Cindy managed to make her way to the bathroom, leaning on Raphael's shoulder. She felt weak and very light, as if she were hollow inside. Her legs wobbled a bit, and once they were in the shower, Raphael continued to support her.
“What's wrong with me?”
Raphael kissed Cindy's bare shoulder, while holding her from behind. “Earlier, when you were fighting, I gave you a little boost. It's wearing off now, I'm afraid we overdid it in bed. You'll be fine, I promise.”
Cindy shivered, thinking about what it had been like, making love to the Angel. “Oh good. I was afraid it was going to be like this every time we had sex.”
Raphael giggled. “Would that be so bad?”
“I guess not. You're worth it.”
“Aw. You really know what to say to a girl.” Raphael cuddled with Cindy, but was careful not to do anything more- at least not until Cindy replenished her strength! “You are pretty strong for a girl. I suppose we have Lee to thank for that.”
“Am I? It's weird, I felt weaker at first.”
Raphael opened her hidden eyes, examining the girl closely. Most humans have a limit on how much power their soul can generate, which varies a little- exceptional mortals have stronger souls. But Cindy surpassed those limits.
This wasn't surprising in of itself, since the girl had made a pact with a Demon...but then she noticed that Cindy was actually absorbing power into her self.
Raphael's power!
It wasn't anywhere near enough to weaken her, but Cindy shouldn't be able to do that. “Baby, I want to test something. Close your eyes for me?”
Cindy did as asked, and Raphael brought her halo into phase with the universe. She then began to give Cindy more of her power.
Cindy's veins started to glow with white light beneath her skin as she drew in power. Cindy moaned softly, and seemed to stand straighter.
'Fascinating', the Angel thought to herself. Cindy was more than an ordinary human, much more! But what was she, exactly? Not a Nephilim or a Child of Caine...but perhaps, somewhere in her past, one of her ancestors had mated with a god?
One of the more fascinating things about the universe is how it could beget other gods, though they were less powerful than her Creator. Their power waxed and waned with the belief of mortals, but they were quite real.
Raphael caused her halo to vanish once again, and stopped directly feeding the girl, though she was still absorbing ambient power from her. Cindy's veins stopped glowing, but she seemed a lot better.
The smaller girl turned in Raphael's arms and started to kiss her breasts.
“Oh...that's nice, baby. But when I said I was going to feed you, that's not quite what I meant.”
“Could you? I mean, produce milk?” Cindy looked up at Raphael.
“Of course. But wouldn't you rather have a sandwich?”
“Probably. But I'd like to have a little, if that's ok.”
Raphael smiled and her breasts grew a little larger. She held Cindy to her as the girl began to suckle gently on her breast. On occasion, she'd helped mothers feed their children, and she'd always enjoyed the experience- even if the little buggers bit sometimes!
But this...this was different. It felt very nice indeed.
Not being an amazing cook like Dantalyon, or even Gemory, Raphael cheated and simply created some juicy hamburgers for her and Cindy to eat, along with a pair of milkshakes. Not that Raphael needed to eat, but she enjoyed eating socially. She even got them both some fries!
“This is really good!” Cindy exclaimed, between bites.
“Not as good as a home-cooked meal, I'm sure, but I visited a very nice burger parlor once in California, actually has a Michelin star. So the food you're eating is exactly like what they prepare.”
“I want to visit the place somtime!” The girl devoured her food happily.
Raphael giggled. Cindy ate like a teenaged boy. Not surprising, of course.
Cindy then looked at the time. “Oh hell, I need to pick up the girls from school...and my car is back ath the high school.”
“No problem, I can teleport us back there.”
“That's handy. Is that hard to do?” Cindy asked.
“It takes some energy...oh good point.” Raphael frowned. She had exerted herself a lot, another teleport might earn her a sharp reprimand. “Sorry, I mean, I -can-, but I've kind of gone over-budget. Heaven doesn't like Angels using too much power on Earth without authorization.”
“So it's like an expense report? You have to justify power above a certain limit?”
“Exactly. I do have a power reserve on Earth, but I'd need to go back to my house, which even flying, would take a little bit. I could take the Backroads- shortcuts through time and space God installed into the universe, but...it can be a little rough on humans.”
“Huh. Like, what could happen?” Cindy asked.
“Most likely? Nausea, a sense of missing time, disorientation. That's just by moving through space. Moving through time gets a little weirder. Humans only perceive time moving in one direction, so if we were to go backwards in time, that can have some extreme effects. For example, you could grow younger.”
“Wow, really?” Cindy seemed surprised. “I know a lot of people who wouldn't think that's so bad.”
