Prologue
Zagan had been kicked out of Heaven over a misunderstanding. It all started when a group of angels gathered. What happened can best be described in the writing of
Enoch 7.2:
"And when the angels, the sons of Heaven, beheld them, they became enamored of them, saying to each other, 'Come, let us select for ourselves wives from the progeny of men, and let us beget children.'"
God had not been pleased and expelled a number of angels, now called 'the fallen,' from Heaven. Though Zagan wasn't part of that group, he was forced to join his brethren in Hell, where he became a general in Lucifer's army.
After six or seven millennia, even the most devout fallen had become restless. Zagan wanted a change, anything to break up the monotony of Hell. A human might compare it to driving in rush hour traffic for fifty straight years, but it had been thousands for him.
He'd heard a prayer. A satanic priest and priestess wanted a baby, one touched with the devil's blessing. On a whim, Zagan granted their wish with a twist included, as usual. He entered the wife's womb so he could be reborn.
Unbeknownst to Zagan, Lucifer learned of his plan and added his own twist. Zagan would live his life as a human with no knowledge of who he was until he reached the age of twenty.
God saw what happened and appeared to Lucifer.
"Zagan had always been one of my favorites before he fell. Because of that, I would make you a wager."
"I do like a good wager," Lucifer said. "What do you have in mind, Old Man?"
"That if Zagan lives his life as a man, he will be given the same chances men have. If he lives a pure life, he can be returned to my service in Heaven. If not, he would fall under your sway in the service of Hell."
Lucifer had a real belly laugh.
"What's so funny?" God asked.
"When he turns twenty, all his powers as an Angel will return... along with his memories. The memory that will tip the scales to my favor is the one of your henchman, Michael, using his sword to cut his wings off."
"You dare question Me?"
Again, Lucifer laughed and said, "Have you so soon forgotten how I got here?"
"Do we have a bet?" spat God impatiently.
"We do," Lucifer said, and God disappeared.
---
Chapter 1
Lucy Givens fidgeted in her bridesmaid dress. It was an elegant black chiffon dress and, according to her mother, could later be used as evening wear. She couldn't see a need for 'evening wear.' No college boy would ever ask her out somewhere that would require something that formal.
Her older sister, Briana, came into the changing room wearing the same dress. The wedding was being held at their future home, a beach house owned by their future stepfather, Doyle Rothchild. Chairs and tents were set up in the backyard for the wedding. It had gorgeous views of the lake as the backdrop.
"I know you aren't supposed to wear white to your second wedding, but blood red? Our mother has lost her mind."
To get her sister sidetracked from ranting about their mother, Lucy asked, "Any word on the stepmonster?"
They'd labeled him the 'stepmonster' after they met for the first time. In all honesty, they couldn't blame him for his reaction. Zagan had been off at a boarding school in Switzerland. When he came home for the summer, his father had sprung a dinner party on him to introduce him to his future stepmother and stepsiblings.
Doyle and Nyx, Zagan's parents, had failed to tell him that they were getting divorced, let alone that his father was remarrying. Zagan had reacted to the revelation, in a word, badly. He'd called the girls' mother a 'gold-digging whore' and made some other unflattering remarks that caused his father to backhand him out of his chair.
Zagan glared at his father and left the house.
Lucy couldn't say that what Zagan had called her mother, Heather, didn't have a grain of truth. Heather had had an affair with Doyle, and Nyx had found out. Then, only a few months after the divorce, Heather was marrying the wealthiest man in the state.
One interesting tidbit was that when Zagan went to move in with his mom, she sent him packing. He'd ended up spending the summer with his Uncle Damian to 'become a man,' as Doyle told them. Damian Rothchild was the President of the El Diablo MC, an outlaw motorcycle club located thirty hours away in Las Vegas.
Doyle had told them their stepmonster was returning today, and the three of them would be enrolling in Bernhard College. Bernhard was a local private junior college where the monied and privileged people sent their children as a springboard to one of the country's elite universities.
Lucy was worried about attending a new school where she didn't know anyone, but her mother pointed out that the connections she gained there would set her up for life. Bernhard College graduates were the who's who of the state and, in fact, were in important positions in science, academia, and government across the country.
She was somewhat appeased when her sister assured her that she would look out for her. Briana was the more social of the two of them. At their high school, she had dated the quarterback and was the head cheerleader. Lucy had no doubt that her sister would fit right in.
As a matter of fact, Briana had taken full advantage of the new rules Doyle had insisted on. The first was that he believed in indulgence instead of abstinence. What that meant for Briana was she could freely go to parties and not return for a few days, with no consequences.
Her mother had put them both on birth control in case 'the mood' struck them. When their father found out, he lost his shit because they'd been raised Catholic. Shortly after, her father moved across the country and no longer wanted anything to do with them.
Their mother came in.
"It's time."
---
The wedding was like nothing Lucy had ever seen before. The priest was a giant of a man dressed in a black robe with a pentagram on it, and he wore what looked like a goat's head. When it came to the vows, they turned her stomach.
"We renounce God and all his works forever and dedicate ourselves for eternity to Satan. We beseech you, Satan, our lord and master, to bless our union and help us become more wicked. Help us to do evil in your name. At the hour of our death, take us to your satanic bosom," Heather and Doyle said in unison.
Shortly after the vows, the party started. It was interrupted when there came the rumble of nearly a hundred motorcycles rolling up. It was the girls' new step-uncle's club. The bikers wore leather vests with 'El Diablo MC' on the back.
"There's the stepmonster," Briana said, using her chin to point him out.
Zagan was getting off a sleek silver bike that looked like the sports car of motorcycles. He wore a vintage leather jacket and pants that looked to be glued to his body. When his helmet came off, both girls sucked in their breath. He'd let his hair grow, but what startled them was that his face was bruised. When he took off his gloves, they could see his knuckles were torn up as if he'd been in a serious fight.
Before, he'd had this prep-school bad-boy look. Now, he looked dangerous. He had become the guy that every father dreaded showing up at his front door because his daughter would never be the same when he brought her home. That was, if he ever took her home.
A van pulled up, and Zagan stepped over to the driver.
"I'll show you where all my stuff goes," he said, leading the big biker into the house.
---
Anyone with common sense left the party soon after the bikers and Satanists started to get drunk and wild. Lucy escaped into the house and went looking for her stepmonster, hoping they might come to at least an uneasy truce. After all, they would live under the same roof and attend classes together in a bit over a week.
She hoped that they could possibly be friends and she would have a brother to look out for her.
Zagan's room was the attic, which was basically a vast apartment with its own entrance via a fire escape on the side of the house. Lucy made her way to the third floor and found the door open, so she walked in.
She followed the voices to Zagan's bedroom. She found him with their neighbor, Kate Evens, who was an amazing-looking, dark-skinned girl. Lucy knew that Kate was a cheerleader because her sister had gotten in touch with the squad to see about joining when school started.
