Alex nodded his approval and just took one sip of his drink until he dropped his glass and grabbed his head. Everyone was startled as he shouted:
"HOLY FUCK!"
He had received a prayer from Beatrice screaming, which did not bode well. He answered her in a soft hopefully comforting voice:
"Beatrice, what is it, Sunflower?"
"Mommy came to Daddy's house. They had a bad argument and then Mommy grabbed her gun and shot. Daddy is hurt, very badly. Mommy wants to go somewhere with me, far away from you."
"Sunflower, you have to stay calm now and not let your mommy notice anything, okay? I'll send Lucifer and Michael to help immediately. They will be with you darling in a moment and then everything will be over."
He took a breath and then said firmly:
"Lucifer, Michael you must go to Earth immediately. Decker has seized Beatrice and is on her way out of town. Lucifer bring Beatrice here but be careful she is in the back seat and I don't know if she is hurt and if so how bad. Michael grab that bitch and put her in a cell here in the city."
Lucifer looked at him and spoke a single word:
"Daniel?"
Alexander only shook his head and that was enough to make the twins run outside.
"Okay folks, I think that concludes the meeting."
Said Samantha instead of Alex as she saw and felt that for a moment, he was completely unable to get his thinking in order. Moments later, only Ella and Samantha were left behind; the rest had understood the message between the lines.
Chloe breathed a sigh of relief, she had reached the edge of town and no one had stopped her. Trixie lay in the back seat and was quiet. She would have to check her right arm later when they were further from The City because she had probably pulled her daughter too hard with her. The engine of her car suddenly stopped completely, and she didn't understand why. She still had plenty of fuel, no lights had come on in the dashboard. The car came to a slow stop, and she already wanted to get out to look in the engine compartment. The next thing she knew, her window was completely shattered. She was dragged out of the car, and she flew a few feet through the air before colliding unceremoniously hard with the asphalt. Michael with his terrifying black wings fully spread stood looking at her as if he might crush her at any moment. Lucifer opened the back door:
"Beatrice, child I'm here can you move?"
She threw herself into his arms from the back seat and wrapped one arm around his neck, the second arm lingering more or less motionless. The Devil lifted her in his arms, and he asked her:
"Are you hurt? Are you in pain?"
"My shoulder hurts a lot Lucifer. Mommy pulled on it very hard."
Michael had lost sight of Decker for one second as he looked back briefly to see if the girl was okay. Lucifer had turned to Decker with his eyes aflame, but the words stuck in his throat. She had drawn her weapon and pointed it at him with a crazed look in her eyes while he had her daughter in his arms. Instinctively, he wrapped his wings around the girl to protect her. She could not fire more than two shots. Michael had already grabbed her by the wrist and squeezed forcefully, feeling the bones just about shatter under his pressure, and Decker cried out.
"Luci GO, take her to Raphael I'll take care of this bitch!"
Growled Michael coldly. Lucifer didn't let him say it twice and disappeared with Beatrice. He knew his brother hadn't just said this so Trixie would get medical care. He also knew that Michael would want to have a conversation with Decker before dumping her in a cell in Heaven and that this conversation would be far from pleasant for her. Without a word, Michael grabbed her by the throat and pulled her up from the ground.
"It's not enough that you wanted to kill my brother, twice! It's not enough that you killed your daughter's father! Now you want to kill your own child too! What the fuck were you thinking shooting at your own child?"
"As long as she is under the influence of Lucifer and his Devil spawn, her soul will go to Hell. I wanted to save her pure soul so she could go to Heaven."
"You must be one totally confused bitch Decker. That Devil's Spawn as you call him is now the new God. That old bastard who had doomed you to Hell is no more so you can forget about help from that direction. Our new God Alexander is particularly fond of your daughter. Besides, he was already incredibly pissed at you for what you did to his father and were about to do to him. And now you have killed Trixie's father and attempted to kill the girl herself. I have spent thousands of years among humans, and I must say that I have come across very few incredible bitches like you. I would almost, very almost feel sorry for you because one thing is certain; Alex's short fuse is going to blow, and you are going to be the target. I've seen him make cold-blooded serial killers and dictators beg for their mommy and that wasn't even personal, it was just for fun. You, on the other hand, believe me, he's going to make this very very personal. Alex hasn't passed judgment on you yet but I'm going to show you where you belong."
With those words, they disappeared from Earth and appeared at the gates of Hell. Alarmed by Michael's arrival, Belios and Bearus were with him in no time and looked in amazement at the still-living woman who had dropped to her knees beside the Angel and was gasping for breath.
"What do we have here Michael? This one has a marker from Alex, special attention after her death but she's obviously not dead yet. So..."
"And speaking of a marker, we just got one in here that needs special protection."
"That will be Daniel, killed by this here."
He pointed his hand at Decker.
"He'll ask about it. Daniel is in level one?"
"Absolutely. Just tell the boss he's safe, that he's not exposed to the essence of Hell for a second."
