8 Lucifer
Lucifer
Eyes peeled for anyone out of the ordinary, I leaned back against the archways leading onto the college campus.
I fucking hated it here, as did my twin, Satan or Nick whenever we were around humans, which was why we spent most of our time running away from our guides rather than focusing on college.
Our dear mentor and creator, Dante, believed that with enough guidance we’d settle into our demonic ways, but he had apparently forgotten that he was the fucking king of Hell.
It was also obvious that while there were more of us, Nick and I had somehow become the favorites, growing up in hell until we were required to participate in the same training that all demons were subjected to.
Pride and Wrath weren’t cute little nicknames Dante had slapped on us either.
They were what our essence answered to. There were five others carrying the remaining sins somewhere under Dante’s ridiculous umbrella of responsibility, although Nick and I had barely spent enough time with most of them to call us anything resembling family.
My essence was Pride. People heard that and assumed vanity, which wasn’t entirely wrong, but it went deeper than liking myself a little too fucking much.
Humiliate me, question my control, threaten Dante or Nick, and something inside me sharpened.
I didn’t need to throw the first punch when I could usually figure out exactly what to say, who to use, or where to press until someone regretted fucking with me.
Nick was less patient. Wrath didn’t give a shit about strategy once someone pushed him far enough.
“Still waiting for the bitch that dad’s sending us?
” I glanced over to see Nick torturing one of the male freshmen by kicking him in the back of the knee, sending the kid’s books flying.
He grinned, proud of his work before stepping closer to me.
A few of the frat boys nodded to us but we didn’t return the greeting.
One perk of being on Earth was the human meat suits our demonic bodies were stuffed into.
While these forms weren’t as freeing, our essence seemed to create whatever was hot and sexy on this plane.
It meant that regardless of our gifts, we didn’t need to try.
We just had to be us—as terrible as we were—and the humans were fawning at our feet.
I was sure that our terrifying demonic forms could have drawn in just as much loyalty, if not more, but sometimes total adoration felt a little better.
Granted, Nick still had a penchant for acting like a fucking kid and if we hadn’t bribed the dean, we would have been expelled a long time ago.
“Earth to Luc. Where’s the bitch? Dante said to wait like an hour ago.”
I growled at him to back off, his deep crimson eyes flashing at me in warning. “Dante said he had to go talk to her, tell her the rules.”
Nick stared at me for a second. “He went himself?”
“Apparently.”
“That’s new.”
Dante had never personally escorted one of our guides anywhere, much less come to Earth to meet one before sending them our way.
“Rules?” Nick finally scoffed. “Fat chance. He’s probably warning her. I’m just wondering why the fuck he thought a woman was going to be better than any of the men he’s already sent our way.”
His eyes glittered with the possibilities, running through scenarios that were most definitely going to have this girl running for the hills.
Our last guide had been a scrawny little demon who had just come of age to start his practicals.
Ironically enough, his gift was Inconvenience but he could barely manifest it on Earth without creating a fucking disaster.
When he lost control, the effect didn’t care whether it hit him or everyone around him, which was half the problem.
And yet, he was expected to follow us around and determine if we were able to wield our gifts on command.
There had been five whole minutes with the little shit before I got the funny idea of sending him on an errand to Kay’s, watching with wild fascination as his gift took hold and nearly every single display crashed to the ground in succession.
Millions of dollars had been lost that day, the kid detained at the precinct until Dante sweet-talked the humans into letting the little demon go.
It had been hilarious at the time, but sifting through all the guides we had had over the past six months, I realized that most of them seemed more like placeholders than the demon who was supposed to be permanently at our side.
Some quit outright, others begged Dante for reassignment, and a few lasted long enough for Nick to become personally invested in making them regret showing up.
There was definitely something different about this new guide. Dante had never gone to meet one personally and never on Earth. Which meant he thought this one was going to work.
“Think she knows what happened to the others?” Nick asked.
“I’d imagine Dante conveniently skipped that part.”
