An Exorcism, The Devil Shows Up And An Ambush

"You think you can hold me indefinitely, Constantine?!" the raspy voice screamed out in pain but it was obviously still using a mocking tone.

John, or Constantine, looked back over his shoulder with a smirk, "Usually? Absolutely not," he laughed before pointing over at me, "But that kid's presence...it's really fucking with your mojo, mate. But the question is, what do you need with a Nephilim?" he asked. I would've told him why they wanted me but before I could, the shadowy Demon spat a glob of black phlegm at John's feet.

"I wouldn't tell me no matter what you do," the Demon's tone was solemn and even I knew it was being truthful. It wasn't arrogance or bravado. The Demon genuinely thought it would be able to keep it's mouth shut which was a testament to it's pain resistance as even the chains wrapped around it seemed to be burning it.

"Well, if you're gonna be difficult, I can't only try every trick in the book," John shrugged before reaching around in his trench coat but I stopped him by speaking up.

"Uh, I can tell you why they're after me, you know?" I spoke out and John stopped his rummaging and looked up at me before smiling. Taking that as a gesture to continue, I continued, "Well, they need a new leader or something like that. Lucifer isn't in Hell anymore and they need a leader for some reason...which has to be someone of Angelic descent or an Angel themselves. I guess getting me is easier than forcing an Angel into doing it," I shrugged, hoping helping here would help me get back to my dorm room quicker.

John raised an eyebrow, "Lucifer is out of Hell? Bloody hell...Always shirking his bloody duties," he said more to himself but I heard it anyway because of, you know, Nephilim hearing. "Well, you just lost your usefulness, Demon," John gave a wry smile before beginning what I guess is an exorcism.

He began speaking Latin and a cross appeared in his hand out of...somewhere, along with a bottle of water that gave off a feeling of similarity to me. Holy water, if I had to guess.

The Demon strained and tried to break the chains but as John had said, my very presence seemed to suppress the Demon. With this in mind, I decided to take a few steps forward and toward John and the Demon.

This seemed to be the right call before the shadowy body of the Demon began smoking all over and not just the places that were touched by the spectral chains John had summoned.

Though he didn't say anything, John gave me a smile of approval while he continued with his Latin.

This continued for a few more seconds before the Demon gave one final scream and burst into flames and turned into black ash that just began to...disappear. It was odd to look at but I didn't care for too much longer before John had came over and gave me a slap on the shoulder, "Thanks for the help...?"

Realizing he was asking for my name, I put out a hand as I put away my wings and halo, "Nicholas D'Angelo. Just call me Nick," I smiled and John returned my handshake before properly introducing himself.

"You may have heard that thing say it, but allow me to give a proper introduction. The name's John Constantine, Occult Detective," he smiled before he brought his hand back and fished out another cigarette before lighting it with his finger and what I presume is magic, "Wanna go grab a beer to celebrate a clean exorcism? Trust me, they get waaaay messier than that usually and just coming out of it without vomit on you is a big win," he laughed but I gave him a wry smile as I shook my head.

"Uh, I'm underage and I have a class tomorrow morning, so..." I gave my answer which was partly true but the main reason was because I couldn't get drunk anymore on account of my Nephilim physiology. And people don't drink beer for the taste, usually.

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, John seemed to realize something a second later, "Ah, yeah, the yanks only let you drink at 21 don't they? Oh well, maybe next time? I mean, you'd probably pass as a 21-year-old anyway," he said and seeing my somewhat confused expression, he elaborated, "What? You don't look like a kid, Nick. You're what? 6'4"? 6'5"?"

"6'4," I informed him and he laughed as he continued.

"And you've got muscles on your muscles, kid. Must be that Angel blood you've got in ya," he said before pointing up at my face and bluntly speaking, "And with a face like that...if we got a woman bartender, we'd probably get a few drinks if you turned on the charm," he laughed somewhat loudly and I found his enthusiasm contagious as I laughed as well. I felt like it'd be a pretty fun experience to go drinking with an Occult Detective. Maybe I'd learn a thing or two about the supernatural side of the world that I was painfully unaware of, as well.

