Chapter Fifteen
Silas
My brothers’ big idea for my bachelor party was to hunt down Piasa.
I looked at them like they are crazy. Piasa are mythical birds that have two horns, red eyes, a scaly body with a long tail, a tiger-like beard, and a humanlike face. Pretty much not a being that you would expect to be real.
Piasa are creepy as fuck. We had one in our zoo, but it had escaped and has been roaming Hell for centuries. They are extremely hard to catch. They are also known in parts of the world for devouring men.
“It will be fun,” Gareth says excitedly.
“This is going to take forever. Do you know where it could be?” I ask my brothers.
“The last known location was on the fourth level of Hell. In the Terror Mountains,” Jasper says.
I let out a sigh. Of course it was spotted there. It’s a bunch of rock.
“Let’s go do this then,” I tell them.
We grab our weapons and any armour we need.
Catching mythical beasts isn’t always easy. Some can be caught, but it takes a lot of work and, sometimes, magic. Trying to catch one in Hell also adds an extra layer of unpredictability. Who knows what will happen on our hunt.
There are many beings who try to battle us when we go out. None are strong enough on their own, but add a few together and it starts to become a harder battle.
We make our way down to level four. There is an ocean of lava with flames resting on each side like sand would at a beach. The mountains are in the back, and it will take a day to walk there.
During the day’s journey, we come across a few vampires who think they can take us on.
There must be about twenty of them, and they try to come at us from different angles; however, it was pretty simple to beat them and continue on with our journey.
We ended up with a few scratches, but nothing serious.
This has been a lot of fun and relaxing for everyone. We had been so busy working, finding out who was attacking us, tracking demons who have escaped up top, and protecting my bride that we haven’t gotten to be brothers just causing chaos in a long time.
“We can find a place to rest for a few hours,” Jasper says.
Honestly, I’m shocked it took him this long. Being Sloth, he isn’t very energetic.
“We will make camp for the night. We have another day of travel, and then we should be where the beast is,” Lorenzo states.
“Thank fuck,” Leopold says with a sigh and drops to the ground.
“Didn’t want to be the first one out?’ Otis asks with a laugh.
“I didn’t think Jasper would last this long. I didn’t want to be finished before him,” he says with a sigh.
I chuckle at my brothers. Fuck, I miss Serenity like crazy already. How am I going to survive two more days without her?
“You look like a lovesick fool,” Gareth says loudly, causing all my brothers to look my way.
“You will be too once you get your bride, I mutter.
“I can’t wait to get my bride,” Gareth says before laying down on the ground and stretching out.
“That’s probably why you won’t be next,” Fredrick says.
“I think it has to be Leopold or Lorenzo. They both are very reluctant on getting a bride, but dad gets this smile on his face every time they voice that,” Otis suggests.
“You are probably right,” I say with a smirk.
“It’s not that I don’t want one, I just don’t know how one would mesh with my personality,” Leopold says.
“Dad and Lilith had picked them for us. They will be our opposites, but help us grow. I think they are supposed to add to our lives and make us more powerful in a way,” Jasper says.
“Well, we already have one that chases us around the palace with knives, so we don’t need anymore of those,” Fredrick states.
“I’m sure they will all be crazy in some way,” Gareth says.
I chuckle and nod my head.
Catching up with my brothers like this is a good feeling. Having Serenity around has made us closer than ever.
Sometimes we would go decades without seeing much of each other because we would get lost in our work or isolate when being a sin became too much.
We can bring as much of our powers out into the world as we want at any given time. We have all had a part in impacting human history.
We are all relaxing and catching up, except for Jasper who is already asleep. We have all decided to take turns keeping watch. You never know what beings or beasts could come across us and try to attack us while we’re sleeping.
I’m lost in thought when a loud roar fills the air. We all stop what we are doing and look in the direction of the sound. A bunch of werewolves are coming our way.
These aren’t shifters like most people know come from the top, but these are part wolf and human that were cursed by a witch long ago.
One shifter pack had betrayed three sisters who cursed them on the full moon when they were shifting and, now, they are stuck in this half-shifted state and looking terrifying as fuck. They have since lost their humanity.
“Fuck, Jasper get up,” Lorenzo snaps.
Jasper jumps up, looks around, and stops when he sees the werewolves.
“Fuck,” he whispers.
My thoughts exactly.
Werewolves have a type of strength that is stronger than a regular shifter or human, and they also have an incredible ability to heal.
