ch

"So, what are we looking at?"

Dan lifted the yellow tape as Chloe and Lucifer walked onto the crime scene, this time in the middle of a generic alleyway. Lucifer was almost relieved the LA Institute was nowhere in sight. That meant there was still time to sneak out unseen, though that was just wishful thinking at this point. Some Nephilim had activated their super stealth or super hearing or whatever bullshit runes Raziel had gifted them with this millennia to report the Detective's every move. The thought was unnerving, making Lucifer swivel like a bobblehead as he tried to scope out all possible fields of vision.

Dan shot Lucifer a look - something along the lines of, dude what the hell is up with your head? - but Chloe remained focused on the case.

"Male vic, around nineteen years old going off of dental prints, same tattoos as the ones associated with the church gang we've been following."

The douche rattled off the facts in his usual, boring manner. Without flair or pizazz or any kind of engaging story telling finesse. Honestly, how did this man think he could build a career in stand up with a delivery like that? One of these days Lucifer was going to sit Dan down, have a heart to heart, maybe bring in his good friend Kevin Hart to give Dan a few tips before crushing his dreams. Kevin did owe Lucifer a favor after he launched the man's career one night in -

"Do we have a name?"

Ah yes, the case. How dreary. Why had Lucifer agreed to sit idly by and let the Detective walk into this death trap again?

"No record of this guy anywhere. He's a ghost."

And they never would find a record. The fact that the body lingered long enough to draw mundane attention was odd enough. What exactly was going on at the Institute that had the Nephilim so neglectful of their fallen?

"Cause of death?"

Chloe and Dan started talking, but their voices faded into the background as Lucifer's world narrowed down to the corpse on the ground.

Perhaps, once upon a time, the corpse could have been a Nephilim. There simply was not enough of his person in tact to tell. In fact, the only identifiable things on this corpse were the runes that snaked up the arms and over the chest. All other flesh was ripped from the bone, the gut disemboweled, the face smashed in. This was a level of brutality Lucifer had only witnessed one other place.

No.

Not possible.

"Not sure," Ella chimed in, coming over with a fresh pair of gloves and that gleam in her eye she only got around particularly good murders. "See these here - " Ella pointed to a particularly grisly set of cuts near the man's throat. " - looks like he got mauled by an animal. Maybe a mountain lion? Honestly, the flesh is too torn up to get a good picture."

"I don't think mauling quite covers what this poor Nephilim endured." Lucifer could not tear his eyes away from the lacerations, far too familiar and even more haunting in their implication. "Eviscerated is more like it. Completely torn apart..."

"Nephi-what?"

"Hmmm?"

"You just called our vic a nephew-something-or-other." The Detective's eyebrows furrowed with suspicion. "Lucifer, would you mind talking in private for a sec?"

Lucifer followed Chloe like a good dog, heeling when she stopped at the end of alley, far away from prying ears...though not Nephilim ones. Lucifer still wasn't convinced they weren't being spied on. He started checking the rooftops again.

"Do you know something about this case that you aren't telling me?"

Lucifer snapped his head back down to eye-level. "Of course not, Detective."

"You didn't want me to take the case. You were adamant it was going to be a waste of my time. A bore. And now you are acting strange...er than usual." Chloe took a step closer. Despite the aromas of death and exposed flesh, Lucifer could still smell the perfume the detective loved, hints of her burnt toast breakfast, and the clean scent of her shampoo. Absolutely mesmerizing. "What is it? Do these people have something on you? Are you in some kind of trouble? Because you know I can help you if you asked - "

"I know, Detective. And I appreciate the gesture of good will, but I am not in any kind of trouble with your unfortunate victim nor his fictitious cult. I am simply...disturbed by the series of events."

"Disturbed? You? I didn't think that was possible." Chloe snorted in disbelief. To be fair, there was very little that disturbed Lucifer, but seeing Hell-specific torture techniques pop up in unsuspecting LA alleyways was one of them. Maybe disturbed was the wrong word. It was more a mix of outrage, indignation, sickness, and sympathy. But Lucifer was bad at processing his emotions on a good day; this specific cocktail of feelings he would have to save for his next session with Linda.

"Okay, so if you aren't in trouble, tell me this," Chloe said, startling Lucifer. He was so lost in planning his therapy that he forgot she was there. "That word you used to describe the victim...what does it mean?"

Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose. He was toeing a fine line between the divine and mortal. The Nephilim were secretive for a reason; he doubted they would appreciate their secrets being divulged to an over-eager LAPD detective. And the last thing Lucifer wanted was to jeopardize the sweet deal he had going on with the LA Institute.

