This is a cross over between the BBC TV show "Hex" and Anne Bishop's "Dark Jewels Trilogy." I don't have anything to do with either the show or the book.
You do sort of have to ready my Hex Fan Fiction "Someone turn me 'round" first because the characters Elizabeth and Lucifer were created in that story and were not part of the TV show.
It takes place during "Queen of the Shadows" while Jaenelle is holding Court but the trouble hasn't started yet. And it takes place after Chapter 52 of "Someone turn me 'round" but before the very end, obviously. P
lease bear with me as I try to mix the two together since many of you might not have seen/read both. It takes place in the "Hex" world and is told a bit more from the "Hex" perspective since I've written other Fan Fiction from that side.When I read the Dark Jewels books after writing my Hex Fan Fiction I thought it would be amusing of the two sides met for an evening and I saw some similarities between the Hex characters and the DJT characters.
I'm not even going to try to write like Anne Bishop!
Enjoy!
As Cassie settled next to Azazeal on one of their deep red loveseats in the abandoned church they used as there home, she put her head on his shoulder and sighed. It had been a long day. They had hosted the yearly Halloween party, as they did every year, and all of the fallen angels and their assorted lovers and children made for an exhausting but delightful party. It was just after midnight and they had just shooed out the last of them.
Suddenly, Lucifer appeared in front of them with a mischievous gleam in his eyes and Elizabeth in tow.
"I have something to show you ladies, Azazeal knows, I had forgotten, but then I remembered and tonight's a good night because the veils between worlds are thin, so…"
"What are you taking about?" Cassie sighed again. He didn't answer her, but whirled around, whipping Elizabeth along and put his hand up in the air out in front of him. A small distortion in the air appeared about twenty feet in front of him and in grew until…
Azazeal groaned. "Lucifer, there are some things I think they would prefer not to know."
"Oh, don't be so boring!" He said and dragged Elizabeth to sit next to him on a loveseat next to them. Elizabeth gave Cassie an apologetic look, but Cassie was staring at the…hole in her house. Not quite a hole but more like a window surrounded by mist and looked out on a private garden bathed in moonlight. Elizabeth began to stare too and both women jumped when they saw three people approaching the window and walking straight towards them. They were apparently oblivious to it, but the effect was disconcerting.
There was a lovely young blond haired woman with beautiful sapphire blue eyes that pierced you even from a distance who was flanked be two fierce looking men. One man was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit and white shirt that rivaled Azazeal's and Lucifer's own standard attire. He had deeply brown skin, was more beautiful than handsome, and had a seductive quality about him that reached through the window and pulled at Cassie and Elizabeth. The other man was a big, strong warrior of a man with large, black wings trailing behind him. He was ruggedly handsome and his body was very impressive, but they could see that he was much more playful than other man as well as more explosive.
"What is this?" Elizabeth asked.
"Just a window into another world, dear. Azazeal, what's it called again? I never paid much attention to it really but…"
Lucifer froze when he saw the look on Azazeal's and Cassie's faces turn serious and frightened respectively. He turned towards the little, harmless window and said, "Ooops!"
Jaenelle, Daemon, and Lucivar were taking a late night walk in the little interior garden that the Keep. It had begun as a discussion of a few small pieces of Court business but had quickly turned into a silent ramble through the garden on a beautiful night. Daemon, the Black-jeweled Warlord Prince and Consort to the Queen, and Lucivar, the Ebon-Gray-jeweled Warlord Prince and First Escort, were both just thinking how lovely it was to walk with their Queen, a Queen they loved and where honored to serve, in this intimate way, when they unexpectedly found themselves in a completely different location.
In front of them was no longer the garden path, but four strangers sitting casually in what appeared to be some kind of large stone structure with immensely high ceilings. Lucivar immediately looked back where they had come to find that the garden they had been in was no longer there, while Daemon surveyed their location to develop some kind of strategy. Both Daemon and Lucivar immediately tensed and let their rage build towards the killing edge to be ready for a fight, but Jaenelle had not taken her eyes off of the people in front of them. She smiled and said, "I've dreamt of this!"
"What do we do, Bastard?" Lucivar thought on a spear thread to Daemon.
"I don't know, Prick."
Lucifer leaped up and stepped in front of Elizabeth and Cassie with a gleam in his eyes that Azazeal knew all too well. Azazeal squeezed Cassie's arm and gave her a reassuring smile before rising to stand next to Lucifer who was clearly going to be a problem.
"Lucifer…" he started but that was as far as he got.
"Mmm, you're a wild brute aren't you, I like it," Lucifer sneered at Lucivar, "and, you seem relatively powerful," he continued, giving Daemon a disdainfully appraising once over, clearly designed to provoke him, "but you," he said grinning seductively at Jaenelle, "you're quite a little bundle of strength, aren't you."
