Of Light And Shadows

Chapter Twenty Three...

Lucifer's body was dead. None of his injuries were swollen, but dark bruises had begun to mottle his skin. His lip was split and blood coated his chin. Jia saw the shape of a footprint curving over his cheekbone, a darker purple against the blue bruises.

She was shocked to see his eyes were still open. They hadn't clouded over like she expected the eyes of a corpse to but they were dull and unseeing. His skin was grey beneath the bruising and blood. Bell sat beside him with his head in his hands.

"He looks worse right now but over the next few hours he'll get better," Sellik said. Her voice seemed too loud in the quiet space.

"Can I stay?" Jia asked.

"Sure. Take a seat next to Belphie if you like." At the sound of his name Belphegor lifted his head and waved half-heartedly.

"I hate this part," he mumbled. "It's always such a shock to see him like this."

"How come Sellik gets to call you Belphie but I have to stick with Bell?" Jia asked, trying to distract them both from Lucifer's empty eyes. Mammon hovered uncomfortably by the edge of the bed.

"She never gave me a choice," Bell shrugged. "You okay?"

"No," she admitted. "Not in the slightest."

"I'm not usually okay until he wakes up."

"Do you go through the same when you're being punished?" she asked, looking at Mammon. He nodded.

"In comparison to how long we've been alive the number of times he's punished us is small. For the last few decades Satan has focussed on Luce."

"Lucifer said he'd been punished less than both of you," she frowned.

"Technically that's true if you only count the times he's been killed," Mammon said. "But he takes a beating for something pretty much every time he sees our dad. I'm certain there are times he's been hurt that we don't know about." He glanced over at Lucifer and looked away again immediately.

"I'm gonna go get the academy sorted. Can't have the students running riot while Luce is gone," he mumbled. He tried to make his tone light but his voice cracked. He turned away and disappeared through the curtain before anybody could say anything else.

"He really doesn't cope well when Lucifer gets hurt like this," Bell said softly.

"Does Satan force you to watch every time?"

"Only when Lucifer gets punished."

"Why?"

"He's the only one capable of defying him so Satan feels the need to put him in his place in a more...brutal manner." Bell frowned. "I hate that it works. Lucifer is more than capable of fighting back but something was different this time. He was so passive."

"Mammon said it's because I was there."

"I can understand that. It was obvious to everyone that it bothered Lucifer when Satan spoke to you. I heard his knuckles crack from the other side of the room."

"I feel so stupid." She covered her face with her hands. "Mammon told me to stay in my room and I didn't. I feel like he was killed because of me."

"Nah. Dad was always going to kill him." Belphegor hesitated. "Though I do think the beating was more intense because you were there, if I'm honest."

"Satan doesn't know me."

"But he knows Lucifer. He saw Luce's reaction to you and he latched onto it." Bell's eyes moved from the floor to her face. "You should be careful. The way he was with you before he disappeared scares me. As soon as Luce wakes up you need to tell him what happened."