Page 38 of The Wonder of You

Phoenix and Henry stand outside the mansion house as if they’ve shown up for a business meeting. The place is… well, extraordinary. Henry pictures the mansion hosting the circus in the extensive green gardens. How amazing would that look? The imposing building in the background, the tall trees hovering over them…Henry can only begin to imagine how spectacular it would be.

As the sky turns grey, a clash of thunder startles him. It sends a shock wave throughout his whole body, heightening his sense of fear, his sense of impending doom. A crack of thunder and lightning on a perfectly clear day could mean only one thing.

Their presence here has been noted.

Henry is surprised by how cool and casual Phoenix looks. Why is he not afraid? He guesses that Phoenix still believes there is a chance Renée is not coming home. If that is true, then he has nothing to lose. He doesn’t need to fear death.

Instead, he might welcome it.

Henry can’t think of that and luckily, he doesn’t have to. His breathing hitches as the tall, pale man in the black suit walks out of the big brown door and towards them. He raises his head as he stands in front of them with a hauntingly blank expression, his hands behind his back.

Henry’s instincts tell him they need to run from the man with the hollow eyes. It’s like they’ve just broken into a zoo, opened up the enclosure for the lion, and are hoping it won’t attack them. But then the man smiles, slowly, almost cruelly.

“Long time, no see, cousin.”

Phoenix nods in acknowledgment.

“Lucifer. I apologise for turning up uninvited, but I was hoping to speak to you. I’m not asking for anything, well… not really. Just a conversation really.”

The man looks intrigued as he tilts his head and continues to observe them. Amusement takes over his face and Henry prepares for the worst. But then he simply shrugs.

“Fine. I suppose you’d better come in.”

He waves his hand in the air, removing what Henry only assumes is the protective barrier around his estate. The thunder stops and Henry feels some of the tension slip away.

Phoenix finally looks at Henry.

“You can wait here if you wish.”

“Don’t fuck about, Phoenix. You better know what you’re doing.”

“I just want to ask questions. I need to know more about what is going on.”

“I understand, but one thing… why did he call you cousin ?”

Phoenix doesn’t respond.

“Fucking hell, Phoenix. Is that why you’re risking coming here? You’re cousins?”

“I thought everyone knew that,” Phoenix says, raising the smallest of smiles.

“I don’t think anyone knows that! ”

“We have the same last name.” Phoenix says simply.

“Well, you got me there.” Henry shakes his head in almost a laugh.

Phoenix quickly walks ahead, following Lucifer up the steps towards the daunting looking building. The mansion has what looks like a million windows staring down at him. Judging him with their watchful eyes.

To Phoenix’s surprise, the place is covered in flowers. His heart skips a beat when he notices how many pink ones there are. Renée would love it. The thought only reminds him that he is making the right decision by trying to get some answers. His posture straightens. He must be strong for her.

Phoenix and Henry follow Lucifer through the large brown door and into a fairly large room, which, Henry thinks, would be perfect for the Circus of Nightmares act they sometimes put on. He glances outside before Lucifer shuts the door, as if saying goodbye to the light and fresh air. He feels somewhat more confident being here now he’s learned of the family connection Phoenix has. At least he thinks it will grant them safety.

“Take a seat. May I get you a coffee?” Lucifer asks.

“Sure, black coffee would be nice, thank you,” Phoenix says and Henry nods in agreement.

“Oh, and ignore him,” Lucifer says casually as he starts making a coffee for them all, gesturing to a sleeping man nearby. Henry struggles to ignore the man sitting opposite them. His head rests on the table as he sleeps. It looks rather uncomfortable. There is a piece of paper stuck to his face .

“That’s his brother, don’t worry,” Phoenix whispers.

Lucifer comes back to the table with three coffees. There’s an inquisitive look on his face.

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, Phoenix.”

“Yes, I’ve been rather busy with the circus stuff.”

“You like all that circus business?”

“Yeah, I’m the ringmaster. Henry here has helped me from the beginning. He does a lot of work with the stalls and general amusement.”

Lucifer smiles, but Henry recognises the distaste in his expression. He’s seen it plenty of times before when the circus is mentioned.

“So, what brings you here?”

Phoenix sighs.

“Renée, my partner…she died.” Phoenix gulps as tears threaten to spill from his eyes. Henry places a hand on his back to comfort him. The words startle him, almost like an electric shock, much worse than anything Lucifer’s safety barrier could send out. “It was the witches.”

Henry is surprised to see sympathy in Lucifer’s eyes, and even more surprised when Lucifer offers his apologies.

“Thank you. The thing is…” He struggles for words. He takes a deep breath, but Henry recognises the struggle all too well. He places his hand on Phoenix’s shoulder.

