Shortly before 8 pm., a small convoy pulled up to the Deflin house with the extended Drago family on board. Elise and Jon in the Escalade with the three youngest children. Liz and Domino in the M5 and the triplets together in one of the convertibles. When everyone got out, Elise spoke to them briefly:
"Girls, Brandon, I've said this before, but this is very important. In there, until the ceremony is over, you will address dad as My Lord or My Prince. Okay?"
The group was aware that what was about to happen was extremely important to them. For them, this was the first step on the path to becoming Celestials. Even though they were very excited, they managed to control themselves well. Jonathan, meanwhile, stood looking at the building and the look in his eyes seemed light-years away. Elise came up beside him and put an arm around his waist. She asked quietly:
"Are you okay, Jon?"
He managed a warm smile and answered:
"Absolutely Red. I was just thinking how much everything has changed since you came into my life, since the girls came into my life. Never before had I thought about saving humanity. I never thought about what would happen next. I never dreamed of having what I am blessed with now because I was convinced that it was impossible for me..."
She kissed him gently on the cheek:
"And we are all blessed that you have come into our lives, Jon. This circle is made up of good women who want to do good for others and for nature. The children of this circle want to follow the example of the sisters. Liz, Brandon, and Domino, you pulled them out of the darkness and back into the light. You saved our girls from darkness and an uncertain future or worse. And me, you not only saved me, Jon, but you gave me what I have dreamed and longed for all my life. A big family with a good man who radiates nothing but light..."
He took her in an embrace, kissed her gently, and said almost in a whisper:
"I hope you are ready, Red, because I am more than ready. Today we will write the preface to the new history for humanity, but also for the Celestials. As I said, no more talk of Angels or Demons. Only equality as Celestials."
A moment later, they all entered the house. Just before the main hall, he had manifested a smaller room where the sisters could put on their official robes before entering the main hall. At a glance, he saw that all fourteen sisters were present. With Liz, there were fifteen. There were also seven children present. Samantha and Brandon brought the total to nine. All between the ages of nine and fourteen. Then there were three teenagers, Fay, Hope, and Pamela, and an outsider, Domino. And finally, a fifteen-year-old girl, Jessie, hovered somewhere between the children's circle and the actual coven. Jon stood in the center of the small room. The murmur fell silent and everyone turned their full attention to the Prince of Light:
"Children, dear ladies, in a moment I will take the entire coven and the children's circle under my protection. No doubt you have already noticed that things are happening. That black magic seems to be getting stronger and stronger, and they are acting more and more treacherously. I can tell you that this is not just in Baton Rouge, but everywhere. And I can also assure you that this is not the work of my father. He may have the title of the Devil, the King of Hell. My father is and always will be first and foremost the Lightbringer. For lack of a better description, I would call this an attack by the dark side on the white side, on the proteges of my Grandmother, Mother Nature. Somewhere a beginning must be made to stop it, and that beginning will be made right here with you at Deflin House."
He let his words sink in for a moment and then said earnestly:
"Free will is the greatest good. Free will is considered sacred by my grandfather, my father, and myself. Therefore, it is extremely important that you participate in this ceremony of your own free will. Anyone who feels unsure or afraid, remember that there is no shame in not wanting to participate or not daring to participate. Even if you were to leave now, rest assured that I will take you under my protection no matter what, no questions asked, no conditions made.
He also let these words sink in for a moment and then asked:
"Is there anyone here who would like to leave now?"
No one said a word, and he saw more than one head shake slightly.
"Then I suggest we begin. Maggie, is the room prepared as instructed?"
"Yes, My Lord, everything is ready."
Jon merely nodded and then stripped to expose his torso. It struck his vanity when he heard some of the ladies gasp softly when they saw his muscular torso. He said:
"I'll go in alone first to clean the room completely. If you are ready, you can follow in a few minutes."
