Deal with the Devil

The Fae Realm

“Mara will enter the realm first and announce our arrival. It’s best that we come on some sort of business. Fairies can be…overly curious.” Lucifer looked to me with a raised eyebrow. “What are you looking at me for? I’m only half-fae and I’m a perfectly normal amount of curious!” I defended. Mara giggled and Lucifer only raised his eyebrow even further into his hairline. I rolled my eyes at the accusation and sighed, “Get on with the rest of the plan, when do we go in?”.

I glanced around at the three demon sentries that stood around the table while Lucifer explained a complicated map of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts and all the entrance points.

The sentry to the right was almost as tall as Lucifer and had the body of a man and the head of a bull. I struggled not to gape at him and the massive curling horns that jutted from his wide head. I wasn’t accustom to this realm but I assumed staring was universally rude.

The next was a small more delicate man with human-like features but skin that was as blue as the twilight sky and his eyes were a pupil-less black, much like Mara's. He had grinned at me when we met, displaying a row of dagger-like teeth that had me audibly gulping.

The third sentry reminded me of Abaddon but less creepy. Cloaked and hooded in a dark velvet. I could not see a face or even hands but the darkness swirling around the demon told me his power required no physical body.

Despite their intimidating demeanor I smiled politely when they were introduced this morning. They were the first demons besides Mara and Abaddon that I had spoken to since arriving in the demon realm and I was happy to have any distraction from Lucifer.

The bonds pull was weighing on me. I thought of him, felt him everywhere I went. Not even sleep was a reprieve, as he often came to me in my dreams. I woke in a sweat and redness rose to my cheeks at the content of the dreams more than once this week. I wondered if Lucifer also suffered from that perverted side effect. I’d yet to see him sleep so hopefully he was spared but the way I sometimes caught the flames in his eyes rise when they glanced at me told me otherwise.

“Okay you got all that?” Mara grabbed my shoulder and I jumped. Pulled once again out of my fantasies. I glanced around and realized the meeting had been adjourned and I had missed most of it. Damn my distracted brain.

“Yup! Totally ready should I pack my bag now?” I lied. “You didn’t hear a word of it did you?” Mara crossed her arms, catching me in my lie. “Nope not a word.” I admitted apologetically. She shook her blonde head at me and dragged my arm, “Come on I’ll explain on the way.”

I let Mara lead me through the castle and to Lucifer’s personal library that I had become all too accustomed to. “We need to know more about who you’re mother was so that we’ll know which house of the court you belong to.” She explained.

My mind wasn’t keeping up, I spent most of my adult life learning types of demons, their powers, their weaknesses, and how to send them back to the demon realm if necessary. I hadn’t spent much time learning about Fae courts and houses and I doubted anything I knew of my mother could be helpful. “Mara, I’m not sure I can help you very much. My mother was very secretive and didn’t speak much about her life before she was banished to earth.” I shrugged. “Just take a look at this and just try and tell me if anything looks familiar to you.” She encouraged.

She pulled me into a room inside the library I hadn’t even known existed. It must have been sealed by magic. In the center of the room was a large and very old book. The pages were ancient and written in a text I didn’t recognize. “This is a history of the formation of the fairy courts and all of the high families both Seelie and Unseelie.” She explained. “It is written in an ancient Fae language that is mostly dead.” I watched as she waved her hand over what looked like a family pedigree and the ancient symbols became letters and I could read the words, or rather the names.

I ran my fingers over the fragile pages in awe of the delicate symbols that represented the various Fae families and their powers.

“Why does the demon realm have a book on Fae history?” I questioned Mara as my eyes wondered over the page. “It was Lucifer who made the Fae realm you know.” She said casually. My eyes shot up to meet hers.

I knew the story of course, all supernatural children had heard it. When the Lucifer and his fellow angels were banished from Heaven for their disobedience they created the Demon realm. Their anger and discord with God twisted their magic into something dark. While God had abandoned these dark creatures, many of his angels could not forget their former brothers and sisters, husbands and wives. Before the realms were sealed from each other there spawned a mix of light and dark. Fae children were born of angels and demons, of Heaven and Hell.

“Did Lucifer spawn a Fae child?” I asked my curiosity getting the best of me and my heart feeling an irrational pang of jealously at the theoretical mother of his child. 

“Not quite. Lucifer's sister, Lilith, was cast out of Heaven with him. She was unwilling to abandon her brother in the face of banishment. But Lilith, unbeknownst to her, was with child.” She pointed to the star at the top of the fairy book. It marked the first Fae child. “When this child of dark and light was born, it was so powerful that it killed Lilith in childbirth. Lucifer was devastated and when God saw the child he called it an abomination and ordered it to be executed. Lucifer in his rage created a realm separate from Heaven and Hell where the child would be safe. And so become the Fae.” She finished her story. “Don’t they teach you half-breeds the story?” She joked. “It’s something like that.” I gulped and turned my attention back to book.

My skin prickled at the thought of the power it would take to create an entire realm. And I was sleeping in it’s bed.