But as we were laughing and as John was about to continue, probably to convince me to come out for a drink anyway, a voice came from above us, "John, can you please not try and corrupt my nephew? That should be my job," I looked up and saw Lucifer slowly falling from one of the roofs nearby, his wings turning his fall into a glide.

"Lucifer bloody Morningstar--How you been, mate?" John looked over as well and smiled wide.

Looking over at John, Lucifer smiled and answered, "I've been well. Though admittedly quite busy with work," he said before continuing on other topics, "Thank you for helping my nephew with that Demon problem. With that in mind, I have something to speak to you about."

He finally touched down on the ground and walked over to us. Once near, John spoke up, but mainly about what Lucifer had said before, "Wait a minute, you have a job? You quit and left Hell and got a bloody job?" he asked in disbelief and I've gotta say...I was kinda as confused as him. I didn't know Lucifer had a job but it would explain why his phone was constantly ringing when he was explaining the whole Nephilim thing to me.

"Something to get over the boredom, I guess," Lucifer shrugged before looking to me, "Are you okay, Nicholas?" he asked and I nodded, "Good. Be sure to be careful on your way home. I'll be speaking to John and then I'll come over. We need to speak about your further training," he said and I nodded, again, feeling somewhat relieved that I'd be getting more instruction on how to use my powers.

Right now, I was really just going off of instinct...and that wasn't the most productive medium to use when you're trying to use Divine powers. Just last week I blew a hole in my window when I was messing about with my pyrokinesis.

...So, uh, yeah. Not the best idea.

With that in mind, I gave my goodbyes to the two of them and turned toward the direction of my dorm room before picking up into a jog.

. . .

POV Change - John Constantine

Watching Nick jog away, I felt a bit sorry for the lad.

Having Demon's on your ass all the time while trying to be a normal college student...it'd not an enviable position. But then again, he seems like a resourceful kid, so he should be fine.

And with a relative like Lucifer...I doubt he's in any real trouble.

Turning back to the ex-Devil in question, I smiled, "What did you need to speak about then?" I asked, genuinely curious. Because when the Devil wants to speak to you about something, it's usually something quite interesting.

"As you can see, my nephew is in a...tough situation. One of my own making, no less," he sighed before looking me in the eye, "I want to employ you, John. As both a defender and a teacher for Nicholas. With both our help, he could learn to control his powers and expand on them with your Occult teaching," he said and my eyes went a little wide - Lucifer wanted to employ me? It was both a good and a bad thing.

Good, because Lucifer was bloody minted. He had more money than some world leaders and if he needed more? He could get it as simple as snapping his fingers.

Bad, because it'd effectively put shackles on me. I wouldn't be able to travel as I pleased if I was stuck here teaching a kid about the Occult and how to control/use his supernatural powers.

Yet a part of me felt like it would be somewhat alright to take up this gig.

"...How much would you be willing to pay me and how long would I have to teach him?" I asked, wanting to get the basics out of the way before moving onto the bigger and more serious clauses that would have to be in this deal.

Luckily for me, I didn't have to worry about any sly behavior from Lucifer, let alone anything like lying. After all, Lucifer may withhold the truth but he never lies. Ever. It's the one rule he never breaks which means whatever he answers, it's the truth. To get the whole truth, you just need to ask the right questions and have Lucifer like you enough for him to want to answer them.

Waving his hand in a gesture, Lucifer showed a somewhat cocky smile, "As much money as you want. One thousand a day. Ten thousand a day. On hundred thousand a day. Name your price," he said before a more serious expression dawned on his face, "How long it will take, however...I don't know. Nicholas is unlike any Nephilim I've ever seen. He's talented, yes. Unbelievably so, from what I've seen. But he's also held back by his human half and limited by it. Right now he's only living up to a fraction of his true power and potential, and I was hoping the two of us can help him fulfill it. Because if not, I fear I'll be betraying a promise I once made by leaving him unprepared for the troubles he will have to face."

Seeing Lucifer get so serious, I also lost my jovial attitude. Just who was Nick's father to make Lucifer so serious--"Who's the kid's dad, Lucifer? Michael? Azrael?"

"No," Lucifer shook his head with a sardonic smile, "Michael having a child? I'm afraid he wouldn't know what to do to get a woman pregnant," he gave a small, nearly imperceptible chuckle before continuing, "His father was Abaddon, John. He's the son of The Destroyer. You must realize the potential he holds now, yes?" he turned to look at me but I was already frozen.