He smiled. “Good.”
Eyes once again peeled for something out of the ordinary, they landed on a young woman who didn’t belong anywhere near campus.
The sun radiated off her ebony skin, showing off an ethereal beauty that wasn’t possible for a demon.
Long black braids cascaded down her shoulders and back while silver eyes searched the area for her targets.
Her simple green dress hugged her curves, the delicacy of her movements telling me that this guide was unlike any of the others we had ever had.
I hated to think that that was who our father had sent us, but no one else fit the bill.
Crossing my arms against my chest, I darkened my expression to give the girl a taste of what she was about to go through.
I couldn’t figure out what she was though. Certainly not a demon. But surely our father wouldn’t do something so stupid as hire a human. Right?
“You must be Dante’s sons.”
I stood there, unable to respond. None of our other mentors had been so blunt as to mention our creator’s name out in the open. Or at all. Everyone was terrified of him, of what he might do to them and what one of his deals could cost.
But this girl? She seemed unbothered. More annoyed than anything else.
Nick leaned against me, resting his chin on my shoulder. “Who’s asking?”
The girl looked between us and then smiled wide, but it looked fake. She stuck her hand out as a gesture to shake. “Ari, and you are?”
I faltered, still trying to place her. Dante had really sent us a human? What the fuck did he take us for?
“Luc.” I grabbed her hand because that was what humans did when they introduced themselves, jolting at the ripple of electricity that pushed through the connection.
The shock on her face told me she felt it too. Unfortunately for me, that little jolt shot straight down to my cock and I bit back a groan as I dropped her hand.
Nick stared at her outstretched hand and then at her, letting her know that he wasn’t going to be as nice. “Nick.”
Her face scrunched up a little. “Like all the lore surrounding the Devil ‘Nick?’ Whatever. Let’s get this over with. I’m supposed to gauge your gift or essence or whatever. Dante mentioned it shouldn’t take more than a day.”
Nick stepped around me, sizing Ari up, a wild grin forming across his face. “Now hold on. Do you even know how you’re supposed to do that? What did our dear creator tell you?”
Her cheeks pinked a little and she stepped back, the height difference sending a tingle down my sides. There were a few things I wanted to do to her that were kind of taboo in a guide-mentee relationship.
“Said I had to babysit you or some shit. You need to be able to use your gifts on command. So I’m here. Can we go now?”
Nick shook his head. “I need more than that. Our other guides were big demons. Big scary motherfuckers that were supposed to keep us in line. Mostly. They don’t exist anymore. Why does Dante think your puny bitch ass is going to be any different?”
A sliver of fear washed over her face at his bold-faced lie as she stared at Nick, but she didn’t back down, those silver pools radiating a beauty that didn’t exist in the human realm.
“Because Nick, we both have a stake in this little game. You guys want to return and I want my soul back.”
“Your parents sold your soul? That’s some bullshit but that doesn’t mean—”
“Wait.” I stopped Nick, mulling over the few pieces of information I had managed to gather since Ari caught my eye.
She didn’t look like she belonged on this plane. The silver eyes weren’t human, her disdain for Dante wasn’t normal for a demon, and whatever I was sensing from her didn’t fit neatly into either category. I bit my lip, swallowing a laugh as another possibility finally clicked into place.
Dante hadn’t sent us a demon at all.
“Ari, what’s your full name?”
“Ariuk.”
Something in my essence tightened. It was quick enough that I almost dismissed it, a strange pressure beneath my skin that vanished before I could figure out what the fuck had caused it.
Then the name registered. Ariuk was angelic. Of course it fucking was.
It explained the eyes and the impossible beauty, both seeming to catch beneath the sunlight in a way humans never did.
What I initially took for purity seemed to roll off her in waves, although there was something darker and warmer threaded beneath it that didn’t belong there.
Warmer. I couldn’t place it, but at that moment I had a significantly larger problem.
I snorted, unable to contain my amusement.
“Fucking hell. Dad sent us an angel.”