Lucius nodded to Winston as he strolled past the dwarf holding out his hat for him to take and entered the Angelus family home without waiting to be asked. His long slender tail swayed as he walked, his shiny shoes clicking on the marble floor.

"Is Cas about?" He casually asked as he checked his hair was suitably parted and combed back in the hallway mirror.

"I will just enquire, Sir." Winston hurried off leaving the well-dressed man to continue to check his reflection.

"The suit's perfect. What are you doing in our neck of the woods? Shouldn't you be harassing women in your club?" Cassiel appeared at the top of the stairs with a big grin on his handsome face.

"I do not hassle women, I charm them, and I have come by a bit of intel I think your family will be interested in."

"Oh do tell, old boy. They've been MIA for days now, Az says it's something to do with Merlin's spell and time moving differently." His long slender tail swished as he put his hand to his throat.

"I would, old chap, but my throat is just so dry." Laughing Cas pointed to the sitting room as he made his way down the stairs.

"Cognac?"

"Of course."

The two men strolled into the sitting room together.

He watched the young hybrid as he poured him a drink and carried it over to him. His black claws clicked on the glass as he took it.

"I have heard your brother rather carelessly lost his witch."

"You've been talking to Annie again." Lucius laughed.

"We have an agreement, Annie and I. If anything about one of my few genuine friends is heard she lets me know and you good Sir are one of my few genuine friends." He saluted Cassiel with his glass.

***

Lucius knocked on the front door again for the third time in as many days.

"Winston, long time no see." Quipped the demon as he handed his hat and swagger stick to the dwarf. Cassiel jogged down the stairs to meet his friend at the door.

"They arrived back this morning."

"About time. I was starting to lose interest."

As they entered the sitting room Gabriel looked up from a map he'd been studying.

"Cas, this isn't really the time to be entertaining."

"I bring news not merriment." Retorted the demon raising an eyebrow, his red and black eyes dancing with amusement.

"News?" Enquired the eldest brother.

Lucius took a seat and crossed his leg as Cassiel began to pour him a drink. He scratched the base of one of his small black horns as the hybrid handed him his glass and took the armchair opposite. Gabriel was growing impatient.

"Lucius, we really don't have time for one of your games."

"You should hear him out, Gabe."

"While I may like to play the odd trick I do not play games when lives and love are in the balance." Cassiel frowned at him.

"I thought you'd sworn off love for fun."

"Ah dear Cassiel, I do not speak of my own lost love but of that of someone else. Someone quite dear to you my friend."

"What is he talking about?" Asked Gabriel in exasperation.

"Well, he's always refused to tell me who his lost love is. But as for who's love he is talking about, he means our own dear Rouge May." Answered his youngest brother as he leant forward with interest. "I assume you're still not going to share the name of your lost love?" For a moment the flamboyant demon was quiet and his skin shifted from its human-looking pink colour to a deep blood red and back again.

"Alas no, my good Sir. Her name is like a sacred blessing to me and will never again cross my lips to be bestowed upon the living when she was taken all too soon. But as for my purpose here..." he took a mouthful of his drink and held it for a moment before swallowing and looking at Gabriel. "I have heard your brother rather carelessly lost his witch."

"Lucius, if you know anything of use, please spit it out." Gabriel had little time for the devil's only son, he was a flamboyant wasteful creature who talked too much in the stoic vampire's eyes.

"It seems Daddy dearest is shacked up with that old shrew Queen Mab at present. They are cooking up some depravity together. He helped her catch a little witchy she's been after for quite some time in exchange for something terrible I would wager."

"Your father helped Mab take Rouge May?" Asked Cassiel sitting forward and looking intrigued.

"Indeed."

"Do you know where she is?" Gabriel looked less intrigued and more irritated.

"I do." He considered the remaining liquid in his glass before taking another mouthful. Gabriel waited expectantly then realised the demon wasn't going to say anymore. Of course, the devil's son would play games with them. He didn't have time for this. They needed to find Rouge. Then he needed to turn his attention back to the Oracle. They didn't all spend their days drinking and chasing pretty women. He didn't believe a word about Lucius having lost his love. If the demon was capable of the feeling at all. If Gabriel had found his fated and lost her he'd have followed her into the afterlife. Not become a womanising drunk.

"Are you going to tell us?"

"I have a mind to do one better. I get out so rarely these days and it would be diverting to actually do something worthwhile. I'm going to come on the rescue mission to save the damsel in distress." Holding his hand up he considered his black claws as he spoke.

"What?" Said Cassiel and Gabriel in unison.

"I've decided I'm going to lead your merry little band on the rescue mission. Charge in like dashing heroes, rescue the heroine and save the day."
He waxed lyrically as he watched Gabriel's face colour with anger.