Without waiting for an answer, Jonathan walked into the hall and stood in the middle. He slowed his breathing to become completely calm and automatically his heart rate slowed down considerably as well. His eyes lit up golden and he used his powers to cleanse every millimeter of the hall of the slightest evil or negativity. He soon noticed that the family of Mrs. Delfin's husband had tried to leave some of their black magic here. This magic appeared as thin wisps of black smoke but vanished into the light like a shadow when Jon used some of his powers. The room would stay that way from now on. Clean and blessed with light, ideal for a white coven. As agreed, the sisters and children of the coven followed a few minutes later. They stood in a semicircle in front of him in their official robes, still with their hoods over their heads. The hood would remain until he asked them to identify themselves. When they had all taken their places in silence, those present received their first shock, and it would not be the last that evening. Jonathan manifested his wings and left them at full span. The heavenly white color and supernatural golden glow left no one unmoved. Some of the witches present couldn't help themselves. Being in the presence of so much divinity caused them to weep softly, sink to their knees, and bow deeply before Jonathan. In a soft voice, he said:
"Can you please get your sweet sisters back on their feet? For those of you who know me a little, you know that I do not like people to bow down or be submissive to me. I feel much better when I can look you in the eye, when you can look me in the eye, and we can treat each other as equals."
For the sisters who did not yet know him, his gentle and loving way of speaking and his desire to be treated as an equal was a revelation. Yes, he was the Prince of Light, the son of Lucifer, but he was so much more than that. When everybody was back on their feet he spoke and in his voice, the authority of his divinity was abundantly clear:
"I am Prince Jonathan Marcus Drago, son of King Lucifer, Archangel Lucifer, bringer of light. To his light, you owe your lives, for without him no sun, without Sol no life. I am the grandson of your Goddess, Mother Nature. I am Jonathan, Prince of Light. Now make yourself known to me."
All the women and children lowered their hoods and revealed their faces.
"You are all here of your own free will, yet I have a question. Is there anyone here who can tell me why this ceremony could not or should not take place?"
Suddenly, the double doors of the great hall burst open and Lucifer, in his full archangel regalia, stepped inside, accompanied by Azrael, Bearus, Belios, Argo, and Zelo, who also wore their full official regalia for this ceremony, no doubt by order of the King. The witches present gasped for a moment as Lucifer looked both imposing and not particularly happy. He wore white pants and a white waistcoat, heavily laced with gold thread. Arm and leg guards forged in celestial fire with a supernatural blue glow. His breastplate featured a golden dragon wearing a crown of white diamonds representing stars. The Devil momentarily ignored everyone present except Elise and Jonathan and spoke:
"Is this how you treat your King, My Prince? You organize an enormously important ceremony in such a short time and you carelessly forget to invite your father, your King."
Jon saw in his father's eyes that his anger was more of an act, but decided to follow protocol anyway as he knelt, bowed his head in respect to his King, and said:
"Forgive me, My King, it was never my intention to offend you. This is a white coven and I did not think you would wish to grace us with your presence."
Elise and the others had followed Jon's lead and knelt before Lucifer as well, she said:
"My Lord, your son, the Prince, only wanted to take this coven and their children under his protection because the dark forces are gaining ground every day. This coven is made up of such good people that your Prince deems them worthy of his protection."
The Devil looked around, his gaze lingering for a moment on each of those present.
"Princess Elise, I can see why your future husband finds these people worthy. They are worthy followers of my mother. I see no trace of evil or darkness in any of their souls. They are all worthy of the Prince of Light's protection!"
A sly smile formed around his mouth and he pointed at Samantha and Jules:
"Although I must say, with these two, one must be careful."
The two girls had to blush as the devil's words caused the others to laugh softly and with that, the ice seemed to be broken. Jon and Elise rose to their feet, followed by the others. Lucifer first embraced Elise tenderly and then took Jon in a more masculine embrace. He whispered in his son's ear:
"Do the sisters know that you are going to raise Elise?"
Jon shook and the Devil said just as quietly:
"Please allow me the honor. Please let me pour my light into her."
Jon's eyes opened wide and he asked just as quietly:
"You mean that literally, don't you, Dad? Pour your full light into her?"
