Wards protected my home from supernatural forces and other sorcerers—they couldn't enter without my permission. I never worried about magicless humans: the worst they could do was shoot me, and normal bullets couldn't hurt me.

"Take off your shoes," I told Lucifer after opening a doorway through the force field around my house, letting him pass through—I closed the path right after—and arrived on the veranda. It had tables and chairs I used when studying a case or relaxing with guests.

Lucifer looked at me with a smile. "I saw you and your friends that night. I'm sorry you had to see that."

"What night?" I curled my lip.

"You'll find out soon."

Opening the wooden sliding doors, I stepped on the mat covering the floor, the fake furs tickling my soles. I flicked the light switch to the left, brightening the hallways.

"Welcome to my house," I said with open arms.

"OK." He walked past me.

I stood there waiting for a thank you, but it never came. Kha! The manners on him.

The living room was on the right, while the kitchen stood on the left. Up ahead was another hallway that led to the bedrooms, bathrooms, and backyard.

Lucifer opened the sliding doors to the living room and went inside. It was nice of him to make himself at home. Really nice. What else would he do? Cook for himself? Take a bath? Remove his clothes and walk around like he owned the place?

I sighed before entering the living room, finding him standing still and staring at something below him. I smiled. Most people never expected to find them there, even though it was one of my magic abilities.

"Ebony, stop glaring at Lucifer. Honey, stop kicking Lucifer's leg. Denzel, no, don't smell Lucifer's feet," I told my voodoo dolls.

They stopped bothering him and ran to where I was. I had made their bodies from brown cloth, with a white stitched mouth and large button eyes that matched. I also sewed the first letter of their names on their torso so they'd be easy to identify.

"Welcome back, Binti," Ebony said before hugging my leg. She was the first doll I breathed life into. She cost me two years of my life-string. No worry, though. It wasn't like I expected to live past a hundred. When I was a child, I had insomnia because I feared monsters would eat me in my sleep. I created Ebony to protect me from them, and wake me when there was any other trouble.

"Binti." Honey hugged my other leg. She wore a pink nightgown and white shoes. Out of the three, she was the only one who wore clothes. She loved dressing up, making me buy her new outfits whenever I went shopping. I created her because Ebony felt lonely and needed someone to talk to and play with when I wasn't around. She cost me four years of my life-string.

"Pick me up, Binti. Please, pick me up," Denzel said while jumping up and down with raised hands. Ebony and Honey had begged me for a little brother, so I gave them one named after my favorite actor. He was the last doll I'd ever make—he cost me six years of my life-string.

Mama was very disappointed when she learned I gave away twelve years of my life to dolls. She didn't speak to me for a year after that. The only reason she did was to inform me of Baba's passing. His death reconnected us.

I lifted Denzel onto my shoulder, and the stitches on his face curved into a big smile. He was like a child I had to care for when I was around. Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with the pooping and peeing and all the horrible shit that came with having children. Sheesh! And Mama had seven.

"Binti," Lucifer called, sitting cross-legged on the floor with his hands clasped together in a prayer pose. With his eyes closed, he hummed from his throat, sounding like a tractor.

I placed the dolls on the couch and put my forefinger on my lips. They nodded, understanding they weren't allowed to talk unless I told them to. Then I sat opposite Lucifer. "What favor do you need from me?"

"It's about the necromancer that's hunting you," he said without opening his eyes. Before I asked how he knew that, he raised his index finger, and I stayed quiet. "I've been keeping an eye on you, Binti. Our contract requires me to. No one is allowed to kill you; that right is reserved for me."

I crossed my hands on my chest. "I've been in many deadly situations, and you didn't help me once." Too many deadly situations, in fact. Kha! This life I chose.

He opened his eyes, and I felt them stare inside me—where my soul should've been. "You've never needed my help. You're stronger than you give yourself credit, Binti."

