Black Spring
Page 69
“And if they do, what then?” I said, stepping away from the window.
“Only the power of the home will stand between you and them,” Beezle said. “And I imagine they can find a way to make us pretty miserable with just one thin layer of protection between us and Lucifer’s rage.”
“You seem very calm about all this,” I said.
He looked up from the pregnancy book. “Either I’m in a food coma or I just know you. Sooner or later you’ll come up with a solution. It will probably involve fire and destruction, but you’ll find a way to chase him off like you have everything else that’s ever come after you.”
I took the baby back from Nathaniel, shaking my head. “Everything else was nothing compared to Lucifer. I’ve never managed to beat Lucifer or his brothers at any game.”
“This isn’t a game,” Beezle reminded me.
“They’ve treated it as such,” I said. “They’ve twisted and manipulated and put me in untenable positions over and over again. And why are they teaming up all of a sudden? I thought they hated each other.”
Beezle shrugged. “Maybe they don’t. Not really. Not when it comes down to it. They are brothers.”
“Brothers who’ve gone to war time and again,” I said. “And where is Daharan in all this?”
Nathaniel and Beezle exchanged a familiar look. I raised my hand to stop them from saying anything.
“I’m sorry I mentioned his name. Don’t start,” I said.
The baby hadn’t stopped crying since the house started shaking. I rubbed his back, shushing him, and after a few moments he calmed down.
“Have you named him yet?” Nathaniel asked, putting his arm protectively around my shoulder.
I shook my head. “Nothing seems to sound right to me.”
“You could name him for his father,” Nathaniel said. He was obviously trying to distract me from the nightmare outside.
“He’s not a junior,” I said, going along with it. “He’s his own little self.”
“How about Nicholas?” Beezle said.
I wrinkled my nose. “Nope.”
“Scott? Michael? Jonquil?”
“Hey,” J.B. said.
“I wouldn’t do that to my kid. Sorry, J.B.,” I said.
“Don’t be. There’s a reason why I go by my initials,” he said.
“Yeah, and your initials don’t even stand for Jonquil whatever,” Beezle said. “Because before we knew your real name and Maddy was annoyed with you, she called you ‘Jacob Benjamin.’”
“If your name was Jonquil, you’d have another name, too,” J.B. said. “Besides, it’s not like Jacob Benjamin is a random choice. It was my father’s name for me. And it is my legal human name.”
The house continued to be battered by the storm outside, the physical manifestation of Lucifer’s anger.
“You know, I don’t really get it,” I said, and I was surprised at the calm in my voice. Lucifer was trying to shake my house to the ground in order to kidnap my child and I wasn’t feeling nearly as panicked about this as I thought I would. “Why is he so bound and determined to have my baby? It sort of made sense when I was his last link to Evangeline. But now he’s got the kid he and Evangeline conceived in the land of the dead.”
“But that kid is a weird freaky monster,” Beezle said. “He can hardly present a child like that as his right hand and heir in front of the court of the Grigori. Angels are very vain creatures.”
“So what you’re saying is that even though Lucifer has paid a lot of lip service to loving all of his children the same, he really loves the photogenic ones more?” I asked.
Nathaniel shook his head. “I do not think it has anything to do with Lucifer’s vanity—at least, not in the way that the gargoyle proposes. His pride has been hurt by your refusal to give in, to allow yourself to be manipulated. You escaped from his home in front of his court and his guests. He cannot allow that slight to pass.”
“And he also wants my child,” I said.
“And he also wants your child,” Nathaniel acknowledged. “As for why he wants this particular child so badly—well, we have all known that Lucifer can see the future.”
My fingers tightened on the baby, just for a moment. “You think he’s got some kind of special fate? Don’t say that. Don’t tell me that just by being born he’s been condemned to carry out some sacred mission. I grew up knowing that, hearing that it was so important to be an Agent, that without me the souls of the dead would wander the planet without a purpose. And I hated it. I hated knowing I would never be free, that I would always be shackled to that one destiny.”
“You broke free of your destiny,” J.B. reminded me. “And made Sokolov and the Agency very angry in the process.”
“Yes, but how could I have known that would happen? Nobody had ever escaped the Agency before.”
“Nobody ever escaped the Maze before, either,” J.B. said. “You’re special, Maddy. And it stands to reason that your child will be, too. Lucifer has claimed that he can’t see the future perfectly, but he saw it well enough to know that if you and Gabriel married, there would be a child. Your baby will do something in the future, for good or ill, that Lucifer wants to control. If you stack that on top of his fanatical need to keep his family close and his wounded pride at your actions, you get this.”
