Chapter One: Promotion With a Side of Kidnapping

Lately, I wasn't able shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Couldn't say what it was. Or maybe I just didn't want to face the reality. It came in flashes, the slightest prick on the back of my neck, the feeling of being watched. On the subway, on the steps of my apartment, fishing for my keys. At work, when I was the last one to leave. Something was following me.

Maybe it was just paranoia, the fear of a fresh city civilian. After all, not many twenty-year old girls ended up in Chicago completely alone. I had been raised on tales of caution, on stern fingers wagging, on warnings of the real world.

Trish had been so excited when I told her the news. "Fae, that's wonderful!" I could practically hear her hyper voice echoing in my head. "You'll get paid more, and you have enough to get your own room! Hell, you can get your own apartment!"

I guess that did seem like a pretty big deal for two orphaned girls, crammed into a foster home for the first 18 years of their lives. Getting promoted was great. It came with a lot of good things, like the whole salary raise bit, like getting to move out from Aviston, Illinois. But it also came with things like living alone in a city with a really high crime rate. Did I mention alone?

I rubbed my eyes self-consciously as the subway slowed to a stop. I was nearing my apartment complex, and the number of people in my compartment was slowly dwindling. I shivered, even though it was the middle of July. I could've sworn the hairs on my arms were standing up straight.

The vehicle picked up speed again, dashing through a tunnel. My heart was pounding heavily, and I had no idea why. I shook my head. "Maybe you're just overworked, Fae," I muttered to myself. "Stop imagining things."

The compartment lurched to a halt, electronic doors sliding open. The last few people spilled out. I frowned, disliking the idea of being alone for another stop. I looked around behind me. Nobody. I turned back around- and came face to face with seven cloaked individuals.

I screamed.

"Shh!" The middle one put a finger to his lips, which were concealed by the dark fabric of his hood. "You'll wake up the whole goddamn city."

Judging by his voice and build, he was probably only twenty or so. I swallowed, hard.

"Poor girl. She's scared," said the one to his left, tall with a voice like seductive honey. She held out her hand in a gesture that signaled no harm.

"Tough," another girl's voice sneered. She was standing to his right, voice high and clear, slathered with disgust. "I don't understand why we can't just knock her out."

The one in the middle, the boy who had spoken first, moved his head slightly, as if he was rolling his eyes. Turning towards her, he said, "Because, Emi, we don't know where her apartment is."

"W-Who are you?" I squeaked out, backing away. I had always told myself that if I was ever attacked, I would remain calm and in control, and fight back. Haha, to hell with that. I was scared witless.

The boy turned back to face me. He seemed to realize that I had no idea what was going on. "Oh! Sorry about that. I forgot."

He pulled his hood down, revealing a surprisingly non-threatening face. He had a defined jawline and high cheekbones, but they were offset by warm brown eyes and dimpled cheeks. "I'm Rax, Satan's son."

What the fuck.

"You're what?" I asked, hoping I had heard wrong.

The girl, Emi, smacked him. "You're not supposed to just say that. Humans don't believe in that kind of stuff, remember?"

Okay. They were clearly insane. I considered going along with it, just so I wouldn't accidentally offend these psychopaths. "No, it's fine. So. Satan's son! How are you?"

"She doesn't believe you," another of them chuckled. His voice was greasy and simpering, causing shivers to run down my spine. I swallowed again just to keep from shrieking.

The other woman removed her hood. "Don't worry, child. We're not going to hurt you." A cascade of luscious blonde curls tumbled around her shoulders, framing a delicate face with strikingly perfect features. I sucked in a breath, almost momentarily distracted by how beautiful she was.

"Lucy, stop that!" Emi growled, ripping off her own hood. "Why do you always have to play nice? People already like you. Now shut up." She glared at me through intelligent green eyes, ferociously narrowed, complimenting her light brown hair. "And you, you're coming with us."

"Why?" I blurted out, and then mentally cursed. Do what the psychopaths say, Fae!

The one who claimed to be the Devil's son, Rax, pursed his lips thoughtfully. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"I do. I really do. Seriously."

The short one with the greasy voice cackled. "I wouldn't lie to Rax if I were you, girl. You don't want to see him angry."

The widest one chuckled slowly, face still hidden under his hood. "I would. It would be funny."

"Oh shut up, you guys," Rax said, with a relaxed smile on his face. If I had seen him on the street, absolutely nothing would have indicated that he was crazy as hell. "Fine then, Fae. If you don't believe me, I'll give you a demonstration."

I shrank into the wall as he walked closer. "No, no thank you. No demonstration needed." Also, how the hell does he know my name?

He ignored me, closing the distance between us. As he got closer, I pressed myself even further into the wall, if that was possible. What was he going to do?

