Blood of the Devil

Chapter 1

Seren

I wish I could say that it all started when Naz got the strange call from a man calling himself Satan. That should have been the beginning. Any sane person would have thought that was the start of it.

It wasn’t.

In all honesty, it probably started when I was eight. But that was twenty-five years ago, and I have lived a (mostly) peaceful life since. The event that triggered our life to become quite hellish started when our son, Lyr, wanted to write to Santa. You see where this is going, don’t you?

We don’t celebrate as your typical household might. We’re not your typical household. But Lyr attends school within “normal” society. He’s eight and in third grade.

Early in December, Lyr came home telling us that he wanted to write to Santa.

“Do you?” Eion asked, brow raised.

Lyr nodded. “I know he doesn’t visit us and maybe he’s not real but… can I write to him?” His brows puckered in such a cute way. I was only slightly biased that my son was adorable with all of his expressions.

Eion smiled. “Of course, you can.”

Lyr grinned and ran off to his room. Eion looked at me and Killian. In his silent way, Killian frowned.

“He’s just exploring,” Eion said. “Fitting in. If all his classmates are writing to Santa, why should he be left out?”

Killian frowned further, but this time his brows knit in concern.

Eion placed a hand over Killian’s. “Don’t fret. He’s thriving.”

“Why shouldn’t he be thriving?” Lokin asked as he rounded the corner. He flopped onto the double chair with Killian and kicked his feet up onto Killian. Pursing his lips, Killian pushed his legs off. Lokin chuckled and shifted to nuzzle into Killian’s side instead. This, Killian allowed. He indulged Lokin by scratching the back of his head as you might a dog. “I mean, his grades are good. He has friends. Things are good at home. He has no reason not to thrive.”

Killian nodded, moving his hand further down to Lokin’s shoulder. If Lokin were a cat, he would’ve been purring. As it was, he leaned into Killian and closed his eyes. Wolves appreciated touch from their pack. Lokin was no different than a typical wolf, even if he were anything but typical.

Oren was late to dinner that night. He came home covered in Shade residue and stunk strongly of sulfur. At Eion’s wrinkled nose, Oren waved him off without a word and headed for the shower in the back corner, the one they used specifically for nasty jobs. Shade residue was its primary use.

Naz and Lyr were coloring while we waited for Oren. In this family, we ate as a family. Period.

Oren finally returned wrapped in a towel, his shaggy hair wet and dripping. “Ready for dinner,” he said, clapping his hands together.

Lyr looked up and laughed, which had been Oren’s intent. He winked at their boy.

“Get dressed, Dad,” Lyr giggled. “You can’t sit at the dinner table naked. Mom never lets me!”

“Yeah, but I’m special,” Oren said. “I spent the day working.”

“How many did you kill today?” Lyr asked, getting on his knees and leaning across the table excitedly.

“Seven,” Oren said, grinning.

“Oh, nice job, Daddy,” Lyr cheered, raising his marker in the air as if he were saluting.

Killian gestured Oren to the hall, a quiet demand to get dressed. Oren obliged, running his hand over Killian’s shoulder on his way by.

I know what you’re thinking. What the hell is going on in this house? And why do they allow their child to know that one of his parent’s jobs is to kill? They talk about it like it’s a normal, wholesome activity.

Well, that’s exactly what we do. Lyr is involved and knows everything about our professions. When I conceived our son, we had very long conversations about how involved we’d allow our offspring to be in our lives. And since what we are and what we do could potentially put Lyr at risk, it made the most sense that he knew everything as soon as he was able to understand.

He didn’t necessarily know all the details. We gauged what we told him based on his maturity and ability to comprehend and reason. We might’ve been a little biased, but our Lyr was an intelligent, quite mature eight-year-old. He knew quite a bit about our professions. He knew the dangers and the reward and why we did what we did.

Anyways, we all sat down to dinner when Oren returned. Cassie, Lyr’s live-in nanny, joined us as well. She was a sweet young thing. Mid-twenties. She’d been with Lyr since he was two. She, like Lyr, knew all about us. It was simply safer that way.

