24. Kujo
Icouldn’t fathom being as old as these angels, but they really needed to grow up.
Fucking all your friend’s wives because you were bored had to be something one did when they had way too much time and money on their hands and hadn’t learned a lick on common sense or self-control in their long lives.
Thank the Devil they were finally gone, so I didn’t have to listen to all that whining anymore.
We needed to regroup. Now that her wings were going to be okay, I needed to teach Sydney how to take them out and put them away when she wanted.
I was also better suited to teaching her to fly than Nero.
My family never taught me, so I had to figure it out on my own.
Before I could bring it up, Sydney wanted to talk about what just happened. I got it. We needed to talk about that and I knew way more about Nero’s magic than she did. I understood where she would have questions.
“So, I didn’t know you were a big, sexy lie detector, but one of them has to be guilty of more than just dicking some unsatisfied wives, right?”
“It’s more complicated than that. I can sense emotions and Celix can hear heartbeats. If someone doesn’t feel guilty or bad about what they did, I can’t get a read on it. Some people lie like breathing, so their heart rate doesn’t change.”
“They don’t use people like Nero or Celix in criminal investigations.
Beelzebub is a good reason why. People feel guilty about all sorts of things, but it doesn’t mean they did what they are being accused of.
People tend to get nervous when they are questioned and that can elevate their heart rate,” I said.
“Did you get anything when you had permission to read them all?”
That was the question to ask. Nero was pretty astute. He might not have picked any guilty feelings, but he probably picked up something. They might not be feeling guilty, but they were feeling something.
“Satan is frustrated. It could be over the obvious or it could be because we got close to finding Lucifer. Asmodeus was feeling greed. He may or may not have taken Lucifer, but I’m guessing he wants to profit off of it.
Belphegor was mostly angry until I pointed out Beelzebub felt guilty and then he started feeling guilty.
Mammon is angry. Belphegor was standing next to him when he was angry and then Beelzebub moved next to him when he started feeling guilty. He might be some sort of empath.”
Was Mammon angry because he kept walking right into it around Sydney or was it deeper than that?
“Empaths are real?” Sydney asked.
“It’s similar to seers. It just happens with some people with magic. Nero can just not use his magic if he doesn’t want to feel what other people are feeling. Empaths don’t really have a choice. At most, they can keep it to a dull roar.”
“If that’s true, it would probably explain why Satan thinks he doesn’t have an original thought in his head. He probably does, but if he can’t control what he’s feeling from other people, they could use it to manipulate him,” Celix said.
Yes, it was. It also meant Belphegor was going to be impossible for Nero to read. I had a hard time believing Belphegor was older than Hell itself and hadn’t figured out how to use being an empath to his advantage. The other Fallen might not even know because Satan didn’t mention it.
“Kidnapping Lucifer and keeping him hidden this long is long game stuff. You don’t wake up one day and decide to kidnap the King of Hell after your morning coffee.
I liked Asmodeus for it and if he can figure out how to use it to his advantage, he will.
I just don’t really think he’s smart enough to do this on his own,” Sydney said.
I didn’t either. He was the type who took credit for good ideas, but didn’t have much in the way of them on his own. I didn’t think Beelzebub was capable either. He clearly had impulse control issues.
“I’m looking at Mammon and Belphegor. An empath could fool an incubus if they knew what they were doing. Mammon clearly hates it here and wants to go home. The other angels want revenge for the rebellion. Everything we’ve heard about Mammon is that he’s intelligent.
“If there was an angel brawl in Hell or the mortal realm when Lucifer was taken, it would have been painfully obvious. I’m talking a lot of collateral damage.
Whoever took out Lucifer and Satan did it without laying a finger on them and Satan never even saw them.
We are dealing with a strategizer, not a warrior,” I said.
Which actually finally ruled out Satan, based on everything I’d learned since becoming somewhat inner circle.
Satan was a fighter, and he had a temper.
I’d seen him nearly lose it more than once and it was probably only his age that restrained him.
That and this code they had about not hurting each other.
Wait, a minute.
“That code! Whoever is doing this is really good at loopholes. Think about it. They warned Mammon he can’t do anything when Sydney is fucking with him because they have rules about raising their hands to each other.
They didn’t even pound Beelzebub’s face in when they found out he porked their wives.
Even Satan hesitated and by all accounts, he actually loves his wife.
Whoever took out Lucifer and Satan did it without raising a hand to them. ”
“Let me at him,” Sydney said. “He hates women and sex. I’ve got about a dozen graphic tanks that should set his asshole on fire and his daddy issues are just Old Reliable at this point.”
Yes, it did seem like every shirt she owned involved books and sex. I thought some of them were funny, but I also wasn’t a prude like Mammon was.
I just had this feeling if it was Mammon this entire time and he kept losing control around Sydney’s big mouth, he was going to do his best to avoid her.
It’s what I would do.