The Devil's Daughter

My New Daughter

Lucifer's POV

        I walked swiftly from the flaming house. The smoke billowing from the building went up at least fifty feet in dark grey smut. The Grim Reaper who worked for me had trouble with the couple inside so I had to come myself to deal with the problem. It was a little unorthodox but it got me out of Hell for a bit and a breath of fresh air was good every once and a while.

        I glanced up at the dark sky and walked away from the unnoticed heat against my back as the wood building groaned and creaked in protest against the hungry fire licking it like a lover. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and breathed out, watching my breath mist in front of my eyes as I walked down a deserted alleyway. My red eyes flashed behind my black floppy hair as I heard a quiet, muffled sobbing. Gravel crunched under my heel as I turned sharply into a darker alleyway. My eyes pierced the darkness to see a beautiful redheaded little girl. She lifts her head for a moment, showing her round, tearstained cheeks and her startling red eyes drowning in loneliness. Her eyes showed her vulnerability before shifting to outrage and pain. I was surprised as she did not show the slightest sign of fear as I started toward her. The concrete around her shifted and broke, one long crack heading for me and I stumbled a bit before catching myself on the rough brick wall by me. I looked up at her with a newly found admiration and awe. She had power. Serious power.

        She let out a short scream as her red hair flared around her like the snapping fire I had left and her pupils dilated until her entire eye was pitch black. The air was choking and twisting, slicing clothing. Rocks lifted and shattered and the wall I was still grasping bucked and shook, cracks shooting up it.  I pushed away from it and stumbled to try and find a hold on the shaking ground. Her hands grasped her face and she let out a sob. This poor girl had no idea what to do. I shifted one foot in front of the other and her head shot up.

        "What are you doing!? Run away, you idiot!" She called out. Her voice was soft and feminine but childish and in pain, so much pain. I felt a strange sensation in my body, almost as if it was being ripped apart. I shifted my other foot forward to take another step and the pain intensified. I looked down at my body and I saw blood. Another wave of the power came and more of my skin was blasted off before regenerating as my body does. Her power was uncontrollable. I pushed myself forward, leaning into the wind as my clothes ripped and tangled. My hair was whipping my face and eyes as I tried to see the little girl again. I closed an eye against the vicious wind and surged forward again, letting out a short cry from the harsh pain of having my skin ripped and disintegrated before regenerating. I pushed a hand in front of my face to help stop the wind from getting into my eyes and stumbled forward.

        At last, I found her. The ground surrounding her had concaved and she was sitting in a dent while wind shook everything around her. Her hair whipped around her like fire, a warmth and light coming from it, lighting up the dark alleyway. She looked up at me in loneliness and pain, tears still leaking quietly from her pitch black eyes. I reach my hand out to her, my eyes meeting hers. The darkness retreated from the edges of her eyes and she crawled forward a little, stretching out her little, petite hand hesitantly. Her hand hovered by mine, retreating an inch before grasping my hand like a life line and pulling me toward her with surprising strength in one so young. I fell to my knees and pulled her into me, tucking her into my arms and resting my chin on her head. Her arms gripped me like I would disappear if she held me too lightly. The wind died down and the alleyway stopped shaking. She took a deep, hitching breath as her hair calmed and the alleyway returned to the way it was, except with far more cracks and dents then it had started with. It looked like a bomb had exploded. I grinned, my sharp teeth gleaming white in the darkness. The girl nuzzled into me again and I could feel her eyelashes flutter against my neck as her breath hitched again. I gently pet her hair until she calmed down.

        She tilted her head up and my breath caught. Her rosy cheeks were wet and round, her dark eyelashes fluttered softly over her cheeks and her full, ruby red lips were pouted and soft. Her cute little nose crinkled softly as she sniffed, opening her eyes  fully her lashes slicked together because they were still wet. I tucked a hair behind her ear and smiled softly. The smile that she gave me in return was blindingly beautiful and sunny. I wanted her to stay with me forever at that moment.

        "Who are you?" I whisper, my voice not seeming to be able to get any louder.

        "I have no name. My parents threw me out whenever I couldn't control this thing." She pressed her hands to her stomach, like she was trying not to cry again. She looked down and I guided her face up again with my finger under her chin.

        "They threw you out? Because of your power?" She nodded softly.

        "It happened a long time ago. I can't help it, I can't help the power. I can hurt people, you know. I don't know how you weren't hurt but everyone else hates me because of it. So now I walk the streets, living on the kindness of strangers and even they hate me. The ones who know what I can do. They kick me and yell at me and then my powers come on again and  can't stop it. Then I have to move again. Always moving." She shook her head sadly and hung her head, resting her forehead on my chest. My eyes blazed an angry red as I thought about these disgustingly weak humans hurting this poor girl just because she was stronger than them. I run my hands through her silky hair.

        "No more." I growl and her head lifted, her face filled with a hesitant hope. I look down into her beautiful eyes framed by her long black eyelashes and I knew there was no going back from this moment. This girl would be mine and she would stay with me in the underworld. I pet her hair and she automatically nuzzled into my hand. "Your name is Katina Serafine. And you are now mine. I am Lucifer, I am the God of the underworld. That is where you will grow up. You will never have to have weaker people push you around. I will care for you, my sweet, sweet Katina." I stood and kissed her, holding out my hand for her to take. I would not force her, this was the one thing that I would not force. It was her choice. I was terrified if she cringed away from me, the feeling was foreign and not welcome. Where was my confidence, my Damn-All nature that was so prevalent in my existence? One look from this girl sent it all crashing around me.

        But my overwhelming pain and drowning worry was all for naught because she didn't even hesitate before taking my outstretched hand. Her soft, small hand fit perfectly into mine and it reminded me of how fragile children can be. But with her, looks can be deceiving. I grinned as I glanced around at the demolished alley surrounding me, a reminder of her power. Katina nuzzled into my arms and I picked her up softly, resting my cheek on her soft, red hair as she let out a soft breath, melting into me happily. I felt like I was finally home when I held her. Now there was something in my existence that was worth while, something to try for and something to set apart my routine, dreadful days of collecting souls. I gently brushed the rough brick wall of the alleyway and opened the portal into the Underworld. The darkness swirled around my fingertips and a streetlamp flickered nearby. I stepped into the void, looking down at the beautiful girl clutching my shirt in her hand even as her face was gently relaxed with sleep. But she had nothing to worry about. I was going nowhere.

  Katina means powerful daughter

   Serafine means burning fire