Was that a compliment? It couldn't be. People knew I was the wrong person to compliment because my head and ego would get too big for my own good. I swatted the loose strands of hair away from my face. "I know I'm strong."

"Yes, you are." He smiled, revealing his sharp teeth. He reminded me of a vampire, but his teeth didn't look painful to have—like he could close his mouth without discomfort.

Lucifer had changed his appearance since we left the auto-rickshaw. His once round face, button nose, large ears, and a wide mouth with thin lips were no more. Now, he had a square face, small ears, a small mouth with full lips, and dark stubble on his cheeks. The only constant thing was his bright red eyes.

The fact he could transform into anyone at any moment and I wouldn't be able to tell it was him scared the magic out of me. No wonder he could keep an eye on me. He could have been following me since I gave him my soul, and I wouldn't have known because I would've assumed he was another idiot in my way.

"Once I hand you your soul, our contract will end." He frowned.

How badly had he looked forward to killing me and then reuniting me with my soul in Hell? I knew a few demons that had been looking forward to torturing me for eternity, but I hadn't expected The Devil to be that petty too. Damn. Especially not with me.

I had no choice but to give up my soul. For a human body to possess moon magic, it had to lose its soul. Otherwise, the moon magic would send the soul to Limbo—a place for lost souls. It was dark and empty and you couldn't interact with anyone. You'd spend eternity alone and slowly lose the little humanity you had left.

The souls that lost their humanity became monsters known as revenants—they fed on living souls.

I didn't deal with such nonsense: Soul Reapers did.

Lucifer pulled out the transparent sphere with my soul inside from his breast pocket. It called to me, begging to be reunited with my body once again. I gulped.

"When you eat this"—he spun the sphere with his fingers—"you will lose the moon magic and someone else will inherit it within twenty-four hours."

Only one person at a time could control moon magic. It came with the magic abilities of past users and the knowledge of how to use them.

"What's the favor?" I asked again.

"Do you remember when the world was supposed to end in 2012?"

I sighed: he was sidetracking again.

Every sorcerer and their mother knew what really happened in 2012. No, it wasn't the end of the world. Rather, the start of the end. On December 21, 2012—when idiots thought the world would end because they had misinterpreted the Mayan calendar—The Antichrist was born.

I was in high school back then: my magic had flickered on and off like a light in a second, giving me a day-long migraine. The birth of The Antichrist signaled the fall of humanity and the rise of supernatural forces.

"Yes, I remember."

"The Antichrist ages faster compared to humans. Though he's only nine years old, he's the equivalent of a twenty-seven-year-old man. He's roaming the world, searching for perfect candidates to be the vessels of the Four Horsemen." Lucifer smiled. "He's found two already."

"Why are you telling me this?"

The arrogant look on Lucifer's face disappeared, replaced by a frown. Something troubled him. But what could it be? He was The Devil: he was what troubled people. "Because The Antichrist is our son."

"Our son?" I curled my lip and raised my brow. Was I part of "our"?

"Eve and I."

If I had something in my mouth, I would have spat it on the floor. Talk about dropping a bombshell—a nuclear shell. Ala! I had my funny moments.

He stared at me, waiting for me to say something. I had nothing to say. Lucifer and Eve? Could it be? I knew the story about him creating the supernatural to impure Eden because Eve had chosen Adam over him was a fallacy—that's a big word—but there were truths in lies.

Still, Lucifer's statement had to be true. After all, he never lied, only twisted the truth in his favor. How much of a bum was Adam that Eve ended up throwing ass to Lucifer? The man had spent near-eternity with her, chasing each other in the fields like they were in a fucking Disney movie. But damn, Lucifer still beat? Adam went out sad. And this proved Lucifer was—in history—the first simp.

"Why are you telling me this?" It seemed I'd be asking this question all night if he kept dropping bombs.

"When I give you your soul back, I don't want you to take it. I want you to store it somewhere safe. I don't want you to lose the moon magic. My son has the Four Horsemen and a horde of supernatural as his army. I only have demons."