Lucifer just nodded. Jon shook his head gently and said:
"You must have a hell of a lot of faith in Elise and me, pap, that you are willing to sit on the throne of Hell for the time being without the power of your light."
Lucifer took hold of his son's head and gently planted a kiss on his forehead:
"I have more faith in the two of you than in anything else."
With a mischievous smile, he said:
"Well, I have every confidence in my daughter, not so much in you, but she will keep you in your place. It will be an honor to kneel before you when the time comes."
Elise couldn't resist and after Lucifer's words she threw herself into his arms and whispered:
"Thank you, Daddy."
Those three words, and especially the way she addressed him, brought tears to the Devil's eyes.
Of course, the rest of those present had heard nothing of their conversation but had followed the obviously emotional scene. That was when Jon took the reins back:
"Ladies and children, you know why we are gathered here. Not only because I am going to take each of you under my protection, but also because a new world is about to open up for some of you. Fay and Hope have been part of your coven for some time now, but they have had trouble releasing their powers. For them, I will release them tonight, and under their mother's tutelage, they will learn to use them."
He looked at Pamela with a loving gaze:
"My dear daughter, you have long been deprived of the light in a white coven. If you wish, girl, I can release the powers that flow in your white bloodline so that you can become a full-fledged white witch like your sisters. I'm sure Fay and Hope will want to show you the way of the coven if you accept."
Tears of happiness rolled down her cheeks, and as she replied, she almost forgot the protocol.
"Yes, Da... My Lord, I would like that very much."
"If you want it of your own free will, it will be given to you, my magnificent daughter."
Finally, he turned to Sam and Jules:
"And you two, even though you are too young. With you, I want to release your first power, that of consolation. I am sure there are fellow students at the school who could use some extra comfort from time to time. If you accept, I will teach you how to use it myself, because your mother will have her hands full with the triplets."
He looked around one last time and saw that the Demons and Azrael had formed a sort of honor guard around Lucifer. Well, except for Argo, who had gone to stand right next to Domino. This little breach of protocol didn't bother Jon and apparently not his father either. On the contrary. Not only right next to her, but their shoulders touched and they leaned against each other almost imperceptibly. However, there was not much that could escape Jonathan's gaze. Without showing his face, he said quietly so that only Elise could hear:
"Babe, I think we have two more teenagers in the family. Look at Domino and Argo, they look like two kids at a prom who don't dare but would love to hold hands."
He saw her eyes sparkle and she asked:
"Is there something somewhere in this ceremony that requires the participants to hold hands?"
He got his smirk:
"Nope, but nothing says I can't work it in..."
Jon and Elise had another surprise for the girls. One that Domino had worked on for hours that day. He spoke:
"Fay, Hope, Pamela, Samantha, and Jules, please join us for a moment."
As they stood before him he said:
"You know your mom and I think of you as our daughters. Domino has been working so hard on something for the five of you. She has prepared documents for all five. If you accept, you will no longer be our daughters only in our hearts and in our lives, but you will be our daughters and sisters in every sense of the word. Daughters of Elise and Jonathan, granddaughters of Lucifer and Francesca, granddaughters of God and the Goddess."
The girls had tears on their cheeks and were almost trembling on their feet. Jon continued:
"But as with everything, girls, it must be of your own free will if you want it."
It did not take a second for them to hear five little voices mingle, saying that they absolutely wanted it. He said with a big smile:
"So it is said, so it is wanted, so it shall be. And believe me, you better shower your Aunt Domino with lots of love for all her hard work!"
He called Samantha and Jules to him, sent the triplets back to their place, and said:
"Dear daughters, I'm going to ask you to do something. You two are the youngest and I have the most important job for you. I'm telling you and I promise you that whatever happens, it won't hurt, it won't be bad. I will just sting and itch a little."
Jonathan never lied, but in this case, he decided that a little white lie was in order. He had said it wouldn't hurt, but he knew full well that part of what was to follow would involve hellish pain for him.
