The Devil & The Draxon

43. Things That Hiss in the Night

"That certainly was a lot to take in," Lucifer says, leading the group back down the stairs of the tower.

"Nyx's sister, huh?" Dan says. "She seemed..."

"Angry? Dangerous? Kill-you-in-an-instant-for-putting-a-toe-out-of-line?" the devil suggests.

Dan nods, "Yeah. Seems like a good thing Nyx got rid of her from what we saw."

"Creatures of war..." Teiterin murmurs disbelievingly. "We were meant to be creatures of destruction and war..."

"But because of Nyxeus, you are what you are," Ella says. "And really, I don't think any version of the dragons could be better than what you are."

The purple dragon smiles, giving the woman a bow of her head. "I will be staying in my room of the palace tonight."

"Of course," Lucifer returns. "Detective, Daniel, Miss Lopez, you'll be staying in some of the guest rooms on the top floor."

"Guest rooms?" Chloe asks, tilting her head, "On the top floor?"

"Yes. The first floor is the throne room, kitchen, main library, a few sitting rooms, the courtyard and many other rooms. The second floor holds another library, a few more sitting rooms and the rooms for the guard when they chose to stay. The top floor holds the guest rooms, the master bedroom, a third library and a couple more sitting rooms. The dungeons are in the basement. And of course there are a few bathrooms on each floor... Oh, and mini kitchens."

"Why guest rooms on the top floor?"

"Nyx didn't choose it, the palace came into existence this way. But I think it's in case someone needs something in the middle of the night and they get lost, they can usually find the master bedroom to ask Nyx. That's if they don't know or can't use the find-your-way magic thing. As for change of clothes... How do you feel about wearing robes?"

"Robes?" Dan repeats, unsure.

"Well, there won't be any current-fashion clothes here and—"

"Actually, there are," Teiterin cuts in. "We collected a vast collection of fashion items throughout humanity's centuries of existence for Nyx to see himself. He seemed to enjoy the suits of armour Jinx collected from the knights that tried to kill him."

"Of course he did," Lucifer says, rolling his eyes. "Lead the way."

⚯

*Oh, you're right, Nyxie, he really is a beauty.*

*Touch him, and I truly will destroy you.*

*So violent, brother... Perhaps things would have been better if you were like this at our creation. And besides, you love me, my darling brother, could you really destroy me?.*

*You are nothing compared to him, Rayel. Nothing.*

*Am I? What if I reduce him to nothing?*

Lucifer's eyes open only to be met by dark shadows. He looks around, Nyx's replying growl still echoing in his ears. The devil sits up, looking around warily. There's nothing out of the ordinary in the room.

Still, Lucifer feels unsettled. He swings his feet over the side of the bed and stands, the floor cool against his bare feet. Silently, the devil makes his way to the door, opening it and slipping out of the room.

A soft breeze blows through the hall, drawing Lucifer's attention. His brows furrow in confusion and he finds his body moving down the hall in the direction the breeze came from. As he descends to the second floor, the breeze becomes accompanied by a barely audible humming.