The answer to my question came in the form of a glowing purple hand, his hand, reaching towards my forehead. I drew in short, shallow breaths, hardly daring to breathe. His hand was glowing. His hand was glowing. His hand was glowing.

The instant he made contact with my skin, everything was on fire. My vision blurred and went black, incredible pain rushing through my entire body. I thought I smelled the metallic tang of blood.

Every negative emotion I could think of was rushing into me. It wasn't just stemming from my own emotions- it was as if somebody took a syringe and started injecting fear, hatred, sorrow, anger, and everything horrible in the world into my skin.

"Sir, that's enough," a rough voice commanded.

Gasping for breath, tears streaming down my face, my vision returned. I had collapsed on the floor. I looked upwards to see the tallest one, one of the two who had not spoken, placing a hand on Rax's shoulder.

He had withdrawn his hand from my forehead, and it was no longer glowing. The look on his face was almost one of concern. "Believe me now, Fae?"

I could barely muster the energy to nod.

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Okay, good. We're arriving at your stop soon, aren't we? Take us home."

It took me a second to realize I wasn't injured. I felt no pain, and the unnatural emotions had evaporated, leaving me with only my own fear, which was still a hell of a lot. I sat up shakily. This is real. Is he actually Satan's son? Is that possible?

The sound of the doors opening seemed almost too mundane to fit in with the bizarre situation I had somehow just become involved in. Stumbling out of the doors, I felt more tears welling up as the seven of them followed me. They had put their hoods back on.

"Here," Lucy, the blonde one, said, handing me a hood. "So you don't stand out."

If I had been my normal smartass self, I would've told her that they all looked weird enough, and that they most definitely stood out. But now? I was so scared that all I could do was take the cloth with trembling hands.

The walk from the subway station to my bus wasn't far. It didn't take long for me to get home, plus seven unwanted psychopaths. The whole time, I had become numb and was now running through a list of all the bad things I had ever done.

"I stole Mary's favorite doll in fourth grade," I murmured under my breath, then almost let out a peal of maniacal laughter. Whichever way you looked at it, I did not deserve this.

My hands were shaking as I reached my door. The keys slipped out of my grasp, tumbling to the floor. I stood, frozen, wondering if they would be angry.

Nothing happened. Lucy simply scooped them up and opened the door for me.

Usually I found comfort, and sometimes delight, in stepping into my own apartment, since I had hardly had a room to myself prior to being promoted. Now, the walls seemed threatening, forming the enclosed place in which I would probably die.

I almost jumped when Rax prodded my back. "Come on, Fae. You're kind of blocking the doorway."

I stepped inside, followed by my seven kidnappers. I couldn't stop myself from laughing when I saw that they were taking off their shoes. "Y-You don't have to do that. I don't really care."

Rax yawned. "Eh, shoes are uncomfortable anyways."

"O-Okay."

I stood cautiously in the middle of the living room as one of them instantly flopped down on the couch. Giving the person a shove, Emi sat down next to them. "Lazyass," she muttered, unbuttoning her cloak.

Underneath, she wore a surprisingly normal outfit comprised of black leggings and a green sweater. Similarly, Rax was wearing a t-shirt and jeans.

I had started to shut down. Instead of a pounding heart, a wave of calm washed over me and I collapsed, head hitting the floor with a loud noise.

"Fae!" Rax frowned and reached for me. I held out a hand to stop him.

"I'm fine. I'm just tired."

"You overdid it," Emi said, looking exasperated. "She's not strong enough yet."

I could feel tears slipping out, but felt no urge to cry. God, what's happening? Why is this happening to me? What's going on?

All seven of them stood up at once, instantly alert.

"What?" I asked thickly, wondering if I had missed something.

"Don't pray to God," Emi hissed. "Don't even think of Him."

"How did you-"

Lucy shushed me. "She's not trying to be mean, Fae. It's just that you're not safe right now, and it would be in your best interests not to pray."

I half-laughed, half-sobbed, beyond caring. "Right. Not safe. I've got seven psychopaths in my apartment who want to kill me. No shit, Sherlock."

Rax tilted his head in a confused manner. "Kill you? No, no. We don't want to kill you. Where did you get that idea?"

"Then…then who are you? Why are you here?"

"I already told you, I'm Satan's son. We're here to-"

He stopped short. A single, beautiful feather was drifting from my ceiling, pure white, almost glowing. Wait, no. It was glowing.

"Duck!" Rax shouted, then pushing my head down for me. In that instant, I felt a gust of air pass by, ruffling the top of my hair. I looked up and nearly choked.

An angel. A motherfucking angel.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," I breathed, passing out.

I came to a minute later, to observe an entirely chaotic scene. The angel- an actual fucking angel oh my- was swooping around my apartment, seemingly aiming for me.

All around her, the seven of them, except the one who had flopped down on my couch, had all removed their cloaks and were glowing with energy. The darkness emanating from them made me want to scream all over, and possibly pass out again.

