A Friend to the Darkness. Katherine Rathbone

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      “Do you think you deserve to be punished by demons in Hell for all eternity?”

      I thought about it. I didn’t know. He shook his head at me fondly.

      “How will you hurt me?”

      “What?” It was his turn to be confused.

      “Before, I asked if you would hurt me, and you said ‘not like that, no.’ So how would you?”

      He smirked. “You’re getting better at picking up on our evasions.”

      I didn’t reply, just looked at him steadily. He sighed. “If your safety, sanity, life or soul depended on it, then I would hurt you. Like teaching you how to fight. I knew Sebastian would get mad and give you a decent pounding, and I thought that was a lesson you needed to learn. I didn’t think he’d go that far, though.” He added quickly, embarrassed.

      I nodded thoughtfully. “I get that, because same. Ok, I think I’m good now. Let’s head back.”

      He stood and held his hand out to me. I took it and rose as well, and we were back by the campfire.

      “Katie!” Sebastian bounded over to me, gathering me into his arms. “Are you ok?” He held me at arms’ length and studied me, before pulling me close again. Tentatively, I snaked my good arm around his waist and hugged him back. He shifted, pulling me in closer still. Shyly, I rested my head on his chest and relaxed into his warmth. There’d never really been anyone in my life who hugged me so freely, and I gotta admit, it was nice. He rested his chin on my head, and stroked my hair, gently rocking side to side. “We’ve got you, dear one.” He murmured gently.

      I pulled away and wiped my eyes again. “Thank you, Sebby.” And smiled at him. He grinned back at me, and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “So.” I cleared my throat. “Knives, hey? Do you guys think I’m going to become a chef?”

      Sera rolled her eyes at me, but I could still read concern on her face. “I’m going to take over your training, Katie, and teach you how to use these. If you still want to learn, of course.” She added quickly, glancing at my cast.

      “Absolutely! I need to be able to kick his arse!” And I gently punched Sebastian’s shoulder. “They are so beautiful, what are they made from?”

      Lucifer answered. “Demon forged steel. This or iron is the only thing that can seriously hurt or kill us. Unless we rip each other apart.”

      “Ew. Gross. Why would I want to hurt you?”

      He smiled mysteriously. “We thought you should be prepared for anything, just in case. There’s… a faction in Hell that might want to… hurt you, since you’re my friend. I mean, if they show up, you run like Hell and pray for us, but… We’re going to teach you, just in case.”

      I nodded. The idea of demons coming after me was sobering. I considered the arse kicking Sebastian had handed to me, and suspected that he still hadn’t used his full strength. “How strong are you guys?” I asked curiously.

      Sera tilted her head back and looked at the stars, before glaring at me. “How long have we known you? And you’re only just asking us now? Maybe you should have considered that before teasing us and provoking us.”

      I shrugged. “The way I see it, if you kill me, I’ll end up in Hell and you’ll have to put up with me full time.” Everyone laughed at me. “Seriously though. How strong are you?”

      Sebastian picked up a rock, just small enough to fit into his fist. He held it up to show me, and squeezed. It cracked right down the middle. Lucifer grinned and took the pieces from him. With a sly smile, he squeezed the parts of the rock in his hand into dust. I swallowed hard. “Fair enough then. How about a drink?”

      I ended up seated next to Sera, and she was talking me through the different knives and the situations they were designed for. I must have fallen asleep, because I found myself with my head in her lap, and her absentmindedly stroking my hair. It was nice. I pretended I was still sleeping.

      “We have to tell her, my Lord.” Seth’s voice was resolute.

      Lucifer sighed. “I don’t want to, Seth. I don’t want to take that innocence from her.”

      “That innocence could get her killed, Lucifer.” Sera spoke quietly so as not to ‘wake’ me. I’d never heard her call him by name before.

      “Let’s just give her a while longer.” He sounded like he was begging. Weird thing for the King of Hell.

      Sera sighed. “You’re the King. I’m going to take her home and put her to bed.”

      Seven.

      The next time I saw them was in a shopping centre. I was walking, lost in thought, when I heard Sera’s voice. “Hiya, Katie.”

      “Hey guys!” I gave Sebastian a quick hug, and nodded at his more aloof sister. I turned to Seth, who smirked and drawled,

      “Do I get a hug?”

      “I’m not hugging you, you creepy old man.” I scolded. A middle aged woman walking past jumped, looking quickly from me to the unusually good looking teenaged boy I was talking to, and shook her head in confusion. We all laughed at her.

      “What are you guys doing here?” I asked.

      “Asking you if you want to catch up tonight. And getting snacks if the answer is yes.” Sebastian grinned at me.

      “Absolutely!”

      Night had fallen as we made our way out of the shopping centre, my friends walking with me to the spot where I was meeting mum when she finished work. We were laughing and joking, when a woman’s scream cut through the night, from the alleyway we were approaching. Sera eased a knife in its sheath, glanced at us, and disappeared. She reappeared in a moment, and said curtly, “Get her out of here.” Seth reached for me, but I danced out of his grasp and ran to the alley.

      “Fuck that!” I yelled over my shoulder. I’m sure all three of them growled as they ran after me.

      Inside the alley, I stopped short. There was a woman, beaten and bruised, her clothes torn, her face tear stained. She was surrounded by no less than six leering men, one of whom had his cock in his hand. My friends passed me, and stood arrayed across the mouth of the alleyway. Sera casually flipped a knife up into her hand, and said, “Dear one, how about you take this lady somewhere safe.”

      The woman pushed past the men, and bolted towards me. I held out my hands to her, but she shoved me to the ground, hissing, “Stay the fuck away from me” as she ran on by. Sera glanced back at me, and said gently,

      “You probably don’t want to watch us work, dear one.”

      I did, though. I wanted to see these arseholes punished with all the fury of Hell.

      The guy with his cock in his hand swaggered closer to Sera. “You wanna play, pretty girl?” Gross. Sera gave him a cold smile, and started to grow. Her talons appeared as she slowly dropped her glamour. Her skin resumed its familiar red hue, and her sky blue horns appeared СКАЧАТЬ