Lucifer took a step forward and immediately Lucivar extended his black, membranous wings and stepped between these strangers and Jaenelle in a balanced battle stance. Daemon threw a Black shield around Jaenelle although she didn't seem to notice or be worried about these males at all.
"Oh, now that was cute, eh, Az? The little sparrow has wings!" Lucifer mocked.
"Yes, I can see that." Azazeal replied evenly.
As if on cue, both of them stripped off their jackets and shirts and sprouted wings: large, white, feathery wings which they stretched wide to dwarf Lucivar's black ones. Lucifer sprung to the air with barely a flick of his gold-flecked wings and a push from the ground, cutting the distance between them in half in a split second. Azazeal rolled his eyes at his friend and, neatly tucking his red and gold wings back, sauntered over to stand next to Lucifer again.
Jaenelle stepped around Lucivar, who grabbed her arm and snarled at her, but she tugged forward a bit and admired the unfamilar angel wings with a childlike glee until Lucifer snapped his behind him in flustered annoyance, though they still framed him in their downy white and gold. She gave him a knowing smile and backed up between Lucivar and Daemon again.
Sensing the growing tension and rage in the men in front of him, Azazeal used his silver-tongue to its full ability and said smoothly and with his most charming smile, "My name is Azazeal, this bully is Lucifer, and behind us are Cassie and Elizabeth. I would like to welcome you to my home. As long as we can all calm our hostility."
Lucivar snarled at him and Daemon eyed him warily but Jaenelle said, "Thank you!"
"Great! That ass has my name." Lucivar thought.
"Well, not exactly. Let's just see where this goes, shall we?" Daemon put his hands in his pockets and adopted the sleepy eyed look that these men had not yet learned to fear but would shortly.
Daemon focused on Lucifer the tall, muscular, and more ferocious male before him with the gold-flecked wings that were much wider and longer than Lucivar's and even he had to admit were very beautiful. He brushed against his mind and was shocked to find no barrier whatsoever. What he did find however was terrifying enough to make him pull back before discovering much more than that Lucifer's power had no color at all. His power had felt like it was at least equal to that of a Black-jeweled Warlord Prince, at least equal to his own. He appeared to already be at the killing-edge and based on the raw sexual energy coming from him, he appeared to be in rut as well. But then again, there was a calm in this man too, a cold and relaxed assurance that seemed to indicate that he was completely comfortable in this state, used to it, delighted in it and would utterly enjoy the destruction he could cause it a way that even he and Lucivar would not understand. Fortunately, there was apparently something outside of himself holding him in check. Once it released him, however his attack would be wild and devastating.
Then, Azazeal, the thinner, elegant, and more calculating of the two males with the red and gold accented wings. He did not appear as blazingly powerful as Lucifer, but exuded such control and calculating intelligence that his true capabilities were hard to estimate. His power also had no color but had a disciplined and viscous quality that Lucifer's did not. He would be much more inventive in any attack and seemed to be extremely confident that he could protect the Ladies with little effort, of course, that may be an illusion. He was definitely the dominant male in their group, there was no doubt about that, despite the fact that other male was not acting subordinate to him. But what bothered Daemon the most was that the seductive pull that this man in his voice and eyes was too close to his own, though thankfully Jaenelle seemed to be unaffected.
The blond female now standing behind them still next to the couches an imperious air about her and was perhaps the Queen in this little group, though her lack of familiar psychic sent made this inconclusive. She watched Azazeal intently with both pride and concern. A quick check of her capabilities resulted in confusing information. She was definitely powerful and, though she was not aware of her full strength, she was no match for any of them. She also apparently commanded power that was currently elsewhere. This probably meant other males and witches but it was hard to tell.
The other brown-haired female had remained seated and appeared unconcerned about this situation. Daemon did a cursory scan, which confirmed that she was at the basic Craft level and, based on her obliviousness to the tension in the room, he concluded that she must not be very perceptive. She smiled at him to acknowledge the mental contact, the only one who had, and gave him an appreciative once over with her eyes that threatened to enraged further him except that there was no desire in her eyes. She glanced at Lucivar too, before resting her eyes on Lucifer's back with an affectionate smile.
Cassie stepped forward and as she attempted to pass Azazeal to greet her guests, he grabbed her arm and jerked her back. Cassie pulled her arm away from him in annoyance. How could he invite them to stay and then rudely keep her from greeting them? She approached Jaenelle and held out her hand to shake, receiving a confused look from the woman.
"Oh, uh, how to women greet each other in your world?"
Jaenelle considered for a second and then reached out both hands palms down. Cassie, quickly catching on, placed her hands under hers and smiled brightly. She considered offering her a hand to the men standing next to Jaenelle but thought it best to avoid contact considering how tempers were already flaring.
"My name is Jaenelle and these snarling males are Lucivar and Daemon."
