Ella and Alexander got into the red supercar with big smiles on their faces. He put his hand on the dashboard touchscreen, and the built-in GPS programmed itself.
"Let's pick up some breakfast on the way and head there."
She nodded, carefully steering the car out of the car park and into traffic. He soon noticed that she was in complete control of the nearly eight hundred horses under the hood, completely relaxed and enjoying the ride. He could almost sense her internal trembling, as if she wanted to fire a barrage of questions at him. With a warm smile, he looked at her and said:
"Fire away, Miss Lopez. I can almost feel you barely controlling yourself."
She giggled for a moment and then asked casually:
"Who are you really, Alexander?"
His eyes lit up with clearly visible mischief, and he replied:
"I am a man of wealth and taste, Miss Lopez..."
She laughed and said:
"I thought the Stones were talking about the devil, not a young boy."
He nodded:
"True, but I appropriated it. I like to think of it as part of my inheritance."
She looked at him briefly with a broad smile:
"You're as good as Lucifer. You have an answer without really giving an answer."
He let his eyebrows dance up and down for a moment:
"Yes, but I don't use it every day like it's second nature and to get questions out of the way. I welcome questions, and if I have the answer, I will provide it without hesitation. To answer your question directly, Miss Lopez, I am Alexander Morningstar. The one and only son, in fact."
She nodded and said:
"Somehow I sensed that. You have the same aura as Lucifer, but so much stronger. But please stop calling me Miss Lopez. I have literally seen and felt your heart beating against my fingers, Alexander. It doesn't get much more intimate than that. So please call me Ella."
His smile widened a little as he said:
"I didn't want to literally show what's in my heart. My landing needs some work."
She shook her head gently and asked her next question:
"I assume Lucifer doesn't know he has a son, since he seems to be as much in the dark about you as the rest. Maze said last night that you smell of both Heaven and Hell, that you are bound to both. Neither of them has any idea how that's possible."
"Yes, and hopefully they won't hurt their brains trying to work things out. They don't particularly excel at thinking things through."
Ella laughed amusedly and said:
"Indeed, Lucifer usually rushes headlong into things and usually drives Chloe to extremes with his hassles. Not to mention he usually jumps to the wrong conclusions when someone tries to tell him something. Maze, on the other hand, seems to know only one solution to any problem: violence."
He nodded amusedly:
"It will be fun this afternoon to hear their little brains crack. I wonder if I can get them to stare at the blue screen of death when I start talking about the existence of the multiverse. It won't come as a surprise to an SF nerd like you, will it?"
"No, not really. All my life I've been reading stories and watching shows and films where it comes up. I guess I'm conditioned. Still, I have a million questions."
"I'll try to answer them all for you, Ella, but not today. Today the abbreviated version will have to suffice, considering the limited time we have before we have to be back. I'm also anticipating visitors today, which will undoubtedly disrupt our schedule for a while, but it's beyond our control. As soon as that is settled, you are more than welcome."
Ella had done her best to contain her curiosity for the rest of the journey. They had picked up their breakfast, and, according to the GPS, they had reached their destination. A cast-iron gate slid open as if by itself as the Aston came to a halt. She asked:
"Where are we?"
"One of Lucifer's properties. A beach house with a large garden. He bought it once as an investment and only threw one or two of his notorious parties here. I think I'll make it my home base."
She pulled into the driveway, a questioning look in her eyes. After she parked the car and they got out, she asked:
"Your home base?"
He nodded firmly:
"Yes. Unfortunately I can't go home, so I need a place to stay."
She looked him straight in the eye and said sternly:
"Alexander, you're what? About twelve years old? You can't seriously want to live somewhere all by yourself. Shouldn't you discuss this with your father first?"
He laughed softly:
"By father, I think you mean Lucifer? My mom and dad wouldn't approve at all. If I had suggested this at home, I would have faced Mom's evil eye and been grounded faster than I could say poop and for longer than I dare to think about. Things are a bit different here, unfortunately."
He went on as they explored the house:
"I wasn't supposed to show up here already, Ella. If those two idiots had acted a bit differently and communicated with each other in a more normal way, I would have had a few more years. I would have had more time to think about my decision to come here and whether I would come at all. Unfortunately, recent developments have prevented me from postponing my arrival."
The last few sentences had depressed his mood, and she saw sadness in his eyes. Ella asked quietly:
"Why can't you go home, Alexander?"
"The moment I returned to this universe, I was automatically bound to the thrones of Heaven and Hell. It is a sort of safety mechanism for Celestials. It ensures that we are bound to one universe and can never stay in another for long. This is how the universes continue to exist side by side."