Nick was the son of Abaddon? Bloody hell. That twist nearly gave me bloody whiplash..."I'll do it then. If only to help him control the aspect of Destruction his father no doubt passed down to him. He can't have you babysitting him in the future and watching out just in case he wipes Metropolis off the map because of an emotional slip," I sighed, knowing that I'd have to put my life as a vagabond on hold for a while. Just for now while I help the son of Abaddon.

Thinking about such a thought, I couldn't help but shake my head and smile. Abaddon, the black-haired, grey-eyed, pale skinned Fallen Angel had been a part of producing Nick? The Nick who had tanned skin, green eyes and blond hair? Nick's mom must've been a real bombshell if her appearance took priority over Abaddon's.

Though a more somber thought came through: Nick was definitely Abaddon's son. During that small altercation with that Demon...I felt the anger coming from Nick. It wasn't malicious or prejudice. No, it was pure anger. Anger meant to destroy.

That's the Abaddon I'd learnt about in the books. The one who's name was scarcely mentioned and whenever it was, it followed by deeds of death and destruction of God's enemies.

Abaddon was The Destroyer. The Angel of the Abyss. The Angel of Destruction and Death...But it does make me wonder:

What type of Angel will Nick turn out to be?

I was brought out of my thinking by Lucifer's hand on my shoulder, "We need to go. There's another Demon on the loose and it no doubt has Nicholas' scent. We can sit by and step in if he needs help...but for now, we can get a measure for the power he can use," Lucifer said but even I could hear the reluctance in his tone.

...Huh. Seems the big bad Devil is starting to care about his family again. Kinda heartwarming--

And then we were flying, Lucifer just dragging me into the sky with him.

. . .

POV Change - Nicholas D'Angelo

Setting down on my bed, I let out a sigh. I had stuff to do but being ambushed by a Demon had really put a dampener on my motivation for College work right now, even if it would help distract me from the fact this would be my life from now on.

Reaching into the mini fridge next to my bed, I pulled out a can of soda and cracked it open. Chugging the refreshing lemonade-flavored beverage, I felt a slight edge taken off as I relaxed.

Just as I let out a sigh, there was a knock at my door.

Despite some of the edge being taken off, I still jumped up and off my bed in an instant, my taut nerves making me jumpy as hell. Taking a deep breath, I tried to keep myself calm as I called out, "Give me a sec," as I said that, I put the can down and walked over to the door, "Who is it--" just as I looked through the eyehole, I saw a grey fist coming at the door.

Surprised, I tried to dodge but it was too sudden a movement and the fist crumbled through the door and slammed into me. The force behind it was definitely superhuman and to show that, it sent me flying back into my dorm room and through the wall.

Mid-air I flexed my shoulders and my wings shot out of my back, mystically leaving my clothes unharmed. A perk of being part-Angel, according to Lucifer.

Now floating two stories above the ground, I waved my hand over my face and created a mask of solid light to hide my identity. I didn't need anyone around here knowing I was some sort of divine being. That'd make it incredibly hard to live my life...and it was already admittedly hard, as shown by the presumable Demon attacking me right at this moment.

It was a basic mask, with no facial features outside of just two slits big enough for my eyes to look through them.

How was I able to do this without any sort of tutoring? Well, using my powers on instinct was risky and more often than not, it resulted in some sort of accident or destruction of property (like my window) but it would be wrong to say it gave no benefits.

My control over my pyrokinesis was absolute dog shit. Genuinely terrible. I had the precision and control of a flamethrower or an incendiary grenade. But with my photokinesis came naturally. And through my instinctive play around with the power, I'd learnt how to make hard-light constructs. Which was coming in handy right now.

Looking to the Demon walking through where my door had once been, I sighed.

I had to either take this guy down or wait until Lucifer gets here. But knowing what I know about Lucifer...something tells me he wouldn't step in even if he showed up in time. Not unless I was in any real danger.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I just kept my focus on the 2 meter tall gray Demon that was walking to me with a toothy grin and it's pure red eyes gleaming with all sorts of mania.