Genesis [malexmale]

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Delilah passed away at the end of winter.

But, thanks to my presence during the birth, the babe survived.

I could have saved Delilah, I knew that. I could have brought her soul back to us, but I didn't. For so many reasons, the most important being that the Source had simply told me to refrain from it. I was unsure how I had heard it, how I had felt it, but as I sat there upon my knees in the cabin with Lucifer weeping beside me, cradling his squalling infant son in his arms, I was certain that it was not my duty to bring Delilah back.

I did not dare act out against the Source's wishes. Twas not so much fear, so much trust. I trusted the Source to care for her, to love her as they loved all their children. However, it was an immense tragedy to watch father and son both weep as if their hearts were shattered beyond repair.

It'd taken weeks to convince Lucifer to take care of his son, whom he had named Jaques, as Delilah had willed it before her passing. It was a name of strength, just as her son was predicted to be. While he screamed the entire first day in this new universe, he was quiet the rest of the days. He was an oddly patient child, waiting for his father to come fetch him for his feedings of milk and honey.

And he looked so much like his mother. A tuft of black hair, sparse and flat, a pair of massive blue eyes that swallowed a chubby cherub face, little hands snatching anything put within the vicinity of them.

And he grew fast, this one.

While his blood was partly his mother's, simple human genetics, the rest of his blood was overrun with his father's angelic bloodline. He grew healthy quickly. He was already thinking in pictures, bright and clear as day. And most often, his mind was filled with pictures of his father. Twas a pity that none of them were truly happy pictures, as Lucifer had become extremely depressed since Delilah's passing.

Even with his son always in his arms, or cradled in a protective sling over his shoulders, Lucifer lived and breathed on nothing but basic survival. He ate slowly, the movements automatic, as if he were not truly present in them. He slept very little, what with Jaques needing frequent changing and bathing and general tending.

And his wonder, too, began to fade. He no longer looked upon the trees with fascination, or the snow, or birds. He cared not for sunsets or sunrises. He was dying inside, all over again. And what a misery it was, to see all Delilah's hard work unfolding itself before my very eyes.

"Lucifer," I said, making Lucifer blink and look up from feeding Jaques his bottle, and those blue eyes were dark and tired, purple circles forming under his bottom lid from lack of sleep, "You're hurting Jaques, and you're hurting yourself. Delilah would never have wanted this for you." Lucifer blinked slowly, then turned his head away to stare blankly at the river that trickled on by. Insects hummed and buzzed, flying and leaping along the riverside, grass swaying in the gentle wind.

The heat of summer was upon us. Birds flew to and fro, animals slinking through the trees, the trees overhead brilliant shades of green and the grass so vividly bright green. Flowers bloomed in the clearing in which we sat on the fallen tree, in the same place where Lucifer had finally told me the truth of him, his fall, and his curse.

It'd been so long since Delilah had passed now.

Yet the pain of her passing still lingered in Lucifer's heart as he watched the river with vague awareness of his surroundings, and his fingers were loosening their grip on the bottle in Jaques's mouth.

"Lucifer." My voice snapped him from his trance and he tightened his grip on the bottle again.

"What?" His voice was sharp now. Jaques sniffled, sputtering against the nipple of his bottle, and he burst into screeching sobs. Lucifer cursed and set the bottle aside, hoisting Jaques closer against his chest and cradling him. It was too fast, however, and Jaques only wailed louder.