Chapter Four
Atlas
Jumping out of his chair, Atlas braced himself for an attack. Adrenaline coursed through him as he gripped the arm of the couch tight. To his right was the wall he’d entered through earlier. Maybe twenty to thirty steps away.
Bel cursed and rose before moving to Atlas’s side, placing a hand on his lower back. “It’s okay. We’re safe.”
A cute young man around his age with red hair and pretty green eyes grinned at him while holding a large black cat in his arms. An attractive demon who Atlas assumed was Lucifer stood beside the redhead with a hand on his shoulder.
Bel had told him that Lucifer was coming.
Atlas just thought he’d knock on the door or ring the bell.
Not transport into the middle of their breakfast.
Atlas really did like magic but he could see some downsides as well.
“Hi!” The redhead bounced on his toes. “I’m Cary.”
“Hello.” Atlas pressed against Bel’s side. He wasn’t scared of the two people and cat in front of him but this was the first time he’d seen anyone other than him in Bel’s space.
“Welcome to hell!” Cary said brightly. “This is my amazing mate, Lucifer, and the furry one is Gage. Bel was worried about hurting your head or eyes or something since Gage is a shifter so we thought we’d try this way.
Why do shifters hurt your head? Luci wouldn’t tell me.
” He glared over his shoulder at the towering demon before turning back to smile at Atlas.
“Oh. Uh.” Atlas thought he talked a lot when he got excited, but he had nothing on Cary. And this kid was mated to the king of hell? Interesting.
“How are the flickers?” Bel asked while bending down to speak in his ear.
Atlas had to suppress a shudder. This was the closest that Bel had been to him.
Atlas liked it. And Bel smelled good. Like cinnamon and honey and something smoky.
Wait, Bel had asked him something. He glanced back at the cat but it looked like a cat to him.
“No flickers,” he admitted. Interesting.
How many other animals had he passed and did not know they were a shifter?
“Good.” Bel rubbed his lower back. “This might work.”
“Work?” Atlas asked as Lucifer spoke.
“I wasn’t sure. I have never heard of anyone being able to see though glamour before,” Lucifer stated. “Not even the most powerful creatures in other realms. I’m curious to see why.”
“You can see through glamour? Not just demons but…” Cary trailed off, sounding unsure.
The boy was too sweet not to answer. Atlas nodded. “I see flickers. From what I’ve been able to figure out with Bel, I think I’m seeing a shifter’s other form when they’re human.”
Cary nodded. “That would be super weird. But Gage is okay like this?”
‘Mer. Mer. Meow.’
The cat didn’t sound happy.
“Silly kitty.” Cary ran his nose against the black cat’s. “It’s fine.”
“Fine? What’s fine?” Atlas asked. He hadn’t been this close to a shifter since that night. Not that he didn’t think he could take some house cat. It wasn’t like he was dealing with a monster. Or what Atlas had always considered a monster.
“Him shifting,” Cary explained. “Gage hasn’t had a lot of opportunity in his life.”
“I don’t want him to be uncomfortable,” Atlas said.
‘Mer.’
“He’s fine,” Cary repeated.
“Okay.” Atlas shrugged. If they said it was fine, then it had to be fine. He didn’t know much about paranormal creatures. This was all new to him, after all.
“Atlas?” Lucifer said. “Bel has told me what he could, but would you mind sitting down and speaking with me? We’d really like to help you figure out the flickers, see if there is a way to minimize them. Or stop them, if that is what you want.”
Get rid of the flickers? That would mean being as vulnerable as any other human.
No, while Atlas would love not to see monsters in the faces he came across, he also needed to be ready for an attack.
“I’ll speak to you. I don’t want to get rid of them.
Maybe it would be great if I could control them though. ”
Lucifer nodded, giving him a soft smile. “I understand.”
“Cool!” Cary said. “I knew we were going to be friends!”
Bel waved his hand and the table and chairs disappeared before two black leather couches appeared. “Shall we sit?”
“Isn’t magic the best?” Cary skipped over, still carrying the cat. “I’m still learning but I have an amazing teacher. Dean says I’m a natural.”
“I like it,” Atlas replied as Bel urged him to sit on the couch closest to him. He slid beside the arm and into the corner and relaxed as Bel sat close by. “This morning, well I guess last night, was the first I knew about magic, but it sure is handy.”
Lucifer and Cary settled across from them with the black cat on Cary’s knee staring at Atlas hard.
He might not know much about cats, but he was pretty sure Gage’s gaze held a warning or maybe it was just protectiveness that Atlas missed in his own life.
“No magic users in your family?” Lucifer questioned.
Atlas shook his head. “No. None that I know of.”