"I'll go upstairs for a while and then come get her. If I'm gone for an hour or so how many hours have passed here?"
The two Demons knew that the Angel absolutely knew how much time would have passed and that this question was meant for the human being.
"Hour on top? Maybe about ten hours here, maybe a little more depending on which level."
"Gentlemen, would you be so kind as to have Miss Decker take a tour, let's say from levels five to nine? I'll pick this up later, no idea exactly when."
And with that Michael disappeared, leaving Decker behind with the two Demons. Bearus said:
"Wow, you must have fucked up so bad!"
Lucifer appeared with Beatrice in his arms straight into the infirmary where Raphael was already waiting for him. The latter signaled to put her on an examination table, but she refused to let go.
"Beatrice, this growler here is Raphael and he is the best healer in Heaven. Can he please take a look at your arm and shoulder?"
She nodded and Lucifer found no easier solution than to sit on the table himself with Beatrice in his arms so his brother could do his work.
"Okay young lady, let's see and this really isn't going to hurt."
Very gently Raphael placed two fingers on Trixie's shoulder and scanned her. The injuries her mother had inflicted on her were not too bad but were nonetheless painful for a young girl, especially a human child. Her shoulder had been dislocated and shot back, and the muscles and tendons around it had come under severe strain. He winked at his brother and said to Trixie:
"Would you like to see something absolutely magical, Angelic magic?"
At the word magic, she seemed to have forgotten her pain for a moment and she nodded fiercely yes. Raphael said to Lucifer:
"Take out your wings would you Luci?"
The latter did as he was asked but did not understand very well what this would be necessary for. Her eyes grew big as saucers at the sight of his white feathers which had a divine glow so close to her face. The hand she could move automatically went to the feathers but was stopped when he gently held her hand with his. She looked up at him in disappointment and said softly:
"Sorry, Lucifer..."
"No need Urchin, it's okay to touch them but I want you to be careful okay? See those big ones over there? They are razor sharp and you could hurt yourself really badly. Our feathers are also very sensitive, so you have to be gentle. The little ones are no danger."
He released her hand, and she gently placed it on the little feathers she saw and stroked them for a moment. For a moment Lucifer didn't know what was happening to him, it felt so good. But not in a physical way but in an absolute spiritual way. Like a bond was being forged with the girl that was so much deeper than the one he had with her so far. Raphael took her hand gently and looked at her:
"Good little one, now we are going to heal you, but I could very well use your help with that. Do you think you can help me?"
She nodded softly and mumbled almost inaudibly:
"yes..."
"Fine, you see that feather over there? I want you to grab that and tug at it, yes?"
"Isn't that going to hurt Lucifer?"
The Devil pressed her a little closer to him. This child had just lost her father and was injured and yet the first thing she was thinking of was not herself but him, whether it would hurt him. At that moment he decided that he didn't care if she ripped all the feathers from his wings, he would gladly sacrifice them and welcome the excruciating pain.
"It's okay Urchin, it's only one small feather and as you can see, I have many more. Go ahead, take the feather."
"Okay..."
She said softly and with a short tug, she had the feather in her hand. Raphael took the feather from her and said:
"Now look at your injured arm and see what happens when I use Lucifer's feather, it is pure Morningstar magic."
She did as she was asked, and the healer placed the feather on the arm and pressed it gently. Her whole shoulder and arm suddenly seemed to emit a blinding white light and the pain disappeared. Raphael once again placed two fingers on her arm and said:
"So all better and all thanks to Lucifer and his magic feather."
Hearing that, she wrapped her second hand around Lucifer's neck as well.
Ella, meanwhile, had arrived with Alex and Samantha around the time Raphael had tried to cheer Trixie up with the promise of magic. The way Lucifer handled the girl as if by some miracle he no longer had problems with children as he always claimed, he even pulled her closer to him and embraced her. Ella's heart made strange leaps in her chest. When Trixie began to cry panic appeared in his eyes for a moment, but Ella quickly sat beside him and cared for the small girl who would not let go of Lucifer and at the same time put the Devil at ease. Alexander looked at Raphael, who stepped with him into the hallway after which the door was closed.
"The girl is okay, it must have been painful for her but everything is as it should be again. But if the girl can release him later when she is more stable, I have to heal him too."
"Why, what's wrong with my father?"
"I don't know what happened back there on Earth, but he has two bullets in his right wing. I don't know how that is possible because we are just invulnerable to human weapons. I don't think he realizes it himself right now but he's going to feel it when the adrenaline starts to subside."
At that moment Michael appeared beside them. Alexander looked at him questioningly:
"I know boss you said in a cell. You didn't say immediately though."
He responded with a mean streak on his face.
"And where is she now if not in a cell?"
"Sightseeing..."
"Excuse me?"
Asked Samantha not understanding.
"She is currently receiving a personalized tour of Hell but only levels five through nine."
She immediately understood what was happening and what Decker was currently being exposed to.
"Good!"
Said Samantha bitterly.