“Share time!” Lyr declared as soon as Eion was seated after bringing in dinner. Pot roast. Eion’s pot roast was to kill for. My mouth watered just smelling it. “Who first?”

Lokin made a show of sitting straighter. He used his butter knife to gently clink his glass. It always amused Lyr, which was why he did it.

“Go, Dad,” Lyr said, sitting back as Killian placed a big hunk of roast on Lyr’s plate. The boy would be a giant if he continued to eat as much as he did.

“Today, I made Daddy Oren a new blade,” Lokin said, grinning.

Oren stopped smashing his potatoes and carrots to look at Lokin. “Did you? Why?”

Lokin grinned. He left the table for a minute, and returned with one of the most beautiful, deadly weapons we had ever seen. “It has taken me months to get this damn thing right, but alas, perfection for you, husband.”

Oren stared. Lyr did, too, but with wide eyes and an excited smile. Not only did he love blades, he loved when any of his parents displayed kind, caring, loving gestures to each other. He was a thoughtful child and positively beamed when his parents showed their affection.

Lokin unsheathed the blade and made a couple of cutting motions through the air before balancing it on two fingers to show that it was perfectly balanced. He met Oren’s eyes and grinned. “Well, babe?”

For a minute longer, Oren simply stared at Lokin. When he finally smiled, it was gorgeous. Beautiful under those silver eyes. He folded his napkin and stood, heading for Lokin and the deadly blade.

He took it and performed many of the same motions Lokin had, except for the balance. Nothing Lokin made was less than perfect. “Devil’s blade,” Oren said, meeting Lokin’s eyes. “Where’d you get this metal?”

“You,” Lokin answered, shrugging. “You brought it home years ago. I’ve been trying to work it ever since. It’s a bitch to work with.”

Oren stared at it for a long time before looking back to Lokin. He shook his head ever so slightly, a hint of a smile gracing his lips. With a sigh, he grabbed Lokin by the shirt and jerked him close where he nuzzled into Lokin’s neck. The wolf appreciated the affection. It was far better than any verbal ‘thank you’ would ever be.

Lokin grinned widely, wrapping his arms around Oren. His teeth settled over Oren’s shoulder with light pressure. A love nip. There wouldn’t be so much as a hint of the bite.

“You can use it on the Shades,” Lyr said, his smile huge and enthusiastic. “Can I hold it?”

“I will and later,” Oren said, his small grin not leaving his lips. He sheathed the blade and hung it on the back of his chair as the two of them retook their seats.

“Who’s next?” Lyr asked, once more focused on his dinner and family conversation. “Momma?”

I smiled. “Today, I designed a coronet for a socialite,” I told him. “I put finishing touches on a gift or two, and then helped Lokin with a piece of glass.”

“What’s the glass for?” Lyr asked, looking at Lokin. As if Lokin had intentionally left out this detail of his day.

Trying to hide my grin, I answered. “We’re toying with stained glass, but with a secret twist.”

“What’s the twist?” he asked eagerly, leaning into the table.

“If I told you, there wouldn’t be a secret.”

He sighed. “Daddy Killian?” Lyr asked instead. Moving on instead of trying to coax it out of me.

Killian gave him a smile. He slid his phone across the table and hit the screen. The voice that drifted to them was male, scratchy, and deep. Still, there was that hint of manufactured, robotic stiffness to it. “Reviewed case files. Prospective jobs. Collected payment. Threatened some nonpayers.”

Lyr gave it just a second to make sure there was nothing else waiting to be said. It was a learned pause. One that didn’t put attention on the fact that Killian was mute.

“Any favorites?” Lyr asked.

Killian shrugged. He made a few quick gestures, signing that he was considering two.

“What did they do?”

‘Nothing good,’ Killian signed.

Lyr nodded knowingly. He chewed a few bites before turning to Naz. He liked leaving Eion for last. Eion’s job fascinated him because it seemed the most relevant to his life.

