knew he should stay away, that he needed to stay away, to keep his distance, but he couldn't. As much as he tried, he always ended up back here. Warnings be damned…
The door to the motel jingled, soft footsteps starting through the parking lot. Six o'clock in the morning, Lucifer gathered. Probably not a minute later. Humans were good with time. Peculiar things, how they monitored every hour, minute, second, scheduling themselves to utilize every bit of time they're given. He supposed it made sense, when you're granted only a few decades on earth. Sixty, seventy, eighty years, if you're lucky.
He'd squandered more time than that in a long card game.
Time for him always meant nothing. A thousand years was a breeze. Six thousand was barely enough time to get amply pissed off about being trapped in the pit. He never realized how much time he'd wasted until he was staring down a ticking clock, his time with her running short.
It caused something to materialize inside of him when he let that thought simmer, something he'd never felt before. Guilt.
Guilt, because there was only one to blame for the human's short lives, and contrary to popular belief, it wasn't Eve.
"Coffee?"
He closed his eyes briefly, letting the sound of her voice wash through him, before slowly turning around. Serah stood just a few feet away, eyes fixed directly on him. Although he knew, deep down, she saw him, his eyes still flitted around the parking lot, certain there had to be somebody—anybody—else that she was speaking to. But they were alone.
"Coffee?" he asked. "What about it?"
"Do you want to get some?"
His brow furrowed. "For what?"
"To drink," she said hesitantly. "And, I don't know, I thought maybe we could hang out and… talk, I guess."
Coffee. To drink. To hang out. To talk.
With her.
Lucifer stared at her for a moment. Logic told him to turn her away, but that goddamned greed manifested, begging him to take every second of her short life she would offer him. She was only given so many, after all. If he said no to these, she may not offer him any more.
"It doesn't have to be coffee," she said tentatively. "I don't even like coffee. We can get some breakfast at the diner down the street. I mean, everybody has to eat, right?"
"Right," he said, drawing out the word. Except he wasn't an 'everybody'… he was a nobody, or a somebody, depending on how you looked at it. A nobody who didn't exist, not really, not here, but saying yes meant he had to be a somebody. He'd have to break his rule, the one rule he set for himself long, long ago, the one rule that he swore he'd never break. The one he never wanted to break. Not until this moment, anyway.
He'd have to show himself to the humans.
She could see him, but he was still out of sight to the others, and he couldn't have her looking certifiably insane, seen in public hanging out and talking to someone who wasn't there.
As if she could read his mind, she chimed back in, her voice a pleading whisper. "Please? I'm not crazy… I'm not."
"I know you're not," he said. "And yes… we can get breakfast."
Her shoulders seemed to sag with relief, a small smile playing on her lips at his response. "Great, uh… well, come on."
She motioned with her head in the direction of the diner before turning away from him. The moment her back was to him, he gave a quick glance around the parking lot, making sure not another living soul was around, before he dropped his guard completely.
The air around him sparked, as if consumed by static, his body tingling with a soft glow as he let himself be visible.
Serah glanced back at him, to make sure he was coming, her footsteps wavering, a look of surprise coming over her face as he strode forward.
"What?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in question as he stared at her, falling into step right beside her.
"Oh, uh, nothing," she said, a soft blush warming her cheeks. "It's just… I don't know. Strange."
"What's strange?"
"You kind of looked like you were glowing a second ago," she said, the blush deepening. "Must've been the light or something."
"Must have," he replied, surprised she saw that, although he shouldn't have been. She'd been seeing and sensing things she shouldn't have all along.
They walked quietly to the diner, the sun rising, the orange glow expanding and covering everything in a soft light. They stood so close their arms nearly brushed against one another, but Luce made sure not to touch her. When she moved, he moved, shifting a fraction of an inch away, like they were magnets facing the wrong way. He could feel it, though—the pull toward her, the tingle along his skin that reminded him of being bathed in her Grace.