"I will ask you to pull some feathers from my wings. Angels are usually invulnerable, and so are our wings. The only exception is when we allow a human to pull a feather of our own free will. In order for the feathers to exert their full divine power, they must be plucked by a person whom I love above all else. That's you, girls, along with your sisters and your mom, but also your Aunts Liz, Domino, Rae Rae, and of course that little blond guy who likes to hang out with you so much and who I'm sure I'm going to expose someday."
His three ladies, the little angel, the two demons, and Lucifer laughed at Jon's last sentence. It had become something of a running joke when he spoke fondly of Brandon. The boy looked at him sternly and fearlessly and Jon could read it in his eyes:
"Bring it on, old man..."
He continued to speak to the girls:
"Above all, do not be afraid, because a little blood will flow, and that is perfectly all right. Do you understand me?"
The two had turned white around the nose at the word 'blood' but they held on. He placed a hand on her cheek:
"I knew I had the best, strongest, sweetest, and bravest daughters. Now, I will show you which feathers I need, and then you must draw them and place them on this small table."
The two nodded meekly, not entirely at ease anyway.
"First I need two of those little ones over there, those two will be for you."
They did as they were asked and immediately a few small drops of blood were visible.
"Good, now I need three of those medium ones. These are for Fay, Hope, and Pam."
Again they did as Jon asked, but this time more than a few drops of blood could be seen. The thick drops slowly ran down his white feathers, turning them a sort of crimson. By now the girls had tears in their eyes as they guessed what would happen with the next feather.
"And now the last one. You have to pull this one together because it comes out pretty hard. You see that big one there, give it a good yank until it comes loose."
The girls grabbed the feather with all four hands and had to pull damn hard before the feather came loose. Now there was a trickle of blood that soon turned the white wing a kind of pink, as some drops of blood dripped steadily onto the ground. Sam and Jules were so startled that they almost burst into tears. He took them into his arms and spoke softly:
"I am so incredibly proud of you. My heart just explodes that you, all five of you, have chosen me to be your father. I will be grateful to you for the rest of my existence. Now go and take your places quickly."
After the two youngest had taken their places, he said:
"Fay, Hope, and Pamela, my little girls, come forward, join me, it's time."
Hand in hand, the three walked up to Jon. He and Elise could tell immediately that the three had received a secret lesson in Heavenly Protocol from Azrael. Although Jon and Elise were far from the God and Goddess, and certainly not in Heaven, the girls did what the Angels in Heaven would do for the God and Goddess in the throne room. At the same time, they bowed first to Elise and then to Jon and spoke:
"My Lady, My Lord, our obedience and loyalty belong to you, only to you."
Jon spoke automatically, without thinking:
"No girls, loyalty must be earned. Your mother and I do not want blind loyalty, blind devotion."
He picked up a feather from the table:
"Pamela, you have been excluded from the light of a white coven by the fault of the darkness. Come with your back to me and let me lead you into the light."
Nervously, she did as she was told. She was not close enough and Jon gently pulled her close to him. He placed his right hand where her womb was, his left hand, which held the feather, on her forehead and spoke:
"Light come to me, from this day on dwell in this body of Pamela Drago, daughter of Elise and Jonathan Drago, granddaughter of the Lightbringer and Princess of Hell and Heaven. Protect her from the darkness and strike down any form of evil that would attack our daughter with the full power of the Light from the three thrones combined!"
No sooner had he spoken than both his hands glowed golden and increased in power. As the light reached its peak, it seemed to explode and Pamela's body absorbed the light. Her whole body went limp and he caught her gently. Azrael stepped forward and took her. She carried Pamela to a pair of yoga mats laid out for the purpose and covered her for a moment. The girl would need a few minutes to recover.
"Hope, are you ready?"
"Yes, My Lord!"