“If they lost a few years, probably not. But the effects are unpredictable, and the farther back you go, the worse it gets. While no Angel would attempt it, a few demons have brought people back in time before they were born.”
“Oh shit, so they...disappear?” Cindy looked unsettled.
“They can. Usually the universe hates that sort of thing, so the system tries to prevent someone from becoming a neverborn. You could end up becoming your own mother or grandmother, or being shunted into another woman's womb and being reborn in the past.”
“I mean, if I turned into Mom, I'd just get a little taller.” Cindy remarked.
“Well unless you had to live her life and eventually give birth to yourself.”
Cindy shivered, thinking about having sex with her Father. “No thanks!”
“Though that -is- something I'm curious about. You, your sister, your mother, even your aunt, you are all strikingly similar to one another.”
“Yeah, it runs in the family. Grandma used to look just like Mom when she was young, and she says the same was true for her mother. Genetically, I know that's kind of weird, but nobody makes a big deal about it.”
“Hm. Did you look about the same as a boy?”
Cindy shrugged. “I guess. I wasn't as pretty. A lot taller and more muscular.”
“More like your Father...hm...very interesting. Well! We can't leave your Sister and Winrya high and dry. I'll call Dantalyon.” She produced her cell phone. It greatly resembled a new model, and was white with golden rhinestones.
“I don't know what's weirder, that you have a phone, or that it's so...girly.”
Raphael grinned.
Lee answered. “I'm a little busy, Raphael. What happened?”
“Oh, sorry. How is she?” Lee had been forced to take Cole away from the high school, as she had been the focal point of the Aeshma's attack.
“Right now? Vulnerable. Whatever did this to her, I'm going to rip into pieces.” Lee sounded angry.
“So I spoke to a Succubus that used to work for Gemory. She thinks it might be an Aeshma.”
“Yes, I surmised as much. Which means one of the Fallen is behind this. Is Cindy alright?”
“Oh she's doing quite well. But I had to teleport her to her house, and her car is still at the school. And I'm kind of at my limit for the moment.” Raphael admitted.
“Alright, I'll just have Winrya bring her here.” Lee paused. “Thank you for your help.”
“Don't thank me yet, we have a complication. You may be very cross with me.” Raphael tried to sound contrite.
“What did you do, Raphael?” Lee's voice was even, but she sounded stressed.
“I had to use the, ah, I hate this name, but I guess it works. The Love Bomb.”
Lee chuckled. “You didn't know people called it that? That will probably have some strange aftereffects...oh no. Cindy got hit with it. I imagine that's made her frisky and amorous?”
“A bit worse than that.” Raphael reached her hand across the table, and Cindy grabbed it with her own. “Cindy has declared her love for me.”
“Please tell me this is a joke. Your power shouldn't do -that-.” Lee's voice sounded strained.
“I know! But that's what happened.”
“You had sex with her.” Not a question.
“Yes. Several times.” Raphael admitted.
“Raphael, you fool! She's sold her soul, she's mine! You can't reclaim her!”
“I know. I'm sorry.”
There was a long sigh on the other end of the call. “Chaos. This while trip has been total chaos. I'm not upset with you, Raphael, but this is just another problem we'll have to work out. Get over here as soon as possible.” She hung up.
“How bad is it?” Cindy asked.
“She's annoyed. But she says she's not mad at me.”
Cindy paled. “Oh. So she's mad at -me-.”
Raphael frowned. “She'd better not be! Nobody messes with my girl!” Then she paused, realizing what she'd said, and laughed. “Oh my. Am I going to be an overprotective girlfriend?”
Cindy looked at her, love in her eyes. “I hope so.”
Lee resisted the urge to destroy her phone. Cindy in love with Raphael? The urge to scream 'Inconceivable!' was strong. But she had other problems.
Cole was huddled on Lee's bed, under the blankets, shivering and crying. She was an emotional wreck.
Lee set her phone down and climbed into bed with the girl, holding her. The girl flinched.
“Those things I said to you. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”
“Don't apologize, dear.”
“But...!” Cole protested.
“Those emotions were forced out of you. A demon called an Aeshma planted a seed of hatred in you.”
“But they didn't put them there.”
“No. No they did not. You're upset with me, and jealous of my relationship with Cindy.”
“I have no right. There was never any promise that Cindy would be mine. If I wanted her that badly...I could have asked you to change her right away.” Cole admitted.
“Ah, but, my dear apprentice, you didn't do that for a reason. You knew if Luke became a girl, he wouldn't turn to you for help. You weren't that close to him. You've distanced yourself from most people, because you were afraid they couldn't accept you.”
“People are stupid.” Cole said.