Naz grinned at Lyr. “Nothing real exciting today, Bud. Three cancelations. A new patient who hasn’t quite told me the crux of why he’s there. Hopefully, he doesn’t think I’m just a regular psychiatrist.”

“Regular is awfully boring,” Lyr said, nodding.

Naz chuckled in return. “I charge far too much for ‘regular'. And, yeah, it’s a little boring. And that’s why I don’t take those patients.”

“I go to school with regular kids,” Lyr said thoughtfully.

We all paused a moment to see where he’d take that statement. Lyr wasn’t exactly abnormal. When you have multiple husbands, a couple of which have some… unique… qualities, you never know what will show up in your offspring. And since all my husbands had dark hair over light features, it was hard to guess who his biological father was. The only thing we knew for sure was that it wasn’t Naz. We’d only welcomed Naz into our family three years ago.

Lyr looked up to Eion, another brilliant smile on his face. “Okay, Daddy E, what happened with you today?”

“You sure you don’t want to go first?” Eion asked, a grin pulling at the corners of his lips.

“I already know about my day,” Lyr smiled brightly. “Yours is always more exciting than mine.”

“Well, I had a triad in today who were discussing having a third child. The two mommies were at odds. They agreed that three children was perfect, but could not agree on who would carry it. I had a woman in who had not shared with her family or friends that she was polyamorous. She comes from a very conservative family and is sure that they will not approve. She’s also having some difficulty finding the right family for her. The right combination of husbands and wives.”

“It’s not easy finding a perfect family,” Lyr said knowingly.

Eion smiled and nodded. I met eyes with my five husbands as they met each other’s eyes, sharing smiles. We really were lucky.

“Okay,” I said. “Your turn, son. How was your day?”

“Wait. Cassie didn’t tell us about her day,” Lyr said.

Cassie was usually a very quiet addition to our little family. She was protective of our son, always making sure he was well fed, well groomed, and finished his homework before he was allowed to play. That being said, she adored Lyr and spoiled him.

She smiled and shook her head. “I spent my day with you, silly.”

“But I was at school for way too many hours. What did you do while I was at school?” Lyr insisted.

Cassie grinned at him. “I was doing coursework and making us some reservations for next week’s outings.”

“Do you still like your classes?” he asked, leaning his arm on the table.

I loved it when he imitated our cues of interest or irritation. It was also amusing that he was avoiding talking about his day. He loved to know what we did but wasn’t even a little interested in talking about himself.

“I do. Your turn.”

Lyr gave her a bashful smile. It was borderline flirty. He’ll be such a ladies’ man when he grows up. There was never a question, if his fathers were anything to go by.

“I didn’t do anything but school,” Lyr said with an exaggerated sigh. “Nothing happens at school but learning.”

“Learning can be fun,” Eion said. “I love learning new things.”

Lyr shrugged.

‘How’s your letter coming?’ Killian signed.

“It’s good,” Lyr said, shrugging. “But I think I’d like to do something different. Can I send a video to Santa?”

“Santa?” Oren asked, a bite of potato hovering in front of his mouth.

Lyr nodded. “Everyone at school is writing to him. I might not get an answer since he doesn’t exist, but what if he does and we just don’t participate?”

Oren nodded slowly. “Okay…”

“Is it alright?” Lyr asked. His big eyes looked at Oren imploringly.

Oren, like the rest of us, was putty in Lyr’s hands. He smiled. “Of course, kiddo. It's just the first I’ve heard of it.”

“I just decided today,” Lyr said. He turned to Lokin. “Can you video me?”

Lokin nodded. “After dinner.”

“And you’ll fix my mess ups? And put it on a flash drive for me?”

“Absolutely,” Lokin said.

And that was just what happened.

That evening, after Lyr was in bed and Lokin had finished editing it, he brought it in for us to watch.

It started with Lyr in his suit, forest green tie perfectly tucked into his jacket. He even fixed his cuffs.