Fuck, he did her wrong.
Over and over.
Don't let me do it again.
The diner was brightly lit, but only a few people sat inside at this hour. Serah paused when she reached the door, scowling at a small sign in the window.
No shirt
No shoes
No service
She turned to look at him, and Lucifer knew what she was going to say before she even said anything. He had a shirt, yes, but his feet were bare.
Her eyes shifted to the sidewalk as she took stock of his feet. "Are you homeless?"
Silence surrounded them for a moment. Luce could tell she was anxious to ask that, could sense her apprehension, but her words came off humorous to him. He laughed, unable to contain himself.
Because yes, he was homeless, relatively speaking. He sure as fuck had nowhere to call home.
"Go on inside and sit down," he said, reaching past her to grab the door, opening it. "I'll be back in just a minute."
She hesitated again, as if she thought he might be bailing on her, but chose to believe him after a moment. Offering a smile, she stepped inside the diner, as Luce let go of the door.
The second he was certain nobody was looking, he zapped away, out of sight, apparating just around the block. In a jiffy, a pair of black boots materialized on his feet. He zapped right back, appearing once more in the same spot as before. He opened the door, stepping inside the diner, just as Serah was sliding into a booth. She glanced up at him, wide-eyed, when he slipped into the booth across from her. "You're back?"
"Yes," he said. "I said it would only take a minute. I didn't take longer than that, did I?"
"Uh, no," she said, gaping at him. "I mean, I don't even think that was a minute. You were just standing out there, and I just sat down, and…" She bent over, looking under the table, before meeting his eyes again. "You have shoes on!"
"Yes," he said again.
"How did you do that? That's impossible! I can't even put on flip-flops that fast when they're right in front of me!"
He shrugged a shoulder, making a mental note to slow down if ever this happened again. Humans, for being so obsessed with time, certainly did everything leisurely.
She was still gaping at him when the waitress appeared, sliding two menus on the table in front of them. Lucifer picked one up, having absolutely no interest in food. He'd never tried to eat it, never cared to try it. He was certain he could, though. After all, it was all their Father's creation. His body would merely absorb it, converting it to energy.
"What can I get you to drink?" the waitress asked.
"Orange juice," Serah said right away.
Lucifer continued to just stare at his menu.
"For you, darling?" the waitress asked.
It wasn't until Serah whispered his name that he realized the woman was talking to him.
"Luce?" Serah said. "To drink?"
"Water," he responded, staring at Serah. "And an apple to eat."
Her brow furrowed. "Just an apple?"
"Yes," he confirmed. "An apple."
It wasn't on the menu, but he was certain a place like this had one.
She blinked a few times, shrugging it off, as she took his menu and placed it on top of hers. She ordered for the both of them… just an apple for him, while she ordered a vast array of things.
The waitress wandered away then, taking much too long to leave them in peace. Serah regarded him warily, but remained quiet until after their drinks were brought to the table. Sticking a straw in her glass, she took a sip, eyes never leaving his. "Can I ask you something, Luce?"
He couldn't help but smile at the sound of his name on her lips. She'd said it twice now since they sat down. "You can ask whatever you'd like."
"How do you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Disappear," she said, her voice quiet. "One second you're right there, and then you're gone. It's like… magic. You're not a wizard, are you?"
He laughed. "What do you know about wizards?"
She shrugged, her face flushing as she averted her eyes, as if embarrassed. "I read books."
"Do you?"
"Yes."
"Just because you read it doesn't make it real."
"I know," she said, fidgeting in her seat. "I know wizards aren't real, but sometimes I question whether you are, too. Until that waitress spoke to you, I half-expected her to not see you. Nobody else ever seems to… and I just wonder why that is. It's unnatural."
Intuitive. Luce stared at her, surprised by her bluntness. She laid her cards all out on the table and asked to see his hand, a hand he wasn't quite ready to show. "Unnatural."
"Yes," she said. "Like… not normal."