Seeing that she looked doubtful, he explained:
"Imagine that the god of one universe was warmongering. If there were no safety mechanism, there would be nothing to stop that god from going on a conquest and bringing other universes, the more peaceful ones, under his yoke. Look at the history of man, Ella: Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, and Hitler. Regardless of the circumstances, the primary motivation behind their wars was their desire for power, and as their power grew, they aimed to expand their sphere of influence. The misery that these figures have caused to the people of Earth is almost indescribable. Imagine this universe being overrun by a warmongering god who decides to wipe humanity off the map because it does not conform to his image of what he wants humans to be. That is why there is a safety mechanism built into the multiverse; Celestials can visit other universes in certain cases, but never for long periods of time, and so it can never come to open warfare between Celestials from different universes."
"If I understand correctly, this universe is the universe in which you were born, but you grew up in another universe?"
He nodded:
"Yes, Lucifer and Mum had a good time, and nine months later I was supposed to show up. Life had other plans, apparently. Something was wrong with Mum's body, and she would not survive childbirth. My soul was taken from my body before I was born and smuggled into another universe. In that universe I was adopted into the family of the Goddess and the God. Because I was literally not born, I was not bound to the thrones, and so there was no problem with me staying in that other universe. The problem arose when I returned to this universe and was immediately bound to the thrones. That is why I cannot go back permanently. At the moment I cannot go back even for a few hours. My connection to the thrones is still too new, and I cannot draw enough power from them to go home. Even if it was just for a short visit."
Alexander suddenly fell victim to a typical Lopez hug, and she said quietly:
"I'm so sorry, Alexander, that you can't go back to your home."
He gave in to the hug and said with tears in his eyes and sadness in his voice:
"I just got here, and I miss home so much. I miss my mum and dad; I miss my sisters and brothers, but most of all I miss my twin Casiel."
"You have a twin?"
She let go and looked into his eyes and saw the joy slowly return. He replied:
"Well, not literally. Cas is the youngest daughter of the Gods; she's a few hours younger than me, but we were brought up together. It didn't take long for everyone to call us the twins because we were attracted to each other from the very first moment, literally."
A grin appeared on his face, and he said:
"It's a good thing Mum is eternal and doesn't age; otherwise, she would have gotten grey hairs from us a long time ago. When Cas and I are together, we tend to turn heaven and hell upside down. More often than not, it's Dad who unnoticedly lights the fire and then watches from the sidelines, enjoying the effects of our mischief."
Ella laughed and replied:
"Sounds like you come from a warm nest, Alexander."
He nodded eagerly:
"The best!"
After they had explored the whole house and he had declared it perfect, they had gone out into the garden to eat their breakfast. They sat on a blanket on the ground and enjoyed their meal while he looked around at the house and its surroundings. It was large, but not overly so. Two stories and a sort of attic. The floor with the very spacious bedrooms did not interest him; he would take the attic floor and turn it into a spacious open-plan suite, a bit like a loft. The ground floor was fully equipped, with a spacious living room, a dining room, and a very large kitchen; there was even a gym. Both of them were surprised by what they found in the basement. Apparently the devil hadn't spared a penny when he had a fully equipped spa installed. Including a small pool, hot tub, Turkish bath, and Swedish sauna. The basement could easily compete with a professional spa. Ella had stared at it wide-eyed and whistled softly when she saw the luxury and abundance of marble. The exterior walls were completely white, and there was an abundance of glass so that every part of the house was bathed in sunlight. There was a large pool in the garden and, of course, a hot tub for several people. Alexander's nose wrinkled slightly as he thought about why Lucifer had installed such a large hot tub. He preferred not to think about the Devil's excesses. The garden ended in a sandy hill where the beach began, and he could clearly hear the surf in the background. Ella brought him back from his thoughts and said quietly:
"Alexander, I understand that you cannot return home, but I have my reservations about you staying here all alone. Yes, you are a Celestial, but you are still a child. I think you should discuss this with Lucifer first; after all, he is your father."
He looked at her for a few seconds and then asked:
"What is the alternative, Ella? That I move in with Lucifer just because he is my biological father? Let's say he agrees and accepts his so-called responsibility; how do you see that happening? You may have noticed that there are no doors in the penthouse; the man is allergic to doors. Anyone can walk into the penthouse at any time. Besides, I am not too keen on being confronted with his lifestyle, especially when there is no soundproof door nearby. Maze's old flat? Sorry, but my taste in furnishings is quite different from that of a Wednesday Adams in a murderous mood. You've probably already had a tour of Lux, so you'll know that the suites for Lux guests are also off-limits. For the same reason, no desire to be confronted every night with tipsy clubbers looking for, shall we say, some distraction. One of the Lux staff apartments? Wherever I would end up living, if not under the same roof as Lucifer, it would be exactly the same as living here. In fact, my innocent soul is better protected here than anywhere else in Lux."