We were all grinning at the image as Lyr settled in front of the camera.

“I couldn’t edit it out,” Lokin said. “He’s too damn cute.”

Killian smiled fondly, nodding his agreement. We all settled in, tucked into each other’s arms, to watch our boy.

“Ready?” Lyr asked on screen.

Lokin’s answer wasn’t recorded. He must have nodded. Lyr began his video letter.

“Hi Santa. My name is Lyrik Dare, but everyone calls me Lyr. You can if you want to. I know I haven’t written before. I’m sorry. You probably haven’t heard from my family when they were kids, either. So, I want to tell you about them because I’m pretty sure I have the best family in the whole world - and I’m not just saying that ‘cause my Daddy is recording me.

“My mommy is Seren Dare. She owns a forge and creation shop. She’s the best designer in the world. She even makes crowns for the royal people. My daddy, Lokin Dare, helps her in the forge. He is the master forger. I just saw the most special blade he’s ever made for my other daddy, Oren. Oren Dare hunts Shades. They’re super dangerous and can possess humans, making them do horrible things. My daddy, Killian Cane, kills bad people. And he’s the best at it. My daddy, Eion Dare, is really quiet, but super smart. He helps big families like mine stay together and work through their problems instead of splitting up houses. But he also makes sure they know it’s okay to split up if that’s what’s best for everyone involved. And Naz Cane is my new daddy. He helps people heal their minds who experience unexplained things, like ghosts and aliens and stuff. And my nanny is Cassie Smith. She’s really very cool. She plays with me and makes sure I learn things since school doesn’t teach much.

“So, I’m supposed to be telling you how good I was, right? Well, I am normally a very good boy. I don’t get into much trouble. I did pull Jamie’s pigtail on the playground once because she was teasing Darook. Darook is a good kid. He’s shy, kinda like my daddy Eion. My parents say Eion is a submissive but he’s not a wolf like my daddy, Lokin. Even so, all my daddies are super protective of Eion because he’s a submissive. And my mommy, too, who is really dominant. That’s what Naz says. I believe it.

“Anyways, I think Darook is a submissive and I must be a dominant. Darook and I aren’t friends or anything, but I just needed to protect him from Jamie picking on him. I had to sit inside for two recesses after that. Jamie wasn’t punished. Don’t worry, I didn’t get grounded or anything.

“I also snuck some extra ice cream when everyone was asleep last summer.” Lyr glanced beyond the camera, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. “I might be in trouble for that now,” he told the camera. “My daddy Lokin is recording me.”

Lyr looked down before meeting the camera again. “I don’t think I was naughty outside of that. And now I am supposed to tell you what I want for Christmas. Well, I want a horse and a dog and a bike. I’d also like a really cool notebook and some neat pens. I like to write. But you can give me anything you want. I don’t mind. It’s also okay if you don’t want to bring me anything since we don’t really celebrate your holiday. We give gifts to each other all year.”

“Before I end my letter, I am going to give you a gift. I asked and it seemed no one ever gives you a gift in return or even writes you a thank you. It seems awfully rude and impolite. I am including my special coin. Daddy Killian brings me special coins sometimes. I don’t know much about this one. We’ve been looking for it online, but we don’t see anything like it. We’re planning to go to a big library someday and see if we can find books about it. Maybe you’ll know. You can keep it if you want to. I have a big coin collection and I think you don’t get many gifts. Cookies and milk from all of these other kids isn’t something to be proud of.

“So, that’s my letter. You can write back if you want to. Bye.” Lyr waved and the video ended.

Lokin looked at us.

“A horse?” Naz asked. “I had no idea that he wanted a horse.”

“Or a bike,” Oren said. “He has never spent much time outdoors unless he’s hunting pirate coins.”

“Perhaps we should work on that,” I said.

The letter itself was fine. There was nothing about it that would cause a question or concern. We didn’t realize that something had been amiss until Christmas morning. Lyr hadn’t addressed the letter to Santa, apparently. He’d changed some letters around.