And without waiting for more words from Jon, she moved as close to him as she could. The same ritual was repeated with her. Again it was Azrael who led the girl to the yoga mats and then returned to wait for Fay. The girl had a bright smile and was almost trembling until her father called her to him. When he did, she almost flew at him. A few minutes later she was done and Rae Rae took her to the other two girls. Pamela, already completely back to herself, stayed where she was, not wanting to leave her sisters alone. Jon planned to wait a moment for the triplets to fully recover so that they could witness the ceremony for their little sisters in full consciousness. He took Elise in his arms, kissed her gently, and then they stood for a moment, forehead to forehead. As Elise kissed him on the mouth, they heard two little voices:
"Eeeuww!"
At the same time, Elise and Jon looked at the twins with sneaky smiles and he said:
"Girls, if you keep interrupting your mom and me in an important conversation, I will give you to Uncle Bearus and Belios!"
Suddenly they heard the devil:
"Oh fuck no! One little Antichrist who broke hell more often than not was more than enough, thank you very much!"
And that was enough to make them all laugh. Jon took the opportunity to take a quick look at the witches and children present. It was clear from their souls that the three blessings they had just received as part of the triplet ceremony had served them well. When Pam, Fay, and Hope had taken their places, it was time for the two littlest ones. So he called them to him:
"Ready, girls? You are going to receive a gift through the light with which you will be able to do so much good. There are children on the campus who need your help, that little extra comfort you will be able to give them. Who wants to go first?"
Samantha said without hesitation:
"Me!"
and walked over to Jon, standing with her back to him. He took one of the smaller feathers from the table and the process was repeated. Now it was Elise who took the limp body of the girl from Jon and carried it to the mats. Then it was Jules' turn. It was clear that the girl was nervous, even a little scared. He asked:
Are you ready, my beautiful Jules?"
"Yes, My Lord, I'm ready."
"Then come close to me, Jules."
She did as she was asked and suddenly everyone heard Samantha's voice from the yoga mats:
"Daddy, wait! Jules is afraid, I can feel it. I need to be with her and hold her hand."
No one objected to the break in protocol, especially not Elise, Jonathan, and Lucifer, who watched it with a warm look. They were a bit surprised that Samantha, who had not yet fully recovered herself, could already sense that Jules was scared. Azrael had walked over to the mats and waited a moment until Jules was on her feet enough to bring her back. The two girls immediately clasped hands, and Jules' mood immediately brightened. She was suddenly confident again:
"I'm ready, Daddy. With Sis, I can do anything."
He nodded and repeated the ritual. Elise led Jules to the mats, followed by Samantha, who promptly lay down next to her sister and waited for her to come to her senses. Jon heard his father's voice in his mind:
"Son, if you ever make Angels out of them, they will truly be Geminis and accomplish incredible things together."
"I know Dad and I can't wait to see what they come up with."
A few minutes later that was the case and everyone was back in their places. This would be the biggest surprise and shock for most of those present. Jon knelt on both knees before his father with his head bowed respectfully as he handed him the large feather and said loud and clear:
"My king, Elise Paschal is a direct descendant in the bloodline of your brother Jesus and his wife Mary Magdalene. Elise wishes to give me the honor and pleasure of being my wife and is already the mother of our beautiful children. I need her to exist. To give meaning to my life. Without her, I will be lost in the fast expanse. Therefore, My King, I ask you to give her your light, to elevate her to High Priestess of Light."
Almost everyone in the hall could be heard gasping for breath. Never before had a white witch been elevated by the Lightbringer himself to the position of High Priestess of Light, the ultimate authority among white witches, the earthly representative of Mother Nature herself. Lucifer helped his son to his feet:
"My Prince, my son, I see in you how much you need this beautiful woman and how much she needs you. Therefore, it is only right that the Prince of Light be assisted by the High Priestess of Light."
He turned to Elise and asked:
"Child, you know what this means. What the future holds for both of you. This is the time to say no, for there is no turning back after this."
"My king, I don't want to go back. I want to be by your son's side in all that is to come. I want to be with your son forever and with this wonderful family we have now.
"So it is said, so it will be..."
