Soul Guardian

Chapter 57: Priorities

Bael dropped Lucy off on the other side of town and went home. He needed to check in with Maharet before he invited Lucy over for a visit. If there was one thing daytime TV had taught him, unexpected visits from a mother-in-law never ended well.

Before he opened the front door, The Baron stood in the front yard for a few minutes. He let all the stress of the day wash off of him. Bael was still tense from his encounter in the void and his thoughts were spinning out of control.

He was pretty sure that doomsday had at least been postponed. From what Lou had overheard, their plan centered around unbuckling the firmament, creating a rip in the fabric of reality so big that it continued to unravel on its own. An unstoppable wave of destruction would spread from the tear until it consumed heaven and hell.

Now that Bael was conscious of their plan, all he had to do was avoid ripping any more holes in the fabric of reality. He looked up at Six’s bedroom window, viewing his earlier accident in a completely new light. It was incredible how much context could change the meaning of seemingly random events.

Unfortunately, Lucy's plan was actually rather good. Use some divine magic to move a few pieces around with Metatron's help, allow Bael to find a family and fall in love. Then when everything was going great, tear them from him and watch the fireworks.

That was where the archangel came in. Gabriel was supposed to kick things off and get Bael mad enough to destroy the world, or do something that inadvertently broke reality. He was a bit hazy on the specifics.

There were a few scenarios the Baron could envision where he would need to use that level of power. Containment circles and dimensional prisons were two ways he might be tempted to create a little tear. He understood in a visceral way that if Maharet or Six were in danger, no barrier, not even common sense, had a chance of stopping him.

Bael's thoughts went to the wooden door from his dream. Now he understood the context, and what dark promise it foretold. But then his eyes went to a different door, the front door to his home.

Inside, Maharet would be cooking dinner while Six sat at the table with her nose in a book. Titan would be strategically placed to intercept any food before it hit the floor, and the kitchen ghost would be off to the side making suggestions. Their hellcats would prowl around, silently or not-so silently judging, treating the whole dinner experience like a reality TV show.

Bael would have to talk to Maharet about what he discovered and figure out their next steps. But not tonight. Tonight he was just a man, coming home to his family after a long day. They would eat dinner, catch up on neighborhood gossip, and have dessert in front of the television.

Later, they would reveal the adoption papers to Six and tell her that they were staying. Or, he could walk away. If he walked away, Gabriel wouldn't have any reason to come for them.

Bael could even bring the fight to the Archangel, rap on Heaven’s gates and call him out like in a western. But Lou wouldn't be able to back Bael up if he went to heaven. The Baron would be on his own against heaven’s greatest warrior.

Another minute passed before Bael shook his head and started walking towards the front door of his home. He wasn't about to abandon them over something that might never come to pass. And if the worst happened, they would face it together as a family.

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He opened the door and inhaled the aroma of melted cheese and homemade tomato sauce, hellhounds and hellcats, love and family. Future problems could wait. Bael was busy living in the much more beautiful and wonderful now.

***

Maharet took the tin foil off the lasagna, added a bit more cheese on top than was strictly healthy, and put it back into the oven.

As the cheese melted and browned, Bael took Maharet aside to fill her in on what had happened. As he explained his theories and concerns, her red lips tightened into a thin line. Fighting an archangel was not something she was looking forward to, especially not while she had a bun in the oven.

Even traveling back to hell to temporarily break their bond had left her nauseous for hours. But Bael had needed to be able to travel through the dimensions freely, so she had toughed it out. Now, she was finding out that Lucy was in town and Bael had agreed to introduce her to Six.

His logic made sense. They couldn't keep Lucy away from Six, not if she was truly determined to meet the little girl. So, a supervised visit and introduction meant Six wouldn't be blindsided if the Devil came to visit her later. Still, the idea of having Lucy involved in their new life made Maharet’s skin crawl.

“Do you really think that you can control her?” Maharet asked, “Lucy has a history of causing trouble. And I would know, we fell from heaven together.”

Bael shrugged. “Honestly, I don't know. I think she's in a bad place emotionally and this whole apocalypse thing is a symptom of that.”

“Wait, are you actually showing sympathy for the Devil? She's the reason you exist, the reason I fell in the first place.” Maharet shook her head. “Lucy is bad news and I don't want her spending time with Six. She's a bad influence on everyone around her.”

“I mean, Six is a little scary but I wouldn't say she's a bad influence.” Bael cracked a grin.

Maharet gave her husband a look that told him he was dangerously close to sleeping on the couch. But she couldn't stay mad. “Ok, yeah. Now I'm actually a little curious what would happen if those two met.”

“And, if things work out well, that's one more person who can babysit.” Bael pointed out. “That would give us more chances to go out on date nights, maybe take a short trip or two.”

Maharet considered this new angle. “Ok, maybe. The idea of having the Devil help take care of our kids so we can sneak off for a while is strangely appealing.” She admitted. “It seems dumb, but it also has a certain allure. I'll have to think about it.”

“That's all I ask,” Bael said, his new plan starting to fall into place. If Gabriel ever showed up, he was going to be in for one hell of a surprise.

***

Six knew something was up. Bael had pulled Maharet aside to talk and they hadn't come back yet.

She reached down to scratch behind Titan's ears. “What were they talking about?”

The hellhound sighed. “BAEL’S MOTHER IS IN TOWN TO VISIT. I UNDERSTAND THIS IS TYPICALLY A POINT OF TENSION BETWEEN SPOUSES.”

“Ah,” Six said sagely, then she remembered something her foster father had told her, “Wait, didn't Lucifer make Bael?”

“YES. AND NOW YOU CAN SEE WHY MAHARET IS LESS THAN PLEASED. SHE FEARS THE DEVIL MAY ATTEMPT TO CORRUPT YOU.” Titan stood up. “I'M GOING TO STRETCH MY LEGS AND GO FOR A WALK. ENJOY YOUR DINNER.”

The hellhound padded off, leaving Six alone with the ghostly chef that haunted their kitchen. “What do you think, Victor?”

Victor pointed at the oven. “I think someone should take that lasagna out before it burns.”