She pondered his words for a moment and had to agree. He continued:
"Lucifer is always berating his absent father, Ella, but he himself has no idea what it means to be a father and how to behave as a father. I won't pressure him to make certain sacrifices or concessions; the man has already experienced enough trauma. We'll have that conversation at four o'clock, and then he'll know who I am. It's up to him to decide what he wants to do with that knowledge."
"Still, I don't like it, boy."
"I understand your concern, Ella, and I appreciate it. But the alternatives that a human child has do not apply to me. I cannot possibly be placed in a foster home or family. Firstly, there is absolutely no trace of me in any administration; I am a ghost in that respect. Secondly, the Divine and humanity don't really mix. There are things I have to do, conversations and meetings I have to have that should be hidden from the outside world. Thirdly, such a thing would only be possible if I myself cooperated completely, which I would not do at all. I am not a human being, Ella, at least not completely. There is no wall, door, shackle, or lock that can stop me. Is living alone in this house ideal? No, absolutely not! I wish there was another solution, but for now this is all I have, and it will have to do."
He sat up, stretched for a moment, and moved his left arm and left knee a little. He got a mischievous smile around his mouth and asked:
"What do you say we do a little shopping and then have a drink somewhere before we get back to the rest? There's something I really wanted to do on the Sunset Strip."
His eyes flashed gold for a moment, and in his hand appeared a stack of banknotes and a pair of black Amex credit cards. Ella noticed his mischievous smile and the credit cards. They had already taken a very exclusive sports car without permission. Now she was a little worried that the money and credit cards might also belong to Lucifer. He seemed to read her mind and said:
"Don't worry, Ella, it's not Lucifer's and it's not a fake."
She squeezed her eyes a little and asked suspiciously:
"Then whose are they?"
Laughing, he replied:
"Let's say of a future guest in hell. A big drug dealer who has a secret stash in several places in case he needs to make a quick getaway."
She tilted her head slightly and asked:
"Isn't that dangerous, assuming he goes looking for it? It's easy for someone like that to find out where the cards have been used, access the security cameras, and come after you."
She could swear his eyes glowed red as he replied with a mischievous smile:
"Hmmm... One can only hope, dear Ella..."
A cold shiver ran down her spine, one that, to her own surprise, she did not find unpleasant, and for a moment it seemed that she was no longer in the company of an obviously mischievous boy but of an absolute apex predator.
First on Alexander's list was electronics: a cellphone, a laptop, an extra screen for the laptop, a printer and accessories, a PS5, a stack of games, and lots of extras like earbuds and wireless headphones. The next stop was an upscale store for new jeans, T-shirts, sweaters, and more. With a little prodding, he got Ella to pick up a new pair of Levi's 501s and a bunch of her favorite tacky T-shirts. He himself kept a pair of Levi's 501s, a pair of black cowboy boots, a leather jacket, and an AC/DC T-shirt featuring guitarist Angus Young with the iconic devil horns and the words Hells Bells. It didn't matter how much they packed into the Aston; it was never full, as each time what they had bought magically disappeared, only to reappear in the beach house. It was a very pleasant and enjoyable trip for the two of them, and shortly after three o'clock, they emerged from the last shop for the time being. In the car, Alex asked:
"Would you mind stopping at The Rainbow on Sunset on the way back to Lux?"
She looked at him strangely for a moment and asked:
"You know The Rainbow?"
He replied mysteriously:
"Only by reputation."
"What are we going to do there?"
"You'll find out in a moment, dear Ella..."
A few minutes later they entered the bar, and Alexander went straight to a corner of the bar. After they had taken their seats, a young lady approached them and asked what they would like to drink. Alexander replied as if he had been coming to the bar for years:
"Tequila, a glass of tomato juice, and a Coke with JD for Lemmy..."
The bartender got a warm smile on her face and said:
"Coming right up, honey."
Ella watched the scene with amusement but said nothing. A moment later the bartender placed a glass of tequila for Ella, a glass of tomato juice for Alexander, and the glass of Coke and Jack Daniels in front of an empty barstool, which also had a mini slot machine. Alexander put two hundred-dollar bills on the bar and said:
"Keep the change..."
He took his glass, held it up to Ella, and said loudly:
"To Lemmy, 49% motherfucker, 51% son of a bitch, 100% rock and roll!"
To her surprise, Ella heard several other people in the bar shout:
"Lemmy!"