"What does your father want with my bride?" Raphael stormed into the drawing-room bellowing like an enraged bull.

"Nothing my good man, not that I know of." Grabbing the demon by his collar the vampire yanked him to his feet. Both Gabriel and Cassiel dragged him back. Lucius straightened his tie and bowed his head to the struggling vampire.

"I know what it is to lose someone you love to distraction so I will let that go, even if this is Italian silk." He tugged down on the bottom of his jacket to straighten it. "Now if you've finished genuflecting shall we discuss what I know?" Raphael continued to struggle against his brothers for a moment before finally sinking defeated into a chair. His face was sullen and he didn't look like he'd slept in days.

"Now from what I've learnt from a very buxom demoness I really must introduce you to Cassiel, and of course Annie, Mab has a tower where she keeps a rather powerful weapon. No one knows exactly what it is, but no one wants to cross the old hag and find out either. My source tells me that's where she's keeping your pretty little witch." He said Addressing the distraught vampire. "From what I understand it was my father that gave Mab the magic to catch your witch in exchange for a part of that weapon. It must be something good for my father to go after it."

"Do you know where the tower is?" Gabriel was studying the demon trying to pick up on what game he was playing.

"I do as it goes." He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolding it placed it on the table in front of them with a flourish. "I caught myself a dark fae who kindly provided this map for me. Well, when I say provided, he met with a little accident and I acquired the map from his headless corpse." He winked at the eldest Angelus brother then sighed "I'm wasted here. Truly wasted."

"Why are you willing to betray your father?" The demon rolled his eyes at the eldest brother. It didn't matter what he did, Lucius would never be seen as anything other than the devil's son. 

"As Cassiel can attest to, Lucifer and I do not get on overly well. I think he would have destroyed me centuries ago, had I not been his only male child. Quite a feat really considering the thousands of half-sisters I have. He was so desperate for a son to work as his right hand. Going on mass murder sprees together, toasting human souls over the campfire. Alas, he ended up with me. Such a disappointment to him. Daddy dearest is rather intent on bringing about hell on earth to exact revenge on his father and his father's favourites. Well as I happen to quite like the earth as is and would rather he didn't bring hell to it. I spend as little time down there as possible, it's a rather gloomy place and there's all the screaming and hell fire. It's not the most pleasant of places all told. And I personally love humans, I mean what barbarian would destroy the creators of cognac and chocolate. I mean really." Gabriel sighed and looked to Cassiel to cut the demon off before he could continue rambling.

"Can we trust him?"

"Lucius is a good sort. He wouldn't do us wrong." Duncan put a hand on Raphael's shoulder.

"It's the best lead we have to get your Rouge back in your arms."

***

Winston paused on the stairs as he noticed Lucius staring at a painting of the Angelus brothers, their sister Ariel and their mother. It had once had Marcus in too but Azrael had painted him out many years before. Clearing his throat he continued up the stairs.

"Ah, my good dwarf. I was just considering how alike all the brothers look. Azrael and the sister's eyes really are quite striking. Very striking indeed. What a unique-looking family. All of them have such otherworldly eyes. I've only ever seen eyes that shade of blue once before."

"Indeed Sir." Smiling a charming smile the demon spun on his heels and headed to the room he was staying in that night. The dwarf watched as he strode down the hall. When he was out of sight, the dwarf gazed sadly up at the painting. Many commented on the eyes of the brothers and previously on the fathers. Wherever the colour had come from it seemed to be fairly unique to the family.

The dwarf carried on with his duties as he contemplated the oddness of finding the demon on the landing like that and his comment about his family's eyes. Winston had the nagging suspicion the demon knew more about the odd eye colour than he was saying. But then the dwarf was fairly sure the demon knew more about everything than he ever let on. He was every bit as charming and charismatic as Cassiel, more so. Winston was ancient and had learned to read people over his long life. But he was a child compared to Lucius' boundless life. He didn't know if anyone knew just how old the demon was the dwarf could remember him visiting the Oracle's temple when he was a child.

There was definitely more to the demon than met the eye and Winston was going to watch him closely. Many rumoured had circled over the years as to who mothered the devil's son. Some thought a human, others a creature, a nymph perhaps or a vampire. Others believed it was a goddess, perhaps even one of their own Olympians. His features were sharp and defined like the Egyptian gods, he'd heard it pointed out many times. But the demon had gone to see the Olympian's Oracle and chosen an Olympian city to dwell in. Whoever he was the devil's son was an interesting, multifaceted, and complex gentleman. The dwarf only wished his own charges would dress as well as the impeccable demon.