"It's, ah, nice to met you all. Why don't you come and sit down and I'll bring some wine. Azazeal, could you bring another couch?" Cassie said moving towards the kitchen.
Azazeal didn't even move but another couch appeared next to the ones they had been relaxing on earlier, so that now there were two loveseats and full sized couch all at right angles to each other, creating a half circle with a coffee table in the middle.
Azazeal stepped aside to allow their guests to move passed them towards the sitting area, but Daemon and Lucivar hesitated to move.
"Oh, stop being so fussy and let's sit down." Jaenelle admonished.
"That's it, baby, swing that heft around!" Lucifer mocked but Jaenelle only smiled at him.
"Lucifer!" the Cassie spat, furiously before Daemon could get out anything sufficiently scathing.
Lucifer glanced at her quickly and actually giggled, not even trying to hide his amusement, while she narrowed her eyes in fury. Elizabeth was still sitting and merely smiled and stifled a laugh of her own.
"I think maybe your Lady wants you to shut your trap, but that's just a guess," Daemon purred. This male was going to be a problem and he wasn't going to let him think that he was the only one who could play this game.
"What she wants does not concern me in the slightest!" Lucifer responded arrogantly, still intently watching Daemon and Lucivar. Cassie turned and began moving towards him, fuming.
"Why do I have the feeling that you're about to feel your Queen's temper?" Daemon smiled.
"Oh, I'm way overdue, aren't I honey? Can't let the whips and chains get dusty, now, can we?" was his defiant reply which was accompanied by a wicked smirk
This remark caused Daemon to bristle in anger at the reminder of the time he himself had spent as a pleasure slave, controlled by the vicious Ring of Obedience and the bite of the lash. Apparently, this male was not yet free of an abusive Queen, but now Daemon could not understand why he was so protective of her.
Lucifer never failed to annoy Cassie with his quick-witted remarks and playful interference aimed infuriating her. He never listened to a word she said either and made quite merry game of disregarding her requests unless he decided, in a rare act of helpfulness, to assist at his own discretion. He had even once suggested that she was spoiled and too accustomed to all of the other fallen angels obeying her, but Azazeal and Elizabeth both quickly assured her that Lucifer had only been playing with her.
Cassie was constantly exasperated by Lucifer, and couldn't understand how Elizabeth dealt with him, but had eventually been forced to accept that he actually was quite fond of her. Azazeal had explained to her that ignoring her completely would be the true signifier that Lucifer disliked her. The real problem was that he was conflicted about how to treat Cassie. Azazeal had become the leader of all of the fallen angels, despite the fact that Lucifer was more powerful, and as Azazeal's lover, Cassie had become mother and, in a way, Queen of all of the fallen angels. So, though his attention towards Cassie was annoying, it indicated a certain level of respect. Lucifer was just simply incapable of obeying anyone but Elizabeth and would never allow anyone else the slightest influence over him. Luckily for Cassie, Lucifer's was not naturally inclined to lead and had the selfish nature common to all of the fallen angels which made him not in the least bit interested in setting Elizabeth up as a ruler of anyone other than himself. He was also generally satisfied with the respect that the other angels paid to Elizabeth already, despite his flares of temper when they got to close. Cassie would just have to work through Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth!" Cassie hissed as she stopped moving towards Lucifer once she remembered the futility of it.
Elizabeth could tell this wasn't just Cassie's usual annoyance at Lucifer's behavior. Elizabeth had been doing what she thought was best by staying as calm and unafraid as she could so as not to trigger a violent response from Lucifer. However, in Elizabeth's efforts to let Lucifer be Lucifer and handle this on his own, she had not noticed him slowly collecting himself to attack. He was tense, very tense, and she realized that he was coiled to spring into action in a flash but he was also uncertain. These people must be a greater threat than she realized or at least be of un-known capabilities for him to react like this because he was never protective in this way. Being as strong as he was made the idea of defending her almost ridiculous because a nasty look from him could generally send the evilest of creatures crawling away in terror.
"Lucifer," she crooned rose from the couch and walked over next to him. At this his intent stare at Daemon and Lucivar flickered briefly and his whole body relaxed slightly, which Daemon noted with interest.
"Let's not start a fight, shall we?" She continued, now standing next to him.
He turned towards her with a playfully innocent smile and replied, "Who me?" and winked at his adversaries. Lucifer did not back down when she approached as she had expected, but rather positioned himself between her and their guests. It then occurred to Elizabeth that his antics had been aimed at keeping their attention on him and away from herself and Cassie. And if he was uncertain of their power, he might also be worried that deadly force may be necessary if they attacked. She had told him never to kill and he was probably troubled by the fact that he might have to disobey her to protect her. Cassie was right, she was going to have to do something to calm him down.
Not wanting to take any chances, Elizabeth pulled Lucifer's head towards her and, reaching up to him, locked his mouth in a deep kiss.