“Often? Yes. But your resentment at least partially stems from your fears. You thought you would be rejected, so you justified rejecting others. I understand you, Cole, better than you understand yourself. You don't really know what you want. You think you do, but when you get it, you don't know what to do with it.”
The girl nodded. “I thought I was so smart, asking you to teach me...because I couldn't think of a wish I wanted for myself.”
“Well, lucky for you, that was a smart choice. And this is part of your instruction. As it happens, Cindy's heart is her own. Even though her soul is mine, she's fallen in love with someone else.”
“What?! No...it can't be! Everyone loves you!” Cole blurted out, then shut her mouth.
“Oh, I'm sure she has strong feelings for me. But I'm not capable of returning love, Cole. I wish I was. But it just...doesn't work that way. And it's far easier to love someone who can love you back. I doubt it will be so easy, however...anyways, is that why you are jealous of me?”
Cole nodded. “I wish people loved me the way everyone loves you. The way...I love you.”
Lee reached out and brushed away the girl's tears. “Do you really love me?”
“I don't know! I don't want to! I mean...I don't want to not like you...you're amazing...but Winrya, she really loves you. I don't know what it is I feel.”
“You silly girl. Love has many forms, and can manifest in many ways. Tell me, what do you like about me?”
Cole paused. “You're so smart. You know just about everything. Everyone looks to you to keep things together, to have a plan. You're beautiful and you...care about people. Even if you say you can't love them, you're gentle. And kind. And I can't imagine a life without you in it. I've needed you all my life and didn't know it!”
“And what do you hate about me?” Lee pressed.
“The fact you can have anything you want, whenever you want it. Even though...you say you can't love me, if you asked me to do anything for you, I would. Not because I'm your slave. I'd do it, and that scares me.”
“And the fact I can have everything you want as well. That you will forever be in my shadow. That I will always be better than you in every way.”
Cole nodded. “Who am I, compared to you?”
“By Lucifer's bloody halo...Cole, you're looking at this all wrong. You see my strengths, and not my weaknesses. You imagine that in no way you could ever be superior to me. Do you think I would train you, just to be my subordinate? And why would you need to be better than me?
What's wrong with being my equal?”
“I...” Cole blinked. “Is that even possible?”
“Who knows? Do you know why humans were created? I'll tell you. Because in all the universe, God (Dantalyon grit her teeth to say the G-word) stands apart. Alone. Alpha and Omega.
Everything they have Created is inferior to them. The mightiest of Angels are nothing compared to They Who Is. But humans? Humans were born in the hope that one day, one of you may become like God.”
“How could that happen?” Cole asked.
“I don't know. No one does. They didn't bother to explain it to anyone. But somehow, the potential exists for humans to become greater than anything else that has been Created. And you, my dear, are more than human, whether you realize it or not. I'm really tired of you second-guessing me.”
“I...oh. How am I to be punished?”
Lee grimaced. “You're not. You see this was my mistake. You belong to me. Which means I should be protecting you. I knew your heart, but allowed you to be vulnerable to attack.
Which means...I need you to punish me.”
Cole's eyes got wide. “What?! Is that...is that even done?”
“Don't second-guess me, Cole. I've given this some thought, and it's ultimately my fault. So if anyone is to be punished it should be me. To show you that I am worthy of your loyalty, I've decided to let you punish me. I don't do that every day, you know.”
“Sorry. Um, so, wow, I can punish you in any way I want?”
Lee looked pained. “Cole...”
“No no! It's ok, I think I get it.” She looked thoughtful. “So demons can merge together. Can they do the opposite, and split apart?”
Lee blinked. “Oh you mean, occupy multiple bodies at once? Some can.”
“Can you do that?”
Lee nodded. “So you want there to be two of me, so you can have one to yourself?”
Cole shook her head. “No, nobody can have you all to themselves. Tonight though, everyone in the house gets a Lee of their own.”
Lee's eyes got wide. She wanted to protest, because that would take a lot of effort. In fact, there could be...ramifications for subdividing herself that many times. But...the more she thought about it, the more she realized it was a fair punishment. “Very well.”
“Wow, I was ready for you to say you couldn't do that.” Cole said.
“It won't be easy, but I can.”
“Can I push you a little more?” Cole asked.
“For Hell's sake, Cole...what else?” Lee liked Cole, but sometimes...
“Can I have two of you? Just the thought of you as twins...is kind of hot.”
“Leave it to you to discover yet another fetish...” But then Lee smiled. “You know though, that could be fun.” She then leaned in close and nipped the girl's earlobe before whispering. “When I'm done with you, you won't be going to school tomorrow.”
Cole shivered. “Yes, Mistress.”