Jonathan handed his father the large feather from his wing. Elise moved close to him. The Devil gently placed the feather on her forehead and where her womb was. His eyes and hands glowed brightly:
"From this day forward, let my light dwell in this woman. Let all the power that my light has over nature belong to her and answer to her, and let nature recognize her as the representative of Mother Nature and submit to her will."
The light from his hands spread throughout her body and then seemed to implode within her. Elise was completely out of it and was gently and lovingly led by Jonathan to the yoga mats so that she could have a few minutes to come to herself. Everyone in the room felt a tremendous shock wave of grace pass through their bodies. Instinctively, all present knew that Elise would become the new Goddess without a word being spoken. If Elise was the new Goddess, then Jonathan was undoubtedly the new God. Jon addressed them with that playful, mischievous smile of his:
"As you must have felt, a tremendous surge of fertility has just passed through your body. Unless you are planning on bringing a bunch of offspring into the world in, say, nine months, I suggest you make your preparations. I may be gargantuan good, but I am not responsible for what happens in your bedroom."
When Elise rejoined the others after a while, Jonathan put an arm around her waist and kissed her. Maggie approached the group of supernatural beings and knelt before Elise:
"My Lady, will you please honor our coven and take my place as high priestess of the coven? We realize that you will be incredibly busy, and so we do not ask you to handle the day-to-day matters, but rather to be symbolically present at our ceremonies and preside over them."
Elise smiled warmly at her:
"Please stand up straight, Maggie. You know Jon can't stand people kneeling in front of him and I want to follow that example. Like Jon, I don't want to look down on people, our friends. I want to be able to look them in the eye and I want us to be able to tell each other the truth."
The woman straightened up and Elise hugged her for a moment, then said:
"Yes, I will be honored to be present at the Coven's ceremonies as High Priestess of Light, provided you continue to lead the Coven."
The ceremony was followed by a short reception where everyone chatted with everyone, no matter if they were Human, Demon, Angel, or Devil. No one in the room discriminated, and that pleased Jon and Elise especially. Proof that his plan for a new society without segregation was absolutely possible. Jon noticed that it made his father incredibly happy when people, especially the children, stood around him in groups and wanted to talk to him. Or in the case of the kids, wanted to hear some cool stories from him. His determination to somehow reunite his father and mother and give them a normal life only grew stronger. At one point, Domino came over to talk to them for a moment. She was three steps from them when she suddenly felt the baby in her belly. After taking two more steps, her lower abdomen suddenly lit up all gold. Domino was startled and thought something was wrong with her baby until Elise reassured her. The incredible powers Lucifer had poured into her were already at work. She said:
"Don't be afraid, honey, there is nothing wrong with your baby. Quite the contrary."
She got a sly smile around her mouth and asked:
"Do you want to know the sex or do you want it to be a surprise?"
Domino thought for a moment and said quietly:
"I'd like to know, yes, but why am I glowing gold?"
"He can't wait to be born. In that safe place in your womb, he has clearly felt what a bad influence Jonathan and his father will be. I think there is a little troublemaker hiding in you. Especially when I sense that he wants to meet his nieces Sam and Jules as soon as possible."
Jon had been watching everything in the room pretty much in silence. He said so that only Elise could hear him:
"Darling, did you see what's going on here?"
She looked at him with a smile and said also in silence:
"Maybe, darling, but maybe you should tell me anyway."
She heard his laughter in his head and then he said:
"Rae Rae, B and our Liz get along very well. There will be fireworks no doubt, knowing that Rae and Liz are also such calm and deep waters, so Bearus will have something to do with those two. Then there's Argus and our little Prada killer, something beautiful is blooming there. Maybe she needs a little nudge here and there from us. Look at Pam and Jessie, their eyes don't leave each other for a second. And if I'm not mistaken, Samantha and Danny have a serious case of puppy love."
She kissed his cheek and said:
"Indeed, I have seen it all too, Antichrist, so no need to start burning poor Danny down."
With that, he burst out laughing and said aloud:
"I promise to do my best, darling, but no more..."