A blast louder than gunfire shot through the angel's wings. She let out a yelp, but then redirected her attention towards her attacker: Emi. Emi beckoned her with a finger, grinning wickedly. The angel frowned, an expression that didn't match her petite, kind features. The hole in her wing was repairing itself, white feathers mending the gaping wound. She swooped down faster than my eyes could follow, grasping Emi by the ear.

"What a bitch," Emi complained, smacking the angel's wrist. "Ariel, you know I hate it when you do that!"

"Your comfort is not really in my priorities," the angel responded, letting go of her ear and taking advantage of her distraction to zoom towards me.

Rax whacked her back with his forearm. "It's too late. She's under our protection now. Let her go, Ariel."

Ariel smiled gently at me. "Do you want to be with them, child?"

"Uh…no?"

Rax groaned. "Fae, you are really not making this easy."

She extended a hand towards me. "Then come, Fae. We will make our way to someplace safe."

I stumbled forward, only able to concentrate on her blinding light, reaching forward a hand to meet hers.

Rax held me back. "Stop! You don't know what you're doing!"

"The child wants to come with me, Wrath," Ariel responded, brows furrowing in stern command. "Let her be."

"Only because you didn't tell her that you're going to kill her!" Emi growled, aiming another shot at Ariel's back.

"What? Kill me?" I asked, in a dazed voice. I was so confused at this point that I wanted to curl up in a ball and give myself amnesia.

Ariel spun around and repelled Emi with a flick of her wrist. "Watch yourself, Envy. I am above you."

The rest of them were just kind of sitting there, watching curiously. Emi grunted, rising from the floor. "I hate that condescending tone. Guys, a little help, please?"

Lucy sighed. "I suppose. Percival, you too."

The tall one, the one who had told Rax to stop, sniffed. "I can't believe you can't even take care of a single angel."

"I will bite you," Emi snapped. "Never mind. I'll handle it."

"You obviously can't," Percival answered, moving so fast he disappeared for a second. When he reappeared, he was right behind Ariel. He grasped her wings, pulling them together roughly so she couldn't move. She shrieked. Emi rolled her eyes.

"Stop!" I cried. "You're hurting her!"

Rax looked at me curiously. "Why do you care? She's going to kill you, you know. Why do you feel sorry for her?"

"B-Because you're evil! You're a liar! You're Satan's son, aren't you? She's an angel. She's on my side!"

He shook his head. "Humans. Always believe you're righteous, huh?" He got into my face, so close that I could see the specks of red in his brown eyes. "Listen, and listen close. She is not your friend. She wants to kill you. Execute you. Chop chop. No more Fae. Get it?"

"But-"

"No buts." He stood up. "Yeah, I know it's hard for you to understand, but trust me. That angel? She's not here to help you."

"Let me go," Ariel said, in a calm voice. "Let me take the girl. She is of no use to you."

"Not a chance," Rax said, walking over to her in an equally calm manner. "Go home, Ariel. You can't win here."

With a defiant glare, she vanished.

Percival let his hands fall to his sides. Paying no attention to the still-groaning Emi on the floor, he stalked over to the couch and sat, right on top of the other person.

"Hey." She spoke for the first time, tone muffled. "Percival, get off."

He rolled his eyes. "Or what?"

His answer came in the form of a punch, one that booted him off the couch and next to Emi.

The girl sat up, rubbing her eyes. Taking off her cloak, she looked at me with dead, tired eyes. "That's her? She looks pretty normal."

The wide one rolled his eyes. "You would be able to tell the difference if you ever bothered using your powers, Sloth." The girl shrugged. She was pretty, with straight brows and light brown eyes, wavy hair framing her light chestnut skin. Her eyelids were drooping, almost as if she was about to fall asleep. She wore no makeup, unlike Emi and Lucy.

Rax, Emi, and Percival were arguing.

"We need to move her," Percival was saying. "They know she's here."

"Then let them come," Emi snarled. "We can protect her."

"Emi, shut up! You couldn't even take Ariel by yourself!" Percival turned to glare down at her. She glared right back.

"That's just personal! You know how bad she pisses me off!"

"Both of you, quiet." Rax's voice was musing. "We can't move. There's nowhere else to go, and besides, Fae might run for help if we leave the apartment. But protection is an issue. Emi, you're low on power, aren't you?"

Emi stiffened. "No."

"Yes," Percival answered, rolling his eyes. "Even you, sir. You've wasted too much already."

"Excuse me?" I found my voice, timid and meek. All three of them turned to look at me. "Uh, can one of you explain what's going on?"

They exchanged glances. "Depends," Emi answered, with a stingy tone. "Are you going to believe us?"

"Depends on what you tell me."

Rax sighed. "I guess she has to know now."