However, a pissed-off Detective was even more daunting a foe than a pissed off Shadowhunter.

"Nephilim," Lucifer repeated the word slowly so that Chloe could commit it to memory. "The children of angels, or rather these days, one angel. The Angel of Mysteries, Raziel. Or, as I call him, Razzie. Though mostly it's just to get a rise out of him. He really is the most irritable of my siblings, not a funny bone in his body - "

"Are you saying that your brother is a cult leader."

"I suppose that's one way of putting it."

The vein in Chloe's temple bulged. "Lucifer, I don't have time for your games."

"I assure you, Detective, I am not playing any games. Far from it, actually."

For a moment, all the partners did was stare at one another like they were about to draw pistols and shoot. Lucifer always said his hair trigger would be the ruin of him. Thankfully, the Detective folded. Literally. Her arms crossed over her chest, her expression no-nonsense, which meant she had chosen to entertain him. "So, what...these people are like you?"

"Like me?"

There was no one like him, and Lucifer was about to say so, but the Detective beat him to the punch

"Completely delusional," she said, bowling right over Lucifer's offended face. "Convinced that somehow they are part angel."

"For the record, I was an angel, thank you very much. No 'part' about it."

"Of course you were." The Detective's patience was growing thin, Lucifer could tell. She tipped her head back and her hair caught the light of the sun, the gold shining brighter than any halo. Even irritated and rude, she managed to be the most beautiful creature Lucifer had ever seen. "Are they violent?"

"Oh, extremely. Raziel prides himself on the exemplary actions of his warrior progeny. It's all he used to talk about at family dinners."

Chloe looked like she had a million different things she wanted to say, but refrained from doing anything except shake her head. Really, this would all go much smoother if she would just open her mind and believe that Lucifer was, indeed, the Devil. But, alas, today did not appear to be the day she saw sense. Which was a shame, because if she knew the true danger the body on the ground posed, she would run far, far away.

"Any enemies?"

"Only the collective demonic hordes of Hell," Lucifer replied chipperly, a wide grin on his face. Sometimes the Detective's obliviousness could prove fun to play with.

"Right..." Chloe turned away from Lucifer and walked five steps down the alley. Little did she know, Lucifer's hearing was also demonic. He could hear her say into her cellphone, "Dan, put an APB out on a man named Raziel. With that name, there can't be more than one. I think he's some sort of cult leader. And be careful. He's violent."

Violent didn't even begin to cover Raziel, but Lucifer let it be. Better to leave the Detective out of the loop on further dangerous secrets. At least until he caught and dealt with LA's new 'mountain lion' problem.

The Detective seemed bent on chasing this lead down to the bitter, nasty end. Lucifer only hoped that he could protect her before she wound up just like the Nephilim.

What better way to protect Chloe from his least favorite nieces and nephews than to pay them a visit?

Across the world in New York City, breakfast had just ended at the Bane household.

With a flick of his wrist, Magnus banished all the dirty dishes to clean themselves in the kitchen. It was a neat trick, one Izzy would use and abuse, grateful not to have to stand on her feet long enough to clean all those plates covered in sticky syrup. Her belly was full and settled for the first time in weeks. If she looked close enough, she could even poke at the swollen beginnings of her bump...though that could just as easily have been the five pancakes she wolfed down like a dying woman.

Alec rolled his eyes fondly as she flopped down on Magnus' couch.

"So, off to work?"

"The Institute calls." Alec toed on his combat boots and knotted the laces. "I have a busy day ahead of me if I'm promoting a brand new Weapon's Master. Underhill will love handling the last minute orientation."

"Just so long as orientation is the only thing Underhill is loving," Magnus teased a warning...or at least it seemed like he was teasing. Izzy had a brief image of Underhill spending the rest of his days as a golden shepherd, and grinned to herself.

Eye rolling must have been Alec's choice of communication for the day, because that's the only response he gave Magnus. That, and a kiss. Honestly, it was so cute Izzy thought her insides would melt.

"Be safe," Magnus said when they parted.

"I'll be home tonight," Alec promised, then turned to Izzy. "Both of you behave while I'm gone."

"Who? Us?" Izzy teased, which earned her a narrowing of Alec's eyes. She was one step away from that dreaded eye roll. "I promise we will be perfect angels."

"I make no such promises," Magnus countered, unapologetic. "I've got four clients today, and one of them is bound to get...messy."

Alec wrinkled his nose. "The Seelie?"

"The Seelie," Magnus replied gravely. Alec's expression turned sympathetic. Izzy was suddenly curious to meet this mysterious Seelie.

Magnus walked Alec to the foyer. Alec opened the door.

On the opposite side stood Jace and Clary.