“These witches cursed at us. They said Renée would live again, but she wouldn’t remember us. We have reason to believe that if she comes back, it’ll be the mortal world.”

At this statement, Lucifer locks eyes with Henry who quickly reverts to looking down into his coffee mug.

“What makes you believe that?”

Henry’s heart drops as Lucifer continues to stare at him awaiting what seems like a much-desired answer.

“It was something they said,” Phoenix declares, saving the moment. “That she would return as a mortal, in the mortal world. I can’t remember it all specifically. They attacked my staff, even tried hurting a little girl. It was all… a lot.”

“I wouldn’t have thought the witches would have had any power over the mortal world.” Lucifer remarks. His eyes visibly darken.

Henry tightens his hand on Phoenix’s shoulder to make sure he doesn’t say too much. Access to the mortal world is a privilege granted to them by Gabriel. A privilege not many, if at all, have. If Lucifer doesn’t have that power, he’d want it. He’d likely kill for it. The brief silence in the room feels too heavy. Losing access to the mortal world without Renée home is something Henry cannot comprehend thinking about.

“But… if they did and they have cursed her to return there, you’ll have to be quick. I can’t help you with that, I’m afraid. I’d appreciate it if you let me know more, though. Anything regarding the mortal world is of interest to me.”

Lucifer doesn’t know they have access to the mortal world and as long as they keep reverting their gaze, he shouldn’t be any wiser. Most speculation says that Lucifer can read minds. It’s unlikely to be true, but Henry refuses to take risks. Lucifer has been watchful of them. Perhaps sizing them up. But the fact he hasn’t bothered to force his eyes onto theirs clearly states he thinks they are beneath him, that staring into their eyes and through to their minds is a waste of time and energy. Why would the circus freaks have what he didn’t?

“Why would we need to be quick?” Henry asks, quickly changing the conversation from them giving Lucifer desired information.

“It’s the mortal world,” Lucifer speaks as if Henry is a child. He doesn’t like it, but it might help the ideology that they are not intelligent enough to gain anything worth knowing. “They’re not like us. They don’t live forever. If she’s there, there is a chance she’ll live and die. I imagine the witches’ curse only works one time around. You may think you have enough time, but time runs away quickly, especially for the mortals.”

At this, panic takes Phoenix’s features. Had he acknowledged that fact before? Henry grips his shoulder tighter, in hope to hold his friend together.

“How do we find the witches? They were led by Claudia. We should demand answers. I am sure there is something we can offer them.”

“They’re dead. The core of the group, anyway. Killed them not too long ago, actually. I am sure there is some lingering here and there, and I suspect Claudia is in hiding if she knows I am involved. It would be useless approaching them, anyway. You will be focusing on the wrong thing.” Lucifer sips on his coffee as if the details are not worthy enough to elaborate on.

“Fuck.” Henry grunts.

“It doesn’t matter, nothing you’d have done would have worked. They’re sneaky little things.” Lucifer sighs again. “Look, the chances are Renée will be in the mortal world. It’s the only way for the curse to work. She’ll likely have a second life with the same family with similar experiences. It wouldn’t be possible to work here because there is a chance some of those family members are still alive, or would be recognised if they re-surfaced again.”

Phoenix puts his head in his hands.

“We’ll figure it out.” Henry reassures, but even with access to the mortal world, he can’t be so confident.

***

Henry would be lying if he said he wasn’t relieved when he finally got out of Lucifer’s safety barrier around the estate. They walk back slowly and Phoenix looks even more deflated than before. When they arrive back at the circus, he doesn’t even mutter a goodnight as he enters his cabin.

“Where did you go? I was getting worried.” Lukas is quick to ask as Henry walks back to his own cabin.

“He took us to bloody Lucifer’s mansion house. He couldn’t give us answers to anything really. Just told us if the curse worked, it’s likely that Renée will be in the mortal world. And a reminder that she may live and die there if we don’t find out what’s going on soon enough. ”

“How can we find out what happens next, though?” Lukas asks panicked.

“We can’t. We’ve just got to keep going to the mortal world and hope that we find her.”

“And do what? Wait to see if she turns up? Knock on every door in every city?” Lukas looks as if he is about to burst into tears.

Henry put his finger on his brow and sighs. What a stressful day.

“I have no idea.”

“What about Gabriel?”

“No. We can’t risk telling him anything. If he takes away our ability to go there, we’re fucked. We’ll lose Renée. We’ll lose Phoenix. We’ll lose it all.”

Henry watches as Lukas throws his hands up in the air and then walks away without a word. He can’t blame him. The situation is painful, and impossible to find an answer to.

They can only hold on to hope.