He squatted down in front of me, gently placing a finger to my forehead. "Sloth, come help me so she doesn't freak out."

The girl, Sloth, dragged herself off the couch. "Dosage?"

"I think ten minutes should be enough."

With that, the girl placed her own finger on my forehead, and a wave of drowsiness washed over me. I didn't feel an intense desire to sleep, exactly, but the feeling made me slightly dizzy and relaxed.

"We've numbed your emotions a bit," Rax explained, removing his hand. "Just so you don't- ah, I don't know- have a heart attack."

"Okay," I answered sleepily.

"Not really sure how to say this, but, uh…you're not human, Fae."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You're an orphan, aren't you?" I nodded slowly. "Well, that's because you're one of the biggest anomalies to ever exist. Your mother was an angel, but your father, well, he was a demon."

I started laughing. "Uh-huh. Okay."

In the back of my mind, the pieces started making sense, even as I willed them not to. The way I was horrible at making decisions between right and wrong. Would I give in to desire, selfishness, or be a good person? Thanks to Gertrude, my foster mother, I usually made good decisions. She had raised me with morals. But still, things happened. The way lights always seemed to malfunction around me, the way animals hated me and little kids adored me. None of it really made sense, but I had always brushed it off as a natural part of life. Every person was different. None of that meant I was the spawn of an angel and a devil.

Rax studied me carefully. "You say that, but I know you know it's possible."

I shook my head. "No, no it's not. Angels don't exist. Demons don't exist."

He sighed. "Now you're just being insulting. You saw everything, didn't you?"

I could only nod mutely.

He continued. "Okay, so listen. You're half angel, half devil. That's weird, right?"

Nod.

"And the weird thing is, you probably shouldn't even have been born. It defies a lot of laws that you were ever conceived. Even weirder, once you had been born, you shouldn't have lived. The contradicting forces within you should've torn you apart."

"But they didn't?" I asked.

He gestured at me. "Obviously, or we wouldn't be having this conversation. Your mother loved you, Fae. That's why she brought you here."

"Here?"

"Earth," he clarified. "The material realm, halfway between her world and your father's. Here, magic doesn't form as easily. Your powers are muted, buried deep down. That's how you survived."

I took a deep, shaky breath. "Okay. Suppose all of that is true. Why now? Why are you here? And what am I supposed to do?"

"We're here to protect you. You've reached a point in your life where the powers will be harder to suppress. Have you been feeling off lately?"

"What do you mean?"

Percival tossed me a bottle of Advil. "It's almost empty, but the date says you probably only bought it a week or two ago."

"Headaches," I answered, blinking rapidly. "That doesn't mean anything."

"And you've been mildly depressed," Emi said. I looked over to see that she was flipping through one of my journals.

"Hey!"

"The point is, Fae, your powers have begun to surface," Rax told me, ignoring my protesting cries. "And Heaven wants you gone."

I shook my head in denial. "Why? I'm a good person, aren't I?"

He shrugged. "Probably, but by nature you're also half a demon. To them, you're tainted beyond salvation."

"It's not my fault, is it?" I whispered.

Emi scoffed. "Of course not. You can't help who your father was."

Rax frowned. "There's more, but it's probably too much for you to handle at this point. You need sleep. You can rest assured that we won't hurt you. We want to protect you."

"Why?" I asked, bewildered.

"I'll tell you tomorrow." He stood up, but I pulled his arm back down.

"Wait. Tell me who you guys are, really. Are you all demons?"

He gestured to them. "Yeah, I guess. They're no ordinary demons, either. They're the Sins."

"Sins?"

"I'm Wrath, Satan's son. I've decided to go by Rax on Earth." He pointed to Emi. "That lovely bitch over there is Envy. We call her Emi here." Emi sniffed, looking away.

"Percival is Pride." Percival gave me a curt nod. "And Lucy, her real name's Lust." She smiled at me, and for the first time I noticed just how revealing her outfit was. If I hadn't been so out of it, I probably would've been embarrassed.

"I'm Greed," the short one said, in his simpering tone. "But you can call me Giles."

"I'm Gus, but better known as Gluttony." The wide one held out a chubby hand, which I took gingerly.

I waited for the girl on the couch, who had collapsed again with her face in the cushions, to make her introduction. She didn't move. Rax sighed. "Yeah, and if you haven't guessed by now, that's Sloth. She's too lazy to pick a new name."

I shuddered, laughing again with incredulity. "I can't believe I'm talking to the seven sins incarnate."

Rax shrugged. "Well, believe it."

The drowsy feeling had started to leave me. The words, everything Rax had told me, was all starting to register in my brain. "I'm…I'm…"

"She's getting it," Emi noted, eyebrows raised. Rax patted my shoulder gently.

The sleepiness had left me, and all at once I started to hyperventilate.

Then I passed out in the arms of Satan's teenage son.