"Why don't you want me to lose the moon magic? It will go to someone else whom you can manipulate with ease."

"My son possesses sun magic."

The Antichrist was powerful on his own. But him possessing sun magic meant he was overpowered. How was humanity supposed to stop him? Even without the Four Horsemen on his side, he'd still be a formidable opponent. Also, sun and moon magic users weren't supposed to be enemies—their combined power would allow them to rule the world equally.

He continued. "The ones with moon and sun magic will determine the fate of the world. It took all the strength I had to manipulate the cosmos into sending the moon magic to you."

"Because you knew I was desperate for power?"

"No, you were desperate to prove you weren't another weak woman who could be stepped on by anybody. And you were willing to risk everything to prove it."

He was right. I had been chasing my brothers' shadows since I was a kid. And whenever I thought I was close to catching up, someone would throw a harsh comment about me being a weak woman who needed to focus on building a family and home for my future husband, rather than trying to keep up with the men in my family.

Now that I thought about it, those types of comments led me to be like this. If people had been supportive of my dreams and goals from a young age, maybe I would have become what they had hoped.

"What's the favor?" I asked again.

"When my son finally calls upon the Four Horsemen and causes the apocalypse, the heavenly gates will open and angels will descend to Earth. When that happens, I'll need you to help me enter Heaven and take what's rightfully mine."

Lucifer was the first-ever angel. So, with God gone, he had the right to claim Heaven's throne. I didn't know what was worse: The Antichrist conquering Earth or Lucifer ruling Heaven? Maybe both?

"That seems like it won't happen for a while. Why are you asking for it now?" I asked.

"I won't be around anymore. I'm returning to Hell to prepare my army for the coming war. So, you'll be alone from here on."

"I've always been alone." That sounded sadder than when it was still a thought. "I'll think about it, then I'll give you an answer when you return." I held out my hand. "Can I have my soul now?"

He narrowed his eyes at me, seeming to wonder whether I'll join him or not. After he handed it over, I stared at it for a while. My soul throbbed inside the sphere, calling to me through whispers and hisses. I gulped, tempted to give in. Lucifer grabbed my hand and closed it into a fist, taking my focus away from my soul and towards him.

"I believe an archangel is working with the necromancer, hiding them from me. It's the only reasonable answer for why I haven't been able to find them. And if I can manipulate the cosmos into giving you moon magic, then my siblings can too."

"What are you saying? You think an archangel wants me dead so they can give the necromancer moon magic?" I raised my brow.

"That's what I said. They can't go after the sun magic because my son has it. So, you're the only target. And if they succeed, I won't be able to enter Heaven. So, please, don't die while I'm gone."

"I won't." I smiled, even though the only reason he cared about my life was for selfish reasons. "You never told me why you can't use moon or sun magic."

"When Father created them, he made sure only humans could."

"The Anti—" I gasped. "Eve was human, so that's why he can use it."

"Yes." Lucifer got up, stretched his limbs, then yawned. "I have to go now. When you're going after the necromancer, think of the bigger picture and try not to piss off the archangel. They like watching human conflicts and won't interfere. But if you provoke them, then it'll be your funeral. Unlike me, my siblings don't have the patience for humans with an attitude like yours."

"Attitude like mine?" I smiled. It was true. I was an asshole. It seemed my dreams of trying to con angels would have to wait for a while.

"They will kill you and shower in your blood. Understood?"

It seemed archangels were assholes too. But he didn't need to tell me twice. "Message delivered."

"Good. See you around, Binti Nasra." He snapped his fingers and vanished.

I turned to my voodoo dolls; they were staring at me. "What do you think of what he said?" I asked.

The three glanced at each other, then back at me. "Bring on the archangel," Ebony said while Honey and Denzel cackled.

They knew me so well. To Hell with Lucifer's warning. If the archangel stepped in my way, then I'd put them down like the rabid dog they were. I would rather die than fear anyone or thing ever again.