Page 10 of Legion
Naomi prodded the birthmark on her shoulder, which faintly resembled a flame.“I never thought to cover my birthmark, because I never thought it would mean anything to anyone.Nothing about it screamsI am the offspring of Lucifer.”
“The prophecy must contain a description of it,” said Beck.
“Maybe I should conceal it with makeup from now on,” Naomi mused.“Just in case any other clerics stumble upon the prophecy and get dumb ideas.”
“Better to be safe than sorry,” said Alfie.“What I don’t understand is how these particular clerics tracked you using the birthmark.It isn’t in a highly visible place.You don’t wear a lot of tanks.”
“People take photos and upload them to the web all the time,” said Tobe.“Other people are often in the background, oblivious.”He cut his gaze to Naomi.“It could be that you showed up on someone’s picture; that the photo was taken from an angle that gave a glimpse of your birthmark.The clerics might have scoured the internet in search of some such clue.There’s technology that can search the web for faces.Why not for birthmarks as well?”
“I hate to say it, but Tobe’s probably right,” said Khloë.
Tobe frowned.“Why do you hate to say it?”
“BecauseIwas going to suggest it first.I don’t like that you beat me to it.”
“Kind of childish, don’t you think?”
“Not at all, no.”
Plucking at his wiry beard, Beck skimmed his gaze over everyone.“Do we contact Lou about this?”
“I don’t see any point,” said Naomi.“I’m fine, and the clerics are dead.Plus, Lou can sometimes ...overreact.Hence why I haven’t told him about Iain either.”
The last time someone had wronged Naomi, Lou had thrown him off a building—and then opened a portal to hell so that the asshole would drop right down into it when he fell.Her good ole dad was kind of a nut.
“Speaking of the Iain situation,” began Jolene, “what did Luka say when you spoke to him alone?He didn’t go into specifics when I questioned him.”
“He just wanted more details,” Naomi replied.“I briefed him on all that Iain’s been up to.I thought he might defend him—I mean, Iain is one of his demons after all.But Luka made no excuses for him; didn’t pile the blame on me as others have done when their loved ones or associates got snared by a siren song.He assured me he’d deal with it and that Iain won’t come near me again.”
“Good,” grunted Tobe.“Iain would be a fucking idiot to go against Belinsky.Which, unfortunately, isn’t to say that he won’t.People under the influence of a siren song aren’t always rational.But if he’s likely to listen to anyone, it’ll be his Prime.”
“That, at least, is one bit of good news,” said Alfie.“The clerics went and shit all over it, though.You sure that it’s best to keep it from Lou, Naomi?Your dad will whine like a two-year-old if he finds out about it from someone else.”
“Without a doubt,” agreed Naomi.“But I don’t see any reasonwhyhe’d hear of it.”It wasn’t as if she saw him daily, and earthly business didn’t much interest him.
As dads went, Lou was ...atypical.He cared for her and was part of her life, but in the way of a protective uncle.He was too emotionally immature to be what you’d call fatherly.
That said, he visited her every few months.He never forgot her birthday.If anyone upset her, he insisted on dealing with it.And if she reached out to him, he would come.
People in her lair thought that he gatecrashed their parties just for the fun of it.In truth, he came becauseshe’dbe there.It was his way of sharing special occasions with her without giving away their blood connection.
So, yeah, he was a dad of sorts.He and Alfie had both played a part in raising her alongside her mother.The three of them got along pretty well.
“Then I’ll spread the word around our lair that if anyone sees him, they aren’t to speak of what occurred here,” said Jolene.“They’ll just think I’m aiming to fuck with him again.”
Well, her Primedidrelish driving Lou crazy—they bickered often, neither much liking the other.“What exactly are you going to tell them happened?”asked Naomi.
“Not the full truth, obviously,” Jolene assured her.“But it’s always best to dance around the truth than tell an outright lie.I’ll say that a silly group of fanatical clerics for some reason decided you were going to birth the Antichrist.People will only laugh.”
Nodding her head in approval, Naomi plopped the empty cups on the tray she’d set on the coffee table.“In their shoes, I’d definitely laugh.”She pyroported to the kitchen—a gift that was basically a variation of Lou’s ability to teleport.
She couldn’t pyroport far.Only several feet away.Lou, on the other hand, could teleport from realm to realm.Celestials generally lost that ability when they fell, but he’d retained it.
He wasn’t a mere angel, though; he was a seraphim.He’d been God’s favorite once.And due to that favoritism, he’d been awarded much power.Toomuch.A level that exceeded even that of archangels.Seraphim weren’t psychically built to host such a level.
Naomi thought it might have contributed to why he’d reached a mental point where he’d become a problem for those in the upper realm.Power corrupted, didn’t it?And the Uppers didn’t kick celestials out withoutverygood reason.
The fall had further warped his conscience and character.It had also twisted his gifts.That, in turn, had put a slight twist onhers.And having the biological and psychic makeup of both a siren and a very powerful fallen seraphim meant that she wasn’t a normal demon by any stretch of the imagination.