Luce watched in silence as she took a sip of her orange juice, her eyes peeled to him.
"That's because I'm not," he said. "I'm not normal."
"What are you then?"
He laughed dryly. "An abomination, apparently."
She rolled her eyes, like he'd been joking. If she only knew…
Neither of them spoke again until after their food arrived—two plates for Serah, a lone apple for Luce. He picked it up, rolling it around in his palm as he stared at it. It looked quite similar to the one Eve ate that day in the garden, the skin the same shade of deep red.
"So," Serah hedged as she started to eat. "How is it you knew me?"
"Long story."
"Shorten it."
Luce let out a deep sigh. "Work."
Her eyes widened as she slowly chewed a bite, staring at him. Luce realized after a moment that she expected him to go on.
Apparently that answer had been too short.
"We were working on different sides," he explained, trying to word is so she'd understand without actually telling her the truth about it. It was a fine line to walk, one he was sure he was going to fuck up. "It was your job to try to bring me around to your side."
"Different sides of what?" she asked. "What do you do for work, Luce?"
"Nothing now," he said. "I was, uh… let go."
"Okay, so what did you do?"
"Babysat."
That answer made her laugh, again like she thought he was joking, but he'd meant it. It was glorified babysitting down in the pit.
"I supervised the imprisoned," he said. "And you worked for those who make it their job to keep the world safe, to make sure the bad was kept locked away."
"So you were like, a warden," she said. "And I was, what? One of the powers that be?"
"Uh…" Luce laughed at her wording. She couldn't have been more right if she tried. "Basically."
"Interesting," she said. "And did I sway you to our side?"
"Debatable," he said. "You put up a strong argument, though, which is a testament of my being here."
"Wo
w." She ate some more in silence, the air between them comfortable. Luce just watched her, not interrupting, saying nothing. Eventually she pushed a plate aside and cleared her throat. "You know none of that makes any sense to me, right? I'm still just as confused."
"I know you are," he said quietly. "If it's any consolation, I'm confused, too."
"Okay, new tactic," she said, pointing at him with her fork. "Since my memory's shot and you said you'd give anything to have a clean slate, why don't we start there?"
"Okay."
"Okay, good." She nodded firmly. "So tell me something."
"What?"
"Anything," she said. "Just tell me something, whatever you'd like me to know about you… no matter what it is. We're starting from scratch."
"Uh…" Luce wasn't quite sure what to say. She was taking this all in stride, way better than he expected her to take it.
"I'll start," she said after a moment, turning her eyes back to her plate as she shifted some potatoes around with her fork. "I love the smell of fresh-cut grass, but it makes me sneeze."
Luce smiled at her, a little surprised by the random nonsensical declaration, but he wasn't at all shocked by the information. She'd been fascinated with the concept of smelling. "I love fresh air."
"Is that why you spend a lot of time outside?"
"How do you know I do that?"
"Because I spend a lot of time outside, and I see you almost every day."
"It's one of the reasons."
The other being he had nowhere else to be, but he kept that to himself for now.
"Well, as you can see, I love food," she said motioning toward her plates. "When I woke up, I felt like I hadn't eaten in forever. People always say that hospital food is horrible. When they find out I spent weeks in the hospital, that's the first thing they say—that the food must've been horrible. But I couldn't get enough of it."
"What was it like being in the hospital?" Luce asked.
"Horrible," she said. "Minus the food, anyway. They couldn't find anything wrong with me physically, so they said it had to be psychological, but the psychiatrist said I wasn't a danger to anyone, so I was free to go."
"So you left."
"So I left," she agreed, "and here I am."
She finished eating in silence as the waitress returned with the bill, casting Luce a peculiar look. Serah glanced at the check and pulled out some money, tossing it down on the table. A sinking feeling settled in the pit of Luce's stomach. He hadn't thought this through at all. He knew little about the usage of money, but he knew human customs after years of observing them from the pit.