My father handed a crystal glass to me, filled with two fingers of whiskey. He was either in a generous mood or thought that I needed it. I downed it in one which he didn't even raise an eyebrow to.
Settling into the chair next to mine, I heard a soft but heavy sigh escape him.
"I felt it too Brannon, something is wrong. She has fallen completely, the wings are the purest black yet there is something."
His hand reached out, gripping at the air as if he was strangling it.
"There is something Brannon, I don't know what it is. I suppose with time our issue will reveal itself."
"Are you worried that the angels are looking for her?"
My father smiled, the wicked grin almost hidden by the crystal glass.
"They are looking for her. They have found an empty apartment and evidence of more than just a low rank angel. Everywhere they look for her, they cannot find her."
"Do you think they've realised?"
"Of course they would have, an angel doesn't fall into darkness without her overseers feeling it. The feeling would be rippling through them, a dark dread of deceit and treachery. It is truly wondrous. But still, this odd feeling. I can guarantee that they are related somehow. Maybe going to school tomorrow is not such a wise idea."
"Can't avoid it forever." I said, holding out the glass.
My father looked at it and then me, wordlessly he poured more into it and his own. I'd never got drunk with my father before, this was something new.
"She's not pregnant if you were wondering."
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"You tell me." He said dryly before taking a sip of his whiskey.
"Good because we are not ready for it, there is something wrong and bad because it's something that I've always wanted."
Now I got the raised eyebrows, my father looked at me with a lot of surprise.
"The drunken party animal wants to settle down and have children? You're only eighteen Brannon, there is no need to rush into this life."
"I know but I see you and mom and how much you two love each other and want that for myself."
"You will get it Brannon, there is an eternity in front of you and Emily. Your bodies will dictate what is right, as they did with your mother and myself. There is no rushing this Brannon, just take one day at a time."
"And what about this feeling that we're getting? Do you think that they're planning on storming this place to get her back?"
My father laughed, an amused chuckle as he shook his head.
"For an infra? Unlikely. They are considered the bottom of the pile Brannon, what makes them into a deus angel is their ability to claw their way up to become something better. Those above her will not bother to search her nor be concerned about her because they will see her fall from grace as an easy escape, that she has thought her life was too hard and decided that this was a better option. It is sad, don't you think?"
I nodded, agreeing completely.
"For me, a demon is worth everything. I have to ensure that each and every single one of them is still connected to me, that they do not want to go elsewhere because I cannot create as I please. I am bound to a very limited life, there are only two ways I can get demons. For the most part I am only allowed demons who make deals and a demonic life is offered as part of the deal, my little loophole is hidden from those who watch me constantly. I cannot create something freely like they do and yet with all the restrictions that are placed upon me, I believe that I am better off. It does not matter if they behave because it means the pit if they don't, those demons out there, they want to be tied to me, they want to be a part of this world. Why do you think that is Brannon?"
All I could do was shrug, I had no idea what would make a demon want to be bound to my father.
"It is because I want them to be a part of my life and this world. I want them, all of them. Do you think that Emily feels that way about those above her? An infra angel is common, they make far too many of them. They are nothing but pawns, sent out into the world to do the dirty work that their overseers cannot be bothered with. They are treated as servants because that is what they are but it is how they are treated that makes all the difference. What was her apartment like?"
"Uh, pretty lame actually."
"That's my point Brannon. It is nothing for them to acquire any place for an angel to live in while doing an assignment, a snap of their fingers and they could have something pleasing. What does she get? Something that is considered lame. Does she deserve lame? No, of course not, not when something better is so easily obtained. My demons? There are no levels, no hierarchy within their ranks. Just one kind of demon and nothing more. When your mother was going to become an immortal, I had the opportunity to send a demon to New York to be there while the turning took place. I could have put the demon in some shoddy apartment, but I did not. She was to go to my apartment, a place that sat high in the sky over New York, far better than any hotel. Circumstances changed and she was unable to go there, instead she went to a hotel. But that was not enough, I wanted to show my gratitude for her service and to show her that she actually meant something to your mother and I and so I gave her something that suited her better. They may not be the same situations entirely Brannon but they are similar, both women were doing a duty for their master and look at how differently they were treated. Remember that Brannon, how you treat someone will always matter, always."