Defeating one is a challenge, and we are up against what looks like thirty of them.
Once we knew they lost their humanity, my father had us trap them in the mountains of Hell because they were a threat to humans. They attack us hoping we will reveal or help them find a way out, or maybe just for revenge in general. It’s hard to tell at this point.
This is one level we didn’t let Serenity visit for long. Once she’s bonded and harder to kill, I could see letting her walk around if she wants to but I can’t picture it right now. That woman is allergic to exercise.
I’m too lost in my thoughts of Serenity that I don’t see the werewolf coming towards me.
“Silas!” I hear shouted, and I snap around to see the claws swipe over my chest all the way down to my groin.
Fuck. This is not what I needed.
Leopold attacked the werewolf that swiped at me so I could heal enough to attack again.
“Get out of your head,” Leopold snaps at me.
I mock him even though I know he’s right. Now’s not the time to think of my bride.
I just need to focus so I can catch the creature for the zoo. Then I’ll be with my bride again.
Serenity
Meeting two of the brides yesterday was exciting, and I can’t wait to see who we are meeting today.
Lucifer checked on his sons who said they were fine, and he told them we were fine too. I am glad for the check ins because it helps me relax and be able to enjoy this adventure.
We are walking through a farmers’ market. I take my time looking around because I had never been to one before. I don’t know what I expected there to be, but all the fresh and baked goods around is making my mouth water.
“Over here,” Lucifer says and directs me to a red tent.
The woman has long blonde hair and blue eyes. Her smile is precious. I don’t know how else to describe it.
“Hi! How can I help you today?” she asks in a soft, soothing voice.
I smile at her. “Did you grow all of this yourself?” I ask. There is so much food here.
“Yes, I did. I like to spend as little money as possible, so I grow what I can. I even make my own clothes,” she says, gesturing to the dress she’s wearing. My eyes widen. I don’t have talent for that, so I’m already amazed by her.
We spend a little time talking to her while we grab some veggies and fruit. She smiles softly at us.
“Okay wow, she is too precious,” I whisper as we walk away.
“Don’t let that smile fool you. There is a reason she lives the way she does,” Lucifer reminds me.
“Oh, I know that. I can see there is a story in each bride’s eyes, but I have made a point not to touch any of them because they don’t know who I am,” I tell him.
“That’s probably why Lilith gave you that power,” he says.
“What do you mean? I thought you finished bonding our souls?” I ask.
“Lilith and I had created our sons before she died. I just finished the process. For each bride, we hunted for souls that would match our son’s.
It took years to find all of you. I had placed a power on each soul that was to be unleashed after you started spending time with your sin.
Once I realized you had two powers, I began thinking that Lilith must have visited the daughters once again and placed her own.
I don’t know why she did it, but it’s the only thing I can think of to explain why you have two powers when you are only supposed to have one,” he tells me.
“Makes sense,” I say. I hope that, one day, we can find Lilith and ask her.
We walk around for a bit longer before taking a portal to a different part of the world.
There is a huge crowd. It looks to be some sort of competition.
“Which one are we watching?” I ask, and he points to a brown-haired woman who had her hair up in a hair tie and has crazy muscles. She’s not butch or built like a body builder, but I can tell that she spends time each day working out.
“She’s one of the best,” Lucifer says with pride.
We watch the whole triathlon. She doesn’t win, but she still is crazy fit.
I would never do that, but you can tell by the look on her face that it’s something she enjoys and genuinely loves.
I find it crazy how much thought Lucifer and Lilith have put into each bride and sin. They must have been working on this for a long fucking time.
“We don’t have much time today to explore. The triathlon took most of the day,” Lucifer says.
I shrug my shoulders. “That’s okay. We can just get a buffet of food and bring it back to the hotel,” I tell him.
“Perfect idea. We can grab something from different places around the world,” he says before snapping his fingers.
That’s exactly what we do. We grab random dishes from all over the world and bring them back to the hotel. By the end of our travels, the table is covered with food. It all smells so good.
“I don’t know how we are going to finish this all,” I tell him with wide eyes.
“Whatever we don’t finish, I can send to the hellhounds,” Lucifer says.
“That’s perfect,” I say, clapping my hands together in excitement before digging in.
This father/daughter bonding has been perfect. Its the next best thing to having a girls’ night.
I also can tell that I will bond with my sisters, much like the how the sins are all so close.
Now that I have seen what some of my sisters are like, I am even more excited for what is to come.
Just two more to meet before I can see my man again.