Page 21 of Unholy Night

“For you, for Mandy, no time has passed on Earth since you walked through my portal.” His eyes twinkle, but it’s from the flickering flames of the fireplace rather than magic this time. The fire seems to caress him, to move in tandem with him. “Here on this level, time stands still.”

“How is that possible?” I know my eyes are wide at this point. “No time has passed since we left Earth?”

“Not a second.” Lucifer flashes a conspiratorial smile. “And as to the how of it, you’d need to ask Father Time. It’s his gift, not mine.”

“That’s…” I search my mind for the right word and come up blank. I’m basically a dictionary on a normal day, but this is no normal day.

Lucifer’s smile grows and he shakes his head in amusement. “I can see the gears turning behind your eyes, but have no idea what you’re thinking.”

“I’m not sure I’m actually forming full thoughts at the moment. It’s all so much, so amazing… so wonderful.”

“I’ve lived it all my life, but watching you right now, I’m reminded too, of just how magical it all can be.” He reaches forward and gently cradles one of my hands in his, sending a jolt of electric energy through my arm. “This is what we need, Lyla. You, here, right now. This is what makes magic possible. Just these past few moments with you have revitalized the magic on this level.”

I squeeze his hand, inching even closer. “Then this is what you allneed. You say that magic is dying, that even children are losing their ability to believe. You need to show them again that you exist. Find other humans that still have a little magic and give them a glimpse of the impossible. Revive their magic and you’ll revive the next generations' magic.”

His mouth opens and closes, his eyes glued to mine, his hands trembling ever so slightly. “Give them a glimpse.”

“Yes!” I cover the hands cradling mine with my free hand. “Show them you’re real. That you’re still here watching over them. And honestly, it doesn’t have to be big. Just little things, like the glimpse of the Easter Bunny’s ears as he leaves, or a jolly ‘Ho, Ho, Ho’ heard from the living room.”

“We’ve spent so many years hidden… It would have to be small things like you say. Because it’s the belief without proof that creates the magic.” He doesn’t move, but his eyes are no longer seeing me. They’re running through a thousand possible scenarios. “The small things. Little traces that even leave the parents surprised.”

“You know, that gives me another question. How do the parents not notice an extra present under the tree?”

He pulls one hand away and waves it in the air. “Oh, that’s easy. Sometimes the kid takes it before the parents see it. Or they assume the other parent got it or that they forgot they’d gotten it.”

“That makes entirely too much sense.” I shake my head. Had I done that? Just given it no thought?

“Oh, humans are very good at explaining the unexplainable. Don’t misunderstand. Science is sound and shouldn’t be dismissed. But things like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, me… we don’t exactly consist of quantitative data.”

“The Greek gods? Zeus? Poseidon? Athena and Artemis?”

“Well, my Hounds are named Aphrodite and Mars.” He smiles and gives an easy shrug. “They’re around. Somewhere. Like the rest of us, their power is dependent on magic--on belief. Gods rise and fall all the time. But the Greek gods, the Roman gods, some of the Celtic gods, Egyptian gods, and Asian gods have hung around for a long time. Some of them are still worshipped. Some have seen a re-emergence with the New Age trends.”

I bite my lip and he seems to understand. It’s natural. How could I not ask after what he’d just explained.

“Go ahead.” He nods. “I’ve been waiting for you to get to this.”

I worry my lip with my teeth. Do I even really want to know? Do I already know? Is the answer to confirm my suspicion sitting right in front of me?

“God. Is God real?” My words are so quiet I’m not sure he’s able to hear me. My shoulders tense as if I’m going to be struck down any second.

“God is real.” His response is just as quiet. “Though as you can tell from meeting me, not everything is as you might expect.”

I nod. “What about other religions? Beliefs and gods? Does all of it co-exist?”

“We exist within the reality created for us by belief. It’s all part of the universal soup of existence.”

My mind feels too full, like my belly after a big Thanksgiving meal. I need time to digest everything, so this is all I’m going to ask on that subject. The magnitude of these revelations are immense. I let go of Lucifer’s hands--immediately missing their soothing warmth--and sit back in my chair with a loud sigh that ruffles the list still in my lap.

I give my shoulders a little shake and pick up the paper. “Do you think I accidentally skipped kids when I touched this earlier?”

“I doubt it.” He holds his hand out and I pass him the scroll. “The elf’s magic is stronger than most.”

“Why is that?”

“Consumerism. Lucky bastard.”

I snort a very unladylike laugh and I think of Valentine's day. “Then Cupid must be going strong.”

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