“Only the power of the home will stand between you and them,” Beezle said. “And I imagine they can find a way to make us pretty miserable with just one thin layer of protection between us and Lucifer’s rage.”
“You seem very calm about all this,” I said.
He looked up from the pregnancy book. “Either I’m in a food coma or I just know you. Sooner or later you’ll come up with a solution. It will probably involve fire and destruction, but you’ll find a way to chase him off like you have everything else that’s ever come after you.”
I took the baby back from Nathaniel, shaking my head. “Everything else was nothing compared to Lucifer. I’ve never managed to beat Lucifer or his brothers at any game.”
“This isn’t a game,” Beezle reminded me.
“They’ve treated it as such,” I said. “They’ve twisted and manipulated and put me in untenable positions over and over again. And why are they teaming up all of a sudden? I thought they hated each other.”
Beezle shrugged. “Maybe they don’t. Not really. Not when it comes down to it. They are brothers.”
“Brothers who’ve gone to war time and again,” I said. “And where is Daharan in all this?”
Nathaniel and Beezle exchanged a familiar look. I raised my hand to stop them from saying anything.
“I’m sorry I mentioned his name. Don’t start,” I said.
The baby hadn’t stopped crying since the house started shaking. I rubbed his back, shushing him, and after a few moments he calmed down.
“Have you named him yet?” Nathaniel asked, putting his arm protectively around my shoulder.
I shook my head. “Nothing seems to sound right to me.”
“You could name him for his father,” Nathaniel said. He was obviously trying to distract me from the nightmare outside.
“He’s not a junior,” I said, going along with it. “He’s his own little self.”
“How about Nicholas?” Beezle said.
I wrinkled my nose. “Nope.”
“Scott? Michael? Jonquil?”
“Hey,” J.B. said.
“I wouldn’t do that to my kid. Sorry, J.B.,” I said.
“Don’t be. There’s a reason why I go by my initials,” he said.
“Yeah, and your initials don’t even stand for Jonquil whatever,” Beezle said. “Because before we knew your real name and Maddy was annoyed with you, she called you ‘Jacob Benjamin.’”
“If your name was Jonquil, you’d have another name, too,” J.B. said. “Besides, it’s not like Jacob Benjamin is a random choice. It was my father’s name for me. And it is my legal human name.”
The house continued to be battered by the storm outside, the physical manifestation of Lucifer’s anger.
“You know, I don’t really get it,” I said, and I was surprised at the calm in my voice. Lucifer was trying to shake my house to the ground in order to kidnap my child and I wasn’t feeling nearly as panicked about this as I thought I would. “Why is he so bound and determined to have my baby? It sort of made sense when I was his last link to Evangeline. But now he’s got the kid he and Evangeline conceived in the land of the dead.”
“But that kid is a weird freaky monster,” Beezle said. “He can hardly present a child like that as his right hand and heir in front of the court of the Grigori. Angels are very vain creatures.”
“So what you’re saying is that even though Lucifer has paid a lot of lip service to loving all of his children the same, he really loves the photogenic ones more?” I asked.
Nathaniel shook his head. “I do not think it has anything to do with Lucifer’s vanity—at least, not in the way that the gargoyle proposes. His pride has been hurt by your refusal to give in, to allow yourself to be manipulated. You escaped from his home in front of his court and his guests. He cannot allow that slight to pass.”
“And he also wants my child,” I said.
“And he also wants your child,” Nathaniel acknowledged. “As for why he wants this particular child so badly—well, we have all known that Lucifer can see the future.”
My fingers tightened on the baby, just for a moment. “You think he’s got some kind of special fate? Don’t say that. Don’t tell me that just by being born he’s been condemned to carry out some sacred mission. I grew up knowing that, hearing that it was so important to be an Agent, that without me the souls of the dead would wander the planet without a purpose. And I hated it. I hated knowing I would never be free, that I would always be shackled to that one destiny.”
“You broke free of your destiny,” J.B. reminded me. “And made Sokolov and the Agency very angry in the process.”
“Yes, but how could I have known that would happen? Nobody had ever escaped the Agency before.”
“Nobody ever escaped the Maze before, either,” J.B. said. “You’re special, Maddy. And it stands to reason that your child will be, too. Lucifer has claimed that he can’t see the future perfectly, but he saw it well enough to know that if you and Gabriel married, there would be a child. Your baby will do something in the future, for good or ill, that Lucifer wants to control. If you stack that on top of his fanatical need to keep his family close and his wounded pride at your actions, you get this.”
