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into my church, Laila. We both have many things to say."

Chapter Three

    Echoes and hisses filled the church nave. Torches flickered upon the blackened walls, casting dancing shadows, bringing scarce light to this towering cavern. The pews had burned down years ago, leaving a scorched, barren floor strewn with demon tracks. Red eyes filled every nook and alcove on the walls, staring down at Laila as she stood in the center of the nave, cloaked in shadows, claws glinting.
    In the shadowy chancel ahead, Beelzebub stood by the church's oak altar, candles burning around him. His wife, the demon Zarel, sat by him on the floor, hissing, flaming hair crackling. Zarel was no fallen angel and had none of Beelzebub's beauty; forged in the pits of Hell was she, a being of horns and scales and flame. The Demon Queen's eyes burned as she glared at Laila, and a heavy chain bound her neck to the floor. Her fangs glistened and oozed drool, like a rabid dog's.
    "A precaution," Beelzebub explained to Laila, tugging the chain as Zarel growled. "She wants to kill you, you see. If I hadn't chained her, she'd have ripped out your throat by now."
    Laila nodded, eying the chained she-devil, glad for the weight of the grenades on her belt. "Much appreciated." Zarel's claws were long and hard, digging ruts into the stone floor as she tugged on her chain. She wants to dig those claws into my throat, Laila thought and swallowed.
    She turned her eyes back to Beelzebub. "Well, here I am, in your church," she said, standing with legs slightly apart, ready to flee if she had to. She focused her hearing behind her, sniffing for demon scent. She dared not turn to look, but it seemed like ten demons, maybe twenty, hissed behind her, blocking the exit. If I must, I can break past them, she thought. She flicked her eyes to the stained glass windows in the clerestory above. It was hard to tell how many demons lurked in those shadows by the ceiling. If I must, I can break through those windows too. Volkfair growled by her, showing just the tips of his fangs. He's thinking the same thing.
    "I'm glad you came," Beelzebub said, stroking Zarel's flaming hair. The light of those flames flickered against his gilded breastplate, greaves, and vambraces. "Welcome back, Laila. Welcome back. We missed you."
    "Spare me the pleasantries, Beelzebub," Laila said, incurring a growl from Zarel. "You said we'd talk here, so get talking. There are rumors about. Are they true?"
    Beelzebub laughed softly and leaned against the altar. Demons cackled in the shadows behind him. "You never did like pussyfooting around the issues, did you, Laila? You always cut to the chase. I like that about you. So unlike angels. So much like your father."
    "So he was my father," Laila whispered, her body tingling. Her eyes stung, a snarl left her throat, and her halo of fire burned. I still have angel blood within me, she told herself, clenching her teeth. Banished from God I might be, but the light of Heaven still burns within me, and Beelzebub will dare not hurt me. He fears me. Still she kept her hand close to her grenades, and still she kept close to Volkfair. "Why didn't you tell me?"
    Beelzebub sighed and ran his claws through Zarel's hair of flame. The Demon Queen tugged on her chain, claws digging into the floor, snapping her teeth at Laila, eyes burning. "Laila, why do you come before me today to ask this?" Beelzebub said. "Suppose I tell you that it's true, that Lucifer was your dad, that yes, I killed him, that yes, you are rightful heir to Hell. What difference would it make?"
    "It would mean I know the truth," Laila whispered, eyes stinging. The demon eyes taunted her in the shadows, and she struggled to keep her voice steady, struggled to keep tears from falling. "It would mean that I know who I am, where I came from."
    "It would mean nothing," Beelzebub said, his voice almost a sigh. Demons scuttled behind him, wings creaking. "Have you ever even met Lucifer? Was he any sort of father to