Azazeal was not happy about Lucifer's behavior either but he knew that there was nothing he could do about it, so he was glad when Elizabeth took charge of him. Now all he had to do, and he was oh-so-good-at-this, was defuse the situation. He knew enough about these people to know that their tempers ran high and they were very dangerous, but he also knew that protecting Jaenelle was their biggest concern, so the sooner they could began to understand each other the better off everyone would be.
He did suppose, however, that he couldn't blame Lucifer for his agitation, but his overreaction was forcing Azazeal face what was really allowing him to remain calm in this situation. It wasn't entirely the fact that Azazeal was made to protect and this was natural to him. It was that he would not have the same reaction to losing Cassie that Lucifer would have to losing Elizabeth. Azazeal was terrified of losing Cassie and he knew the kind of emotional pain it would bring, but while he would cry, and despair, and hurt, and be forever scarred, he would not collapse into a ball of agony and punish himself for her loss for the rest of his existence. He would eventually recover and move on…and he would hate himself for it.
Despite this, or maybe because of it, Azazeal was better protection from this threat than his friend. He could see clearly and he knew how to deal with these people if Lucifer would just shut up!
Lucivar and Daemon watched as the aggressive male was forcefully kissed by one of the females who was apparently holding his controlling ring. He tried to move towards her but she held him back with a delicate hand and he shuddered three separate times with increasing intensity. Lucivar curled his lip in disgust at this kiss that was clearly being given to cover up the cries of pain that should be coming from this poor male as the Ring of Obedience was used to control him. The witch pulled away then, turned back towards them, but Lucifer, continued to stare at her probably in rage at such treatment. Lucivar and Daemon glanced at each other in slight concern. They didn't like this male but seeing him try to fight with the witch holding his controlling ring would not necessarily be enjoyable. Noticing their look the witch looked back at Lucifer. She smiled kindly and indicated with a gesture of her head that he should turn back towards their "guests." The male smiled back and almost seemed to laugh at himself before looking back at them. They were shocked to find that not only was there no hint of the rage in his eyes that they had expected, but the glint of challenge was gone as well. Both were replaced with a calm watchfulness. The witch stood beside him and smiled at them with an irritating friendliness that seemed like arrogance in light of what she had just done.
Daemon could not leash the rage that was swelling in him on Lucifer's behalf, even though this male was not particularly likable. Seeing him so quickly and savagely "quieted" when he was only trying to do his job was not something that Daemon was prepared to ignore now that he had the freedom to act against such things. He sent out a phantom hand to teach this little witch a lesson and to his shock, it was quickly thrown back at him. Lucifer snatched her arm, pulled her towards him, and in a quick flutter she was surrounded from the sholders down by his wing tips. His eyes were cold with anger now and Daemon saw that whatever calm the witch had brought him to was now completely gone.
It struck Daemon that Lucifer's protectiveness had all been for this witch and not the one who appeared to be the Queen. He carefully sent out a physic tendril to re-evaluate her strength and was surprised to confirm his prior assessment that she seemed to only posses the equivalent of the most basic Craft. It didn't seem possible that a female witch with such little power could get such strong male to bond with her, but then again Lucivar's wife was just a hearth witch.
The witch began gently stroking the top edge of one his wings and he calmed down a little, but not enough for Daemon's liking.
"You shouldn't have done that" Jaenelle thought to Daemon.
"Obviously!"
"I would have though you would recognize a witch trying to handle a distressed male."
"But she used a Ring on him."
"Somehow I don't think it was the Ring that he was responding to" she replied with a slightly embarrassed smile.
With relatively little difficulty, everyone got themselves arraigned on the three couches in a very strategic manner. Jaenelle was on the larger couch still surrounded by Daemon and Lucivar. On Daemon's right, at a 90 degree angle and a respectful distance, was the loveseat with Azazeal and Cassie and on Luviar's left was Lucifer and Elizabeth. Both Azazeal and Lucifer had vanished their wings and put their shirts back on and Cassie had brought out a few bottles of wine and glasses for everyone, which she filled and passed around, but no one drank.
"Let me start by saying," Azazeal started in his cool, confident style as soon as everyone settled, "that I used to spend a lot of time observing your world so…"
"What would you know about our world?" Lucivar growled.
"I know about the Jewels that determine your strength in the Craft, I know that the Queens take care of the land, and I know that the males serve them."
"Well, then, that about covers everything, doesn't it?" Lucivar snorted haughtily.
"Aren't you the least bit curious how I know these things and…"
"No!"
"I am," Jaenelle interjected.
Daemon and Lucivar both glared at her for her enthusiasm and leashed their desire to kill these strangers and find their way home. But as Azazael began to speak they found themselves actually listening to him and…wanting to trust him. Of course, this initially set off warning bells that were also quickly silenced as he continued to speak….