“Very interesting,” Lucifer mused. “I’m pretty certain that it must come from magic. The glamour we wear is part of our defense. Shifters transforming run along the same lines. With you being able to see through both I think we should concentrate on any magical ties.”
“But you’ll help him right, Daddy? He shouldn’t have to hurt being around shifters. Like how would that even work living here? He’d never get to leave the house. And Gage doesn’t mind shifting sometimes but I want us to be friends. Gage can’t always be shifted around him and Bel.”
Live there? Yeah, the boy had no clue what was happening. Atlas was just there for help. He couldn’t live in hell. There had to be rules against things like that. Maybe. He’d have to ask Bel.
Bel cleared his throat as Lucifer placed a hand on Cary’s knee.
Cary blushed red before dropping his chin. “Sorry, I forgot. I just got excited.”
“It’s fine,” Bel assured the boy.
Cary glanced over at Atlas. Atlas winked at him.
He didn’t know exactly what Cary was sorry about.
Maybe inviting a human to live in the hell realm.
The sweet boy should never look so sad. It was possible that Cary just wanted more humans around him.
Atlas would be just as happy to regrow his circle.
He’d lost everything when he went on the run.
Gage gave a big stretch as his gaze lightened a little. Atlas wasn’t sure how he knew there was a change in the cat. Just that he’d somehow gained Gage’s approval. Cary giggled as he kicked his feet.
“Why don’t you start at the beginning?” Bel told Atlas.
He told the same story as he had with Bel. Cary seemed to be hanging on every word. Lucifer asked different questions than Bel, focusing more on what he saw and felt. The questions weren’t invasive, but he could see that even Lucifer didn’t know what to think about his ability.
“We might need to bring Seb and Atom in,” Lucifer said. “At least to trace his bloodline. There must be a magic user somewhere.”
Bel nodded. “I had that thought as well. Plus, Atlas will fit perfectly with them. Atlas has a quick mind and is already putting things together than most would in his place. The three of them together will probably find out more than we’d even want to know.”
Atlas smiled at the praise in Bel’s voice. The demon prince really did think highly of him. He didn’t know why. Atlas hadn’t done anything. Well except maybe some stalking and getting into hell in the first place.
“Dinner party!” Cary said, clapping his hands.
Lucifer rolled his eyes.
Bel groaned.
‘Mer,’ Gage said.
“What?” Cary whined. “It’s a good idea! Our dinner parties are the best.”
Bel shifted and his arm came around the back of the couch close to Atlas’s shoulder.
Who could blame Atlas for leaning in as Bel whispered, “Don’t believe him. Their dinner parties usually end in some kind of chaos.”
Cary gasped dramatically. “That was like one time.”
Lucifer cleared his throat.
“A couple of times,” Cary corrected.
Bel scoffed.
“Okay fine! But they’re still fun!” Cary eventually said, throwing up his hands.
Atlas wasn’t sure what demons would think of as chaos. How bad did these dinner parties get exactly? “I couldn’t ask you to do that for me. You barely know me.”
“It’s fine. You belong to Bel, so you’re family.”
“I belong to Bel?” Atlas asked, amused. He didn’t belong to anyone but himself. And he doubted Bel would ever look at a tiny little human like him with anything that would end with Atlas belonging to the demon prince.
Cary’s blue eyes widened as Lucifer shook his head.
“Bel’s friend!” Cary said quickly. “Bel brought you to his home in another realm so obviously he…likes you. That’s all I meant.”
‘Mer. Meow. Meow. Mer.’
“Shh,” Cary shushed the cat. “My bad.”
“I’m not sure a dinner party would be advisable at this—” Bel started.
“Let’s do it!” Atlas cut Bel off.
“Really?” Cary perked up and smirked over at his mate.
“Sure.” Atlas shrugged his shoulder. He didn’t know how long he was going to be able to stay in hell.
He liked Bel. Cary seemed cool. Lucifer wasn’t the scary evil being Atlas had expected.
Even Gage was pretty chill. Didn’t give Atlas the urge to run.
He doubted once he returned to his own realm, he’d ever get this opportunity again.
Cary apparently had no idea that Atlas had literally dropped in on Bel and not been brought there.
“Yes!” Cary pumped his fist. “Who should we invite?”
‘Mer. Mer.’
“No, we don’t need to invite Michael,” Cary replied to the cat. He looked over at Atlas. “Michael is Luci’s asshole brother. I mean, he tries to be nice now but he’s kind of an asshole still.”
Bel laughed. “Most angels are.”
Damn, Atlas cut his eyes to Lucifer to see what he thought about Cary’s words about his family.
Lucifer was clearly amused. “He is trying to be friends with you. It doesn’t help that anytime he is at our house, he has to dodge sharp kitty claws.”
‘Mer.’ Gage sounded proud.